History of Zimbabwe

Until roughly 2,000 years ago, Zimbabwe was populated by ancestors of the San people. Bantu inhabitants of the region arrived and developed ceramic production in the area. A series of trading empires emerged, including the Kingdom of Mapungubwe and Kingdom of Zimbabwe. In the 1880s, the British South Africa Company began its activities in the region, leading to the colonial era in Southern Rhodesia.
Following the Lancaster House Agreement of 1979 there was a transition to internationally recognized majority rule in 1980; the British, more specifically, the United Kingdom ceremonially granted Zimbabwe independence on 18 April that year. In the 2000s Zimbabwe's economy began to deteriorate due to various factors, including, the imposition of economic sanctions by western countries led by the United Kingdom, and also due to wide spread corruption in government. Economic instability caused a lot of Zimbabweans to move overseas or to neighboring countries. Prior to its recognized independence as Zimbabwe in 1980, the nation had been known by several names: Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia and Zimbabwe Rhodesia.
Pre-Colonial era (1000–1887).
Prior to the arrival of Bantu speakers in present-day Zimbabwe the region was populated by ancestors of the San people. The first Bantu-speaking farmers arrived during the Bantu expansion around 2000 years ago.
These Bantu speakers were the makers of early Iron Age pottery belonging to the Silver Leaves or Matola tradition, third to fifth centuries A.D., found in southeast Zimbabwe. This tradition was part of the eastern stream of Bantu expansion (sometimes called Kwale) which originated west of the Great Lakes, spreading to the coastal regions of southeastern Kenya and north eastern Tanzania, and then southwards to Mozambique, south eastern Zimbabwe and Natal. More substantial in numbers in Zimbabwe were the makers of the Ziwa and Gokomere ceramic wares, of the fourth century A.D. Their early Iron Age ceramic tradition belonged to the highlands facies of the eastern stream, which moved inland to Malawi and Zimbabwe. Imports of beads have been found at Gokomere and Ziwa sites, possibly in return for gold exported to the coast.
A later phase of the Gokomere culture was the Zhizo in southern Zimbabwe. Zhizo communities settled in the Shashe-Limpopo area in the tenth century. Their capital there was Schroda (just across the Limpopo River from Zimbabwe). Many fragments of ceramic figurines have been recovered from there, figures of animals and birds, and also fertility dolls. The inhabitants produced ivory bracelets and other ivory goods. Imported beads found there and at other Zhizo sites, are evidence of trade, probably of ivory and skins, with traders on the Indian Ocean coast.
Pottery belonging to a western stream of Bantu expansion (sometimes called Kalundu) has been found at sites in northeastern Zimbabwe, dated from the seventh century. (The western stream originated in the same area as the eastern stream: both belong to the same style system, called by Phillipson the Chifumbadze system, which has general acceptance by archaeologists.) The terms eastern and western streams represent the expansion of the Bantu speaking peoples in terms of their culture. Another question is the branches of the Bantu languages which they spoke. It seems that the makers of the Ziwa/Gokomere wares were not the ancestral speakers of the Shona languages of today's Zimbabwe, who did not arrive in there until around the tenth century, from south of the Limpopo river, and whose ceramic culture belonged to the western stream. The linguist and historian Ehret believes that in view of the similarity of the Ziwa/Gokomere pottery to the Nkope of the ancestral Nyasa language speakers, the Ziwa/Gokomere people spoke a language closely related to the Nyasa group. Their language, whatever it was, was superseded by the ancestral Shona languages, although Ehret says that a set of Nyasa words occur in central Shona dialects today.
The evidence that the ancestral Shona speakers came from South Africa is that the ceramic styles associated with Shona speakers in Zimbabwe from the thirteenth to the seventeenth centuries can be traced back to western stream (Kalunndu) pottery styles in South Africa. The Ziwa /Gokomere and Zhizo traditions were superseded by Leopards Kopje and Gumanye wares of the Kalundu tradition from the tenth century.
Although the western stream Kalundu tradition was ancestral to Shona ceramic wares, the closest relationships of the ancestral Shona language according to many linguists were with a southern division of eastern Bantu – such languages as the southeastern languages (Nguni, Sotho-Tswana, Tsonga), Nyasa and Makwa. While it may well be the case that the people of the western stream spoke a language belonging to a wider Eastern Bantu division, it is a puzzle which remains to be resolved that they spoke a language most closely related to the languages just mentioned, all of which are today spoken in southeastern Africa.
After the Shona speaking people moved into the present day Zimbabwe many different dialects developed over time in the different parts of the country. Among these was Kalanga.
It is believed that Kalanga speaking societies first emerged in the middle Limpopo valley in the 9th century before moving on to the Zimbabwean highlands. The Zimbabwean plateau eventually became the centre of subsequent Kalanga states. The Kingdom of Mapungubwe was the first in a series of sophisticated trade states developed in Zimbabwe by the time of the first European explorers from Portugal. They traded in gold, ivory and copper for cloth and glass. From about 1250 until 1450, Mapungubwe was eclipsed by the Kingdom of Zimbabwe. This Kalanga state further refined and expanded upon Mapungubwe's stone architecture, which survives to this day at the ruins of the kingdom's capital of Great Zimbabwe. From circa 1450–1760, Zimbabwe gave way to the Kingdom of Mutapa. This Kalanga state ruled much of the area that is known as Zimbabwe today, and parts of central Mozambique. It is known by many names including the Mutapa Empire, also known as Mwenemutapa was known for its gold trade routes with Arabs and the Portuguese. However, Portuguese settlers destroyed the trade and began a series of wars which left the empire in near collapse in the early 17th century. As a direct response to Portuguese aggression in the interior, a new Kalanga state emerged called the Rozwi Empire. Relying on centuries of military, political and religious development, the Rozwi (which means "destroyers") removed the Portuguese from the Zimbabwe plateau by force of arms. The Rozwi continued the stone building traditions of the Zimbabwe and Mapungubwe kingdoms while adding guns to its arsenal and developing a professional army to protect its trade routes and conquests. Around 1821, the Zulu general Mzilikazi of the Khumalo clan successfully rebelled from King Shaka and created his own clan, the Ndebele. The Ndebele fought their way northwards into the Transvaal, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake and beginning an era of widespread devastation known as the Mfecane. When Boer trekkers converged on the Transvaal in 1836, they drove the tribe even further northward. By 1838, the Rozwi Empire, along with the other Shona states had been unconquered by the Ndebele.
After losing their remaining South African lands in 1840, Mzilikazi and his tribe permanently settled the southwest of present-day Zimbabwe in what became known as Matabeleland, establishing Bulawayo as their capital. Mzilikazi then organised his society into a military system with regimental kraals, similar to those of Shaka, which was stable enough to repel further Boer incursions. During the pre-colonial period, the Ndebele social structure was stratified. It was composed of mainly three social groups, Zansi, Enhla and Amahole. The Zansi comprised the ruling class the original Khumalo people who migrated from south of Limpopo with Mzilikazi. The Enhla and Amahole groups were made up of other tribes and ethnics who had been incorporated into the empire during the migration. However, with the passage of time, this stratification has slowly disappeared The Ndebele people have for long ascribed to the worship of Unkunkulu as their supreme being. Their religious life in general, rituals, ceremonies, practices, devotion and loyalty revolves around the worship of this Supreme Being. However, with the popularisation of Christianity and other religions, Ndebele traditional religion is now uncommon
Mzilikazi died in 1868 and, following a violent power struggle, was succeeded by his son, Lobengula. King Mzilikazi had established the Ndebele Kingdom, with Shona subjects paying tribute to him. The nascent kingdom encountered European powers for the first time and Lonbengula signed various treaties with the various nations jostling for power in the region, playing them off one another in order to preserve the sovereignty of his kingdom and gain the aid of the Europeans should the kingdom become involved in a war.
Colonial era (1890–1980).
In the 1880s, British diamond magnate Cecil Rhodes' British South Africa Company (BSAC) started to make inroads into the region. In 1898, the name Southern Rhodesia was adopted. In 1888, Rhodes obtained a concession for mining rights from King Lobengula of the Ndebele peoples. Cecil Rhodes presented this concession to persuade the British government to grant a royal charter to his British South Africa Company over Matabeleland, and its subject states such as Mashonaland. Rhodes sought permission to negotiate similar concessions covering all territory between the Limpopo River and Lake Tanganyika, then known as 'Zambesia'. In accordance with the terms of aforementioned concessions and treaties, Cecil Rhodes promoted the immigration of white settlers into the region, as well as the establishment of mines, primarily to extract the diamond ores present. In 1895 the BSAC adopted the name 'Rhodesia' for the territory of Zambesia, in honour of Cecil Rhodes. In 1898, 'Southern Rhodesia' became the official denotation for the region south of the Zambezi, which later became Zimbabwe. The region to the north was administered separately by the BSAC and later named Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia).
The Shona waged unsuccessful wars (known as Chimurenga) against encroachment upon their lands by clients of BSAC and Cecil Rhodes in 1896 and 1897. Following the failed insurrections of 1896–97 the Ndebele and Shona groups became subject to Rhodes's administration thus precipitating European settlement en masse in the new colony.
The colony's first formal constitution was drafted in 1899, and copied various pieces of legislation directly from that of the Union of South Africa; Rhodesia was meant to be, in many ways, a shadow colony of the Cape. Many within the administrative framework of the BSAC assumed that Southern Rhodesia, when its "development" was "suitably advanced", would "take its rightful place as a member of" the Union of South Africa after the Second Boer War (1898-1902), when the four South African colonies joined under the auspices of one flag and began to work towards the creation of a unified administrative structure. The territory was made open to white settlement, and these settlers were then in turn given considerable administrative powers, including a franchise that, while on the surface non-racial, ensured "a predominantly European electorate" which "operated to preclude Great Britain from modifying her policy in Southern Rhodesia and subsequently treating it as a territory inhabited mainly by Africans whose interests should be paramount and to whom British power should be transferred".
Southern Rhodesia became a self-governing British colony in October 1923, subsequent to a referendum held the previous year. The British government took full command of the British South Africa Company's holdings, including both Northern and Southern Rhodesia. Northern Rhodesia retained its status as a colonial protectorate; Southern Rhodesia was given responsible self-government – with limitations and still annexed to the crown as a colony. Many studies of the country see it as a state that operated independently within the Commonwealth; nominally under the rule of the Crown, but technically able to do as it pleased. And in theory, Southern Rhodesia was able to govern itself, draft its own legislation, and elect its own parliamentary leaders. But in reality, this was self-government subject to supervision. Until the white minority settler government's declaration of unilateral independence in 1965, London remained in control of the colony's external affairs, and all legislation was subject to approval from the United Kingdom Government and the Queen.
In 1930, the Land Apportionment Act divided rural land along racial lines, creating four types of land: white-owned land that could not be acquired by Africans; purchase areas for those Africans who could afford to purchase land; Tribal Trust Lands designated as the African reserves; and Crown lands owned by the state, reserved for future use and public parks. Fifty one percent of the land was given to approximately 50,000 white inhabitants, with 29.8 per cent left for over a million Africans.
Many Rhodesians served on behalf of the United Kingdom during World War II, mainly in the East African Campaign against Axis forces in Italian East Africa.
In 1953, the British government consolidated the two colonies of Rhodesia with Nyasaland (now Malawi) in the ill-fated Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland which was dominated by Southern Rhodesia. This move was heavily opposed by the residents of Nyasaland, who feared coming under the domination of white Rhodesians. In 1962, however, with growing African nationalism and general dissent, the British government declared that Nyasaland had the right to secede from the Federation; soon afterwards, they said the same for Northern Rhodesia.
After African-majority governments had assumed control in neighbouring Northern Rhodesia and in Nyasaland, the white-minority Southern Rhodesian government led by Ian Smith made a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965. The United Kingdom deemed this an act of rebellion, but did not re-establish control by force. The white minority government declared itself a republic in 1970. A civil war ensued, with Joshua Nkomo's ZAPU and Robert Mugabe's ZANU using assistance from the governments of Zambia and Mozambique. Although Smith's declaration was not recognised by the United Kingdom nor any other foreign power, Southern Rhodesia dropped the designation "Southern", and claimed nation status as the Republic of Rhodesia in 1970 although this was not recognised internationally.
Independence and the 1980s.
The country gained official independence as Zimbabwe on 18 April 1980. The government held independence celebrations in Rufaro stadium in Salisbury, the capital. Lord Christopher Soames, the last Governor of Southern Rhodesia, watched as Charles, Prince of Wales, gave a farewell salute and the Rhodesian Signal Corps played "God Save the Queen". Many foreign dignitaries also attended, including Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of India, President Shehu Shagari of Nigeria, President Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia, President Seretse Khama of Botswana, and Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser of Australia, representing the Commonwealth of Nations. Bob Marley sang 'Zimbabwe', a song he wrote, at the government's invitation in a concert at the country's independence festivities.
President Shagari pledged $15 million at the celebration to train Zimbabweans in Zimbabwe and expatriates in Nigeria. Mugabe's government used part of the money to buy newspaper companies owned by South Africans, increasing the government's control over the media. The rest went to training students in Nigerian universities, government workers in the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria in Badagry, and soldiers in the Nigerian Defence Academy in Kaduna. Later that year Mugabe commissioned a report by the BBC on press freedom in Zimbabwe. The BBC issued its report on 26 June, recommending the privatisation of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation and its independence from political interests.
Mugabe's government changed the capital's name from Salisbury to Harare on 18 April 1982 in celebration of the second anniversary of independence. The government renamed the main street in the capital, Jameson Avenue, in honour of Samora Machel, President of Mozambique.
In 1992, a World Bank study indicated that more than 500 health centres had been built since 1980. The percentage of children vaccinated increased from 25% in 1980 to 67% in 1988 and life expectancy increased from 55 to 59 years. Enrolment increased by 232 per cent one year after primary education was made free and secondary school enrolment increased by 33 per cent in two years. These social policies lead to an increase in the debt ratio. Several laws were passed in the 1980s in an attempt to reduce wage gaps. However, the gaps remained considerable. In 1988, the law gave women, at least in theory, the same rights as men. Previously, they could only take a few personal initiatives without the consent of their father or husband.
The new Constitution provided for an executive President as Head of State with a Prime Minister as Head of Government. Reverend Canaan Banana served as the first President. In government amended the Constitution in 1987 to provide for an Executive President and abolished the office of Prime Minister. The constitutional changes came into effect on 1 January 1988 with Robert Mugabe as president. The bicameral Parliament of Zimbabwe had a directly elected House of Assembly and an indirectly elected Senate, partly made up of tribal chiefs. The Constitution established two separate voters rolls, one for the black majority, who had 80% of the seats in Parliament, and the other for whites and other ethnic minorities, such as Coloureds, people of mixed race, and Asians, who held 20%. The government amended the Constitution in 1986, eliminating the voter rolls and replacing the white seats with seats filled by nominated members. Many white MPs joined ZANU which then reappointed them. In 1990 the government abolished the Senate and increased the House of Assembly's membership to include members nominated by the President.
Prime Minister Mugabe kept Peter Walls, the head of the army, in his government and put him in charge of integrating the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA), Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA), and the Rhodesian Army. While Western media outlets praised Mugabe's efforts at reconciliation with the white minority, tension soon developed. On 17 March 1980, after several unsuccessful assassination attempts Mugabe asked Walls, "Why are your men trying to kill me?" Walls replied, "If they were my men you would be dead." BBC news interviewed Walls on 11 August 1980. He told the BBC that he had asked British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to annul the 1980 election prior to the official announcement of the result on the grounds that Mugabe used intimidation to win the election. Walls said Thatcher had not replied to his request. On 12 August British government officials denied that they had not responded, saying Antony Duff, Deputy Governor of Salisbury, told Walls on 3 March that Thatcher would not annul the election.
Minister of Information Nathan Shamuyarira said the government would not be "held ransom by racial misfits" and told "all those Europeans who do not accept the new order to pack their bags." He also said the government continued to consider taking "legal or administrative action" against Walls. Mugabe, returning from a visit with United States President Jimmy Carter in New York City, said, "One thing is quite clear—we are not going to have disloyal characters in our society." Walls returned to Zimbabwe after the interview, telling Peter Hawthorne of "Time" magazine, "To stay away at this time would have appeared like an admission of guilt." Mugabe drafted legislation that would exile Walls from Zimbabwe for life and Walls moved to South Africa.
Ethnic divisions soon came back to the forefront of national politics. Tension between ZAPU and ZANU erupted with guerrilla activity starting again in Matabeleland in south-western Zimbabwe. Nkomo (ZAPU) left for exile in Britain and did not return until Mugabe guaranteed his safety. In 1982 government security officials discovered large caches of arms and ammunition on properties owned by ZAPU, accusing Nkomo and his followers of plotting to overthrow the government. Mugabe fired Nkomo and his closest aides from the cabinet. Seven MPs, members of the Rhodesian Front, left Smith's party to sit as "independents" on 4 March 1982, signifying their dissatisfaction with his policies. As a result of what they saw as persecution of Nkomo and his party, PF-ZAPU supporters, army deserters began a campaign of dissidence against the government. Centring primarily in Matabeleland, home of the Ndebeles who were at the time PF-ZAPU's main followers, this dissidence continued through 1987. It involved attacks on government personnel and installations, armed banditry aimed at disrupting security and economic life in the rural areas, and harassment of ZANU-PF members.
Because of the unsettled security situation immediately after independence and democratic sentiments, the government kept in force a "state of emergency". This gave the government widespread powers under the "Law and Order Maintenance Act," including the right to detain persons without charge which it used quite widely. In 1983 to 1984 the government declared a curfew in areas of Matabeleland and sent in the army in an attempt to suppress members of the Ndebele tribe. The pacification campaign, known as the Gukuruhundi, or strong wind, resulted in at least 20,000 civilian deaths perpetrated by an elite, North Korean-trained brigade, known in Zimbabwe as the Gukurahundi.
ZANU-PF increased its majority in the 1985 elections, winning 67 of the 100 seats. The majority gave Mugabe the opportunity to start making changes to the constitution, including those with regard to land restoration. Fighting did not cease until Mugabe and Nkomo reached an agreement in December 1987 whereby ZAPU became part of ZANU-PF and the government changed the constitution to make Mugabe the country's first executive president and Nkomo one of two vice-presidents.
1990s.
Elections in March 1990 resulted in another overwhelming victory for Mugabe and his party, which won 117 of the 120 election seats. Election observers estimated voter turnout at only 54% and found the campaign neither free nor fair, though balloting met international standards. Unsatisfied with a "de facto" one-party state, Mugabe called on the ZANU-PF Central Committee to support the creation of a "de jure" one-party state in September 1990 and lost. The government began further amending the constitution. The judiciary and human rights advocates fiercely criticised the first amendments enacted in April 1991 because they restored corporal and capital punishment and denied recourse to the courts in cases of compulsory purchase of land by the government. The general health of the civilian population also began to significantly flounder and by 1997 25% of the population of Zimbabwe had been infected by HIV, the AIDS virus.
During the 1990s students, trade unionists, and workers often demonstrated to express their discontent with the government. Students protested in 1990 against proposals for an increase in government control of universities and again in 1991 and 1992 when they clashed with police. Trade unionists and workers also criticised the government during this time. In 1992 police prevented trade unionists from holding anti-government demonstrations. In 1994 widespread industrial unrest weakened the economy. In 1996 civil servants, nurses, and junior doctors went on strike over salary issues.
On 9 December 1997 a national strike paralysed the country. Mugabe was panicked by demonstrations by Zanla ex-combatants, war veterans, who had been the heart of incursions 20 years earlier in the Bush War. He agreed to pay them large gratuities and pensions, which proved to be a wholly unproductive and unbudgeted financial commitment. The discontent with the government spawned draconian government crackdowns which in turn started to destroy both the fabric of the state and of society. This in turn brought with it further discontent within the population. Thus a vicious downward spiral commenced.
Although many whites had left Zimbabwe after independence, mainly for neighbouring South Africa, those who remained continued to wield disproportionate control of some sectors of the economy, especially agriculture. In the late-1990s whites accounted for less than 1% of the population but owned 70% of arable land. Mugabe raised this issue of land ownership by white farmers. In a calculated move, he began forcible land redistribution, which brought the government into headlong conflict with the International Monetary Fund. Amid a severe drought in the region, the police and military were instructed not to stop the invasion of white-owned farms by the so-called 'war veterans' and youth militia. This hola
led to a mass migration of White Zimbabweans out of Zimbabwe. At present almost no arable land is in the possession of white farmers.
The economy during the 1980s and 1990s.
The economy was run along corporatist lines with strict governmental controls on all aspects of the economy. Controls were placed on wages, prices and massive increases in government spending resulting in significant budget deficits. This experiment met with very mixed results and Zimbabwe fell further behind the first world and unemployment. Some market reforms in the 1990s were attempted. A 40 per cent devaluation of the Zimbabwean dollar was allowed to occur and price and wage controls were removed. These policies also failed at that time. Growth, employment, wages, and social service spending contracted sharply, inflation did not improve, the deficit remained well above target, and many industrial firms, notably in textiles and footwear, closed in response to increased competition and high real interest rates. The incidence of poverty in the country increased during this time.
1999 to 2000.
However, Zimbabwe began experiencing a period of considerable political and economic upheaval in 1999. Opposition to President Mugabe and the ZANU-PF government grew considerably after the mid-1990s in part due to worsening economic and human rights conditions brought about by the seizure of farmland owned by white farmers and economic sanctions imposed by Western countries in response. The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was established in September 1999 as an opposition party founded by trade unionist Morgan Tsvangirai.
The MDC's first opportunity to test opposition to the Mugabe government came in February 2000, when a referendum was held on a draft constitution proposed by the government. Among its elements, the new constitution would have permitted President Mugabe to seek two additional terms in office, granted government officials immunity from prosecution, and authorised government seizure of white-owned land. The referendum was handily defeated. Shortly thereafter, the government, through a loosely organised group of war veterans, some of the so-called war veterans judging from their age were not war veterans as they were too young to have fought in the chimurenga, sanctioned an aggressive land redistribution program often characterised by forced expulsion of white farmers and violence against both farmers and farm employees.
Parliamentary elections held in June 2000 were marred by localised violence, and claims of electoral irregularities and government intimidation of opposition supporters. Nonetheless, the MDC succeeded in capturing 57 of 120 seats in the National Assembly.
2002.
Presidential elections were held in March 2002. In the months leading up to the poll, ZANU-PF, with the support of the army, security services, and especially the so-called 'war veterans', – very few of whom actually fought in the Second Chimurenga against the Smith regime in the 1970s – set about wholesale intimidation and suppression of the MDC-led opposition. Despite strong international criticism, these measures, together with organised subversion of the electoral process, ensured a Mugabe victory . The government's behaviour drew strong criticism from the EU and the US, which imposed limited sanctions against the leading members of the Mugabe regime. Since the 2002 election, Zimbabwe has suffered further economic difficulty and growing political chaos.
2003–2005.
Divisions within the opposition MDC had begun to fester early in the decade, after Morgan Tsvangirai (the president of the MDC) was lured into a government sting operation that videotaped him talking of Mr. Mugabe's removal from power. He was subsequently arrested and put on trial on treason charges. This crippled his control of party affairs and raised questions about his competence. It also catalysed a major split within the party. In 2004 he was acquitted, but not until after suffering serious abuse and mistreatment in prison. The opposing faction was led by Welshman Ncube who was the general secretary of the party. In mid-2004, vigilantes loyal to Mr. Tsvangirai began attacking members who were mostly loyal to Ncube, climaxing in a September raid on the party's Harare headquarters in which the security director was nearly thrown to his death.
An internal party inquiry later established that aides to Tsvangirai had tolerated, if not endorsed, the violence. Divisive as the violence was, it was a debate over the rule of law that set off the party's final break-up in November 2005. These division severely weakened the opposition. In addition the government employed its own operatives to both spy on each side and to undermine each side via acts of espionage. Zimbabwean parliamentary election, 2005 were held in March 2005 in which ZANU-PF won a two-thirds majority, were again criticised by international observers as being flawed. Mugabe's political operatives were thus able to weaken the opposition internally and the security apparatus of the state was able to destabilise it externally by using violence in anti-Mugabe strongholds to prevent citizens from voting. Some voters were 'turned away' from polling station despite having proper identification, further guaranteeing that the government could control the results. Additionally Mugabe had started to appoint judges sympathetic to the government, making any judicial appeal futile. Mugabe was also able to appoint 30 of the members of parliament.
As Senate elections approached further opposition splits occurred. Ncube's supporters argued that the M.D.C. should field a slate of candidates; Tsvangirai's argued for a boycott. When party leaders voted on the issue, Ncube's side narrowly won, but Mr. Tsvangirai declared that as president of the party he was not bound by the majority's decision. Again the opposition was weakened. As a result, the elections for a new Senate in November 2005 were largely boycotted by the opposition. Mugabe's party won 24 of the 31 constituencies where elections were held amid low voter turnout. Again, evidence surfaced of voter intimidation and fraud.
In May 2005 the government began Operation Murambatsvina. It was officially billed to rid urban areas of illegal structures, illegal business enterprises, and criminal activities. In practice its purpose was to punish political opponents. The UN estimates 700,000 people have been left without jobs or homes as a result. Families and traders, especially at the beginning of the operation, were often given no notice before police destroyed their homes and businesses. Others were able to salvage some possessions and building materials but often had nowhere to go, despite the government's statement that people should be returning to their rural homes. Thousands of families were left unprotected in the open in the middle of Zimbabwe's winter., . The government interfered with non-governmental organisation (NGO) efforts to provide emergency assistance to the displaced in many instances. Some families were removed to transit camps, where they had no shelter or cooking facilities and minimal food, supplies, and sanitary facilities. The operation continued into July 2005, when the government began a program to provide housing for the newly displaced.
Human Rights Watch said the evictions had disrupted treatment for people with HIV/AIDS in a country where 3,000 die from the disease each week and about 1.3 million children have been orphaned. The operation was "the latest manifestation of a massive human rights problem that has been going on for years", said Amnesty International. As of September 2006, housing construction fell far short of demand, and there were reports that beneficiaries were mostly civil servants and ruling party loyalists, not those displaced. The government campaign of forced evictions continued in 2006, albeit on a lesser scale.
In September 2005 Mugabe signed constitutional amendments that reinstituted a national senate (abolished in 1987) and that nationalised all land. This converted all ownership rights into leases. The amendments also ended the right of landowners to challenge government expropriation of land in the courts and marked the end of any hope of returning any land that had been hitherto grabbed by armed land invasions. Elections for the senate in November resulted in a victory for the government. The MDC split over whether to field candidates and partially boycotted the vote. In addition to low turnout there was widespread government intimidation. The split in the MDC hardened into factions, each of which claimed control of the party. The early months of 2006 were marked by food shortages and mass hunger. The sheer extremity of the siltation was revealed by the fact that in the courts, state witnesses said they were too weak from hunger to testify.
2006 to 2007.
In August 2006 runaway inflation forced the government to replace its existing currency with a revalued one. In December 2006, ZANU-PF proposed the "harmonisation" of the parliamentary and presidential election schedules in 2010; the move was seen by the opposition as an excuse to extend Mugabe's term as president until 2010.
Morgan Tsvangirai was badly beaten on 12 March 2007 after being arrested and held at Machipisa Police Station in the Highfield suburb of Harare. The event garnered an international outcry and was considered particularly brutal and extreme, even considering the reputation of Mugabe's government. Kolawole Olaniyan, Director of Amnesty International's Africa Programme said "We are very concerned by reports of continuing brutal attacks on opposition activists in Zimbabwe and call on the government to stop all acts of violence and intimidation against opposition activists".
The economy has shrunk by 50% from 2000 to 2007. In September 2007 the inflation rate was put at almost 8,000%, the world's highest. There are frequent power and water outages. Harare's drinking water became unreliable in 2006 and as a consequence dysentery and cholera swept the city in December 2006 and January 2007. Unemployment in formal jobs is running at a record 80%. There was widespread hunger, manipulated by the government so that opposition strongholds suffer the most. Availability of bread was severely constrained after a poor wheat harvest and the closure of all bakeries.
The country, which used to be one of Africa's richest, became one of its poorest. Many observers now view the country as a 'failed state'. The settlement of the Second Congo War brought back Zimbabwe's substantial military commitment, although some troops remain to secure the mining assets under their control. The government lacks the resources or machinery to deal with the ravages of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, which affects 25% of the population. With all this and the forced and violent removal of white farmers in a brutal land redistribution program, Mugabe has earned himself widespread scorn from the international arena.
The regime has managed to cling to power by creating wealthy enclaves for government ministers, and senior party members. For example, Borrowdale Brook, a suburb of Harare is an oasis of wealth and privilege. It features mansions, manicured lawns, full shops with fully stocked shelves containing an abundance of fruit and vegetables, big cars and a golf club give is the home to President Mugabe's out-of-town retreat.
Zimbabwe's bakeries shut down in October 2007 and supermarkets warned that they would have no bread for the foreseeable future due to collapse in wheat production after the seizure of white-owned farms. The ministry of agriculture has also blamed power shortages for the wheat shortfall, saying that electricity cuts have affected irrigation and halved crop yields per acre. The power shortages are because Zimbabwe relies on Mozambique for some of its electricity and that due to an unpaid bill of $35 million Mozambique had reduced the amount of electrical power it supplies. On 4 December 2007, The United States imposed travel sanctions against 38 people with ties to President Mugabe because they "played a central role in the regime's escalated human rights abuses."
On 8 December 2007, Mugabe attended a meeting of EU and African leaders in Lisbon, prompting UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown to decline to attend. While German chancellor Angela Merkel criticised Mugabe with her public comments, the leaders of other African countries offered him statements of support.
Deterioration of the educational system.
The educational system in Zimbabwe which was once regarded as among the best in Africa, went into crisis in 2007 because of the country's economic meltdown. One foreign reporter witnessed hundreds of children at Hatcliffe Extension Primary School in Epworth, west of Harare, writing in the dust on the floor because they had no exercise books or pencils. The high school exam system unravelled in 2007. Examiners refused to mark examination papers when they were offered just Z$79 a paper, enough to buy three small candies. Corruption has crept into the system and may explain why in January 2007 thousands of pupils received no marks for subjects they had entered, while others were deemed "excellent" in subjects they had not sat. However, as of late the education system has recovered and is still considered the best in Southern Africa.
2008.
2008 elections.
Zimbabwe held a presidential election along with a 2008 parliamentary election of 29 March. The three major candidates were incumbent President Robert Mugabe of the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC-T), and Simba Makoni, an independent. As no candidate received an outright majority in the first round, a second round was held on 27 June 2008 between Tsvangirai (with 47.9% of the first round vote) and Mugabe (43.2%). Tsvangirai withdrew from the second round a week before it was scheduled to take place, citing violence against his party's supporters. The second round went ahead, despite widespread criticism, and led to victory for Mugabe.
Because of Zimbabwe's dire economic situation the election was expected to provide President Mugabe with his toughest electoral challenge to date. Mugabe's opponents were critical of the handling of the electoral process, and the government was accused of planning to rig the election; Human Rights Watch said that the election was likely to be "deeply flawed". After the first round, but before the counting was completed, Jose Marcos Barrica, the head of the Southern African Development Community observer mission, described the election as "a peaceful and credible expression of the will of the people of Zimbabwe."
No official results were announced for more than a month after the first round. The failure to release results was strongly criticised by the MDC, which unsuccessfully sought an order from the High Court to force their release. An independent projection placed Tsvangirai in the lead, but without the majority needed to avoid a second round. The MDC declared that Tsvangirai won a narrow majority in the first round and initially refused to participate in any second round. ZANU-PF has said that Mugabe will participate in a second round; the party alleged that some electoral officials, in connection with the MDC, fraudulently reduced Mugabe's score, and as a result a recount was conducted.
After the recount and the verification of the results, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) announced on 2 May that Tsvangirai won 47.9% and Mugabe won 43.2%, thereby necessitating a run-off, which was to be held on 27 June 2008. Despite Tsvangirai's continuing claims to have won a first round majority, he refused to participate in the second round. The period following the first round was marked by serious political violence caused by ZANU-PF. ZANU-PF blamed the MDC supporters for perpetrating this violence; Western governments and prominent Western organisations have blamed ZANU-PF for the violence which seems very likely to be true. On 22 June 2008, Tsvangirai announced that he was withdrawing from the run-off, describing it as a "violent sham" and saying that his supporters risked being killed if they voted for him. The second round nevertheless went ahead as planned with Mugabe as the only actively participating candidate, although Tsvangirai's name remained on the ballot. Mugabe won the second round by an overwhelming margin and was sworn in for another term as president on 29 June.
The international reaction to the second round have varied. The United States and states of the European Union have called for increased sanctions. On 11 July, the United Nations Security Council voted to impose sanctions on the Zimbabwe; Russia and China vetoed. The African Union has called for a "government of national unity."
Preliminary talks to set up conditions for official negotiations began between leading negotiators from both parties on 10 July, and on 22 July, the three party leaders met for the first time in Harare to express their support for a negotiated settlement of disputes arising out of the presidential and parliamentary elections. Negotiations between the parties officially began on 25 July and are currently proceeding with very few details released from the negotiation teams in Pretoria, as coverage by the media is barred from the premises where the negotiations are taking place. The talks were mediated by South African President Thabo Mbeki.
On 15 September 2008, the leaders of the 14-member Southern African Development Community witnessed the signing of the power-sharing agreement, brokered by South African leader Thabo Mbeki. With symbolic handshake and warm smiles at the Rainbow Towers hotel, in Harare, Mugabe and Tsvangirai signed the deal to end the violent political crisis. As provided, Robert Mugabe will remain president, Morgan Tsvangirai will become prime minister, ZANU-PF and the MDC will share control of the police, Mugabe's Zanu (PF) will command the Army, and Arthur Mutambara becomes deputy prime minister.
Marange diamond fields massacre.
In November 2008 the Air Force of Zimbabwe was sent, after some police officers began refusing orders to shoot the illegal miners at Marange diamond fields. Up to 150 of the estimated 30,000 illegal miners were shot from helicopter gunships. In 2008 some Zimbabwean lawyers and opposition politicians from Mutare claimed that Shiri was the prime mover behind the military assaults on illegal diggers in the diamond mines in the east of Zimbabwe. Estimates of the death toll by mid-December range from 83 reported by the Mutare City Council, based on a request for burial ground, to 140 estimated by the (then) opposition Movement for Democratic Change - Tsvangirai party.
2009 to present.
2009–2017.
In January 2009, Morgan Tsvangirai announced that he would do as the leaders across Africa had insisted and join a coalition government as prime minister with his nemesis, President Robert Mugabe . On 11 February 2009 Tsvangirai was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe. By 2009 inflation had peaked at 500 billion % per year under the Mugabe government and the Zimbabwe currency was worthless. The opposition shared power with the Mugabe regime between 2009 and 2013, Zimbabwe switched to using the US dollar as currency and the economy improved reaching a growth rate of 10% per year.
In 2013 the Mugabe government won an election which The Economist described as "rigged," doubled the size of the civil service and embarked on "...misrule and dazzling corruption." However, the United Nations, African Union and SADC endorsed the elections as free and fair.
By 2016 the economy had collapsed, nationwide protests took place throughout the country and the finance minister admitted "Right now we literally have nothing."
There was the introduction of bond notes to literally fight the biting cash crisis and liquidity crunch. Cash became scarce on the market in the year 2017.
On Wednesday 15 November 2017 the military placed President Mugabe under house arrest and removed him from power. The military stated that the president was safe. The military placed tanks around government buildings in Harare and blocked the main road to the airport. Public opinion in the capital favored the dictators removal although they were uncertain about his replacement with another dictatorship. The Times reported that Emmerson Mnangagwa helped to orchestrate the coup. He had recently been sacked by Mr Mugabe so that the path could be smoothed for Grace Mugabe to replace her husband. A Zimbabwean army officer, Major General Sibusiso Moyo, went on television to say the military was targeting "criminals" around President Mugabe but not actively removing the president from power. However the head of the African Union described it as such.
Ugandan writer Charles Onyango-Obbo stated on Twitter "If it looks like a coup, walks like a coup and quacks like a coup, then it's a coup". Naunihal Singh, an assistant professor at the U.S. Naval War College and author of a book on military coups, described the situation in Zimbabwe as a coup. He tweeted that "'The President is safe' is a classic coup catch-phrase" of such an event.
Robert Mugabe resigned 21 November 2017. Second Vice-President Phelekezela Mphoko became the Acting President. Emmerson Mnangagwa was sworn in as president on 24 November 2017.
2018–2019.
General elections were held on 30 July 2018 to elect the president and members of both houses of parliament. Ruling party ZANU-PF won the majority of seats in parliament, incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared the winner after receiving 50.8% of votes. The opposition accused the government of rigging the vote. In subsequent riots by MDC supporters, the army opened fire and killed three people, while three others died of their injuries the following day.
In January 2019 following a 130% increase in the price of fuel thousands of Zimbabweans protested and the government responded with a coordinated crackdown that resulted in hundreds of arrests and multiple deaths.


Space-A travel

Space-A travel is a means by which members of United States Uniformed Services (United States Military, reservists and retirees, United States Department of Defense civilian personnel under certain circumstances), and these groups' family members, are permitted to travel on aircraft under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Defense when excess capability allows.
Background.
Space available travel is a privilege that derives, in part, from United States Code, title 10, section 4744, which states, "officers and members of the Military Departments, and their families, when space is available, may be transported on vessels operated by any military transport agency of the Department of Defense". Space available travel is defined as "travel aboard DoD owned or controlled aircraft and occurs when aircraft are not fully booked with passengers traveling under orders".
It is a privilege offered to United States Uniformed Services members. Retired members are given the privilege in recognition of their career and because they are eligible for recall to active duty. The criteria for extending the privilege to other categories of passengers is their support to the mission being performed by Uniformed Services members and to the enhancement of active duty Service members' quality of life.
Procedures.
Guidelines.
There are rules and guidelines which apply to such travel. Uniformed personnel may only travel Space-A while on leave or pass for the full duration of their Space-A trip, and Space-A travel cannot be used in conjunction with travel required by the service. Space A travel may not be used for personal financial gain or in connection with business enterprises or employment. Other nations' laws and policies, as well as U.S. foreign policy, may limit the ability to travel using Space-A.
Aside from members of the United States Marine Corps, travelers do not have to be in uniform for their flights.
Sign-up process.
Eligible passengers wanting to travel using DoD Space-A travel are required to sign up at the departing location and are then placed on a locally managed Space-A register. The registration process varies depending on the location, but most locations allow signups via electronic mail, fax, or postal mail.
Each location's passenger service center maintains their own Space-A register. Each person signing up is placed on this register using category of travel, signup date and signup time.
Based on status (active duty military, retired military, emergency traveler, etc.), Space-A travel applicants are assigned a category of travel from 1 to 6, which categorizes their priority of movement, 1 being the highest priority. Thus, an applicant with priority 1 will gain a place on an available aircraft over an applicant with priority 4, for example.
The number of space-available seats may not be known until the flight's "Roll Call" just prior to the flight departs. After sorting the signup register by category of travel and signup date, the passenger terminal personnel follow a selection procedure. If there is sufficient seating for everyone desiring a seat, then everyone boards; otherwise, a cutoff point is determined.
Eligibility.
The branches of service eligible for Space-A travel are:
Space-required versus space-available.
Space-A travel is not without its pitfalls. Unlike traditional commercial air traffic, military flights are not always assigned predictable takeoff times. Many factors go into planning a military flight, with space-required cargo and passengers forming the basis of planning. There is no consideration given to potential Space-A travelers during the planning process.
Veterans Space-A travel eligibility.
Uniformed Services Retirees (receiving retirement pay and possessing a BLUE Retiree ID Card) and their accompanying dependents can travel Space-A anywhere that Space-A is allowed.
"Gray Area" Retirees have limited eligibility (but not their dependents). DoD reg, Section 4, Table 3, a Gray Area Retiree (Reservist who is "eligible" for retirement pay at 60 years of age but not fully retired with a BLUE ID Card), can fly Space-A only within the CONUS and directly between the CONUS and Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa (Guam and American Samoa travelers may transit Hawaii or Alaska); or traveling within Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
As of August 13th 2018, authorized veterans with a permanent service-connected disability rated 100% as total are eligible for Space-A travel traveling in the CONUS or directly between the Continental United States CONUS and Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa (Guam and American Samoa travelers may transit Hawaii or Alaska); or traveling within Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands. Dependents and caregivers of 100% disabled veterans are not eligible to fly Space-A.
Aircraft generally allowing for Space-A travel.
The majority of flights that passengers take occur on: C-5, C-17, C-40, C-130, KC-10, and KC-135 aircraft.
Non-governmental support for Space-A travel.
Space-A travelers might meet abrupt, sometimes even in-flight, changes in travel. This need for pre-planning has given rise to a small industry surrounding such travel. Non-governmental enterprises (for the most part, publishers) produce products, initially through books and maps, with more recent incarnations as websites which provide travelers with information regarding Space-A travel.
External links.
The following information Space-A links are hosted by volunteer military:


Swing Shift (film)

Swing Shift is a 1984 American romantic drama war film directed by Jonathan Demme and produced by and starring Goldie Hawn with Kurt Russell. It also features Christine Lahti, Fred Ward, Ed Harris, and Holly Hunter, in one of her first movie roles. Lahti received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress but the film was a box office bomb, grossing just $6.6 million against its $15 million budget.
Plot.
During World War II, Kay Walsh (Goldie Hawn) is a woman who signs up to work in an armaments factory in California while her husband Jack (Ed Harris), a U.S. Naval seaman, is overseas in naval service.
Lonely and vulnerable, Kay falls for the charms of another man, a musician named Lucky (Kurt Russell), and befriends her embittered neighbor Hazel (Christine Lahti), a former singer. The three of them enjoy their time together until Kay's husband comes home and realizes what has occurred.
Production.
"Swing Shift" has become a case study for a star/producer/director conflict. Over Demme's objections, an additional 30 minutes' worth of new scenes were written and shot to emphasize Hawn's onscreen love triangle, pushing back the intended release date from Christmas 1983 and inflating the budget. There were reports that the reshoots were ordered because Christine Lahti was upstaging Hawn, but Hawn maintained that she and her producing partner Anthea Sylbert were "just trying to get the movie to work." Demme had the phrase "A Jonathan Demme Film" removed from the credits and promotional materials, and screenwriter Nancy Dowd requested to be credited under the pseudonym "Rob Morton."
Reception.
Critical response.
As of December 2019, "Swing Shift" holds a rating of 87% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 15 reviews.
Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" gave the film three stars out of four and wrote "There's no suspense and no big emotional payoff, but the movie is always absorbing." Gene Siskel of the "Chicago Tribune" awarded two-and-a-half stars out of four and wrote "Although the World War II drama does manage to work up considerable emotion for a few big moments, we also find the script wanting at as many moments. One more run through the typewriter would have helped." Vincent Canby of "The New York Times" wrote "Despite what seem to have been certain differences of opinion in the course of the production, 'Swing Shift' plays very smoothly. No one need be ashamed." Gary Arnold of "The Washington Post" wrote "Its elaborate and meticulously re-created period settings and moods prove far more interesting and diverting than the undernourished characterizations and love stories that flutter and sputter across the foregrounds." "Variety" found that the characters "were not people worth fighting a war for" and remarked that while "[g]reat drama, to be sure, does not depend on likeable characters...the writing and acting are too flat for the challenge." Sheila Benson of the "Los Angeles Times" stated "Weak, flat, mystifyingly inconsistent, the present version is understandably disownable." Pauline Kael of "The New Yorker" wrote "There are no high spots, no exciting moments. The picture just goes popping from one recessive, undeveloped scene to the next." Steve Jenkins of "The Monthly Film Bulletin" wrote "Given the pseudonymous script credit, covering the contributions of three writers, and the serious disputes between Jonathan Demme and Goldie Hawn during production, it is perhaps not surprising that "Swing Shift" should emerge as a disappointingly bland, muddled and inconclusive affair."
Steve Vineberg of "Sight & Sound" called Jonathan Demme's original cut "extraordinary – one of the best movies made by an American in the 80s." He described the story of the film as "a Hollywood tragedy. It echoes what RKO did to Orson Welles' "The Magnificent Ambersons.""


Defoe Shipbuilding Company

The Defoe Shipbuilding Company was a small ship builder established in 1905 in Bay City, Michigan, United States. It ceased to operate in 1976 after failing to renew its contracts with the United States Navy. The site of the former company is now being developed for business and housing on the bank of the Saginaw River.
Founding.
Harry J. Defoe organized the Defoe Boat and Motor Works in 1905 on the Saginaw River in Bay City, Michigan. At that time, the firm built "knock-down" boats and gasoline powered boats for business and pleasure. In 1917, the company got its first Navy contract for five Spent Torpedo Chasers. This order was followed in 1918 by an order for eight steel Tumor Mine Planters.
From 1920 to 1939, the company built various types of government and commercial vessels and private yachts, including three 165-ft patrol boats, thirteen 100-ft patrol boats, fifteen 75-foot patrol boats and two harbor tugs for the U.S. Coast Guard. In 1931, Defoe built the "Lenore", a yacht for Montgomery Ward Chairman Sewell Avery, who named it after his second daughter who died at the age of four; this yacht was taken by the U.S. Government in World War II for coastal picket duty by the Coast Guard, and in 1956 it was assigned as a Presidential Yacht. It was called the "Barbara Anne" by President Eisenhower after his granddaughter, the "Honey Fitz" by President Kennedy in honor of his maternal grandfather John Francis Fitzgerald, and the "Tricia" by President Nixon after his daughter. In 1941, the name of the company was changed to Defoe Shipbuilding Company.
World War II.
During World War II, all production went to the war effort. From 1939 to 1945, the company built 154 ships, including four s, 13 destroyer escorts, 11 destroyer transports (converted destroyer escorts), patrol craft, and numerous landing craft of various types. The brand-new Defoe family yacht even served with the US Navy as a patrol vessel. Defoe developed a construction technique called the "upside-down and roll-over" method. This allowed most of the welding of the hull to be done "hand down" which is much easier. After the hull was completely welded, it was rolled over by a set of large wheels fastened to each end of the hull. Work then continued on the ship right-side up. Faster welding allowed the company to build one 173-foot patrol craft every week. Of all of the major ships built there, the three that were lost in action during World War II were the destroyer escort , the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter , and the patrol craft . Submarine chaser PC 482 was sunk by a U-boat in 1945. Defoe Shipbuilding Company also built three Refrigerated Freight Barges : YFR-888, YFR-889 and YFR-890 in 1945, also called a reefer barge.
After World War II.
After World War II, this company built two large Great Lakes bulk carriers, and it did repair work on Great Lakes ships including several repowerings, and self-unloading conversions. In later years, several ships were built for the U.S. Navy, including two s, four guided missile destroyers, and three "Garcia"-class destroyer escorts (later re-classified as frigates) for the U.S. Navy, and three guided-missile destroyers for the Royal Australian Navy. Also built there were the research vessels and . This last was the ship that found the wreck of .
Great Lakes Bulk Freighters.
In the early 1950s Defoe Shipbuilding constructed two large Great Lakes freighters. They were both roughly based on U.S. Steel's Pittsburgh Steamship Company AA Class ship design and shared similar dimensions. As of April 2009, one of the two vessels is still in service on the Great Lakes.
The only remaining large Great Lakes bulk freight vessel built by Defoe Shipbuilding still in service is the 642' 03" long, M/V "Ojibway" (Defoe hull #00422) operated by the Canadian firm Lower Lakes Towing, of Port Dover, Ontario, Canada. The "Ojibway" was originally built as the steamer "Charles L. Hutchinson" (2) for the Pioneer Steamship Company of Cleveland, Ohio, and entered service on September 24, 1952. In 1961, the Hutchinson was sold to Ford Motor Company of Dearborn, Michigan and was renamed "Ernest M. Breech". In 1988, Ford was in the process of eliminating its Great Lakes shipping fleet and sold the "Breech" to George Steinbrenner's Kinsman Marine of Cleveland, Ohio. The Kinsman fleet in turn renamed the vessel "Kinsman Independent" (2). She sailed with Kinsman until 2002 when her main unloading dock in Buffalo, New York, updated its unloading equipment, allowing it to be serviced by newer more common self-unloading vessels. The vessel laid up in Buffalo for the last time under US flag on December 16, 2002. In the spring of 2004, McKeil Marine of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada purchased the "Kinsman Independent". The ship was refurbished and repowered with a diesel engine, then sold to Voyageur Marine Transport LTD., of Ridgeville, Ontario, who returned her to service in late 2005 under the name "Voyageur Independent". Her current owner (Lower Lakes Towing) has operated the vessel since August 28, 2007, and renamed her "Ojibway" on February 29, 2008.
The second Great Lakes freighter built by Defoe was the 644' long S/S "Richard M. Marshall" (Defoe hull #00424) which was constructed in 1953 for the Great Lakes Steamship Company, of Cleveland, Ohio. She was a near twin to her predecessor ("Charles L. Hutchinson") in size and capacity both having approximate dimensions of 640' long, 67' wide, 35' deep, and a cargo capacity of approximately 18,500 tons. In December, 1956, Great Lakes Steamship started the process of selling off their fleet, and the "Marshall" was sold to The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company. Starting with the 1957 season, Northwestern Mutual chartered the ship to the Wilson Marine Transit Company of Cleveland, Ohio, who in turn renamed the vessel "Joseph S. Wood". In 1966, the charter agreement between Wilson and Northwestern Mutual was canceled, and the vessel was sold to the Ford Motor Company of Dearborn, Michigan, for $4.3 million (US). Ford renamed the ship "John Dykstra" and she resumed trading on the Great Lakes on May 11, 1966. In 1983, Ford renamed the ship "Benson Ford" (2) after the retirement of the original S/S "Benson Ford". In 1985, the vessel was renamed "US.265808" (the name Benson Ford being passed on to a third vessel), and was withdrawn from service. The final voyage began when she cleared Quebec City, Quebec, Canada in tow of the Polish tug "Jantar" on August 11, 1987 along with the former US Steel freighter "T. W. Robinson" bound for Recife, Brazil, for dismantling.
Closure.
The yard closed on 31 December 1976 after the Navy contracts expired. Along with its dwindling navy contracts in its final years, the yard was contracted for three larger Great Lakes Freighter projects. The first project was construction of the 68'x 104'7"x 46'6" bow section to the 1000' long integrated tug and barge "Presque Isle". The bow was launched July 27, 1972 and was towed to Erie by the tugs Maryland and Laurence C. Turner arriving October 6, 1972. There it was combined with the remainder of the barge which was under construction at Erie, PA. The combined tug and barge unit were the second 1000' vessel trading on the lakes. The second was the conversion of 690' S/S "Herbert C. Jackson" from a conventional style Great Lakes freighter to a self unloader. The final major project was the conversion of the 620' lake freighter "Richard J. Reiss" from steam to diesel power. All three vessels are still activity trading on the Great Lakes, the latter sailing now as the M/V "Manistee". The site of the shipyard later became the location for H. H. Hirschfield & Sons scrap yard. Hirschfield was recently bought by OmniSource, Inc., another scrap company.


Bob Kelso

Robert "Bob" Kelso, M.D., is a fictional character played by Ken Jenkins in the American comedy-drama "Scrubs".
Bob Kelso is the chief of medicine for Sacred Heart Hospital for the first seven seasons of "Scrubs" (a position held since 1984), though he resigns in the episode "My Dumb Luck". Kelso appeared in every episode during the first eight seasons except three Season 8 episodes, "My Last Words", "Their Story II" and "My Full Moon".
Jenkins was a regular cast member for the first eight seasons, and appeared in nine episodes of season nine.
Profile.
Of all the "Scrubs" characters, he goes through the most pronounced change as the series progresses. In the first few seasons, he appears to be a cynical, heartless man who gives mere lip service to patients' well-being, putting more value on the hospital's bottom line and his own personal comfort. In a moment of brutal candor in the series premiere, Kelso tells series protagonist John "J.D." Dorian, "Do you not realize that you're nothing but a large pair of scrubs to me?" Throughout the series, though, events suggest that Kelso's cynicism is a defense mechanism to deal with the pressures of his position. In later seasons he gradually becomes more compassionate, and after retirement, he remains in the other characters' lives as a grandfatherly figure.
Throughout the series, he is at odds with Dr. Perry Cox (John C. McGinley), Sacred Heart's Chief Attending Physician who eventually replaces him as Chief of Medicine. Cox calls him "Bobbo" or some other variation, often refers to him as a "pod person" or "the Devil himself", and once even punches him out. The two have occasionally shared moments of understanding and compassion, however, such as when Kelso tells a depressed Cox that the hospital and Kelso himself needs him, as they balance each other out to do what is best for the hospital. After his retirement, Kelso becomes more openly friendly with Cox.
His wife, Enid, and children are never seen on the show, although he frequently comments on his spouse, describing her as morbidly obese, neurotic, and using a wheelchair after an accident that left her paralyzed. Enid was a nurse working at the hospital during his early days as an M.D. and he has one child by her, a son called Harrison, a gay, drug-dealing heavy metal fan who wrote a scathing musical about him titled "Dr. Dad" and "shacked up" with the actor playing Kelso. Kelso also has a secret love child, Trong Tri Kelso, by a Vietnamese woman he had an affair with during his tour in Vietnam. Although he considers his children to be embarrassing, it is shown he genuinely loves Harrison and pays for Trong Tri's college education. He frequently cheats on his wife, and is open about his love of prostitutes. Kelso also suffers from a sexually transmitted disease which he has kept hidden from Enid.
Kelso was born in 1942 in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, where his family, then named Kelsonovich, settled. His father, also a doctor, endeared himself to his poorer patients by accepting gifts such as food and clothing in lieu of actual payment. The elder Kelso was apparently less generous to his own family, however, and he left the family on Kelso's own bicycle (an event to which Kelso attributes his irrational hatred of bikes). Before becoming a doctor, Kelso had a promising career as a shortstop; however, his treatment of other players earned him a permanent ban from the Appalachian League. Kelso attended medical school at Stanford University, graduating in 1968.
Kelso was in the United States Navy SEALs during the Vietnam War. He has a tattoo of the word "Johnny" on his buttocks ("...he's an old sailor buddy, and if you went through what we did, you'd understand").
In the seventh season, he turns 65, which is the hospital's mandatory retirement age. The hospital board of directors begins actively searching for a replacement, but Kelso's forced retirement is headed off with the help of the staff. He then decides to retire on his own terms, after reminiscing with Boon, a new intern, outside of the hospital. Amidst his ramblings, he reveals that he truly does love the hospital and the people who work there. The discussion reveals that the first person he "killed" (a rite of passage for doctors) was a 19-year-old pregnant girl whom he mis-diagnosed. At the end of this episode, he takes one last look at the hospital and drives off into the sunset.
Despite no longer working at Sacred Heart, Kelso remained a series regular. Now that Kelso was no longer a hospital bureaucrat, he reveals himself actually to be a decent human being; he becomes Dr. Cox's confidant, as Cox cannot talk to anyone else about how much he hates his new job. When he sees Cox's and J.D.'s tense interaction, Kelso advises J.D. that his relationship with Cox will be much like the relationship he had, except Cox is now in Kelso's position and J.D. in Cox's position.
In "My Finale", Kelso decides to become a part-time doctor again and leave Sacred Heart for good. After stealing his favorite table from Coffeebucks, he gives J.D. a "proper" good-bye (a handshake) and drives off. The entire staff waves good-bye to Kelso from the hospital's windows before he leaves. One year later, Kelso is still working as a part-time doctor but has now returned to the new Sacred Heart Hospital where he teaches some classes alongside J.D, Turk and Dr. Cox.
Character evolution.
Kelso has a well-hidden compassion for all his patients, his coworkers, and even his employees. He has claimed in the past to be indifferent to the fact that so many people dislike him, but Cox has noted that deep down Kelso does not like to be thought of as the most hated person in the hospital. In one episode, Kelso reveals that he has always known that his subordinates find ways to treat uninsured people, but pretends not to know to keep the system running and to benefit a friend, Maggie Kent, who has a foot injury. In another, he gives a man without insurance a free stay at the hospital because he finds the man's eight-year-old child to be particularly affable and cannot bring himself to doom the boy's father to certain death right before Christmas, considering it to be his finest moment in medicine. However, when he gives instructions over the phone to keep the uninsured father in the hospital, the person on the other end is skeptical that it really is Kelso speaking. He also sacrifices his own standing with the hospital staff for the good of his patients. For example, when the admission of Iraq War veteran Private Brian Dancer sparks political debate with the staff of Sacred Heart to the point that his health is endangered, Kelso removes the employee discount at the hospital's coffee shop (with the exception of himself) in order to unite the staff once more by giving them someone to hate. Kelso is also shown having to make hard choices that take an emotional toll on him. In one episode he chooses to treat a rich patient at the expense of a poor one, with both having identical symptoms. The poor man dies while the rich man lives, and donates enough money to re-open a pre-natal care program which had to be closed due to budget constraints. However, the decision to allow the poor man to die is shown to affect Kelso to the point that he is visibly saddened when he goes home, though he makes sure to hide this fact from the other employees.
Throughout the series, Kelso delights in tormenting Ted Buckland (Sam Lloyd), the hospital's milquetoast attorney, making him do thankless errands and busy work and denigrating him at every chance. On the day he retires, however, Kelso thanks Ted for all his hard work.
As of season 8, since Kelso no longer has to worry about the hospital, he is revealed to be a decent human being. He becomes Cox's confidant about how much Cox hates his new job, and even starts a "secret friendship" with him. He also encourages J.D. and Elliott to rekindle their relationship. His new attitude seems to change the employees opinions about him, because when he finally leaves the hospital for good, the employees of the hospital wave goodbye to him from the windows.
In the first episode of season 9 it is revealed that Enid died, which Kelso has now gotten over despite it apparently happening two days beforehand. In the following episode, however, he says that part of the reason he is teaching is so that he does not have to spend as much time alone in his empty house. In one episode it is revealed that he is keeping a dorm on the campus as a secret "love nest" because he is unable to bring himself to conduct his affairs in the bed he shared with his wife.


Anne Spencer (WRNS officer)

Commandant Anne Christine "Annie" Spencer, CBE (15 December 1938 – 15 July 2012) was the last Director of the Women's Royal Naval Service, serving in that post from 1991 to 1993.
Early life.
Spencer was born in Yorkshire in 1938 and educated at Newland School for Girls and the Yorkshire College of Housecraft. Upon graduation in 1959, she was involved in the management of school dinner services in the county. She learned Italian and applied to BOAC to become a stewardess. However, she did not pass the interview stage.
Military career.
She was promoted to superintendent (equivalent to captain) on 1 October 1986. She served as Director of NAAFI from 1986 to 1989 and Director of the Women's Royal Naval Service from 1991 to 1993.
She retired from the Royal Navy on 15 December 1993.
Personal life.
Spencer never married nor did she have any children. She died in 2012, aged 73.
Honours and decorations.
In the 1994 New Year Honours, Spencer was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). She was appointed Aide-de-Camp to Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1991.


Jack West Jr

Jonathan "Jack" West Junior is the main character in a book series by Australian author Matthew Reilly. He appears in the books "Seven Ancient Wonders", "The Six Sacred Stones", "The Five Greatest Warriors", "The Four Legendary Kingdoms", "The Three Secret Cities", and "The Two Lost Mountains".
Biography.
Jack West Junior's father was a cold and ruthless American, Colonel Jack West Senior ("Wolf"), and his mother Mabel Merriweather, an Australian high school History Teacher. He had an older sister who was killed in a plane accident a few years before the events of Seven Ancient Wonders.
West Junior was encouraged to join the US Army by his father but instead joined the Australian Armed Forces. There he proved to be an extremely efficient soldier and attained the rank of captain. West was then fast-tracked to the Special Air Service Regiment, set a new record on a desert survival course, and became a more formidable soldier than his father.
His desire to learn archaeology led to the Australian Army allowing him to attend university at Trinity College in Dublin, under the guidance of Professor Maximilian T. Epper, with whom he formed a close friendship.
West was also sent to a series of multi-national special forces exercises at Coronado in 1990, hosted by the US at their Navy SEALs base. These exercises were hosted by West's future enemy, Marshall Judah. West was injured in a helicopter accident at Coronado and lay unconscious in a hospital for four days. When he woke up, West was sent back to Australia with no serious damage done.
Jack made his name at Operation Desert Storm, being one of the first troops to land in Iraq in 1991, where he blew up communication towers, completed dangerous missions behind enemy lines, and served under his future foe, Marshall Judah, who had personally requested him. At a Scud base in Basra, West was left for dead by Judah but escaped through 300 enemy soldiers.
West then returned to Australia and handed in his resignation to his commanding officer, Lt. General Peter Cosgrove and began working with his friend Professor Epper aka Wizard, on the Dark sun project.
Family.
Lily.
Lily "Eowyn" West is Jack's adopted daughter. She was born to the wife of the former Oracle of Siwa, who was kidnapped and taken to a chamber in the heart of a Ugandan volcano. Her captors, led by the priest Del Piero took the mother's first-born child, Lily's older twin brother Alexander, and left her mother for dead. Jack and Max Epper were able to perform a caesarian on the dead mother using Jack's Leatherman knife, and rescued Lily, though Jack lost his arm triggering a release lock behind a curtain of lava during their escape.
Lily is described as being of Egyptian descent, and, like her twin brother, is an Oracle of Siwa. This grants her the ability from the age of 10 to read the Word of Thoth. She is also highly competent with other languages.
Wolf.
Jonathan 'Jack' 'Wolf' West Sr is Jack's father and has attempted to kill Jack several times.
He is an American and referred to by J.J. Wickham as "one motherfucker of a father-in-law".
He has another son with the callsign of "Rapier".
He is killed by his own greed at the end of "The Five Greatest Warriors" (by a similar fate to Jack's previous ordeal at the Second Vertex) after the Sixth Pillar was laid, trying to get its reward, power.
Mabel Merriweather.
Mabel Merriweather is Jack's mother (first named in The Four Legendary Kingdoms), who lives in Australia. Prior to FLK, she was only seen by Jack once every several years due to the facts of Wolf's violent relationship with her and Wolf's affair. She divorced Wolf and humiliated him even further by divorcing him in an Australian court.
Lauren.
Jack's sister Lauren is deceased after being killed in a plane crash. She was two years older than Jack.
J.J. Wickham.
J.J. 'Sea Ranger' Wickham is Jack's brother-in-law and oldest friend. He married Jack's sister, Lauren West. An expert submariner, he stole a Russian Kilo-class submarine & is now a rogue submariner living on the island of Zanzibar. He helps Jack in his mission and has a mutual hatred of Jack West Snr, referring to him as one "arsehole of a father in law."
Zoe Kissane.
Sergeant Zoe "Bloody Mary" "Princess" Kissane is Jack's good friend and, at the end of "The Five Greatest Warriors", the two are married in a civil service.
Rapier.
Rapier is Jack's half-brother. Determined that their father respects West over him, he constantly makes threats to kill West for the respect he desires.
Colleagues/friends.
Wizard.
Maximillian "Wizard" Epper was a Canadian-born professor who taught at Trinity College in Dublin, teaching Jack West, Jack's future wife Zoe Kissane & two Scottish students (his personal favorites) Lachlan & Julian Adamson "The Cowboys". He first met Jack when he joined the class he was teaching and they went on from there. In 1996, Wizard was involved in saving Lily. Wizard and Lily have always hit it off, so naturally Lily was one of the most hurt when Wizard died tragically, killed by Jack's father, Wolf, in "Five Greatest Warriors" at Genghis Khan's arsenal and tomb.
Pooh Bear.
Sergeant Zahir "Saladin" "Pooh Bear" al Anzar al Abbas of the United Arab Emirates is the second son of Sheik Anzar al Abbas. Pooh Bear is a slightly chubby fellow, known for his explosive experiments & wit. He is one of Lily West's closest friends. During a fight with him and Stretch vs Scimitar and Vulture, he lost an eye.
Stretch.
Lieutenant Benjamin "Archer" "Stretch" Cohen of Israel was once with the famed Israeli sniper force, the Sayeret Matkal. He joined the ruthless Israeli Mossad in 2003 & was ordered to infiltrate Jack West's team. Known for his expertise with snipers, he is first at odds with the Muslim Pooh Bear (himself being a Jew) but his defiance of his orders from the Mossad & his assistance in saving Lily's life caused the two to realize they had a common goal in keeping Lily safe and work together. He was captured and turned over to the Mossad where he was rescued by Pooh Bear, West, and Zoe. During the aforementioned fight between him/Pooh Bear and Vulture/Scimitar, he was stabbed in the back by Vulture but survived.
Sky Monster.
"Sky Monster" hails from New Zealand, after being trained in the RNZAF.
According to Reilly, his full name is known only to his mother and father, both of which live in Dunedin, New Zealand, and after the events of "The Five Greatest Warriors", look after Lily's twin brother, Alexander. His name is later revealed to be Ernest Q. Shepherd II in "The Two Lost Mountains". He is West's pilot during the novels, taking him and his team to various locations over the course of their adventures. He has performed upgrades to the 747 given by West. His 747 plane, the Halicarnassus, was destroyed at the end of "The Five Greatest Warriors", and he now owns a smaller, faster plane—a Russian-made Tupolev Tu-144. He christened it the "Sky Warrior".
Bionic arm.
Jack's original arm was burnt off when he thrust his arm into a waterfall of lava to grab an off lever in order to escape with Max "Wizard" Epper and Lily.
Wizard, as he promised, built Jack a new and 'better' arm, using a super-strong titanium alloy, and adding a hidden compartment containing a wad of C2 explosive. Jack has made use of these benefits many times during the books, such as using the fist to block a slab of stone from crushing him ("The Six Sacred Stones"), and hanging on to a ceiling rung for several hours ("Seven Ancient Wonders"). It is detachable, as seen in Jack's escape from the Ethiopian mine in "Six Sacred Stones".


The Man Who Walked Alone

The Man Who Walked Alone is a 1945 American B film romantic comedy film produced by PRC Pictures, Inc., directed by Christy Cabanne, with top-billed Dave O'Brien and Kay Aldridge, along with Walter Catlett and Guinn (Big Boy) Williams.
Karl Hajos was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Score.
Plot.
During the final months of World War II, a young man is hitchhiking to the small town of Plainfield. After several failed attempts, he finally steps in front of a car driven by a young woman. She tries to go around him, but crashes and blows out a tire. He changes the tire in exchange for a ride from the hostile woman. In addition to blaming him for causing her accident, she resents that he has somehow avoided military service, but when he goes to get some gas, she discovers a uniform (with many decorations) in his suitcase and becomes friendlier to him. They reveal their odd names, but nothing else about themselves: he is Marion and she is "Willie". He is sure that she is a spoiled rich girl, and in fact Wilhelmina "Willie" Hammond is indeed a member of a wealthy high-society family, running from an arranged marriage to another socially prominent type, stolid Alvin Bailey.
Acting on the reported theft of Bailey's car, the police stop the pair and put them in jail. After the police talk to Bailey on the telephone, the two are released. Willie takes Marion to the family mansion, telling him that she is the family's secretary. Having lost her key, she has him crawl through a window, causing the pair to be taken into custody again. Reporters at the police station eventually recognize her, revealing her identity to Marion. They are again released.
Willie initially thinks that Marion is an Army deserter, but after he explains he received a medical discharge, she gives him a job as the family chauffeur, though Wiggins, the eccentric old caretaker of the estate, has misgivings.
Willie's widowed mother, Mrs. Hammond, "old maid" Aunt Harriet, and younger sister Patricia all return from New York City, along with Alvin Bailey and his physical trainer and sidekick, Champ. Mrs. Hammond and Bailey strongly disapprove of Willie's association with a presumed gold digger. Mrs. Hammond tries to buy Marion off, while Bailey sends Champ to get the police. Marion, however, is determined to win Willie's heart.
After a series of family arguments and complications, Marion is revealed to be a nationally known war hero. He was hitchhiking simply because he does not like publicity. He is warmly welcomed by the mayor and the governor, and honored with a parade by Plainfield. His killed-in-battle friend described his hometown so vividly to Marion and later bequeathed it to him, so, having no real ties to any other place, he decided to settle there. As Marion is being driven away, Willie sets out after him in her wedding dress, and in a role reversal, he gives her a ride.
Cast.
The lead character, Marion Scott, is shown in ending credits as Private, but he is referred to repeatedly in the final scenes as Corporal Scott.


Hu Ning

Hu Ning (; 1916–1997) was a Chinese physicist and writer.
Biography.
Hu was born in Suqian, Jiangsu, China on 11 February 1916. From 1928 to 1934, Hu studied at the Zhenjiang High School () in Zhenjiang, and Suzhou High School in Suzhou. In 1935, Hu studied at the physical department of Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. From 1935 to 1937, Hu studied in the department of physics at Tsinghua University in Beijing, where he graduated in 1938.
After his graduation from Tsinghua, Hu became the teaching assistant for his professor Zhou Peiyuan in the department of physics.
In 1940, Hu examed and won the Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program. In 1941, Hu went to study in the United States. Hu studied fluid mechanics at the California Institute of Technology. His doctoral advisor was Theodore von Kármán. Hu also studied quantum mechanics under Paul Sophus Epstein during this period. Hu obtained his PhD in 1943 from Caltech.
From 1944 to 1945, Hu stayed at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, and studied quantum field theory and basic particles theories under Wolfgang Pauli. From 1946 to 1949, Hu visited Europe. He visited the research institute of high energy physics in Dublin, Ireland, and the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen. Hu went back to the United States, and from 1949 to 1950, Hu did research at the nuclear physics department of the Cornell University, New York.
In 1950, invited by the physicist Ta-You Wu (at that time, Wu headed the Theoretical Physics Division of the Canadian National Research Council), Hu went to Canada, and did research and lectured there.
In 1951, Hu accepted the invitation from Peking University in Beijing, and went back to China. Hu was a long-time professor in the department of physics at Peking University. Since 1953, Hu was a researcher at the Institute of Modern Physics () and the Institute of Nuclear Physics () of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. From 1956 to 1959, Hu was a researcher and group leader at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, USSR. Since 1980, Hu was a researcher at the Institute of Theoretical Physics () of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing.
Hu was elected academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1955. Hu was appointed the first director-general of Peking University Research Institute of Theoretical Physics ().
Hu died in Beijing on 16 December 1997.
Publications.
Hu wrote or edited some earliest textbooks of relativity and quantum physics in China, which are still in use:


Xie Tieli

Xie Tieli (27 December 1925 – 19 June 2015) was a Chinese director. In 2011, China Film Directors Guild Award awarded him the Lifetime Achievement Award.