The Swansea and Mumbles Railway was the venue for the world's first passenger horsecar railway service, located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom.

Originally built under an Act of Parliament of 1804 to move limestone from the quarries of Mumbles to Swansea and to the markets beyond, it carried the world's first fare-paying railway passengers under an agreement effective from 25 March 1807. It later moved from horse power to steam locomotion, and was finally converted to electric power, using the largest tram cars ever built for service in Britain, before closing in January 1960, in favour of motor buses.

At the time of the railway's closure, it was claimed to have been the world's longest serving railway, although this distinction has to be qualified because other railways which were used solely for goods traffic (e.g. the Middleton Railway in Leeds, Yorkshire, dating from 1758) had been operating for longer.

History
In 1804 the British Parliament approved the laying of a railway line between Swansea and Oystermouth in South Wales, for the transport of quarried materials to and from the Swansea Canal and the harbour at the mouth of the River Tawe, and later that year the first tracks were laid.  At this stage, the railway was known as the Oystermouth Railway and controlled by the Committee of the Company of Proprietors of the Oystermouth Railway or Tramroad Company, which included many prominent citizens of Swansea, including the copper and coal magnate John Morris (later Sir John Morris, Bart.).  In later years it became known as the Swansea and Mumbles Railway (although the original company was not wound up until 1959), or just the Mumbles Railway, but to local people it was simply the Mumbles Train.

Early days
There was no road link between Swansea and Oystermouth at the beginning of the nineteenth century and the original purpose of the railway was to transport coal, iron ore and limestone.  Construction seems to have been completed in 1806 and operations began without formal ceremony, using horse-drawn vehicles.  As constructed, the line ran from the Brewery Bank adjacent to the Swansea Canal in Swansea, around the wide sweep of Swansea Bay to a terminus at Castle Hill (near the present-day Clements Quarry) in the tiny isolated fishing village of Oystermouth (known as Mumbles). There was also a branch from Blackpill which ran up the Clyne valley for nearly a mile to Ynys Gate which was intended to promote the development of the valley's coal reserves.

In February 1807, approval was given to carry passengers along the line, when one of the original proprietors, Benjamin French, offered to pay the company the sum of twenty pounds in lieu of tolls for the right to do so for twelve months from the following quarter day, 25 March 1807. This is usually cited as the date when the first regular service carrying passengers between Swansea and Oystermouth began, thus giving the railway the claim of being the first passenger railway in the world. Passenger services operated from The Mount, the world's first recorded railway station. The venture was evidently a success because the following year French joined with two others in offering the increased sum of twenty five pounds to continue the arrangement for a further year, but the construction of a turnpike road parallel to the railway in the mid-1820s robbed it of much of its traffic and the passenger service (by that time in the hands of one Simon Llewelyn) ceased in 1826 or 1827, ironically just as events elsewhere in the United Kingdom (particularly in the north east of England) were paving the way for the development of railways as a truly national and international transport system for both goods and passengers.

In its early days the line operated in the same manner as the contemporary canals and turnpike roads. Tolls and charges were laid down in the enabling Act of Parliament and any trader could use the line on provision of a suitable waggon and after paying the appropriate toll to the owning Company. The railway was laid in the form of a plateway, with the rails being approximately  apart.

After cessation of the passenger service the line became derelict and the original company of proprietors virtually moribund. The Clyne valley branch was relaid in 1841/2 and extended for a further mile (as a private line) to the Rhydydefaid colliery where George Byng Morris, the son of one of the original proprietors, had started to exploit the coal and iron reserves of the valley. From about 1855, George Byng Morris took the line in hand, relaid it with edge rails (i.e. as a conventional railway) to the standard gauge of  and reintroduced a horse-drawn passenger service between Swansea and a terminus at The Dunns in Oystermouth.

Introduction of steam
Steam power first replaced the horses in 1877 when trials were undertaken with one of Henry Hughes's patent tramway locomotives, aptly named Pioneer. These were adjudged to be a success, and two further locomotives of the same type were obtained, although a dispute between the Swansea Improvements & Tramways Company (which owned the locomotives) and the line's then owner, John Dickson (who had come into possession following the death of George Byng Morris) meant that horses continued to operate certain services until 1896. At this time there was a junction between the Mumbles Railway and the Swansea town tramway system at the Slip, allowing S.I. & T. cars to run through from Swansea town centre to Oystermouth. The nature of the dispute was such that the Swansea & Mumbles company demanded that the S.I. & T. horse cars should follow their own steam-hauled services on the line. In 1889, a new company, the Mumbles Railway & Pier Company, was incorporated to extend the railway beyond Oystermouth to a new pier close to Mumbles Head. The first section, to Southend, was opened in 1893 and the remainder, including the pier, in 1898.

The Clyne valley branch continued to be used for coal traffic from Rhydydefaid pit until its closure in 1885 after which the entire branch fell into disuse. In 1896 the promoters of the Gower Light Railway proposed incorporating it into their scheme but nothing came of it. The original branch to Ynys Gate (as authorised in 1804) was relaid in connection with the Clyne Valley slant (opened 1903) and used for coal traffic until the colliery closed in 1915. The extension of 1841/2 remained abandoned until 1920 when a narrow-gauge tramway was laid on its formation to carry coal from Ynys slant to Ynys Gate. This was used only until 1921 when the slant closed. There was then no further traffic on the branch, although the track remained in situ and was still usable as late as 1936 when it is recorded that a diesel locomotive made a trip up the branch as far as Ynys Gate.

A somewhat motley collection of steam locomotives was used to maintain services between 1877 and 1929, beginning with the Hughes tramway locomotives mentioned above (which were actually owned by the S.I. & T. and therefore not able to be used on the railway after 1878). Dickson had purchased two saddle tank locomotives of more conventional outline from the Falcon Engine & Car Works (successor to Hughes's Locomotive and Tramway Engine Works), and two more from Manning Wardle & Co of Leeds in the early 1880s. A further locomotive (originally numbered 5, later 3) came from the Hunslet Engine Company of Leeds in 1885. When the new Swansea & Mumbles Railway Company took over operations in 1890 it ordered two 0-4-0 saddle tank locomotives from Black, Hawthorn & Co of Gateshead. These were delivered in 1891 and numbered 1 and 2; they worked on the line until after the First World War. Two larger 0-6-0 side tank locomotives were obtained from the Hunslet Engine Company in 1898; numbered 4 and 5, they bore the brunt of the passenger service until well into the 1920s. The nominally independent Mumbles Railway & Pier Co. ordered a 0-4-0 saddle tank from the Brush Electrical Engineering Co of Loughborough (successor to the Falcon Engine & Car Works) in 1906 and this carried plates reading "MR & P No. 3" to denote its ownership. Finally, a second-hand Avonside 0-6-0ST was obtained and named Swansea.  All were tank locomotives of 0-4-0 or 0-6-0 wheel arrangement.  Ownership was vested variously in the Swansea & Mumbles Railway Company or the Mumbles Railway & Pier Company (and sometimes transferred between the two for accounting purposes) and as early as the 1890s there is evidence that the railway was having to hire in locomotives to supplement its own fleet. By the 1920s, locomotives were regularly being hired from a local dealer, Charles Williams of Morriston, and frequently appear in photographs of the railway taken at that time.

Centenary – royal visit
The line celebrated its centenary in 1904, producing a special commemorative brochure for the occasion. Two years previously, a notable experiment had been carried out, namely the introduction of battery-powered 'accumulator' cars. These were not a success, but one of the cars was retained after the electrical equipment had been stripped out and used to convey parties of visiting dignitaries, including King Edward VII when he and his consort, Queen Alexandra, visited Swansea for the ceremonial cutting of the first sod of the King's Dock in July 1904.  The car was used again for the visit of King Edward's successor, King George V, in 1920, when he officiated at the opening of the Queen's Dock.

Electrification
The line was electrified in 1928 at 650 V DC using overhead transmission – giving it the distinction of having used three forms of regular locomotive power over the years (i.e. horse, steam and electricity). Trials began on 6 July 1928 and full electric services were introduced on 2 March 1929, using a fleet of eleven double-deck cars built by the Brush Electrical Engineering Co of Loughborough, in Leicestershire. These were the largest ever built for service in Britain and each could seat 106 passengers. Furthermore, they were frequently operated in pairs, giving a total seating capacity of 212 per train.

Two further cars were added later, bringing the fleet strength up to thirteen. A four-wheeled petrol-mechanical locomotive was acquired from Hardy Railmotors of Slough, then in Buckinghamshire, to handle the residual goods traffic on the railway, but this proved to be underpowered and was replaced after a few years by a diesel-mechanical locomotive from John Fowler & Co, of Leeds. The Hardy locomotive was retained for a few years and used for shunting the cars in the depot, which was on the site of the former carriage sheds, adjacent to the Rutland Street terminus, and for inspection of the overhead line equipment, but it had been dismantled by 1954, when parts were used in the construction of a replica horse-drawn car to celebrate the line's 150th anniversary.

Sale
In 1958, The South Wales Transport Company (the principal operator of motor bus services in the Swansea town area and predecessor of the modern-day First Cymru company) purchased the railway from the old owning companies (the Swansea & Mumbles Railway Limited and the Mumbles Railway & Pier Company), having previously been the lessee in succession to the Swansea Improvements & Tramways Company since the 1930s, and the following year went to Parliament with an Abandonment Bill. Despite vociferous local opposition, the Bill became law as the South Wales Transport Act 1959.

Closure

The railway was closed in two stages. The section from Southend to the Pier was closed on 11 October 1959 to facilitate the construction of a special road to the Pier for the buses that were to replace the trains. Then, at 11.52 on Tuesday 5 January 1960, the last train (a ceremonial special, carrying local dignitaries) left Swansea for Mumbles driven by Frank Dunkin, who had worked on the railway since 1907. Within a very short time of the train returning to the Rutland Street depot, work began on dismantling the track and cars.

Preservation
One car (no. 2) was saved for preservation by members of Leeds University in Yorkshire and stored for a while at the Middleton Railway in that city, but it was heavily vandalised and eventually destroyed by fire.  The front end of car no. 7 was also saved for preservation at Swansea Museum; following many years of neglect it was initially restored in the early 1970s by members of the Railway Club of Wales and is now on display in the Tram Shed alongside the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea's Maritime Quarter.

A Mumbles Railway Society was formed in 1975 to formally archive material and to maintain the hope that one day the line would re-open.

Stations

The railway had a multitude of stopping places over the years, but at the time of electrification in 1929 the officially recognised  stations from Swansea to Mumbles (as published in Bradshaw) were:

Rutland Street
St Helen's (frequently known as "The Slip")
Brynmill
Ashleigh Road

(Between Ashleigh Road and Blackpill stations the railway was crossed by the LM&SR Central Wales line from Swansea Victoria to Shrewsbury, at a point close to the LM&SR Mumbles Road station. There was a Mumbles Road name board under the bridge on the Mumbles Railway line, but if this was an official stopping place for Mumbles Railway cars it was not recognised as such by Bradshaw.)

Blackpill
West Cross
Norton Road
Oystermouth
Southend
Mumbles Pier (name board read simply "Pier")

Railway vs tramway
The railway is frequently referred to as a tramway, but the original name of the company of proprietors was the Oystermouth Railway or Tramroad Company, the word tramroad being used in its pre-railway context. The original right of way was unique and it was only after the construction of the turnpike road in the 1820s that the line assumed its roadside character. The introduction of steam locomotion in the 1870s was facilitated by a clause in the original Act which authorised the "haling or drawing" of waggons by "men, horses, or otherwise" and owed nothing to the Tramways Act of 1870.

The passenger rolling stock used in steam days bore little resemblance to conventional railway carriages, employing open-top, "toast-rack" and "knifeboard" seating, and being built by companies more commonly associated with the construction of urban tramcars, such as G.F. Milnes & Co., Starbuck & Falcon, etc. After electrification the resemblance to an urban tramway became more marked with the introduction of the huge Brush-built electric cars and because of the style of operation (the signalling was used only to regulate entry to the passing loops and not to control the actual running of cars). The track was always laid with conventional railway-type rail and not grooved tram-rail and the railway also handled conventional goods wagons (exchanged with the London & North Western Railway (the London Midland & Scottish Railway after January 1923) at Mumbles Road station and with the Great Western Railway at the Swansea terminus). In the early nineteenth century a tramway was a line for mineral wagons (trams), the term railway being used when edge rails replaced plates. The term tramway did not become almost exclusively associated with urban transport systems until after the passing of the Tramways Act of 1870.

Suggested re-opening

On 16 February 2009, the City & County of Swansea started the process of looking at the feasibility of trams for the Swansea bay area again. The ERC (Environment, Regeneration and Culture) Overview Board, which is a policy making committee chaired by Councillor Rob Speht, discussed the options for feasibility work and scheduled tasks to assess the technical, financial and social feasibility of bringing trams back to Swansea.

In 2016 the group were working through a formal constitution and going through the steps to register as a Charitable body.

See also
Timeline of railway history

Further reading
 The First Passenger Railway (The Oystermouth or Swansea & Mumbles Line), by Charles E. Lee, 1942
 The Swansea & Mumbles Railway, by Charles E. Lee, 1988 ()
 The Mumbles Railway, The World's First Passenger Railway, published by the Mumbles Railway Society, c1980
 Rock & Roll To Paradise, The History of the Mumbles Railway, by Rob Gittins, 1982 ()
 The Life and Times of the Swansea and Mumbles Railway, by Gerald Gabb, 1987 ()

References
Julian Thompson. British Trams in Camera. London, Ian Allan LTD 1978

External links
Company Website
BBC Article "Swansea looks at tram return"
Brief history
City tram scheme back on agenda
The Mumbles Train – the world's first railway service

Closed railway lines in Wales
Rail transport in Swansea
History of Swansea
Early Welsh railway companies
Tram transport in Wales
Railway companies established in 1804
Railway lines opened in 1806
Railway lines closed in 1960
Standard gauge railways in Wales
Horse-drawn railways
4 ft gauge railways in Wales
1804 establishments in Wales
British companies established in 1804
1960 disestablishments in Wales

Swansea and Mumbles Railway


An amusement arcade (also called a video arcade or just arcade) is a place where people play arcade games such as video games, pinball machines, and slot machines.

The earliest amusement arcades were called "penny arcades." They were opened in the nineteenth century. Penny arcades had game machines called "bagatelles", which were like billiards and pinball. Penny arcades were popular at amusement parks and fairs until around the 1950s. Around this time, the penny arcades were often replaced by more modern games of chance and skill. An example of the new machines were shooting galleries.

Videos were introduced in amusement arcades in the late 1970s. These were most popular during the early 1980s. Arcades became popular with young people. Many video arcades began closing in the late 1990s, as the technology of home video game consoles began to rival and eventually exceed that of arcade games. However, video arcades remained popular in Japan, where they are called game centers.

Amusement arcade


A chess puzzle is a puzzle in which knowledge of the pieces and rules of chess is used to solve logically a chess-related problem. The history of chess puzzles reaches back to the Middle Ages and has evolved since then.

Usually the goal is to find the single best, ideally aesthetic move or a series of single best moves in a chess position, which was created by a composer or is from a real game. But puzzles can also set different objectives. Examples include deducing the last move played, the location of a missing piece, or whether a player has lost the right to castle. Sometimes the objective is antithetical to normal chess, such as helping (or even compelling) the opponent to checkmate one's own king.

Chess problems

While a chess puzzle is any puzzle involving aspects of chess, a chess problem is an arranged position with a specific task to be fulfilled, such as White mates in n moves. Chess problems are also known as chess compositions because the positions are specially devised, rather than arising from actual games. Chess problems are divided into orthodox and heterodox types, both covering a variety of genres.

Orthodox chess problems employ the standard rules of chess and involve positions that can arise from actual game play (although the process of getting to that position may be unrealistic). The most common orthodox chess puzzle takes the form of checkmate in n moves. The puzzle positions are seldom similar to positions from actual play, and the challenge is not to find a winning move, but rather to find the (usually unique) move which forces checkmate as rapidly as possible.

Heterodox chess problems involve conditions that are impossible with normal play, such as multiple kings or chess variants, while fairy chess problems employ pieces not used in orthodox chess, such as the amazon (a piece combining the powers of the queen and the knight).

Tactical puzzles
Chess puzzles can also be regular positions from a game (with normal rules), usually meant as training positions, tactical or positional, from all phases of the game (openings, middlegame and endings). These are known as tactical puzzles. They can range from a simple "Mate in one" combination to a complex attack on the opponent's king. Solving tactical chess puzzles is a very common chess teaching technique. Although it is unlikely that the same position will occur in a game the student plays, the recognition of certain patterns can help to find a good move or plan in another position.

Mathematical chess problems

Some chess problems, like the eight queens puzzle or the knight's tour problem, have connections to mathematics, especially to graph theory and combinatorics. Many famous mathematicians have studied such problems, including Euler, Legendre, and Gauss. Besides finding a solution to a particular puzzle, mathematicians are usually interested in counting the total number of possible solutions, finding solutions with certain properties, and generalization of the problems to n×n or rectangular boards.

See also
Wheat and chessboard problem
Mutilated chessboard problem

References

External links

 Lifetime updates and many chesspuzzles
 Chess puzzles anyone can add or edit
 Collection of tactical chess puzzles
 Chess puzzles with the solution hints
 Chess puzzles with easy, med, hard categories
 Open-source chess puzzles
 Blitz chess puzzles

Chess problems
Mathematical chess problems

Chess puzzle


The Treaty of Gotland () was a peace treaty settled by the Swedish king Magnus III to resolve a conflict between the peasants of the Swedish island Gotland, and the burghers of the island's largest city, Visby. The conflict is believed to have stemmed from rivalry over the lucrative Gutnish trade on the Baltic sea and disagreement between the two factions over duties levied by the burghers on all goods entering Visby. The peasants were aggrieved over the new duties that had been introduced in 1288, after completion of the City wall of Visby. Many of the Visby burghers were Germanic tradesmen associated with what would eventually become the Hanseatic League.

The burghers prevented the peasants from traveling to the mainland to protest to the king, and soon open hostilities broke out. A battle was fought at Högebro, where the burghers emerge victorious thanks to their superior armament. The peasants did not give up, however, and a new battle was fought at the Monastery of Roma, where neither faction emerged victorious.

The priests of the island now intervened, trying to bring about conciliation between the parties. They succeeded in securing a fragile peace.

When King Magnus received word of the conflict, he summoned representatives of the fighting parties to Nyköping in August 1288 and condemned the burghers to pay 2.000 mark silver of Gutnish standard and 500 marks assorted silver, as penance for their deeds. Magnus also stipulated that future conflicts should be settled by him, and that the peasants should not be prevented from making complaints to the king. Magnus also entered into an agreement with the city of Visby, which in principle stated that only the Swedish king should be the master of Gotland.

The Swedish king had long been wanting to expand eastward and gain a larger share of the lucrative trade on the Baltic Sea. The conflict provided a golden opportunity to strengthen his power over Gotland, which until then had enjoyed a large measure of autonomy.

Notes and references

Bibliography

Peace treaties of Sweden
Gotland
1288 in Europe
13th century in Sweden

Treaty of Gotland (1288)


The Early Middle Ages were a period in European history. They lasted from the 5th century to the 10th century. They were followed by the High Middle Ages and the Late Middle Ages. These were called the "Middle" Ages because they came between ancient history and modern history. The Middle Ages are sometimes called the Medieval Age.

The early Middle Ages has also been called "the Dark Ages" because past scholars wrongly believed that there was very little culture, good literature, art, good architecture, technology or progress during this period.

The fall of Rome

The Early Middle Ages started with the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

In ancient history, the Western Roman Empire ruled much of Europe.  Eventually, that empire started to weaken.  In 410, Rome was sacked by Alaric, the leader of the Germanic tribe known as the Visigoths.  Rome survived, but had been weakened greatly.  In 476, when Rome was again invaded and sacked  by Odoacer, he was able to take the city for himself.  He made himself the king of Italy.  This ended the Western Roman Empire.  Europe entered the Early Middle Ages.

Life in the Early Middle Ages

As the Early Middle Ages began, Europe was experiencing the effects of the fall of the Western Roman Empire.  Before, the empire's communication systems made it possible for people all over Europe to share ideas and facts.  Now these communication systems were no longer working.  This made it much more difficult to exchange knowledge and new ideas.

For many years, the Roman army had defended the empire and kept peace between different parts of Europe.  Now, wars became common as people all over Europe started to fight each other for territory and resources.

The Catholic Church was very powerful during the Early Middle Ages.  Most Europeans were Christian at this time.

References
Middle Ages

Early Middle Ages


Philippe (, ; born 15 Aprile 1960) is the ringin Keeng o the Belgians, havin taen the throne on 21 Julie 2013. He is the eldest bairn o Keeng Albert II, that he succeeit upon Albert's abdication due tae heal raisons, an Queen Paola. He mairit Countess Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz (nou Queen Mathilde), wi that he haes fower bairns. King Philippe's elder dauchter, Princess Elisabeth, is neist in the line o succession.

Issue

Princess Elisabeth, Duchess o Brabant, (born 25 October 2001)
Prince Gabriel o Belgium, (born 20 August 2003)
Prince Emmanuel o Belgium, (born 4 October 2005)
Princess Eléonore o Belgium, born 16 Aprile 2008)

Teetles an styles
* 15 Aprile 1960 – 9 August 1993 His Ryal Highness Prince Philippe o Belgium.
9 August 1993 – 21 Julie 2013 His Ryal Highness The Duke o Brabant.
21 Julie  2013 – present His Majesty The King o the Belgians.

Freemit airtins
 Offeecial biography frae the Belgian Ryal Faimily wabsteid
 DHnet Airticle (French) aboot Prince Philippe's eddication an militar career.

1960 births
Livin fowk
20t-century Roman Catholics
21st-century Roman Catholics
Alumni o Trinity College, Oxford
Belgian fowk o German strynd
Belgian fowk o Italian strynd
Belgian fowk o Swadish strynd
Belgian monarchs
Princes o Belgium
Belgian Roman Catholics
Dukes o Brabant
Hoose o Belgium
Fowk frae Laeken
Princes o Saxe-Coburg an Gotha
Stanford Varsity alumni
Grand Crosses o the Order o Aviz
Grand Crosses o the Order o Christ (Portugal)
Grand Crosses o the Order o Honour (Greece)
Grand Crosses o the Order o the Condor o the Andes
Grand Crosses o the Order o the Liberator General San Martin
Grand Crosses Special Cless o the Order o Meerit o the Federal Republic o Germany
Grand Crosses o the Order o Meerit o the Republic o Hungary (ceevil)
Grand Crosses o the Order o Meerit o the Republic o Poland
Knichts an Dames Grand Cross o the Equestrian Order o the Haly Sepulchre
Knichts Grand Cross o the Order o Isabella the Catholic
Knichts Grand Cross o the Order o Orange-Nassau
Knichts Grand Cross o the Order o St. Olav
Knichts o the Gowden Fleece (Spain)
Knichts o the Order o the Gowd Lion o the Hoose o Nassau
Grand Masters o the Order o Leopold (Belgium)
Knichts Grand Cross o the Ryal Order o the Seraphim
Grand Masters o the Order o the Croun (Belgium)

Philippe o Belgium


Windows RSS Platform, included in Internet Explorer 7 and later and Windows Vista and later is a platform that exposes feed handling and management to Windows applications. The RSS support in Internet Explorer is built on the Windows RSS Platform.

Overview
Windows RSS Platform consists of three components:
Common RSS Data Store - The data store for all feeds managed by the RSS Platform. The RSS Platform API exposes these feeds after sanitizing, that is stripping it of scripts, embedded objects and other potentially malicious content. Access to unformatted XML for the feeds is also allowed.
Common RSS Sync Engine - The sync engine is responsible for downloading the content at periodic intervals. By default, it does not download feed enclosures, which are objects attached to the feed; however this behavior is user configurable. However, it uses Attachment Execute Services to prevent automatic downloading of potentially malicious file types. It uses Windows' scheduled tasks for scheduling and Background Intelligent Transfer Service for background downloading. In order to prevent the web server from being flooded on large number of feed downloads, it also adds slight random delay between requests.
Common RSS Feed List - The list of feeds subscribed to is exposed by the RSS Platform APIs. All RSS clients, including Internet Explorer 7 and Microsoft Outlook 2007, share the list. All modifications thus are reflected across all the RSS readers.

Apps which use the RSS Store
 Internet Explorer 7 and later
 Microsoft Outlook 2007 and later
 All versions of Windows Live Mail

Limitations
 Windows RSS Platform does not support feeds that reference a DTD.
 Although feed reading view can be disabled, custom stylesheets cannot be applied to feeds in Internet Explorer. Internet Explorer uses an internal stylesheet for feed reading view.
 Prior to IE8, the RSS platform did not support authentication/storing credentials.
 The RSS Platform object model does not expose all XML elements and attributes.
 No support for the feed URI scheme and Media RSS.
 The Windows RSS Platform normalizes all feed formats to RSS 2.0.
 Local file system and network feeds are not supported.
 Permanently downloading and saving content downloaded through the feed such as a podcast to a user folder is not supported. Downloaded content is only stored in the Internet Explorer Temporary Internet Files cache.

See also
Internet Explorer 7
Microsoft Outlook 2007

References

External links
 Microsoft Team RSS blog
 Windows RSS Platform
 RSS Support in Longhorn

Microsoft application programming interfaces
Internet Explorer
RSS
Windows components
Windows Vista

Windows RSS Platform


The 2009 Palma Nova bombing occurred on July 30, 2009, when a limpet bomb went off outside a Civil Guard barracks in the town of Palma Nova, Majorca, Spain. The bomb was placed under a patrol car and two Civil Guard officers died as a result of the explosion. A second device was found under another Civil Guard vehicle at nearby barracks and safely exploded by police. On August 9, the Basque nationalist and separatist organisation ETA claimed responsibility for the attack, while four other bombs exploded around restaurants and shopping centres in Palma, Majorca, causing no injuries.

The bombing was ETA's first attack in Majorca since it tried to kill King Juan Carlos I in the summer of 1995, and its deadliest attack since it killed two Civil Guard officers in Capbreton, France in 2007. The attack came on the eve of the 50th anniversary of ETA's founding, and days before the King's yearly visit to Majorca.

Background

In mid-2006, the organisation declared a ceasefire, and conversations between Batasuna, ETA and the Basque and Spanish governments started. Peace talks ended in December, when ETA broke the truce with a massive car bomb at the Madrid-Barajas Airport. ETA officially ended the ceasefire in 2007 and resumed its attacks around Spain. At the same time, dozens of members were arrested by Spanish and French police. Despite that, the organisation did not lose the capacity of carrying out attacks.

In 2009, Patxi López became the first non-nationalist lendakari since the 1979 Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country. On June 19, ETA killed inspector Eduardo Puelles García in Arrigorriaga near Bilbao, Biscay, when a bomb attached to his car exploded, and on July 9, a powerful bomb exploded in a Socialist Workers' Party local office in Durango, Biscay, causing no injuries. In late July, it was reported that ETA was preparing its "summer campaign", with Spanish police looking for several vans the organisation had ready to explode. On July 29, a van loaded with  of explosives went off in front of a Civil Guard barracks in Burgos, injuring 70, including women and children.

The bombing was the first time since 2007 in which ETA killed more than one person in one of its attacks. On December 2, 2007, two undercover Civil Guards were shot dead in the French town of Capbreton, Aquitaine. It was also the deadliest attack in Spanish soil since the Madrid-Barajas Airport.

The attack was the first time ETA had killed in Majorca, one of the Spanish regions less targeted by ETA. On August 18, 1977, a bomb was deactivated next to a seafront walk. On July 31, 1991, two people were injured after two bombs went off in Palma. Two months later, a car bomb was defused in Palma's main beach. In the summer of 1995, Spanish authorities dismantled a cell of ETA ready to shoot king Juan Carlos I. In 2005, the organisation attempted the magnicide once more in Majorca.

Attack
At 13.50, a  bomb placed under a Civil Guard Nissan Patrol went off, killing officers Carlos Saénz de Tejada García and Diego Salva Lezaun. One of the officers died instantly, while paramedics failed to resuscitate the other officer. Both officers were inside the car when the bomb exploded. The vehicle had been parked in the Na Boira street, in front of a government-owned building used as a post office and Civil Guard barracks, among other functions. Many hotels are located in the area, something which caused many foreign tourists, mainly German and British, to witness the blast.

After the attack, authorities started to look for other possible bombs in the area, with the Civil Guard giving the order to search in all barracks on the island. Soon after, a detection dog found a bomb attached to another Civil Guard Nissan Patrol parked in front of a barracks located  from where the first bomb had exploded. The area was cordoned off and people evacuated from nearby houses and hotels. At 18.30, Civil Guard bomb disposal officers TEDAX carried out a controlled explosion. The bomb had been placed in a broken down vehicle and was therefore not in use.

Victims
Diego Salvá Lezaun (Pamplona, 1981) lived in Majorca and became a Givil Guard on August 25, 2008. He started working as an intern on January 31, 2009. A few months later, he suffered a motorbike accident which left him several weeks in coma. Once he recovered, he was assigned to the Palma Nova barracks, just four days before the attack took place. He was buried in Palma.

Carlos Sáenz de Tejada García (Burgos, 1980) tried to join the National Police Corps after finishing his high school studies. He failed to do so and became a member of  the Spanish Army, being stationed in an army barracks in Castrillo del Val. He joined the Civil Guard on February 18, 2008, and was sent to Majorca on July 19. He had some relatives affected by the July 29 bombing in Burgos, where he was buried.

Aftermath

On July 31, a funeral was held at the Cathedral of Santa Maria in Palma. The service was attended by Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and Prince and Princess of Asturias, Felipe and Letizia. Other people attending the mass were leader of the opposition Mariano Rajoy, Minister of the Interior Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba and Patxi López, among others. At least 2,000 gathered outside of the cathedral and a minute of silence was held across Spain in memory of the dead.

Operation Cage
Right after the attack, and suspecting that the bombers were still on the island, the Civil Guard and the National Police Corps launched a lockdown, an operation named Operation Cage (), the biggest manhunt in the history of the island. Similar operations had been done around Spain in other attacks, such as in the 2004 Madrid train bombings. Checkpoints were set up across the island, while the Palma de Mallorca Airport and all ports were temporarily closed. The airport was closed at 4:00 pm and was re-opened at 5:55 pm, with several flights being delayed. During the rest of the afternoon, the ports were re-opened as well.

The day after the attack, Spanish police released the picture of six members of ETA who could have possibly taken part in the bombing. Police named the suspects as Itziar Martínez Moreno, Iratxe Yáñez Ortiz de Barrón, Alberto Beraza Machain, Oroitz Gurruchaga Gogorza, Joanes Larretxea Mendiola and Iván Sáez de Jáuregui Ortigosa, although no direct evidence linked them to the attack. Meanwhile, at least 1600 police officers were deployed to keep checking around the island, including on fisherman. The intense search was still active in mid August.

Reactions
During a press conference at the Moncloa Palace, Rodríguez Zapatero blamed both bombings "on the terrorist group ETA" and vowed to bring all of its members to justice: "They have no chance to hide, they can't flee, they can't escape justice, they will be arrested, they will be sentenced, they will spend their lives in jail". When arriving on Majorca on August 1 for his yearly summer holidays King Juan Carlos I condemned the attack and vowed to "go on and on hitting them in the head and we must fight to stop them". Condemnation also came from governments worldwide following the bombing:

 The European Commission condemned the bombing and gave its "total solidarity to the Spanish people and institutions".
 German Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned the attack, and gave Rodriguez Zapatero her support in "the fight against terrorism".
 The Mexican Secretariat of Foreign Affairs condemned the killing.
 Then Foreign Minister of Argentina Jorge Taiana condemned the Majorca and Burgos attacks.

August bombings

On August 9, the same day ETA claimed responsibility for the July 30 attack, four bombs exploded in three restaurants and one shopping centre around Palma. The bombs, which contained small amounts of explosives and caused little damage and no injuries, went off after three warning calls from ETA. At 11:16 am local time, a man speaking on behalf of ETA called the firefighters of Calvià, warning that three bombs would go off in Palma. Half an hour later, another person also speaking on behalf of ETA called a taxi company in Gipuzkoa, giving details of the location and time the bombs would explode. Finally, another warning call was mistakenly made to the personal mobile phone of an inhabitant of Córdoba. Authorities reported that the bombers had given contradicting details in each call, leading to confusion on the location of the bombs.

The first bomb exploded at 12:00 pm in the bar "Nica", located in the avenue Comte de Sallent. The explosion was at first not reported, with authorities believing it was a gas explosion. The second bomb exploded at around 2:25 pm in the "La Rigoletta" restaurant, in front of one of Palma's main beaches. The third bomb went off at around 4:00 pm in another restaurant, named "Enco". The fourth device exploded around 6:00 pm in a shopping mall located next to the main square of Palma. As a result of the few details given by the warning calls, police failed to evacuate the attacked restaurants. Nonetheless, no one was injured.

Investigation
Authorities rapidly ruled out the possibility that ETA had a cell in the island, with police believing the attack had been carried out by a unit that had travelled to the island specifically to carry it out. Initial reports stated that the bombers had set the bomb off with a remote control. Once the second bomb was spotted, police announced that it had a timer device, which could have allowed the members of ETA to plant the bomb several days before the attack and leave the island. Earlier, Government delegate for Majorca, Ramon Socías, had said that security forces believed that the bombers had not left Majorca, and were hiding on the island, waiting for the situation to cool down before attempting to leave.

Regarding the August 8 bombings, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba did not rule out any possibility, although he confirmed that the hypothesis of the bombers leaving the island before the attack was "reasonable", due to the timer devices. All of the bombs had been planted in women's toilets, which led authorities to believe that they had been set by one of the two female suspects, Itziar Martínez Moreno and Iratxe Yáñez Ortiz.

Arrests

On August 19, Alberto Matxain Beraza was arrested in the French town of Le Corbier in Savoy, next to the French Alps. He was held along with fellow ETA members Aitzol Etxaburu and Andoni Sarasola. They were responsible for ETA's logistics operation, and had the job of supplying weapons and explosives to the ETA cells operating in Spanish soil. The arrest led to the discovery of almost a tone of explosives, hidden by ETA in 12 small caches around France. On October 11, Joanes Larretxea was arrested in Rivières, Gard, along with top ETA member Lurgi Mendinueta Mintegi.

Iratxe Yañez Ortiz was arrested on January 10, 2010, in Portugal after she was stopped in a routine traffic check-point in the Spanish town of Bermillo de Sayago, next to Spain-Portugal border. Yañez Ortiz was arrested along another member of ETA, Garikoitz García Arrieta, who was driving a van containing  of explosives, two pistols, a rifle and bomb-making material. She was extradited to Spain on October 28, 2010.

See also
List of ETA attacks
List of terrorist incidents, 2009

References

ETA (separatist group) actions
History of Mallorca
2009 murders in Spain
2009 disasters in Spain
Terrorist incidents in Europe in 2009
Terrorist incidents in Spain in the 2000s
July 2009 crimes
July 2009 events in Europe
Improvised explosive device bombings in Spain
Improvised explosive device bombings in 2009

2009 Palma Nova bombing


Academic dress of the University of Manchester describes the gowns, hoods and headwear which are prescribed by the university for its graduates and officers.

Introduction
The University of Manchester was created as a result of the merger of UMIST and the Victoria University of Manchester in 2004. Rather than adapt the academic dress of its predecessor institutions, the university appointed Ede & Ravenscroft to create a new range of academic robes upon its foundation.

In the university regulations it states: "Those Members of the University who are entitled to wear academic dress shall do so at the ceremonials of the University." The wearing of academic dress is confined to occasions of high ceremony, especially graduation congregations, therefore undergraduate gowns for university-wide purposes do not exist, neither do 'undress robes' for doctors. However, in a few traditional halls of residence undergraduates wear academic gowns at formal dinners, held biweekly at St. Anselm Hall and twice a term at Hulme Hall. Manchester undergraduate gowns were traditionally black undergraduate gowns (u1 on the Groves classification system) with red piping around the yoke. These are now worn only at Hulme Hall, where they are supplied by Ede & Ravenscroft. Also, university staff participating in ceremonies as ushers wear a black gown of a different pattern than that prescribed for bachelor or master graduates.

At a University of Manchester graduation ceremony the graduands wear the academic dress appropriate to the qualification they are about to be awarded. Mortarboards or Tudor bonnets are worn at the finish of the ceremony and in procession, but held in the hand otherwise. Officers of the university and participating academics wear their headgear throughout, except when tipping their hats to the presiding officer and speakers.

Gowns

Bachelors and holders of Diplomas and Certificates

Bachelors etc. - A robe of black silk or stuff of the shape special to the University. The gown is of the traditional masters' shape with the boot of the sleeve cut into the shape of an 'M', a distinction unique to the university, designated [m18] under the Groves classification system.

Masters

Masters - A robe of black silk or stuff of the shape special to the University, as for bachelors.

Doctors

Higher Doctorates (e.g. DSc, DLitt) - A robe of scarlet cloth in the Oxford Doctors' pattern. The robe has sleeves and facings of purple, edged for one inch with gold ribbon (the 'gold ribbon' used throughout the university's academic dress is yellow, rather than metallic, in appearance)
Other Doctorates (e.g. PhD, DEng) - A robe of maroon cloth in the Oxford Doctors' pattern. The robe has sleeves and facings of purple, edged for one inch with gold ribbon

Hoods

Most hoods are of the Cambridge Full [f1] shape in the Groves classification system with the exception of the Certificates and Diplomas hood, which is of a modified Aberdeen [a7] shape. All have purple neckbands with a centrally-placed band of gold ribbon. Excepting those of doctors, all hoods are of black corded material.

Certificates and Diplomas

Diplomas and Certificates - self-lined with a narrow band of purple within the cowl;

Bachelors

Bachelors requiring five or more years of study (e.g. MBChB) - a full lining of purple, trimmed within the cowl with two ribbons, the outer of gold and the inner of red
All other Bachelors - a broad facing of purple within the cowl, trimmed with a single band of gold ribbon;

Masters

Undergraduate Masters - a full lining of purple trimmed with two bands of gold ribbon within the cowl;
Master of Philosophy - a full lining of purple trimmed with a broad band of gold ribbon within the cowl and a maroon edging on the cape
All other Post-Graduate Masters - a full lining of purple carried over as an edging on the cape;

Doctors

Higher Doctorates - scarlet (woollen) cloth fully lined with purple, the cape edged in gold;
Other Doctorates - maroon (woollen) cloth fully lined with purple carried over as an edging on the cape;

Caps

Bachelors and Masters - a standard black cloth mortarboard with a black silk tassel.
Doctors - a black cloth or velvet Tudor bonnet with a cord and tassels of gold.

Officers

Officers of the university wear special academic dress on ceremonial occasions.

The robe of the Chancellor is of purple silk damask with flap collar and closed, square ended sleeves [d4], edged with silver lace throughout and trimmed with silver frogs on the sleeves, and with the university arms, crest and motto embroidered on each of the revers at chest height. The cap is a black velvet Tudor bonnet with a cord and tassels of silver. The robes worn by other university officers, such as the Vice-Chancellor, Deans and Registrars, and those deputising for them, are similar.

The mace-bearer wears a gown with square ended sleeves of plain purple silk or stuff, edged for one inch in gold ribbon, and a black Tudor bonnet with cord and tassels of gold. Major benefactors of the university and other people associated with the university (but who are neither students nor staff) can wear a generally similar gown, in being of plain purple material with edgings of gold ribbon, at ceremonies.

References
 Nicholas Groves (ed.) (2011) Shaw's Academical Dress of Great Britain and Ireland, 3rd edition, Published by the Burgon Society, , pp. 281–282
  General Regulations Including Academic Dress
 Philip Lowe Manchester Academic Dress: the origins and development of academical dress at the Victoria University of Manchester from 1880 to the present day. Manchester: University, 2002

Manchester
University of Manchester


Open world (Scots: open warld) is a term fur video gemmes whaur a player kin shift freely throu a virtual warld an is gien freedom in chuisin howfur or whin tae approach objectives, as opposed tae ither computer games that hae a mair linear structure. Open world an free-roaming suggest the absence o fake barriers, in tae conplicated man tae the invisible waws an loadin screens that ur common in linear level designs. Generally open world gemmes aye enforce mony restrictions in the gemm environment, either fur o absolute tekky limitations or in-game limitations (sic as locked areas) imposed bi a gemme's linearity. Examples o heich level o autonomy in computer gemmes kin be fun in MMORPG or in ither games adherin tae the open world concept. Thair main appeal is thay gie a simulated reality an allou players tae develop thair character an its behaviour in the direction o thair chuisin. In thae cases, thare is aften na concrete goal or end tae the gemme. Thare ur limitations tae this autonomy throu the rules o the simulation an its limitations. But the direction o gameplay kin or kin nae rely ultimately upon the decision o the player, as in some cases this kin be completely controllable bi the player, the type depends on the requirements an availabilities o the gemme.

Gameplay an design
An open world is a level or gemme designed as a nonlinear, open areas wi mony ways tae reach an objective. Some games are designed wi baith traditional an open world levels. An open world facilitates greater exploration than a series o wee'er levels, or a level wi mair linear challenges. Reviewers hae judged the quality o an open world based on whither thare are interesting ways fur the player tae interact wi the broader level whin thay dingy thair main objective. some games actually uise real settings tae model an open world, sic as New York City.

A major design challenge is tae balance the freedom o an open world wi the structure o a dramatic storyline. Sin players kin perform actions that the gemme designer didnae expect, the gemme's writers maun find creative weys tae impose a storyline on the player athoot interfering wi thair freedom. As sic, gemmes wi open worlds wull whiles break the gemme's story intae a series o missions, or hae a muckle simpler storyline altogether. Ither gemmes instead gie side-missions tae the player that daenae disrupt the main storyline. Maist open world gemmes mak the character a blank slate that players kin project thair ain thochts ontae, awtho loads o games sic as Landstalker: The Treasures o King Nole offer mair character development an dialogue.

Gemmes wi open worlds typically gie players infinite bides or continues, awtho games like Blaster Master force the player tae stairt fae the oncome shuid thay die tae mony times. Thare is a risk that players kin gae awa as thay explore an open world; tharefore designers whiles hae a go tae break the open world intae manageable sections.

See an aw
 Gemme
 Video gemme
 Computin
 Aluminium

References

Open world


Robert Breault (born 1963) is an American operatic tenor.  Born in Michigan, he holds a B.M. degree (magna cum laude) from St. Norbert College (1985) from which he received a distinguished alumni award in 1997.  In addition, he holds a M.M. (1987), and a D.M.A. (1991) from the University of Michigan where he studied voice with soprano Lorna Haywood.  His early training also included two years of study at the San Francisco Merola Opera Program, and an internship with Michigan Opera Theatre.  He lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he teaches voice and serves as director of opera at the University of Utah School of Music.

Performances
He is known for his work with opera companies that include New York City Opera, San Francisco Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Florentine Opera, Arizona Opera, Portland Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Edmonton Opera, Opera Hamilton, Opéra de Nice, Atlanta Opera, Arizona Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Madison Opera, New Orleans Opera, Opera Orchestra of New York, Opera Pacific, Utah Symphony and Opera, and Washington Concert Opera.  His extensive concert career includes performances with orchestras that include, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Florida Philharmonic Orchestra, Florida Orchestra, Il Complesso Barocco, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony, Montreal Symphony, Mormon Tabernacle Choir, National Symphony Orchestra (Washington, D.C.), National Symphony Orchestra (Taiwan), L'Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Orquesta Sinfonica Sinaloa de las Artes, Mazatlán, Mexico, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Puerto Rico, Pacific Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Santa Fe Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, St. Lawrence Choir, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Utah Symphony and Opera, The Vancouver Bach Choir, The Vancouver Chamber Choir, and the Virginia Symphony Orchestra.

Career
As a performer Breault is known for his strong acting skills and diverse repertoire, which ranges from Handel to current.  He was honored by New York City Opera in 2007 with a 'Kolozsvar Award' for his performance in Handel's ''Semele''.  He has recorded several world premieres, including James DeMars' opera ''Guadalupe'' and his oratorio An American Requiem with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and Laurent Petitgirard's  Joseph Merrick dit Elephant Man.  Active as  a singing teacher since 1992, Breault has trained and worked with several successful singers including Celena Shafer, Paula Delligatti, Jennifer Larson, Gary Moss, Chad Hilligus, and Hugo Vera.  He works regularly as a voice teacher and director with the La Musica Lirica training program in Novafeltria, Italy. He is also active as a recitalist and had presented two debut recitals with the San Francisco Opera Schwabacher Debut Recital series.  Robert's dual role as singer and educator has been noted by the likes of Brian Kellow who, upon hearing Breault in Handel's Semele at New York City Opera, wrote a summary of his career in 2007 for Opera News.

Recordings
 2008   James Demars, ''Guadalupe''  Canyon Records
 2004   Petitgirard, Joseph Merrick dit Elephant Man, Opéra de Nice DVD (Marco Polo label)
 2003   Kay Ward, There is a Season
 2003   Kay Ward, The Breath of Faith
 2000   Mormon Tabernacle Choir, A Mormon Tabernacle Christmas, Telarc
 2000   Richard Smith, Mountain Requiem, Mountain Chorale and Orchestra
 1999   Laurent Petitgirard, Joseph Merrick dit Elephant Man
 1996   Haydn, Lord Nelson Mass, St. Lawrence Choir/Montreal Symphony
 1996   The International Children's Choir, Celestial Realms.
 1996   Tenor Soloist, Covenant Christmas Sampler
 1995   James DeMars An American Requiem with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
 1993   Pachelbel Organ Works Vol. 4. With Organist Marilyn Mason. Musical Heritage Label
 1993   Pachelbel Organ Works Vol. 3. With Organist Marilyn Mason. Musical Heritage Label
 1991   Pachelbel Organ Works Vol. 2. with Organist Marilyn Mason. Musical Heritage Label

Opera roles performed
 Georges Bizet Les Pêcheurs de perles Nadir
 Carmen Don Jose
 Benjamin Britten Turn of the Screw Proremiere)
 Gaetano Donizetti Don Pasquale Ernesto
 Lucia di Lammermoor Edgardo/Arturo
 Carlisle Floyd Susannah Sam
 George Gershwin Of Thee I Sing Jenkins
 Gordon Getty Plump Jack Shallow/Hal
 Christoph Willibald Gluck Ezio Massimo
 George Friedrich Handel Rodelinda Grimoaldo
 Semele  Jupiter/Apollo
 Hercules  Hyllus
 Saul  Jonathan
 Solomon  Zadok
 Leoš Janáček Jenůfa Steva
 Franz Lehár The Merry Widow  Camille/St. Brioche
 Jules Massenet Esclarmonde Roland
 Werther Werther
 Gian Carlo Menotti Amahl and the Night Visitors Kaspar
 Claudio Monteverdi L'Incoronazione di Poppea Nerone
 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Don Giovanni Ottavio
 Die Zauberflöte Tamino
 Die Entführung aus dem Serail Belmonte/Pedrillo
 Idomeneo Idomeneo
 Thea Musgrave Pontalba-A Louisiana Legacy Célestin (World premiere)
 Otto Nicolai Merry Wives of Windsor Fenton
 Laurent Petitgirard Joseph Merrick dit Elephant Man Tom Norman (World premiere)
 Giacomo Puccini La Rondine Prunier/Ruggero
 La Bohème Rudolfo
 Madama Butterfly Pinkerton
 Gianni Schicchi Rinuccio
 Turandot Pong, Pang
 Tosca Cavaradossi
 Gioachino Rossini Armida Ubaldo/Gernando
 Il Barbiere di Siviglia Almaviva
 La Cenerentola Ramiro
 Tancredi Argirio
 Bedřich Smetana The Bartered Bride Vashek
 Richard Strauss Ariadne auf Naxos Brighella/Scaramuccio
 Der Rosenkavalier Tenor
 Salome Juden
 Giuseppe Verdi Falstaff Fenton
 Macbeth Malcolm/Macduff
 Nabucco Ismaele
 Rigoletto Duke
 La traviata Alfredo/Gastone
 Stiffelio Stiffelio
 Richard Wagner Tristan und Isolde Sailor/Shepherd
 William Walton Troilus and Cressida Pandarus

References

External links
 Official website

1963 births
American operatic tenors
Living people
Singers from Michigan
St. Norbert College alumni
University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumni
University of Utah faculty
Voice teachers
Classical musicians from Michigan

Robert Breault


Glen Lake Children's Camp is a former children's camp for victims of tuberculosis.  The camp was part of the Glen Lake Sanatorium on the border of Minnetonka and Eden Prairie, Minnesota.  Although the main sanatorium buildings were demolished in 1993, the children's camp portion remained intact.  The camp is Minnesota's only known surviving camp for children who had tuberculosis, and it reflects the philanthropic efforts of its founders, George H. and Leonora Christian. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 5, 1999.

Tuberculosis was becoming a major health problem in Minnesota around the turn of the 20th century, with more than 20,000 Minnesotans dying of the disease between 1887 and 1899.  The Minnesota Legislature created the Minnesota State Sanatorium for Consumptives on Leech Lake near Walker, Minnesota, in 1907.  The sanatorium at Leech Lake wasn't able to handle the increasing demand for tuberculosis patients, so the Legislature passed a bill allowing counties to build their own sanatoria.  Hennepin County began construction of the Glen Lake Sanatorium in 1914, and it opened in 1916.

The children's camp was established by George H. and Leonora Christian.  George H. Christian was a flour buyer who partnered with Governor Cadwallader C. Washburn.  Leonora dedicated herself to the fight against tuberculosis, and in 1906, she established a summer camp in Minneapolis for children with tuberculosis.  The camp moved to Glenwood Park (now Theodore Wirth Park) in 1909, staffed by the Visiting Nurses Association.  In 1925, the Visiting Nurses Association determined that they could no longer operate the camp.  The Children's Aid Society, a foundation established by George H. Christian in 1916, offered to build a permanent children's camp.  Glen Lake Sanatorium was willing to provide land and management.  Glen Lake Children's Camp opened on June 12, 1925.

When antibiotic treatments became available for tuberculosis in the 1940s, the era of tuberculosis treatment began to draw to a close.  The children's camp ceased operation in 1950, and the Leech Lake Sanatorium closed in 1962 and transferred its patients to Glen Lake.  The last tuberculosis patient was discharged in 1976.  The sanatorium complex, with the exception of the children's camp, was demolished in 1993.  In 1997, most of the land became the Glen Lake Golf and Practice Center operated by Three Rivers Park District.  The children's camp is still in operation, leased to True Friends and operated by Eden Wood Center.

References

Park buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota
Buildings and structures in Hennepin County, Minnesota
Tuberculosis sanatoria in the United States
Summer camps in Minnesota
National Register of Historic Places in Hennepin County, Minnesota
Temporary populated places on the National Register of Historic Places

Glen Lake Children's Camp


Palazzo Antinori is a Renaissance palace located at the north end of Via de' Tornabuoni, where it makes an odd corner with Via dei Pecori, Via del Trebbio, and converts into Via dei Rondinelli, in Florence, region of Tuscany, Italy.

History
The palace was built in 1461-1469, perhaps under the design of Giuliano da Maiano, commissioned by Giovanni di Bono Boni. The unfinished palace was sold in 1475 to the Martelli family; in 1506, they sold it to Nicolò Antinori, who commissioned several modification (rear façade) and embellishments (internal garden), perhaps to Baccio d'Agnolo. From the 1920s to 1965 (with gap for the war), the palace housed the British Institute of Florence.

The edifice is still property of the Antinori family, and two top floors are still occupied by a member of the family.

Description
Palazzo Antinori has a rectangular plan and was partially inspired by Palazzo Medici. The interior has a Renaissance portico on three sides, with round arches, cross vaults and sandstone (pietra serena) columns with sculpted capitals. The pivots of the vaults have similar decorations.

On a wall is 18th-century-style niche with a fountain with a statue of Venus and sponge-like rocks.

The garden is accessed through an internal gate which is similar to that in Palazzo Bartolini-Salimbeni, which led to the attribution of the 16th-century renovations to Baccio d'Agnolo.

References

Sources

Antinori
Renaissance architecture in Florence
Buildings and structures completed in 1469
Houses completed in the 15th century
1469 establishments in Europe
15th-century establishments in the Republic of Florence

Palazzo Antinori


Freezepop is an American electronic band from Boston, Massachusetts, United States, formed in 1999 by Liz Enthusiasm, Sean T. Drinkwater, and The Duke of Pannekoeken (an alias for Kasson Crooker). Since December 2009, the current lineup includes Enthusiasm, Drinkwater, Robert John "Bananas" Foster, and Christmas Disco-Marie Sagan. The band is named after the frozen snack, and they have described their music as "sweet and cold and fruity and plastic-y".

Several of the band's songs have appeared in video games, including the Harmonix titles Frequency, Amplitude, Karaoke Revolution, Phase, the Guitar Hero series, the Rock Band series, and Neon FM. Their music has also been included in Downhill Domination and Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 3. Freezepop songs continue to appear in certain Harmonix titles. Former member Kasson Crooker currently works as a senior producer at Harmonix.

The group is popular with college students in Boston and has become part of the US synthpop scene.

Background
Originally, their music was entirely composed on a small portable MIDI sequencer, a Yamaha QY70, which has often been mistaken for a Game Boy. On more recent albums, they have expanded their toolkit due to a lack of variety in the sounds the QY70 provided, but it still remains an important part of the composing process. The release of Future Future Future Perfect only features the QY70 in a single song, that being "Pop Music Is Not a Crime".

In addition to Freezepop, Kasson, who had previously been in fellow Boston band Splashdown, still records as a solo artist Symbion Project. Drinkwater is also a member of the bands Lifestyle and Karacter, and worked with the band Polystar on their debut album. Enthusiasm appears on the song "Boom Box Chic" by Los Angeles-based LeMans Electro.

In addition to dozens of remixes released over the years, Freezepop released a remix of their song "Shark Attack" done by chiptune band 8 Bit Weapon in October 2007. The remix was done with a Nintendo Entertainment System and a Commodore 64 computer.
A recurring theme in Freezepop's music is references to science, technology, and mathematics. As examples, the "hi-phive" mix of "Science Genius Girl" features Enthusiasm reciting the first thirty digits of Phi. Additionally, the "Robotron 2002" "All Your Base Are Belong to Us" remix by DJ Nebula pays homage to the Internet meme All your base are belong to us.

Freezepop was arrested in Canada in November 2006 for trying to enter the country under false pretenses. Harmonix pokes fun at them for this in the loading screens for their songs, in Rock Band and Rock Band 2.

On June 4, 2009, it was announced on Freezepop's official website that founding member the Duke of Pannekoeken (originally the Duke of Candied Apples, as well as the Duke of Belgian Waffles, all three pseudonyms of Crooker) would be leaving the band. Crooker stated, "My responsibilities at Harmonix making games continue to increase which takes away from my time and energy to compose and go out on the road to play shows." He also added that he had plans to focus on his side endeavor Symbion Project while also doing Freezepop remixes in the future. His last show as a member of the band was at the Penny Arcade Expo 2009 in Seattle on September 5.

On November 25, 2009, the band announced the addition of two new members: Robert John "Bananas" Foster and Christmas Disco-Marie Sagan.

On April 25, 2016, the band launched a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign to raise money for a fifth studio album to follow Imaginary Friends (2010). They posted a video, along with a photo of a royalty check of $2.93 that they received for online music streaming services. The band's initial goal was US $30,000, which was reached in less than 24 hours. Their next goal of $40,000 was reached, which allowed the band to also release the album on vinyl. More stretch goals have been set for additional content, such as collaborations and a remix album. The album, titled Fantasizer, was released on October 6, 2020.

Soundtrack appearances
Along with bands such as The Aquabats, Bad Credit, and Slowdraw the Hungry Eskimo, their music is featured in the comedy series Mega64, which also produced the music video for Freezepop's song "Brainpower".

Freezepop's song "Swimming Pool" was featured in the episode "Liquid Heat" in the fifth season of The L Word, originally aired March 2, 2008. "Frontload" was featured in the final episode of the fourth season of MTV's The Hills, which originally aired on December 22, 2008. In 2010. their song "Less Talk, More Rokk" was featured in The Fourth Panel, a web TV series from the webcomic Penny Arcade.

Critical reception
Freezepop won Best New Band at the 2002 American Synthpop Awards and were semifinalists on WBCN's Rumble competition. In early 2006, Freezepop's "Stakeout" won in the Dance/Electronica – Song category at The 5th Annual Independent Music Awards.

Band members

Current
 Liz Enthusiasm – vocals (1999–present)
 The Other Sean T. Drinkwater – synthesizers (1999–present), programming (2009–present)
 Robert John "Bananas" Foster – keytar (2009–present), live "drums" (2009–present)
 Christmas Disco-Marie Sagan – synthesizers (2009–present), vocoder (2009–present)

Past
 Kasson Crooker (as The Duke of Pannekoeken, The Duke Of Pancakes, and The Duke Of Candied Apples) – programming (1999–2009)

Discography

Studio albums
 Freezepop Forever (2000)
 Fancy Ultra•Fresh (2004)
 Future Future Future Perfect (2007)
 Imaginary Friends (2010)
 Fantasizer (2020)

EPs, remix albums, and compilations
 The Orange EP (EP, 2000, limited edition CD-R)
 The Purple EP (EP, 2000, limited edition CD-R)
 Fashion Impression Function (EP, 2001)
 Hi-Five My Remix (remix, 2003)
 Mini Ultra•Fresh (remix, 2004, promo only)
 Maxi Ultra•Fresh (remix, 2005, out-of-print)
 Less Talk More Rokk (remix EP, 2007, digital-only release)
 Form Activity Motion (remix EP, 2008, online)
 The Sexy Sounds Of Freezepop  (EP, 2008)
 Doppelgänger EP (EP, 2012, online)
 Ultra•Spectacular Bonanza (compilation, 2014, USB Drive)
 The Covers EP  (EP, 2015, online)
 Phantoms (EP, 2015, online)
Santasizer (EP, 2020, online)

Singles
 "Bike Thief" (2003, 12")
 "Dancy Ultra•Fresh" (2005, 12")
 "The Rokk Suite" (2006, CD single)
 Anchor to the World Below (2020, Maxi-Single)
 The Ghost Rejoins the Living (2021, Maxi-Single)
 Rare Bird (2022, Maxi-Single)
 Babes (2022, Maxi-Single)
 Step into the Sunshine! (2022, Maxi-Single)

Remixes by Freezepop
 "Seven Boom Medley" (Multi-cover) (2004) – "Boom Boom" by Paul Lekakis and "Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!!" by The Vengaboys
 "Unicorn" (Killin' Remix) (2004) – by Apoptygma Berzerk
 "Unicorn" (Killin' Club Remix) (2004) – by Apoptygma Berzerk

Remixes of Freezepop
 "Duct Tape My Heart" (Remix) (Hyperbubble, 2005)
 "Science Genius Girl" (Robotkid's Lameboy Remix) (Robotkid, 2007)
 "Thought Balloon" (Ming & Ping Rethink) (Ming and Ping, 2008)
 "Tender Lies" (DECTalk Remix) (Druaga1, 2010)

References

External links

Chiptune musicians
Cordless Recordings artists
Electroclash groups
Electronic music groups from Massachusetts
American electronic rock musical groups
Independent Music Awards winners
Musical groups established in 1999
Musical groups from Boston
American musical quartets
American synth-pop groups
Video game musicians
1999 establishments in Massachusetts

Freezepop


A demilitarized zone is an area of land that has no military forces in it. This is usually to stop armies from fighting.

The most famous demilitarized zone is the Korean Demilitarized Zone on the land between North Korea and South Korea, Åland Islands, and Antarctica. No one can go into the Demilitarized Zone, so the wildlife is well preserved. There are thousands of soldiers and weapons on each side of the Demilitarized Zone, including to this day a massive American presence.

The Rhineland was also demilitarized from the end of World War I until 1936, when Adolf Hitler remilitarized it.

Related pages
Neutrality (international relations)

Military

Demilitarized zone


Adam Ries was a mathematician from Bad Staffelstein in Bavaria. Ries lived in the 16th century. He was born in 1492 or 1493, and died in 1559.

Ries became known for a work on how to calculate. His first work was about a "calculating board", which was widely used at the time. It worked rather like an abacus. Ries showed that Roman numerals were impractical for calculation.
Ries wrote in German, and not in Latin, as orher mathematicians of his time.
German mathematicians

Adam Ries


Skittles are a type of sugar candy printed with the letter "S". They were created in 1974 by the Wrigley Company in England.

Background

Skittles came to America in 1979. The Skittles' slogan "taste the rainbow" came from New York by a company called  D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles.

Description
Skittles is a type of chewy fruit-flavored candy. They have a hard outside with a chewy inside and an "s" on one side. Skittles come in many flavors. The original flavors were lime, lemon, grape, orange, and cherry.

Timeline
1974- Skittles are  first made by company in Britain
1979- Skittles came to America
1989- New flavors: Tropical skittles and Wild Berry Skittles
2000- New flavor: sour skittles
2004- Skittles launches its first bubble gum
2005- New flavor: Skittles smoothie mix
2006- Skittles launches X-treme fruit skittles gum (first limited edition variety)
2009- New flavor:Skittles crazy cores
2010-New flavor: Skittles Fizzl'd Fruits™
2012- New flavor: Riddles
2013- New flavor: Dark side skittles
2014- New flavor: Skittles desserts
2015- New flavor: Orchards

Other websites
Skittles Official website

Candy

Skittles


The Presidential Council () was a triumvirate system of government in the Republic of Dahomey (present-day Benin) from 7 May 1970 until 26 October 1972. The Presidential Council included Hubert Maga (former president from 1960 to 1963), Justin Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin (former prime minister from 1964 to 1965), and Sourou-Migan Apithy (former president from 1964 to 1965) as equal members of a council which held all legislative and executive power in the state of Dahomey.

Following independence from France, the Republic of Dahomey saw a division of the country between different political/ethnic parties with one party representing the northern part of the country, one party representing the former Kingdom of Dahomey in the southwest, and one party representing Porto-Novo in the southeast. The result was a highly unstable system of governance with the leaders of each of these different parties struggling with each other for power. Hubert Maga from the north was deposed in a military coup in 1963 which eventually appointed Apithy from Porto-Novo and Ahomadégbé from the former kingdom of Dahomey as the divided rulers of the country. Ahomadégbé was eventually able to gain the support of Maga to gain the upper hand over Apithy and become the leader in the country only to be deposed two days later by the military. Five years of political instability, including multiple other military coups and a failed election eventually resulted in the 1970 Presidential election which largely divided the country and, when there was violence, the military annulled the results. In the political crisis that resulted, the military was able to get the three main candidates, Maga, Ahomadégbé, and Apithy to agree to form a Presidential Council with all three holding all executive and legislative authority.

In the charter of the Presidential Council, each of the three leaders would sit on a Presidential Council which would be tasked with approving all major policy decisions of the country. At the same time, each would get two years as the President of the country able to implement many of the ongoing tasks of managing the military and civil service in the country. The various ministerial positions would be divided between the three leaders; however, the Ministry of the Interior and the Minister of the Army would be appointed by the sitting president. It was decided that Maga would be the first President from 1970 until 1972, followed by Ahomadégbé until 1974, and then Apithy until 1976. One peaceful transition occurred with Hubert Maga giving power to Justin Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin on 7 May 1972. However, stalled politics ensued with Maga and Apithy working to undermine Ahomadégbé's ability to govern and the Presidential Council was ended on 26 October 1972 when a military coup led by Mathieu Kérékou assumed power and ruled the country until 1991.

Background
The colony of French Dahomey was created as a part of French West Africa in 1904.  The colony was constructed of two coastal kingdoms with a long history of antagonism with one another (Dahomey and Porto-Novo) with a large area to the north controlled by a variety of mostly Mahi and Bariba peoples.

After World War II, the colonies of French West Africa began a 15-year process towards independence. French Dahomey, like many other colonies, saw domestic political parties emerge in the mid-1950s. However, in contrast to many of the other colonies, political parties in French Dahomey did not become predominant through the whole colony, but largely adhered to the precolonial regions. In the northern part of the country, the Groupement Ethnique du Nord and then the Rassemblement Démocratique du Dahomé led by Hubert Maga were the most dominant party. In the area that was formerly the kingdom of Dahomey, the Union Démocratique du Dahomé led by Justin Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin became the most powerful party. And in Porto-Novo, the Parti des Nationialistes Dahoméens led by Sourou-Migan Apithy was the major party. Although there were some efforts by the various parties to become predominant throughout the colony, the division of the colony into three distinct spheres for the different parties had largely solidified by 1957. Apithy was the major political leader in the colony, being elected twice to the French National Assembly in 1946 and 1951. Maga was also elected in 1951 as the colony's second representative to the National Assembly.

Apithy won the 1958 election in the colony to select the Premier who would guide the country to independence and lead until the first elections.

Musical chairs (1960-1965)

Following independence in 1960, Dahomey had its first elections in December. As a result of Fon ethnic identification with Ahomadégbé and perceived corruption and ineffectiveness of the Apithy administration, Ahomadégbé made large gains in the Porto-Novo region traditionally aligned with Apithy. Apithy responded to this by making a parliamentary alliance with Maga which made Maga the first President of Dahomey and made Apithy the first Minister of Finance and then later the Vice President. To consolidate his power, Maga promoted a number of allies and people from the north through the new positions in the country's civil service. In addition, he tried to weaken his ally's political power by appointing Apithy to be the Ambassador of France while he was still the Vice President. Unfortunately giving political positions and channeling money to the north caused severe budgetary problems in the country which eventually led Maga to freeze wages for public employees leading to a general strike by unionists and students in October 1963. On 28 October, Christophe Soglo, the Army Chief of Staff, removed Maga from power and created a new system of government with Apithy being appointed the head of state and Ahomadégbé the head of government. However, the division between these roles and the responsibilities between the two leaders was not clearly defined. During the 1963 coup, Maga and many of his inner circle were arrested and tried for mismanagement of public funds.

In the new arrangement, Apithy and Ahomadégbéd wrestled constantly with one another for power. Seeing an opportunity to become the primary political power in the government, Ahomadégbé released Maga from prison and the coalition between the two leaders named Ahomadégbé the provisional president of the legislature on 27 November 1965. Soglo grew increasingly concerned with the situation and believed that Ahomadégbé was forming an alliance with Soglo's second in command (Colonel Philippe Aho, who was a Fon like Ahomadégbé). The result was that Soglo suspended the constitution and removed Ahomadégbé from power on 29 November. Following the 1965 coup, Apithy, Ahomadégbé, and Maga all went into exile in France. Soglo ruled for two years until union strikes and dissatisfaction within the ranks of the military led to the 17 December 1967 coup where two junior military officers, Maurice Kouandété and Mathieu Kérékou, overthrew Soglo and sent him into exile in France. Following the removal of Soglo from power, the military decided to transition to a civilian government and appointed Colonel Alphonse Alley, Soglo's chief of staff, as the provisional president until such a transition could occur. A new constitution was prepared and approved in a vote by 92% of the population in March 1968.

In the elections which followed to elect a civilian president, all former presidents, prime ministers, and ministers were prohibited from running.  This excluded Apithy, Ahomadégbé, Maga, and former foreign minister Émile Derlin Zinsou from running for the position. Apithy, Ahomadégbé, and Maga declared a general boycott of the election which proved highly successful with only 33% of the eligible voters casting ballots. With such low turnout, the military invalidated the election results and, after consulting with unions and other activists in the country, the military selected Zinsou as the new president.

With the appointment of Zinsou as a civilian leader of the country, Apithy, Ahomadégbé, and Maga tried to return to the country but were informed that their plane would be shot down if they entered Dahomey airspace; they instead flew to neighboring Togo. Zinsou, who had a history of advocacy against the policies of the military, quickly drew the ire of the military leaders by pursuing a host of policies without consultation with them. In addition, to control continued deficits, Zinsou instituted a number of austerity measures and as a result alienated unions and the urban population. The result was that on 10 December 1969, Zinsou was taken into custody by military officers organized by Kouandété and Zinsou was sent to a remote military garrison near Natitingou. Following the coup, Kouandété found that he did not have the support to rule throughout the entire military, and so instead Paul-Emile de Souza (the director of military affairs for Zinsou's government) was named the provisional head of state as the head of a three-person Military directorate (with Kouandété and Colonel Benoît Sinzogan holding the other seats). The military directorate decided to release Zinsou and hold new presidential elections in 1970 without the restrictions of the 1968 elections, thus allowing Apithy, Ahomadégbé, and Maga to run.

1970 Election

The 1970 election included all of the civilian leaders of the country since independence with Apithy, Ahomadégbé, Maga, and Zinsou running against one another. The military decided to hold the elections on a staggered schedule with different areas of the country voting on different dates. This staggering meant that each of the candidates strategically tried to gain votes in later voting regions based upon the earlier results: bribery and irregularities in the election were rampant. Just before voting began in Atakora, the last department to vote which was a stronghold for Maga, Ahomadégbé supporters instigated violence to undercut turnout. Maga would have won the presidency if he had earned the most votes in Atakora, but instead of allowing the vote to go forward, de Souza suspended the election and immediately called on all sides to come to an agreement forming the next government.

The situation became quite tense with each of the sides making threats and refusing to meet with each other. Maga threatened that the north would secede if his victory was not validated, and Apithy threatened that his base of Porto-Novo would join with Nigeria. Ethnic tensions increased with these threats and with mass migration of people back to their traditional ethnic territories. Many inside the country considered Dahomey to be close to civil war.

On 16 April 1970, Ahomadégbé and Maga met in the town of Savé, under French pressure, and agreed to the notion of a single party controlling government with a rotating presidency. Apithy did not attend the meeting and rejected the proposal, suggesting to the military that they instead pick one of their own to be the next president. The military leaders rejected this proposal and endorsed the shared presidency idea.  Apithy then agreed to participate in the Presidential Council. Zinsou, with only 3% of the vote, was ignored in the discussions and left the country for France. Historian Samuel Decalo commented that although coups and crises were regular in the country's short history, "the April 1970 crisis was the most ominous Dahomey had ever faced."

The triumvirate

To reduce the tension throughout the country, all three candidates accepted the military governing council's resolution (written closely with Maga), which stipulated that starting in May 1970, each of the three main candidates would be part of a Presidential Council that would hold all legislative and executive power in the government and decide on all major policy issues. The charter of the Council established that one member of the council would serve as the head of state for two-year periods before rotating to other members until all three leaders had held the position of president. The individual president would govern some of the affairs of the state, managing the civil service, military and bureaucracy. However, policy decisions would be set by unanimous decision of the entire Presidential Council, and if a unanimous decision could not be reached, a vote of the majority could pass policies. Ministry posts in the country would be divided evenly between the three members of the council with each one appointing four ministers, and the sitting president would have the power to appoint the Minister of the Military and the Minister of the Interior. Each individual also pledged not to abuse their control of the military to try and remain in power after the two-year period had ended. Under the chairmanship of de Souza, the military was largely stabilized in its leadership and returned to the barracks.

On 7 May 1970, Maga became the head of state and began governing the country. Although unions and the military had agreed to the agreement and all three candidates supported it, there remained tension between the various powers in the new arrangement. In order to appease unions, Maga promised that public service union salaries would be immune from any budget cuts. Although there were forces in the military opposed to the government, many of the coup leaders of the 1960s had largely left the country or withdrawn from politics. The relationship between the three leaders remained tense, but a Maga-Ahomadégbé alliance against Apithy on a number of issues kept the triumvirate functioning during Maga's tenure. With unions largely docile, the high ranks of the military committed to the council, and the members of the council waiting for their turns to govern, domestic and foreign policy were able to come to the fore in 1971 (the first year without a major political crisis in the government since 1966). Although some small policies were begun, the council passed few policies and largely simply "froze the status quo."

Various development attempts dominated the domestic agenda during Maga's administration.  Unlike many other countries in Africa at the time, this did not involve nationalizing many of the industries in the country. Instead the country sought to expand its foreign tourism sector and oil exploration along the coast. The country, using French and German investment, began a series of projects to create resorts and tourist potential along the coast of the country. Union Oil had begun oil exploration off the coast of the country in the 1960s but had withdrawn in the chaos of 1970. Maga was able to secure a new contract with Shell Oil to begin a 9-year exploration deal in 1971. The agreement with the unions and other investments within the country were largely financed through a significant loan from the French government. However, at the same time, the three members of the council were provided significant personal wealth through the arrangement. Each was provided significant funds to spend on their presidential residences, payment for many members of a personal staff, and given identical Mercedes-Benz W108s. Trade from the country increased by 14% during the Presidential Council although large trade and budget deficits remained.

On foreign policy, the Republic of Dahomey split with France and other African countries on the issues of China and South Africa. On the recognition of China, Dahomey broke with France and sided with the United States in voting against the recognition of Communist China in the United Nations. On the issue of South Africa, Dahomey was one of five countries to walk out of discussions in the Union of African States on opening contact with the apartheid regime in South Africa. Dahomey supported opening contact and trade relations with the regime, unlike much of the rest of the African states, and abstained on the final vote.

Military tension increased with a mutiny in the Ouidah barracks on 28 January 1972 by young officers demanding the removal of de Souza from his position at the head of the military. This coup was ended when Maga sent two military officers to discuss with the mutineers and made them some agreements which have never bee disclosed. This was followed on 23 March with a double coup attempt (two simultaneous coups organized by two different factions within the military) which only resulted in an attempted assassination attempt against de Souza who was slightly injured in the attack. The leaders of the two different factions (one faction led by Kouandété and one led by supporters of Zinsou), included 20 different officers and many civilians.  Many were tried and six were sentenced to death, including Kouandété, although he was never executed by Maga or Ahomadégbé for fear of a hostile military reaction.

With the scheduled transfer of power from Maga to Ahomadégbé on 7 May 1972, there were rumors throughout the country that the transfer would not occur (often rumored that troops loyal to Maga would march south and prevent the transfer). Maga had promoted many northerners through the civil service and military ranks and many of them saw Ahomadégbé as a threat to these new positions. However, all three members stood together for the ceremony and power was transferred from Maga to Ahomadégbé. Maga declared the Presidential Council to be "one of the most beneficial institutions" because it allowed the country to heal. The alliance between Maga and Ahomadégbé which had allowed Maga to govern the country quickly broke apart, and instead Maga and Apithy made an alliance which kept Maga's associates in their ministerial positions and prevented Ahomadégbé from effectively governing. The only major policy effort pushed by Ahomadégbé was the declaration to create a single political party from the various regional political parties which would be the only party allowed when the Presidential Council would end, although in practice the divisions between the parties largely remained. The tensions between the three members reportedly became their most tense with the planned visit of French President Georges Pompidou in November.

After almost 6 months in power, a military coup was started on 26 October 1972 which removed Ahomadégbé from power and ended the Presidential Council. Major Kerekou, a protege of Kouandété, led the first armor company of the military to break into a Presidential Council meeting, where he declared the end of the Presidential Council. Kerekou announced the coup on national radio by saying that the "three headed figure [was] truly a monster" beset by "congenital deficiency...notorious inefficiency and...unpardonable incompetence." Similarly to the coup in 1963, the military intervention was viewed favorably by much of the population of the country. Kouandété was released from prison and Kerekou named himself the new head of state appointing military officers to the various ministerial posts. All the senior military officers were discharged from their positions.  An alleged counter-coup led in May 1973 by Colonel Alley was suppressed by Kerekou and Alley was sentenced to 20 years in prison. The members of the Presidential Council and other prominent political figures were arrested and imprisoned or placed under house arrest until 1981. After they were released from house arrest in 1981, Apithy, Ahomadégbé, and Maga all moved to Paris. Following the coup, Kerekou proceeded to rule the country as a military dictator until 1991.

References

Notes

Bibliography
Books and Journal articles

News articles (organized chronologically)

Political history of Benin
1970s in Benin
1970 in politics

Presidential Council (Benin)


College is an educational school where people go to learn and earn an academic degree upon graduation. The requirement to enter college varies by country, but in most countries, the student must have a high school diploma or equivalent (in the United States and Canada, a GED).

Most college students begin their academic careers at 18 years old, the same age when most people graduate from high school. Though, colleges and universities have no maximum age so anyone can study or finish their studies at any time they decide they want.

In some countries, for example the United Kingdom, college also means a house belonging to a university, where students and teachers live together.

In the United States and Canada, college students begin as undergraduate students in which they will declare a major in which students specialize in an academic discipline (for example, Psychology, Biology, English, Mathematics, and Economics) and they will take classes that will expose them to the skills they need to do their careers. They also take general education classes which includes courses in reading, research, literature, a math course (for example,  College Algebra, Pre-Calculus, or Statistics), a science course, and others (though this will vary by the college).

Upon successful completion of all required courses, students will earn a Bachelor's degree which they may either go to work with the degree or continue studying for a higher-level degree. Students who have a bachelor's degree and choose to continue college are considered graduate students, where they take more classes that are more in-depth to the student's academic discipline and qualify them for higher paying careers, earn a promotion, or become college professors. Students may also attend medical school to become physicians or law school to become lawyers.

References

Tertiary education

College


Dáil Éireann ( literally Assembly of Ireland) is the lower house of the parliament of Ireland. Its members are elected by all Irish citizens of voting age (which is now 18). Members of Dáil Éireann are called Teachta Dala (TD).

History

First Dáil
The First Dáil was elected at the British General election of 1918. The Sinn Féin people who were elected did not go to the House of Commons. Instead they stayed in Dublin and set up the First Dáil.

The First Dáil passed the Declaration of Independence of the Irish Republic, a Constitution, and set up a government.

The first British woman MP was Countess Markiewicz. Because she was a Sinn Féiner, she went to the first Dáil Éireann instead. That is why many people think Lady Astor was Britain's first woman MP.

Second Dáil

In 1922, during the War of Independence, the British passed the Government of Ireland Act. The act set up two parliaments, one for Northern Ireland and one for Southern Ireland. There was no election in Southern Ireland because only Sinn Féin candidates stood. They did not meet as the House of Commons of Southern Ireland. Instead they, and the only Sinn Feiner elected only in Northern Ireland met as the Second Dáil.

On the first day of the Second Dáil Éamon de Valera, President of the Irish Republic, said there would be no need to fight or negotiate with Britain if the British prime minister remembered that he had said   De Valera said that if Poland had the right to its own government, so did Ireland.

The Second Dáil ratified (that is, confirmed) the Anglo-Irish Treaty, by a vote of 64 to 57.  After this the 64 pro-treaty members met as the House of Commons of Southern Ireland, with the four University MPs, and voted to accept the treaty again.

Third Dáil
The Third Dáil was two things.
 The pro-independence Dáil, following on from the First and Second Dáils, and
 The Provisional Parliament, following on from the House of Commons of Southern Ireland

The Third Dáil passed the constitution of the Irish Free State, and after 6 December 1922, it was the lower house of the Oireachtas of the Irish Free State.

Dáil Debates

The official record of everything said in the Dáil is called  or .  Volume (book) one starts on the day the Third Dáil met, so the record of the First Dáil is called Book F, and the Second Dáil starts with book S.

Election of the Dáil

TDs are elected in multi-member constituencies, unlike the British House of Commons or the American House of Representatives, which are single-member constituencies.  There can be three, four, or five TDs in each constituency.  Voters can vote for as many candidates as they want, but they rank them in order of preference, 1,2,3...

Working out who has been elected can sometimes take two or even three days, because the votes are counted several times under the Single Transferable Vote system.

If the Chairman of Dáil Éireann, called the Ceann Comhairle, wants to stand for re-election he is  does not have to be elected.  The law and the constitution say that he is given a seat in his old constituency.

Powers of Dáil Éireann

The Dail is the more powerful of the two Houses of the Oireachtas.

The Taoiseach, (Prime Minister), the Tánaiste (deputy prime minister)  and the Minister of Finance must be members of Dáil Éireann.

Bills to raise tax have to start in the Dáil, and cannot be vetoed by the Seanad.

The Dáil can pass a bill even if the Seanad objects, but the Supreme Court can decide that the act is not allowed by the Constitution.  The President can also ask the Supreme Court if the bill is not allowed by the constitution before he/she signs it.

Related pages
 Oireachtas
 Seanad Éireann

References

Politics of Ireland
Government of the Republic of Ireland
Ireland
1918 establishments in Europe
1920s establishments in the United Kingdom
20th-century establishments in the Republic of Ireland

Dáil Éireann