Hermann Kreutzer

Hermann Kreutzer (3 May 1924 – 3 March 2007) was a German political activist (SPD). As a teenager he was caught distributing anti-government leaflets, and spent the final months of the National Socialist period serving the first part of a ten year prison sentence. Towards the end of 1945 he entered mainstream politics in his home region, which was by now being administered as part of the Soviet occupation zone. He campaigned against the contentious party merger between the Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party. A further lengthy period in government detention followed. In 1956, following high level government negotiations, he was released and unceremoniously transferred from East to West Berlin.
After this he came to the notice of commentators as one of a handful of West German back-room negotiators involved in the "Häftlingsfreikauf" programme, which involved East German political prisoners being released to West Germany in return for large amounts of cash. When the programme began, in 1962, it was a jealously guarded government secret on both sides of the border between the Germanys. However, as more and more former East German political prisoners turned up in West Germany during the 1960s and 1970s, the realities of "Häftlingsfreikauf" became, little by little, a matter of public knowledge. By 1980, some of the complexities of Hermann Kreutzer's shadowy involvement in it were being openly discussed in the West German press.
Biography.
Provenance and early years.
Hermann Kreutzer was born into a politicised family in Saalfeld, a small industrial town in Thuringia, south of Erfurt and Weimar. Paul Kreutzer, his father, worked as a carpenter and as a master-glazier, and was a committed member of the Social Democratic Party. When Hermann Kreutzer was aged 8 the National Socialists took power and lost no time in transforming Germany into a one-party dictatorship. Any sort of anti-government political activity became illegal and, for those who engaged in it, dangerous. A childhood experience young Hermann would never forget involved a visit to the family home from the security services. They ransacked the drawers and cupboards and, while they were at it, crushed his favourite toy car. As a teenager he took part in "leafleting actions", which involved distributing political material produced by or for the illegal SPD in Saalfeld.
The army.
In 1942, Kreutzer was conscripted for military service and sent to serve in occupied France. Though opposed to Nazism, he was no pacifist. He had the self-confident bearing and the Aryan physique of a Prussian officer. Like Adolf Hitler, he idolized King Frederick the Great. When he acquired a nasty war wound, therefore, and was taken to a military hospital, he faced no questioning over the cause. In fact, the cause of his "war wound" was a large pot of boiling water which his father had poured over his leg. In order to ensure there would be no rapid recovery, Paul Kreutzer had completed the work on his son's leg by thoroughly contaminating the resulting skin burn. Other sources recall that while serving in France Hermann Kreutzer secretly maintained contact with the résistance. At considerable personal risk, he would steal weapons from the military stores and hand them over to résistance contacts. Elsewhere there are references to his having undertaken (equally dangerous) courier work for the résistance. In March 1945, still aged only 17, he was arrested by the authorities, found guilty of "Wehrkraftzersetzung" ("undermining the war effort"), and sentenced to a ten year jail term. In the chaos of the final months of the Second World War he managed to escape. From somewhere he got hold of a set of civilian clothes and a bicycle. He returned to Saalfeld in the company of United States forces. Interviewed a year before his death Kreutzer would recall with satisfaction that he had managed to complete his escape and return home without a shot being fired.
Time to rebuild.
By this time Kreutzner was twenty-one. The region surrounding Saalfeld had been liberated by United States 2nd Infantry Division. The US military administration and their British allies gave Kreutzner his first post-war assignment. He was allocated responsibility for managing food distribution in four districts. In July 1945, the area was handed over to the Soviet administration as had been agreed at the Yalta Conference. From October 1949, the area became part of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). In July 1945, Kreutzer and his father, Paul, met Walter Ulbricht, who later, as General Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party, became East Germany's first leader. Ulbricht had returned to Germany from Moscow on 30 April 1945, with a group of other German exiles known as the Ulbricht Group. At their first meeting, Kreutzer and his father told Ulbricht of their plans to create a local League of Democratic Socialists. The Kreutzer's were co-opted as members of the Social Democratic Party regional executive. With others, they set up a Saalfeld branch of the party.
Political tensions in the Soviet occupation zone.
Relations between the Kreutzers and the emerging Soviet-style communist establishment quickly deteriorated. The push for an unequal political merger between Communists and Social Democrats was already on display. Discussions were sometimes heated. In his 2006 interview, Kreutzer would recall receiving a friendly warning from another future East German leader at a Youth Seminar in Camburg. Erich Honecker of the Free German Youth told him, "If you carry on like this, you'll end up back in the jail". At the start of April 1946, Hermann Kreutzer and his father cycled over to Weimar in response to an invitation they had received to attend a lunch with other prominent politicians and activists. The invitation came from the Soviet military administrators in the region: lunch was to be served in the "officer's casino" at the . Before the meal began, Kreutzer was able to inspect the long finely decorated table. The "Socis" (Social Democrats) were to sit along one side of it and the "Komiks" ("comedians", as, among themselves, they called the Communists) were to sit along the other side. An unexpected feature of the way in which the room had been prepared had involved the positioning of a second chair behind each of the chairs set in place for the diners. When the guests sat down to eat, each man found himself with a Soviet officer sitting directly behind him. After the meal, the acting regional president of the Social Democrats, , proposed a toast. He cited (if selectively) a rich tradition of pioneering Social Democratic progress in the Thuringia region, dating back to . In light of this, it was no more than his duty to be the first, here in Thurinigia, to "proclaim the unity" (between Communists and Social Democrats). For Kreutzer and other Social Democrats present, Hoffman's action was an appalling betrayal, but as soon as Hoffmann sat down the Soviet general next to him stood up: "We wish to toast the unity". Several Social Democrats began to protest, but behind each of them a Soviet officer came to life and ordered them to "say nothing". On the other side of the table the communist lunch guests now stood up, as one, and sang a verse extolling party unity from the song (originally a poem by the revolutionary poet ), . As far as Thuringia was concerned, the formal unification of the Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party was enacted at nearby Gotha on 7 April 1946. Accordingly, the political unification did take place a couple of weeks earlier in Thuringia than in the rest of the Soviet occupation zone. "Nationally", the contentious merger took place at a special congress convened in Berlin on 21 April 1946.
On 1 May 1946, Hermann Kreutzer and Dorothée "Dorle" Fischer attended the first political rally in Saalfeld of the new Socialist Unity Party ("Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands" / SED) in the main square at Saalfeld. The two of them had been friends since before the memorable occasion in 1933 when, aged 9 and 10, they had celebrated Hitler's successes by together discovering Kreutzer's uncle's wine collection. As the meeting in the square progressed, Dorle suggested the two of them should leave in case events turned ugly. But Kreutzner's opposition to National Socialism would never translate into opposition to military values of honour, courage and loyalty. He was loyal to the Social Democratic Party. So at night, with others, he now began to make his way through the streets of the town, sticking to the walls posters condemning the merger of the Communist and Social Democratic parties. He would pass information about the party merger and the arrests being made in order to enforce it through the still porous border West Berlin-based press contacts. He argued openly with the SPD regional party president, , who had endorsed the merger. Kreutzer also maintained contacts from his Saalfeld home-base with the so-called in West Berlin and Hanover, set up by leaders of the forcibly merged SPD from the Soviet occupation zone, who moved to the west because they wanted no part in the merger. The only place in the whole of Germany where it had been possible to hold a genuine member's vote among SPD members about the proposed party merger had been in West Berlin, where the idea was rejected by 82% of those voting.)
Arrest, trial and conviction.
When Kreutzer was arrested again, on 4 April 1949, he was not totally surprised. This time it was not the Gestapo arresting him but the Russian secret police. He was detained at Weimar, as before identified as a political prisoner. Interrogation sessions involved beatings, immersion in cold water and sleep deprivation. Fairly soon, Kreutzer reached the point at which he would "sign anything". On 31 August, with his father, his fiancée (who had been working as a typist for the town council) and three other Social Democrat activists, he faced a Soviet military tribunal which was persuaded of his guilt in respect of "anti-Soviet propaganda", "counter-revolutionary activities" and "socialist breach of faith. The military tribunal sentenced Hermann Kreutzer, his father Paul Kreutzer, and his future wife Dorothée to twenty-five years of imprisonment and, according to some sources, forced labour apiece.
Dorothée was taken to NKVD special camp Nr. 7, the former Sachsenhausen concentration camp, on the outskirts of Berlin. She was later transferred to Hoheneck women's prison in Saxony. After a brief stay at Brandenburg-Görden Prison, Kreutzer and his father were taken to the overcrowded correctional facility at Bautzen. A large hall intended to accommodate 200 inmates accommodated 400 with nothing to do except sit and, in winter time, freeze. Contact with Dorothée at Sachsenhausen was out of the question. Starvation was everywhere and tuberculosis was rampant. There were no doctors and no drugs. Dead bodies were removed just once per day, directly after the roll call was taken. On one occasion, when Kreutzer was assigned to a team digging a mass grave, they had to stop and dig a new pit in another part of the ground after reaching a large pile of bones from a previous interment.
Release and expulsion.
Kreutzer and his father did not, in the end, serve out their full twenty-five year sentences. In part, they were beneficiaries of the so-called Khrushchev Thaw. More directly, according to one source, they benefitted from the intervention of a senior British politician. In the years directly following the war, and on account of the still significant international presence of the residual British empire, British politicians at that time enjoyed significant prestige and influence across Europe. First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev of the Soviet Union visited London in April 1956. Possibly through the British connections of Kreutzer's friend Walter Kaack, the Labour Party leader, Hugh Gaitskell, had become aware of the predicament of his fellow social-democrat, Hermann Kreutzer, and found an opportunity to intercede with the Soviet leader on Kreutzer's behalf. On 31 May 1956, Hermann and Paul Kreutzer were released from the Bautzen penitentiary, and quietly removed to West Berlin. In the end, there was nothing particularly quiet about the press conference Kreutzer called in West Berlin in order to demand that Dorothée should also be released. He threatened to cross back into East Berlin and demand to be re-arrested if his fiancée had not been released by the end of July. His willingness to carry out the threat was never tested. Behind the scenes other international pressure was also being applied. Early on the morning of 31 July 1949, Dorothée was removed from her prison and placed on a train to the border by the People's Police. It was still only 8 in the morning when she appeared at the door of the house in West Berlin in which Kereutzer was staying. In October 1956, Hermann Kreutzer and Dorothée Fischer were married.
In West Berlin, Hermann Kreutzer immediately returned to politics, now with the "West" German SPD. For many years, he chaired the local party in Berlin-Tempelhof, also serving there as a local councillor and, later, as the Tempelhof local councillor with responsibility for social affairs.
Ministry for All-German Affairs / Intra-German Relations.
In 1967, at the instigation of the Minister for All-German Affairs renamed in 1969 as the Ministry for Intra-German Relations, Herbert Wehner, Kreutzer switched to national politics, accepting a position as ministerial director in Wehner's ministry. The ministry's responsibilities and priorities changed over time, but its essential focus was on the endlessly changeable, complex and sensitive relationship between the government's West Germany |West]] and East Germany. Kreutzer was given charge of administering the so-called "Häftlingsfreikauf" programme, which involved East German political prisoners being released to West Germany in return for large amounts of cash. The existence of the programme was not publicised at the time and it remained unacknowledged throughout and (less effectively) beyond the 1970s: most of the available information on its operation emerged only later. Kreutzer remained at the ministry after the coalition government fell in 1979, to be replaced by an SPD/FDP coalition government under Willy Brandt. Kreutzer's new ministerial boss was Egon Franke. It becomes clear that after 1979 Kreutzer quickly became disenchanted with the new West German government's more conciliatory approach to relations with the East German authorities, however. Between 1970 and 1980 Hermann Kreutzer sometimes deputised for Egon Bahr at meetings. The meetings involved were of a diplomatic nature and details of Kreutzer's involvement remain unknown. Bahr took the lead on behalf of Willy Brandt's government in negotiating a succession of treaties intended to regularise West Germany's relationships with governments to the east. They included the Treaties of Moscow and Warsaw (1970), the so-called Transit Treaty (1972) which secured the right of West Berliners to visit East Berlin and (under a much more restrictive set of conditions) of East Berliners to visit West Berlin. A particularly important treaty negotiated by Bahr and his team was the so-called Basic Treaty (1972).
Kurt Schumacher Circle.
In 1968 Hermann Kreuzer founded the "Kurt Schumacher Circle", named after the former (western) SPD leader Kurt Schumacher. This was an organisation comprising people who had been locked up by the East German authorities and / or who had escaped / deserted from East Germany to West Germany since 1949. Kreuzer himself became the principal spokesman of the "Kurt Schumacher Circle". An important concern which Kreutzer was keen to bring to the attention of the SPD party leadership was the risk of the party becoming infiltrated by younger leftwingers who were controlled by, or at least sympathetic to the political objectives of, the government of East Germany.
Party tensions.
In April 1979 Hermann Kreutzer went public with his belief that West Germany was playing host to between 10,000 and 12,000 people whom he identified as "agents of influence" ("Einflussagenten"), operating on behalf of the East German ruling party and occupying positions that enabled them to affect West German decision makers, notably within the SPD, the trades unions and the churches. Kreutzer believed that the entire affair was being orchestrated by , an East German Central Committee member with responsibility for the west (which meant West Germany). When he went on to identify certain parliamentarians as "agents of influence", formal were lodged against him at the Ministry for Intra-German Relations, in which at this stage he was still employed. The matter escalated. A party exclusion commission produced conclusions against Kreutzer which one source, unpersuaded by his allegations, identified as unexpectedly lenient. Although Kreutzer himself showed little appetite for downplaying the whole business, there were those in positions of influence within the party who were keen to avoid making a political martyr of Kreutzer among people who believed that he was almost certainly correct - in general terms if not in every precise details - about East German attempts to influence opinion in West Germany.. During 1980 Kreutzer went public and personal with criticisms of party leader, ex-chancellor Brandt whose policy towards East Germany "Ostpolitik" he thought at best naïf. Shortly after this Hermann Kreutzer was operationally retired ("dienstlich in den Ruhestand versetzt"). Shortly before the 1980 general election Hermann Kreutzer made a public appeal to voters to back the opposition CDU (party) with their votes. Sources differ over whether at this point he was expelled from the SPD or whether he anticipated expulsion by resigning his membership.
Later years.
Although 1980 marked an end to his involvement with the SPD, Kreutzer remained politically engaged. He re-organised the Kurt Schumacher Circle which now became part of the "Gesellschaft für soziale Demokratie e. V." ("Society for Social Democracy") which had been founded in 1982. Its membership was composed mostly of former SPD members who in the past had been part of the party's right wing, many of them supporters of Fritz Erler. An enduring theme remained opposition to the East German ruling SED (party). After the changes and reunification in 1990 the SED scrambled to reinvent itself for a democratic future, relaunching itself as the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS). Long before 1990, Kreutzer was researching and recording the East German regime's crimes. After 1990 he remained unpersuaded that the party could have changed fundamentally.
During the 1990s and on through the new century Hermann Kreutzer continued to deliver lectures on his experiences of the East German prison system. He also co-wrote a biography of Marlene Dietrich which was published in 2001 in which he held out the singer-actress as a consistent and uncompromising opponent of National Socialism.


Matvei Berman

Matvei Davidovich Berman (Russian: Матвей Давыдович Берман; April 10, 1898 – March 7, 1939) was a Soviet security officer and head of the Gulag Soviet prison camp system from 1932 to 1937.
Life.
Berman was born in Andiranovka, Chita, Transbaikal Oblast, the son of a Jewish brickyard owner. He joined the Russian army and entered the military school in Irkutsk. He then became a cadet of the 25th Reserve infantry regiment. Berman joined the Bolsheviks in June 1917. In 1918 he joined the Red Army and was stationed in Tomsk and in June was working in a propaganda unit. In August 1918, Berman joined the Cheka and was named chief of uyezd-level Cheka in the city of Glazov. From 1923 to 1924, he was the People's Commissar for State Security in the Buryat-Mongol Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. He then led the OGPU in Central Asia. From February 1927 to October 1927 he was the chairman of the OGPU in the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic.
In November 1929 he helped develop the Gulag system of camps and became deputy chief of the Gulag in 1930. From June 9, 1932 to August 17, 1937 he was head of the Gulag. He was awarded the Order of Lenin on August 4, 1933, soon after the completion of the White Sea – Baltic Canal. By 1935, by his own count, Berman was in charge of over 740,000 prisoners working on 15 major projects in the Gulag.
After the fall of Genrikh Yagoda, Berman continued to rise in the hierarchy of the NKVD and he held the offices of head construction of the Moscow-Volga Canal and deputy head of the NKVD in 1936–1937.
In August 1937, Berman's fall began in the time of the Great Terror. On August 17, 1937, he lost his position as head of the Gulag and was appointed People's Commissar of Posts and Telecommunications (Russian: Наркомпочтель). On December 23, 1938, he was expelled from the Soviet Communist Party, arrested the next day in the office of Georgi Malenkov, and sent to prison at Lubyanka. He was found guilty by the Military Collegiate of the Supreme Court of the USSR of belonging to a "terrorist and sabotage organization" and shot on March 7, 1939, at Kommunarka.
On October 17, 1957 Matvei Berman was legally rehabilitated.
Family.
Matvei Berman's brother, Boris Davidovich Berman was also a leading NKVD officer.
Another brother, Solomon Berman (1902–40), also held senior NKVD posts in the regions until his arrest in October 1938 and execution on 19 January 1940.


British Constitution Association

The British Constitution Association, founded in 1905 as the British Constitutional Association, was a pressure group designed to oppose increasing state regulation, whether from the Liberal Party's New Liberalism or Joseph Chamberlain's proposals for Tariff Reform. It has been described as "a curious mixture of unionist free traders, orthodox poor law administrators, and followers of Herbert Spencer".
Its first president was Lord Hugh Cecil, who was succeeded by Lord Balfour of Burleigh. Its supporters included the constitutional expert A. V. Dicey, Lord Avebury, Lord Courtney, John St Loe Strachey, Professor Flinders Petrie, Thomas Mackay, and Hugh Elliott.


Cecil John Rhodes Statue

The Cecil John Rhodes Statue is a monument erected at Company's Garden in Cape Town. The statue was erected in 1908. It features a full body replica of Rhodes wearing a three-piece suit, standing with his left hand raised and pointing north. It has been compared to the Jan van Riebeeck statue, which faces south and asserts a different sense of occupation. Despite its size, the present location of the monument in the company's Garden makes it less significant in comparison to that of Jan Smuts at Adderley Street, Cape Town, a location that had been considered for the placement of the Rhodes statue.
Location.
The monument is located in the company's Garden on a secondary axis of the Iziko South African Museum. The original plan was to use the statue as a visual landmark at the top of Adderley Street; however, Sir Herbert Baker objected to the placement of the statue at the top of Adderley Street because of the scale of the statue. His concern was that the statue could have a dwarfing effect on the cathedral or other monuments in the vicinity. Due to a lack of consensus as to where the statue should be placed by Baker and Francis Masey, the statue was placed in the company's Garden instead of on Adderley Street.
Architecture.
The architectural design is described as an expression of imperialist interest in Southern Africa. It was made of non-orthogonal and roughly hewn sandstone material to symbolise Rhodes' love for the natural environment and his interest in mining, which was the main focus of his industrial interest in South Africa. Some historians and architects argue that the monument is an expression of Rhodes' interest in what was then called Transvaal and the Orange Free State.
Life.
Rhodes (5 July 1853 – 26 March 1902) was a British businessman, mining magnate, and politician in South Africa. An ardent believer in British colonialism, Rhodes was the founder of the southern African territory of Rhodesia, which was named after him in 1895. South Africa's Rhodes University is also named after Rhodes. He set up the provisions of the Rhodes Scholarship, which is funded by his estate.


Latin American and Caribbean Group

The Group of Latin America and Caribbean Countries, or GRULAC, is one of the five United Nations Regional Groups composed of 33 Member States from Central and South America, as well as some islands in the West Indies. Its members compose 17% of all United Nations members.
The Group, as with all the regional groups, is a non-binding dialogue group where subjects concerning regional and international matters are discussed. Additionally, the Group works to help allocates seats on United Nations bodies by nominating candidates from the region.
Member States.
The following are the Member States of the Latin American and Caribbean Group:
Representation.
Security Council.
The Latin American and Caribbean Group currently holds two seats on the Security Council, both non-permanent. The current members of the Security Council from the Group are:
Economic and Social Council.
The Latin American and Caribbean Group currently holds 10 seats on the United Nations Economic and Social Council. The current members of the Economic and Social Council from the Group are:
Human Rights Council.
The Latin American and Caribbean Group currently holds eight seats on the United Nations Human Rights Council. The current members of the Economic and Social Council from the Group are:
Presidency of the General Assembly.
Every five years in the years ending in 3 and 8, the Latin American and Caribbean Group is eligible to elect a president to the General Assembly.
The following is a list of presidents from the Group since its official creation in 1963:
Timeline of membership.
As the Latin American and the Caribbean changed significantly over time, the number of its members had also changed.
Role.
The Group plays a major role in promoting the region's interests. It provides a forum for Member States to exchange opinions on international issues, carry out follow-up on the topics that are being discussed in international organisations, build common positions on complex issues and prepare statements reflecting the joint position of the Group.
However, most importantly, the Group allows for the discussion and coordination of support for candidates for different United nations organisations from the region.
Regular meetings of the Group take place in Geneva. The most common topics discussed at these meetings are human rights, environment, intellectual property, labour rights, trade and development and telecommunications.
Locations.
The Group maintains various offices across the globe:


Later Tang

Tang, known in history as Later Tang, was a short-lived imperial dynasty that lasted from 923 to 937 during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in the history of China.
The first three of Later Tang's four emperors were ethnically Shatuo.<ref name="http://books.google.se/books?id=SQWW7QgUH4gC&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=Imperial+China:+900%E2%80%931800&source=bl&ots=j7zwpy_kAh&sig=S4nTOx01EZ7y3AcabOgF68Ivbh0&hl=sv&sa=X&ei=uJ18VMLSI8bIyAOHloDQCQ&ved=0CHYQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=Imperial%20China%3A%20900%E2%80%931800&f=false"></ref> The name Tang was used to legitimize itself as the restorer of the Tang dynasty (618–907). Although Later Tang officially began in 923, the dynasty already existed in the years before, as a polity called Jin (907–923).
At its height, Later Tang controlled most of northern China.
Formation.
From the fall of the Tang Dynasty in 907, a rivalry had developed between the successor Later Liang, formed by Zhu Wen, and the State of Jin, formed by Li Keyong, in present-day Shanxi. The rivalry survived the death of Li Keyong, whose son Li Cunxu continued to expand Jin territories at the expense of the Later Liang.
Li Keyong forged an alliance with the powerful Khitan, like the Shatuo a people of the northern steppe, a relationship that figured significantly in the expansion and ultimate triumph of the Shatuo. Li Cunxu was successful in overthrowing the Later Liang in 923 and proclaimed himself emperor of the Later Tang, which he referred to as the "Restored Tang". As a part of "restoring the Tang", the capital was moved back to the old Tang eastern seat of Luoyang.
Course.
The Later Tang was a short-lived regime, lasting only thirteen years. Li Cunxu himself lived only three years after the founding of the dynasty, having been killed during an officer's rebellion in 926. Li Siyuan, the adopted son of Li Keyong, took over the dynasty, but relations with the Khitan had fallen sour. Internal struggles typified the remaining ten years of the dynasty, ending with its toppling in 936 when Shi Jingtang, son-in-law of Li Siyuan and a fellow Shatuo, rebelled, stormed the capital with the help of Khitan troops, and founded the Later Jin.
Extent of Later Tang territories.
The Later Tang controlled considerably more territory at its height than did the Later Liang. It extended to all the northern territories controlled by the Later Liang as well as its own base in Shanxi. It also had control over the areas around Beijing and Shaanxi, which were not entirely under the control of the Later Liang. The largest expansion of the Later Tang occurred in 925 when they conquered the Former Shu State, centered in present-day Sichuan. However, as Later Tang power was waning, a Later Shu state formed in 934, a year before the fall of the Later Tang.


Xu Yuanlang

Xu Yuanlang (徐圓朗) (died 623) was an agrarian rebel leader who rose against the rule of the Chinese dynasty Sui Dynasty late in the reign of Emperor Yang of Sui. After doing so, he did not initially claim any royal title, instead successively submitting nominally to Li Mi the Duke of Wei, Emperor Yang's grandson Yang Tong, Dou Jiande the Prince of Xia, and Tang Dynasty. After Dou was defeated and killed by Tang in 621, Xu briefly re-submitted to Tang, but rose again later that year when Dou's general Liu Heita the Prince of Handong rose against Tang, allying himself with Liu. He claimed the title of Prince of Lu. Tang forces defeated both Liu and Xu in 622, and Xu was killed in flight in 623, ending Xu's state of Lu.
Initial uprising.
Nothing is known about Xu Yuanlang's background other than that he was from Yan Province (兗州, roughly modern Jining, Shandong). He rose against Sui Dynasty rule in or before spring 617, and after he captured Dongping (東平, in modern Heze, Shandong), he expanded his territory, stretching from Dongping to Langye (琅邪, in modern Linyi, Shandong), and had more than 20,000 men.
Vacillating submissions.
In spring 618, after another major rebel leader, Li Mi the Duke of Wei, achieved a great victory over the Sui general Wang Shichong and approached the Sui eastern capital Luoyang, Xu Yuanlang, along with several other key rebel leaders, nominally submitted to him and requested that he take imperial title, but Li declined. After Wang defeated Li in 619, Xu submitted to the Sui emperor Yang Tong, then at Luoyang, although he also offered submission to Emperor Gaozu of Tang and was created the Duke of Lu. After Wang had Yang Tong yield the throne to him later that year, ending Sui and establishing a new state of Zheng, Xu also nominally submitted to Zheng. In winter 619, after another rebel leader, Dou Jiande the Prince of Xia, conquered the Tang territory north of the Yellow River, Xu submitted to Xia. In 621, when Zheng was under attack by the Tang general Li Shimin (the eventual Emperor Taizong), Dou requisitioned troops from Xu to aid Wang. Later that year, Dou was defeated and captured by Li Shimin, and Wang also surrendered to Li Shimin. Xu then submitted to Tang as well and was made the commandant of Yan Prefecture and again created the Duke of Lu.
Resistance against Tang and death.
Later in 621, Dou's general Liu Heita, supported by a group of Dou Jiande's supporters angry that Tang had executed Dou Jiande (even though he had previously treated the Tang prince Li Shentong (李神通) and the Princess Tong'an (Emperor Gaozu's sister) with kindness when he captured them), rose against Tang rule, and quickly captured most of Dou's former territory. In doing so, he was in communication with Xu, and Xu also rose, capturing the Tang general Sheng Yanshi (盛彥師) and receiving support from eight prefectures. He ordered Sheng to write a letter to Sheng's brother, who was the county magistrate of Yucheng (虞城, in modern Shangqiu, Henan), to get Sheng's brother to surrender, but Sheng instead wrote a letter that told his brother to be faithful and not betray Tang. Xu, after seeing the letter, laughed and said, "General Sheng has integrity and honor, and I shall not kill him." Liu gave Xu a general title, and in winter 621, Xu claimed the title of Prince of Lu as well.
During the next year, various people in the locale vacillated in their allegiance to Xu's Lu state and Tang. In summer 622, after Li Shimin defeated Liu, temporarily forcing Liu to flee to Eastern Tujue, Xu panicked and was not sure what to do. Under the suggestion of his subordinate Liu Fuli (劉復禮), he initially considered welcoming fellow rebel leader Liu Shiche (劉世徹), who had an honored reputation, to be his leader, but once LIu Shiche arrived, Xu, reminded that Zhai Rang had initially supported Li Mi but was ultimately killed by Li Mi, refused to support Liu Shiche and made him a general instead. Later on, suspicious of Liu Shiche, he had Liu Shiche executed. However, under attacks by Li Shimin and Li Shentong, Xu's territory continued to shrink. Li Shimin then returned to the Tang capital Chang'an, but left Li Shentong, Li Shiji, and Ren Gui (任瓌) in the region to continue to attack Xu.
By spring 623, Tang forces were putting Xu's capital at Yan under siege, and Xu's soldiers were surrendering in droves. Xu, desperate, fought out of the city and fled with only several guards. He was soon killed by men out in the country. His territory was taken by Tang.


Zhai Wei

Wei () was a state of Dingling ethnicity that existed from 388 to 392, during the Sixteen Kingdoms period of Chinese history. It is often referred to as Zhai Wei (翟魏) to be distinguished from numerous other states named Wei in history. Its founder Zhai Liao had previously been vacillating between being a vassal of Later Yan, Western Yan, and Jin dynasty, and in 388, after his last overture to reconcile with Later Yan's emperor Murong Chui was rejected, he declared his own state, over the territory of modern central and eastern Henan. In 392, Wei, then under Zhai Liao's son Zhai Zhao, was destroyed by Later Yan forces. Because of its relatively small size and short lifespan, Wei is generally not included by historians among the Sixteen Kingdoms.
The rulers of Wei used the title "Heavenly King" ("Tian Wang").


Ottoman campaign against Hormuz

The Ottoman campaign against Hormuz took place in 1552–54. An Ottoman fleet led by Admiral Piri Reis and Seydi Ali Reis was dispatched from the Ottoman harbour of Suez to eliminate the Portuguese presence from the northwestern part of the Indian Ocean, and especially their fortress at Hormuz Island.
Preliminaries.
The Ottomans were able to take possession of Basra from Persia during the Ottoman–Safavid War (1532–1555). The Ottomans were then able to capture several key positions in the Persian Gulf. In 1550, they captured Qatīf.
In the 1552–54 expedition, the Ottoman force consisted in 4 galleons, 25 galleys, and 850 troops, dispatched from the Ottoman harbour of Suez.
Sieges of Muscat and Hormuz.
The fleet managed to sack Portuguese Muscat, modern Oman, in August 1552 in the Capture of Muscat. Soon, however, the Ottomans departed. However, they were unsuccessful in the Siege of Hormuz in September 1552.
Ultimately, the fleet managed to occupy and control the coasts of Yemen, Aden, and Arabia, as far north as Basra, so as to facilitate their trade with India. The fleet went up to Basra, then an Ottoman harbour. They were unable to capture Bahrain in 1559.
Meanwhile, during the year 1553, Seydi Ali Reis was leading an expedition against the Portuguese into the Indian Ocean, but he was unsuccessful.
Seydi Ali Reis and his galleys would be taken in an ambush (Battle of the Gulf of Oman) by Portuguese forces while he was trying to bring back his fleet from Basra to Suez in August 1554.


Mikhail Timofeyevich Romanov

Mikhail Timofeyevich Romanov (; 3 November 18913 December 1941) was a Red Army major general. Romanov served with the Imperial Russian Army in World War I and joined the Red Army; he held command positions during the Russian Civil War. In 1939, Romanov became commander of the 185th Rifle Division. He attended courses at the Military Academy of the General Staff and became commander of the 172nd Rifle Division. Romanov led the division in the Siege of Mogilev and was taken prisoner during the Soviet breakout attempt. He was sent to the Hammelburg POW camp and died there in December 1941.
Early life, World War I, and Russian Civil War.
Romanov was born on 3 November 1891 in Nizhny Novgorod, the son of a craftsman. His father died when Romanov was fifteen, after the latter graduated from the city school. To support his mother and sister, he worked as a craftsman. In September 1915 he was mobilized as part of a militia call-up into the Imperial Russian Army, becoming a "ratnik 2-go razryada" (2nd class warrior) in the 153rd Separate Reserve Battalion, stationed in Kungur. Transferred to the 139th Reserve Battalion at Shadrinsk in February 1916, Romanov graduated from a warrant officers' preparatory course there prior to instruction at the Chistopol Warrant Officer School beginning in late March. After graduating from the school in August, Romanov was assigned to the 243rd Reserve Regiment in Nikolayevskoy "sloboda" as a junior "unter-ofitser". He was again transferred to the 50th Reserve Regiment in Rzhev during January 1917, where he served successively as a platoon commander, assistant company commander, and company commander. Romanov lived with his wife Marya Yefimovna in Rzhev, while the latter worked as a telegraphist. In the aftermath of the February Revolution Romanov became a member of the regimental committee.
Romanov was sent to the frontline army in November 1917 as a replacement to the 4th Rifle Regiment of the 1st Caucasus Rifle Division, being elected assistant battalion commander upon his arrival, after the October Revolution. With the same regiment, he subsequently served as chief of staff of a consolidated detachment responsible for the defense of Jakobstadt. As the army disintegrated, Romanov went on leave in January 1918 and was demobilized as a "podporuchik" a month later.
Returning to Rzhev, Romanov joined the Red Army there on 5 June and became a company commander in the 4th Karachev Rifle Regiment of the 2nd Tver Rifle Division. The regiment was relocated to Zubtsov in October, where it was reorganized as a special purpose battalion in the 1st Rifle Division; Romanov became head of the battalion school. The battalion was sent to the Eastern Front in May 1919, fighting against the White Army at Samara, Orenburg, and Akhtubinsk. Injured in a train derailment at the Aim rail siding on 30 October, he became head of the regimental school of the 2nd Tatar Rifle Regiment of the 1st Separate Volga Tatar Rifle Brigade in the 1st Army at Atkarsk following the disbandment of the battalion school. With the regiment, Romanov was sent to fight against the Basmachi in Fergana Oblast during November, serving in actions at Aralsk, Tashkent, and Andijan, where he was wounded in the head in May 1920. Andrey Yeryomenko wrote that Romanov had met Mikhail Frunze while in the hospital. For his leadership of the regimental school in the campaign Romanov was made assistant regimental commander, and upon his recovery from 7 June commanded the regiment, which later became the 11th Turkestan Rifle Regiment of the 4th Turkestan Rifle Division.
Interwar period.
Romanov's regiment was transferred to Verniy after the suppression of the Basmachi revolt. In October 1923, he left Central Asia for the Higher Rifle-Tactics Courses for the Improvement of the Red Army Infantry Command Cadre. After graduating in August 1924, he became commander of the 50th Rifle Regiment of the 17th Rifle Division in Nizhny Novgorod. Romanov served on the division staff from January 1925, initially as head of drill but then as chief of the operations department from October and chief of supply from August 1927, simultaneously serving in the latter position for the Gorokhovets military camps. While in Nizhny Novgorod, Marya Yefimovna gave birth to two sons, Vsevold (born 1922) and Yury (born 1923), and a daughter, Rimna, in 1927. He transferred to command the 18th Rifle Regiment of the 6th Rifle Division at Livny in May 1931.
He served as acting commander of the 55th Rifle Division at Kursk from June 1938, becoming its assistant commander in December. Romanov took command of the 185th Rifle Division, one of the new divisions formed during the expansion of the Red Army, at Belgorod in August 1939. He accompanied the division when it moved to Minsk in the Belorussian Special Military District during May 1940 and to Lithuania in August as part of the 11th Rifle Corps of the 8th Army in the Baltic Special Military District. During the year, Romanov was promoted to Major General and became a Communist Party of the Soviet Union member. After graduating from a six-month commander improvement course at the Military Academy of the General Staff beginning in December, he became commander of the 172nd Rifle Division in March 1941.
World War II.
When Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, began on 22 June, the 172nd was stationed at the Tesnitskoye Military Camp near Tula. In late June and early July, the division was rushed to the Belarusian city of Mogilev, where it became part of the 61st Rifle Corps of the 13th Army of the Western Front. There, Romanov organized the defense of the western bank of the Dnieper, blocking the Minsk–Mogilev and Mogilev–Bobruisk roads. As well as his own unit, Romanov ultimately controlled forces from the 110th Rifle Division, regiments or remnants of the 132nd, 137th, 160th, and 143rd Rifle Divisions, in addition to the remnants of the 20th Mechanized Corps; these formed the core of the city's defense. Immediately after it arrived, the city was besieged by German troops, whose first attack was made by elements of the 3rd Panzer Group against the division on 3 July. The defenders managed to repulse the attack and successive German attempts to cross the Dnieper, but were gradually worn down after 23 days in encirclement.
On the night of 26 to 27 July 61st Rifle Corps commander Major General Fyodor Bakunin ordered a breakout attempt after the garrison ran out of ammunition. Romanov was severely wounded in his left shoulder during the breakout. His column joined up with a German convoy under the cover of darkness but was spotted and destroyed. Romanov hid under the straw in a wagon and was sheltered by a peasant family in the village of Barsuki, 32 kilometers west of the city. He was captured there on 22 September and sent to the Lupolovo prisoner-of-war camp after being treated at a German hospital in Mogilev, according to an interrogation report written by a Police Regiment Centre officer. Within weeks, Romanov was transferred to the Hammelburg POW camp, dying of his wound there on 3 December 1941. He was erroneously reported by the testimony of released former Soviet prisoners of war to have died in July 1943. Romanov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner on 9 August 1941 for his leadership during the siege. He was survived by his wife, but his eldest son also died in the war.
Legacy.
A street in Mogilev was renamed in honor of Romanov in 1966; a bust of him was unveiled in the city in 2014.


Fannie Sellins

Fannie Sellins (1872 – August 26, 1919) was an American union organizer.
Born Fanny Mooney in New Orleans, Louisiana, she married Charles Sellins in St. Louis, Missouri. After his death she worked in a garment factory to support her four children. She helped to organize Local # 67 of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union in St. Louis, where she became a negotiator for 400 women locked out of a garment factory. Thus she came to the attention of Van Bittner, president of District 5 of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA).
In 1913, she moved to begin work for the mine workers union in West Virginia. Her work, she wrote, was to distribute "clothing and food to starving women and babies, to assist poverty stricken mothers and bring children into the world, and to minister to the sick and close the eyes of the dying." She was arrested once in Colliers, West Virginia for defying an anti-union injunction. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson intervened for her release.
Sellins had promised to obey the judge's order against picketing. She returned to Colliers from Fairmont, W.Va. and immediately broke her promise by challenging U.S. District Court Judge Alston G. Dayton to arrest her. He did.
With the help of U.S. Congressman Matthew M. Neely, the UMWA waged a public relations campaign to obtain a presidential pardon for Sellins. The union printed thousands of postcards with a photo of Sellins sitting behind the bars of her jail cell in Fairmont. On the back side of the card was the address of the White House.
Philip Murray hired Sellins to join the staff of the UMWA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1919, she was assigned to the Allegheny River Valley district to direct picketing by striking miners at Allegheny Coal and Coke Company. On August 26, she witnessed guards beating Joseph Starzeleski, a picketing miner, who was killed. When she intervened, deputies shot and killed her with four bullets, then a deputy used a cudgel to fracture her skull. Others said that she was attempting to protect miners' children that were on scene.
She was buried from St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church in New Kensington, Pennsylvania on August 29 and interred at Union Cemetery in Arnold. A coroner's jury in 1919 ruled her death justifiable homicide and blamed Sellins for starting the riot which led to her death although other witnesses portrayed a different event than the deputies at the scene. The union and her family raised money to hire a lawyer to press a criminal investigation and pressure officials to reopen the investigation. A grand jury in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, indicted three deputies for the killings but a trial in 1923 ended in acquittal for the two men accused of her murder. The actual gunman, John Pearson, never appeared for his trial and never was seen again.


Aghasi Khan

Aghasi Khan (1731–88) () was second khan of Shirvan Khanate along with his brother Muhammad Said khan. He was of nomadic tribe of Khanchobani ().
Early life and reign.
He was born to strong noble Askar bey or Allahverdi bey and his wife Ummugulsum khanum. His parents were of Sarkar clan of Khanchobani. In 1763/5 he attacked with his brother Muhammad Said khan to depose Hajji Muhammad Ali Khan by support of nomadic nobles. They captured New Shemakhy and moved capital to Old Shamakhy. But soon, in 1768 Fatali Khan of Quba attacked with his ally Shaki Khanate. In order to start negotiation, Muhammad Said khan himself went to Fatali Khan's court and Aghasi khan headed to Shaki. Aghasi khan was blinded by Huseyn khan of Shaki while his brother imprisoned. Khanate divided by Shaki Khanate and Quba Khanate. Khanate passed to Manaf Zarnavai and Fatali Khan's brother Abdulla. Next year Fatali Khan fully invaded Shirvan.
Struggle for throne.
Between 1768 and 1774, House of Sarkar were negotiating with Karabakh Khanate and Gilan Khanate in order to achieve reindependence. Fatali khan was defeated in 1774 with combined forces of Shaki Khanate, Avar Khanate, Kaitag and retreated to Salyan. Prior to this event Aghasi khan with his brother, declared himself independent again. They were defeated again by Fatali Khan. Aghasi khan was imprisoned, taken to Baku and was executed there.
Family.
Aghasi khan were married to 4 wives and had 12 children:


Sleeping dragon (manoeuver)

A sleeping dragon is a maneuver used by protesters to cause disruption. It involves handcuffs and PVC pipe: a series of protesters are handcuffed together through the PVC pipe, which precludes police from simply using bolt cutters to break the handcuffs. Advanced variations include covering the PVC pipe with elements which might make it more difficult to break. Examples include chicken wire, tar, and duct tape. Another variation is filling a barrel with concrete and putting the PVC pipe through the barrel such that it cannot be accessed without first destroying all of the concrete.
Often the protesters will chain, lock, or otherwise secure themselves to immovable objects, resulting in a difficult-to-remove human obstacle. This is typically accomplished best with carabiners tied to their wrists so that the protestors can easily unlock themselves, though they cannot be unlocked by outsiders.
Removal methods.
It is sometimes impossible for officers to know what is inside the sleeping dragon without cutting into it. Officers may cut into the pipe with such tools as an angle grinder, rotary saw, or whizzer saw, followed by a pry bar and pliers; or in the case of concrete, chipping hammers, hammer drills, and breakers. Abrasive saws, a band saw, and an angle grinder may be used on steel pipes. Officers may put fire retardant hoods and earmuffs on the protesters to protect them from sparks and noise as tools are used to cut through the sleeping dragon.
Once an inspection hole has been made, it may be possible to reach in with bolt cutters and cut the handcuff chain.
In 2018, Seattle police established an Apparatus Removal Team (ART) in response to sleeping dragon protests, its officers being trained and equipped to cut through plastic and metal without injuring protesters. Their approach involves cutting into tubing and placing a brightly-colored piece of plastic against the protester's skin, so that the blade will produce visible plastic shavings before it can cause any injury.


Mariam Appeal

The Mariam Appeal ("the Appeal") was a political campaign in the United Kingdom (UK) established in 1998 which ceased operation in 2003. The objects of the Appeal as stated in its constitution were "to provide medicines, medical equipment and medical assistance to the people of Iraq; to highlight the causes and results of the cancer epidemic in Iraq and to arrange for the medical treatment of a number of Iraqi children outside Iraq". The campaign was founded by the politician George Galloway, then a member of parliament, Princess Sarvath, wife of then Crown Prince Hassan of Jordan, was patron of the Appeal.
The Mariam Appeal was intended "to campaign against sanctions on Iraq which are having disastrous effects on the ordinary people of Iraq." The campaign was named after Mariam Hamza, a child flown by the fund from Iraq to Britain to receive treatment for leukaemia. The intention was to raise awareness of the suffering and death of tens of thousands of other Iraqi children due to poor health conditions and lack of suitable medicines and facilities, and to campaign for the lifting of the sanctions seen by many as a direct cause of those problems.
Among the activities undertaken was a daily newsletter on sanctions, a sanctions-busting flight to Baghdad, the Big Ben to Baghdad trip in a red London bus, meetings and conferences, the projection of an anti-war slogan on the House of Commons, and the facilitating of trips to Iraq by dozens of journalists.
Investigations.
The fund received scrutiny during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, after a complaint to the office of the Attorney General for England and Wales that Galloway used some of the donation money to pay his travel expenses. Galloway, however, denied that he had misused any funds raised for the Mariam Appeal and pointed out that it was reasonable for money from a campaign fund to be used to pay for the travel expenses of campaigners. Over the next four years Galloway faced several investigations related to the Appeal including the Oil-for-Food Program Hearings.
Charity Commission investigations.
The Mariam Appeal was investigated by the Charity Commission on more than one occasion. Although the Appeal was not a registered charity, the commission had jurisdiction to take action on funds raised in England and Wales on charitable grounds.
The report of the first, year-long, inquiry was published in June 2004.
The Charity Commission took the view that the political activities of the Appeal were ancillary to the charitable purposes of the Appeal and that the Trustees could reasonably have formed the view that this would have the impact of enabling treatment for sick children. The Commission found that the Appeal had done charitable work and raised significant funds, so should have registered with them and published accounts, taking the view that the legal advice the Appeal founders had taken that the constitution did not create a charity was wrong. It established that Dr. Amineh Abu-Zayyad, a Palestinian, who was married to Galloway between 2000 and 2005, had received unauthorised benefits in the form of salary payments from the Appeal's funds, although the executive committee considered these payments necessary and were unaware that they were unauthorised.
The Charity Commission did not find other evidence to support the allegations that funds had been misused. Examination of the Appeal's bank accounts revealed the major funders to be the United Arab Emirates, a donor from Saudi Arabia and the Jordanian businessman Fawaz Zureikat (later alleged to be implicated in the Oil-for-Food Programme scandal). Some of the Appeal's books and records had been sent to Amman and Baghdad in 2001 when Fawaz Zuriekat took over as Chairman of the Appeal and could not now be located. The Appeal had not produced annual profit and loss accounts or balance sheets.
As the Appeal was by this time closed, full records were unavailable, that the founders believed on legal advice that they had not created a charity, and there was no evidence that the funds of the Appeal were misapplied (other than for salaries), the Charity Commission decided to take no further action other than informing the Trustees of their mistakes.
A further Charity Commission Report published on 7 June 2007 found that the Appeal had received funds from Fawaz Zureikat that originated from the Oil For Food programme.
House of Commons Investigation.
The UK Parliament's Standards Commissioner launched a four-year investigation independently of the Charity Commission, but with its involvement.
At a press conference following publication of the report, Galloway stated "To be deprived of the company for 18 days of the honourable ladies and gentleman behind me [in parliament] will be painful ... but I'm intending to struggle on regardless ... What really upset them [the committee] is that I always defend myself.
Later developments.
It was claimed in June 2017, after a request under the Freedom of Information Act by "The Times" newspaper that Galloway's then wife Dr. Amineh Abu-Zayyad had received £84,000 in salary and expenses from the appeal after being appointed as its medical and scientific officer without any appropriate process and without a contract of employment. The Yorkhill NHS Trust in Glasgow received £54,000 drawn from the appeal in partial payment for the care of Mariam Hamza herself. Both Galloway, who claimed £3,000 in travel expenses, and his wife were trustees of the charity. Legally, "The Times" Dominic Kennedy wrote, a person in such a position of trust is not permitted to benefit financially without proper authorisation.


Phoenix election riot

The Phoenix election riot occurred on November 8, 1898, near Greenwood County, South Carolina, when a group of local white Democrats attempted to stop a Republican election official from taking the affidavits of African Americans who had been denied the ability to vote. The race-based riot was part of numerous efforts by white conservative Democrats to suppress voting by blacks, as they had largely supported the Republican Party since the Reconstruction era. Beginning with Mississippi in 1890, and South Carolina in 1895, southern states were passing new constitutions and laws designed to disenfranchise blacks by making voter registration and voting more difficult.
The riot ignited after white land-owner Thomas Tolbert began to take affidavits of African Americans who had been disenfranchised by the new Constitution of South Carolina. Tolbert, brother of Republican candidate Robert R. Tolbert, urged African Americans to fill out and submit an affidavit if they had been prevented from voting. Tolbert and his allies hoped to use the affidavits to challenge the legality of certain portions of South Carolina's 1895 state constitution that had enshrined in law the previously informal disfranchisement of African Americans. On November 8, 1898, Thomas Tolbert stood at the entrance of the Watson and Lake general store and began to collect affidavits of African Americans. Thomas Tolbert was quickly approached by a group of local Democrats, including Democratic party leader, J. I. "Bose" Ethridge, and his followers began to repeatedly beat and terrorize Tolbert for his actions.
Violence and chaos ensued: an estimated twelve African Americans were fatally shot or lynched, hundreds more were injured by the white mob, and one white man was killed. Additionally, Thomas Tolbert's home, property and personal belongings were all burned in the days following the riot. In the following four days, white violence continued, directed mainly at the black population.
Background.
Race riots in the United States during this time was not uncommon, as many ethnic, political and social barriers were established between ethnic groups. Between the periods of 1700-1890s roughly 45 race riots took place. A few examples of the riots that occurred during this period includes:
The riots of the late 1800s, although provoked by a different cause, were related to the South's widespread efforts to disenfranchise blacks in the period following the Reconstruction period.
In 1877, the Federal Government withdrew its troops from the South, giving up its efforts to enforce the rights of freedmen and ensure their enfranchisement. Conservative white Democrats completed their takeover of state governments, although blacks continued to elect some persons to office through the century. This change in policy resulted in African-American disfranchisement, social, educational and employment discrimination, and peonage. Deprived of civil and human rights, African Americans were reduced to a status of quasi-slavery or "second-class" citizenship. A tense atmosphere of racial hatred, ignorance, and fear bred lawless mass violence, murder, and lynching. To ensure and enforce blacks' second-class status, white Democrats enacted segregation and Jim Crow laws throughout the South. During the period of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, lynchings reached a peak in the South. Florida led the nation in lynchings per capita from 1900-1930.
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, lynching was the practice of murder through extrajudicial actions. Most commonly, the victims of lynching were African-American men: between the time periods of 1882-1968, black Americans made up 72.7% of all people lynched.
Thomas Tolbert.
Although the causes of the riot are still studied, the initial outbreak was a result of the heightened political and racial tensions. The parties were largely race-based, and conservative white Democrats were determined to ensure that black Republicans were excluded from voting and from offices. They had used fraud and violence for years to suppress black Republican voting.
Thomas Tolbert, a white man, believed that African Americans deserved the right to vote, and disagreed with their disenfranchisement by the South Carolina State Constitution.
Events.
November 8, 1898, at around 9:00 in the morning, Thomas Tolbert joined African Americans (and Republicans) Joe Circuit, Will White and others outside of the polling place at Watson and Lake general store. They encouraged African Americans to submit affidavits if they encountered difficulty voting. Tolbert had hoped to use the affidavits to expose the ongoing electoral fraud that had deprived African Americans of the vote for the past twenty-two years. Tolbert and his followers were quickly approached by a group of local Democrats, including J. I. Ethridge, the local Democratic Party boss. Ethridge and Robert Cheatham asked Tolbert to stop what he was doing. When he refused, they overturned the box that he had been using to collect the affidavits with and began to beat him with the splintered wood and other various materials. Tolbert hit Ethridge over the head with a wagon axle.
During the altercation, William White, one of Tolbert's followers, was pushed to the ground. He may have picked up a shotgun and fired the first shot, fatally shooting J.I Ethridge, who died immediately. Ethridge's followers immediately attacked Tolbert and his supporters. Other white voters at the store joined the altercation and used their own guns against Tolbert and his group.
During the riot, Tolbert sustained gunshot wounds to the neck, arms, and his left side. He retreated.
Aftermath.
Immediately after the riot, whites accused many black men of being involved in the violence. An uneasy peace spread over Greenwood county, as residents grappled with what had happened, and feared more violence.
When the news got out, conservative whites started going to Greenwood to avenge Ethridge's death. Groups of armed whites scourged the countryside and nearby areas in search of victims. The group drove the Tolbert family from their home, which they destroyed and burned, along with all of the family's personal possessions. The white mob lynched four black men near the local Rehoboth Church.
On November 11, Robert Tolbert, Thomas's brother, met with President McKinley at the White House to seek redress. The next day's issue of the "New York Times" reported that "the president listened attentively to the recital, but gave no indication of what action, if any, might be taken."
Wilmington insurrection.
Following the Phoenix Election Riot, a white insurgent group overthrew the elected biracial fusionist government, including a white mayor, of the city of Wilmington, North Carolina. They precipitated the Wilmington insurrection of 1898. The Democrats in the state had also been working to oust the state's Republican and populist biracial fusion government from power. The insurrection resulted in roughly 25 African Americans murdered and countless more injured by a white mob that roamed the city, attacking blacks.
Democratic party white supremacists overthrew the newly elected fusionist white mayor and biracial council. The mob of around 2,000 whites took to the streets and attacked the mainly black newspaper, "Daily Record." The core group of insurgents already had assigned officeholders to the city's elected positions. Many African Americans left Wilmington permanently, although it had long been a majority-black city.


2004 South American Summit

The 2004 South American Summit – the third of its kind, after earlier events in Brasília (September 2000) and Guayaquil (July 2002) – was held in Cuzco and Ayacucho, Peru, on 7 –9 December 2004. Officially it constituted the Extraordinary Meeting of the Andean Presidential Council ("Reunión Extraordinaria del Consejo Presidencial Andino" ) and was also billed as the Third Meeting of Presidents of South America ("III Reunión de Presidentes de América del Sur").
The main item on the agenda was the signature, by heads of state and plenipotentiary representatives of 12 South American nations, of the Cuzco Declaration, a two-page document containing a preamble to the deed of foundation of the South American Community of Nations (or "South American Union"), uniting the region's two existing free-trade organisations – Mercosur and the Andean Community.
Ayacucho was chosen for symbolic reasons: it was there that Antonio José de Sucre, fighting under the banner of Simón Bolívar "the Liberator", defeated the last Imperial Spanish troops in South America on 9 December 1824.
While the organisation's exact nature and functions – and even its name – remain unclear, it aspires to evolve along the lines followed by the continental integration efforts of the European Union, rather than becoming a mere free-trade area. The initiative emerged – largely at the instigation of Brazil – in response to the failed negotiations of the Free Trade Area of the Americas. The FTAA process has been stalemated for more than 12 months in the wake of irreconcilable differences, largely along the geopolitical faultlines between Latin America and the Caribbean on the one hand and the United States and Canada on the other.
Participating nations.
Mexico (Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez) and Panama (President
Martín Torrijos) are also attending the event, with nonparticipating observer status.


Electoral history of John McCain

John McCain was the senior United States Senator from Arizona (since 1987) and 2008 Republican nominee for President of the United States. McCain was involved in many elections on local, statewide and nationwide stage since his first election to the United States House of Representatives in 1982.
House races (1982–1984).
Arizona's 1st congressional district, 1982 (Republican primary):
Arizona's 1st congressional district, 1982:
Arizona's 1st congressional district, 1984:
Senate races (1986–2016).
United States Senate election in Arizona, 1986:
Republican primary for the United States Senate from Arizona, 1992:
United States Senate election in Arizona, 1992:
Republican primary for the United States Senate from Arizona, 1998:
United States Senate election in Arizona, 1998:
Republican primary for the United States Senate from Arizona, 2004:
United States Senate election in Arizona, 2004:
Republican primary for the United States Senate from Arizona, 2010:
United States Senate election in Arizona, 2010:
Republican primary for the United States Senate from Arizona, 2016:
United States Senate election in Arizona, 2016:
2000 Presidential election.
Washington primary for independent voters, 2000:
California primary for independent voters, 2000:
Republican presidential primaries, 2000:
2000 Republican National Convention (Presidential tally):
2004 presidential election.
Minnesota Independence Party presidential caucus, 2004:
2008 presidential election.
Iowa Republican straw poll, 2008:
Republican New Hampshire Vice Presidential primary, 2008:
Republican presidential primaries, 2008:
2008 Republican National Convention (Presidential tally):
2008 United States presidential election:


Yehud attack

The Yehud attack was an attack on a civilian house in the village of Yehud carried out by a Palestinian Fedayeen squad on October 12, 1953. Three Israeli Jewish civilians were killed in the attack.
The attack.
On Monday, 12 October 1953, a Palestinian Fedayeen squad infiltrated into Israel from Jordan. The militants reached the Jewish village Yehud, located about east of Tel Aviv, where they threw a grenade into a civilian house.
A Jewish woman, Suzanne Kinyas, and her two children (a 3 year old girl and a 1 and a half year old boy) were killed.
The tracks of the perpetrators led to the Palestinian village of Rantis, then under the control of Jordan, located about five miles north of Qibya.
The attack shocked the Israeli public, both because of the fact that it was the first terror attack committed in the center of Israel and because the victims of the attack were a woman and her infant children, who were killed in their sleep.
Israeli retaliation.
Although the Commander of the Arab Legion (as the Jordanian Armed Forces were known at the time), Glubb Pasha, promised that Jordan would catch the perpetrators and bring them to justice, on the morning of October 13 a decision was made by the Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, and the Chief of Staff Mordechai Maklef, deputy chief of staff Moshe Dayan and acting defense minister Pinhas Lavon, of retaliation in response to the Yehud attack.
About 130 IDF soldiers participated in the reprisal codenamed "Operation Shoshana" (after the three-year-old girl killed in the Yehud attack), which was commanded by Ariel Sharon. The IDF force arrived at the village of Qibya, threw grenades and fired through the windows and doors of the houses. Then blew up 45 houses, a school, and a mosque. About 60 civilians, mostly women and children, were killed.
The act was condemned by the U.S. State Department, the UN Security Council, and by Jewish communities worldwide.


Gerard Sweetman

Hugh Gerard Sweetman (10 June 1908 – 28 January 1970) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Minister for Finance from 1954 to 1957. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Kildare constituency from 1948 to 1970. He was a Senator for the Labour Panel from 1943 to 1948.
Family and childhood.
Hugh Gerard Sweetman was born on 10 June 1908. His father, James Sweetman, was a practising barrister, and the family's return for the 1911 census shows that they employed three servants at their Lower Baggot Street home.
The Sweetmans were no strangers to Irish politics. James' brother, Roger Sweetman, was elected to the First Dáil representing Wexford North, and was one of the first TDs to publicly call for a negotiated settlement to the Irish War of Independence.
Gerard was educated at the Beaumont School in Britain. He completed his studies at Trinity College, Dublin and went on to qualify as a solicitor in 1930.
His son, Peter is a well-known "serial environmental litigant".
Early political career.
Sweetman's first brush with politics came with his involvement with the Blueshirts: He was a member of the League of Youth, one of their youth wings, and was elected to Blueshirt's national council in August 1935. As the Blueshirts dissipated, Sweetman folded into the newly formed Fine Gael. Three weeks after his 29th birthday, Gerard Sweetman contested the 1937 general election. His target was the four-seater Carlow–Kildare constituency. Out of a field of 7 candidates, Sweetman came sixth with 8.5% of the vote.
He did not contest the 1938 general election but ran again in 1943, and once again failed to secure election. He secured a Seanad seat in weeks that followed, and remained in the upper house through the 1944 election, until finally, with the creation of a separate Kildare constituency, he won a Dáil seat at the 1948 general election.
The 1948 general election returned the first inter-party government under Taoiseach John A. Costello. This coalition represented an 'anybody-but-Fianna-Fáil' gathering from across the political spectrum, and the newest Kildare TD sat on the backbenches until the government fell in 1951.
A second inter-party government took office in June 1954 with Sweetman promoted to Minister for Finance.
In Professor Tom Garvin's review of the 1950s 'News from a New Republic', he comes in for praise as a moderniser and Garvin places him with a cross-party group including Daniel Morrissey of Fine Gael and William Norton of the Labour Party as well as Seán Lemass of Fianna Fáil who were pushing a modernising agenda
Sweetman also served as a member of Kildare County Council, including a term as chairman of the Council in the late 1940s.
Ministerial career.
He was now 45 years old, and he inherited a national economy that was in crisis. Unemployment was at 421,000; over 100,000 people had left agriculture during the previous 8 years; the country was seeing a level of emigration unknown since the famine.
Sweetman differed in his thinking from the staid protectionist policies espoused by Éamon de Valera since the 1930s. Rather than focussing on a self-sufficient Ireland, Sweetman enacted policies that would make Ireland a net exporter.
In his first budget in 1955, he introduced a thoroughly modern scheme whereby a tax exemption was provided for exported goods. He also established the Prize Bonds programme as a means of covering the national debt. This debt was worrying in the mid-50s. Two major bond issues were placed during Sweetman's tenure for £20 million and £12 million. These were huge sums at a time when an average worker entered the tax net with an annual salary of just £533.
However, Sweetman's greatest initiative as Minister was the appointment of another young man of talent and vision. On 30 May 1956, he elevated a 39-year-old civil servant named Ken Whitaker to the position of Secretary-General of the Department of Finance. This was a revolutionary step, as it did not follow the convention of promotion based on time served.
Whittaker's time at the Department has been seen as absolutely instrumental in the economic development of the country, indeed a 2001 RTÉ contest named him 'Irishman of the 20th Century'. Whittaker was inherited by the new FF government elected in 1957, and his seminal "First Programme for Economic Expansion" published in 1958 laid the foundations for economic growth in the 1960s.
Later career.
For Sweetman, this brief period of government was not to be repeated and he would remain in opposition for the rest of his life.
During the 1960s, Fine Gael itself witnessed a major transformation. The decade began with a new leader, James Dillon, and a renewed focus on making the party relevant.
This internal revolution culminated in the 'Just Society' document produced by Declan Costello. The distinctly social democrat flavour of the document was very much at odds with Sweetman's deeply conservative views. However, the support of Liam Cosgrave and Garret FitzGerald ensured that the document was adopted as the party's manifesto for the 1965 general election.
In his last election, in June 1969, Sweetman was again returned to the Dáil for a seventh successive term. His party colleagues on the ticket for that election included Nancy Moore, mother of Christy Moore. The election left only a handful of seats between Fianna Fáil and the opposition.
He was known for his high-speed style of driving. 28 January 1970 was a long day, which began with a return from a business meeting on the continent. On returning to Ireland, he had travelled down to Silvermines in Tipperary for another business meeting, and it was on the return journey that he lost control of his vehicle near Monasterevin in County Kildare and died.
Speaking at the first session of the Dáil that followed, Taoiseach Jack Lynch offered a sincere and moving tribute to the late Deputy. He spoke of a TD who "commanded respect and attention", especially in matters of finance; a "gifted parliamentarian who loved the cut-and-thrust of debate" and who was as "fair an opponent as he was formidable". He noted a career cut short: "Through his tragic and untimely death, Dáil Éireann and Irish public life have suffered a grievous loss. That loss will be felt all the more because of his great impact on, and contribution to, Irish political life".


Assassination of Augusto Unceta Barrenechea

The assassination of Augusto Unceta Barrenechea was an attack by the Basque separatist group ETA which took place on 8 October 1977 in Guernica in the Basque Country in northern Spain.
Three ETA members carrying pistols and submachine guns killed Unceta, the Government appointed President of the Provincial Deputation of Biscay and Mayor of Guernica. He was ambushed as he arrived to play his weekly sports game. His two bodyguards, Antonio Hernández Fernández-Segura and Ángel Rivera Navarrón were also killed in the attack, which was ETA's deadliest of 1977. The attack heralded an upsurge in the use of violence by ETA in subsequent years.
Background.
The attack resembled the assassination of Juan María de Araluce Villar, the Government appointed President of the Provincial Deputation of Gipuzkoa, a year before. Following that attack, ETA had stated that they intended to kill all Franco-appointed heads of the delegations in the Basque Country. On 2 October 1977, ETA political-military, one of three ETA factions, had announced that it was abandoning the use of violence.
On 5 October, the Anti-communist Apostolic Alliance (AAA), a far-right paramilitary group, had bombed the offices of "Punto y Hora", a left wing Basque nationalist weekly publication and on 7 October, the day before the attack, they shot dead a taxi driver who they accused of having ETA links.
Also on 7 October, the government had agreed a draft bill granting amnesty to political prisoners of the Franco government. The law was passed by parliament on 14 October 1977.
Target.
Unceta had been born in Guernica on 5 December 1923. He had interests in local businesses and served as manager of Astra-Unceta y Cia SA, a large weapons manufacturing company founded by his father. He had been appointed vice-president of the delegation of Biscay by Franco in 1966 and later became President of the delegation. His last official act before his death was in September 1977, when he participated in a memorial service for Juan María de Araluce Villar.
He had received letters from ETA, demanding that he pay their "revolutionary tax" but refused to do so. He had also received ETA death threats and, as a result, had been granted a bodyguard of two civil guards.
The attack.
Unceta was fond of 'fronton', a Basque sport, which he played weekly at the Jai alai court. The attack occurred when he arrived at the court: as he was parking his car, three youths exited a nearby car and opened fire on him and his bodyguards with machine guns, shouting "Gora Euzkadi!" as they did so. He was hit several times in the head and chest and died at the scene of the attack. His bodyguards, who had been travelling in a car 20 metres behind him, were also killed.
The attack, which was claimed later the same day by ETA-military, was ETA's deadliest of the year and the second deadliest attack in Spain that year following the AAA's killing of five left-wingers in the Atocha massacre in January.
Reactions.
The killing of Unceta was criticised as an attempt to destabilise the ongoing process of compromise between the Spanish government and the opposition. In their claim of responsibility, ETA rejected this hypothesis, stating that, in their opinion, democracy had not been established in Spain and the country remained a military dictatorship.
The assassination was condemned by all the main political parties on the left and right in Spain and the Spanish king and queen cancelled their attendance at a concert as a mark of respect.
Unceta's funeral was attended by an estimated 5,000 people, including politicians from the governing Union of the Democratic Centre, the Basque Nationalist Party and the Basque Christian Democracy party. At the funeral, right wing activists belonging to New Force and the People's Alliance held an anti-government protest, calling for the government to resign, banging on the cars of politicians attending the funeral and surrounding and unsuccessfully attempting to overturn the car of Eduardo Navarro, the Deputy Interior Minister.
A memorial plaque to Unceta was subsequently placed in the Bilbao Palace, however an attempt to place a plaque commemorating both Unceta and Araluce was voted out in 2010. In August 2008, a street in Socuéllamos, the home town of Ángel Rivera Navarrón, one of the civil guards killed in the attack, was renamed in his memory.
Subsequent police investigation.
Following the attack, police cordoned off the area and increased police patrols on the Spanish-French border near Irun and on the mountainous highways in the Basque Country and Navarre. The car used by the attackers was found abandoned near the highway linking Guernica and Amorbieta, it had been stolen at gunpoint by three youths on the morning of the attack.
Police retrieved "parabellum" and "marietta" shell casings from both the attackers' and the victim's cars. In December 1978, police arrested José Antonio Torre Altonaga (alias "Medios"), who named two ETA commanders, José Manuel Pagoaga Gallastegui ("Peixoto"), and Francisco Javier Aya Zulaica ("Trepa"), as participants in the attack. Trepa's father released a statement denying his son's involvement.
In 1989, ETA member Martín Apaolaza was tried and acquitted of participation in the attack due to lack of evidence.
Aftermath.
The attack marked the beginning of a deadlier phase in ETA's operations and the following three years would see an increase in attacks and killings carried out by the group.


Hamdi Adus Isaac

Osman Hussain (also Hussain Osman or Hamdi Isaac) (born 27 July 1978) was found guilty of having placed an explosive at the Shepherd's Bush tube station during the failed 21 July 2005 London bombings. Born in Ethiopia, Hussain is a naturalised British citizen married to Yeshshiemebet Girma.
On 29 July 2005, he was arrested during a 40-officer raid at his brother-in-law's apartment in Rome, after mobile phone calls led police to believe he was hiding there. He was later extradited to the UK in September under a European Arrest Warrant and charged with attempted murder. He stood trial along with five other suspects.
Claimed objectives.
During the initial investigation in Rome, Hussain said he was motivated to participate in the attacks after viewing videos of war-torn Iraq. "I am against war," Osman said. "I've marched in peace rallies and nobody listened to me. I never thought of killing people." He explained that the bombs were never meant to detonate or kill anybody, only to draw attention to the Iraq war.
Hussain was alleged to have stated: "More than praying we discussed work, politics, the war in Iraq ... we always had new films of the war in Iraq ... more than anything else those in which you could see Iraqi women and children who had been killed by US and UK soldiers."
Other news sources reported that the bombers watched videos of British and American troops killing women and children in Iraq before embarking on their mission. Some quoted him as
saying "Muktar showed us some DVDs with images of the war in Iraq, especially women and children killed by American and British soldiers," Hussain said, adding that they were not to talk about these videos with others.
"There was a feeling of hatred and conviction that it was necessary to give signal — to do something." Hussain denied links with either the Al-Qaeda or the 7 July bombers. He claimed there was no bomb in his rucksack, just ordinary flour and a detonator meant to make the loud popping sound that was heard.
Trial and sentence.
On 9 July 2007 Hussain Osman was found guilty at Woolwich Crown Court of conspiracy to murder and sentenced to a minimum of 40 years in prison.
Appeal.
In April 2008, the Court of Appeal judges dismissed a challenge by Ibrahim, Omar, Mohammed and Osman to their convictions.
In December 2014, the European Court of Human Rights rejected an appeal lodged in 2008 by Ibrahim, Omar and Mohammed claiming that their rights were breached in the 'safety interviews' after their arrests.


Youyu-shi

Youyu-shi (), also called Youyu clan or the Yu dynasty (), was a ruling dynasty of China that could have existed prior to the Xia dynasty. The territory controlled by the Yu dynasty is hypothesized to have been located southwest of Pinglu County, in Shanxi Province, China. Its last monarch is believed to be Emperor Shun.
Debate over existence.
Evidence in favor.
The Yu dynasty was mentioned alongside the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties in numerous historical Chinese works, including the "Zuo Zhuan", "Discourses of the States", "Mozi", "The Methods of the Sima", "Master Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals" and the "Book of Rites". Based on the available texts, some scholars believe that the Yu dynasty lasted much longer than the reign of the Emperor Shun, and could be comparable in length to the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties that succeeded it.
Numerous large-scale urban ruins have been uncovered at the Taosi archaeological site, which is considered to be part of the Neolithic Longshan culture. In particular, palaces and royal tombs were also discovered at Taosi, further proving the possible existence of a dynastic regime based on tribal confederation.
In 2002, Chinese historian Wang Shumin published an academic paper titled "There was a Yu dynasty before Xia, Shang and Zhou" which renewed public interest in the possible existence of a pre-Xia dynastic state in the Yellow River basin.
Evidence against.
Like the Xia dynasty, the existence of the Yu dynasty has been debated by historians and scholars. The lack of concrete evidence and archaeological findings in support of the Yu dynasty means that this pre-Xia regime remains a legend. As such, the Yu dynasty has yet to gain widespread acceptance as a factual part of Chinese history, both within China and among Western scholars. No accurate timeframe has yet been assigned to the Yu dynasty.
Lineage.
From the "Records of the Grand Historian" by Han official Sima Qian:
Related dynasty.
The Hồ dynasty of Vietnam claimed descent from the Emperor Shun, through Duke Hu of Chen. The official name adopted by the Hồ state was "Đại Ngu" (大虞; lit. "Great Ngu"); "Ngu" is the Vietnamese variant of the Chinese character "yú" (虞).


Dai Commandery

Dai Commandery was a commandery ("jùn") of the state of Zhao established BC and of northern imperial Chinese dynasties until the time of the Wen Emperor of the Sui dynasty (reigned AD581–604). It occupied lands in what is now Hebei, Shanxi, and Inner Mongolia. Its seat was usually at Dai or Daixian (near present-day Yuzhou in Hebei), although it was moved to Gaoliu (present-day Yanggao in Shanxi) during the Eastern Han.
Name.
The name derives from the White Di kingdom of Dai, conquered by the Zhao family of Jin.
History.
Zhao Kingdom.
Dai Commandery was first established around 300BC during China's Warring States Period by the state of Zhao's King Yong, posthumously known as the Wuling ("Martial-&-Numinous") King. The commandery seat—then known as Dai—was southwest of present-day Yuzhou in Hebei. It was the former capital of the independent state of Dai, which had been conquered by King Yong's ancestors around 476BC. He created Dai Commandery along with its companion commanderies of Yanmen and Yunzhong to consolidate his conquests from invasions of the Loufan ( "Lóufán") and "forest nomads" ( "Línhú") in 306 and 304BC.
Following the Qin conquest of Zhao, Zhao Jia attempted to regroup at Dai, declaring himself its king. This Kingdom of Dai was ended by Qin in 222BC, just prior to the declaration of the Qin Empire two years later.
Qin Empire.
Dai Commandery was one of the divisions of the Qin Empire. Its seat—then known as Daixian—continued to be near present-day Yuzhou.
Eighteen Kingdoms.
During the interregnum following Qin's collapse, Dai was one of the Eighteen Kingdoms established by Xiang Yu. It was ruled by Zhao Xie and Chun Yu.
Western Han Empire.
Under the Han, Dai Prefecture formed part of the province of Bingzhou and oversaw 18 counties, both within and beyond the Great Wall. Along with Yunzhong and Yanmen, it also formed part of the Principality of Dai, used as an imperial appanage. The "Book of Han" records Dai Commandery having 278,754 people living in 56,771 households. The Han administration kept the seat at Daixian near present-day Yuzhou and continued the Qin-era counties (renaming "New Pingshu County" to simply "Pingshu County"), with the addition of:
Xin Empire.
Under the short-lived Xin dynasty established by Wang Mang, several of the Han counties were renamed.
Eastern Han Empire.
Under the Eastern Han, Dai Commandery formed part of the province of Youzhou. Its seat—then known as Gaoliu—was southwest of present-day Yanggao in northeastern Shanxi.
Wei Kingdom.
During China's Three Kingdoms Period, Wei returned the commandery seat to Daixian (near present-day Yuzhou, Hebei).
Sixteen Kingdoms.
During China's Sixteen Kingdoms Period, both Later Yan and the Northern Wei had commanderies named Dai. Northern Wei's lay to the west, with its seat at Pingcheng (present-day Datong, Shanxi).
Separate from these, Tuoba Yilu was declared "Duke of Dai" () by the Jin in AD310 and (vassal) "King of Dai" by the same court in 315. This Xianbei Kingdom of Dai lasted until 376, and its dynasts were responsible for the later state of Northern Wei. It held some lands in northern Shanxi and Hebei but was mostly to their north in what is now Inner Mongolia, with their capital at Shengle (northwest of present-day Horinger).
Sui Empire.
Dai Commandery continued until its abolishment under the Wen Emperor of Sui, who replaced it in 585 with Dai Prefecture, whose seat was at Guangwu or Yanmen (present-day Daixian, Shanxi).


Princess Yicheng

Princess Yicheng () was a Chinese princess from Sui dynasty and a Khatun of Eastern Turkic Khaganate. She spent at least 30 years of her life among Turks.
Family.
She was an extended family member of Sui Dynasty. Her father was named Yang Xie (杨谐) and her brother was Yang Shanjing (杨善经).
Life as khatun.
With Yami Qaghan.
After death of Princess Anyi (安义公主) in 599, she was created a princess by Emperor Wen of Sui and wed to Yami Qaghan in "heqin".
With Shibi Qaghan.
She was inherited by his step-son Shibi Qaghan in 609, in a levirate marriage. She had much influence on khagan, to the point of changing his orders. In the fall of 615, when Emperor Yang of Sui was visiting Yanmen Commandery on the northern frontier, the khagan launched a surprise attack on the area, overrunning most of its Chinese settlements. Warned by the khagan's wife Princess Yicheng — a member of the imperial family who had been well treated by Empress Xiao during an earlier visit — the emperor, empress, and their entourage escaped to the commandery seat at present-day Daixian. The Turks besieged them there on September 11. Resources in seat was small. Emperor was reported to cry out of fear seeing Yuwen suggested Emperor Yang select a few thousand elite cavalry soldiers to attempt a break out, but Su Wei and Fan Zigai (樊子蓋) persuaded Emperor Yang not to attempt this. Emperor Yang put Xiao Yu and Pei Ju in charge of planning the military counteroffensive, but was only able to get the siege lifted after he followed the advice of the empress's brother Xiao Yu and sent messengers to Princess Yicheng, who was directing military affairs at the Turkic capital in her husband's absence. She falsely informed Shibi Khagan that the Turks were under attack from the north, and so the khagan lifted the siege.
With Chuluo Qaghan.
She was inherited by Chuluo Qaghan in 619, another step-son. Yicheng greeted Empress Xiao and Yang Zhengdao (杨政道), a posthumous son of Yang Jian who was created as puppet King of Sui (隋國王) by Chuluo. This marriage was brief. After Chuluo's death in June, she refused to marry Ashina Momo (阿史那摸末, 607 - 649 was titled Yushe shad (郁射設) and eventually married to someone of Imperial Li (李) clan), claiming he was weak. Instead, married to Ashina Duobi, who was created Illig Qaghan.
With Illig Qaghan.
After refusing Yushe Shad, she finally wed to Illig Qaghan in 620, yet another step-son. She was killed in confusion when Tang general Li Jing attacked khagan's encampment with Li Shiji in 630, Battle of Yinshan.
In Popular Media.
She was portrayed by Li Xia (李霞) in 1993 Taiwanese costume drama "Tang Taizong - Li Shimin" (唐太宗李世民). Princess Yicheng is a character in Bakhtiyar Vahabzadeh's "Göytürklər" (Gokturks) play. In the chinese drama, The Long Ballad or 长歌行, she is an antagonist.


Chief Blue Meanie


Politics of Serbia and Montenegro

The Politics of Serbia and Montenegro, known as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, took place in a framework of a federal parliamentary republic with a multi-party system, and after 2003, in the context of a confederation. The president was head of state and, following constitutional reforms in 2003, simultaneously head of government. Executive power was exercised by the Council of Ministers. Federal legislative power was vested in the Yugoslav Parliament.
History.
In January 1998, Milo Đukanović became president of Montenegro, following bitterly contested elections in November 1997, which were declared free and fair by international monitors. His coalition followed up with parliamentary elections in May. Having weathered Milošević's campaign to undermine his government, Đukanović struggled to balance the pro-independence stance of his coalition with the changed domestic and international environment of the post-October 5 country. In December 2002, Đukanović resigned as president and was appointed Prime Minister. The new President of Montenegro became Filip Vujanović.
Before the October 5 overthrow as opposition grew, Milošević continued to hold significant power. Although his political party, the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) (in electoral cartel with Mirjana Markovic' Yugoslav Left), did not enjoy a majority in either the federal or Serbian parliaments, it dominated the governing coalitions and held all the key administrative posts. An essential element of Milošević's grasp on power was his control of the police. Routine federal elections in September 2000 resulted in Vojislav Koštunica, leader of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia block - receiving less than a majority, requiring a second round. Immediately, street protests and rallies filled cities across the country as the nation rallied around Vojislav Koštunica, the recently formed candidate for FRY president. There had been widespread fear that the second round would be canceled on the basis of foreign interference in the elections.
On October 5, 2000, Slobodan Milošević was forced to concede defeat after days of mass protests across Serbia. New FRY President Vojislav Koštunica was supported by Zoran Đinđić, who was elected Prime Minister of Serbia in the December 2000 republican elections. After an initial honeymoon period in the wake of October 5, DSS and the rest of DOS, led by Đinđić and his DS, found themselves increasingly at odds over the nature and pace of the governments' reform programs. By mid-2002, Koštunica and Đinđić were openly at odds over the direction of the country's future. Koštunica's party, having informally withdrawn from all DOS decision-making bodies, was agitating for early elections in an effort to force Đinđić from the scene. After the initial euphoria of replacing Milošević, the population in reaction to this political maneuvering, was sliding into apathy and disillusionment with its leading politicians. This political stalemate continued for much of 2002, and reform initiatives stalled. Finally in February 2003, the Constitutional Charter was ratified by both republics, and Yugoslavia became a confederacy. Under the new Constitutional Charter, most federal functions and authorities devolved to the republic level. Svetozar Marović was elected as the new president of Yugoslavia.
On 6 February 2003, the country became a confederation pursuant to amendments agreed the previous year. This was to be a confederacy with more powers devolved to the constituent republics, Montenegro and Serbia, operating as a commonwealth. The central government largely became a ceremonial outfit.
On March 12, 2003, Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić was assassinated. The newly formed confederate government of Yugoslavia reacted swiftly by calling a state of emergency and undertaking an unprecedented crackdown on organized crime which led to the arrest of more than 4,000 people.
On 3 June 2006, Montenegro declared independence. On 5 June 2006, Serbia also declared independence, thus ending the 88 year old unity of the two Serbian countries - Serbia and Montenegro.
Executive branch.
The president was elected by the Parliament for a four-year term. He chaired the Council of Ministers, composed of five members.
Legislative branch.
The Assembly of Serbia and Montenegro ("Skupština Srbije i Crne Gore") had 126 members elected for a four-year term, 91 in Serbia and 35 in Montenegro. The first parliament was elected 25 February 2003 by the members of the old federal and the republican parliaments. Mandates were divided among parties and coalitions in proportion to the number of their benches in Serbia's and Montenegro's parliaments. Every time one of the parliaments was re-elected, the composition changes.
Judicial branch.
The FR Yugoslavia had a Federal Court and a Constitutional Court. Judges were elected by the Federal Assembly for nine-year terms. After the promulgation of the new Constitution, the Federal Court would've had constitutional and administrative functions; it would've had an equal number of judges from each republic.
International organizations membership.
ABEDA, BIS, CE (guest), CEI, EBRD, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMISET, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, UNWTO, WTO (observer).


List of fu prefectures of China

Fu (), sometimes translated as prefecture or superior prefecture, was a type of administrative division in historical China from Tang dynasty to Qing dynasty. "Fu" was a level between provinces or equivalent divisions and counties. The term was initially applied to larger or more important prefectures, while the name "zhou" was applied to common prefectures. By Ming and Qing dynasties, however, most prefectures under provinces had become known as "fu". After the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912, the "fu"-level administrative divisions were streamlined.