Kharqamar incident

The Kharqamar incident (; ; also Kharkamar or Khar Qamar massacre) took place on 26 May 2019 during an encounter between the Pakistan Army soldiers and activists of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), who were holding a protest gathering near Kharqamar check post in the Datta Khel Subdivision of North Waziristan, Pakistan. The encounter resulted in death of 13 PTM supporters and over 25 others were injured. The military also claimed that one of their soldier was also killed in the incident. Several PTM activists, including the Members of National Assembly (MNAs) Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar, were arrested by the security forces after the incident and curfew was imposed in the area. Mohsin Dawar, representative of North Waziristan in the parliament, said that the gathering had been organized by peaceful and unarmed activists to protest against the alleged beating up of a woman by the military on May 25 and other human rights abuses in the area. Dawar's security guards were armed though, as admitted by his aide. The military alleged that the PTM leaders wanted to “exert pressure for release of suspected terrorists’ facilitators.” The military claimed that the PTM activists opened fire first hurting several soldiers, but PTM leaders denied these charges and alleged that army fired on the protesters.
Latif Afridi, the Peshawar High Court Bar President and former parliamentarian who was leading the panel of lawyers representing Wazir and Dawar in the court, argued that several videos showed that Wazir, Dawar, and other protesters were unarmed but the security personnel started unprovoked firing, resulting into deaths of peaceful protesters. According to ARY News and other Pakistani media, however, some videos showed that MNA Ali Wazir was inciting the crowd to attack the military check post.
A day after this incident, the opposition walked out of the National Assembly of Pakistan to protest against this violent incident. The opposition parties, including the Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Muslim League (N), questioned the silence of Prime Minister Imran Khan and other concerned people on the incident and called for resolving the issue by the civilians through the parliament. Asad Qaiser, the Speaker of the National Assembly, was asked by the opposition to produce Wazir and Dawar before the parliament so that they could explain their viewpoint about the incident at the parliament sessions. The speaker issued similar production orders for the parliamentarians Asif Ali Zardari and Khawaja Saad Rafique, both arrested in corruption cases, but refused to issue production orders for Wazir and Dawar. On June 12, when the speaker was asked why he could not issue production orders for Wazir and Dawar, he replied he did "not have the ability to do so." On June 23, a fact-finding team of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan was stopped by the military from reaching Kharqamar and prevented from investigating about the incident.
On 14 October 2020, the government withdrew the Kharqamar case against PTM, and Wazir and Dawar were acquitted of all charges after entering into negotiations
with the government.
The Incident.
The Pakistani military claimed that a group led by PTM leaders Mohsin Dawar and Ali Wazir assaulted on check post. However, eyewitnesses and PTM strongly contradicted official version. They claimed that the Army tried to suppress their dissents voices for rights of Pashtuns. Several unverified videos circulating on social media also testified that the protesters were unarmed. An eyewitness Rahim Dawar told media, “I saw at least two dozen people that were hurt. For an hour, no one helped us. We were trying to pick up the injured when three army vehicles came and took the wounded away”. However, Mohsin Dawar's security guards were armed according to his aide. Some video clips were also alleged to have showed that Ali Wazir was provoking the protesters to attack the military check post.
After the incident, the military arrested Ali Wazir, along with 8 others. On the following day a curfew and Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code was imposed in Waziristan. On 30 May, Mohsin Dawar also presented himself in front of law and was sent to jail.
PTM claim.
Mohsin Dawar said that the May 26 gathering at Kharqamar was originally held to protest against alleged human rights abuses in the area by the military one day earlier, but the military was trying to block them from doing the demonstration. He claimed: “They beat up a woman and picked up some other people yesterday [May 25]. We were going to protest that incident when they opened fire on us.” Dawar said that "as the only elected representative of the region that includes the village, I felt obligated to reach out to my constituents, support their protest, and help their voices be heard. With this in mind, on May 26, I visited the village with another member of the national assembly, Ali Wazir, who is also part of PTM." When the PTM activists reached the check post, the military refused to let them pass. As the unarmed protesters chanted slogans and finally passed the checkpost, the military directly opened fire on them.
Dawar told Al Jazeera: "At the village, we [Mohsin Dawar and Ali Wazir] were welcomed by a jubilant crowd of around 200 to 300 people. They garlanded us and together we started walking towards the sit-in area. However, the soldiers at the checkpoint refused to allow us to join the protesters. Tempers were raised, but I did my best to reason with the soldiers and convince them to let us through. But as soon as we went past the check post, I heard gunshots. Initially, I thought the soldiers manning the checkpoint were firing warning shots in the air. But the sounds of occasional gun shots suddenly turned into the staccato of automatic fire, and villagers around me started to fall. Someone pushed me to the ground and I was dragged into a ravine. When I looked back, I saw blood-soaked bodies lying motionless on the ground and heard the cries for help of the injured. Later we learned that 15 people were killed and more than 40 were injured as a result of the unprovoked attack.
"Wazir and eight others were arrested on the spot, but I [Mohsin Dawar] managed to escape the scene, with the help of other survivors. For the next three days, we walked through the villages of Daigan, Mohammad Khel, and Hamzoni to get to my village, Darpa Khel, near Miranshah, which is approximately 30km from the site of the massacre. Throughout our journey, we staged several protests to inform the public about the massacre and demand accountability. When we reached Darpa Khel, we started another sit-in. The military, meanwhile, imposed a curfew on the village of Doga Macha Mada Khel that lasted for eight days, and also surrounded my village. I eventually chose to surrender to the authorities in the town of Bannu because I was scared for the lives of the people in my village."
Pakistan Army claim.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) of the Pakistan Armed Forces said that security forces in the area had been regularly targeted by militants. An army operation was claimed to have been launched on May 24 to eliminate militants from the area. During the operation, a soldier was claimed to be wounded and two suspected terrorists were claimed to be arrested. Residents of the Doga Macha Madakhel village started protesting against the detentions of two people. A protest was going on in the area when on May 26, Dawar and Wazir, two elected representatives from Waziristan in the Pakistani parliament, tried to join the protestors, but they were stopped at Kharqamar check post by the Pakistan Army. According to the military, the demonstrators turned violent and started intense stone pelting and gun shots at the check post. The soldiers were claimed to have opened warning shots to calm the situation. The military claimed that the clash turned fierce and as a result, casualties happened. According to the initial press release of the ISPR, three people were killed and 15 including 5 soldiers were injured. The army further claimed that the aim of PTM was to assert pressure on authorities for the release of suspected facilitators of terrorists. The government and military reports blamed Dawar and Wazir for inciting attack.
Interestingly, the Kharqamar attack happened one month after the ISPR spokesperson Asif Ghafoor threatened PTM for bitter consequences. During the press conference on April 29, he told: "We want to do everything for the people [of tribal areas], but those who are playing in the hands of people, their time is up. Their time is up," Maj Gen Ghafoor said, referring to the PTM.
Investigation.
According to Pakistan Army Act, 'if an army check post is assaulted, the troops are legally allowed to respond to the attack and those who are responsible for the attack will be tired by the military courts.' A deputy commissioner of North Waziristan alleged that PTM leaders Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar were responsible for the Kharqamar incident.
On 14 October 2020, after the group accepted an offer to enter talks with the government while calling for "confidence-building measures to demonstrate sincerity", the government withdrew the Kharqamar case against PTM at the anti-terrorism court of Bannu, and Wazir and Dawar were acquitted of all charges.
Reactions.
Public.
Immediately after the incident, people in Miramshah, capital of North Waziristan, poured into streets to protest against these killings. They furiously demanded investigation into the massacre. Many protests were reported in different cities of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Also in Pakistani Azad Kashmir, youth protested against this incident and they called for release of Ali Wazir, Mohsin Dawar, and other PTM activists. Despite the ban on activities, many protested in front of Scouts Fort in Wanna, South Waziristan. Similarly, many PTM activists were detained in Bannu for organizing protests.
Human rights organizations.
Referring to the crackdown against PTM and the detention of several PTM activists following the incident, Manzoor Pashteen, chairman of PTM, said: “In the past, [the Pakistani military] wanted to stop protests. Now they want to stop the movement. They have directly arrested the leadership and begun a campaign to malign them [on social media].”
Amnesty International strongly condemned this attack and called upon Pakistani authorities to have an impartial investigation. Its press release said:
Under international law, lethal force can only ever be used by law enforcement authorities when strictly necessary to protect life. When lethal force has been used, every incident should be fully investigated to determine if there was any use of excessive force and if any resulting killing was unlawful. Those found responsible for the use of excessive force or for unlawful killings should be brought to justice through fair trials without resort to the death penalty.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) also condemned this incident and demanded investigation, setting up of a parliamentary commission, and immediate release of all detained activists. In a press release, it said:
There must be a serious attempt to genuinely address the grievances of the local population, which the PTM has been articulating peacefully for well over a year. Moreover, with the passage of the 26th Constitutional Amendment, the state must ensure that the media and civil society have independent access to the former FATA. The country’s mainstream media must also understand its responsibility to report on this region fairly.
Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières launched an international call for the release of Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar and withdrawal of false cases against them.
South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR) also expressed its discontent on the incident and stated in its press release:
SAHR calls upon the government of Pakistan to conduct an effective and independent investigation over the reported killing of the activists. SAHR urges the relevant authorities to respect the fundamental human rights of the people in Waziristan including the recognition of their genuine demands that are within the parameter of rights guaranteed under the Constitution. We call on the Pakistan government to immediately release Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar, the elected representatives of the people of Waziristan, and other protesters arrested at the protest site.
Opposition parties in Pakistan.
Pakistan Peoples Party's (PPP) chairperson Bilawal Bhutto demanded production orders for the National Assembly members Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar. He said the production orders should be issued immediately so that they could attend Friday's session and present their viewpoint. On May 31, 2019, Bilawal said he had written a letter to Asad Qaiser demanding the production orders, but despite having evidence that the letter had been received, he was "lied to and told that they did not get this letter." A delegation of PPP, led by former Prime Minister of Pakistan Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, also officially requested the National Assembly Speaker for issuing the production orders.
Pakistan Muslim League (N)'s Vice-President Maryam Nawaz strongly condemned the incident and asked for an investigation so that the facts could be made public. She asked: "Have we not already paid tremendously for crushing protests and suppressing voices?" The PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif and the former Defence Minister of Pakistan Khawaja Muhammad Asif also expressed grief over the incident. Rana Sanaullah, the former Law Minister of Punjab, said “if it has not been in his [Asad Qaiser's] capacity to issue order of production of Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar, then he should immediately resign.” Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, a PML-N leader and former Prime Minister of Pakistan, also urged the speaker to issue production orders for Wazir and Dawar.
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F)'s chief Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman condemned the incident while speaking to media in Peshawar. He said: ”Peaceful protest is the right of each and every citizen. Trying to bar this would only lead to increasing resentment.”
The Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PMAP) senator Usman Kakar demanded the formation of a "parliamentary commission" to find facts about the incident. The Awami National Party (ANP) also demanded that the incident should be transparently probed through a judicial commission or parliamentary committee.
Compensation.
On June 1, 2019, the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mahmood Khan, announced a financial package of Rs2.5 million for the families of the people killed in the Kharqamar incident and Rs1 million to those injured in the incident.


Palermo protocols

The Palermo protocols are three protocols that were adopted by the United Nations to supplement the 2000 Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (the Palermo Convention). They are:
These protocols and convention fall within the jurisdiction of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.


Aegis Trust

The Aegis Trust, founded in 2000, is the British NGO which campaigns to prevent genocide worldwide. Based at the United Kingdom's Holocaust Centre, which opened in 1995, the Aegis Trust coordinates the UK Genocide Prevention All-Party Parliamentary Group, funds the Genocide Prevention Group (Canada) and is responsible for the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre in Rwanda, which commemorates the 1994 genocide and is central to education of a new generation about the dangers of ethnic division.
History.
The Aegis Trust was founded by brothers James and Stephen Smith, as a progression from their establishment of Beth Shalom, the UK Holocaust Memorial Centre, in 1995. The outbreak of the Kosovo crisis in 1999 provided the catalyst for the development of Aegis. Troubled by the repetition of genocidal violence, the Smiths responded by initiating a regional aid appeal in the East Midlands. In 2002, Aegis hosted a joint conference with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Aegis' work follows three strands: education, protection and survivor support.
Aegis Trust Award.
Created in 2002 by the Aegis Trust, the Aegis Trust Award is made "for altruism, resourcefulness and bravery in preserving the value of human life". The award is intended to honour individuals who, by actions in contrast to the majority, demonstrate a respect for human life that transcends ideology, politics, expediency, personal or career interests and even personal safety, under circumstances in which people's lives are threatened because of their identity as part of a group subject to mass violence. The Award recognises preservation of the value of human life, rather than preservation of life itself. It is about the values and courage behind a set of actions, rather than about the objective success or failure of those actions in achieving the intended outcome. The prize is awarded on the basis of personal merit, even if the recipient was in the employment of an organisation at the time of the actions being recognised. The Award consists of a diploma, the 'Aegis' medallion and a sum of money. The Award is international and may be given to anyone anywhere.
Canadian Lt. Gen. Roméo Dallaire was the recipient of the inaugural Aegis Award, for his efforts as UN Force Commander in Rwanda to prevent or curtail the Rwandan genocide of 1994, despite being ordered by his superiors on three occasions to withdraw. The Award was presented to the General by Rt. Hon. Peter Hain MP, then Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (UK), at Westminster Central Hall in London - symbolic as the venue for the very first General Assembly of the United Nations in 1946.
STAND.
STAND (formerly known as "Students Taking Action Now: Darfur") is a student activist group that merged with the Aegis Trust in April 2015. Founded in 2003 at Georgetown University as the student-led division of United to End Genocide, STAND opposes violence in Burma, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, South Sudan, and Syria.


Pei Xingyan

Pei Xingyan was a general in Sui dynasty who was known for his superior fighting skills on the battlefield. He was also a highly celebrated warrior in popular culture and traditional Chinese dramas.
In history.
Pei Xingyan was the son of Pei Renji, a general of Sui dynasty during Emperor Yang's reign. He was born with great strengths and acquired superb fighting skills when he was young. He served in Sui army under general Zhang Xutuo and suppressed several peasant uprisings in the northern plain.
After Zhang Xutuo was defeated and killed in a battle against Wagang Army, Pei Xingyan and his father Renji surrendered to Wagang. The leader of Wagang Army, Li Mi, appointed Xingyan to be Shang-Zhuguo () and gave him the title Duke of Jiang County (绛郡公). Along with Qin Shubao, Cheng Yaojin and Luo Shixin, Pei Xingyan became one of the four most trusted generals under Li Mi.
In 618, a war broke out between Li Mi's Wagang Army and the warlord Wang Shichong. During the war, Wang Shichong sent his men to attack Yanshi, which was guarded by Shan Xiongxin. Shan Xiongxin did not have many troops and could not hold the city. Li Mi thus sent Cheng Yaojin and Pei Xingyan to reinforce Shan Xiongxin. Outside of Yanshi, Cheng and Pei was attacked by Wang Shichong's men, and Pei was shot by an arrow and was almost killed. He was saved by Cheng Yaojin.
Soon after this, however, Li Mi was completely defeated by Wang Shichong and submitted to Tang dynasty. Pei Xingyan and his father Renji was trapped near Luoyang and had to submit to Wang Shichong. In 619, Wang Shichong claimed to be the Emperor of Zheng. He appointed Pei Renji to be the chief minister of the Ministry of Rites under his reign, and Pei Xingyan to be Left Vice General-in-chief.
Pei Xingyan fought in several battles for Wang Shichong. He was so strong and brave that his enemies gave him a nickname of Wanrendi (). However, Wang Shichong was a suspicious and jealous person. He thought that Pei Renji and Pei Xingyan would submit to Tang dynasty some day and would become his enemy. Therefore, Wang Shichong planned to assassinate the Pei family. Noticing the plan of Wang Shichong, Pei Renji, Pei Xingyan and their allies proposed a mutiny in order to escape from Luoyang and reinstall the Sui dynasty. Unfortunately, their plan was exposed before their action. Wang Shichong executed Pei Renji and Pei Xingyan in Luoyang. All their family members were wiped out except for Xingyan's younger brother Xingjian who was less than one year old at that time and somehow survived in this tragedy.
In popular culture.
Pei Xingyan is known as Pei Yuanqing in popular cultures and is known as the third strongest warrior during Sui dynasty. People believe that he is the reincarnation of Nezha. His weapons are a pair of silver hammers. He originally served in Sui army. Due to the circumvention of his political opponents, he submitted to Wagang Army with his father Pei Renji. During the battle at Hongni Pass, Pei Yuanqing was ambushed and killed by Xin Wenli with explosive powders.
Family.
Notable ancestors:
Great Grandfather:
Grandfather:
Father:
Brother:
Nephews:


Cisplatina

Cisplatina Province or Cisplatine Province (, ) was a Brazilian province in existence from 1821 to 1828 created by the Luso-Brazilian annexation of the Oriental Province. From 1815 until 1822 Brazil was part of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. After the independence of Brazil and the formation of the Empire of Brazil the Cisplatine Province remained part of it. In 1828, following the Treaty of Montevideo, the Cisplatine Province became independent as Uruguay.
Name.
The name literally means "Province of this side of the Rio de la Plata" from the Brazilian perspective, "cf." Cisalpine.
History.
The Banda Oriental had always been a sparsely populated contested border-area between the Spanish and Portuguese Empires. In the First Treaty of San Ildefonso in 1777 the control of the area was given to Spain.
In 1811, José Gervasio Artigas, who became Uruguay's national hero, launched a successful revolt against Spain, defeating them on 18 May in the Battle of Las Piedras. In 1813, the Banda Oriental was renamed to Provincia Oriental, becoming part of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata. In 1814, Artigas formed the Liga Federal (Federal League) of which he was declared Protector.
The constant growth of influence and prestige of the Federal League frightened the Luso-Brazilian Monarchy (because of its republicanism), and in August 1816 they invaded the Eastern Province, with the intention of destroying the protector and his revolution. The Luso-Brazilian expeditionary force, thanks to their material superiority and military experience and organization (including in part its European warfare experience), occupied Montevideo on 20 January 1817, and finally after a struggle for three years in the countryside, defeated the pro-Artigas forces in the Battle of Tacuarembó.
In 1821, the Provincia Oriental del Río de la Plata (present-day Uruguay), was annexed by the Portugal into the Brazilian territory (Brazil was a Portuguese territory at that time) under the name of Província Cisplatina. Portugal justified the incorporation of the province through the "general acclamation" of an Assembly of "Eastern notables" on 18 July 1821.
The borders of Cisplatina were: on the east the Atlantic Ocean, on the south the Rio de la Plata, on the west the Uruguay River and on the north the Cuareim river until "la Cuchilla de Santa Ana". This means that territories previously belonging to the Provincia Oriental had been annexed to the jurisdiction of Rio Grande do Sul.
Brazil became an independent nation in 1822. On 15 September 1823, the envoy of the Argentine president Bernardino Rivadavia, Valentín Gómez, wrote a memorandum in Rio de Janeiro in which it was stated that the Eastern Province had always belonged to the territory of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, present-day Argentina. Gómez received this answer:"The incorporation of the Cisplatina Province into the Empire is an act of the free will of all its inhabitants, and Brazil, by the sacrifices it has done, is resolute to defend that territory, not allowing that the opinion with respect to the incorporation from that State to the United Provinces is raised again. (…) the Government of H.I.M. [His Imperial Majesty] (…) cannot enter with the one of Buenos Aires in negotiations that have as fundamental base the cession of the Cisplatino State, whose inhabitants do not have to leave."As a reaction a group of Uruguayan nobles, the Thirty-Three Orientals led by Juan Antonio Lavalleja declared independence on 25 August 1825 supported by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata.
This led to the 500-day Cisplatine War. Despite the Argentine victory in the battle of Ituzaingó, neither side gained the upper hand, and in 1828 the Treaty of Montevideo, fostered by the United Kingdom, gave birth to Uruguay as an independent state, and — more importantly to planned British goals — established the international status of the Rio de la Plata, so that international commerce was easier to accomplish.


Boeotarch

Boeotarch (, "Boiotarches") was the title of the chief officers of the Boeotian Confederacy, founded in 379 BC after a rebellion freed the cities of Boeotia from Spartan dominance. There were seven Boeotarchs, democratically elected from seven electoral districts throughout Boeotia. As the largest city of the region, Thebes generally elected four of the Boeotarchs, while the other three represented outlying districts. The number of Boeotarchs, however, may not have remained constant at seven. They may have not even represented districts in the same way as the earlier Boeotian League.
Any Boeotian was eligible for election. Boeotarchs assumed office on the first day of the Boeotian year (1 "Boukataios"), and gave up office at the end of each year. Failure to relinquish power was a capital offence. The function of the Boeotarchs were roughly equivalent to that of the Athenian "strategos", acting as both political leaders and generals in battle. And indeed, many other political, military, and judicial offices in the Boeotian League were copied from the Athenian model. The Boeotians also had an "archon", but unlike the Athenian "archon", his duties were merely symbolic. The sole responsibility of the Boeotian "archon" was in lending his name to the name of the year, a practice borrowed from the Athenians.
The most famous individuals to hold the office were Epaminondas and Pelopidas, who led Thebes to hegemonic status over Greece in the middle of the 4th century BC ("Theban hegemony").


Aulus Cornelius Cossus Arvina

Aulus Cornelius Cossus Arvina was a Roman politician and general who served as both consul and Magister Equitum twice, and Dictator once in the mid 4th century BC.
Family.
Cossus was a member of the patrician gens Cornelia. The gens Cornelia was one of the most important families of the Roman Republican period having first attained the consulate in 485 BC and remaining prominent throughout the next four hundred years, producing figures such as Scipio Africanus and Lucius Cornelius Sulla. Aulus Cornelius Cossus Arvina was descended from the Cossi branch of the Cornelia gens, which were descended from Aulus Cornelius Cossus, a famous Roman of the 5th century BC who had won renown by personally slaying Lars Tolumnius the King of Veii, becoming one of only three Romans in recorded history to acquire the honor of the Spolia opima. Judging by his fillation it seems likely that Publius Cornelius Cossus Arvina, who was consul in 306 and 288 BC, was his son.
Magister equitum and first consulship.
Cossus first appears in history in 353 BC as the Magister Equitem serving under the dictator Titus Manlius Torquatus. The purpose of Manlius' appointment as dictator was to combat the city of Caere, an Etruscan city whom had recently allied with the city of Tarquinia against Rome. Upon hearing of Rome's appointment of a dictator, the Caerites decided to surrender and a one hundred year long truce was negotiated between the two cities. The campaign was then redirected against the Falisci who were also accused of conspiring against Rome, however the Romans were unable to locate the Faliscan army and instead decided to ravage their territory. The role that Cossus played in these events is unrecorded.
In 349 BC, Torquatus was appointed dictator for a second time, and once again Cossus was appointed as magister equitum. The purpose of the appointment of Torquatus as dictator was to hold the consular elections for the following year, with one of the consuls elected being the young Marcus Valerius Corvus, consul for the first time.
In 343 BC, Cossus was elected consul for the first time, serving alongside Marcus Valerius Corvus, now in his third consulship. It was in this year that the First Samnite War broke out over a dispute between Rome and the Samnites over the city of Capua. In reaction to this, the senate assigned his colleague Valerius with the responsibility of defending Capua from Samnite attacks, while Cossus was ordered to march into Samnium itself. The campaign of Cossus did not start off well, as he had unwisely marched his army into a ravine which was beset on both sides by hostile Samnites, having only realized his mistake when it was far too late to do anything about it. It seemed a hopeless situation for both Cossus and his army when Publius Decius Mus, a military tribune serving under him, contrived a plan to break themselves out of this snare and requested Cossus to give him permission to perform it, which was granted. Thus Decius put his plan into action, taking a small detachment of men to seize the summit of a hill that was undefended by the Samnites, and distracting them from this position so that it gave an opportunity for Cossus and the rest of the army to escape. From this position, Decius and his men, through their own valor as well as through the confused exhaustion of the enemy, managed to break free from the hill and put their enemy to flight, despite being very outnumbered. Following this, Cossus and his army, now combined with the force of Decius, managed to run down the fleeing Samnite army, scoring a decisive victory. To thank Decius for his service, Cossus presented to him many valuable gifts, and the army awarded Decius with the honor of a Grass Crown an extremely prestigious and rare Roman military honor granted to a soldier who had saved an entire army. As a reward for his defeat of the Samnites, Cossus was granted a triumph by the senate, one of two triumphs celebrated that year, as his colleague Marcus Valerius also celebrated a triumph for his own victories against the Samnites.
Second consulship and dictatorship.
In 332 BC, Cossus was elected consul for a second time, with Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus as his colleague. His election was secured under the auspices of Marcus Valerius Corvus, his former consular partner, serving as interrex. In this year Marcus Papirius Crassus was appointed dictator as a reaction to rumors of a gallic invasion. However, these rumors turned out to be unfounded and the dictator resigned. The rest of the year was mostly quiet, the most significant event being that of a treaty negotiated between Rome and Alexander of Epirus, who had recently campaigned against the Samnites, as both he and the Romans shared the Samnites as a common enemy.
In 322 BC, in the midst of the Second Samnite War Cossus was appointed as dictator in order to fight off the Samnites, whom as rumor had it, hired a large number of mercenaries to strengthen their armies. As dictator Cossus appointed Marcus Fabius Ambustus as his Magister Equitem, and went to war. Soon after advancing on Samnite territory, Cossus was confronted with the Samnite army he was sent to face, however battle did not commence immediately as it was nearing nightfall, and both sides set camp for the night. Cossus however was fearful to confront the Samnite force in the morning and attempted a retreat in the night, however this retreat was noticed by the Samnite cavalry, whom in the morning made several attempts to charge the Roman force. Soon the Samnite infantry caught up with the cavalry and set battle lines, Cossus attempted to build a defensive camp, but was unable to make much progress without his soldiers being harassed by the enemy. Thus Cossus ordered his troops to prepare for battle, and since the Samnites were also prepared for battle, the battle commenced. The fighting was initially close as the Romans were determined and the Samnites were overconfident, and thus for five hours the battle raged on without either side gaining an advantage. This stalemate broke when the Samnites noticed that the Roman baggage train and supplies were left undefended and went to loot it, putting the Samnites into a disorganized position which Cossus exploited when he sent Marcus Fabius, his Magister Equitem, to charge the enemies who were looting the Roman supplies. The charge was a great success which greatly boosted the Roman morale and depleted the morale of the Samnites. After this the Roman infantry, reinvigorated by the success of the charge, pressed their attack and the cavalry charged into the Samnite ranks as well, causing them to rout in short order. Upon hearing of his victory, the Senate awarded Cossus with a second triumph.
However, there is a second tradition which is imparted by Livy which maintains that this battle was in fact conducted by the consuls of the year, and the purpose of Cossus' appointment as dictator was to oversee the Ludi Romani in place of the praetor who would usually oversee the games, as a result of the given praetor of the year being very ill at the time.
The next year the two consuls Spurius Postumius Albinus Caudinus and Titus Veturius Calvinus were caught in an ambush by the Samnites and were forced by them to pass under the yoke as well as to agree to a humiliating peace treaty. The following year, 320 BC, after the two consuls returned to Rome, the former consul Postumius requested the senate to allow him and his colleague to submit themselves to the Samnites as a punishment for their defeat, escorted by a Fetial, a type of priest whom ritually presided over foreign treaties and affairs. The senate approved this action and appointed Cossus as the fetial to follow the two ex consuls to Samnium. Once arrived, Cossus offered the former consuls to Gaius Pontius, the Samnite commander who was responsible for the Roman defeat the previous year. Upon hearing what Cossus had to say, Pontius briskly refused his request, believing that this was an attempt to invalidate the treaty of the previous year. This incident is the final time that Cossus appears in our sources.


Fort Langley

Fort Langley is a village community in Township of Langley, British Columbia, Canada. It has a population of 3,400. It is the home of Fort Langley National Historic Site, a former fur trade post of the Hudson's Bay Company. Lying on the Fraser River, Fort Langley is at the northern edge of the Township of Langley.
History.
Fort Langley was named for Thomas Langley, an HBC director.
Fort Langley dates from a time when the boundary between British and American possession of the trans-mountain west, known as the Columbia District to the British and Oregon Country to Americans, had not yet been decided. Sir George Simpson, Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, realized that Fort Vancouver opposite of present-day Portland, Oregon might be lost to the Americans if the border did not follow the Columbia River. Fearing the 49th parallel north could become the demarcation line, Simpson ordered the Hudson's Bay Company to construct the original Fort Langley in 1827 at a location 4 km downstream from its present site. Fort Langley was intentionally constructed on the south bank of the Fraser River in the event that Fort Vancouver was lost to the Americans, then Fort Langley would secure British claims to both sides of the Fraser. By 1830, Fort Langley had become a major export port for salted salmon in barrels, as well as cedar lumber and shingles to the Hawaiian Islands. The Cowlitz Portage overland route connected Fort Langley to Fort Vancouver with a mid-way stop at Fort Nisqually on Puget Sound.
As Simpson feared, when the Oregon Boundary Dispute was finally settled in 1846, the border was established as 49 N. In the days before the Colony of Vancouver Island and the Colony of British Columbia united, Governor Sir James Douglas chose Fort Langley to be the provisional colonial capital.
By 1858, a town by the name of Derby, adjacent to the original location of the Fort, had been surveyed and subdivided into town lots and sold. Construction had begun on a barracks for the Royal Engineers, however, when Colonel Richard Moody, commanding officer of the Royal Engineers, visited Derby that year, he disapproved of Douglas' choice in location. He noted American territory lay just a few miles away across easily traversed land and that Fort Langley would be impossible to defend against attack. On the 14th of February 1859, Moody selected a new site at the mouth of the Pitt River on the north side of the Fraser and suggested the town be named Queensborough. In July of that year, Governor Douglas announced Her Majesty had decided the new capital should be named New Westminster.
Prior to the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, Fort Langley had been an important export port for cedar lumber, cedar shakes, and salted salmon packed in Douglas Fir and White Pine barrels for ships heading to the Hawaiian Islands. Once the military functions of Fort Langley had been largely outsourced to the new capital of New Westminster, the town of Derby went into decline and in order to accommodate the increased number of ships visiting the Fort, a new location was selected along the Bedford Channel, protected from the river current by McMillan Island and Brae Island. The new location is where the town of Fort Langley is now located, where Glover Road meets the Fraser River.
Between the 1850s and the 1920s, the town of Fort Langley witnessed the threat of Russian invasion in the early 1850s, the threat of American invasion in 1857 at the discovery of gold in the Fraser River, the unification of the colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia in 1858, the boom and bust of the Gold Rush from 1858 to 1865, Canadian Confederation in 1867, and the arrival of the first train early in the 20th century. In 1921, a major saw mill opened on an 88-acre riverfront property. The mill brought jobs and prosperity to the struggling town since the railway had removed most of the shipping roles of Fort Langley. The town largely grew up around the mill becoming a blue collar working class community through the 1960s and 70s. By the end of the 1980s, redundancy and aging machinery meant the end was nearing for the mill. Interfor downsized its staff and, for a time, tried to reinvent the mill into a value-added venture but by the mid-1990s, the mill shut down for good.
In 1921, Dr. Benjamin Marr planted Horse Chestnut trees along the Glover Road frontage of their property in Fort Langley. Today these trees can be seen when entering the Downtown.
With the increase in education levels and a transition from blue collar to white collar commuters and professionals, demand for new housing in this quaint village has skyrocketed. The former site of the local lumber mill was controversially rezoned for medium density residential in 2005 and in 2006 construction began on a massive masterplanned community that has been named Bedford Landing. This new development will eventually add approximately 1,500 new people to a community that has prized itself on having a stable population of around 2,500 to 3,000 for multiple generations.
Indigenous People.
Langley is located on the traditional territory of the Katzie, Kwantlen, and Matsqui First Nations. The Kwantlen First Nation administers an Indian Reserve on McMillan Island, across Bedford Channel from Fort Langley. The local First Nations were important trade partners of the Hudson's Bay Company in Fort Langley, and many workers at the Fort married women from the local First Nations.
Present day.
In recent years, many of the village's old buildings have been restored. The restorations, combined with its rural setting, access to the river and mountain vistas, local amenities and the old Fort itself, make it a thriving tourist centre. Outdoor recreation includes canoeing, fishing, hiking and horseback riding. The town has served as a filming location for commercials, TV shows and movies, with its striking yellow community hall usually featured prominently.
Many new buildings in the area have been constructed in Fort Langley in the past few decades. All new buildings must follow strict style guidelines to match the heritage appearance, unless a variance is granted by the local government. A recent example of this style of architecture is the Fort Mall (pictured). Additionally, there are few franchises in the village and this has raised its profile as a tourist and independent retail destination with hundreds of thousands of annual visitors.
The Coulter Berry building is a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold landmark development that was built on the corner of Mavis and Glover in 2016, by developer Eric Woodward. The three-storey building includes retail shopping spaces, commercial offices and restaurants, and merges contemporary elements with a heritage style design. In 2016, the Coulter Berry Building won the best mixed-use category award at the Fraser Valley Commercial Building Awards.
Downtown Fort Langley lies on the Fraser River and public walkway along the bank was built as part of the Trans-Canada Trail, in addition to a rowing facility which was completed in 2009.
TinyKittens Society is based in Fort Langley.
Culture.
Community Hall and Library.
The historic Fort Langley Community Hall houses meeting space and a branch of the Fraser Valley Regional Library. The Fort Langley Community Improvement Society was founded by the Fort Langley Women's Institute in 1924 in order to build the Community Center which you see represented here in photos. This Community Hall was completed in 1931, by hired hands and volunteers - the architect was Archibald Campbell Hope, brother of Fort Langley entrepreneur Charles Hope. The Fort Langley Community Hall has been featured in many films and TV series, including the film series Air Bud and the television series Once Upon a Time. Today, the hall houses events from community meetings, to craft markets, to weddings. As it was in the beginning, this hall is privately held by the Fort Langley Community Improvement Society, not the Township of Langley, and is operated by a volunteer board of directors.
Parks.
A number of parks serve the Fort Langley community. These include Fort Langley Community Park, Hudson's Bay Park, Brae Island Regional Park and Marina Park. Marina Park is home to Fort Langley's Boat Launch providing access to Bedford Channel. Brae Island Regional Park is home to Fort Camping, a group campsite and RV campsite.
Merchants.
Glover Road is a popular shopping street that goes through the centre of Fort Langley. It is frequented by residents of Langley as well as tourists for its selection of independent businesses and historic character.
Fort Langley has about eighty businesses and its commercial core has a mix of services, restaurants and retail stores. In early January 2011, the IGA which had served the community since the 1970s burned down late at night. In 2012, the same owners reopened a new store (Lee's Market), keeping the traditional and mandatory historic appearance that is specific to Fort Langley.
Fort Langley acts as the amenity and service hub for a number of satellite communities such as Forest Knolls to the South, Glen Valley to the East and the Kwantlen First Nations to the North. It is also a popular destination for residents of Walnut Grove to the West.
Events.
Fort Langley is home to many community events in the region. One of the most popular events is the Cranberry Festival, which began in 1995 and happens every October. It is operated by the Fort Langley Business Improvement Association. The festival has live music and other crowd bringing features, and attracts over 70 market vendors, selling a variety of goods ranging from cranberry-flavoured and regular foods to housewares, jewelry and more. In recent years, attendance has topped 60,000 people.
On July 1 every year, the Centennial Museum, the BC Farm Museum and Fort Langley National Historic Site organize the Township of Langley's Canada Day celebrations, partnering with many other arts and heritage groups. The result of which is a family fun, friendly cultural and heritage themed birthday party attracting over 10,000 people to the small village.
A May Day celebration is held on Victoria Day annually in Fort Langley, consisting of a parade and party in a local park with Maypole dancing.
The annual Fort Langley Jazz Festival was launched in July 2018.
Transportation.
Roads.
The main road into and out of Fort Langley is Glover Road, which provides access to the British Columbia Highway 1 via 216 Street or 232 Street interchanges, as well as British Columbia Highway 10, to the City of Langley. Secondary routes such as 88 Avenue, 96 Avenue and River Road connect Fort Langley to the nearby town centre of Walnut Grove and the rest of the Langley Township.
The majority of roads in Fort Langley break from the numerical grid system used elsewhere in the South Fraser Region and retain historical names.
The Jacob Haldi Bridge connects Fort Langley with McMillan Island, across Bedford Channel.
Airport.
The private Fort Langley Airport has a paved runway and floatplane facilities and is located East of the community. General Aviation users primarily use the Langley Regional Airport 8 km South of the community.
Albion Ferry (Closed).
Until 2009, commuters and other motorists heading to and from the Albion Ferry connecting with Maple Ridge passed through Fort Langley. After the opening of the Golden Ears Bridge, however, the ferry was decommissioned on July 31, 2009. The ferry terminal is now abandoned. This has significantly reduced the commuter traffic through the commercial core of Fort Langley.
Bus.
Fort Langley is served by TransLink's 562 bus.
Infrastructure.
Fire Hall.
The community is served by the Township of Langley Fire Department Hall 2, staffed by paid on-call firefighters.
Education.
Served by School District 35 Langley, Fort Langley has two schools; Fort Langley Elementary School, and Langley Fine Arts School (a specialty arts-focused 1-12 school). Trinity Western University is located just south of Fort Langley.
Popular culture.
The railway station is featured in the music video for the Punjabi song "Mera Deewanapan" by Amrinder Gill.
An episode of the TV series "The X-Files" entitled "Home", set in the U.S. village of Home, Pennsylvania, was actually filmed near Fort Langley and Surrey.
The TV series "Riverdale" features the Fort Gallery at 9048 Glover Rd as the Riverdale Register, and season two features a building in the 23300 block of Mavis Avenue.
Other productions filmed in Fort Langley include "Air Bud", "Once Upon a Time", "Twilight", "Bates Motel", "Big Sky", and "Supernatural". The town is a popular site for filming due to its historic architecture and small-town character.


Cen Wenben

Cen Wenben (595 – May 10, 645), courtesy name Jingren, posthumously known as Viscount Xian of Jiangling, was a Chinese official who served as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Taizong in the Tang dynasty. He was an assistant editor of the "Book of Zhou", the official history of the Northern Zhou dynasty.
Background.
Cen Wenben was born in 595 during the reign of Emperor Wen in the Sui dynasty. His grandfather, Cen Shanfang (岑善方), served under Emperor Xuan of Western Liang, a vassal of the Northern Zhou state who claimed to be the legitimate emperor of the Liang dynasty. His father, Cen Zhixiang (岑之象), served as a magistrate of Handan County late in the Sui dynasty. In 608, Cen Zhixiang was falsely accused of crimes. Cen Wenben, who was already talented in writing and was calm and dexterious in his actions, went to the ministry of justice to proclaim his father's innocence and, when questioned, was able to answer and explain clearly. The officials were surprised by his ability to do so despite his young age, and, to test his writing ability, asked him to write an ode to lotus. Cen was able to write it well quickly. Subsequently, he was able to convince the officials that his father was falsely accused, allowing his father to be exculpated. He became famous from the incident. He was subsequently recommended for the imperial examination by the local government of his home commandery, but as by that time, most of Sui territory was engulfed in agrarian rebellions against Emperor Yang, Cen Wenben did not report for the examination.
Service under Xiao Xi and Li Xiaogong.
In 617, Xiao Xi, a great-grandson of Emperor Xuan of Western Liang, whom Cen Wenben's grandfather Cen Shanfang had served, rose in rebellion, claiming to restore the Liang dynasty. Xiao Xi established his capital at Jiangling (江陵, in modern Jingzhou, Hubei), and he summoned Cen Wenben to serve as "Zhongshu Shilang" (中書侍郎), the deputy head of the legislative bureau of government (中書省, "Zhongshu Sheng"). Cen was in charge of writing the imperial edicts. In 621, when the Tang dynasty general Li Xiaogong (a nephew of Emperor Gaozu, the founding emperor of the Tang dynasty) attacked Liang and put Jiangling under siege, Cen suggested to Xiao Xi that he surrendered, and Xiao Xi did so. After Xiao Xi's surrender, however, Li Xiaogong's subordinates wanted to pillage the city. Cen persuaded Li Xiaogong that it would be wrong to do so, and Li Xiaogong subsequently ordered against pillaging. As Li Xiaogong was then put in charge of the former Liang capital, he invited Cen to serve on his staff. In 623, when Emperor Gaozu sent Li Xiaogong to attack the rebel leader Fu Gongshi, Cen followed Li Xiaogong and was in charge of his military correspondences. After Li Xiaogong defeated and killed Fu Gongshi and was put in charge of Fu's capital Danyang (丹楊, in modern Nanjing, Jiangsu), Cen continued to serve on Li Xiaogong's staff.
During Emperor Taizong's reign.
Cen Wenben's activities for the several following years were not recorded in history. By 627, when Emperor Gaozu's son, Emperor Taizong, was emperor, he was a lowly-ranked secretary at the Palace Library but also served as a junior official at the legislative bureau. On one occasion when Emperor Taizong carried out a field-tilling ceremony (to show ceremonial attention to farming), Cen wrote an ode to field-tilling, and on one New Year's Day when Emperor Taizong summoned the imperial officials to a feast, Cen wrote an ode to New Year's Day. The odes were considered beautifully written, and Cen became famous from them. The general Li Jing (who had at one point served as Li Xiaogong's assistant) also recommended him. He was promoted to a mid-level post in the legislative bureau and became more well regarded by Emperor Taizong. After Yan Shigu, the official who was largely responsible for drafting imperial edicts during the reign of Emperor Gaozu, was dismissed around that time, the chancellor Wen Yanbo, the head of the legislative bureau, stated to Emperor Taizong that no one was capable as drafting imperial edicts as Yan and sought to have Yan reinstated. Emperor Taizong instead responded, "I have someone else in mind; you, Duke, need not worry." He then made Cen the deputy head of the legislative bureau and made Cen in charge of drafting imperial edicts. At that time, Cen was also assisting Linghu Defen in compiling the official history of the Northern Zhou state, the "Book of Zhou". It was said that most of the commentaries on the biographies were written by Cen. After the work was completed in 636, Emperor Taizong created Cen the Viscount of Jiangling. In 637, when Emperor Taizong visited the eastern capital Luoyang, there were heavy floods of rivers near Luoyang, and Cen took this opportunity to submit a secret petition urging Emperor Taizong to reduce his travel out of the capital. He also pointed out that too many construction projects were being carried out on behalf of Emperor Taizong's favorite son, Li Tai (the Prince of Wei)—that such expenditures will breed further expenditures. Emperor Taizong was pleased with Cen's petitions and awarded him with silk. In 642, Cen was given the additional designation of "Zhuanzhang Jimi" (專掌機密)—considered a chancellor "de facto" designation. It was said that Cen was humble and, despite his honorable status, he always greeted those who had known, no matter how minor that person's position was.
In 643, when Emperor Taizong's crown prince, Li Chengqian, was deposed after he was discovered to have plotted to overthrow his father, Cen and Liu Ji suggested that Emperor Taizong create Li Tai crown prince, but Emperor Taizong subsequently created another son, Li Zhi (the Prince of Jin) crown prince, believing that Li Tai's machinations was responsible for Li Chengqian's downfall. Emperor Taizong made many high-level officials carry additional titles as Li Zhi's staff members, but when he tried to bestow such a title on Cen, Cen declined, stating that he wanted to concentrate on serving the emperor, although Emperor Taizong still had the crown prince meet with Cen every five days and treat him as a friend, not as a subordinate. In 644, when Emperor Taizong, at an imperial gathering, stated to his key officials their strengths and weaknesses, he spoke, with regard to Cen:
Later that year, he was made the head of the legislative bureau, but he rejected all attempts to congratulate him, stating "I will only receive condolences, not congratulations." When his mother asked why, he stated, "I did not have accomplishments and was not an old acquaintance of the emperor. I have, however, received great favors from the emperor, and my position is high and important. That is why I am afraid." When people suggested to him that he spend more time managing his properties, Cen responded:
He instead put his younger brother, Cen Wenzhao (岑文昭), to be in charge of his properties. At that time, Cen Wenzhao was spending time associating with people, and Emperor Taizong was not pleased. He considered demoting Cen Wenzhao out of the capital, but Cen Wenben interceded on his brother's behalf, stating that his mother favored Cen Wenzhao the most, and not having his brother around would cause his mother much distress. Emperor Taizong thus changed his mind, keeping Cen Wenzhao in the capital after summoning him and rebuking him.
In 645, Emperor Taizong was attacking Goguryeo. Cen followed him on the campaign and was deeply involved in the logistics—so much so that his energy was drained. Emperor Taizong saw that he was speaking in ways that were unusual for him, and became worried, stating, "Cen Wenben came on this campaign with me, but I am afraid he will not return with me." Cen soon grew ill and died in You Prefecture (幽州, roughly modern Beijing). He was buried near the tomb of Emperor Taizong's wife, Empress Zhangsun, where Emperor Taizong would eventually buried himself. His nephew Cen Changqian and grandson Cen Xi later also served as chancellors.


Mark Gai

Mark Isaevich Gai (Russian: Марк Исаевич Гай) (real name: Mark Isaacovich Shtoklyand; Марк Исаакович Штоклянд) (30 December 1898 {12 December old style}-20 June 1937) was a Soviet security and police officer, who played a major part in preparing the Great Purge, during the early stages of which he was arrested and executed.
Career.
Mark Gai was born in Vinnytsia, and graduated in 1918 in law from St Valentine University, Kiev. He joined the Red Guards around the time of the time of the Bolshevik Revolution, and operated underground in Kiev during the early part of the Russian Civil War. He enlisted in the Red Army in October 1918, and was appointed chief political commissar for a rifle division in 1920. He joined Cheka in Ukraine in May 1920, and transferred in May 1922 to Moscow, where he held a succession of posts, rising to be deputy head of the Economic Department of the OGPU in August 1931.
In June 1933, Gai succeeded Gleb Bokii as head of the Special Department of the OGPU, later the NKVD. His department was in charge of co-ordinating information on suspected spies and dissidents, particularly in the Red Army, "within which it maintained branches at every level." In March 1936, he was appointed to a three man commission, head by Nikolai Yezhov charged with investigating emigres living in the USSR. This led to the arrests of 126 members of the German communist party, who were accused of being 'Trotskyists' or agents of the Gestapo.
Role in the Great Purge.
During the preparations for the first of the Moscow Show Trials, when the former Trotskyist Ivan Smirnov was refusing to confess, Gai arranged a confrontation with the prisoner's former wife, who urged him to co-operate, not knowing that he would be executed. In July 1936, he was involved, with his assistant Zinovy Ushakov, in the arrest, interrogation and torture of Commander Dmitry Shmidt, who was forced to give incriminating testimony against Marshal Tukhachevsky and other senior officers, in what became a major purge of the Red Army.
Downfall and death.
In November 1936, following the dismissal of Genrikh Yagoda, head of the NKVD, Gai was one of the first department heads removed by Yagoda's successor, Yezhov. He was appointed head of the NKVD in East Siberia. This may have been connected with Yezhov's suspicion that the former head of the special department in Omsk, Yuri Makovsky, was a Polish spy. In a note to Joseph Stalin, on 8 February 1936, Yezhov had complained that Makovsky was being protected by 'friends' at NKVD headquarters. Gai arrested on 1 April, 1937, accused of being a spy. There is an unsubstantiated story that he escaped from the Lubyanka and reached Smolensk being recaptured. On 20 June, he was the most senior of the first group of former NKVD officers linked to Yagoda to be shot.


International organization membership of the United States

Memberships.
The following is a list of international organizations in which the United States of America officially participates.


Marcus Claudius Glicia

Marcus Claudius Glicia or Glycias was a freedman during the Roman Republic who briefly served as dictator in 249 BC.
Family.
Glicia was the son of a freedman of the gens Claudia, a patrician family that had held the highest offices in the Roman state since the early 5th century BC and would go on to form an important part of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. His father was named Gaius, and following his manumission, took the "nomen" of his patron, one of the Claudii. The Epitome of Livy mentions that he was of man of "the lowest kind" (a descendant of a slave) and thus not considered worthy of high office.
Career.
It was customary at Rome for freedmen to remain in the clientele of their former master. Glicia therefore served as the consul Publius Claudius Pulcher's "viator", a low-ranking officer who was tasked with summoning persons before the senior magistrate. The "Fasti Consulares" record that Glicia was a "scribe", a unique occurrence in the list.
In 249 BC, Pulcher was given command of the Roman navy for operations around Sicily during the First Punic War. Before the Battle of Drepana, when the sacred chickens refused to eat, he ordered them to be cast into the sea. His impious actions were blamed for the subsequent defeat. Upon hearing of the result of the battle, the Senate recalled him to Rome and ordered him to appoint a dictator to resume operations in his place.
Making a mockery of the request, Pulcher nominated Glicia, whose position would demean the office of dictator. Glicia's tenure was short-lived. He was never able to appoint a "magister equitum" and was forced to resign by the Senate. The more suitable Aulus Atilius Calatinus was appointed in his stead and became the first dictator to lead a Roman army outside of Italy.
After laying down the office, Glicia furthered the controversy by attending the Roman games wearing a purple-bordered toga, a symbol of the dictatorship and thus something to which he was not considered to be entitled. His appointment and actions after it were picked up by Suetonius and used to show the dishonourable side of the Claudian family history, down to the emperor Tiberius.


Marwan al-Shehhi

Marwan Yousef Mohamed Rashid Lekrab al-Shehhi (, , also transliterated as Alshehhi; 9 May 1978 – 11 September 2001) was the hijacker-pilot of United Airlines Flight 175, crashing the Boeing 767 into the South Tower of the World Trade Center as part of the September 11 attacks.
Al-Shehhi was a student from the United Arab Emirates who moved to Germany in 1996 and soon became close friends with Mohamed Atta, Ziad Jarrah and Ramzi bin al-Shibh, forming the Hamburg cell. Together, after pledging their lives to martyrdom, they became the leaders of the September 11 attacks. In late 1999, al-Shehhi, Atta, Jarrah, and bin al-Shibh traveled to terrorist training camps in Afghanistan and met with Osama bin Laden who recruited the four Hamburg cell members for the attacks in the United States. He arrived in the United States in May 2000, one month before Atta. Atta, Al-Shehhi, and Jarrah had been trained as pilots in Florida at Huffman Aviation, receiving their commercial pilot licenses in December 2000 and January 2001 from the FAA.
Al-Shehhi spent his time making preparations for the attack itself, such as meeting with crucial planners abroad, assisting with the arrival of hijackers aboard the other flights, and travelling on surveillance flights determining details on how the hijacking would take place. On September 9, 2001, he traveled from Florida to Boston, where he stayed at the Milner Hotel until September 11. After boarding United Airlines Flight 175 at Logan International Airport, al-Shehhi and 4 other hijackers waited 30 minutes into the flight to make their attack, which then allowed al-Shehhi to take over control as pilot, and at 9:03 a.m., 17 minutes after Mohamed Atta crashed American Airlines Flight 11 into the North Tower, al-Shehhi crashed the Boeing 767 into the South Tower of the World Trade Center. At 23 years of age, he was the youngest hijacker-pilot to participate in the attacks. The impact of the Boeing 767 operating as United 175 into the South Tower was seen live on television as it happened. At 9:59 a.m., after 56 minutes of burning, the 110-story skyscraper collapsed, killing hundreds of people, including around 900 office workers and first responders.
Early life.
Al-Shehhi was born in Ras al-Khaimah, on 9 May 1978, in the United Arab Emirates, to a Muslim cleric who died in 1997 and an Egyptian mother. Described as a quiet and devout Muslim, details about al-Shehhi's life in the UAE, however, are difficult to acquire. According to an October 2001 article in the New York Times, "If residents of Mr. Shehhi's hometown had heard of him before now, they were certainly not telling strangers. Four hours spent in the community yielded no address and no one -- policemen, firemen, pedestrians or local officials -- who did anything more than shrug at the mention of his name."
After graduating from high school in 1995, al-Shehhi enlisted in the Emirati military and received a half a year of basic training before he was admitted into a military scholarship program that allowed him to continue his education in Germany. Upon arriving in Germany in April 1996, al-Shehhi moved into an apartment, which he shared with three other scholarship students for two months before boarding with a local German family. Several months later, he moved into his own apartment. Those who knew him described al-Shehhi as a very religious and friendly individual who wore western clothes and sometimes rented cars for trips to Berlin, France, and the Netherlands.
His teacher in Germany, Gabriele Bock, recalls him as someone who seemed to be struggling to have plans to the future while studying there.
While in Germany, al-Shehhi enrolled in the University of Bonn after completing a German course. He left Germany in June 1997 to attend to problems at home although the university forbade him. In early 1998, al-Shehhi transferred to the Technical University of Hamburg. A poor student, al-Shehhi was directed by the Scholarship program administrators to repeat a semester of his studies back in Bonn beginning in August 1998. Al-Shehhi did not enroll back at Bonn until January 1999 and continued to struggle with his studies. By July 1999, Marwan returned to Hamburg to study shipbuilding.
It has been reported al-Shehhi also married in 1999, holding a belated celebration in January 2000, in an arranged marriage by his half-brother with a young woman named Fawzeya.
Radicalization.
After moving to Hamburg in 1998, al-Shehhi helped form the Hamburg cell with Mohamed Atta and Ramzi bin al-Shibh. There, his views became more and more radical. They met three or four times a week to discuss anti-American feelings and plot possible attacks. When someone asked why he and Atta never laughed, al-Shehhi retorted, "How can you laugh when people are dying in Palestine?"
On 9 October 1999, Marwan al-Shehhi was filmed at Said Bahaji's wedding in Germany with other 9/11 hijackers including Ziad Jarrah.
In late 1999, al-Shehhi, Atta, Ziad Jarrah, Said Bahaji, and Ramzi bin al-Shibh decided to travel to Chechnya to fight against the Russians, but were convinced by Khalid al-Masri and Mohamedou Ould Slahi at the last minute to change their plans. They instead traveled to Afghanistan to meet with Osama bin Laden and trained for terrorist attacks. Immediately afterwards, Atta, al-Shehhi, and Jarrah reported their passports stolen, possibly to erase travel visas to Afghanistan. After their training, the hijackers began to attempt to hide their radicalism. al-Shehhi shaved his beard and seemed to his old friends like he had become less religious. After the attacks, a librarian in Hamburg reported that al-Shehhi boasted to her "There will be thousands of dead. You will think of me ... You will see, in America something is going to happen. There will be many people killed."
Al-Shehhi returned to Germany in March 2000, and began to learn to fly airplanes. Ammar al-Baluchi, one of the most important 9/11 financial organizers, bought a Boeing 747 flight simulator program using al-Shehhi's credit card. Eventually they decided that German flight schools would not work for them, and they decided to train in the United States.
In the United States.
Flight education and preparation.
Al-Shehhi was the first of the Hamburg group to leave for the United States. He arrived in Newark, New Jersey on 29 May 2000. Atta and Jarrah joined him the next month, and the three men began to search for flight schools. Al-Shehhi and Jarrah posed as body guards of Atta, who were also posing as a "Saudi Arabian royal family member" while the three of them took flying lessons in Venice, Florida. They logged hundreds of hours on a Boeing 727 flight simulator. They received their licenses by December 2000. Their expenses were paid for by Ali Abdul Aziz Ali. On either 26 or 27 December, Atta, Jarrah, and al-Shehhi abandoned a Piper Cherokee that had stalled on the runway of Miami International Airport. On 29 December, Atta, Jarrah and Marwan went to the Opa-Locka Airport and practiced on a Boeing 727 simulator. Al-Shehhi began to take "surveillance flights" in the summer of 2001, watching the operations of flight crews and making final preparations.
Travels in early 2001.
Ziad Jarrah, Atta, and al-Shehhi, having progressed in their training, all took foreign trips during the holiday period of 2000-2001. When Atta returned to Florida, al-Shehhi left for Morocco, traveling to Casablanca in mid-January 2001. al-Shehhi's family, concerned about not having heard from him, reported him missing to the UAE government. The UAE embassy in turn contacted the Hamburg police and a UAE representative tried to find him in Germany, visiting mosques and al-Shehhi's last address in Hamburg. After learning that his family was looking for him, al-Shehhi telephoned them on 20 January and said he was living and studying in Hamburg. The UAE government then told the Hamburg police they could call off the search.
Atta and al-Shehhi both encountered some difficulty reentering the United States, on 10 January and 19 January, respectively. As neither had presented a student visa, both of them had to persuade INS inspectors that they should be admitted so that they could continue their flight training. Neither operative had any problem clearing customs. After returning to Florida from their trips, Atta and al-Shehhi visited Georgia, staying briefly in Norcross and Decatur, and renting a single-engine plane to fly with an instructor in Lawrenceville. By 19 February, Atta and al-Shehhi were in Virginia. They had rented a mailbox in Virginia Beach, cashed a check, and then promptly returned to Georgia, staying in Stone Mountain. In mid-March, Ziad Jarrah was in Georgia as well, staying in Decatur. At the end of the month, Jarrah left the United States again and visited Sengün in Germany for two weeks. In early April, Atta and al-Shehhi returned to Virginia Beach and closed the mailbox they had opened in February.
Atta and al-Shehhi returned to Virginia Beach from their travels in Georgia, making their way to a large Dar Al-Hijrah mosque, sometime in early April. They were joined there by 9/11 hijackers Nawaf al-Hazmi and Hani Hanjour who had moved out of San Diego and Arizona after living in or visiting Abdussattar Shaikh's house, where Khalid al-Mihdhar also stayed. In January, the mosque had recently hired the same imam Anwar al-Awlaki with whom Hazmi had spent time at the Rabat mosque in San Diego. He remembered Hazmi from San Diego but denied having contact with Hazmi or Hanjour in Virginia. Atta and al-Shehhi returned to Florida and moved into an apartment in Coral Springs. Atta stayed in Florida, awaiting the arrival of the first hijackers. Al-Shehhi, on the other hand, bought a ticket to Cairo and flew there from Miami on 18 April. Al-Shehhi met with Atta's father, who stated in a post-9/11 interview that al-Shehhi wanted to pick up Atta's international driver's license and some money.
Al-Shehhi returned to Miami on 2 May. That day, Atta and Jarrah were together, about 30 miles to the north, visiting a Department of Motor Vehicles office in Lauderdale Lakes, Florida, to get Florida driver's licenses. In mid-July 2001, some of the hijackers and members of the Hamburg cell gathered near Salou, Spain, for a period of a few days up to a couple of weeks. Since hotel records are sparse during some of that time, it is thought that they may have spent considerable time in and around safe houses related to the al-Qaeda leader in Spain, Imad Yarkas. After 9/11, Spanish investigators followed the trails backwards, and the events they uncovered were chronicled in the Spanish nationwide newspaper "El País". Witnesses told Spanish investigators they saw a man who resembled al-Shehhi on 17 July 2001 at the Universal Studios Port Aventura theme park next to Salou, Spain. The visitor, who was accompanied by two men, inquired about rides at the customer service counter. Witnesses indicated these companions resembled Ziad Jarrah, the later pilot on United Airlines Flight 93, and Said Bahaji, a then 26-year-old German-Moroccan member of the al-Qaeda cell in Hamburg. Back in Germany, it had been Bahaji's 1999 wedding during which al-Shehhi was filmed. Other witnesses elsewhere had pointed out Bahaji from photos, as one of the men they saw in Spain. But Bahaji bore a resemblance in appearance to Atta, who was traced to the same areas in Spain via hotel and travel records.
August 2001.
On August 23, the Israeli Mossad reportedly gave al-Shehhi's name to the CIA as part of a list of 19 names they said were planning an attack in the near future. Only four of the names are known for certain, including al-Shehhi; Nawaf al-Hazmi, Mohamed Atta, and Khalid al-Mihdhar.
On August 26, Marwan signed into the Panther Motel in Deerfield Beach, Florida, paying US$500, saying he wanted to stay until 2 September, and listing a Mailboxes Etc. as his permanent address. His register entry indicated that he was driving a blue Chevrolet Malibu, assumed to be the one rented by Atta two weeks prior, and manager Richard Surma said that he bent rules to allow Marwan to have another man as an overnight guest. On 28 August, Marwan went to the Miami International Airport, accompanied by an unknown man, where he purchased his ticket for Flight 175. On September 9, the motel manager, cleaning the room that al-Shehhi had vacated, found a bag containing a German/English dictionary, a protractor, flight manuals and local airport listings. Another employee later reported finding a box cutter.
According to librarian Kathleen Hensmen, Wail al-Shehri and Waleed al-Shehri used Internet access at Delray Beach Public Library in August 2001, where they may have been looking at information on crop dusting. They reportedly left the library with a third middle-eastern man, thought to be Marwan al-Shehhi, whom Hensmen claimed asked her for the name of a local restaurant. Staff at Shuckum's Oyster Pub and Seafood Grill in Hollywood, Florida claimed they recognized both Atta and Marwan as two of the people who had been at the restaurant on either 7 or 8 September. While there are varying stories about Atta's activities, all sources indicate that al-Shehhi drank rum and coke while talking to the others. On 9 September, they flew to Boston. The next day, al-Shehhi and three of the other hijackers, Fayez Banihammad, Mohand al-Shehri, and Satam al-Suqami, shared a room at the Milner Hotel in Boston.
Attacks.
According to the 9/11 Commission Report, al-Shehhi made a 3-minute call to Mohamed Atta (6:52-6:55 a.m.) on 11 September from within Logan International Airport as both American 11 and United 175 were to fly from Boston Logan to Los Angeles International Airport.
al-Shehhi boarded United 175 at 7:27 a.m. Around 30 minutes into the flight, between 8:42 and 8:46 a.m., the plane was hijacked. During the flight, the plane narrowly avoided a mid-air collision with another aircraft, Delta Airlines Flight 2315. Several calls were made from the plane to relatives, the passengers learning of the fate of American 11.
The plane was flown into the South Tower of the World Trade Center at 9:03:02 a.m. The plane crashed with a speed of approximately 590 mph (950 km/h) while carrying about 10,000 gallons (37,850 litres) of jet fuel. It was seen live on television around the world as it crashed into the South Tower, being filmed from multiple vantage points. al-Shehhi flew the plane faster and lower into the tower than Atta did, into the eastern half of the South Tower's southern facade close to the southeast corner, leading to the South Tower collapsing before the North Tower, which was the first to be hit.


Samuel Thurston

Samuel Royal Thurston (April 15, 1816 – April 9, 1851) was an American pioneer, lawyer and politician. He was the first delegate from the Oregon Territory to the United States Congress and was instrumental in the passage of the Donation Land Claim Act.
Biography.
Early years.
Thurston was born in Monmouth, Maine, and grew up in Peru, Maine; his father died when he was young. After attending Dartmouth College, he graduated in 1843 from Bowdoin College in Maine, graduating with honors. He then studied law under Robert Dunlap, married, and moved with his wife to Iowa.
Thurston came to the Oregon Country in 1847 as an emigrant over the Oregon Trail. In Oregon he settled in Hillsboro, where he practiced law. Then in 1848 he was elected to the Provisional Legislature from Tuality District where he served with fellow Hillsboro resident David Hill. In 1849, Thurston was selected to represent the Oregon Territory in the U.S. Congress.
Political career.
In the struggle for the control of Oregon lands, Thurston was an ally of Jason Lee against John McLoughlin, the chief of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver who had helped thwart settlement in the territory. As Congressional delegate, Thurston authored the Donation Land Claim Act so as to give McLoughlin's HBC claim to the state legislature. Thurston and Lee made false statements about McLoughlin before the United States Supreme Court in an effort to publicly discredit him. The statements resulted in the denial of McLoughlin's land claims to his homestead in Oregon City.
Thurston's major political achievement was in helping pass the Donation Land Claim Act in 1850. The act legitimized existing land claims in the Oregon Territory and granted 640 acres (2.6 km²) to each married couple who would settle and cultivate the land for four years. The act is considered a forerunner of the 1862 Homestead Act.
In 1850 he wrote an address to Congress urging the prohibition of free African-Americans from the Oregon Territory, in which said:
[It] is a question of life or death to us in Oregon. The negroes associate with the Indians and intermarry, and, if their free ingress is encouraged or allowed, there would a relationship spring up between them and the different tribes, and a mixed race would ensure inimical to the whites; and the Indians being led on by the negro who is better acquainted with the customs, language, and manners of the whites, than the Indian, these savages would become much more formidable than they otherwise would, and long bloody wars would be the fruits of the comingling of the races. It is the principle of self preservation that justifies the actions of the Oregon legislature.
Along with Joseph Lane, he was instrumental in 1851 in blocking ratification of the Tansy Point Treaty concerning the lands of the Clatsop and Nehalem tribes along the Oregon Coast. The lack of ratification resulted in a legal limbo for the tribes which continues to this day.
Death and legacy.
While returning to Oregon via Panama, Thurston died of the effects of a tropical fever off Acapulco, Mexico while aboard the steamer "California." According to a contemporary obituary:
He died on the 9th [of April 1851] ... eight days from Panama ... His arduous labors at Washington had prepared his system for an attack of the malignant fever incident to the Isthmus, from the effects of which he had not recovered before experiencing a severe attack of diarrhea, which, together with an affection of the liver, under which he had sometime labored, terminated his earthly existence.
Thurston's body was originally interred in Acapulco, but his remains were brought to Oregon two years later by an act of the Oregon Legislature. His body was reburied in the Salem Pioneer Cemetery in Salem. The inscription reads: "Here rests Oregon's first delegate, a man of genius and learning. A lawyer and statesman. His devotions equaled his wide philanthropy, his public acts are his best eulogium."
Thurston County, Washington, originally part of the Oregon Territory and now home of Olympia the capital of Washington, was named in his honor.


Lennox Sebe

Lennox Leslie Wongama Sebe (26 July 1926 – 23 July 1994) was chief minister of the Xhosa bantustan of Ciskei after its self-rule in 1972, and the nominally independent country's first president from 1983.
Early life.
Born in Belstone, near King William's Town, Sebe worked first as a school teacher before being appointed as a school principal in 1954. In 1968, Sebe was elected as a representative of the Ama Ntinde Tribe in the Ciskeian Territorial Authority and became responsible for Educational and Cultural Affairs, before transferring to the Agriculture portfolio in 1971.
Rise to power.
Sebe founded the Ciskei National Independent Party and contested Ciskei's inaugural election in February 1973. He was elected to the Zwelitsha electorate and succeeded Chief Justice Mabandla to become the second Chief Minister of Ciskei on May 21, 1973. He would then become President when Ciskei was granted nominal independence from South Africa on 4 December 1981. Sebe declared himself President for Life in 1983.
Sebe was faced with leading an economically unviable state, with a population of one million, many of them Xhosa forced to relocate to the bantustan in the 1970s, during South Africa's apartheid regime.
Dictatorship.
Immediately upon independence, Sebe consolidated power in a dictatorship, supported by the 1,000-strong military force. He crushed all opposition, including bitter protests against a transit fare strike in 1983 (most residents worked outside the bantustan, and relied on public transportation to get them to work). That same year, Sebe's brother, Lieutenant General Charles Sebe, head of Ciskei's intelligence service, attempted to overthrow the government. Though Charles Sebe was arrested, he escaped from prison in 1986 and made his way to nearby Transkei, where he continued to agitate against the regime. In 1987, he orchestrated the kidnapping of Sebe's son Khwane, who was held prisoner in Transkei until Sebe agreed to release political prisoners in exchange for his son.
Sebe visited Israel on several occasions during his presidency and established a trade office in Tel Aviv that was run by two Israelis with ties to the Gush Emunim Israeli settler movement. During this period, the Ciskeian capital, Bisho, signed a sister-city agreement with the settlement community of Ariel in the West Bank. Sebe once claimed that Israel had granted official recognition to Ciskei, although the Israeli Foreign Ministry denied this.
Collapse.
Sebe was overthrown by a military coup led by Brigadier General Oupa Gqozo on 4 March 1990 while on state visit to Hong Kong and charged with corruption and human rights violations.


2007 Labour Party deputy leadership election

The 2007 Labour Party deputy leadership election was a British political party election for the position of deputy leader of the Labour Party. John Prescott, the previous deputy leader, announced on 10 May 2007 that he was standing down from that position and that he would be leaving as deputy prime minister about the same time that Tony Blair tendered his resignation as prime minister.
Harriet Harman was elected deputy leader on 24 June 2007 with 50.43% of the final redistributed vote. However Gordon Brown, who was elected leader on the same day, did not subsequently appoint her deputy prime minister, instead leaving the office vacant.
There had been reports that an increasing number of Labour MPs and members of the NEC had been attempting to get the election for the position of deputy leader abandoned in order to save the £2,000,000 it was estimated that the contest would cost. There would have had to have been a special conference convened if such an alteration was to be made.
Successfully nominated candidates.
All six declared candidates secured more than the 45 nominations from MPs that was the minimum requirement for them to get onto the ballot paper by close of nominations at 12:30 UTC+1 on 17 May 2007.
Results.
The election took place using Alternative Vote in an electoral college, with a third of the votes allocated to MPs and MEPs, a third to individual members of the Labour Party, and a third to individual members of affiliated organisations, mainly trade unions.
Harriet Harman won the contest, her victory heavily depending on support from individual party members with preference votes narrowing her opponent's lead and she only led in the final round. The final total percentage votes for the two main candidates after redistribution were almost identical to those of the final round of the 1981 contest.
Suggested candidates not standing.
Jeremy Corbyn announced in December 2006 he was considering running for the Deputy Leadership. However, there was no subsequent statement from him on it and he nominated Hilary Benn for the Deputy Leadership. No other eligible person — i.e. Labour MP — announced they were considering standing for the position except for the six nominated candidates and Jeremy Corbyn. Corbyn would go on to be elected Leader of the Labour Party in the 2015 leadership election, appointing Benn his Shadow Foreign Secretary.
There was some speculation about Ed Balls, Patricia Hewitt, David Miliband and Jack Straw standing for the position, but no sign that they had ever said they were inclined to run and all had ruled themselves out before nominations opened.
Candidate spending.
The amount of donations made to each candidate for their campaigns were: