Andrew E. Lange

Andrew E. Lange (July 23, 1957 – January 22, 2010) was an astrophysicist and Goldberger Professor of Physics at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California. Lange came to Caltech in 1993 and was most recently the chair of the Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy. Caltech's president Jean-Lou Chameau called him "a truly great physicist and astronomer who had made seminal discoveries in observational cosmology".
Early life.
Lange was born in Urbana, Illinois on 23 July 1957, the oldest son of Joan Lange, a school librarian, and Alfred Lange, an architect, and he grew up in Easton, Connecticut. Lange received his BA in physics from Princeton University in 1980, and the PhD in physics from University of California, Berkeley in 1987, being offered a professorship immediately after. He arrived at Caltech in 1993–1994 as a visiting associate, and was appointed Full Professor in 1994. He was appointed Goldberger professor in 2001, and senior research scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 2006.
Family.
In 1994, Lange unofficially married Frances Arnold, winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2018), with whom he had two sons, William A. Lange and Joseph I. Lange; the state of California was never notified. In 2016, William died in an accident.
Observations of the cosmic microwave background.
Lange's research interests focused on the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) and instrumentation for its study. The CMB is believed to be the light of the Big Bang, red-shifted from the visible into the sub-millimeter range by the cosmic expansion in the intervening 13.8 billion years. He developed a new generation of radio receivers for this study, and used them in a string of experiments to study the CMB.
In 1987 a Japanese-American team led by Lange, Paul Richards of UC Berkeley, and Toshio Matsumoto of Nagoya University announced that the spectrum CMB was not that of a true black body. In a sounding rocket experiment they detected an excess brightness at wavelengths of 0.5 and 0.7 mm. This result cast doubt on the validity of the Big Bang theory in general and helped support the rival Steady State theory. However, the presentation by Dr. John Mather (in January 1990) of the spectrum by FIRAS (Far-InfraRed Absolute Spectrophotometer) on the COBE satellite showed a perfect fit of the CMB and the theoretical curve for a black body at a temperature of 2.73 K, removing the earlier apparent contradiction with the standard cosmological model.
Lange was principal investigator on the BOOMERanG balloon-borne experiment which, in a 1998 flight, strongly confirmed the geometrical flatness of the universe to high precision, strongly supporting the theory of cosmic inflation. He was a US leader in a collaboration on the European Planck spacecraft, launched in May 2009, for studying the CMB, and in the effect of gravitational waves on the polarization of the CMB.
Prizes and awards.
He was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2001.
In 2003 Lange and Saul Perlmutter of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley were jointly named "California Scientists of the Year" by the California ScienCenter. Lange was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 2004 was elected to the US National Academy of Sciences in physics.
In 2006 he shared the Balzan Prize in observational astronomy and astrophysics with Paolo de Bernardis of Italy. In 2009 he was awarded the Dan David Prize (in astrophysics) for his contributions to our understanding of the History of the Universe.
Death.
Andrew Lange checked into a hotel on January 21, 2010. The next morning housekeepers found him dead, apparently from asphyxiation. The Pasadena Police Department determined his death to be a suicide. A tribute and obituary, penned by theoretical physicist Marc Kamionkowski, and later published in the Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, stated that Lange had battled severe depression, unknown to many of his even closest colleagues, for many years.


Leo L. Laughlin

Leo L. Laughlin (September 10, 1910 – April 13, 1997) was an American law enforcement officer and businessman who worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and served as Massachusetts' Commissioner of Public Safety.
Early life.
Laughlin was born on September 10, 1910 in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania. He earned a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws degree from The Catholic University of America.
FBI career.
Laughlin joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation on December 2, 1935. He was recommended for the job by U.S. Senator Joseph F. Guffey and U.S. Representative James H. Gildea. His first assignment was as a special agent in the Boston field office. In 1937 he transferred to the New York office. On January 9, 1938 he was designated the Number One Man of the Newark office. That May he had an argument with a special agent and this, along with a personality clash with the office's special agent in charge, resulted in a transfer back to New York. When the SAC from Newark transferred to New York in the fall of 1938, Laughlin relocated to the Cincinnati office. In 1940, Laughlin was promoted to supervisor in the investigative division. The following year he moved to the security division, where he worked in the espionage section. In 1944, Laughlin was transferred to the St. Paul field office and promoted to assistant special agent in charge. He was transferred to the Baltimore office in 1945. On June 21, 1945 he was named acting special agent in charge of the office in Providence. He was designated SAC of Providence on July 17, 1945 and remained there until that fall when J. Edgar Hoover loaned him and Joseph Carroll to the War Assets Administration. Laughlin served as the WAA's deputy director of the compliance enforcement division. Although the assignment was to be temporary, he remained with the WAA until 1947, as the head of the administration, Robert McGowan Littlejohn refused to let Laughlin and Carroll return to the FBI until after Hoover got the White House to intervene. On April 1, 1947, Laughlin returned to the FBI as an inspector. From 1947 to 1953 he supervised the FBI's liaison and loyalty sections. In the role, Laughlin was involved in the investigations of Judith Coplon, William Remington, and Harry Dexter White. He then served as special agent in charge of the Washington field office until 1957, when he returned to Boston as special agent in charge.
In March 1962, Massachusetts Governor John A. Volpe announced that Laughlin was his choice to become the next Commissioner of the Boston Police Department. Laughlin was prepared to take a two-year leave of absence from the FBI to run the department. However, the Massachusetts General Court took the power to appoint the Boston Police Commissioner away from the Governor and returned it to the Mayor of Boston. Boston Mayor John F. Collins announced Laughlin as a finalist for the position, but Laughlin took himself out of the running, stating that he was "not interested in becoming commissioner". One of Laughlin's subordinates, Edmund McNamara, was chosen instead.
Business career.
In 1962, Laughlin retired from the FBI and became the executive vice president of the Harrington & Richardson Firearms Company. He later became president of the company. Laughlin left H&R in 1963 due to ill health and later ran a management security consulting business in Boston.
Massachusetts Commissioner of Public Safety.
On September 29, 1965, suspended Commissioner of Public Safety Frank S. Giles resigned and Governor John A. Volpe appointed Laughlin to replace him. After he was sworn in, Laughlin found that Richard Caples, who served as acting commissioner during Giles' suspension, would not give up his office, as Caples claimed that he could not legally be replaced until the expiration of Giles' term on July 20, 1966. Laughlin instead took a temporary office in the agency's headquarters while Caples pursued legal action. On September 30, 1965, Suffolk County Superior Court Judge Harry T. Kalus refused to issue an injunction to prevent the Secretary of the Commonwealth from issuing Laughlin's commission and Laughlin moved into the commissioner's office. Kalus later ruled that Laughlin was "the legally and duly qualified Commissioner of Public Safety". His decision was affirmed by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
Laughlin was appointed to a five-year term in January 1966. In 1967, "The Boston Globe" reported that Volpe wanted to oust Laughlin due to complaints over the way Laughlin handled the agency. Among the reported issues with Laughlin's leadership were his refusal to accept advice from his staff and low morale among members of the Massachusetts State Police. However, Laughlin refused to quit and Volpe could not remove him, as the accusations were not serious enough to justify bringing charges against him. Laughlin resigned as Commissioner of Public Safety effective August 31, 1969, to become executive director of 100 Club, a charitable organization that provides aid to the widows and children of police officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty.
Family life.
Laughlin married Mary E. Galligan they had five children. His first cousin, James M. Quigley, was a United States Representative from Pennsylvania and Assistant Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. While working in Boston, Laughlin resided in Winchester, Massachusetts, across the street from John A. Volpe.
Later life and death.
In 1978, Laughlin retired to Kennebunk, Maine and Belleair, Florida He died in Belleair, Florida on April 13, 1997.


Operation Ceasefire

Operation Ceasefire (also known as the Boston Gun Project and the Boston Miracle) is a problem-oriented policing initiative implemented in 1996 in Boston, Massachusetts. The program was specifically aimed at youth gun violence as a large-scale problem. The plan is based on the work of criminologist David M. Kennedy.
Boston.
Through the late 1980s and early 1990s, Boston, like many cities in the United States, experienced an epidemic of youth gun homicides. Violence was particularly concentrated in poor inner city neighborhoods including Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan. Youth homicide (ages 24 and under) in Boston increased 230% - from 22 victims in 1987 to 73 in 1990. Between 1991 and 1995, Boston averaged about 44 youth homicides a year. Operation Ceasefire entailed a problem-oriented policing approach, and focused on specific places that were crime hot spots. Focus was placed on two elements of the gun violence problem: illicit gun trafficking and gang violence.
At the outset, the strategy was sponsored by the National Institute of Justice and was co-directed by David M. Kennedy, Anthony A. Braga, and Anne M. Piehl of Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. The project, over the course of time, became unique, as it:
A core participating agency was defined as one that regularly participated in the Boston Gun Project Working Group over the duration of the project. The participating core agencies included the Boston Police Department; Massachusetts departments of probation and parole; the Suffolk County district attorney; the office of the United States Attorney; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services (juvenile corrections); Boston school police; and gang outreach and prevention streetworkers attached to the Boston Community center program. Other important partners with more intermittent participation include the Ten Points Coalition, the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Massachusetts State Police.
Design on the project began in 1995. It led to what is now known as the Group Violence Intervention (GVI), typically overseen by the National Network for Safe Communities, out of John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, but has also been implemented independently by several jurisdictions. The Boston project launched in 1996 with an innovative partnership between practitioners and researchers. These groups came together to assess the youth homicide problem and implement the intervention, and found a substantial near-term impact on the problem. Operation Ceasefire was based on "pulling levers policing" deterrence strategies, which focus criminal justice enforcement on a small number of chronic offenders and gang-involved youth who were responsible for much of Boston's homicide problem.
Early impact evaluations suggested that the Ceasefire intervention was associated with significant reductions in youth homicide victimization, shots fired, calls for service, and gun assaults in Boston. Within two years of implementing Operation Ceasefire in Boston, the number of youth homicides dropped to ten, with one handgun-related youth homicide occurring in 1999 and 2000. After a change in supervising personnel within the Boston police department and city government, this first site was abandoned. Youth homicides began to climb again with 37 in 2005 and reaching a peak of 52 in 2010.
Findings and results.
The Pareto principle in Ceasefire.
Research on the Ceasefire method has found a profound and so far invariant connection between serious violence and highly active criminal groups. A typical city-level finding is that groups collectively representing under 0.5% of the city's population will be connected as offenders, victims or both, with between half and three quarters of all homicide in the city—an example of the Pareto principle: a large proportion of the effects comes from a small proportion of the causes. This is likely to be an underestimate, as only incidents known to be connected to street groups are counted as such; a substantial portion of those not known will also be group connected.
In Boston, for example, which at the time had a population of roughly 556,180 people, approximately 1,500 individuals were identified as comprising 61 separate groups. This 0.3% of the population was responsible for 60% of the city's homicides. Similarly, in Cincinnati in 1997, which had an population of about 333,210, between 800 and 1,000 individuals—less than 0.3% of the population—were identified as being group related, and were responsible for 75% of the city's homicides.
Results and impact.
Studies of Boston Operation Ceasefire found a 63% reduction in youth homicide. Since then, Operation Ceasefire has evolved into the National Network for Safe Communities' Group Violence Intervention. The Group Violence Intervention (GVI) has been deployed in dozens of cities – from Los Angeles to Providence, from Chicago to Nashville – over almost 20 years. A 2011 Campbell Collaboration Systematic Review of the strategies, and others related to them, concluded that there is now "strong empirical evidence" for their crime prevention effectiveness. Stockton's Operation Peacekeeper produced an overall 42% reduction in gun homicide in the city. The Chicago extension of the national Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative, has shown 37% reductions in homicide, while the Lowell, Massachusetts, Project Safe Neighborhoods efforts have produced 44% reductions in gun assault. A 34% reduction in homicide has been recorded in Indianapolis after the launch of the Indianapolis Violence Reduction Partnership. The Cincinnati Initiative to Reduce Violence (CIRV) has shown a 41% reduction in street group member-related homicides.
In fiction.
The crime drama series "City on a Hill" shows a fictionalized account of Operation Ceasefire.


Harold Dow

Harold Dow (September 28, 1947 – August 21, 2010) was an American television news correspondent, journalist, and investigative journalism with CBS News.
Early Life and Career.
Dow was born in Hackensack, New Jersey. He attended the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He was a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.
When Dow became co-anchor and talk-show host for KETV in Omaha, Nebraska, he became the first African-American television reporter. Dow had also been an anchor and reporter at Theta Cable TV in Santa Monica, California and a news anchor for WPAT Radio in Paterson, New Jersey. Dow was a co-anchor for the CBS overnight news program "CBS News Nightwatch" (1982-1983), a correspondent for the CBS News magazine "Street Stories" (1992–93), and had reported for the "CBS Evening News" and "CBS News Sunday Morning" since the early 1970s.
Dow joined CBS News in 1972, first as a broadcast associate, then as a correspondent with their Los Angeles Bureau while with KCOP-TV.
Personal life.
Harold Dow married Kathleen Dow in 1980. They had three children together: Danica, Joelle, David.
Death.
A resident of Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Dow died from complications of asthma on August 21, 2010, behind the wheel of his car.


Coward of the County

"Coward of the County" is a song written by Roger Bowling and Billy Ed Wheeler, and recorded by American country music singer Kenny Rogers. The song was released in November 1979 as the second single from Rogers' multi-platinum album "Kenny". It became a major crossover hit, topping the "Billboard" Country chart and reaching #3 on the Hot 100 chart; it also topped the Cash Box singles chart and was a Top 10 hit in numerous other countries worldwide topping the chart in Canada, the UK, and also in Ireland where it stayed at #1 for six consecutive weeks.
Content.
The narrator sings about his ward and nephew Tommy, a young man with a prominent reputation for never standing up for himself; his pacifism earned him the derisive nickname "Yellow" from others throughout the county, but the narrator hints that he always felt there was something about Tommy that others did not see.
Tommy's non-violent attitude was greatly influenced by his father who died in prison when Tommy was ten years old; during his last visit his father, from his deathbed, pleads with Tommy to not make the same mistakes he made, telling him that "turning the other cheek" is not a sign of weakness, and advising him, "Son, you don't have to fight to be a man".
Years later, Tommy is in a relationship with a woman named Becky who loves and accepts him as he is; she calls him Yellow too. One day while Tommy was at work, the three Gatlin Brothers assault Becky and gang rape her. When he returns home and finds Becky crying and worse for wear, he is faced with the dilemma of having to choose between defending Becky's honor or upholding his father's plea to "walk away from trouble when he can".
Realizing he cannot ignore his predicament, Tommy goes to the barroom where the Gatlins hang out, but they only laugh at him when he walks in. After one of them meets him halfway across the floor Tommy turns around, and they assume he is going to walk away yet again until he stops and locks the front door. Fueled by his long-bottled-up aggression, Tommy cuts loose and furiously fights all three Gatlin boys, leaving none of them standing by the time he left (the lyrics are ambiguous as to whether the Gatlins were dead or just unconscious, or if it was a gunfight or a fistfight).
Tommy then reflects on his late father's plea, addressing him respectfully that while he did his best to avoid trouble, he hopes his father understands that "sometimes you gotta fight when you're a man."
Controversy regarding "The Gatlin Boys" lyric.
It has been claimed that mention of the "Gatlin boys ... there was three of them" in the song was a reference to The Gatlin Brothers. However, in "The Billboard Book of Number One Country Singles", Rogers stated that he was unaware of the connection, and that he would have otherwise asked for the name to be changed. Larry Gatlin also gave the song a positive review ("It's a good song"). Writer Billy Edd Wheeler denied that the lyric was a reference to the Gatlin Brothers.
Larry Gatlin later claimed in an interview on "The Adam Carolla Show" that the song’s co-writer, Roger Bowling, had a personal grudge against him for reasons unknown. Gatlin then explained to Carolla that when Bowling won song of the year for "Lucille" during the 1977 CMA Awards, he (Gatlin) approached Bowling to congratulate him for winning. Gatlin told Carolla: "He said, 'fuck you, Gatlin!' I said, 'What?' He said, 'Fuck you!' I said, 'Let me tell you something, hoss. If we weren't in the Grand Ole' Opry House dressed up in tuxedos, I would just open a boot shop in your ass.'" Gatlin further stated that those particular exchange of words with Bowling resulted in Gatlin‘s inclusion in the lyrics to “Coward of the County.”
Cover versions.
Alvin and the Chipmunks covered the song with several lyric changes for their 1981 album "Urban Chipmunk".
Jamaican dancehall musician Sister Nancy performed a version on her 1982 album "One, Two" as "Coward of the Country ["sic"]." Her version also includes elements of the songs "Banana Boat Song" and "In the Ghetto."
Film adaptation.
The song inspired a 1981 television movie of the same name, directed by Dick Lowry, who also directed all but the last of "The Gambler" television movie saga pentalogy.
The film starred Rogers as Tommy's uncle, Reverend Matthew Spencer (who sang the song in the film), and featured Fredric Lehne as the troubled Tommy Spencer; Largo Woodruff as Becky, the object of Tommy's affection; and William Schreiner as James Joseph "Jimmy Joe" Gatlin, the lead bully in the Gatlin family clan. The movie added several characters not mentioned in the song, including Car-Wash (Noble Willingham), a friend of the Spencers; Violet (Ana Alicia), another local girl who was also in love with Tommy; and Lem Gatlin (Joe Dorsey), the equally-nemesis father of the Gatlin boys (brothers Jimmy Joe, Paul, and Luke).
Set in small-town Georgia during the onset of America's involvement in World War II, the film's plot expanded on the story in the song, in which Jimmy Joe Gatlin publicly proclaimed Becky to be "his girl," though Becky repeatedly stated that she was not. That rejection (to which Jimmy Joe is in total denial), along with the fact that Becky and Tommy started dating and became engaged while Jimmy Joe and his brother Luke were away at basic training, would serve as motive for Jimmy Joe and his brothers to assault Becky just days before she and Tommy were to be married.
The film culminates in a huge barroom brawl between the Gatlins and Tommy, and Tommy prevails with Matthew's help as he had just stepped down from his pulpit. After the Gatlin brothers are convicted for gang-raping Becky, Tommy joins the Marines and is shipped off immediately after his wedding to Becky, and the church deacons have all decided that they want Matthew back leading the parish, which he accepts.


Unstrung Heroes

Unstrung Heroes is a 1995 American comedy-drama film directed by Diane Keaton and starring Andie MacDowell, John Turturro, Michael Richards, and Maury Chaykin. The screenplay by Richard LaGravenese is based on the memoir of the same name by journalist Franz Lidz.
Plot synopsis.
When young Steven's mother Selma is diagnosed with ovarian cancer and becomes increasingly ill, his eccentric and emotionally distant inventor father Sid — despite deep reservations — allows him to live with his dysfunctional uncles, pack rat Arthur and delusional paranoid Danny, in their cluttered apartment in the rundown King Edward Hotel. The two, who live in a setting worthy of the Collyer brothers, rechristen the boy with the more colorful name Franz and help him cope with his emotions by teaching him to value his own uniqueness. Learning from the odd pair that even though hope and science may fail us, art always survives, Franz secretly begins to create a memorial to his mother before she dies, filling a box with personal mementos — a tube of lipstick, an empty Chanel bottle, a cigarette lighter, and the like.
Production notes.
The film shifted the original story's setting of New York City to Southern California, and the four uncles from the memoir were condensed into two.
Keaton's previous directing credits were the 1987 documentary "Heaven" and the 1991 television movie "Wildflower".
The film debuted at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival in May. Prior to its release, it was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival and the Boston Film Festival, both held in September 1995.
During its widest release in the US, the film played at only 576 theaters. It grossed $7,929,000.
Critical reception.
The film earned positive reviews from critics, holding a 74% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 23 reviews.
In a "New York" profile that ran before the film's release, Franz Lidz confessed, "My initial fear was that Disney would turn my uncles into Grumpy and Dopey. I never imagined that my life could be turned into Old Yeller." Later, in an essay for the New York Times, he cracked that the cinematic Selma had died not of cancer, but of Old Movie Disease: "The way Disney killed off my mother -- after fixing pancakes, she praises her kids, plants a perversely passionate kiss on her husband's lips and, to soulful strains of "You Are My Sunshine", drifts off to die in a comfy armchair -- reminded me of Mad magazine's send-up of "Love Story"." He added, "Someday somebody may find a cure for cancer, but the terminal sappiness of cancer movies is probably beyond remedy."
Todd McCarthy of "Variety" wrote: "A coming-of-age piece that is slight to the point of anemia, "Unstrung Heroes" sports a willful eccentricity that almost immediately becomes annoying. Diane Keaton's debut dramatic feature aims for a distinctively offbeat tone that never really gels and the movie's emotional power, stemming from personal growth through family tragedy, falls short of the goal as well."
In her review in "The New York Times", Janet Maslin called "Unstrung Heroes" "a warm, surprising, gently incandescent film . . . [that] becomes a celebration of quirky independence and the sustaining powers of art and memory . . . [it] also succeeds in becoming very moving without being maudlin . . . [the] screenplay runs the risk of being generically uplifting, even bland; instead, it has a sharply distinctive flavor, honest pathos and a hint of delightful household magic. Thomas Newman's sparkling musical score echoes that buoyant tone."
Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" wrote that the film "has been directed by Diane Keaton with an unusual combination of sentiment and quirky eccentricity. There are moments so touching that the heart almost stops."
In the "San Francisco Chronicle", Edward Guthmann called the film "a picture that bears comparison to "To Kill a Mockingbird" . . . [it] is that rare mainstream film that doesn't shout in our ear to make its points. It draws us in, subtly and gracefully, and casts a lingering charm."
Rita Kempley of "The Washington Post" described the film as "a sensitive coming-of-age story in the sublime tradition of "My Life as a Dog"."
In "Rolling Stone", Peter Travers opined, "Steven Lidz, a 12-year-old growing up in New York during the '60s with a dying mother and a distracted father, turns to his loony but life-affirming uncles. Sugar shock? Wait. Jump ahead to 1991. Steven, now Franz Lidz and a writer for Sports Illustrated, wins acclaim for a childhood memoir that doesn't choke on whimsy or schmaltz. Wait again. The film version, directed by Diane Keaton from a script by Richard LaGravenese (The Bridges of Madison County), isn't above a little tear-jerking. There's also the matters of reducing Steven's four unstrung uncles to two, Danny (Michael Richards) and Arthur (Maury Chaykin); casting Andie MacDowell as Selma, Steven's Jewish mother; and shooting this Lower East Side story in Pasadena, Calif. Guess what? The movie works like a charm."
Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "B+" on scale of A+ to F.
Box office.
The film performed well at the box office.
Awards and nominations.
Thomas Newman was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Musical or Comedy Score as well as the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television. Michael Richards was nominated for the American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture.


Malevo Ferreyra

Mario Oscar Ferreyra, better known as Malevo Ferreyra (June 17, 1945 – November 21, 2008) was an Argentine police chief. Being a police officer during the last Argentine Dictatorship, he participated in the State terrorism, repressing left-wing guerrilla groups in Tucuman province. After the return of democracy, he would become the chief of Tucumán Provincial Police. In this position, Ferreyra became involved in the murder of guerrillas members, and innocent civilians suspected of the same. He would later be prosecuted and discharged from the force. He shot himself in 2008, when facing his imminent arrest, and his suicide was broadcast live on national TV.
Early life.
Mario Oscar Ferreyra was born on June 17, 1945, in Los Pereyra, Cruz Alta, a locality east of San Miguel de Tucumán. When he was 18 years old, he enlisted in the police. He had been deemed physically unfit because of his small stature and low weight, but managed to enter the force thanks to a relative.
In 1973, he fought against 15 demonstrators of the Juventud Peronista during a brawl downtown, in which he was hit with a glass bottle, leaving him a scar that would last for the rest of his life. Two years after this, he killed Julio Alsogaray, a militant of Montoneros guerrilla faction, in a one-on-one confrontation. He shot him with a FN FAL rifle. During the Military Junta rule, he was suspended for two years and five months, after being accused by his superiors of the senseless use of lethal force. In 1986, after the return of democracy, he was prosecuted for the killing of the well known criminal Enrique "Prode" Correa, but justice acquitted him for lack of evidence.
One year later, when he was the chief of Robos y Hurtos, (Robbery Division of the Police,) he was involved in a shooting in the northern approaches to the city of San Miguel de Tucumán, in which two members of a prominent crime family were killed. In 1988, he was accused of the killing of another member of that same crime family, Daniel Carrizo, who had also been tortured in a cell of the Robbery Division's headquarters before his death. He was again acquitted. In January 1990, he was named chief of the General Investigations Division, and two months later led a police strike against governor José Domato, which forced the Gendarmería Nacional Argentina to take the law enforcing duties in the province until the dispute was resolved in his favor. This earned him the respect and affection of his co-workers.
Laguna de Robles.
On October 10 of 1991, in Laguna de Robles, a rural locality in the northern area of Tucumán, three presumed criminals were found murdered. Their names were José "Coco" Menéndez, Hugo "Yegua Verde" Vera and Ricardo "El Pelao" Andrada. Ferreyra argued that the victims had been killed in an armed clash and formed part of a dangerous gang of robbers. In November of that same year, he accused some other high-ranking officers of misappropriation of public funds. These same police officers would, the day after the accusations, discharge him from the force. He was later accused of executing the three victims of the Laguna de Robles murders, and on December 9 he handed himself over to justice.
The trial started on November 26, 1993. He was found guilty on December 14, but escaped the Courthouse by threatening to blow himself and the other people present in the room with a grenade he had brought hidden somewhere. 79 days later he was surrounded by federal forces in Zorro Muerto, in the neighboring province of Santiago del Estero. He was sent to Villa Urquiza prison, where he was supposed to spend 20 years. but was set free much sooner. The governor of Tucumán at the time, Antonio Domingo Bussi, was a former military officer who had taken part in the Process of National Reorganization and was fond of Malevo, so he reduced his sentence in 1996.
Later life and death.
He would spend the rest of his life living in his property in San Andrés, a few kilometers from his place of birth. In 2008, during the trials for crimes against humanity that took place during the Kirchnerism government, he was again prosecuted for crimes he had supposedly committed during the Dirty War. On November 21, Gendarmería Nacional was sent to his house to arrest him. He climbed up a water tower and was followed by a TV camera crew from national news broadcaster Crónica TV. As he saw he had been surrounded by about 20 policemen, and with no intention of going back to prison, he took a gun and shot himself in the head. He had stated earlier that day that he would take any measure in order not to go to jail again. When asked if he was capable of killing himself, he said he'd do "Just like Hannibal". TV cameras captured this moment from a very close distance, as he was being interviewed and took this decision totally unexpectedly. His death was broadcast to the whole nation. He was survived by his wife and children.


Dan Smoot

Howard Smoot, known as Dan Smoot (October 5, 1913, in East Prairie, Mississippi County, Missouri – July 24, 2003, in Tyler, Smith County, Texas), was a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent and a conservative political activist. From 1957 to 1971, he published "The Dan Smoot Report", which chronicled alleged communist infiltration in various sectors of American government and society.
Background.
Smoot was born into poverty in a log cabin in Mississippi County in southeastern Missouri, to Bernie Smoot, a sharecropper, and Dora Smoot, née Allbright. As a six-year-old, he picked and hoed cotton. He cultivated corn with a one-mule plow at the age of eight. He had a sister, Virginia Ruth, and a brother, Jewell, who predeceased him. Despite the lack of material resources, Bernie Smoot taught young Dan how to read the classics.
When he was orphaned at eleven, Dan was sent to live with an uncle who forbade scholarly pursuits. He ran away from the uncle's home at the age of fourteen with a dime in his pocket but determined to make a life of his own. At the age of twenty, Smoot married Betty Evans, his 16-year-old childhood sweetheart, who became the mother of his two sons, Barney and Larry. Later divorced, he married his secretary, Virginia McKnight, who preceded him in death by some seven years.
Relocated to Dallas, Smoot graduated from high school and attended Southern Methodist University and later Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, from which he dropped out prior to receiving a PhD in American Civilization to enter the United States Army after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. However, the Army rejected Smoot for flat feet.
Departure from the FBI.
Smoot instead became an FBI agent, a position he held until 1951, when he resigned for what he cited as professional reasons: namely, the desire to go into the field of political pamphleteering and commentary.
Rather than accept assignment to the Savannah, Georgia office, Smoot resigned because he wanted to rear his family in the Dallas area. Smoot said that several fellow agents had complained to him about the supervisor's management decisions. Smoot said that he related to the inspector what he had heard from colleagues. Then, according to Smoot, the colleagues would not back up what they had told Smoot. The supervisor hence believed that Smoot had been disloyal to him.
After Smoot left the FBI, he became a commentator and began producing "Facts Forum" newsletters in conjunction with Dallas oil billionaire H. L. Hunt. His salary doubled with his new assignment. From 1953 to 1954, "Facts Forum" was the source for the ABC public affairs television series, "Answers for Americans".
In 1954, Medford Evans, a conservative critic of American Cold War policies and a college professor who was dismissed in 1959 amid a controversy at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana, was described as "News Editor" and "Editor" of "Facts Forum News". Mary Helen Brengel was identified as an "Associate Editor". She later worked for the "Independent American", the conservative newspaper of Kent Courtney, and his then wife, Phoebe Courtney.
Smoot dismissed Evans from "Facts Forum" for "financial irregularities". On November 15, 1956, Hunt withdrew his subsidy to the monthly "Facts Forum News" because the publication was not financially self-sustaining.
Spreading his conservative message.
Thereafter, Smoot published his weekly syndicated "The Dan Smoot Report". He also carried his conservative message via weekly reports over radio. "The Dan Smoot Report" started with 3,000 paid subscribers; at its peak in 1965, it had more than 33,000 subscribers. Each newsletter usually focused on one major story. One issue, for instance, was devoted to the Alaska Mental Health Bill of 1956, which Smoot claimed was a communist conspiracy to establish concentration camps on American soil. Another issue lionized Douglas MacArthur after his death in the spring of 1964.
A subsequent 1964 issue opposed a proposal by U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson to transfer sovereignty of the Panama Canal to the Republic of Panama. Johnson failed in his attempt, but President Jimmy Carter in 1978, with bipartisan U. S. Senate support led by Moderate Republican Howard Baker of Tennessee, prevailed by a one-vote margin to extend control of the Canal Zone to Panama. It was Moderate Republican support for many Democratic proposals that particularly angered Smoot, who gave up on the national Republican Party as a viable alternative to the majority Democrats of his day.
In 1962, Smoot wrote "The Invisible Government" concerning early members of the Council on Foreign Relations. Other books include "The Hope of the World"; "The Business End of Government"; and his autobiography, "People Along the Way". Additionally he was associated with Robert W. Welch, Jr.'s John Birch Society and wrote for the society's "American Opinion" bi-monthly magazine.
In 2000, Conservative activist Peter Gemma wrote a biographical sketch of Smoot in "The New American". Gemma recounts that Smoot, among his other aberrant positions, challenged Barry Goldwater during the 1964 presidential campaign for the nominee's embrace of NATO, which Smoot called a globalist organization of questionable value.
In 1970, Smoot opposed the selection of a future U.S. President, George Herbert Walker Bush, as the Republican nominee for the United States Senate from Texas. He claimed that Bush's political philosophy was little different from the Democrats that he sought to oppose. Bush lost the Senate election that year to Lloyd M. Bentsen of Houston and McAllen. Oddly, eighteen years later, Bush would head the Republican presidential ticket, and Bentsen would be the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for vice president.
Smoot was a victim of the Federal Communications Commission's Fairness Doctrine which prior to 1987 mandated "equal time" for opposing sides in political debate. As Smoot's critics demanded equal time to reply to his broadcasts, station after station dropped "The Dan Smoot Report". His last broadcast was issued on March 1, 1971. Smoot told his viewers
... Now I am forced to make a change — or I will be forced to quit. The unrelenting weekly deadlines have taken their toll. I have been plagued with bad health of late. Robert Welch, head of the John Birch Society, has generously offered to incorporate "The Dan Smoot Report" into [his] "The Review of the News". Through that splendid weekly magazine, [I can] fulfill my obligations to you whose subscriptions have not expired. ... I hope you will give "The Review of the News" the same loyalty and support you have given my "Report".
In 1972, Smoot opposed the reelection of President Richard M. Nixon and served as campaign manager for American Independent Party presidential candidate John G. Schmitz, a departing Republican U.S. representative from California's 35th congressional district.


Achilleas G. Exarchos

Achilleas G. Exarchos or Achilles G. Exarchos (Greek: Αχιλλέας Γ. Έξαρχος) (1924, Corfu2013, Athens) was a career diplomat and philanthropist, who at the beginning of his diplomatic career was closely involved in the London and Zurich agreements and the creation of the Republic of Cyprus in 1960.
Biography.
Achilleas Exarchos was born in November 1924, in the town of Corfu, Greece. His Father was George Exarchos, a Lawyer who later became Deputy Governor of the Agricultural Bank of Greece. His mother was Angeliki Exarchos (née Chrisovitsianos).
Both his grandfathers were doctors. Dr. Theodoros Chrisovitsianos (Greek: θεὀδωρος Xρυσοβιτσιανος), was a prominent pediatrician in Corfu and Dr. Achilleas D. Exarchos () was a prominent doctor in Trikala, Thessali, who later became a member of the Greek Parliament.
His brother was actor and writer, (Greek: Θεόδωρος Έξαρχος).
While in Cyprus he met and in 1962 married Theodora Exarchos, née Vovides, (Greek : Θεόδωρα Έξαρχου - Βωβίδη) 1939-2010, and had 3 sons, Nicholas Exarchos b1964, Kyprianos (aka: Kyp) Exarchos-Vovides b1968 and George Exarchos b1970.
Education.
1948 Graduated from the University of Thessaloniki, Law School.
1949-1950 Post Graduate Studies in Public Administration and Management, USA Bureau of the Budget, Washington, DC.
1949-1950 Post Graduate Studies in Economics and Public Finance, American University, Washington D.C.
1951-1953 Post Graduate Studies in Economics and Public Finance and Economic Policy. University of Rome, Italy.
Career.
1942-1956 Greek Ministry of Finance (General Directorate of the Budget)
1945-1956 Member of official Missions abroad of the Greek Ministry of Finance (Paris, London, Rome).
1956 Passes the admission exams and starts his diplomatic career
1956-1959 At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Athens
1959-1960 Vice-Consul at the Consulate General of Greece, Nicosia, Cyprus
1960-1964 First Secretary at the Embassy of Greece, Nicosia, Cyprus
1964-1967 Consul of Greece in Naples, Italy
1967-1970 Counselor at the Greek Embassy Sofia, Bulgaria
1970-1975 Consul General of Greece in London
1975-1977 Ambassador, Chief of the Department of Bilateral Economic Relations and Agreements at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Athens.
1977-1980 Ambassador of Greece to Nigeria. Accredited as well as
Ambassador to Benin, Togo, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Niger, Guinea (Conakry) and Upper Volta (actual Burkina Faso).
1980-1982 Ambassador-Permanent Representative of Greece to the UN/F.A.O.,
UN/World Food Programme (WFP), the UN/World Food Council.
(WFC) and Governor for Greece to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Rome, Italy.
1982 Retired.1956-1982 Participant to International meetings and activities of the United Nations and their specialized Agencies.1983-2003 Representative of the A.G. Leventis Cultural Foundation in Greece
and Executive Director of the Foundation's Athens Office.
2003-2013 Special Adviser to the A.G. Leventis Foundation.


Ditshwanelo

Ditshwanelo (Setswana for "Rights"), or the Botswana Centre for Human Rights, is a human rights organisation founded in 1993 in Botswana. It aims to improve human rights through education and governance. The group has campaigned
against capital punishment and for LGBT rights. For its advocacy it has received awards from the Commission nationale consultative des droits de l'homme and OutRight Action International.
Activities.
Ditshwanelo was formed by Alice Mogwe in 1993 as the Botswana Centre for Human Rights. The group has campaigned on different human rights issues and focuses upon education and governance questions. In addition, it offers free advice for civil judicial matters, supports the San people in north Botswana and organises an annual human rights film festival in Gaborone. It has also campaigned against xenophobia, for example organising a one day workshop in 2001 titled "Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Other Related Intolerances in Botswana".
Ditshwanelo has long called for the repeal of the death penalty, arguing that the Constitution of Botswana should respect the human dignity of all Botswanans, including criminals, and providing a report to FIDH, the International Federation for Human Rights in 1998. The following year, it prevented a miscarriage of justice by staying the execution of two San men, Gwara Brown Motswetla and Tlhabologang Phetolo Maauwe. They had been controversially convicted of murder in 1995 and were eventually freed by the Court of Appeal in 2006, eleven years later. The group reminded the Government of Botswana in 2018 that 42 African countries had stopped executions and that Botswana was now the only country in the Southern African Development Community to have it. Mmika Michael Mpe was executed in 2020 for his participation in the robbery and murder of Reinette Vorster in 2014. In response, Ditshwanelo commented "We once again reiterate that the loss of all life is always deeply regrettable. We further urge our Government to seriously explore other forms of punishment for capital offences".
Ditshwanelo has also focused on LGBT rights in Botswana. It campaigned for the legalisation of homosexuality in 1995 and organised a roundtable event in 1998. In 2003, it unsuccessfully opposed plans to criminalise lesbian sexual practices. LEGABIBO (Lesbians, Gays & Bisexuals of Botswana) formed as a network supported by Ditshwanelo and uses the Ditshwanelo offices. Ditshwanelo's patron is emeritus Archbishop of Central Africa Walter Khotso Makhulu. When critics questioned why the church was supporting a group promoting LGBT rights, Makhulu stated "Yes the Bible does say it is opposed [to homosexuality]. But it was written in its own day and in its own time".
Awards.
The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (now OutRight Action International) presented its Felipa de Souza Award to Ditshwanelo in 2000, recognising its advocacy for same sex desire. The Commission nationale consultative des droits de l'homme awarded Ditshwanelo and then president Alice Mogwe a Human Rights Prize in 2012, celebrating its work in advocating for a people-centred development of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve.


Mark Rossini

Mark Rossini is a former agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation who played a major role in trying to track al-Qaeda before its attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001.
Role in tracking al-Qaeda operatives in the US.
"The Spy Factory", an episode of the PBS series Nova, included segments of interviews with Rossini, who described his experience serving as one of the two FBI liaisons to the CIA's Bin Laden Issue Station, an inter-agency team assigned to track Osama bin Laden and his associates. Rossini described being aware in January 2000 that two al-Qaeda members, Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar, had valid US visas. However, a CIA employee, Michael Anne Casey, stopped him from passing the information to FBI headquarters. Rossini knew that if he reported this information to his FBI colleagues he would be breaking the law. The two men turned out to be hijackers of American Airlines flight 77 on 9/11.
Rossini also claims Alfreda Frances Bikowsky, a manager at the Bin Laden Issue Station, covered for Casey by telling congressional investigators that she walked from her office to FBI Headquarters to deliver the information about al-Mihdhar having a US visa. FBI log books proved Bikowsky's claim false.
Criminal conviction and resignation from FBI.
In late 2008 Rossini pled guilty to five felony counts for criminally accessing records in an FBI database more than 40 times in 2007. Many of the records were related to a federal investigation of Anthony Pellicano, a former high-profile private investigator. At least one of the records was provided by Rossini to associates of Pellicano and was subsequently used in a court filing by Pellicano's attorneys, leading to the discovery of Rossini's involvement. Rossini resigned from the FBI and was sentenced to probation, community service, and a fine by U.S. Magistrate Judge John M. Facciola on May 14, 2009.


Two Against Time

Two Against Time is a 2002 American made-for-television drama film starring Marlo Thomas and Ellen Muth. It was written by Casey Kurtti and Peter Nelson and directed by David Anspaugh. The film was originally aired on CBS on April 4, 2002.
Plot.
A mother and her daughter are, almost at same time, diagnosed with cancer. Now, the struggle against the illness will set them close and help them to overcome old antagonisms.
Reception.
Andy Webb from "The Movie Scene" gave the film three out of five stars, stating: "What this all boils down to is that I am still conflicted by "Two Against Time" because of the mix of heart-breaking and heart-warming which ends up causing the gritty drama to be softened. But it is a powerful story, powerfully acted and a movie which whilst may leave you as conflicted as I am, is well worth a watch." David Parkinson from Radio Times gave the movie only one out of five stars and wrote: "It's a cheap jibe to dismiss TV movies as "disease of the week" fodder. Unfortunately, this drama from director David Anspaugh ticks all the boxes. It's based on a true story and not only has two people battling against cancer, but, to make matters all the more lachrymose, they're a single mother and her rebellious teenage daughter." Steven Oxman from Variety magazine said about "Two Against Time": "TV movies are dead, you know. They don't make them anymore. At least not the traditional ones. Admirably capable of exhausting a year's supply of tissues in a single sitting, "Two Against Time" will be a miracle cure for fans of this shamelessly sappy genre in its death throes." Tom Shales from The Washington Post criticized almost every aspect of the film, stating: "There have been many TV movies about the emotional and physical ravages of serious illness, most of them more sensitive than this one. Those who made "Two Against Time" imagine we've never seen any of those films and that hair loss from chemotherapy is going to come as a shock. There are worlds and worlds of difference between a lackluster movie like this and HBO's "Wit," in which Emma Thompson so memorably and unflinchingly played a terminal cancer patient."


Charles Piers Egerton Hall

Charles Piers Egerton Hall, nicknamed Chaz Hall (25 July 1918 – 30 March 1944) was a British pilot who was taken prisoner during the Second World War. He was part of the 'Great Escape' from Stalag Luft III in March 1944, but was captured and subsequently shot by the Gestapo.
War service.
Hall was born in Kings Norton; He enlisted in the Royal Air Force pre-war as a regular service airman with the service number 550173, before the war he had been a photographer in Halton. Hall was a leading aircraftman at the time he was commissioned as pilot officer on 17 April 1941 and promoted flying officer on 17 April 1942. During World War II he served as a flight lieutenant in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, including serving for a time aboard . He later became a pilot for the 1st Photographic Reconnaissance Unit (PRU) flying out of RAF Benson South Oxfordshire, England. Hall was promoted flight lieutenant on 17 April 1943.
Prisoner of war.
Hall was flying a 1 PRU Spitfire PR Mk.IV (AA804) on 28 December 1941 when the aircraft came down over Bergen op Zoom, the Netherlands. He had been on high level reconnaissance mission to Düsseldorf when he was either shot down or suffered engine failure (accounts vary). It was the aircraft's first operational flight and Hall's third operational flight. He became a prisoner of war and was sent to Stalag Luft III in Germany in the province of Lower Silesia near the town of Sagan (now Żagań in Poland).
'Great Escape'.
He was one of the 76 men who escaped the prison camp on the night of 24–25 March 1944, in the escape now famous as "the Great Escape". He was recaptured near Sagan. He became one of the 50 executed and murdered by the "Gestapo" on the personal orders of Adolf Hitler on 30 March 1944 and then cremated at Liegnitz, now part of the Poznan Old Garrison Cemetery. Before his execution he had written on his cell wall "We who are about to die salute you".
Awards.
His conspicuous bravery was recognized by a mention in Despatches as none of the other relevant decorations then available could be awarded posthumously.


Joe Seneca

Joe Seneca (January 14, 1919 – August 15, 1996) was an American actor, singer, and songwriter. He is best known for Willie Brown in "Crossroads" (1986), Dr. Meadows in "The Blob" (1988), and Dr. Hanes in "The Cosby Show".
Life and career.
Seneca was born Joel McGhee, Jr. in Cleveland, Ohio. Before his acting career, he belonged to the R&B singing group The Three Riffs, which was active from the late 1940s and performed at upscale supper clubs in New York City. He was also a songwriter and had big hits with "Talk to Me", sung by Little Willie John, and "Break It to Me Gently," which was a smash hit by Brenda Lee in 1962 and by Juice Newton in 1982.
In the 1982 film, "The Verdict," Seneca plays the supporting role of Dr. Thompson, a small-town women's hospital physician brought in by attorney Frank Galvin (Paul Newman) to support his belief that two famous doctors' incompetence left his client alive but in a coma. Arguably his most well-known roles are that of bluesman Willie Brown in "Crossroads" (1986) and Dr. Meddows in "The Blob" (1988), the evil head of a government team sent to contain the title creature.
Seneca also made multiple appearances on "The Cosby Show" as Hillman President Dr. Zachariah J. Hanes. He also played Alvin Newcastle, a man suffering from Alzheimer's disease, on an episode of "The Golden Girls" titled "Old Friends". Seneca appeared in Spike Lee's "School Daze" as Mission College President McPherson.
Seneca played Eddie Haynes on "Matlock" in the May 9, 1989 episode "The Blues Singer." He later played a murder witness in the October 13, 1993 "Law & Order" episode "Profile."
Seneca appeared in Michael Jackson's "The Way You Make Me Feel" music video in the late 1980s.
He died from asthma at the age of 77.


USS Gallup (SP-694)

The first USS "Gallup" (SP-694), ex-Annie E. Gallup, was a United States Navy minesweeper commissioned in 1917 and lost in 1918.
"Gallup" was built as the commercial "menhaden fisherman"-type steam fishing trawler "Annie E. Gallup" at Fall River, Massachusetts, in 1878. In 1917, the U.S. Navy acquired "Annie E. Gallup" from the Delaware Fish and Oil Company of Lewes, Delaware, for use as a minesweeper during World War I. The Navy originally intended to commission her under her full original name, but on 28 July 1917 General Order No. 314 specified that all section patrol vessels bearing compound names would be referred to by last name only. Accordingly, she was commissioned at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 15 August 1917 as USS "Gallup" (SP-694) with Lieutenant Bailey A. West, USNRF, in command.
Assigned to the 4th Naval District, "Gallup" carried out minesweeping duties into the early weeks of 1918.
At 1200 hours on 20 February 1918 "Gallup", by then under the command of Ensign C. P. Berlin, USNRF, was anchored in the Harbor of Refuge at Lewes when a moderate northwest gale caused her to drag her anchor. The following morning, despite the fact that her engines were working at full power, "Gallup" ran aground, stern first, on the point of Cape Henlopen, Delaware, swinging around broadside to the beach. In response to her distress signals, United States Coast Guard crews from nearby lifesaving stations brought her complement ashore without loss of life. However, "Gallup" broke in two forward of her engine room and was declared a total loss.
"Gallup" was stricken from the Navy List on 20 May 1918.


McDowell Lee

McDowell Lee (February 12, 1925 – April 17, 2014) was an American politician.
Born in Clayton, Alabama, Lee went to Auburn University. He then served in the United States Navy from 1943 to 1945 during World War II. He received his bachelor's degree from Troy University and worked as a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent. In 1948, Lee was elected Mayor of Clio, Alabama. From 1954 to 1962, Lee served in the Alabama House of Representatives as a Democrat. He then worked for Governor of Alabama George Wallace. Then, from 1963 until 2011, Lee served as Secretary of the Alabama State Senate. The Lieutenant Governor of Alabama Charles S. McDowell was his uncle. He died of cancer at his home in Auburn, Alabama.


Erme Estuary Wreck

The Erme Estuary wreck is a shipwreck site containing the remains of potentially more than one wreck that was discovered in 1990 on Mary Reef in the Erme Estuary in Dorset. The site was designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act on 1 May 1991. The wreck is a Protected Wreck managed by Historic England.
The site.
Material dating to the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries is present within the site. It is unknown if the material represents a wrecked vessel or vessels as no wreck material has been identified, however, the date range of the cannon found within the site indicate that more than one vessel may be represented. Five cannon and a swivel gun with breech, ammunition and tampion with a rope knot on the breech handle were dated to 1490–1550. Another cannon has been identified as a Swedish finbanker dating to 1690–1750. Further to this, one French silver coin dated to 1610–1640, a lead pan weight dated to 1549–1780, a pestle, and a small bronze figurine were found within the site.
Discovery and investigation.
The site was discovered in 1990 by snorkeller Steve George who found four cast iron guns, a wrought iron swivel gun, and an anchor. Further artefacts were recovered after the site was designated under a license.
Previous investigation in 1982 produced one cannon, approximately 9 ft in length.
The site is regularly monitored by Bournemouth University.


Jon Vincent

Jon Vincent (also known as Dave Phillips and John St. Vincent) (17 December 1962 – 3 May 2000) was an American pornographic actor who appeared in gay and bisexual pornography.
Background.
Vincent was known for his muscular body and hyper-masculine demeanor. He was also known for talking dirty and for saying harsh and degrading things to the men with whom he had sex in his films. "He was frequently rough with his co-stars, and was even known to put his fist through a wall during an argument with a director.", says a coworker. He identified as bisexual and appeared also in several bisexual porn films.
He co-authored his autobiography "Thousand and One Night Stands". He was raised in Louisiana. He wanted to be a professional baseball player, and signed with the Kansas City Royals when he was only 20, but either he was fired when involved in a conspiracy to sell cocaine or an injury ended that pursuit. At one point, he dated another late gay porn star Joey Stefano. Though he only mentions having sex with whites and Latinos in his autobiography, in the autobiography of British gay porn star Blue Blake, Blake stated that Vincent had a preference for African-American men in real life.
"Vincent was a thrill junkie: a compulsive seeker of sexual adventure, physical danger, steroids, alcohol, cocaine and finally heroin. Heroin was stronger than he was; it took over his life and finally killed him." He had been a severe drug addict for decades. At the age of 38, he died of a heroin overdose in New York City. He is interred with his father in a family crypt in Baton Rouge.


John Cardinal


Antonio Tomasulo

Antonio Tomasulo, also known as "Bootsie" (1917 – June 23, 2003), was an Italian-American mobster who served in the New York Bonanno crime family running a highly lucrative illegal slot machine gambling operation.
Biography.
Little is known of Tomasulo's personal background; he was born in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, was married, and had a son named Anthony. Tomasulo was a lifelong asthma sufferer. He owned the Capri Car Service auto body in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
Tomasulo earned the nickname "Bootsie" because he always wore boots. He was also a habituate of The Motion Lounge, a mob hangout in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
At some point, Tomasulo began working for the Bonanno family. He worked in the Bonanno gambling operation that was run first by Dominick Napolitano and then later by Joseph Massino. Tomasulo eventually became a "made man", or full member, of the Bonanno family.
Joker Poker.
Over time, Tomasulo built a large illegal gambling empire consisted mainly of "Joker Poker" slot machine games. A "Joker Poker" machine allowed the player to play a five-card poker game. The better the player's hand, the bigger the machine payout. However, the odds were stacked heavily in the machine's favor. One of his machines generated up to $15,000 in revenue each week. Tomasulo placed Joker Poker machines in pizza parlors and dive bars across New York City.
As Tomasulo's slot machine empire grew, he soon delegated responsibility for collecting the slot machine revenues to his son Anthony, a Bonanno family associate. Anthony would visit each establishment hosting a machine, retrieve the money from the machine, and give the store or bar owner half the money. The rest of the money went to his father.
Donnie Brasco.
In the 1970s, Antonio became friends with "Donnie Brasco", a new family associate. Unknown to Tomasulo and everyone else, Brasco was really FBI agent Joseph D. Pistone, a Sicilian-American tasked with infiltrating the Bonanno family. Six years later, the FBI revealed that Pistone was their agent. Stunned and angry, the family leadership exacted punishment on those responsible for bringing Pistone into the family. One casualty was Napolitano, who was murdered. Although Tomasulo had also been friends with Pistone, the family spared his life. Tomasulo continued to work for capo Joseph Massino, who took over Napolitano's gambling operations.
In November 1982, Tomasulo, along with Lefty Ruggiero, Nicholas Santora, and Anthony "Fat Tony" Rabito, would be convicted in a six-week jury trial for racketeering conspiracy, receiving a 15-year prison sentence.
On June 23, 2003, Tomasulo suffered a severe asthma attack while sitting on the stoop of his Bensonhurst, Brooklyn apartment building and died.
Death of Anthony.
After Antonio's death, his son Anthony Tomasulo assumed that he would inherit his father's slot machine empire. However, Salvatore Vitale, the new acting boss of the family, ruled that a deceased mobster's rackets automatically revert to the family boss or acting boss. When informed of Vitale's decision by family soldier Michael Cardello, Anthony was livid. He then threatened to murder both Cardello and Vitale to take back the slot machines. Anthony later told another Bonanno capo that he was going to take the matter up with Genovese crime family boss Vincent Gigante.
Vitale consulted consigliere Anthony Spero who advised him to kill Tomasulo: "You better do it. Get it behind you. God forbid he kills you. We all lose." In May 1990 Anthony Tomasulo’s body was found in the back of his car. Vitale inherited Antonio Tomasulo's gambling empire.
Murderer indicted.
The Bonanno crime family acting boss Anthony Urso was indicted on charges of extortion, loansharking, illegal gambling and conspiracy to murder Antonio's son, Anthony Tomasulo. Urso faced life if convicted, and pleaded guilty. In 2004, Urso was sentenced to 25 years in prison.


German auxiliary cruiser Widder

"Widder" (HSK 3) was an auxiliary cruiser ("Hilfskreuzer") of Nazi Germany's "Kriegsmarine" that was used as a merchant raider in the Second World War. Her Kriegsmarine designation was Schiff 21, to the Royal Navy she was Raider D. The name "Widder" (Ram) represents the constellation Aries in German.
Early history.
Built for HAPAG, the Hamburg America Line, at Howaldtswerke, Kiel, she was launched in 1930 as the freighter "Neumark". After an uneventful career she was requisitioned by the "Kriegsmarine" for use as a commerce raider. She was converted for this purpose by Blohm & Voss in late 1939, and commissioned as the raider "Widder" on 9 December of that year. She sailed on her first and only raiding voyage in May 1940.
Raider voyage.
"Widder" sailed as part of the Kriegsmarine's first wave of commerce raiders, sailing on 6 May 1940 under the command of "Korvettenkapitän" (later "Fregattenkapitän") Helmuth von Ruckteschell.
Leaving Germany on 6 May 1940, she made for Bergen, in Norway. On 13 May the "Widder" confronted the British submarine on the surface, enjoining an exchange of gunfire which lasted for over an hour, with no hits for either side. After the engagement, the cruiser sought shelter in Sandsfjord. On 14 May she sailed to the open sea, crossing the Arctic Circle the next day. On 21 August 1940, 800 miles west of the Canary Islands, she sank the , which had been carrying a cargo of coal from Newport, Wales, to Bahía Blanca, Argentina. After refuelling from the auxiliary ship "Nordmark", she slipped through the Denmark Strait. Over a 5½ month period she captured and sank ten ships, totalling .
The "Widder" was reported to have machine-gunned the crew of the SS "Anglo Saxon" in their life-boats; one jolly boat with seven crewmen got away. Over two months later, on 27 October, the last two survivors in the boat landed in the Bahamas after a 2,275 mile voyage. One of the two died when his new ship was torpedoed in 1941, the other survived the war and testified against von Ruckteschell, who was sentenced to seven years for his war crime.
Having completed her mission, she returned to occupied France on 31 October 1940.
Later history.
Deemed unsuitable as a merchant raider due to persistent drive problems, "Widder" was re-christened "Neumark", and used as a repair ship in Norway, playing a major role in repairing the battleship Tirpitz in 1943/1944. After the war she was taken into British service as "Ulysses", then sold back to Germany as "Fechenheim" in 1950 before being wrecked off Bergen in 1955. Her hull was scrapped shortly after.
She was one of only two German auxiliary cruisers to survive the war, after one 1940 cruise. Her captain, Helmuth von Ruckteschell, was one of only two German naval commanders convicted of war crimes at the end of the war.


Joe Del Campo

Joseph P. Del Campo (born July 4, 1943) is an American FBI agent and private investigator best known for competing on the reality competition show "Survivor".
Early life.
Del Campo was born July 4, 1943, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended Father Judge High School in Philadelphia, then enrolled at nearby La Salle University, majoring in Spanish. Part of his college curriculum had him studying abroad, at the University of Madrid. He completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at La Salle in 1967.
Following college, Del Campo enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve, during which time he attended Aviation Officer Candidate School at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida. After issues with his sinuses prevented him from completing his pilot accreditation, he was transferred to Miami where he began working in the field of intelligence. One of his duties was to keep Cuban spies from infiltrating the refugee population entering the United States.
Career.
Del Campo left the Naval Reserve as a lieutenant (junior grade) in 1971. From there, he joined the FBI as a special agent in Urbana, Illinois. He would spend the next 25 years with the Bureau, working all over the country in such places as Washington, D.C., Milwaukee, Miami, and Philadelphia.
He was once partnered with famed FBI agent John E. Douglas during the 1970s, when they were assigned to work as bank robbery investigators in Milwaukee. In 1975, while working as an investigator of organized crime, Del Campo earned a Master of Science degree in Educational Administration and Supervision, from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.
One of the most notable moments of Del Campo's career came one winter's day, when he saved a child being held hostage. A fugitive from Chicago had made his way to Milwaukee and proceeded to shoot a few officers before taking a young boy hostage. As the fugitive was trying to escape with the boy, Del Campo climbed onto the steep, icy roof of a house, took aim with his gun, and fired. The fugitive was hit in the back of the neck, and the boy escaped unharmed.
In 1996, Del Campo retired from the FBI, moved to Vero Beach, Florida, and founded his own private investigator company, called The Excalibur Group. He has also served as a guest commentator on Fox News Channel's "On the Record w/ Greta Van Susteren".
"Survivor".
In 2015, Del Campo, at the age of 71, was selected as one of 18 castaways to compete on "", the 32nd season of "Survivor" overall. As the theme of the season was Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty, he was assigned to "Brains" and thus placed on the Chan Loh tribe at the very start. As the oldest player of the season, he made an early alliance with Debbie Wanner, who happened to be the eldest woman of that season. On Day 12, he and Wanner were separated when the tribes were switched around, as he ended up moving to the Gondol tribe, along with fellow Brains Aubry Bracco and Peter Baggenstos, while Wanner ended up staying on Chan Loh with fellow Brain Neal Gottlieb.
On Day 17, the remaining tribes merged, allowing Del Campo and Wanner to reunite, along with Bracco and Gottlieb, the other two Brains left in the game. The Brains were at a numbers disadvantage, though, as the old Brawns and Beauties bonded together to form their own alliance. This was further exacerbated when Gottlieb was medically evacuated on Day 19 due to a leg infection. By the next Tribal Council, a new all-female alliance had formed, and Del Campo affiliated with them, voting out Nick Maiorano. But on Day 24, Del Campo refused to vote out his ally Wanner, who ended up getting eliminated anyway by the women.
When it got to the Final Five on Day 33, Del Campo won his first challenge, which was for reward. During the reward, he enjoyed a huge picnic lunch which included a large helping of steak kebabs. After returning to camp, he started to feel ill, and on Day 34, medical help was summoned. Doctors concluded that Del Campo was suffering from blockage in his stomach, as a result of excess beef consumption, and ordered him to be evacuated, thus ending his game at fifth place overall. He would become the seventh member of the jury.
At the Final Tribal Council, he cast his vote for Bracco to win the game, although Michele Fitzgerald would end up winning the title of Sole Survivor.
Personal life.
Del Campo is a widower with three sons. In his spare time, he and Linda Worsham, Vice President of The Excalibur Group, volunteer rescuing Yorkshire terriers in the Vero Beach area. He has also contributed articles to "Vero's Voice", a magazine serving communities along the central Atlantic coast of Florida.


Ahmed Abd al-Karim al-Saadi

Ahmed Abd al-Karim al-Saadi aka Abu Mohjen is a Palestinian who became the leader of Osbat al-Ansar in 1991 after founder Sheik Hisham Shreidi was killed by Fatah rivals. Abu Mohjen is believed to have been behind the transformation of Osbat al-Ansar from a Palestinian-centered militant group into an al-Qaeda supported pan-Islamic organization.
Abu Mohjen has been sentenced to death "in absentia" by Lebanon; however, his sentence was later reduced to 20 years hard labor. After being sentenced by the Lebanese government Abu Mohjen has remained in hiding. It is assumed that his brother Abu Tarek al-Saadi has assumed control of Osbat al-Ansar while Abu Mohjen remains in hiding either in Iraq or in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh.


Detective William Murdoch


Madduma Bandara Ehelapola

Madduma Bandara Ehelapola (b 1806), mostly known as Madduma Bandara, was one of the national heroes of Sri Lanka. Bandara and his family were executed in 1814 by the King for treachery. His bravery at the time of his execution made him a legendary child hero in Sri Lanka.
Early life.
Bandara was born in Kandy to Ehelepola Maha Disawe and Ehelepola. He was the second son of Ehelepola Maha Disawe, the Dissava of Sabaragamuwa under the King Sri Vikrama Rajasinha of Kandy Sri Lanka. He had an Elder brother (Loku Bandara) and two sisters (Tikiri Menike and Dingiri Menike). His uncle was Keppetipola Disawe, one of the prominent Kandyan leaders who signed the Kandyan Convention at the Audience Hall in Kandy on the 2nd of March 1815.
Execution.
King Sri Wickremarajasinha thought that Ehelapola, as the Disawe of Sabaragamuwa, was aiding the rebellion against British rule, due to false information given to the king. Ehelapola was strongly fighting against the British, but the King was furious thinking that Ehelapola had switched sides. So while Ehelapola was away from Kandy, the King ordered the arrest of the Ehelapola Family. However, the king could not arrest Ehelapola, as he was in British custody in Colombo. Instead, the king arrested Ehelapola’s wife and children. On 17 May 1814, his sons were beheaded. Ehelapola’s wife, Kumarihamy, and daughters were forcibly drowned in Bogambara Lake by tying stones around their necks. While Bandara's brother was frightened to face death, he stepped forward and asked the executioner to behead him with a single strike.


Gideon Seyetik


James Giermanski

James Giermanski is a specialist in supply chain security and container shipping programs of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He is a former U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations (Col. ret.) and a former FBI agent.
Biography.
Giermanski is an expert focused on security operations in the global supply chain, who is concerned with respective contributions of governmental and nongovernmental stakeholders to this worldwide concern. Global Supply Chain Security explores the potential impact of port-related catastrophic events in the United States and their effects worldwide, concentrating, in particular, on the United States’ contribution to global container security.
A former military officer, and FBI agent, Giermanski is a frequent commentator on container security issues and weapons defense matters, particularly such as concerns border and customs work on supply chain security.
Giermanski taught at Texas A&M University, serving as Regents Professor and as an adjunct graduate faculty member at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He was Director of Transportation and Logistics Studies, Center for the Study of Western Hemispheric Trade at Texas A&M International University.
Giermanski serves a visiting scholar at the Air Force Doctrine Development and Education Center, an Air Force think tank at Maxwell Air Force Base.


C. Jackson Grayson

C. Jackson "Jack" Grayson, Jr. (October 8, 1923 – May 4, 2017) was the chairman of APQC, dean of two business schools, head of the U.S. Price Commission (1971), a farmer, newspaper reporter and FBI agent. In 1977 he founded APQC as a private sector, non-profit organization.
C. Jackson Grayson was the U.S. chairman of the Price Commission in the United States from 1971 to 1973 under President Richard Nixon. In that position under the Economic Stabilization Act of 1970, Grayson oversaw price controls and the process through which companies request permission to increase prices. Grayson gained exposure to productivity issues and how they related to product pricing. Grayson went on to found the American Productivity and Quality Center in 1977 where he resided as chairman and oversaw the organization's public education improvement initiatives.
Professional experience.
Education.
B.B.A., Tulane University, 1944
M.B.A., Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, 1947
D.B.A., Harvard Business School, 1969
Bibliography.
Articles and Monographs.
Grayson has written over 60 monographs, papers, and articles in various publications.


Peter J. Barnes Jr.

Peter J. Barnes Jr. (September 12, 1928 – September 11, 2018) was an American Democratic Party politician, who had served as Chairman of the New Jersey State Parole Board March 2007 to 2010. He previously served in New Jersey's General Assembly from 1996 to 2007, where he represented the 18th legislative district. In the Assembly, he served as the Majority Whip from 2002 to 2007.
Biography and early career.
Barnes served in the United States Army from 1946 to 1948 as a Private First Class in the Military Police. Barnes received a B.A. from Providence College in Political Science. He has done Post-Baccalaureate work at Kean College in Public Administration. He is also a graduate of the F.B.I. Crime Resistance and Hostage Negotiating Schools and of the F.B.I. Management Training Program.
At age 25, Barnes was hired as a Special Agent for the F.B.I. where he served as an Assistant Senior Supervisory Agent and was responsible for investigating numerous violations of Federal Criminal Statutes.
In his first year, 1954, Barnes was assigned to F.B.I. San Francisco , where he served until 1957. During his time there, he investigated cases involving bank robberies, Soviet espionage, and kidnappings. In 1956, he worked on the Stephanie Bryant kidnapping case, which at that time was the most prominent kidnapping case the State of California had ever seen.
In 1958, Barnes was transferred to New Jersey, where he worked at F.B.I. Headquarters in Newark . He would spend the rest of his F.B.I. career in New Jersey, working at the F.B.I. New Brunswick and ending his career in 1980 at F.B.I. Piscataway. While in New Jersey, he was responsible for investigating cases involving white-collar crime, bank robberies, and internal security.
In 1981, Barnes became the Director of Security for the New Jersey Devils Hockey Team where he served until 1995.
Barnes began his public service in 1991 by serving as the Director of Public Safety in Edison, New Jersey. Only six months into his new position, Barnes led the Edison Police Department as it engaged in a two-day hostage standoff with John Arias, a 22-year-old Connecticut man. On June 1, 1991, "The New York Times" reported that Arias went to the home of his 20-year-old former girlfriend who had recently filed sexual assault charges against him, shot her four times, then locked himself in her Edison home where he killed the woman's mother, 38, and took her 9-year-old brother hostage.
With his F.B.I. training, Barnes ran the hostage negotiating team, which included one-on-one telephone contact with the hostage taker, Mr. Arias. The situation concluded one-day later at 7 p.m. when Barnes and his Deputy Chief, Anthony Calomoneri, were determined to "lay it on the line and get tough." They decided to send an armed personnel carrier rumbling up toward the house in an effort to scare the suspect into surrendering. Clearly shaken by this maneuver, John Arias phoned the police and said, "I'll be out in five seconds. Let me put my shoes on." The boy followed and was unharmed. Arias was subsequently sentenced to Life in Prison plus 50 years. He will not be eligible for parole until 2041.
Barnes remained the Director of Public Safety in Edison until 1993.
Following, he served East Brunswick Township as Director of Public Safety in 1997. He then returned again in 2005. Both times, he served the Township in an unpaid capacity.
Political career.
Barnes was first elected to the General Assembly in 1995 alongside recently elected Barbara Buono defeating incumbent Republican Jeffrey A. Warsh and his running mate x. Barnes served on the Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee (Chair), the Assembly Regulatory Oversight Committee and the Human Services Committee. During his tenure in the Assembly, Barnes was the primary sponsor of 62 bills that were signed into law.
He authored several major pieces of legislation, including a landmark bill that was signed into law in 2004 creating the New Jersey Commission to Review Criminal Sentencing. This research outlet is composed of key representatives of the criminal justice system, who serve without compensation, and are charged with promoting sound sentencing policy founded on the basic principles of public safety, proportionality and fairness. After conducting empirically-based research, this deliberative body is charged with making recommendations to the Legislature on appropriate amendments to the State's sentencing code.
To honor the death of New Brunswick Deputy Fire Chief Jimmy D'heron, who was killed in the line of duty on September 3, 2004, Barnes also introduced a bill that was signed into law in 2006, which established certain hiring preferences for the children of firefighters and law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. In June 2006, Michael D'heron, Jimmy's son, was hired by the New Brunswick Fire Department. For the Assemblyman's efforts, he was honored by the Professional Firefighters Association of New Jersey.
Barnes also sponsored legislation that created stricter regulation of unlicensed, unsupervised, and untrained bounty hunters ; created a law aimed at keeping common bomb-making materials away from terrorists ; and given state and local law enforcement officers more tools to investigate online sex crimes against children .
Before resigning his seat, the Assemblyman introduced a controversial piece of legislation, Assembly Bill 2877 , which would have reduced drug-free school and public property zones from 1,000 to 200 feet. This bill was introduced in response to a report issued by a blue-ribbon panel, the New Jersey Commission to Review Criminal Sentencing, which strongly argued that the current drug-free school zone laws do not serve as the deterrent that they were purported to be. While this legislation remains the subject of some debate, it has received praise from the editorial page of "The Star-Ledger" , New Jersey's largest newspaper. In addition, this report and subsequent legislation generated national attention and was reported in a variety of national daily newspapers.
On February 5, 2007, Governor of New Jersey Jon Corzine nominated Barnes to serve as Chairman of the New Jersey State Parole Board. In mid-March, he resigned his Assembly seat to assume the Parole Board Chairmanship. On March 14, 2007, Barnes was confirmed by the New Jersey Senate and Barnes' son, Edison Councilman Peter J. Barnes III, was chosen to fill his father's vacant seat.
Personal life.
Barnes resided with his wife Barbara in Edison, New Jersey. He had four children including Peter III who succeeded Barnes in the Assembly, John Patrick a former Hunterdon County, New Jersey prosecutor, Sheila, and Kelly. Barnes died on September 11, 2018, one day shy of his 90th birthday.


De plus belle

De plus belle is a 2017 French film directed by Anne-Gaëlle Daval. A romantic comedy starring Florence Foresti and Mathieu Kassovitz, it tells the story of a breast cancer survivor's efforts to rebuild her life. It received mixed reviews from critics.
Summary.
Lucie Larcher, a breast cancer survivor and single mother, learns how to rebuild her life. She meets Clovis, her new lover, in a nightclub, and takes dancing lessons with her teacher Dalida. She brings up her daughter and takes constructive criticisms from her mother.
Reception.
The film received mixed reviews from critics. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 88% based on 8 reviews, and an average rating of 5.33/10.
In a review for "Le Monde", Thomas Sotinel suggested the film was conventional for French romantic comedies, with an expected happy ending. "Le Parisien" praised Kassovitz and Foresti's acting, calling Foresti's "magical". They concluded, "everything is strong, everything is sharp, everything is intense" in this film.
Reviewing it for "L'Express", Laurent Dijan said the film was slow-paced and embarrassing. Nevertheless, he praised Jonathan Cohen's acting. While Sylvestre Picard of "Premiere" was similarly laudatory of Cohen's acting, he deplored the profusion of sub-themes in the script.


Fawzi Selu

Fawzi Selu (1905–1972) () was a Syrian military leader, politician and the President of Syria from December 3, 1951 to July 11, 1953.
Career.
He studied at the Homs Military Academy and joined the French-sponsored "Troupe Speciales" that was created when France imposed its League of Nations mandate on Syria in July 1920. He had a successful military career, and when Syria became fully independent in 1946, he became the director of the academy. He was given a command in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War where he became close to chief of staff Husni al-Za'im. When Za'im came to power in a coup in March 1949, he appointed Selu military attaché to the Syrian-Israeli armistice talks, and he became the principal architect of the cease-fire that was signed in July of that year. Selu, supported by Za'im, demonstrated a willingness to pursue a comprehensive peace settlement with Israel, including a final border agreement, Palestinian refugees, and the establishment of a Syrian embassy in Tel Aviv. However Za'im was overthrown and killed, and civilian rule was restored with the administration of the nationalist Hashim al-Atassi. Atassi upheld the armistice agreement, but refused to consider peace with Israel. Selu then allied himself with military strongman general Adib al-Shishakli, who contrived to have Selu appointed minister of defense in three cabinets under president Atassi. Shishakli finally launched a coup in November 1951, but could not persuade the popular Atassi to stay on as president, who resigned in protest. As a result, Shishakli appointed Selu as president, prime minister and chief of staff, while retaining real power for himself with the less public role of deputy chief of staff. The two men ran a police state and suppressed virtually all opposition. Under the direction of Shishakli, Selu improved relations with Jordan, opening the first Syrian embassy in Amman and befriending King Talal. He also sought better relations with Lebanon, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
On July 11, 1953 Shishakli finally dispensed with Selu and appointed himself as president. Selu fled to Saudi Arabi and became an advisor to King Saud and then his brother King Faisal. When Shishakli was overthrown in February 1954, a military court in Damascus charged Selu with corruption, misuse of office, and unlawful amendment of the constitution. He was sentenced to death "in absentia".


The Love Suicides at Sonezaki

 is a love-suicide Bunraku play by Chikamatsu Monzaemon. While not his first one (which was probably the puppet play "The Soga Successors" in 1683) nor his most popular (which would be "The Battles of Coxinga"), it is probably the most popular of his "domestic tragedies" or "domestic plays" ("sewamono") as Donald Keene characterizes the non-historical plays.
It was first performed 20 June 1703. It was revived in 1717, with additional scenes added by Chikamatsu, such as the punishment of the villain, but the version typically translated and performed is the 1703 version.
Plot.
"The Love Suicides at Sonezaki" is a short play in three scenes, staged over a day and a night. The two central characters are a young orphan merchant clerk named Tokubei (whose firm deals in oil or possibly soy) and the courtesan with whom he is in love, Ohatsu.
Scene one.
In the first scene, Tokubei and an apprentice to their "firm of Hirano in Uchihon Street" are making the rounds of the firm's customers, delivering their wares and collecting on the bills, when, on the grounds of the Ikutama Shrine (in Osaka), Tokubei encounters his beloved Ohatsu, who berates him for his coldness in not visiting or writing her for some time now, and also for not confiding in her troubles.
Moved by her plea, Tokubei tells her everything. The owner of the firm is Tokubei's uncle. Tokubei's scrupulously honest and steady performance has impressed him; he wants Tokubei to marry his wife's niece. Because Tokubei loves Ohatsu, he had tried to politely refuse. The uncle did not relent but continued to try to convince Tokubei to agree to the match. He proposed the match to Tokubei's stepmother, who must assent; she immediately agreed and returned to her home village – taking with her the lavish dowry the uncle provided, some two "kamme" (a unit of measure for silver. Two "kamme" would be a significant amount; writing in the 1960s, Donald Keene stated that two "kamme" would then be equivalent to $1000).
This agreement remains wholly unknown to Tokubei until his uncle tries to force him into the marriage. Tokubei makes his refusal categorical and absolute this time. The uncle is infuriated. He fires Tokubei from the firm, demands the return of the two "kamme" which Tokubei does not have, and says he will exile Tokubei from Osaka.
Tokubei goes to his village and eventually with the villagers' aid, forces the silver out of his stepmother and returns to Osaka.
On his return, Tokubei is collared by his close friend of many years, "Kuheiji the oil merchant", who tells Tokubei that he desperately needs a loan of two "kamme" or else he will not be able to meet his monthly bills and will go bankrupt.
Since Tokubei is so kind-hearted and does not actually need to return the two "kamme" until several days after Kuheiji promises to return the money, he loans it to Kuheiji.
Here Tokubei finishes recounting the events that have taken place before the start of the play. Just as he finishes, none other than the very Kuheiji he was speaking of enters the temple grounds at the head of a band of revelers and rowdies. Tokubei seizes the chance to ask Kuheiji to repay the now-overdue loan.
Kuheiji flatly denies the existence of any such debt. When Tokubei produces the promissory note Kuheiji had stamped with his seal, Kuheiji dismisses it as an extortion attempt, revealing that before he had stamped the promissory note, he had reported the seal as lost.
Tokubei realizes that he has been perfectly swindled and attacks Kuheiji. He is trounced and beaten by Kuheiji and his followers.
Scene two.
While Tokubei is recovering from his beating and returning dejectedly to Ohatsu's place of employment, the Temma House, Kuheiji is headed there to boast of his new wealth and successful scam, after having been busy spreading the story that Tokubei had tried to extort money from Kuheiji.
Ohatsu has no sooner hidden Tokubei under her robes then Kuheiji and some friends arrogantly stride in. While Kuheiji boasts of how Tokubei is sure to be executed or exiled and how he will then possess Ohatsu for himself, Ohatsu and Tokubei communicate through their hands and feet. They resolve to die within the day together.
Scene two ends with them sneaking past the sleeping servant guarding the exit.
Scene three.
Scene three begins with a long and poetic dialogue between the two lovers (into which the narrator injects the occasional lamenting comment). The two travel to the "Wood of Tenjin" (Tenjin being Sugawara no Michizane), and by an unusual tree in the Sonezaki shrine which has both a pine and palm tree growing out of the same trunk (this tree has since died), decide that this is the place they will do the grim deed.
Tokubei binds Ohatsu to the tree. So dreadful is the deed that his first stabs with the razor all go awry, but one blow strikes home in Ohatsu's throat, and she slowly begins dying. But before she does, Tokubei thrusts the razor into his own throat and the two die together.
Adaptations.
The play has been filmed a number of times, including a 1978 film, and a 1981 film featuring Bunraku puppets. Tsuyunoten Shrine in Osaka, commonly referred to as "Ohatsu Tenjin", houses a commemorative stone monument and a bronze statue of Ohatsu and Tokubei.
A manga adaptation by Kawashita Mizuki, titled "Sonezaki Shinjuu", retells the story in a positive way.