Carel de Villeneuve

Carel Huibert Valchaire de Villeneuve (1897–1974) was a lawyer and director of business associations in colonial Indonesia during the 1920s–1940s, and a public servant and advisor to the Indonesian government on trade policy during the 1950s–1960s.
Early life in the Netherlands.
De Villeneuve was born in Lochem on 7 July 1897 as the first child of Volkert Huibert de Villeneuve (1866–1938) and Joanna Visser (1868–1953). His father was a district school inspector, but De Villeneuve grew up and attended primary school in the vicinity of Rotterdam after his father became Mayor of Alblasserdam in 1898 and later Mayor of Hillegersberg and Schiebroek. De Villeneuve attended high school at the prestigious Gymnasium Erasmianum in nearby Rotterdam. He interrupted his high school studies for a half-year extended journey through the United States. After finishing high school, De Villeneuve studied law at Leiden University, although his studies were interrupted by military service during World War I. He graduated in 1919 with a Doctorate of Law after defending propositions.
De Villeneuve married Wilhelmina Mees (1898–1984) on 3 February 1920 in Rotterdam. She was the daughter of Abraham Cornelis Mees (1864–1950) and Louise Johanna Philippina van Rijnberk (1873–1949) of Semarang (Indonesia). The couple departed for Indonesia, where De Villeneuve established himself as a lawyer and solicitor in Semarang city. The couple lived in Ciandi, an upper class suburb in the hills South of Semarang, where they had four sons: Volkert Huibert (1921–2017), Abraham Cornelis (1923), Gualtherus Hendrik (‘Henk’) (1926–1952) and Peter Josias (1930–1946).
1920–1934: Professional and public life in Semarang.
In Semarang, De Villeneuve was a partner in the long-established law practice of J.S.G. Scheltema. Several stalwarts of colonial policy and colonial public service had worked at the law practice before De Villeneuve arrived: C.Th. van Deventer (a leading advocate of the 'Ethical Policy' in colonial Indonesia and later member of parliament in the Netherlands), T.B. Pleyte (later a member of parliament and later Minister for Colonial Affairs) and D. Fock (later Governor General), as well as J.H. van Hasselt and O. van Rees (both later occupied senior positions in association of owners of sugar factories in colonial Indonesia ("Bond van Eigenaren van Nederlandsch-Indische Suikerondernemingen", BENISO).
From 1926, De Villeneuve was socially active as an elected member of the local council of Semarang. He was a founding President of the Semarang section of the Mountaineering Association ("Vereeniging voor Bergsport") in colonial Indonesia. During 1930–1934 he was also President of the Association of Agricultural Entrepreneurs in the Principalities of Yogyakarta and Surakarta ("Bond van Vorstenlandsche Landbouwondernemers", BVL), located in Semarang. In that capacity he was a member of the board of the Association of Entrepreneurs in Indonesia ("Indische Ondernemersbond", IOB).
1934–1942: Boards of industry associations, member of parliament.
In 1934, De Villeneuve was a candidate to succeed G.H.C. Hart as President of IOB, but the position went to G.A.P. Weijer, the manager of the Colonial Bank ("Koloniale Bank") branch in Surabaya. De Villeneuve moved to the Netherlands, where he became Secretary of BENISO, a lobby group of the sugar industry in Indonesia, during 1935–1937. In December 1937, De Villeneuve was appointed President of IOB to succeed Weijer, who had taken up a chair in economics at the University of Utrecht, and he returned to Indonesia.
De Villeneuve held the position of IOB President and chair of the IOB board until January 1947. In this capacity, De Villeneuve was an appointed member of the parliament ("Volksraad") of the Dutch East Indies during 1938–1942 and leader of the 'economic faction' of four that represented the business sector in Indonesia. During his IOB presidency, De Villeneuve was generally supportive of the economic and social development policies that the Department of Economic Affairs under the Directorships of H.J. van Mook and J.E. van Hoogstraten pursued during 1934–1942. These policies effectively implied a greater degree of economic policy autonomy for the colonial government, as well as acceptance by the private sector of government intervention in the economy in return for a sustained dialogue between government and the private sector. De Villeneuve was regarded as a good speaker in the parliament, who made his points clearly and 'with the same sprightly vivaciousness which also characterises his whole personality'.
As IOB president, De Villeneuve also assumed several other positions, including: chairman of the General Council for Trade Policy ("Algemeene Bedrijfsreglementeeringsraad"); deputy chair of the Commission for Legal Transactions during Wartime ("Commissie voor het Rechtsverkeer in Oorlogstijd"); member of the board of the Society to Combat Unemployment in Indonesia ("Indische Maatschappij voor Werkloosheidsbestrijding"); member of the Permanent Commission for Sea Transport ("Permanente Zeevervoerscommissie"); member of the advisory council of Foundation to Provide Sea and Aviation Insurance ("Stichting tot Voorziening in Zee- en Luchtvaartverzekering"); member of the Commission for Labour Affairs ("Commissie voor Arbeidsaangelegenheden") and the Commission of Support and Advice for the Industry Council ("Commissie van Bijstand en Advies van den Industrieraad").
On the eve of World War II in the Pacific, De Villeneuve attended the International Labour Organization conference in Washington DC, together with Hindromartono, the President of the Indonesian Railways Workers' Union. A brief meeting of both with US President F.D. Roosevelt served to bolster American support for Indonesia during the brief war with Japan.
1942–1949: Japanese occupation, supporter of Indonesia's independence.
From February 1944 to May 1945, De Villeneuve was interned by the Japanese. He was one of the leaders the Cimahi internment camp near Bandung, where he assumed responsibility for camp management and contacts with the Japanese authorities. Soon after the Japanese surrender in August 1945, De Villeneuve returned to Jakarta to resume his position as IOB President and to rebuild the organisation.
In July 1946 De Villeneuve accepted an invitation to become one of the advisors of Lt Governor General Van Mook. In that capacity he was involved in the discussions with leaders of the Republic of Indonesia about the process towards Indonesia's independence. At the time of the negotiations in Pangkalpinang in September 1946 De Villeneuve explained that the process towards Indonesian independence caused quite some angst among the older generation of Dutch nationals in Indonesia, but praised the vision of Van Mook to work towards Indonesia's independence.
In a newspaper interview De Villeneuve stated: ‘It is a mistake to think that the opinions and beliefs of entrepreneurs in Indonesia are determined by perceptions of the crudest self-interest or of a material nature only. To the contrary. Because people in those circles are not holding on to outdated views of the Dutch East Indies-old style, they are more inclined to accept the new situation. [...] Once they transposed themselves to that new way of thinking, they perceive the new atmosphere as quite liberating.'
The conclusion of negotiations about independence in Linggajati in November 1946 established the basis for the process towards Indonesia's independence as a federal state. De Villeneuve characterised the result as a reasonable compromise that would be a guarantee for future co-operation of the private sector with the future Indonesian government. He also stated that he agreed with the opinion of many businessmen who were moderately favourable about the agreement, stating 'Business circles are generally optimistic about the success of co-operation, which is a foundation for the solution of future issues.' He may have pushed the argument a bit too far, because a meeting of IOB members on 22 November did not yield unanimous support for the outcome of the Linggajati negotiations.
By taking this stance, De Villeneuve defied the views of IOB's counterpart in the Netherlands, the Council of Entrepreneurs for colonial Indonesia ("Ondernemersraad voor Nederlandsch-Indië"), whose leaders still held uncompromising views and were tacitly opposed to the pragmatic standpoint of De Villeneuve. Ignoring the interests of entrepreneurs in Indonesia, they perceived Indonesia's independence as a risk to investors in the Netherlands. Its President, W.G.F. Jongejan, called on IOB members to sack De Villeneuve as President of the association. On 15 January 1947 the IOB board expressed the view 'that the interests of the entrepreneurs should be represented more forcefully', refuting De Villeneuve's view that these interests 'had to be viewed in the context of political developments in the world and especially in Indonesia'. Having lost the support of the IOB board, De Villeneuve resigned from the IOB Presidency. He took up a position as political and economic advisor for the governments of Lt Governor General Van Mook and after November 1948 Van Mook's successor L. Beel.
1950–1964: In Indonesia's public service.
After the transfer of sovereignty in December 1949, De Villeneuve worked in the foreign trade section of Indonesia's Ministry of Economic Affairs and as an advisor for foreign trade issues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Amongst others, he was involved in 1955 in Indonesia's organisation of the Asia-Africa conference in Bandung, and in Indonesia's trade negotiations with Singapore and Malaya.
He also had postings as commercial counsellor to the Indonesian embassies in London (UK), New Delhi (India) and Manila (The Philippines). From Manila, he warned Singapore, Malaya and Japan against taking up offers for barter trade from the Permesta rebel secessionists in North Sulawesi in 1958. De Villeneuve was still in Jakarta in 1961, but it is likely that he retired in 1962 when he turned 65.
De Villeneuve initially retired to the Netherlands, where he took the position of counsellor for international trade at the Embassy of Indonesia in The Hague. In 1962 and 1964 he was accredited as advisor to the mission of the Indonesian Ministry of Trade to the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs meetings in Geneva.
Despite his loyal service to the Indonesian government during the 1950s, he may during the early 1960s have become weary of the economic hardship that the government of President Sukarno inflicted on the Indonesian population. Following the change of government in 1966, De Villeneuve discussed these difficulties in a 1967 article in which he also expressed cautious optimism that the new government of President Suharto would turn the economic situation around.
Personal life.
De Villeneuve's youngest son, Peter, drowned in July 1946 in the Lake of Geneva during a rain storm. His marriage did not survive the difficult 1940s. During a visit to Europe in June–September 1948, De Villeneuve and Mees divorced in Rotterdam on 20 July 1948. De Villeneuve married Irene Mildred Holloway in Londen a few days later on 27 July 1948. They had met at the British representation in Jakarta where she had been secretary to the British Consul General Sir Francis Shepherd. His third son, Henk, died in 1952 after a fall from a radio tower in Richmond (USA), where he was studying in Williamstown (Massachusetts).
Awards and retirement.
The Dutch government appointed van De Villeneuve "Ridder in de Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw" in 1940 and awarded him the "Verzetster Oost Azië 1942–1945" for his role in Japan's detention, while the British government awarded him a King's Commendation for Brave Conduct.
In the late-1960s, De Villeneuve retired to Spain where he became honorary consul for Indonesia. He died in Barcelona on 12 March 1974.


Erich Bloch (economist)

Eric Bloch served as an advisor to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and as a newspaper columnist
Bloch was born on April 2, 1939 in Johannesburg, South Africa, to Hans Bloch and his wife Friedel. The family migrated to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe when Eric was a child. The Bloch's originated in Hamburg and had a strong German heritage. After Hitler came to power in 1933, many Jews left Germany and settled in various parts of the world. Hans Bloch, Eric's father moved his family to South Africa. In 1951, Hans Bloc was invited to join a firm of accountants and consultants in Bulawayo. Eric's mother came from a Lithuanian family forced to move to South Africa after the 19th century pogroms.
Eric attended Milton Boys Junior and then went on to Milton Boys' High. A chartered accountant by profession, Bloch was a regular Zimbabwe Independent newspaper columnist who spent most of his life analyzing Zimbabwe’s complex economic and political challenges.
He was chairman of the Advisory Board of the National University of Science and Technology (Nust) Faculty of Architecture and Quantity Surveying, and a member of the Industrial Advisory Board of the Faculty of Journalism and Media Studies.
He was a member of the Jewish Community in Bulawayo; Eric and his wife Baileh were Orthodox Jews.


Military Ordinariate of Portugal

The Military Ordinariate of Portugal () is a military ordinariate of the Roman Catholic Church. Immediately subject to the Holy See, it provides pastoral care to Roman Catholics serving in the Portuguese Armed Forces and their families.
History.
It was established as a military vicariate 29 May 1966, and was elevated to a military ordinariate on 21 July 1986.


See Here, Private Hargrove (film)

See Here, Private Hargrove is a 1944 black-and-white comedy film from MGM, produced by George Haight, directed by Wesley Ruggles, and starring Robert Walker, Donna Reed, and Keenan Wynn. The film was adapted from the 1942 memoir of the same name by Marion Hargrove.
The film was followed by a 1945 sequel, "What Next, Corporal Hargrove?", which followed Hargrove to France.
Plot.
The storyline unfolds as a series of humorous anecdotes about Marion Hargrove's tenure in the U.S. Army while at boot camp in Fort Bragg, NC during the early days of World War II.


United States military pay

United States military pay is money paid to members in the United States Armed Forces. The amount of pay may vary by the member's rank, time in the military, location duty assignment, and by some special skills the member may have.
Pay will be largely based on rank, which goes from E-1 to E-9 for enlisted members, O-1 to O-10 for commissioned officers and W-1 to W-5 for warrant officers. Commissioned officers and warrant officers will often have higher pay-grades than their enlisted counterparts. Early pay-grade promotions are quite frequent, but promotions past E-4 will be fewer.
Pay versus allowance.
There are two broad categories of military pay: "pay" and "allowance". Typically, pay is money which is based upon remuneration for employment, while allowance is money necessary for the efficient performance of duty. Generally speaking, pay is income, while allowance is reimbursement. In the landmark case "Jones v. The United States", the United States Court of Claims decided that military allowances are not "of a compensatory character" and "not income as well". Since it was determined that allowances are not income, they cannot be taxed, divided, or garnished, while pay can be. (42 USC 659, et seq.)
Method of pay.
Typically members are paid on the 1st and 15th day of each month. If the 1st or 15th of the month falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday the member is paid the first business day before. The monthly pay statement is known as a "Leave and Earnings Statement" (LES), which is usually available near the end of each month. The money is directly deposited into a member's personal banking account. The payment on the 15th is known as "mid month pay", and the pay on the 1st is "end of month pay". (End of month pay used to fall on the last day of the month, but in 1990 was moved one day to the first to save money in a fiscal year.)
Major components.
There are a few components which most military members receive.
Basic pay.
Also known as "base pay", this is given to members of the active duty military on a monthly basis and is determined by their rank (or more appropriately their pay grade) and their length of time in military service. Basic pay is the same for all the services.
Title 37 U.S.C. 1009 provides a permanent formula for an automatic annual military pay raise that indexes the raise to the annual increase in the Employment Cost Index (ECI). The fiscal year 2010 president's budget request for a 2.9% military pay raise was consistent with this formula. However, Congress, in financial years 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, and 2009 approved the pay raise as the ECI increase plus 0.5%. The 2007 pay raise was equal to the ECI.
A military pay raise larger than the permanent formula is not uncommon. In addition to across-the-board pay raises for all military personnel, mid-year, targeted pay raises (targeted at specific grades and longevity) have also been authorized over the past several years.
Reserve/National Guard "drill" pay.
According to Title 37 United States Code §206, the basic pay amount for a single drill is equal to 1/30th of the basic pay for active duty servicemembers.
For members of the Army Reserve and National Guard performing duties with their units on battle assembly weekends, pay is usually based on four drill sessions of four hours per session, equal in pay to four days of active duty pay.
Common allowances.
Beginning on January 1, 2002, all enlisted members received full BAS, but paid for their meals (including those provided by the government). It was the culmination of the BAS reform transition period.
Because BAS is intended to provide meals for the service member, its level is linked to the price of food. Therefore, each year it is adjusted based upon the increase of the price of food as measured by the USDA food cost index. This is why the increase to BAS will not necessarily be the same percentage as that applied to the increase in the pay table, as annual pay raises are linked to the increase of private sector wages. As of 2010, enlisted members receive $323.87; warrant officers and commissioned officers receive $223.04 per month. As of 2018, commissioned officers receive $254.39 per month.
Enlisted BAS II. Enlisted members on duty at a permanent station and assigned to single (unaccompanied) government quarters, which do not have adequate food storage or preparation facilities, and where a government mess is not available and the government cannot otherwise make meals available, may be entitled to BAS II. The rate for BAS II is fixed at twice the rate for standard enlisted BAS. Effective February 10, 2006, the Navy authorized the payment of BAS II. Effective October 1, 2010, the Air Force authorized payment of BAS II to members at specific locations.
Pay raises.
U.S. code dictates a rather complex equation for military pay raises, based on the Employment Cost Index, a measure compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to track the costs of labor for businesses. Military pay increases by "the percentage (rounded to the nearest one-tenth of one percent) by which the ECI for the base quarter of the year before the preceding year exceeds the ECI for the base quarter of the second year before the preceding calendar year (if at all)". Specifically, the code states that the ECI for wages and salaries of private industry workers will be used.
Essentially, when the ECI goes up, so does military pay, so that military salaries do not fall behind civilian ones. For example, because the ECI increased 1.4 percent in 2009, that was the proposed military pay raise in 2010. The raise is unusually low — the smallest percent change since the series began in 1975, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The president is empowered to suggest a lower or higher pay raise, which must be ratified by Congress, in extenuating circumstances like an economic crisis. Congress can also vote to change the president's proposed decrease or increase. For the 2011 budget, the House Armed Services Committee suggested boosting the 1.4 percent raise. But Defense personnel officials resisted, saying they would rather that money be used for other programs that benefit military families. After an 11-year string of increases that slightly exceeded average private sector annual raises, Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick said that, "We actually think we have a surplus in terms of pay." The Department of Defense announced increases in military housing allowances, family support programs, and child care and tuition assistance for military families in the 2011 budget request, many of which outpace the base pay increase.
Special pay.
A member may be eligible for some of the following pays depending on rating (MOS) and assignment (location and duty).


David Mathew (bishop)

David James Mathew (15 January 1902 – 12 December 1975) was an English Roman Catholic bishop and historian.
Mathew was born at Lyme Regis, Dorset, and educated at the naval colleges at Osborne and Dartmouth. He served as a midshipman in the Royal Navy at the end of World War I.
He entered Balliol College, Oxford, in 1920 and received a degree in modern history in 1923. He then went to Beda College in Rome, with the intention of seeking ordination and with a plan to enter the Carthusian order. He was ordained in 1929, and spent 10 months as a novice at St Hugh's Charterhouse, Parkminster, West Sussex, before concluding that he did not have a monastic vocation.
After service at St David's Cathedral, Cardiff, he went to London to become chaplain to the Roman Catholic community at the University of London. In 1938 he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster. He served in London through the Blitz. In 1945 he was named apostolic visitor to Ethiopia, and in 1946 apostolic delegate to the British colonies in Africa.
This brought his consecration to the titular Archbishopric of Apamea. His service in Africa was successful, and he helped carry out the Vatican's policy of preparing for the appointment of native African bishops, acting as principal consecrator of Laurean Rugambwa after his appointment as Apostolic Vicar of Lower Kenya: Rugambwa later became the first African cardinal since the days of the early church.
Upon Mathew's return to England in 1953, he was appointed bishop-in-ordinary to the British Armed Forces. (He had refused an appointment to the nunciature in Bern, hoping to receive an English diocese). Mathew retired in 1963 and spent the rest of his life writing history. He died in London on 12 December 1975, aged 73.


Victor Hugo de Azevedo Coutinho

Victor Hugo de Azevedo Coutinho, 18th Count of Azevedo GCC, GCA (12 November 1871–27 June 1955), was a Portuguese naval officer, politician and professor, at the University of Coimbra and later the "Escola Naval" (Naval School). He was a member of the Portuguese Democratic Party and served as the President of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) for 7th government of the First Portuguese Republic (having led the country between 12 December 1914 and 25 January 1915). His government's composition was essentially made up of second-line political figures, and his government was jokingly referred to as "Os miseráveis de Victor Hugo" ("The miserables of Victor Hugo"), a play on the French author Victor Hugo's book "Les Miserables".


American music during World War II

American music during World War II was considered to be popular music that was enjoyed during the late 1930s (the end of the Great Depression) through the mid-1940s (through the end of World War II).
Radio and accessibility.
By 1940, 80% of American households would own a radio; making American music far more accessible to civilians and soldiers alike. Although the radio could be used to boost American morale, the American Government censored radio channels in fear that enemy agents may be sending coded messages through song requests on the stations.
Popular songs.
Unlike many World War I songs, many World War II songs focused more on romance and strength instead of propaganda, morale, and patriotism. Songs that were overly patriotic or militaristic were often rejected by the public.
Popular singers of the era included Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, the Andrews Sisters and Bing Crosby. Notable wartime radio songs were "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", "Shoo Shoo Baby", "I'm Making Believe", "I'll Be Seeing You", and "I'll Be Home for Christmas".
Songs that ridiculed the Axis Powers were also popular. These songs include We'll Knock the Japs Right into the Laps of the Nazis, Yankee Doodle Ain't Doodlin' Now, You're a Sap, Mr. Jap, and Oliver Wallace's song Der Fuehrer's Face, popularly recorded by Spike Jones, itself inspiring a 1943 Walt Disney cartoon starring the fictional character Donald Duck. A notable trend with songs that targeted the Axis powers was that for the songs directed towards Europe, the songs focused on Hitler and the Nazis as opposed to the civilians. On the other hand, songs that were directed towards the Pacific showed blatant racism, hate, anger, and revenge following the Pearl Harbor attack.
Swing music.
Swing music was a notable example of wartime radio music. Even Nazi Germany fielded some swing music bands despite Hitler's objections to "decadent Western music." After the end of World War II, this music escalated until the paranoia of the Cold War made this kind of music irrelevant after the Soviet menace (under Joseph Stalin) replaced the Nazi menace (under Adolf Hitler). Lawrence Welk would later play this kind of music on "The Lawrence Welk Show". Jazz music would also become part of the "cultural war" that raged alongside the actual fighting of World War II. Having its roots in African-American music, the Nazi regime had declared it to be "inhuman music" and banned it in all of occupied Europe. The local musicians of Paris, France chose to play jazz music in French rather than in English as a loophole in the Nazi jazz music ban. Rebellious German kids would meet in secret locations and listen to Allied music stations to hear jazz music behind the Gestapo's metaphorical back. This generation of German kids saw jazz music as a "religion worth fighting for."
Further reading.
Winkler, Sheldon. "The Music of World War II: War Songs and Their Stories," Merriam Press, Hoosick Falls, New York, 3rd edition, .


Torwa dynasty

The Tolwa dynasty was the ruling family of the Butua kingdom that arose from the collapse of Great Zimbabwe in the sixteenth and seventeenth century, founded perhaps by the legendary Dlembeu.
The Tolwa dynasty of the BakaLanga people based itself at the stone city of Khami from 1450 to 1683. Cattle and gold brought prosperity. The new culture at Khami developed both the stone building techniques and the pottery styles found at Great Zimbabwe. Masons continued to refine Great Zimbabwe’s tradition of building precise stone walls.
At Khami several artefacts are found, such as ritual drinking pots, iron and bronze weapons, copper objects and ivory divining pieces. Artifacts from Europe and China are reminders that Khami was once a trade centre.
During this period the first Europeans arrived. The first known European visitor was Antonio Fernandes, a Portuguese "degredado" (convict exile) serving his term in Sofala, who entered the Zimbabwean plateau in 1513.
There had always been an Arab influence in the region, particularly through trade, but this conflicted with Portuguese commercial interests and religion. The fall of the Tolwa state linked to the coming of the Mutapa people from the north and to the Nguni incursions from the south.
In the 1670s a new power arose on the Zimbabwean plateau led by a military ruler called the Changamire. His army of followers, known as the Lozwi, overthrew the Tolwa dynasty, drove the Portuguese from the Zimbabwean plateau in 1693, and established the Rozwi Empire (also called Mambo).
See also.
Zimbabwe<br>
Dynasty


Lu Wenfu

Lu Wenfu(, March 23, 1927 - July 9, 2005) was a contemporary Chinese writer. He was interested in literature from an early age and devoted all his life into it. He worked for many years as journalist and a magazine editor and served as president of the Jiangsu Writers' Association (, 江苏作家协会) and vice president of the Chinese Writers' Association (, 中国作家协会). Lu's life ended in Suzhou, his favorite city in Jiangsu province. All his work is a mirror of this old city and that's why his novels are generally regarded as "Suzhou literature". He is famous for his first story "Deep within a Lane (小巷深处)". From then on, Lu started producing a lot of fictions and essays.
Life.
Lu Wenfu was born in 1927 in Taixing, Jiangsu province. Being kept under the thoughtful and careful love of his mother, Lu spent a peaceful childhood.
When 6 years old, Lu Wenfu went to an old-style school, where his teacher was impressed by his interest in reading and gave him a formal name "Wenfu (which means literary and culture)", in the hope of him becoming a litterateur. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Lu finished primary and secondary school in Taixing. In 1945 he went to live with relatives in Suzhou for recuperation and studied in Suzhou High School. After graduation, he was admitted into two universities in Shanghai. But his family couldn't afford the school tuition and other expenses. So he transferred to the Subei Liberated Area, where he was assigned to Huazhong University to study Marxism.
After graduating from the Huazhong University in Yancheng, Lu took part in the Chinese Communist Revolution in northern Jiangsu. In 1949 he returned to Suzhou and became a reporter of New Suzhou Report (now renamed as Suzhou Daily). In 1955 he started the first period of his over 50 years' writing career. Two years later Lu became a member of Literary Federation of Jiangsu. In 1957 he joined Gao Xiaosheng (高晓声, 20th century author) and some others to found the magazine "The Explorers (Tanqiuzhe, 探求者)". It came under great attack by the Communist leadership, for what Lu was denounced as a Rightist during the Great Leap Forward. He was soon sentenced to a machine tool plant as an apprentice in Suzhou. During the three years as a mechanic, Lu was awarded the honor of "Excellent Apprentice", "Advanced Worker" and "Crackerjack at Technical Innovations". As a result, he was deemed reformed and was allowed to write again. Nevertheless, with the Cultural Revolution breaking out in 1966, Lu was denounced once again and was sent to the fields for reeducation through labor until 1976, which experience he later wrote of as a manual labour:"I was 'struggled against', forced to confess my crimes and paraded through the streets with a placard around my neck. I was already numb to the pain, and worried about when this disaster for my country would end." After the Cultural Revolution ended with Mao Zedong's death in 1976, Lu returned to Suzhou in November, 1978, at the age of 50.
In December, 1978, Lu became the managing editor of "Suzhou" magazine. It's during the Deng Xiaoping reform era that he started his second career as a writer. The works reflected on the unsettled and thought-provoking memories of modern history:"Poverty, backwardness, hardship, chaos: these are not necessarily obstacles to literature. Material wealth is not the same as spiritual wealth."
Shortly after the novel "Gourmet" was published in 1988, Lu opened a restaurant, "The Old Suzhou Gourmet House", serving exquisite, traditional Suzhou cuisine, as a way to realize his ideal of good food. Therefore, Lu Wenfu was known in Chinese literary circles for his catering business, as an authentic gourmet both in name and fact.
On July 9, 2005, Lu Wenfu died of emphysema, at the age of 78.
Notable works.
"Deep within a Lane (小巷深处)".
It is a short story written in 1956, the first period of his writing career, which describes the real life of a prostitute named Xu Wenxia. She was born in the old days but now live in the newly-born China, exploring her future with a rather complex attitude. This totally new theme of writing indicates Lu's novel creativity, making him famous among China for the first time.
"Gourmet (美食家))".
As the saying that "Western culture is born of the relationship between man and woman, while Chinese culture has grown from the enjoyment of food" goes, the novel "Gourmet" is one of the highly appreciated works of Lu Wenfu. It was published in "Harvest" in 1983, achieving another peak in his writing career. By creating the character of a crazy gourmet, Zhu Ziye, Lu shows the tortuous developing road of our nation, making people at that time think much more about our future generation.
There are also a lot of vivid details about the customs of the Suzhou region, which earns his fictions an reputation of "Suzhou literature". Up to now, this novel has been translated into English, French, Japanese, etc., introducing Chinese traditions to the outside world.
In addition, Lu himself is an authentic gourmet. He shows great interest in the folk snacks all over the world, insisting that eating is a sort of enjoyment. Also, Chinese tea and wine are his favourite, which reflects his poetic view of life.
"The Man from a Peddler's Family (小贩世家）)".
"The Man from a Peddler's Family" is a short story published in 1979, into which Lu poured all his sufferings of his life. It starts with one of the protagonist Mr. Gao, who was well educated, thinking about the other protagonist Zhu Yuanda, one making his living only by selling wonton. The story centers on the tortuous life of Zhu Yuanda, along with the changes of political background at that time. Through Mr. Gao's observation on Zhu Yuanda, the story implicitly reflects the painful thoughts of Lu on these unstable times, which still "merits further reflection by us younger generations".
Artistic value.
In the field of contemporary public literary creations, Lu Wenfu represented the old generations of writers in their respective works, along with Fan Xiaoqing (the middle-aged generation) and Zhu Wenying (the younger generation). "He was an old-fashioned gentleman who remained unaffected by the rampant ideological and dogmatic literature." Lu Wenfu left his distinctive literary memories of Suzhou in different perspectives, including political, cultural, economic, and personal imprints. The rich human nature and vivid inner characters showed us a picture of the real lifestyle and the authentic residents in Suzhou, an old city with the reputation of "Venice of the East", "representing some inner expressions left by literature that are best worth savoring in the historical process for Suzhou city."
Lu's success in portraying the traditions and customs of Suzhou won him an reputation of "urban root-seeker", an honour he shared with other writers such as Deng Youmei (), who wrote about the disappearing traditional culture of old Beijing.
Chronology of works.
First Period of his Writing Career (1950s and the 1960s)
Second Period of his Writing Career (After 1978)


Joe Dawson (Highlander)

Joe Dawson is a fictional character in the "Highlander" franchise, created for the live-action TV show "". A marine who leaves active service after losing his legs during the Vietnam War, he finds a new calling by joining the order of Watchers, people who record the lives and actions of immortals who secretly live on Earth. His main assignment during the course of the show is to chronicle the life of protagonist Duncan MacLeod, an immortal swordsman born in the Scottish Highlands. When the Highlander learns about the Watchers, he meets Joe and the two eventually become friends. Joe Dawson is portrayed by actor Jim Byrnes.
Fictional biography.
Series.
Born in 1950, Joe Dawson later joins the United States Marine Corps and fights in the Vietnam War. His commanding officer is Andrew Cord, an immortal (though at the time, Dawson is unaware such people exist). In 1968, after seeing Cord shot, Dawson accidentally steps on a landmine that explodes. Cord, now healed from his injuries, carries Joe on his back for sixteen miles to the nearest field hospital. Joe tries to explain Cord saved him, but is told Cord is dead. Due to his injuries from the landmine, both of Joe's legs are amputated. He is sent home.
Unable to cope with the loss of his legs, Joe decides to commit suicide but is visited by a Watcher named Ian Bancroft, who tells him that some rare humans are born immortal due to an energy called the Quickening. These immortals can only die if beheaded and can take each other's energy and knowledge if one kills another. Because of this, several hunt each other in a secret Game of mortal combat, believing that the final survivor will win the Prize: the collected power and knowledge of all immortals who ever lived. "In the end, there can be only one." Bancroft is part of an organization called the Watchers who study and chronicle the lives of these immortals from afar and will one day reveal this secret history to the world once the Game has been won. Bancroft offers to recruit Dawson into the organization. Driven by a new purpose in life and realizing he owes his life to an immortal, Joe becomes a Watcher historian in 1968. Bancroft becomes Dawson's mentor and a close friend. Joe later becomes brother-in-law to James Horton, a high-ranking Watcher. Joe develops a close friendship with Horton and comes to love Horton's daughter Lynn.
Later becoming a field operative, Dawson watches over the immortal Roy Ferrer (1971–1974) and then Liza Grant (1975–1978). In 1979, he is assigned to watch Duncan MacLeod, an immortal Highlander born in 1592 and kin to the immortal warrior Connor MacLeod born decades earlier. When Duncan MacLeod makes his home in Seacouver, Washington with his lover Tessa Noël, James Horton buys a nearby bookshop "Shakespeare & Co." and has Dawson manage it in order to provide him a cover. Dawson comes to admire and respect MacLeod, noting that the Highlander does not wish power, forges friendships with several immortals, and cares deeply for mortal humans and society, often helping friends and strangers whenever he thinks they are in trouble.
Unknown to Dawson, Horton comes to believe that immortals are abominations and none of them will be uncorrupted by power if they win the Prize, meaning humanity will suffer no matter who wins the Game. Determined that human society will not be ruled by any immortal, Horton leads a sub-group of likeminded Watchers who call themselves the Hunters. The group begins secretly hunting and executing immortals, eventually gaining the attention of Duncan MacLeod when they kill his friend, an immortal priest named Darius. Finding a recovered Watcher's journal among Darius' possession, Duncan learns of the organization and then meets Horton when the man attempts to kill another immortal friend, Hugh Fitzcairn.
Eventually, MacLeod comes across Joe Dawson. Secretive at first, Joe realizes MacLeod already knows about the Watchers and sees them as enemies. To prevent conflict, he admits his true identity and purpose to the Highlander. "I probably know more about you than you know about yourself… I could tell you the time and place you became immortal, the name of your first love. But that's not important. What is important is that you care about mortals and you don't kill for pleasure."
After Horton is exposed and expelled from the Watchers (though MacLeod initially believes he is dead), Dawson attempts to forge trust with the Highlander, openly informing him about his presence on various occasions. MacLeod is reluctant to trust at first, particularly after the recent death of his love Tessa, murdered by a mugger. As they slowly build a friendship, Dawson also befriends the Highlander's immortal apprentice Richie Ryan and his mortal friend and colleague Charlie DeSalvo, a martial artist who manages Duncan's gym and is unaware of the existence of immortals. At times, Dawson helps MacLeod by sharing Watcher information on other immortals, believing it serves the greater good if evil immortals are removed from the Game and secretly hoping the winner will be someone like the Highlander.
When Horton hunts immortals again, this time in allegiance with the evil immortal Xavier St. Cloud, MacLeod is furious that Joe lied about the man's death. Horton and his men then nearly kill Charlie DeSalvo while attempting to help St. Cloud kill MacLeod. Later, Horton attempts to flee again and Dawson shoots him. Horton falls into the water and Dawson tells Duncan, "We make mistakes... we clean them up." Horton later turns up alive and attempts to attack MacLeod psychologically through an agent masquerading as his dead love Tessa. Dawson prevents Horton from shooting MacLeod later and the Highlander finally kills the man. Dawson sees to the burial.
Dawson eventually opens a jazz club and bar called "Joe's" (later renaming it "Le Blues Bar"). Along with hiring bands, Joe himself performs and sings jazz music regularly. The bar also acts as a meeting place for other Watchers. The extent to which the staff of the bar knows about the Watchers, or if they are Watchers themselves similar to the book shop staff, is never disclosed. Dawson continues helping MacLeod and Richie. He and MacLeod later learn that his Watcher colleague Adam Pierson is in fact the legendary 5000-year-old immortal Methos. Joe keeps the secret that one of the Watchers is in fact the oldest living immortal, and the two forge their own friendship.
When Andrew Cord comes to Seacouver, Dawson learns he has become a remorseless killer and arms dealer and murdered Charlie DeSalvo's love Mara. Despite this, believing he owes his life to Cord, Dawson asks both MacLeod and Charlie to leave him alone and asks Cord to do the same. MacLeod allows Cord to go free, but Charlie confronts him and is killed. After finding his friend just before he dies, MacLeod avenges Charlie by beheading Cord.
After several Watchers are murdered by an immortal, the organization believes Joe is responsible by sharing the secrets of the organization with immortals such as Duncan MacLeod. He is put on trial and found guilty. Later, Duncan reveals the real killer, who learned about the Watchers from being hunted by Horton and not through Joe's actions. After unseating a high-ranking Watcher motivated by a vendetta who intended to start a war with the immortals, the Watcher organization reorganizes. Joe decides to leave rather than continue to be part of a group that has lost its way and because he does not believe he can keep Duncan's friendship if he stays. To his surprise, Duncan asks him to rejoin, hoping Dawson can ensure the organization returns to its principles and acts altruistically. Dawson accepts and once again becomes the head of Watcher activities in Seacouver and the surrounding area.
When the demonic entity Ahriman causes MacLeod to suffer visions that drive him to fear and violence, the Highlander unintentionally kills Richie Ryan. Dawson weeps over the loss of the young immortal and wonders if MacLeod has lost his sanity. Later, he encounters Ahriman, who offers him the return of his legs, fully functional, if he betrays Duncan. Though tempted, Joe declines the offer. When Ahriman kills Watchers, Joe decides the Watchers cannot intervene further but decides to continue helping the Highlander himself. When Ahriman is finally defeated, Joe considers Richie's death avenged.
Films.
The 2007 made-for-TV movie "" follows the continuity of "Highlander: The Series" and takes place in a dark future where Earth society has fallen to chaos and violence. Dawson joins MacLeod and others as they investigate the legendary Source of immortality, an energy well located in Eastern Europe. The group is hunted and attacked by the Guardian, a magically empowered immortal. Joe attempts to protect the immortal Reggie Weller from the Guardian at one point, and the man fatally stabs the Watcher with the shattered blade of Duncan MacLeod's sword. MacLeod cradles Joe in his arms and they reaffirm how much they care for each other before the Watcher dies.
The 2008 short film "Highlander: Reunion" takes place a decade after the end of "Highlander: The Series," written by series producer David Abramowitz and directed by Don Paonessa. The short film depicts Dawson (reprised by actor Jim Byrnes) alive and well in 2008 on a version of Earth that is not in danger of succumbing to chaos. He admits that he begrudgingly retired from active Watcher duty eight months before, just shy of 40 years of service. Dawson tells Methos that Duncan MacLeod is now observed by a newly recruited 28-year-old Watcher, a Princeton University graduate and member of Phi Beta Kappa. At the Highlander Worldwide Convention the next year, David Abramowitz and others from the TV series referred to "Highlander: The Source" as a "bad dream" Duncan had.
Character development.
Creation.
The script of "The Watchers" originally called the character "Ian Dawson" and described him as a man between 40 and 60 years old from North America or England, adding, "There is a sense of power and mystery behind the man's scholarly appearance." According to Executive Producer William Panzer and Creative Consultant David Abramowitz, actors Michael York and David McCallum wanted to play the part. They were looked at because initially Joe was meant as a character "more studious, [with a] much tighter personality" than he eventually became. Abramovitz said, "In the beginning with Joe, the Dawson we wrote was a totally different character and it didn't work as well as it could." Byrnes was finally chosen because, according to Abramowitz, "Jim's soul plays through Joe Dawson." He added that Byrnes had "a certain quality that was just more real, more earthly than the other two… he had his own trials to live through his life, being handicapped, and he was a wonderful actor, but more than an actor he's got presence on a screen." William Panzer said, "he was a real mensch."
Actor Jim Byrnes recalled, "Immediately, I said, 'No, I'm not an Ian.' So we changed the name to Joe... Originally, I knew I was doing this one episode ["The Watchers"] where we were going to introduce the character and then we were going to take it from there. And they promised me X number more episodes just to kind of sweeten the pot to get me to do the show on short notice." Regarding the character's personality, Byrnes said, "Joe's been through the wringer… It would be hard for people to be around him too much, I think. He's kind of a loner, because at some point he's got to have some serious demons. These people have witnessed this crazy stuff; how do you deal with it? It's hard to be ordinary. Joe is extra ordinary, he's really ordinary. I mean that in a good way."
Dawson's function as a character was mostly one of exposition. Byrnes said, "So many times, it's the nature of the game, I end up saying, 'Well, you know, in 1865 they found this guy' and just do exposition. You got to tell the story some way. You're like the narrator because of the nature of the show; it's not about me." Dawson also had to face conflicts of his own. Abramowitz said, "Look at the stories that Joe opened up because of the character of Joe and the conflicts that Joe faces. And coming to terms with being somewhat of a hypocrite, which is, 'We observe; we don't act.' And then you see Joe act. Which happens because he is human and because it's a classic case of 'Do what I say, not what I do.' And that's the way life is and that's the way people are."
Regarding the episode "Turnabout," Executive Producer Bill Panzer said, "this episode was the beginning of the relationship, well the expansion of the relationship between Joe Dawson and Duncan MacLeod. For Joe to help MacLeod by getting him a file was for him a very big step in what became a major character arc as the two of them grew closer and closer." Regarding the episode "Unholy Alliance," Abramowitz said, "It created tension between Joe Dawson and Mac, which was a very good thing, so that Joe just wasn't a sidekick, wasn't a helper, that he had his own agenda, that he had his own view of the world, and it really solidified in some ways what the perspective of the Watchers were." Abramowitz further observed, "I think that Joe believes that there is something singular and special about Duncan MacLeod, that there may be a destiny MacLeod has to fulfill, which is even greater than the Watchers'... Because he has seen signs, [in the episodes] 'Avatar,' 'Armageddon,' 'Something Wicked,' 'Deliverance,' 'Prophecy,' that separate MacLeod from everyone else, that there is a prophecy that MacLeod is the anointed one. We hint at it, and obviously Joe feels this, plus he feels a tremendous admiration for MacLeod. He loves Duncan MacLeod. This is as deep as one man can feel for another. And I think it's returned."
Introduced as a book store owner, Joe Dawson later purchases a bar called "Joe's" where he plays music with a band (actor Byrnes was a professional singer musician himself). Abramowitz explained, "We came up with the idea of the blues bar, which was a perfect place for him and gave us opportunities to hear his music." Regarding the introduction of the blues bar, Byrnes said it happened after the production crew saw him perform. "Everybody came out to hear the band play and then thought, 'How can we incorporate this into the show?' And we found a way and it's been great. It really helps you as an actor because it broadens Joe's scope immediately. It gives him a wider palette... Music is Joe's form of meditation... it's Joe's martial art." Associate Creative Consultant Donna Lettow said, "... We had just built "Joe's" a couple of episodes before, and a memo had gone out, saying, 'Use "Joe's"; we love it, it's beautiful.' And we spent a lot of money on it."
Some of Byrnes's music compositions were used in the episodes "Archangel" and "Avatar." Another song by Byrnes, "Jack of Diamonds", was used in "Run For Your Life." Panzer recollected, "That song was so cool that we lengthened the scene fifty percent because we wanted to hear more of his music as the whole thing works so wonderfully together."
Of his work after the show was completed, Byrnes said, "I had a good rapport with the crew, with Adrian [Paul], with the writers, the producers, etcetera. Obviously, I didn't get in the way, and what I did didn't hurt anybody. And people seemed to enjoy the character, so it's continued."
Dawson's disability portrayal.
Like Dawson, Jim Byrnes served in the Vietnam War. Afterward, in 1972, the actor was attempting to move a stalled truck when he was struck by a car, leading to his legs being amputated. These experiences informed episodes of "Highlander: The Series" that explored Joe Dawson's military service and the loss of his own legs. In the episode "Brother in Arms," a flashback reveals that Joe Dawson lost both his legs during the Vietnam War. Executive Script Consultant David Tynan said, "In the scene where Joe wakes up to find his legs gone, I had to ask Jim what it was like. Jim said, 'Well, the fact is you don't wake up and scream in terror, you wake up and go Whoa and fall back to sleep, because you're so shot up with morphine, you have no idea what they're telling you.' So we adjusted the script accordingly. And certainly we were very concerned how Jim would feel, as we would be concerned about how any actor would feel about something that approached his personal life in such a way. And Jim was okay with it. I think that's a tribute to him as an actor and as a person, that he's not afraid to explore those areas."
In the episode "Armageddon," Dawson is tempted with the possibility of having fully functional legs again. Abramowitz said, "I called him before and I said, 'Jim, how do you feel about this?' Because I would never do anything that would make him uncomfortable as a human being. But he was actually excited to do it. He was really into it, up for it, going for it. He's come to terms with his life and who he is." Associate Creative Consultant Gillian Horvath said, "It's big stuff for him. It's issues from his own life, but it's not about him; it's about Joe, but they obviously share some certain traits. That he's willing to bare his own life, his own feelings, in order to give Joe something that strong. That he cares enough about the character to say, 'Yeah, let's give him this big scene and in order to do it I will use myself, part of me will be offered up.'" Lettow recalls that when the producers viewed the dailies of Armageddon, there was "not a dry eye in the room. And we watched those over and over and just marveled at Jim Byrnes' ability. And sat here saying, 'Oh my God, what have we done to him?'"
Reception.
The audience reaction was favorable. Abramowitz recalled, "he was one of the fans' favorites all over the years that we made the show." He also said, "It's hard to identify with someone who is immortal... but a Watcher's just a normal human being. And so the audience could find themselves thinking, 'I could be that guy.' And I think Joe became every man of the show. He became the audience in a big way."
Byrnes added, "I think [the Watchers are] part of the reason that the character caught on. We are all Watchers, everybody that's a fan of the show. We are all members of the same organization, so I think that puts me, an ordinary guy, in extraordinary circumstances, and that gives everybody something to hang on to. I think that's why the character has worked. We all get older and have our aches and pains and we look different every day, you know, a couple extra miles, so it gives that sense of continuity. I just put everybody, all the viewers, I think, a little bit closer to the picture. Because they see me, and some days I don't look so hot and some days I look all right. It's the human element. Joe's just an ordinary person witnessing extraordinary events."


Israel Cohen (Zionist)

Israel Cohen (1879 – 26 November 1961) was an Anglo-Jewish, Zionist leader, writer, and journalist, who served as secretary of the World Zionist Organization.
Early life.
Born to Polish Jewish immigrants in Manchester, England in 1879, Israel Cohen was educated at Manchester’s Jews' School (1884–1892), Manchester Grammar School (1892-1895); and then simultaneously at Jews' College and University College, London, where he received his BA. From 1895 on, Cohen became actively involved in the Zionist cause.
Upon reading an article in "The Jewish Chronicle" about pogroms in Russia in 1891, Cohen became interested in Jewish affairs and political matters. Following a speech given by Theodor Herzl, he was further inspired to join the ranks of the Zionist movement in 1896 and became a lifelong supporter of the Zionist movement upon the establishment of the World Zionist Organization at the First Zionist Congress in Basel in August 1897.
Cohen wrote prolifically on the subjects of Zionism, anti-Semitism, and other areas of Jewish concern. His first publication was an article that appeared in the "Manchester Evening Chronicle" in September 1897. This was followed by a short sketch that appeared in January 1898 in the "Jewish World". He subsequently wrote hundreds of newspaper articles and pamphlets for both Jewish and non-Jewish publications alike.
Later life.
From 1909 to the beginning of the Second World War, Cohen directed the English department of the Zionist Central Office in Cologne and later in Berlin. During the First World War he was held in Ruhleben internment camp for sixteen months from November 1914. He described these experiences in "Ruhleben Prison Camp: A Record of Nineteen Months' Internment", which was published in 1917.
In 1918, Cohen became secretary for the World Zionist Organization in London. During the years 1918–1921 he carried out a number of important diplomatic and fund-raising missions on behalf of the Zionist leadership. These took him to Poland and Hungary, where he investigated and reported on the pogroms and other anti-Jewish acts of violence; and to Jewish communities in Australia, Hong Kong, India, China, and Japan. In Harbin, China, Cohen sought aid for the Palestine Restoration Fund, whose goal it was to purchase Palestine from Turkey. Cohen later described his encounters in "The Journey of a Jewish Traveller" (1925), and "A Jewish Pilgrimage: The Autobiography of Israel Cohen" (1956).
Following the Zionist Congress of 1921, which took place in Carlsbad, Cohen was appointed general secretary of the Zionist organization in London, a position he held until 1939. He was also a member of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, and in 1946 he was appointed head of its Foreign Affairs Committee delegation to the peace conference in Paris.
When working in Germany, Cohen became the Berlin correspondent for "The Times" and "The Manchester Guardian", and continued to represent the latter at every Zionist Congress up until 1946.
Among his many book credits, in addition to the aforementioned titles, are:
Israel Cohen died in London on 26 November 1961.
Hoax.
"A Racial Program for the Twentieth Century" which gained notoriety in 1957 was attributed to Israel Cohen, but when The Washington Star traced it back to Eustace Mullins, his claim to have found it in a Zionist publication in the Library of Congress was never verified.


Geography of Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country in southern Africa lying wholly within the tropics. It straddles an extensive high inland plateau that drops northwards to the Zambezi valley where the border with Zambia is and similarly drops southwards to the Limpopo valley and the border with South Africa.
The country has borders with Botswana 813 km, Mozambique 1,231 km, South Africa 225 km, Zambia 797 km and almost meets Namibia at its westernmost point.
Climate.
The climate is markedly varied by altitude. There is a dry season, including a short cool season during the period May to September when the whole country has very little rain. The rainy season is typically a time of heavy rainfall from November to March. The whole country is influenced by the Intertropical Convergence Zone during January. In years when it is poorly defined there is below-average rainfall and a likelihood of serious drought in the country, as happened in 1983 and 1992. When it is well defined rainfall is average or well above average, as in 1981 and 1986.
Terrain.
Much of the country is on a plateau with a higher central plateau (high veld) forming a watershed between the Zambezi and Limpopo river systems. The flattish watershed region is part of an ancient etchplain called the African Surface covers large swathes of the continent. While the African Surface occupy the higher ground, spurs and small interfluves a younger "post-African" surface occupy lower positions with occasional rock domes, koppies and tors protruding rolling or plain landscape. The Limpopo and the lower Zambezi valleys are broad and relatively flat plains. The eastern end of the watershed terminates in a north-south mountain spine, called the Eastern Highlands. The northeast-southwest oriented central uplands have been uplifted in geologically recent times (Late Pliocene or Pleistocene) deviating the watercourse of upper Zambezi River that used to flow into the Limpopo River to the east to its current outlet at the Mozambique Channel. The northeast-southwest upland and watershed follows the axis of an epeirogenic flexure.
Elevation extremes:

"lowest point:" junction of the Runde and Save rivers 162 m

"highest point:" Mount Nyangani 2,592 m
Natural resources: coal, chromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel, copper, iron ore, vanadium, lithium, tin, diamond, platinum group metals
Land use:

"arable land:" 10.49%

"permanent crops:" 0.31%

"other:" 89.20% (2011)
Irrigated land: 1,735 km² (2003)
Total renewable water resources: 20 km3 (2011)
Natural hazards: droughts; floods and severe storms are rare
Environment – current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; land degradation; air and water pollution; the black rhinoceros herd – once the largest concentration of the species in the world – has been significantly reduced by poaching; poor mining practices have led to toxic waste and heavy metal pollution
Environment – international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Hydrology:
The country is divided into six drainage basins. The largest are the Zambezi and the Limpopo. Western parts of Matabeleland connect to the Okavango inland drainage basin through the Nata river. Most of southern Mashonaland and adjacent parts of Masvingo drain through the Save river into the Indian Ocean. Two smaller drainage basins cover parts of Manicaland, and drain into the Indian Ocean through Mozambique. These are the Pungwe river to the north and the Buzi river to the south. Sediment transport has been studied for rivers in Zimbabwe using the HBV hydrology transport model.
Main land use type:
Extreme points.
This is a list of the extreme points of Zimbabwe, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location.


Cowboy Canteen

Cowboy Canteen is a 1944 American Musical Western film directed by Lew Landers and starring Charles Starrett.
Plot.
Entertainers perform on a dude ranch for soldiers.


Roman Catholic Diocese of Gokwe

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Gokwe () is a suffragan diocese in the city of Gokwe in the ecclesiastical province of Harare in Zimbabwe.


Elizabeth Kata

Elizabeth Colina Katayama (nee McDonald}}; 9 October 19124 September 1998) was an Australian writer known by the pseudonym Elizabeth Kata, best known for "Be Ready with Bells and Drums" (1961), made into the award-winning film "A Patch of Blue" (1965).
She was born of Scottish parents in Sydney in 1912. After marrying the Japanese pianist Shinshiro Katayama in 1937, she lived for 10 years in Japan. During the last years of World War II, she was interned at the mountain resort village of Karuizawa, Nagano. She returned to Australia in 1947 with her baby son David, battling the Australian government for permission.
As well as writing novels, she wrote for television and several Hollywood scripts. Her first novel, "Be Ready with Bells and Drums" (written in 1959, first published in 1961), was produced as the film "A Patch of Blue" (1965). Guy Green, who directed, adapted Kata's book and his screenplay was nominated for a Writers Guild of America award. After the success of the film, the novel was re-released as "A Patch of Blue". The book was for many years included in the "school book list" both in the U.S. and Australia. The book "Mrs Katayama and Her Splash of Blue" (2010, Independence Jones), covers how Elizabeth Kata's first book became the film "A Patch of Blue".
Elizabeth Katayama died in Sydney in 1998.


Lord of Shanghai (film)

Lord of Shanghai () is a 2016 Chinese action film co-written, produced and directed by Sherwood Hu and stars Hu Jun, Yu Nan, Rhydian Vaughan, and Qin Hao. The film is an adaptation of Hong Ying's novel of the same name. It picks up the story of three generations of the Lord of Shanghai and their love story of the legendary woman Xiao Yuegui. The film was first released in China on February 17, 2017.
Plot.
In the early 20th century. Xiao Yuegui (Yu Nan) is sold as a maid to a Shanghai brothel, where Madam Dai Yu (Bai Ling) doesn't like her because she has a no-count big foot with big breasts. But soon she becomes a lover of Chang Lixong (Hu Jun), who is the gang leader of Hong society. After meeting with Huang Peiyu (Qin Hao), a leader of the secret society and underground resistance movement Tongmenghui, Chang Lixong is assassinated during an escape by Huang Peiyu wife. Xiao Yuegui becomes helpless and then goes to the countryside, where she gives birth to a daughter.
Years later, Xiao Yuegui organizes a theatrical troupe named "Tanhuang Banzi", and she returns to Shanghai. Under the patronage of the second generation lord of Shanghai Huang Peiyu, she rose to prominence. After falling in love with Huang she learns that he was involved in the assassination of her husband Chang Lixiong. Xiao Yuegui persuades Yu Qiyang (Rhydian Vaughan), an attendant to both lords of Shanghai, to promote justice. After Huang's death, Yu Qiyang replaces him to become the third generation lord of Shanghai.
Production.
In 2003, Sherwood Hu bought the film rights to the 2003 novel "Lord of Shanghai" written by Hong Ying. Hu has said he had spent ten years developing the film.
Release.
On June 20, 2016, the producers released a set of concept posters. On December 15, the producers released an official trailer.
On January 16, 2017, the producers held a release conference in Beijing, it was announced that the release date for "Lord of Shanghai" will be on February 24. On February 10, it was announced that the film has been advanced to February 17.
The film premiered at Shanghai International Film Festival on June 19, 2016, and opened in China on February 17, 2017.
The film received mainly negative reviews, although it won several awards at the 8th Macau International Movie Festival.
Box office.
The film grossed 13 million yuan in Chinese box office.


Military Vicariate of the Netherlands


Uruzgan helicopter attack

Uruzgan helicopter attack refers to the February 21, 2010, killing of many Afghan civilians, including over twenty men, four women and one child, by United States Army with another 12 civilians wounded. The attack took place near the border between Uruzgan and Daykundi province in Afghanistan when special operation troops helicopters attacked three minibuses with "airborne weapons".
Summary of events.
The victims were traveling in three buses in broad daylight in a group of 42 civilians in Uruzgan province near the border to Daykundi on February 21, 2010 . When the convoy was on a main road in the village of Zerma it came under attack from U.S. Special Forces piloting Little Bird helicopters using "airborne weapons". NATO later stated that they believed at that time that the minibuses were carrying insurgents. 27 civilians including four women and one child were killed in the attack while another 12 were wounded. Initially the number of deaths was reported at 33. ISAF ground troops transported the wounded to medical treatment facilities after they found women and children at the scene.
Reaction.
Afghanistan.
Afghanistan's cabinet called the killings "unjustifiable" and condemned the raid "in the strongest terms possible". The local governor and the Interior Minister said that all of the victims were civilians. Amanullah Hotak, head of Uruzgan's provincial council said: "We don't want their apologies or the money they always give after every attack. We want them to kill all of us together instead of doing it to us one by one." Haji Ghullam Rasoul, whose cousins died in the attack, said, "They came here to bring security but they kill our children, they kill our brothers and they kill our people."
United States.

DemoLinux

DemoLinux was one of the first Live CD Linux distributions.
It was created by Roberto Di Cosmo, Vincent Balat and Jean-Vincent Loddo, in 1998.
The DemoLinux CD was created to make it possible to use Linux without having to install it on the hard disk. It was the first Linux Live CD that made it possible to use the system in graphic mode and without any stage of configuration.
There are many other Live CD Linux distributions today. DemoLinux can be considered to be the ancestor of Knoppix.
DemoLinux offered the user hundreds of applications (among them KDE and StarOffice), owing to using to a compressed file system. The CD could be used without any modification to the hard disk; however, the user could use space on the hard disk to store their personal data and install additional applications using the distribution's standard tools. Version 1 was based on Mandrake Linux (now Mandriva Linux), while versions 2 and 3 were based mainly on Debian. These later versions made it possible to install Linux on the hard disk. DemoLinux thus provided a very simple installation procedure for Debian and became a forerunner of later Linux distributions.
DemoLinux has been distributed with many computer magazines in several countries. It is still downloadable from the official website, but has not evolved since 2002.


FORMAT (command)


Cyrix 5x86

The Cyrix 5x86 was a x86 microprocessor designed by Cyrix. Released in August 1995, four months before the more famous Cyrix 6x86, the Cyrix 5x86 was one of the fastest CPUs ever produced for Socket 3 computer systems. With better performance in most applications than an Intel Pentium processor at 75 MHz, the Cyrix Cx5x86 filled a gap by providing a medium-performance processor option for 486 Socket 3 motherboards (which are incapable of handling Intel's Pentium CPUs, apart from the Pentium Overdrive).
Design.
The Cyrix 5x86 processor, codename "M1sc", was based on a scaled-down version of the "M1" core used in the Cyrix 6x86, which provided 80% of the performance for a 50% decrease in transistors over the 6x86 design. It had the 32-bit memory bus of an ordinary 486 processor, but internally had much more in common with fifth-generation processors such as the Cyrix 6x86, the AMD K5, and the Intel Pentium, and even the sixth-generation Intel Pentium Pro. The chip featured near-complete support for i486 instructions, but very limited support for Pentium instructions. Some performance-enhancing features of the CPU were intentionally disabled due to potentially stability-threatening bugs which were not fixed before release time (these features can be enabled with freely downloadable software utilities; see below).
The similarly named SGS-Thomson ST5x86 and IBM IBM5x86C were licensed rebrandings of the Cyrix design (IBM and ST physically produced Cyrix's CPUs for them), marketed separately but identical for practical purposes, apart from the availability of a 75 MHz edition which Cyrix did not bring to market, and slight differences in voltage requirements. The Cyrix 5x86 design, however, should not be confused with the similarly named AMD Am5x86 which was essentially a fast 486 (not an all-new design like the Cyrix part) but which had broadly similar performance, used the same Socket 3, and was introduced at the end of the same year.
Cyrix's 5x86 was a very short-lived chip, having a market life of only six months. It is likely Cyrix could have continued to successfully sell processors based on Socket 3, but canned the 5x86 so that it would not compete with its then new 6x86 offerings.
Controversies and anomalies.
The official Cyrix 5x86 website boasted about several features of the chip that were disabled by default in the final versions. The most controversial of these features was the "branch-prediction" feature, which was enabled in the benchmarks results on the company website when comparing the chip to Intel's Pentium processor. While it was possible to enable the extra features using a special software utility, it usually resulted in an unstable system, especially on earlier steppings of the chip when running 32-bit code.
There are also many rumours surrounding a 133 MHz, clock-quadrupled version of the Cyrix 5x86. The 133 MHz version is very rare, however, and producers of upgrade kits were given preferential access to it, notably Gainbery. Some of the 100 and 120 MHz parts also contain support for the 4X multiplier setting, and some of these chips may also work at 133 MHz. However, the 5x86 is not known to overclock well; 120 MHz is generally considered to be pushing the limitations of the process on which it was fabricated. An 80 MHz (2x40MHz) 5x86 also exists, but is unclear as to whether or not it was ever officially released.
IBM's 5x86C was considered to be more conservatively rated than the Cyrix branded parts, and operated at a lower voltage (3.3V). For example: what Cyrix would rate as a 100 MHz part, IBM would mark as 75 MHz. IBM 5x86C was available as 75MHz and 100MHz parts. A few examples of 120MHz parts also exist, but they have early production dates indicating that they may have been produced prior to IBM's decision to scale back clock speeds. 5x86C also had a much longer production run than the Cyrix branded parts. IBM continued to produce 5x86C at least until late 1998 (QFP only), whereas Cyrix's own part was discontinued in 1996. Parts which implement the 4X multiplier or Stepping 1 Rev 3 cores are not known to exist.
Specifications.
100 MHz capable edition for 33 MHz (33×3), and 50 MHz (50×2) front side bus

100 MHz capable edition for 33 MHz (33×3), and 25 MHz (25×4) front side bus

120/133 MHz capable edition for 40 MHz (40×3) and 33 MHz (33×4) front side bus.


Aero the Acro-Bat 2

Aero the Acro-Bat 2 is a video game developed by Iguana Entertainment, and published by Sunsoft in 1994. It is the sequel of "Aero the Acro-Bat" and was released for the Sega Genesis first in April then for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in November. The Super NES version was released on the Wii Virtual Console in the PAL region on August 6 and in North America on September 20, 2010. David Siller planned to port and remake the game for Game Boy Advance in 2002, but then cancelled it in favor of original titles.
The game is dedicated to famed Brazilian racer Ayrton Senna, who died in a car crash during a Grand Prix.
Plot.
The story starts directly after the events of the original game, where Aero had knocked Edgar Ektor off of the highest tower of his Museum of Horrors. After knocking him off, Aero leaves to explore Ektor's museum, finding a magician's box which brings him to an ancient castle. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Aero, Ektor's henchman Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel manages to save him before he hits the ground, and Ektor tells Zero to prepare a 'Plan B'.
Gameplay.
The game is split into 8 worlds, all of them except for the final world with three 'acts' each. The levels are significantly longer than the first game and they are designed in a similar way with many secret areas. There are no objectives, as well as a timer. The goal of each level is to find the exit at the end of every act, defeating enemies and collecting power-ups along the way.
Aero keeps his drill jump from the first game, an ability that can be aimed either diagonally up or down to reach enemies and platforms. New to this game is the ability to aim the drill jump straight down, allowing Aero to attack enemies directly below him. Food can be collected for extra points, and stars can be thrown at enemies to defeat them, much like the original game. There are also four hidden letters in each act that spell the word 'AERO'. Finding all four letters will unlock a cup switching game at the end of the act where an extra life can be earned.
Development.
Sunsoft made use of SGI technology to render the backgrounds of the game.
Reception.
Critical reception.
Reviewing the Genesis version, "GamePro" raved that ""Aero 2" outclasses the original with a new, dark theme that shows off some truly superb graphics, new and improved moves and techniques, and better play control". They also praised the game's huge levels and numerous secrets, and singled out the Drop Drill as the best of the new moves. "Electronic Gaming Monthly" described it as a solid and satisfying sequel to the original, citing good graphics, numerous techniques, large levels, and ingeniously designed secret areas. They gave it a 7.75 out of 10. "Next Generation" concurred that the graphics, levels, and techniques all add up to very solid gaming, but criticized both Aero games for being severely lacking in originality.
"NintendoLife" gave the Virtual Console release of the Super NES version an 8 out of 10, declaring it "a much more varied and playable platforming experience" than the original "Aero the Acro-Bat". They specifically noted the improved controls and graphics and the more varied level designs and musical tracks, and added that the game is "every bit as much fun to play now on the Virtual Console service as it was fifteen years ago on the Super Nintendo console".
Promotion.
The game was showcased at 1994 Summer Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago.
Commercial performance.
Sunsoft aided by the Spanish company Spaco released the game in Spain along with "Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel" and "Hebereke's Popoon" for Christmas 1994.


Mac OS 9

Mac OS 9 is the ninth major release of Apple's classic Mac OS operating system which was succeeded by OS X. Introduced on October 23, 1999, it was promoted by Apple as "The Best Internet Operating System Ever", highlighting Sherlock 2's Internet search capabilities, integration with Apple's free online services known as iTools and improved Open Transport networking. While Mac OS 9 lacks protected memory and full pre-emptive multitasking, lasting improvements include the introduction of an automated Software Update engine and support for multiple users.
Apple discontinued development of Mac OS 9 in late 2001, transitioning all future development to Mac OS X. The final updates to Mac OS 9 addressed compatibility issues with Mac OS X while running in the Classic Environment and compatibility with Carbon applications. At the 2002 Worldwide Developers Conference, Steve Jobs began his keynote address by staging a mock funeral for OS 9.
Features.
Apple billed Mac OS 9 as including "50 new features" and heavily marketed its Sherlock 2 software, which introduced a "channels" feature for searching different online resources and introduced a QuickTime-like metallic appearance. Mac OS 9 also featured integrated support for Apple’s suite of Internet services known as iTools (later re-branded as .Mac, then MobileMe, which was replaced by iCloud) and included improved TCP/IP functionality with Open Transport 2.5.
Other features new to Mac OS 9 include:
Mac OS 9 and the Classic Environment.
PowerPC versions of Mac OS X prior to 10.5 include a compatibility layer (a shell) called Classic, enabling users to run applications and hardware requiring Mac OS 9 from within OS X. This is achieved through running Mac OS 9 without access to its Finder inside OS X. This requires Mac OS 9 to be installed on the computer even though computers that can run the Classic environment are not necessarily able to boot into Mac OS 9. Some Mac OS 9 applications do not run well in Classic. They demonstrate screen redraw problems and lagging performance. In addition, some drivers and other software which directly interact with the hardware fail to work properly.
In May 2002, at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, California, Steve Jobs, accompanied by a coffin, held a mock funeral to announce that Apple had stopped development of Mac OS 9. Mac OS 9.2.2, released in December 2001, was the final version of Mac OS 9 and the "classic" Mac OS.
In June 2005, Jobs announced that the Macintosh platform would be transitioning to Intel x86 microprocessors. Developer documentation of the Rosetta PowerPC emulation layer revealed that applications written for Mac OS 8 or 9 would not run on x86-based Macs. The Classic Environment remains in the PowerPC version of 10.4; however, x86 versions of OS X do not support the Classic environment.
Mac OS 9 can be emulated by using SheepShaver, a PowerPC emulator available on multiple operating systems, including Intel-based Macs. However, SheepShaver cannot run Mac OS versions newer than 9.0.4, as there is no support for a memory management unit. The PearPC PowerPC emulator does not support Mac OS 9. QEMU has experimental support for running Mac OS 9 using PowerPC G4 emulation.
Availability.
While Mac OS 9 is no longer supported by Apple, retail copies are still available from several Internet businesses at varying prices.
Although now classed as abandonware, as development on it has ended, it is still in use by those who cannot upgrade to OS X due to hardware limitations or prefer it to OS X. Mac OS 9 is also a popular choice for retrocomputing hobbyists. Mac gamers also sometimes revert to Classic (often via emulation) or native OS 9 in order to play games that are not supported on OS X; for example: "Bugdom", "Nanosaur", "Oregon Trail", "Civilization II", and the "Marathon Trilogy".
Other uses.
Aside from Apple-branded hardware that is still maintained and operated, Mac OS 9 can be operated in other environments such as Windows and Unix. For example, the aforementioned SheepShaver software was not designed for use on x86 platforms and required an actual PowerPC processor present in the machine it was running on similar to a hypervisor. Although it provides PowerPC processor support, it can only run up to Mac OS 9.0.4 because it does not emulate a memory management unit.
Version history.
Updates to Mac OS 9 include 9.0.4, 9.1, 9.2.1, and 9.2.2. Mac OS 9.0.4 was a collection of bug fixes primarily relating to USB and FireWire support. Mac OS 9.1 included integrated CD burning support in the Macintosh Finder and added a new Window menu in the Finder for switching between open windows. Mac OS 9.2 increased performance noticeably and improved Classic Environment support.


List of Intel Pentium processors

The Intel Pentium brand refers to mainstream x86-architecture microprocessors from Intel. Processors branded Pentium Processor with MMX Technology (and referred to as Pentium MMX for brevity) are also listed here.
Desktop processors.
P6 based Pentiums.
Desktop processors based on the P6 microarchitecture were marketed as Pentium Pro, Pentium II and Pentium III, as well as variations of these names.
NetBurst based Pentiums.
Desktop processors based on the NetBurst microarchitecture were marketed as Pentium 4 and Pentium D.
Core based Pentiums.
Earlier E5xxx desktop processors based on the Core microarchitecture were marketed as Pentium Dual-Core, while later E5xxx and all E6xxx models were named Pentium. Note however, that several resellers will still refer to the newer generation processors as Pentium Dual-Core.
"Allendale", "Conroe" (65 nm).
The Intel Pentium Dual-Core processors, E2140, E2160, E2180, E2200, and E2220 use the Allendale core, which includes 2 MB of native L2 cache, with half disabled leaving only 1 MB. This compares to the higher end Conroe core which features 4 MB L2 Cache natively. Intel has shifted its product lines having the Core 2 line as Mainstream/Performance, Pentium Dual-Core as Mainstream, and the new Celeron (based on the Conroe-L core) as Budget/Value.
"Wolfdale-3M" (45 nm).
The E5000 series and E6000 series use the same 45 nm Wolfdale-3M core as the E7000 series Core 2s, which has 3 MB L2 cache natively. 1 MB of L2 cache is disabled, for a total of 2 MB L2 cache, or twice the amount in the original Allendale Pentiums. The Wolfdale core is capable of SSE4, but it is disabled in these Pentiums. Pentium E2210 is an OEM processor based on Wolfdale-3M with only 1 MB L2 cache enabled out of the total 3 MB.
Mobile processors.
P6 based Pentiums.
Mobile processors based on the P6 microarchitecture were marketed as Pentium II, Pentium III, Pentium M and Pentium Dual-Core, as well as variations of these names.
NetBurst based Pentiums.
Mobile processors based on the NetBurst microarchitecture were marketed as Pentium 4.
Core based Pentiums.
Prior mobile processors based on the Core microarchitecture were marketed as Pentium Dual-Core, while the current models are named Pentium. Note however, that several resellers will still refer to them as Pentium Dual-Core.
"Penryn-3M", "Penryn-L" (45 nm).
"Note: The Pentium SU2X00 series processors have a single core, not two, according to Intel's website.
Kaby Lake based Pentiums.
"Kaby Lake-U" (14 nm).
Note: Pentium 4415U was renamed to Pentium Gold 4415U (end 2017).
See also.
Legacy architectures:
Current architectures:


Boot image

A boot image is a type of disk image (a computer file containing the complete contents and structure of a storage medium). When it is transferred onto a boot device it allows the associated hardware to boot.
The "boot image" usually includes the operating system, utilities and diagnostics, as well as boot and data recovery information. It also includes those "applications" used organization-wide. A specialized image for a particular type of user or department is called typically a departmental boot image. Building such an image can take days or weeks, and involve complex decisions about licensing and permissions - including which passwords to store in the boot image and which to require users to type in - and requires experts in software integration to do.
However, once built, the boot image can be simply copied onto devices, patched within reasonable limits, and remains disposable in case of any problems (viruses in particular). This is possible because unlike other hard drive images (which may contain any data, et al.), pure boot images contain no mission-critical data. By definition a pure boot image contains no data that cannot be reproduced from configurations or off-the-shelf executables. In particular end-user data is not part of a boot image, although some operating systems require that a copy of user preferences or configuration files be kept within the boot image itself, e.g. Microsoft Windows registry. Utilities like Norton Ghost keep a backup copy of the boot image, for quick re-imaging (often called re-installation) in the event of a problem, thus avoiding the need to diagnose a specific problem with a specific machine.
As virtual machine.
Some virtual machine infrastructure can directly import and export a boot image for direct installation to "bare metal", i.e. a disk. This is the standard technique for OEMs to install identical copies of an operating system on many identical machines: The boot image is created as a virtual machine and then exported, or created on one disk and then copied via a boot image control infrastructure that also makes virtual machine copies. The VMware vCenter Converter for instance lets users "convert physical machines to virtual machines - for free" as part of that company's suite of products to make images easier to back up and manage. Equivalents exist for Xen and other VM systems.
Goals.
By keeping the boot image entirely separate and disposable, and mandating boot image control, organizations seek to keep their total cost of operations (including its total cost of ownership component) low. Often such organizations look at uptime as a service.
One goal of boot image control is to minimize the number of boot images used by an organization to reduce support costs. It includes at least:
Many organizations use thin clients for applications which require high security, involve unreliable users or repurpose older machines for continued use.
A cascading strategy involves re-imaging older, off-spec machines to thin client boot images so that they may continue in use for some less demanding or more access-controlled applications.


HIMEM.EXE


List of CIL instructions

This is a list of the instructions in the instruction set of the Common Intermediate Language bytecode.


List of AMD Athlon 64 microprocessors

The Athlon 64 microprocessor from AMD is an eighth-generation CPU targeted at the consumer market.
Single-core desktop processors.
Athlon 64.
""Code name" (Steppings, Process)"


Sega Genesis Mini

The Sega Genesis Mini, known as the Mega Drive Mini in regions outside of North America, is a dedicated console modeled on Sega's Genesis. The Mini emulates the original console's 16-bit hardware, and includes 42 games ported by M2. It was released in North America and Japan in September 2019, and in Europe and the Middle East the following month.
Hardware.
The Mini is half the size of the original Sega Genesis video game console. Inside the unit is an ARM-based SOC ZUIKI Z7213 and 512 MB of flash memory. It includes either one or two (dependent on region's bundle options) full-size replica controllers that connect through USB, thus original controllers are incompatible, a USB-to-Micro-B power cable (USB AC adapter in North America), and an HDMI video cable. There are separate releases for North America, Europe, Asia and Japan, as the Mini reproduces the original console's decal and color variations in those regions. Korea is a slight exception, as the Mega Drive was not released there by Sega but by Samsung as the "Super Gam*Boy" and later "Super Aladdin Boy"; none of these names or brands appear on the Korean version of the Mega Drive Mini.
The North American and European Minis include three-button controllers, while the Japanese controllers have six buttons. Officially licensed six-button controllers made specifically for the Mini are also sold separately in North America and Europe. Official model accessories of a miniature Mega-CD, a miniature Super 32X, a miniature "Sonic & Knuckles" lock-on Genesis cartridge, and a miniature "Sonic the Hedgehog" standard Mega Drive cartridge are also sold separately in Japan. Miniature replicas of the Sega CD and Sega 32X were also manufactured but only distributed to select members of the media.
Games.
The Mini includes 42 games though the exact selection varies by region. Each Mini has a set of games exclusive to the region it was released. Switching the language menu allows for multiple regional game variations to be played. For example, "" can be played with the English or Japanese setting, but with other languages Contra is substituted by its European counterpart "Probotector"; switching the language from English into Japanese turns "Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine" into "Puyo Puyo" and vice versa. There are no Japanese variants of "Vectorman", "Earthworm Jim", and "Virtua Fighter 2" included as those games were never released in Japan. Two bonus games, "Darius" and "Tetris", are new conversions (ports). They were never released for the original console and have been newly ported from their arcade releases exclusively for this compilation. All of the games have a save state feature to pause and resume progress and can be played in either the original aspect ratio or stretched to widescreen with HUD elements modified to fit onto the screen.
Production and release.
The Sega Genesis Mini was first announced at the Sega Fes show in April 2018. The announcement was part of a trend of releasing smaller versions of 80s and 90s retro videogame consoles. It was delayed in September, missing the console's 30th-anniversary window, when Sega dropped its partnership with AtGames, whose 2017 Sega Genesis Flashback was critically panned for its production quality. Instead of using AtGames's Flashback software on a Japan-exclusive Mini, Sega handled the entire production of the system. The system was released on September 19, 2019, except in Europe and the Middle East, where it was released on October 4, 2019.
M2, who previously collaborated with Sega on the "Sega Ages" and "Sega 3D Classics Collection" series, produced the Mini's ports. Sega emphasized first-party production quality in its marketing for the Mini, as the company returns to the hardware business after last producing the Sega Dreamcast in 2001. The menu music was written by Yuzo Koshiro, who was also the composer of some games in the collection, including "The Revenge of Shinobi", "Streets of Rage 2", and "Beyond Oasis".


DRDOS.SYS


GENCOM.COM


Swsusp

swsusp (Software Suspend) is a kernel feature/program which is part of power management framework in the Linux kernel. It is the default suspend framework as of kernel 3.8.
Objective.
SWSUSP helps to drive the system to a low power state (called "suspend") when not actively used while providing the ability to return to the same state as before suspend (called "resume"/"restore").
Features.
As of 3.8 Swsusp provides the following options under suspend:
For more details on Swsusp refer to kernel documentation under " Documentation/power/swsusp.txt"
Usage.
To enable swsusp, the following should be selected during kernel configuration :
The "/dev/resume_partition" needs to be replaced by the actual swap partition that is to be used for suspending. Otherwise "resume=/dev/resume_partition" can be given as a parameter during system bootup. The actual "suspend" is done by :
You may check other suspend options available by doing"
"cat /sys/power/state"
depending on your kernel config it will show something similar to "[standby] mem disk"
and options available under disk can be viewed by
"cat /sys/power/disk"
depending on your kernel config it will show something similar to "[platform] shutdown reboot"
swsusp lacks compression and graphical progress indication which can be provided through Uswsusp.


MacVTap

MacVTap is a Linux kernel device driver that simplifies virtualized bridged networking. Typically, it is used in virtualized environments to make both the guest and the host show up directly on the network switch the host is connected to, and to improve throughput and latencies to external systems.


List of PS one Classics (North America)

As of April 5, 2016, there are 265 games available, while 8 games have been delisted from the service.


ATI Mach series

The ATI Mach line was a series of 2D graphics accelerators for personal computers developed by ATI Technologies. It became an extension (and eventual successor) to the ATI Wonder series of cards. The first chip in the series was the ATI Mach8. It was essentially a clone of the IBM 8514/A with a few notable extensions such as Crystal fonts. Being one of the first graphics accelerator chips on the market, the Mach8 did not have an integrated VGA core. In order to use the first Mach8 coprocessor cards, a separate VGA card was required. This increased the cost of ownership as one had to purchase two rather than one expansion card for graphics. A temporary solution was presented with the ATI Graphics Ultra/Vantage cards, which combined an ATI 8514 Ultra and VGA Wonder+ into a single card (though using discrete ICs). The Mach32 chip was the follow-up to the Mach8, which finally featured an integrated VGA core, true colour support and a 64-bit datapath to internal memory.
Models.
Mach 8.
"Released: 1990"
The Mach 8 chip was used on the following ATI products:
Mach 32.
"Released: 1992"
The Mach 32 chip was used on the following ATI products:
Mach 64.
"Released: 1994"
The Mach 64 chip was used on the following ATI products:
Mach64 GX Family:
Mach64 CT Family:
Mach64 VT Family:
Mach64 GT Family:
Mach64 GT-B Family:
Important Note: The 3D Rage and 3D Rage II chips were also known as Mach64 GT and Mach64 GT-B respectively. The Mach64 moniker was eliminated with introduction of the 3D Rage Pro.


Pico-ITX

Pico-ITX is a PC motherboard form factor announced by VIA Technologies in January 2007 and demonstrated later the same year at CeBIT. The formfactor was transferred over to SFF-SIG in 2008. The Pico-ITX form factor specifications call for the board to be , which is half the area of Nano-ITX. The processor can be a VIA C7, a VIA Eden V4, a VIA Nano or any other that uses VIA's NanoBGA2 technology for speeds up to 1.5 GHz, with 128KB L1 & L2 caches. It uses DDR2 400/533 SO-DIMM memory, with support for up to 1GB. Video is supplied via AGP by VIA's UniChrome Pro II GPU with built-in MPEG-2, 4, and WMV9 decoding acceleration. The BIOS is a 4 or 8 Mbit Award BIOS.
EPIA PX.
PX10000G.
The first motherboard produced in this form factor is called EPIA PX10000G. It is and 10 layers deep. The operating temperature range is from 0°C to about 50°C. The operating humidity level (relative and non-condensing) can be from 0% to about 95%. It uses a 1 GHz VIA C7-M processor, a VIA VX700 chip set, and is RoHS compliant.
It has onboard VGA video, VIA VT6106S 10/100 8P8C Ethernet, UDMA 33/66/100/133 44-pin ATA (1x), and SATA (1x) I/O. DVI and LVDS video-out, USB 2.0, COM, PS/2 Mouse & Keyboard, and HD 5.1 channel audio (supplied by a VIA VT1708A chip) are supported through the usage of I/O pin headers and add-on modules/daughter cards.
It has been demonstrated running Microsoft Windows XP and Windows Vista. older versions of major Linux distributions, including Fedora Core 6 and Ubuntu 7.10, will also run on it. It is available as a single board, as well as part of a barebones package, the Artigo, a small form factor complete computer.
PX5000.
This model is similar to the PX10000G, but uses the 500 MHz VIA Eden ULV CPU.
There are two versions of this model, the PX5000G, which has a fan-assisted heatsink, and the PX5000EG, which has a fanless heatsink.
Add-on modules.
"(Note: Either the VIA PX-O add-on module or 4 USB 2.0 I/O are supplied in retail packages.)"
The VIA PX-O daughtercard supplies access to:
The VIA VT1625M daughtercard supplies access to:
The Serener PXFPIO (also labeled under VIA PX-DIO) is 109mm × 22mm in size and connects via a 120mm ribbon cable through a daughter card. This addon may require modification to the heatsink due to the size of the daughter card. It supplies access to:
The VIA PX-TC daughter card, compatible with the PX10000G only, is designed to enhance the multimedia capture and output. It supplies access to:
EPIA-P700.
The second motherboard series in this form factor, the P700 series improves upon the PX10000G series by offering Gigabit Ethernet (Using the VIA VT6122 chipset) or a 10/100 Ethernet adapter (VIA VT6107) as a manufacturing option, integrating the power adapter (allowing for direct +12V DC-In & enabling it to directly power SATA), and making the Ethernet & VGA ports optional via the P700-A daughter card.
Expanded functionality is offered via the following pin I/O:
The EPIA-P700-10L has a 1 GHz VIA C7 CPU.
The EPIA-P700-05LE has a 500 MHz VIA Eden ULV CPU and has a passive heatsink.
Add-on modules.
The P700 comes retail with the P700-A & P700-B daughter cards.
The P700-A supplies:
The P700-B supplies:
Intel-based products.
Even though the form factor was introduced by VIA Technologies, there are also boards available based on Intel processors. Some have the CPU and the chipset directly on the Pico-ITX board.
ARM-based products.
Pico-ITX boards are also available with ARM architecture. In this field DH electronics uses the standardized DHCOM Computer On Modules with several ARM based modules.
Pico-ITXe.
The Pico-ITXe specification adds onto the Pico-ITX form factor by taking the EPIA-P700 and upgrading the chipset to a VX800, doubling the maximum RAM to 2 GB, allowing for 667/533 SO-DIMM RAM, upgrading the GPU to VIA's Chrome9 HC3, and adding support for SUMIT. Another notable addition is the expansion from 10 to 12 layers thickness.


XDNA (multi-graphics)

The xDNA technology is a technology designed by Diamond Multimedia, allowing motherboards which are not certified for ATI CrossFire (for instance, nForce 500/600 series motherboards designed by NVIDIA) to install multiple ATI Radeon video cards (up to four) as a CrossFire setup and operate in rendering modes which are exclusively made for CrossFire setups. Diamond Multimedia will provide optimized Catalyst Drivers and middleware for the platform in a single package.