Valentine Bambrick

Valentine Bambrick VC (13 April 1837 – 1 April 1864) was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Bambrick was "a son of the Army" - his father, at least one uncle (after whom he was named), and his older brother John all served with the 11th Hussars (Prince Albert's Own).
Early life.
He was the son of John Thomas Bambrick (1790-1879) and Harriett Ann "née" Redlan (1795-1871). His older brother Pte John Thomas Bambrick (1832-1893) fought with the 11th Hussars (PAO) during the famous Charge of the Light Brigade in 1854 during the Crimean War. In 1853 Valentine Bambrick joined the 60th Rifles at the age of 16. He was 21 years old and a private in the 1st Battalion, 60th Rifles (later The King's Royal Rifle Corps) during the Indian Mutiny when the following deed took place on 6 May 1858 at Bareilly, India. He and his company commander Lieutenant Cromer Ashburnham (1831-1917) were cornered and Bambrick was awarded the Victoria Cross for his acts, recorded in the "London Gazette as":
This short citation gives little idea of the desperate hand-to-hand fighting Bambrick would have been involved in the narrow streets and alleys of Bareilly.
End of Military Career.
Bambrick was jailed in May 1859 - possibly for insubordination - and then again in July and November of the same year. When the 1st Battalion returned to the United Kingdom in 1860, it did so without Bambrick who may have been serving a further sentence in a military jail. He transferred to the 87th Regiment, which by 1862 was stationed at Curragh Camp in Ireland. In July 1862 Bambrick was back in jail and in March 1863 he received a sentence of 160 days for desertion. It seems likely that Bambrick had a problem with alcohol. He had arrived at Aldershot in November 1863 just prior to being discharged from the Army and within 24 hours found himself in trouble again - this time with the civilian authorities.
Incident at Aldershot.
On 12 December 1863 Bambrick appeared at the Winchester Assizes before Mr. Justice Baron Pigott. There he and Charlotte Johnson were indicted for violently assaulting Henry Milner Russell (1828-1894), and stealing from his person four medals in Aldershot on 15 November 1863. Russell had married Eliza "née" Avery in 1861 and had been in Camp at Aldershot since at least the same year.
Bambrick's version of the incident was that he had been passing the lodging-house in Pickford Street where Russell resided and had gone to the assistance of a prostitute calling "Murder!" who was being attacked by Lance-Corporal Henry Russell of the Commissariat Department. Russell was unable to fend off the stronger Bambrick and during the ensuing struggle Russell's medals fell from his breast. Bambrick claimed that after the fight he had picked these medals up and placed them on a mantlepiece, from where they disappeared. Bambrick stated he had no interest in Russell's medals as he himself had the Victoria Cross and the pension that went with it.
However, the Court accepted Russell's version of events:
Mr H. T. Cole prosecuted. It appeared that the prisoners were standing at the door of a lodging house in Pickford Street, Aldershot, at night, on November 15. Russell, who was lance-corporal in the commissariat department, came up. Bambrick asked Russell to drink, and he took some beer out of his pint. They then went into Russell's room, who lodged in the house, and Russell said he would stand some beer, and he was in the act of giving the female prisoner some money to get the beer when Bambrick seized him by the throat, threw him on the bed, and tore from his breast four silver medals, one for the Punjab, one for the Sutlej, and one for the Crimea.
Russell called "Murder," and his cries were heard by some of the other soldiers, who rushed in and took Bambrick from off Russell, and he was conveyed to the guardhouse. Two of the medals were afterwards found in the passage, Russell was insensible, having been nearly choked. Bambrick made a long address to the jury. He stated that he had been in the service 10 years, and would have been discharged the day after the occurrence.
He had a pension of £10 a year, and, what was dearer to a soldier than any other medal, a Victoria Cross, but he would tell the jury the real facts.
On that night, as he was walking with the female prisoner towards this house, in which she also lodged, he heard cries of "Murder." He hastened and ran into the house, and saw a girl named Hayley coming out of Russell's room. She was crying, and said that Russell had beaten her and nearly strangled her. He went into the room and struck Russell, and they had a struggle together, and then the soldiers came in and took him up.
These facts he could have proved on the first day of the assizes, because then Hayley was in Winchester, but as she was what was called an "unfortunate," she could not afford to remain in Winchester.
The learned Judge having summed up, the jury found the prisoner guilty.
The Judge said he should defer passing sentence till the morning. Bambrick replied, “it is of no consequence what you do now. I don't care about losing my pension; but I have lost my position. I don't care what you do with me. You may hang me if you like.”
This morning his Lordship passed sentence. He said, “Valentine Bambrick, I don't know that I ever had a more painful duty than in considering your case. I have felt great anxiety about it, and have considered everything you urged in your defence; but the evidence which satisfied the jury has satisfied me, and it does appear to me to be as clear a case as ever was tried. You say you had a witness, and that witness might have put some other construction on the matter. If you had made an application to have your trial postponed, I should have been the first to listen to your application, and I can't help thinking, from the intelligence you displayed, you must have been aware that you could have made such an application. I am bound to say that I don't think any witness could have altered the facts. You were found in a deadly struggle with another man. He was under you, and witness said that when he found you Russell was almost choked and suffocated by the pressure of your hand on his throat. It is perfectly clear he was robbed of his medals, and of them were found at the house where the woman lodged. How could they have come there? How did they come from the breast of Russell? I have no doubt you have exhibited great gallantry and great courage, and have well entitled yourself to the Victoria Cross. Had it not been for your character, I should have put in force the provisions of a recent statute and subjected you to personal castigation, but, as it, is I deal with your case with great regret. I should have been delighted if the jury could have seen their way to a doubt. I believe that you must have been under the influence of drink, for there was no adequate motive for your act, for the medals are only of trifling value.
Your punishment must be very severe. It must be penal servitude for three years.
With regard to you, Charlotte Johnson, you took a very subordinate part in the affair..”
Bambrick, holding up the girl's hand, said, "Look at this small hand, my lord; it is absurd to suppose she could have done much against a strong man. She was merely in the room."
The Judge replied, “l say she only took a subordinate part. I shall not punish her so severely as the male prisoner. She must be imprisoned, with hard labour, for 12 months.”
Bambrick then shouted, “There won't be a bigger robber in England than I shall be when I come out.”
In reality, Russell's account of what had happened in Aldershot seems unlikely; his pride had probably been hurt at being soundly beaten by Bambrick and as a married man he would not have been keen to explain either to his wife or his commanding officer that he had lost his medals while beating a prostitute in his room. However, Bambrick did not endear himself to the Court because of his confrontational manner, and despite Russell being the only witness for the prosecution Bambrick and Johnson were found guilty.
Suicide.
The "Aldershot Military Gazette" of 26 September 1863 recorded that:
"On Thursday a most determined attempt of suicide was made by a soldier named Valentine Bambrick, of the 87th Royal Irish Fusiliers, who, for some acts of gallantry was decorated with a Victoria Cross. It appears that in the course of the previous night (Wednesday), Bambrick was observed with a female in his room; was immediately apprehended, and conveyed to the guard-room. At about twelve o'clock the prisoner was being removed for the purpose of being brought before the commanding-officer, when seeing razor lying conveniently picked it up, and without the slightest hesitation drew it across his throat, inflicting a fearful gash. He then as rapidly drew the instrument down both sides of his chest, inflicting dangerous wounds. At this time the razor was wrested from him, and medical aid was at once summoned. Bambrick is now, we understand, doing as well as could be expected, and is likely to recover. The female, who was perhaps the cause of his committing the rash act, came with him from Ireland, and appears (as does the unfortunate fellow himself) very anxious for an interview. However, there is a strict guard kept over him, and as it is necessary that he should be kept extremely quiet, it is not probable she will have her liberty granted her, at present, at all events."
Valentine Bambrick had his Victoria Cross forfeited by Royal Warrant on 3rd December 1863.
Valentine Bambrick committed suicide by hanging, using his pocket handkerchief from the handle of the ventilator behind the cell door in Pentonville Prison, London on 1 April 1864.
"MELANCHOLY SUICIDE IN PENTONVILLE PRISON
An inquiry of a melancholy character was instituted by Dr. Lankester on Tuesday evening at the Pentonville Model Prison, relative to the death of a prisoner, Valentine Bambrick aged twenty-eight years (sic), who was found dead and hanging in his cell on Friday evening last. Last week a similar inquest was held. Mr Charles Lawrence Bradley, medical officer of the prison, said he had been told that he (prisoner) fretted, as he was being unjustly punished for a crime of which be was not guilty. His mind was no doubt impaired, and he had suffered from delirium tremens. A letter was written on
slate by deceased which might be worth the attention of the jury He left a last letter, written, apparently, on slate, to his family."
Bambrick's last letter read:
"My dear, dear Friends and Family, - Becoming quite tired of my truly miserable existence, I am about to rush into the presence of my Maker uncalled unasked. To you I appeal for forgiveness and pardon for all the unhappiness I have ever caused you. I dare not ask for mercy of God. I am doing that which admits of no pardon, but if He will hear my prayer. I pray to Him to grant you consolation in your hour of affliction, for I know that, notwithstanding all my faults, that love which you always manifested towards me is not withheld yet, and therefore the news of my unfortunate fate will make time sorrowful. Pray for your unfortunate son.
"VAL BAMBRICK."
P.S.-Before I die I protest solemnly my entire innocence of the charge for which I was punished, all but the assault, and that was done under the circumstances before mentioned to you in my letter. God bless you all Love to all my relations. Pity even while you condemn. Poor Val.
Bambrick was buried in an unmarked grave in St Pancras and Islington Cemetery which could not be located, but a memorial plaque to him was placed in 2002. The location of his Victoria Cross is unknown.
Henry Milner Russell (1828-1894) of the Commissariat Staff lived for another 30 years after the death of Bambrick. He had been born in Maidstone in Kent, and here too he ended his days. He became an Out-Pensioner of the Royal Hospital Chelsea in 1869. On the 1881 Census he is listed as a Coachman and an Out-Pensioner of the Royal Hospital at Chelsea and living at Tonbridge Road in Maidstone, while the 1891 Census records him as an Army Pensioner and living with his second wife (whom he had married in 1861) in Laurel Place in Maidstone.
Medal entitlement.
Valentine Bambrick was entitled to the following medals:


List of punishments for murder in the United States

Murder, as defined in common law countries, is the unlawful killing of another human being with intent (or malice aforethought), and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide (such as manslaughter). As the loss of a human being inflicts an enormous amount of grief for individuals close to the victim, as well as the fact that the commission of a murder permanently deprives the victim of their existence, most societies have considered it a very serious crime deserving of the harshest punishment available. Typically a convicted murder suspect is given a life sentence or even the death penalty for such an act. A person who commits murder is called a murderer, and the penalties, as outlined below, vary from state to state.
In 2012, the United States Supreme Court held in "Miller v. Alabama" that mandatory sentences of life without the possibility of parole are unconstitutional for juvenile offenders.
Federal.
Civilian.
Source:
Military.
Source:
District of Columbia.
Source:
By states.
Alabama.
Source:
Alaska.
Source:
Arizona.
Source:
Arkansas.
Source:
California.
Source:
Florida.
Source:
Maine.
Source:
Michigan.
Source:
New Hampshire.
Source:
New Jersey.
 4 years
Ohio.
Ohio differentiates between "Aggravated Murder" and "Murder." Aggravated Murder consists of purposely causing the death of another (or unlawful termination of a pregnancy) with prior calculation and design, or purposely causing the death of another under the age of 13, a law enforcement officer, or in the course of committing certain serious felony offenses. Murder consists of purposely causing the death of another, or causing the death of another as a proximate result of committing certain serious felony offenses.
Vermont.
Source:
West Virginia.
Source:
Wyoming.
Source:


Mothers of Beslan

Mothers of Beslan () or Beslan Mothers' Committee () is a support and advocacy group of parents whose children were among the more than 1128 victims of the 2004 Beslan school hostage crisis in North Ossetia–Alania. The group is led by chairwoman Susanna Dudiyeva and has nearly 200 members. Marina Litvinovich, who helped to create the Mothers, runs the website.
History.
Mothers of Beslan was created February 25, 2005, in the aftermath of the hostage crisis as a response to what was seen as the incompetence and excessive force used by the security services during the rescue attempt. They are also investigating negligence and corruption of the North Ossetian leadership, notably the former president Alexander Dzasokhov, whose resignation was demanded by the group.
They are highly critical of the President of Russia Vladimir Putin for allegedly covering up the circumstances of the siege. According to the Mothers of Beslan the terrorists made use of weapons and supplies that had been pre-positioned in the school, suggesting it was an inside job by school employees or town officials. This version of the events strongly contradicts the official narrative. The group met with Putin in Moscow on September 1, 2005.
In 2005, about 30 members of Mothers of Beslan, led by Ella Kesayev, split to form a second group, the Voice of Beslan.
In September 2005, some members of Mothers of Beslan, including Dudiyeva, were involved in a debacle with the self-proclaimed healer and miracle-maker Grigory Grabovoy, who had promised he could resurrect their murdered children for a large sum of money. The group subsequently denounced Grabovoy as a fraud and a charlatan, and asserted that his actions were part of a campaign to discredit Mothers of Beslan. Grabovoy was officially indicted of fraud in April 2006. A group of parents left the organization, with some forming Voice of Beslan.
In July 2007, the Mothers of Beslan asked the FSB to declassify video and audio archives on Beslan, saying there should be no secrets in the investigation. with no response to the request. That month, the Mothers organization released a video tape that they had received anonymously, claiming that it proves Russian security forces started the massacre by firing rocket grenades on the besieged building. The film, apparently showing the prosecutors and military experts discussing the militant bombs and structural damage in the school in Beslan, had been kept secret by the authorities for nearly three years, until released by the Mothers, on September 4, 2007.
In September 2007, Taimuraz Chedzhemov, the lawyer representing the group in seeking to prosecute Russian officials over the massacre response, said he had pulled out of the case after receiving a death threat.


Neil Hamilton (actor)

James Neil Hamilton (September 9, 1899 – September 24, 1984) was an American stage, film and television actor, best known for his role as Commissioner Gordon on the "Batman" TV series of the 1960s.
Acting career.
An only child, Hamilton was born in Lynn, Massachusetts. His show business career began when he secured a job as a shirt model in magazine ads, similar to fellow silent film performer Reed Howes, who was known in advertisements as "The Arrow Collar Man".
After this, he became interested in acting and joined several stock companies where he gained experience and training as an actor in professional stage productions. This allowed him to secure his first film role in 1918 in Vitagraph's "The Beloved Impostor", however, he obtained his big break from D. W. Griffith in "The White Rose" (1923). In 1924, he traveled to Germany with Griffith and made a film about the incredibly harsh living conditions in post-World War I Germany, "Isn't Life Wonderful".
While filming "America" in 1924, a soldier's arm was blown off. Actor Charles Emmett Mack recalled: "Neil Hamilton and I went to neighboring towns and raised a fund for him—I doing a song and dance and Neil collecting a coin."
Hamilton was signed by Paramount Pictures in the mid-1920s and became one of its leading men. He often appeared opposite star Bebe Daniels. In 1926, he played one of Ronald Colman's brothers in Paramount's original silent version of "Beau Geste". In 1926, Hamilton played Nick Carraway in the first production of "The Great Gatsby", now a lost film. He starred in John Ford's "Mother Machree" with Victor McLaglen, and with John Wayne in an early bit role before he was well known, the title of which coincidentally became sidekick Chief O'Hara's catchphrase in the "Batman" television show nearly four decades later. He was steadily employed in supporting roles and worked for just about every studio in Hollywood.
He made the transition to sound pictures at the end of the 1920s and continued appearing in noteworthy productions.
In 1930, he appeared in the original production of "The Dawn Patrol" (retitled "Flight Commander" after its remake), playing the squadron commander, a role played by Basil Rathbone in the 1938 remake. Hamilton was billed above newcomer Clark Gable in the 1931 Joan Crawford vehicle "Laughing Sinners", in which he plays a cad who deserts Crawford's brokenhearted character. He originated the role of milksop Harry Holt, Jane's fiance, in the 1932 film "Tarzan the Ape Man", and he actually received top billing in the film. Hamilton reprised the role in the 1934 pre-Code sequel "Tarzan and His Mate" at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
He appeared in 268 films, both silents and talkies, and made five films in England in 1936 and 1937.
"A"-level work in Hollywood dried up for Hamilton by the 1940s, and he was reduced to working in serials, "B" films, and other low-budget projects.
He starred as the villain in "King of the Texas Rangers", one of the most successful movie serials of all time for Republic Pictures in 1941.
In "Since You Went Away", a 1944 epic about life on the home front in World War II, Hamilton is seen only in still photographs as a serviceman away at war. His family's travails during his absence are the center of the movie. Hamilton reportedly shot scenes for the movie before filmmakers decided to keep his character off-screen. He appeared in the 1944 film noir classic "When Strangers Marry" with Robert Mitchum.
In a 1970s book interview for "Whatever Happened to...", Hamilton said he had been banned from A level work for insulting a studio executive. A Roman Catholic, Hamilton said that his faith got him through the difficult period of late 1942 to early 1944 when he could not obtain film employment and was down on his luck financially.
When television came along, Hamilton hosted "Hollywood Screen Test" (1948-1953), co-starred in the short-lived sitcom "That Wonderful Guy" with Jack Lemmon (1949–50), at the same time as Hollywood Screen Test, and did guest shots on numerous series of the 1950s and 1960s such as seven episodes of "Perry Mason", five episodes of "77 Sunset Strip", as well as "Maverick", "The Real McCoys", "Mister Ed", "Bachelor Father", "The Outer Limits", and "The Cara Williams Show". During the late 1940s and early 1950s, Hamilton performed on Broadway in "Many Happy Returns" (1945), "The Men We Marry" (1948), "To Be Continued" (1952), and "Late Love" (1953–54).
In 1960, actor Richard Cromwell was seeking a comeback of sorts in 20th Century Fox's planned production of "The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come" but Cromwell died of complications from liver cancer. Producer Maury Dexter quickly signed Hamilton to replace Cromwell in the film, which co-starred Jimmie Rodgers and Chill Wills. During the 1960s, Hamilton appeared in three Jerry Lewis films: "The Patsy", "The Family Jewels", and "Which Way to the Front?"
Hamilton is best remembered today as Police Commissioner James Gordon in the "Batman" television series (1966–68), appearing in all 120 episodes of "Batman". Yvonne Craig, who played Commissioner Gordon's daughter Barbara, said Hamilton "came every day to the set letter perfect in dialogue and never missed a beat—a consummate professional."
Personal life.
Hamilton was married to Elsa Whitmer from 1922 until his death in September 1984. They had one child.
Hamilton was a Roman Catholic, and a member of the Good Shepherd Parish and the Catholic Motion Picture Guild in Beverly Hills, California.
Hamilton died at the age of 85 on September 24, 1984 after suffering a severe asthma attack. After his cremation, his ashes were later scattered into the Pacific Ocean.


Japan Family Planning Association

The Japan Family Planning Association (日本家族計画連盟), also known as the Family Planning Federation of Japan, is the Japanese affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation and is the premier family planning organization in the country. It was founded in 1954, following the first annual World Population Conference held in Bombay, India in 1952. The FPFJ advocates for the concept of sexual and reproductive rights being a basic human right; it also encourages the training of family planning workers and assists in the development and dissemination of information, education, and communication materials regarding family planning. The association also encourages the use of contraceptives and facilitates their community-based distribution. The FPFJ was one of the most active lobbying organizations for the legalization of oral contraceptives in Japan, and has shown political tact in advocating for the maintenance of the legal status of abortion in Japan.


George Piro

George Piro, born January 1, 1967, is an Assyrian-American special agent in charge (SAC) at the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Miami Field Office. He was the Team Leader and Lead Interrogator of the Saddam Hussein Interrogation Team in 2004.
Saddam Hussein interrogation.
As a relatively new agent (he only had 5 years of experience with the Bureau before being given the assignment to interrogate Saddam), Piro's fluency in Arabic opened high-level opportunities for him during the Iraq War, at a time when approximately 1 in 1000 FBI special agents spoke the language. The television show "60 Minutes" revealed in January 2008 that he had secretly gained the confidence of Saddam Hussein while interrogating Hussein while he was imprisoned after the second war in Iraq. During his conversations with the former dictator, Piro reported that Hussein had not expected a U.S. invasion of Iraq. Piro also confirmed through their discussions that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction at the time of the U.S. invasion in 2003, but that Hussein would not give up attempts to obtain them in order to secure his country from the perceived threat posed by Iran and its weapons program. Further, any links to Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda were denied, as Hussein held himself as a secular ruler and did not believe in the creation of an Islamic state.
On 1 July 2009, the National Security Archive declassified and released the official FBI FD-302 forms filed at the time of Saddam's interrogation, detailing 20 formal interviews and 5 casual conversations throughout 2004, much of which were between Piro and Saddam, including details of conversation and thoughts shared by Saddam himself.
Personal life and career.
Born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon of Assyrian heritage, Piro is the son of Mr. & Mrs. Lazar Piro who immigrated to Turlock, California during the Lebanese Civil War when he was 12 years old. Turlock is located in California's San Joaquin Valley, which has a large Assyrian population. After he graduated from high school, Piro enlisted in the United States Air Force and served as a security policeman. After his service in the U.S. Air Force, he began his career in law enforcement with the City of Ceres Police Department in 1989. He went to night school to earn a college degree. Working his way up the ranks in the Ceres Police Department, Piro became a Criminal Investigator II for the Stanislaus County District Attorney's office, where he investigated felony cases involving career criminals and was assigned to the Stanislaus County Drug Enforcement Agency. In 1999, he began his career with the FBI and was assigned to the Phoenix Field Office.
He speaks English, Arabic and Aramaic (Assyrian) fluently as well as French.
By 2007, Piro was serving as Supervisor of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force in the Washington Field Office. Piro was listed as being a Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Field Office in Miami in January 2017 when he served as the agency's spokesman concerning the FBI's investigation of the Fort Lauderdale airport shooting.
On October 18, 2017, FBI Director Christopher Wray announced the appointment of George Piro as the Assistant Director of the International Operations Division at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Approximately one year later, Piro returned to the FBI Miami office where he remains as of February 2020.


Dawn Mabalon

Dawn Bohulano Mabalon (August 17, 1972 – August 10, 2018) was an American academic who worked on documenting the history of Filipino Americans. Mabalon was born in Stockton, and earned her doctoral degree from Stanford University; she later taught at San Francisco State University. Mabalon was the co-founder of The Little Manila Foundation, which worked to preserve Little Manila in Stockton, California. During her life, her work elevated the topic of the history of Filipino Americans, in Central California in particular.
Early life and education.
Mabalon was born on August 17, 1972, in Stockton, California to Filipinos who had immigrated to the United States from the Philippines; her father was a guerrilla during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. Mabalon's grandfather, Pablo "Ambo" Mabalon, ran the Lafayette Lunch Counter, an important hub in the community and one of the longest surviving Filipino American businesses in Little Manila. Many Filipinos frequented the restaurant, including Carlos Bulosan. It remained in business until 1983, and the building it had occupied was torn down in 1999. Mabalon's maternal grandmother, Concepcion Moreno Bohulano, was the first school teacher of Filipina descent in the United States. Mabalon was also the niece of Fred and Dorothy Cordova; who were involved in the founding of the Filipino American National Historical Society.
During high school, Mabalon was involved in extracurricular activities, including leading her high school's Asian Club, student council, and editor of "Hi-Lite". In 1991, Malabon was involved in a January issue of "Sassy", being described as a "editor-in-chief". Graduating from Edison High School, her post-secondary education involved attending San Joaquin Delta College, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and earning her doctorate at Stanford University. Mabalon's master's thesis was titled "Filipina Pioneers: The Pinay in Stockton, California, 1929–1946", and was written at UCLA in 1997. Mabalon's doctoral dissertation was titled "Life in Little Manila Filipinas/os in Stockton, California, 1917–1972", and published in 2003.
During her time at UCLA, Mabalon was active in the Filipino community on campus. She endorsed the effort to keep Tagalog as an available language taught at the university.
Career.
In 1999, Mabalon and Dillon Delvo co-founded The Little Manila Foundation in order to preserve what remained of the Little Manila neighborhood of Stockton, California.
In 2004, Mabalon became a faculty member at San Francisco State University; she was an associate professor of history. She focused her work on the history of Filipino Americans, Filipinos in Stockton, and Filipinos role in the 20th century labor movement. In particular, she highlighted the often overlooked efforts of Filipino Americans in the 20th Century farm labor movement, which has been seen as primarily a Mexican American movement lead by Cesar Chavez. Mabalon was also on the board of trustees of the Filipino American National Historical Society.
In 2010, photographs taken by Mabalon were published on "SFGate" about a Filipino American band Skyflakes. In 2015, Mabalon was interviewed about the November 2015 Paris attacks by "Voice of America", as she and her husband were visiting the area at the time. In 2017, Mabalon, along with Gayla Romasanta, wrote a children's book about Larry Itliong; the book was published a year later. In 2018, Mabalon visited the Delano campus of Bakersfield College, which is in the area where the Delano grape strike began, for an event about archiving; at the event she spoke to encourage Filipino Americans to preserve their family histories, with the goal of expanding historical narratives.
Honors and awards.
In 2013, the Filipino Women's Network listed her among their "100 Most Influential Filipinas in the World". In 2014, she received an honorable mention for the Frederick Jackson Turner Award for her book "Little Manila Is in the Heart"; that same year Mabalon was profiled in the book "Remarkable Women of Stockton".
Death.
In August 2018, Mabalon died while snorkeling off of Kauai. She had been vacationing with her family prior to her death. Mabalon had an asthma attack when she was out with her sister, and her inhaler did not alleviate her symptoms. She was brought out of the water and 9-1-1 was called. Paramedics attempted CPR and then transported her to an emergency room. She died at the hospital. Mabalon was buried at San Joaquin Catholic Cemetery. Mabalon was survived by her husband of ten years, Jesus Perez Gonzalez. In early October, Mabalon was memorialized at San Francisco State University.
Legacy.
Mabalon's work of documenting the history of Filipino Americans continued at the Little Manila Center that she had co-founded even after her death . Mabalon authored three books and was working on a fourth. Her works elevated the status of Little Manila in Stockton and helped lead to Little Manila being listed as one of America's Most Endangered Places. The "San Francisco Chronicle" described Mabalon as "a major figure to California's Filipino Americans".


SS Australasia

The Australasia was a wooden hulled American Great Lakes freighter that served on the Great Lakes of North America between her construction in 1884 to her burning and sinking in 1896. On October 18, 1896 while loaded with coal, the "Australasia" sank in Lake Michigan near the town of Sevastopol, Door County, Wisconsin, United States, after burning off Cana Island. On July 3, 2013 the wreck of the "Australasia" was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
History.
The "Australasia" (Official number 106302) was built in 1884 in West Bay City, Michigan by the shipyard owned by Captain James Davidson. She was built for the Davidson Steamship Company which was also owned by Captain Davidson. At a length of the "Australasia" was one of the largest wooden ships ever built; her beam was wide and her cargo hold was deep. She was powered by a fore and aft compound engine which was fueled by two coal burning Scotch marine boilers. She had a gross tonnage of 1829.32 tons and a net tonnage of 1539.20 tons.
On September 17, 1884, the "Australasia" was launched as hull number #9. At the time of her launch the "Australasia" was the largest wooden-hulled ship in the world. Because of her enormous size the "Australasia" needed iron cross bracing, an iron keelson, iron plates, and several iron arches to increase her strength.
She was used to haul bulk cargoes such as iron ore, coal, grain and sometimes salt. She could carry these cargoes so efficiently that she earned a fortune for her owners at a time when small, less versatile wooden vessels were quickly being replaced by larger, and stronger iron or steel vessels. Just like all ships owned by Captain Davidson, the "Australasia" used to tow a wooden schooner barge.
Final voyage.
On October 17, 1896, the "Australasia" was bound from a port on Lake Erie for Milwaukee, Wisconsin, carrying 2,200 tons of soft coal. At around 6:00 p.m. near Baileys Harbor, the crew of the "Australasia" discovered "a fire beneath the texas on the main deck". They attempted to fight the blaze but failed. The crew abandoned the "Australasia" before she reached Jacksonport, Wisconsin. At 10:30 p.m., the "Australasia" was about four hours off Jacksonport when the tugboat "John Leathem" came upon the struggling steamer. The "Leathem" began towing the "Australasia" to shore, but the hawser connecting them kept burning through. At 9:00 a.m. on October 18, 1896, the crew of the "Leathem" gave up trying to salvage her and instead dragged her onto the beach in of water south of Cave Point. Her crew decided to scuttle her, by ramming a hole in the "Australasia"'s side with the "Leathem"'s stem. She burned until the night of October 18, 1896.
The "Australasia" today.
The "Australasia" was declared a total loss. Much of her cargo of soft coal and machinery was salvaged, however her hull was beyond repair and was abandoned. Today her lower hull lies mostly buried in sand 15 to 20 feet of water off Whitefish Dunes State Park. Because most of her hull remains buried in sand, there is the possibility that different hull sections may be uncovered which may reveal more significant information about her construction. Not a trace of her cargo is visible on the site of her wreck, but traces of coal is visible on a beach nearby. The wreck of the "Australasia" is rarely visited by divers which means that very little site disturbance to the site has occurred. Close by are the wrecks of several other ships including the early steel freighter "Lakeland", the large wooden bulk carrier "Frank O'Connor, the wooden steamer "Louisiana" which was lost during the Great Lakes Storm of 1913, the schooner "Christina Nilsson" and the steamboat "Joys".


James Carlton (athlete)

James Andrew "Jim" Carlton (10 February 1909 – 4 April 1951) was an Australian sprinter. He competed in 100yd and 220yd events at the 1928 Summer Olympics, and was eliminated in quarterfinals.
Schoolboy star.
Carlton was born in South Lismore and was educated at Marist Brothers schools in Lismore, Darlinghurst Sydney and then at St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill where he was a schoolboy and GPS sprint champion. In both years 1925 and 1926 he won the New South Wales Amateur Athletic Association 120 handicap yd handicap event, the Catholic schools championship and the New South Wales junior title.
In his three senior years at the St Joseph's College from 1925 to 1927 he set GPS records in the 440yds (three successive records and three victories); the 220yds (two successive records and three victories) and the 100yds (one record and three victories). Carlton first came to the sporting public's notice as a schoolboy in 1927 running the 100 yds in 10.0 s and the 220 yds in 21.8 s both those records stood for twenty-nine years. In March 1927 just turned eighteen, he won the New South Wales senior state titles for 100 and 220 yds.
Senior athletic career.
At the end of 1927 and just out of school, he ran as the New South Wales representative at an Australasian Games in Wellington and won the 100yd and 200yds events. He joined the Botany Harriers Athletics Club in Sydney and then won three successive national championship sprint doubles (100 yds and 200 yds) in 1928, 1930 and 1932 when the championships were only held every two years. He competed at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam but was run out in the quarter-finals, his form affected by illness (quinsy). Though selected for the 1930 British Empire Games, Carlton did not run.
In 1931 Carlton equalled Eddie Tolan's world record for 100 yards of 9.4s but the record was disallowed as the time had only been taken on two stop watches. His 9.6 national record, set in 1930, stood for twenty-three years.
His 20.6s run to win the 220 yards national championship at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1932 created a sensation, smashing the world record (then 21.0s), and was controversially judged as wind assisted. The judge reportedly used a piece of wood to ascertain the wind speed and his decision was disputed by observers present at the time. The Carlton's time was surpassed only after the Second World War.
Priesthood.
In 1932 Carlton retired from athletics and entered a Catholic seminary in order to become a priest; a move that meant he could not compete at the 1932 Olympics.
Marriage.
Carlton left the priesthood in 1945. He married Enid Alison Symington, of Chatswood, a stenographer, at Chatswood on 10 April 1945. They had two children: Mike (1946-), the well-known Sydney radio broadcaster, and Peter (1950-), who became a human resource manager.
Later life.
He then worked as a school teacher at Barker College and in 1948 was appointed as a selector and coach for the New South Wales Amateur Athletic Association. In parallel he wrote sports articles for the "Sydney Morning Herald".
Death.
He died of asthma on 4 April 1951, aged 42, at his home in Waitara, Sydney.


Tattooed Love Boys


Aphian

Aphian (Apphian, Apian, Appian, Amphianus, Amphian; "Amfiano" in Spanish and Italian) is venerated as a martyr by the Catholic Church and by the Eastern Orthodox Church. He is said to have died during the persecutions of the Emperor Galerius on April 2 in or around the year 305.
In the Eastern Orthodox calendar, his feast thus falls on April 2, along with Edesius (Aedisius), who is sometimes called his brother.
He was from Lycia, and his wealthy and distinguished parents gave him the best education possible in rhetoric, law, and philosophy in the famous school of Berytus in Phoenicia. While he was away at school, he became a Christian. Aphian withdrew to Cappadocia because his parents resisted his efforts to convert them to Christianity.
Pamphilus was at Caesarea Maritima at the time of Aphian's martyrdom, expounding Holy Scripture, and the young Aphian was one of his disciples. He lived at the house of Eusebius, but gave no intimation of his purpose to make the public protest which ended in his martyrdom.
According to his legend, he was only eighteen when he entered the temple at Caesarea Maritima, where the prefect Urbanus was offering sacrifice. Seizing the outstretched hand that was presenting the incense, he reproached the magistrate for his idolatrous act. The guards fell upon him furiously and, after cruelly torturing him, flung him into a dungeon. The next day he was brought before the prefect, torn with iron claws, beaten with clubs, and burned over a slow fire, and then sent back to confinement. After three days he was again taken from prison and thrown into the sea with stones tied to his feet. Eusebius, an eyewitness, declares that an earthquake simultaneously shook the city, and that the sea flung up his corpse on the shore.
In the old martyrologies his feast was on April 5, but the Bollandists give April 2 as the correct date.


Raymond Johnston

Raymond H. Johnston, Jr. (born October 6, 1960) is an American politician, and a Democratic member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives who has represented District 61 since January 2011. An ally of former house speaker Nicholas Mattiello, Johnston ran for re-election in the 2020 elections, but lost the in Democratic primary to Leonela Felix.
Education.
Johnston attended Roger Williams University.


Jack Grisman

William Jack Grisman (30 August 1914 – 6 April 1944), known as Jack, was a British Vickers Wellington bomber crew member who was taken prisoner during the Second World War. He took part in the 'Great Escape' from Stalag Luft III in March 1944, but was one of the men re-captured and subsequently shot by the "Gestapo".
Pre-war life.
Grisman was born in Hereford Herefordshire the eldest son of a postman, he was educated in the local council school where he matured rapidly towards the end of his time and became very keen on swimming and rugby football. He wanted to see some of the world, play sports and work in engineering and quickly identified the Royal Air Force as a good opportunity so enlisted as an aircraft apprentice on 13 January 1931 to train at No. 1 School of Technical Training RAF, RAF Halton he graduated in December 1933 as an aircraftman 2nd class (service number 565127) posted to No. 10 Squadron RAF at RAF Boscombe Down to service Handley Page Heyford bombers. By January 1936 he was a leading aircraftman posted to Basra in Iraqas an engine fitter but in November 1936 he was appointed driver with the British Embassy in Baghdad. In early 1938 Grisman joined No. 28 Squadron RAF as a rigger and fitter but also an air gunner on what was then known as the North West Frontier. He enjoyed flying and applied for aircrew duties and qualified being posted to England in December 1938 to train at RAF Mildenhall as an "Observer", an aircrew role which combined the duties of navigator and bomb aimer. On 27 July 1939 he joined No. 99 Squadron which was flying Vickers Wellington bombers from RAF Mildenhall.
War service.
Serving operationally as an observer with No. 99 Squadron RAF based at RAF Newmarket where he flew with Percy Charles Pickard and was involved in some early missions to drop propaganda leaflets on Germany before being promoted sergeant and recognised as a potential officer. Grisman commenced officer training in June 1940, he completed his tour of operations with the squadron being Mentioned in Despatches on 6 October 1940, and was commissioned as a pilot officer on 20 December 1940.
In late December 1940 Grisman was posted to RAF Boscombe Down where experienced navigators were required for testing and developing the blind approach aid that would eventually help many night bomber crews as they struggled to land at airfields in bad weather. He was to join No. 109 Squadron RAF flying Avro Anson and Vickers Wellington aircraft, the squadron was engaged during the next two years in development of radio counter-measures and also new radar aids, notably the blind bombing system known as Oboe later used so successfully by the Pathfinder Force.
He was promoted to flying officer on 20 December 1941 (with seniority from 11 December 1941).
Prisoner of war.
At 1830 on the evening of 5 November 1941 Grisman took off in a Wellington Mark Ic bomber (serial number "T2562") from Boscombe Down on a Special Duties mission to investigate the capabilities of the German radar chain sites along the west coast of France. The pilot of the aircraft was Flying Officer Leslie George Bull who later also participated in the Great Escape. Over the French port of Lorient the starboard engine failed and then lost its propeller. Unable to continue Bull held the aircraft level while his crew of five baled out and then followed – the crew were taken prisoner on landing by parachute in France. Becoming a prisoner of war he was interrogated by the Luftwaffe before being sent to Stalag Luft I Barth where he and Bull immediately became involved in escape attempts involving tunnelling out of the camp where he made himself a general nuisance to the German guards (a popular pastime amongst bored RAF prisoners) and there he brewed illegal potato skin alcohol for Christmas celebrations. At Stalag Luft I Bull met Roger Bushell during various tunnelling escape attempts, Bushell later masterminded the Great Escape. Grisman and Bull were part of the group with Bushell who were sent to Stalag Luft III in the province of Lower Silesia near the town of Sagan (now Żagań in Poland). He was an enthusiastic tunneller.
'Great Escape'.
As prisoner of war No. 673 at Stalag Luft III Grisman completed correspondence courses in Mathematics and English with the University of London, and by early 1943 had also gained qualifications in French Language, Mechanics and advanced mathematics. For the Great Escape operation Grisman was one of the leading tunnellers. and was designated as a "marshal", one of the dozen men appointed to wait in the forest after escaping to collect a pre-selected group of ten men who would then be led westwards as initial stage guides Grisman's group were known as the "hard arsers" because they planned to walk alone the entire trip homewards rather than catching trains. 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".
The alarm sounded on the discover of the escape attempt after he had been outside the wire for only 50 minutes and not surprisingly Grisman was arrested quite quickly to the south of the camp on the road to Görlitz by the Germans and arrived at the collecting point for recaptured officers in Görlitz prison on 28 March 1944. During interrogation he was told that his wife would never see him again. At Görlitz prison on the morning of 6 April 1944 Tony Bethell heard a truck arrive and saw three Germans in uniform call out the names of Denys Street, Neville McGarr, Sandy Gunn, Jack Grisman, Harold Milford and John F Williams. No firm evidence was ever found of the fate of these six men and their records were marked "killed at a place unknown, on or after 6 April 1944".
Grisman was one of the 50 escapers executed and murdered by the "Gestapo". He was cremated at Breslau. Originally his remains were buried at Sagan, he is now buried in part of the Poznan Old Garrison Cemetery.
Grisman's name was amongst those in the list of the murdered prisoners which was published in the press in the UK and Commonwealth countries when news broke on or about 20 May 1944.
His photograph is shown in conjunction with that of a relative here and he is also commemorated on the Dunsfold War Memorial website.
As "Halton brat" or an "old Haltonian", a graduate of the RAF Halton aircraft apprentice scheme, he is commemorated by name in the stained glass window in St. George's Church, RAF Halton dedicated to those murdered following the "Great Escape".
Awards.
Mentioned in despatches for conspicuous gallantry as a prisoner of war (none of the other relevant decorations then available could be awarded posthumously). It was published in a supplement to the London Gazette on 8 June 1944.
Other victims.
The Gestapo executed a group of 50 of the recaptured prisoners representing almost all of the nationalities involved in the escape. Post-war investigations saw a number of those guilty of the murders tracked down, arrested and tried for their crimes.


Panama City school board shootings

The Panama City school board shootings occurred on December 14, 2010, in Panama City, Florida. In the attack, a disgruntled individual, Clay Allen Duke, fired four shots at six Bay District School board members, but missed them all, including the superintendent. Duke was then shot several times by Head of Safety and Security Mike Jones, a retired police officer, before committing suicide.
Much of the episode and its immediate aftermath were recorded by local television news stations WMBB and WJHG-TV. The video was subsequently uploaded to video sharing sites, including YouTube. Footage of the incident was also shown in a revival season episode of "World's Wildest Police Videos".
Incident.
At 2:00 p.m. on December 14, 2010, Duke stood up during a school board meeting in Panama City, Florida, and said, "I have a motion." He then promptly pulled out a can of red spray paint and sprayed a "V" inside a circle, as seen in the film "V for Vendetta". He then drew a 9mm Smith & Wesson 469 semiautomatic pistol, causing other staff near the bench and audience members to duck for cover. He aimed the gun at the board members and used it to point to two women, saying, "You may leave, and you may leave...the women can leave...The six men stay, everyone else leave."
After the room was evacuated, Duke told the board members he was upset that his wife had been fired from her job as an English teacher in the Panama City district. The superintendent, Bill Husfelt, after an approximately four-minute discussion, tried to negotiate with Duke, saying, "I'm the only one who signs [the papers], will you let them [the other board members] go?" Duke denied his requests to allow the other board members to leave, saying, "They're part of it."
Husfelt then argued with Duke about his threat, saying, "For what? [Referring to Duke's threat to kill himself] This isn't worth it." Duke raised the pistol and leveled it at the superintendent. Husfelt started to hold his arms to his chest, saying, "Please don't, please don't, please..." Duke fired, hitting the table in front of Husfelt, who dropped to the floor. The board members dived to the ground behind the desk. Duke then fired a second shot into the floor of the room, saying "I'm going to kill you", just as a responding security guard, Mike Jones, opened fire on Duke. After being hit by one of Jones' rounds, Duke fired two or three more times behind the table. Despite four or five shots being fired from Duke's gun, no board members were hit. He was shot again by Jones and fell to the ground. Duke blindly fired six more shots at Jones, then pointed the gun at his head and committed suicide. Jones was not injured, but was taken to the hospital for chest pains. According to his wife, Duke was an excellent marksman and likely missed his targets intentionally. Jones later stated, "I thought I'd let them down. I opened the door with one hand and was firing with the other. ...I don't know how I survived with all those shots fired." He also added, "I'm not a hero, folks."
Minutes after the shooting, WMBB uploaded the video to YouTube and other sites, where it received more than 1,000,000 views in less than a week.
Hostage-taker.
Clay Allen Duke (November 24, 1954 – December 14, 2010) was a 56-year-old unemployed Floridian who was apparently disgruntled over the firing of his wife by the school board. He was described by the Associated Press as a "troubled, broke ex-con with bipolar disorder, an interest in anarchy, a wife whose unemployment benefits had run out and frustrations that reached their boiling point on a day circled on his calendar at home". Duke had previously been convicted of aggravated stalking and attempted ambush with a rifle in 1999 and 2000, respectively. While in prison, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder but was unable to afford treatment after his release. Although Duke was sentenced to five years in prison in 2000, he was released in January 2004, at which point he became a licensed massage therapist, according to state records.
Motive.
Duke was reportedly unhappy with the school board for terminating his wife's teaching job in the Panama City district. In addition, Duke felt a particular sales tax was unfair because it hurt lower-income families more than the wealthy. Prior to the shooting, Duke spray-painted a red circle with a 'V' inside it—an allusion to the film, "V for Vendetta".
Duke posted to his Facebook page a week before the shootings:
Duke was noted several times as saying that he planned to die in the shooting.
Ginger Littleton.
Duke removed the gun from his pocket and told everyone in the room to leave, aside from the male board members seated at the elevated podium. On her way out, board member Ginger Littleton turned back into the room and attempted to disarm Duke by whacking his pistol with her purse. The attempt failed and Littleton was knocked to the floor; Duke did not shoot, instead simply threatening her inaudibly (Littleton later said that he called her a "stupid bitch" ), and making her leave the room at gunpoint.
A week after the shootings, the purse that Littleton used to hit Duke sold on the online auction site eBay for $13,000, with the proceeds going to charity.


Eli Cohen

Eliyahu Ben-Shaul Cohen (, ; 6 December 1924 – 18 May 1965), commonly known as Eli Cohen, was an Israeli spy. He is best known for his espionage work in 1961–65 in Syria, where he developed close relationships with the Syrian political and military hierarchy, and became the chief adviser to the Minister of Defense.
Syrian counterintelligence eventually uncovered the spy conspiracy and convicted Cohen under pre-war martial law, sentencing him to death and hanging him publicly in 1965.
Early life and career.
Cohen was born in 1924 in Alexandria, Egypt to a devout Mizrahi Jewish and Zionist family. His father had moved there from Aleppo in 1914. He studied at Cairo Farouk University.
His parents and three brothers left for Israel in 1949, but he remained to finish a degree in electronics and to coordinate Jewish and Zionist activities. The government initiated an anti-Zionist campaign in 1951, after a military coup, and Cohen was arrested and interrogated over his Zionist activities. He took part in various Israeli covert operations in the country during the 1950s, although the Egyptian government could never prove his involvement in Operation Goshen, an Israeli operation to smuggle Egyptian Jews out of the country and resettle them in Israel due to increasing hostility in Egypt.
Israel's secret police recruited a sabotage unit of Jewish Egyptian citizens in 1955 which attempted to undermine Egypt's relationships with western powers in the "Lavon Affair". The unit bombed unoccupied American and British installations, expecting that this would be considered the work of Egyptians. Egyptian authorities uncovered the spy ring and sentenced two of the members to death. Cohen had aided the unit and was implicated, but they found no link between him and the perpetrators.
Following state-sponsored anti-Semitic attacks on its Jewish communities, many of them fled or were expelled, and Cohen was forced to leave the country in December 1956. He emigrated to Israel with the assistance of the Jewish Agency. The Israel Defense Forces recruited him in 1957 and placed him in military intelligence, where he became a counter-intelligence analyst. His work bored him and he attempted to join the Mossad, but he was offended when the Mossad rejected him, and he resigned from military counter-intelligence. For the next two years, he worked as a filing clerk in a Tel Aviv insurance office.
In 1959, he married Nadia Majald, born circa 1935, an Iraqi-Jewish immigrant and the sister of author Sami Michael. They had three children—Sophie, Irit, and Shai—and the family settled in Bat Yam.
Start with Mossad.
The Mossad recruited Cohen after Director-General Meir Amit, looking for a special agent to infiltrate the Syrian government, came across his name while looking through the agency's files of rejected candidates, after none of the current candidates seemed suitable for the job. For two weeks Cohen was put under surveillance, and was judged suitable for recruitment and training. Cohen was then informed that the Mossad had decided to recruit him and underwent an intensive six-month course at the Mossad training school. His graduate report stated that he had all the qualities needed to become a "katsa", or field agent.
He was then given a false identity as a Syrian businessman who was returning to the country after living in Argentina. To establish his cover, Cohen moved to Buenos Aires in 1961. In Buenos Aires he moved among the Arab community, letting it be known he had large amounts of money to put at the disposal of the Syrian Ba'ath Party. At this time the Ba'ath Party was illegal in Syria but the party seized power in 1963.
Syria.
Cohen moved to Damascus in February 1962 under the alias Kamel Amin Thaabet (). Mossad had carefully planned the tactics that he was to use in building relationships with high-ranking Syrian politicians, military officials, influential public figures, and the diplomatic community.
Cohen continued his social life as he had in Argentina, spending time in cafes listening to political gossip. He also held parties at his home for high-placed Syrian ministers, businessmen, and others. At these parties, Cohen "dispensed free-flowing liquor and prostitutes", and highly placed officials would openly discuss their work and army plans. Cohen would pretend to be drunk to encourage such conversations, to which he paid close attention. He would also lend money to government officials, and many came to him for advice.
Intelligence collected.
Cohen provided an extensive amount and wide range of intelligence data to the Israeli Army between 1961 and 1965. He sent intelligence to Israel by radio, secret letters, and occasionally in person; he secretly traveled to Israel three times. His most famous achievement was the tour of the Golan Heights in which he collected intelligence on the Syrian fortifications there. According to an unconfirmed but widely believed story, he feigned sympathy for the soldiers exposed to the sun and had trees planted at every position, placed to provide shade. The Israel Defense Forces were alleged to have used the trees as targeting markers during the Six-Day War, which enabled Israel to capture the Golan Heights in two days.
Cohen made repeated visits to the southern frontier zone, providing photographs and sketches of Syrian positions. He also learned of a secret plan to create three successive lines of bunkers and mortars; the Israel Defense Forces would otherwise have expected to encounter only a single line. Cohen was able to find out that the Syrians planned to divert the Jordan River headwaters in an attempt to deprive Israel of water resources, providing information to Israeli forces .
It is claimed that the intelligence that Cohen gathered before his arrest was an important factor in Israel's success in the Six-Day War, although some intelligence experts have argued that the information he provided about the Golan Heights fortifications was also readily available from ground and aerial reconnaissance.
Uncovered.
Newly appointed Syrian Intelligence Colonel Ahmed Suidani trusted no one and disliked Cohen. Cohen expressed fear of discovery to the Mossad on his last secret visit to Israel in November 1964, and he stated that he wished to terminate his assignment in Syria. The purposes of that visit were to pass on intelligence and to enable him to witness the birth of his third child. Despite this, however, Israeli intelligence asked him to return to Syria one more time. Before leaving, Cohen assured his wife it would be his last trip before he returned home permanently.
In January 1965, Syrian officials increased their efforts to find a high-level spy using Soviet-made tracking equipment and assisted by Soviet experts. They observed a period of radio silence, in the hope that any illegal transmissions could be identified. They successfully detected radio transmissions and were able to triangulate the transmitter. Syrian security services led by Suidani broke into Cohen's apartment on 24 January and caught him in the middle of a transmission to Israel.
Conviction and death sentence.
Cohen was found guilty of espionage by a military tribunal and sentenced to death under martial law. He had been repeatedly interrogated and tortured.
Israel staged an international campaign for clemency, hoping to persuade the Syrians not to execute him. Israeli foreign minister Golda Meir led a campaign urging Damascus to consider the consequences of hanging him. Diplomats, prime ministers, parliamentarians, and Pope Paul VI tried to intercede. Meir even appealed to the Soviet Union. The governments of Belgium, Canada, and France tried to persuade the Syrian government to commute the death sentence, but the Syrians refused. Nadia Cohen attempted to appeal for clemency at the Syrian Embassy in Paris but was turned away. Cohen wrote in his final letter on 15 May 1965:
I am begging you my dear Nadia not to spend your time in weeping about some thing already passed. Concentrate on yourself, looking forward for a better future!
Cohen was hanged in the Marjeh Square in Damascus on 18 May 1965. On the day of his execution, his last wish to see a rabbi was respected by the prison authorities, and Nissim Indibo, the elderly Chief Rabbi of Syria, accompanied him in the truck.
Burial.
Syria refused to return Cohen's body to his family in Israel, and his wife Nadia sent a letter to Amin al-Hafiz in November 1965 asking his forgiveness for Cohen's actions and requesting his remains. In February 2007, the Turkish government offered to act as a mediator for their return.
Monthir Maosily, the former bureau chief of Hafez Al-Assad, claimed in August 2008 that the Syrians had buried him three times to stop the remains from being taken back to Israel via a special operation. Syrian authorities have repeatedly denied family requests for the remains. Cohen's brothers Abraham and Maurice led a campaign to return his remains; Maurice died in 2006, and Nadia now leads it.
In 2016, a Syrian group calling itself "Syrian art treasures" posted a video on Facebook showing Cohen's body after his execution. No film or video was previously known to exist of the execution. The press announced on 5 July 2018 that Cohen's wristwatch had been retrieved from Syria. His widow mentioned that the watch was up for sale months earlier, and the Mossad managed to capture it. Mossad director Yossi Cohen presented it to Cohen's family in a ceremony, and it is currently on display at Mossad headquarters.
Legacy.
Cohen has become a national hero in Israel, and many streets and neighborhoods have been named for him. Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Defense Minister Ezer Weizmann, Chief of Staff Mordechai Gur, and several Mossad operatives all attended his son's Bar Mitzvah in 1977. A memorial stone has been erected to Cohen in the Garden of the Missing Soldiers in Mount Herzl, Jerusalem.
John Shea played Cohen in the television film "The Impossible Spy" (1987), and Sacha Baron Cohen played him in the Netflix miniseries "The Spy" (2019).
The Israeli settlement Eliad on the Golan Heights is named for him.


Roy Noble Lee

Roy Noble Lee (October 19, 1915 – January 21, 2015) was an American judge who served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Mississippi from 1987 to 1993. Born in Madison County, Mississippi, Lee received his bachelor's degree from Mississippi College and his law degree from Cumberland School of Law. He was a FBI agent and served in the United States Navy during World War II. Lee was a state district attorney and then a state circuit court judge. He died in January 2015 at his home in Forest, Mississippi, aged 99.


Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton

Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton (6 October 1573 – 10 November 1624), (pronunciation uncertain: "Rezley", "Rizely" (archaic), (present-day) and have been suggested), was the only son of Henry Wriothesley, 2nd Earl of Southampton, and Mary Browne, daughter of Anthony Browne, 1st Viscount Montagu. Shakespeare's two narrative poems, "Venus and Adonis" and "The Rape of Lucrece", were dedicated to Southampton, who is frequently identified as the Fair Youth of Shakespeare's Sonnets.
Family.
Henry Wriothesley, born 6 October 1573 at Cowdray House, Sussex, was the only son of Henry Wriothesley, 2nd Earl of Southampton, by Mary Browne. She was the only daughter of Anthony Browne, 1st Viscount Montague, and his first wife, Jane Radcliffe. He had two sisters, Jane, who died before 1573, and Mary (c. 1567 – 1607), who in June 1585 married Thomas Arundell, 1st Baron Arundell of Wardour.
After his father's death, Southampton's mother married firstly, on 2 May 1594, as her second husband, Sir Thomas Heneage (d. 17 October 1595), Vice-Chamberlain of the Household. After being widowed again, she married, between 5 November 1598 and 31 January 1599, Sir William Hervey. She died in November 1607.
Early life.
When his father died on 4 October 1581, Southampton inherited the earldom and landed income valued at £1097 6s per annum. His wardship and marriage were sold by the Queen to her kinsman, Charles, Lord Howard of Effingham, for £1000. According to Akrigg, Howard "entered into some further agreement, of which no documentation can now be found, which transferred to Lord Burghley personally the custody and marriage of the young Earl, but left Howard holding his lands." Late in 1581 or early in 1582 Southampton, then eight years of age went to live at Cecil House in the Strand.
In October 1585, at age twelve, Southampton entered St John's College, Cambridge, graduating M.A. on 6 June 1589. His name was entered at the Gray's Inn legal society before he left the university, and he was admitted on 29 February 1588.
On Southampton's 16th birthday, 6 October 1589, Lord Burghley noted Southampton's age in his diary. By 1590 Burghley was negotiating with Southampton's grandfather, Anthony Browne, 1st Viscount Montague, and Southampton's mother, Mary, for a marriage between Southampton and Lord Burghley's eldest granddaughter, Elizabeth Vere, daughter of Burghley's daughter, Anne Cecil, and Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford. But Southampton did not like the match and, in a letter written in November 1594, about six weeks after Southampton had turned 21, the Jesuit Henry Garnet reported the rumour that "The young Erle of Southampton refusing the Lady Veere payeth £5000 of present payment".
In 1591 Lord Burghley's Clerk in Chancery, John Clapham, dedicated to Southampton a poem in Latin, "Narcissus", recounting the Greek legend of a beautiful young man who perishes through self-love. According to Akrigg, Southampton was now spending much of his time at court. He was in attendance when Queen Elizabeth visited Oxford in late September 1592 and was praised in the Latin poem written by John Sandford to commemorate the Queen's visit. In October 1592 Southampton's grandfather, Viscount Montague, died. Montague had been a Knight of the Garter, and on 3 May 1593, Philip Gawdy of Clifford's Inn (a law school and Inn of Chancery) wrote to his brother, Bassingbourne Gawdy, that Southampton had been nominated to the Order, together with the Lord Keeper, Lord Burgh, and Lord Willoughby de Eresby. Shortly thereafter, in his "Honour of the Garter" dated 26 June 1593, George Peele referred to him as "Gentle Wriothesley, Southampton's star", claiming erroneously that an Earl of Southampton had been among the founding Knights. However, it was not until 1603 that Southampton was invested in the Order under King James.
Southampton and Shakespeare.
In 1593 Shakespeare dedicated his narrative poem "Venus and Adonis" to Southampton, followed in 1594 by "The Rape of Lucrece". Although the dedication to "Venus and Adonis" is more restrained, the dedication to "The Rape of Lucrece" is couched in extravagant terms:
The love I dedicate to your lordship is without end ... What I have done is yours; what I have to do is yours; being part in all I have, devoted yours.
This type of vaunting language was not particularly unusual, however, because other dedications of the day always excessively praised any noble person sponsoring the author's work – mainly for political and, above all, financial reasons.
Nathan Drake, in "Shakespeare and his Times", was the first to suggest that Southampton was not only the dedicatee of Shakespeare's two long narrative poems, but also the "Fair Youth" of the "Sonnets". The title page refers to the "onlie begetter of these sonnets Mr W.H.," and it had earlier been inferred that the "Sonnets" were addressed to "Mr. W.H.". Drake, however, adopting Chalmers' suggestion that one meaning of "beget" is "bring forth", argued that Mr. W.H. was the procurer of the manuscript rather than the "Fair Youth" addressed in the poems. Other adherents of the theory that Southampton was the addressee of the "Sonnets" have suggested that his initials, H.W. (Henry Wriothesley), were simply reversed by the publisher to conceal his identity. But, Honan argues that although Southampton
may be involved in Shakespeare's sonnets ... there is no real likelihood that he traduced him by drawing his portrait as the fickle, treacherous Young Man of the sonnets, who is implicitly "lascivious" (sonnet 95), "sensual" to a "fault" or to his "shame" (sonnets 34, 35), and ridden with vices.
Despite extensive archival research, no documents have been found concerning their relationship apart from the dedications to Shakespeare's two long narrative poems. Nicholas Rowe, on the authority of poet and playwright William Davenant (1606 – 7 April 1668), stated in his "Life of Shakespeare" that Southampton once gave Shakespeare £1,000 to "go through with a purchase," but Honan terms this a myth.
The 1590s.
Southampton received dedications from other writers in the 1590s. On 27 June 1593 Thomas Nashe completed his picaresque novel, "The Unfortunate Traveller", and dedicated it to Southampton, terming him "a dere lover and cherisher ... as well of the lovers of Poets, as of Poets themselves", and in 1593 Barnabe Barnes published "Parthenophil and Parthenope" with a dedicatory sonnet to Southampton. In 1595 Gervase Markham included a dedicatory sonnet to Southampton in "The Most Honorable Tragedy of Richard Grinvile, Knight". On 2 March 1596 John Florio's Italian/English dictionary was entered in the Stationers' Register. In his dedication, Florio, who was for some years in the Earl's "pay and patronage", complimented Southampton on his fluency in Italian, saying he "had become so complete a master of Italian as to have no need of travel abroad to perfect his mastery of that tongue". In 1597 Henry Lok included a sonnet to Southampton among the sixty dedicatory sonnets in his "Sundry Christian Passions". In the same year William Burton dedicated to him a translation of Achilles Tatius's, "Clitophon and Leucippe".
On 4 October 1594 Southampton's friend, Sir Henry Danvers, shot Henry Long, brother of Sir Walter Long, in the course of a local feud between the Danvers and Long families. Sir Henry and his elder brother, Sir Charles Danvers, fled to Titchfield, where Southampton sheltered them. The brothers were outlawed, and eventually escaped to the continent where they took refuge at the court of King Henri IV.
On 17 November 1595, Southampton jousted in Queen Elizabeth's accession day tournament, earning a mention in George Peele's "Anglorum Feriae" as "gentle and debonaire". However, according to Akrigg, "Gentle and debonair he may have been, but we never again hear of Southampton being high in the graces of Queen Elizabeth".
On 13 April 1596 the Queen specifically instructed Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, not to take either Southampton or the Earl of Derby, with him on an expedition for the Relief of Calais, and it also appears that Southampton did not accompany Essex on the Cadiz Expedition that summer. In February 1597 Southampton challenged the Earl of Northumberland to a duel with rapiers, requiring intervention by the Queen and Privy Council, and on 1 March stood godfather at the christening of Sir Robert Sidney's daughter, Bridget. Later that year Southampton was with Essex on his "inglorious" Voyage to the Azores, where according to Rowland Whyte, "My Lord of Southampton fought with one of the Kings great Men of Warre, and suncke her". On his return he made his first appearance in the House of Lords on 5 November, and was put on several committees, but became a "chronic absentee". By this time he was in serious financial difficulties, and had turned over administration of his estates to two trustees, who by the end of the year had sold some of his lands.
In 1598 Southampton was involved in a brawl at court with Ambrose Willoughby, one of the Queen's esquires of the body, who had ordered him to leave the presence chamber where he was playing the card game primero after the Queen had retired for the evening. Southampton struck Willoughby, and "Willoughby puld of some of his locke", for which the Queen gave Willoughby thanks, saying "he had done better yf he had sent hym to the porters lodge, to see who durst have fetcht hym out". There is a suggestion that underlying the altercation was something Willoughby had said which caused trouble between Southampton and his mistress, Elizabeth Vernon, one of the Queen's Maids of Honour. The Queen forbade Southampton to present himself at court, although he was soon allowed back. Nonetheless it was reported by Rowland Whyte at the beginning of February that "My Lord of Southampton is much troubled at her Majesties straungest Usage of hym". Faced with his financial difficulties and the Queen's disfavour, Southampton determined to live abroad for a time, and seized the opportunity of accompanying Sir Robert Cecil on an embassy to Henri IV of France. On 6 February Southampton was granted licence to travel abroad for two years, and by March he and Cecil were in Angers, where on 7 March Southampton was presented to the French King.
When Cecil returned to England from his failed mission in April, Southampton remained at the French court, planning to travel to Italy with Sir Charles Danvers and Sir Henry Danvers, whom he had helped to escape from England in 1594 after the murder of Henry Long. At that juncture the Queen decided to pardon the Danvers brothers, and they were back in England on 30 August 1598, at which time Southampton also returned in secret, and married his pregnant mistress, Elizabeth Vernon. He left for the continent almost immediately, but by 3 September the Queen had learned of the marriage and consigned Elizabeth Vernon, one of her chief ladies-in-waiting, to the Fleet Prison for marrying without royal permission.
The Queen ordered Southampton to return to England forthwith, but he remained in Paris for two months, losing large sums in gambling. By the beginning of November he was back in England, also lodged in the Fleet, where he remained for a month, during which time Elizabeth Vernon gave birth to a daughter, Penelope. To add to his difficulties, Southampton was at this time involved in a dispute with his mother, the Dowager Countess, over her prospective marriage to Sir William Hervey. Lord Henry Howard was brought in to smooth matters between mother and son, and the Countess and Hervey were wed in early January 1599.
In 1599, during the Nine Years' War (1595–1603), Southampton went to Ireland with Essex, who made him General of the Horse, but the Queen insisted that the appointment be cancelled. Southampton remained on in personal attendance upon the Earl, rather than as an officer. However, Southampton was active during the campaign and prevented a defeat at the hands of the Irish rebels when his cavalry drove off an attack at Arklow in County Wicklow. Shortly after the Essex's Rebellion in February 1601, William Reynolds, a soldier who had served with Essex in Ireland in 1599, mentioned Southampton in a letter to Sir Robert Cecil. Speaking of certain men involved in the Essex rebellion who had not yet been arrested, Reynolds wrote:
I do mervell also what becam of pearse edmones, the earle of Essex man, borne in strand neare me, and which has had many rewards & preferments by the earle essex, his villany I have often complained of, he dweles in London, he was corporall generall of the horse in Ierland under the earle of Sowthamton, he eate & drank at his table and lay in his tente, the earle of Sowthamton gave him a horse, which edmones refused a 100 markes for him, the earle Sowthamton would cole and huge him in his armes and play wantonly with him. This pearse began to fawne and flatter me in Ierland offering me great curtesie, telling me what pay grases & giftes they earles bestowed uppon him, therby seming to move and anymate me to desiar and looke for the like favour, But I coeld never love & afecte them to make them my frends, esspecially essex whoes mynd I ever mistrusted...
According to Duncan-Jones, Reynolds' letter hints that 'rewards could be obtained from either or both of the two Earls in return for sexual favours'. On the other hand, Duncan-Jones concludes that Reynolds may have been a paranoid schizophrenic, and that by his own statement he had written over 200 letters to the Queen, Privy Council, and members of the clergy wherein he had "complaynid of al the abewses and vilent oppresseones & sodometicall sines over flowing this land".
On his return from Ireland, Southampton attracted notice as a playgoer. "My Lord Southampton and Lord Rutland," wrote Rowland Whyte to Sir Robert Sydney in 1599, "come not to the court: the one doth but very seldom. They pass away the time in London merely in going to plays every day".
Southampton was deeply involved in Essex's Rebellion of 1601, and in February of that year he was sentenced to death. Cecil, who urged the Queen to show the greatest possible degree of clemency, obtained the commutation of his penalty to life imprisonment.
Life under King James.
On the accession of James I Southampton resumed his place at court and received numerous honours from the new king. On the eve of the abortive rebellion of Essex, he had induced the players at the Globe Theatre to revive "Richard II."
After his release from prison in 1603, he resumed his connection with the stage. In January 1605 he entertained Queen Anne with a performance of "Love's Labour's Lost" by Burbage and his company, to which Shakespeare belonged, at Southampton House.
Southampton seems to have been a born fighter, and engaged in more than one serious quarrel at court, being imprisoned for a short time in 1603 following a heated argument with Lord Grey of Wilton in front of Queen Anne. Grey, an implacable opponent of the Essex faction, was later implicated in the Main Plot and Bye Plot. Southampton was in more serious disgrace in 1621 for his determined opposition to Buckingham. He was a volunteer on the Protestant side in Germany in 1614, and in 1617 he proposed to fit out an expedition against the Barbary pirates.
Southampton was a leader among the Jacobean aristocrats who turned to modern investment practices"in industry, in modernizing their estates and in overseas trade and colonization."
He financed the first tinplate mill in the country, and founded an ironworks at Titchfield. He developed his properties in London, in Bloomsbury and Holborn; he revamped his country estates, participated in the efforts of the East India Company and the New England Company, and backed Henry Hudson's search for the Northwest Passage. Henry Timberlake, a member of the Company of Merchant Adventurers of London, also was active in the East India Company and may have been involved in Southampton's activities in Titchfield. He died there in 1625 and was buried in St. Peter's parish church.
A significant artistic patron in the Jacobean as well as the Elizabethan era, Southampton promoted the work of George Chapman, Samuel Daniel, Thomas Heywood, and the composer Alfonso Ferrabosco the younger. Heywood's popular, expansionist dramas were compatible with Southampton's maritime and colonial interests.
Virginia Company.
Henry Wriothesley, whose name is included in the 1605 panel of the New World Tapestry, took a considerable share in promoting the colonial enterprises of the time, and was an active member of the Virginia Company's governing council. Although profits proved elusive, his other visions for the Colony based at Jamestown were eventually accomplished. He was part of a faction within the company with Sir Edwin Sandys, who eventually became the Treasurer, and worked tirelessly to support the struggling venture. In addition to profits, Southampton's faction sought a permanent colony which would enlarge British territory, relieve the nation's overpopulation, and expand the market for English goods. Although profits largely eluded the Virginia Company, and it was dissolved in 1624, the other goals were accomplished.
His name is thought by many to be the origin of the naming of the harbour of Hampton Roads, and the Hampton River. Although named at later dates, similar attribution may involve the town (and later city) of Hampton, Virginia, as well as Southampton County, Virginia and Northampton County. However, the name Southampton was not uncommon in England, including an important port city and an entire region along the southern coast, which was originally part of Hampshire. There are also variations applied in other areas of the English colonies which were not part of the Virginia Company of London's efforts, making the origin of the word and derivations of it as applied in Virginia even more debatable.
Later life and death.
In 1624, Southampton was one of four Englishmen appointed to command troops fighting in the Low Countries against the Spanish. Shortly after their arrival, the earl's eldest son, James Wriothesley, succumbed to an unspecified "fever" at Rosendael. Five days later, on 10 November 1624, Southampton died of the same cause at Bergen-op-Zoom, aged 51. Their remains were returned to England, and both men were buried in the parish church of Titchfield, Hampshire.
Marriage and issue.
In August 1598, Southampton secretly married Elizabeth Vernon, the daughter of John Vernon of Hodnet, Shropshire, and his wife Elizabeth Devereux. Devereux's grandfathers were the Viscount Hereford and the Earl of Huntingdon. On her father John Vernon's side, Elizabeth Vernon's paternal ancestors were more obscure.
When Elizabeth was pregnant, she wrote to her husband asking him to buy her a stomacher of scarlet cloth lined with plush to keep her warm while riding. She also asked him to bring a portrait 'very finely done'.
They had several children, including:
Portraits.
Numerous portraits of Southampton exist, in which he is depicted with dark auburn hair and blue eyes, compatible with Shakespeare's description of "a man right fair." Sir John Beaumont wrote a well-known elegy in his praise, and Gervase Markham wrote of him in a tract entitled "Honor in his Perfection, or a Treatise in Commendation of ... Henry, Earl of Oxenford, Henry, Earle of Southampton, Robert, Earl of Essex" (1624).
In 2002, a portrait in the Cobbe collection was identified as a portrait of the youthful Earl. Portraying him as an androgynous-looking young man, it is now known as the Cobbe portrait of Southampton.
In April 2008, another portrait believed to be of Southampton, was discovered hidden in a kind of "pentimento" beneath a portrait of his wife Elizabeth Vernon, when the work was X-rayed in preparation for an exhibition.
In popular culture.
The Earl has been played on screen by several different actors:


Drewe Henley

Drewe Henley (born Gordon Henley; 1940 – 14 February 2016) was an English actor. He had a variety of roles in film, television and theatre including as Red X-Wing Squadron Leader Garven Dreis in "". He retired from acting due to bipolar disorder. He was married to Felicity Kendal, with whom he had a son.
Career.
Henley appeared in a number of film, television and theatre productions. These included episodes of "Z-Cars", "UFO", "The Avengers" and "Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)" and a three-week run of "Henry V" in 1968 in which he played the lead role.
He is best known for his role as X-Wing pilot "Red Leader" (Garven Dreis) in the film "" (1977), a role for which he was mistakenly credited as "Drewe Hemley". Henley used an American accent for the part; the role had limited physical movement as Henley's character remained in the cockpit for much of the film which Henley found difficult. Unlike many of the actors in the first released film in the series, Henley's performance was not dubbed in post-production. Henley interpreted his character as an experienced battle veteran and so opted to play him without any excitement in his voice. Director George Lucas disagreed with this so they compromised so that Red Leader would at first be formal but as the battle progressed become more excited.
The performance was Henley's final one on film, as he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, then known as manic depression, shortly after completing his part and retired from acting. When the Special Edition cut of "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope" was released in 1997 it featured an additional scene of Henley in which he talked with Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Biggs Darklighter (Garrick Hagon). Henley was pleased with the scene's addition, although his credit was not corrected.
Personal life.
He was married to the actress Jacqueline Pearce for three and a half years from 1963 until they divorced. He married the actress Felicity Kendal in 1968 and they had one son, Charley, a special effects technician. They divorced in 1979 after he became manic depressive. According to an interview with Kendal in 2000, Henley had become a "former" manic depressive. Henley and his illness were discussed in her autobiography "White Cargo". He and his third wife Lyn Henley ran a bed and breakfast in Devon, and they were married until her death in 2015.
Death.
On Valentine's Day, 2016, he choked to death on a fish pie at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital. He was 75 years old.
Henley posthumously reprised his role as Garven Dreis from "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope" in the 2016 film "" via the use of archive footage. Previously unused audio was also used for some of his scenes.


Agustin Guerrero (comics)

Agustin "Gus" Guerrero, also known as El Gato Negro, is a fictional character and comic book superhero created by Richard Dominguez and published by Azteca Productions. The character made his first appearance in "El Gato Negro" #1 (October 1993) as a major supporting character. Outside of the comic book continuity he is often referred to as "Silver Age El Gato Negro".
Operating in South Texas, Agustin first donned the alter ego of El Gato Negro in order to form a successful career in Lucha Libre in the early 1950s. The fame he achieved in wrestling allowed him to have several adventures outside of the ring, leading him to use his talents to thwart the activities of the criminal underworld. He would later retire the identity in the late '60s, only for it to be adopted by his grandson nearly three decades later. To the general public, Agustin is regarded as a successful produce-magnate and owner of Guerrero's Produce.
Publication history.
Creation and conception.
Richard Dominguez first conceived El Gato Negro sometime in the mid-to-late '80s and originally planned to showcase the character in a largely Latino superhero group dubbed Team Tejas. Dominguez became partial to the character after placing some considerable emphasis on his development, and later placed the Team Tejas project on "the backburner."
El Gato Negro's visual design was largely influenced by the Lucha Libre traditions as well as Dominguez's favorite comic book and pulp superheroes. Included among them was Lee Falks' comic strip superhero the Phantom, a character who is believed to be immortal but in reality, is descended from twenty previous generations of crime-fighters who all adopt the same persona. This, along with other factors, inspired Dominguez to create a predecessor to the modern-day El Gato Negro.
Much of the lucha libre design became recycled in to Agustin "Gus" Guerrero, grandfather to the current incarnation of El Gato Negro. The surname "Guerrero" was initially chosen for its English-translation of "warrior", although Dominguez has hinted at a more historical significance, mainly with ties to the Mexican Revolution.
Publication.
Agustin made his first published appearance in "El Gato Negro" #1 (Oct. 1993) as a major supporting character in the three part story-arc, ""Unknown Passing, Unforgettable Return". This storyline introduced the villain known as El Graduado, son of South Texas crime lord Boss Ochoa, a foe Agustin had faced many times early in his career as El Gato Negro. Although retired from his vigilante activities as El Gato Negro, Agustin did make two separate appearances in costume.
There are plans to release a new series entitled, "Lucha Grande Comics", which will depict the early adventures of Agustin Guerrero.
Fictional character history.
“Silver Age”.
Agustin was born and raised in Edinburg, Texas by his mother, his father abandoning him at a young age. A truly mysterious figure, even to those who knew him best, Agustin grew up knowing very little of his father other than his ambiguous title of "El Hombre del Gato"". Later in life, Agustin enlisted in the Korean War with the Texas Battalion. Separated from his group while on a raid, he became lost in the harsh jungle only to encounter an exiled Japanese warrior and assassin known as Kuro Neko ("黒い猫" - ""The Black Cat""). Forming an alliance, the Black Cat properly trained the lost Tejano in martial arts and stealth. After being rescued and discharged from the military, Agustin returned to Edinburg to begin a career in Lucha Libre. Recognizing the recurring cat motif in his life, Agustin chose the identity of El Gato Negro, promising to bring bad luck to his opponents. Under the management of his friend Paco Perez, Agustin became the most famous masked-wrestler in all of South Texas. But it was his vigilante activities as El Gato Negro that made him a legend amongst the communities of South Texas.
Modern Age.
Agustin finally retired from crime-fighting after settling down with Paco's sister Reynalda Perez. Reynalda later died from complications during the birth of their son Francisco. Although his son learned of his father's legacy as El Gato Negro, he abdicated the title, preferring to lead a normal life. Francisco died in a traffic collision with his wife, leaving Agustin to become the legal guardian of the couple's only son, Francisco Jr. Years later, his grandson adopted the mantle of El Gato Negro to avenge the death of his best friend Mario Bustamonte.
During the first few months that Francisco operated as El Gato Negro, he encountered Armando Ochoa, better known as the career-criminal "El Graduado". Son of the successful businessman and drug lord Ignacio Ochoa, an enemy Agustin had faced early in his career, El Graduado planned to take his father's place amongst a criminal organization known as the Annulus. After his attempts at a large drug-trafficking deal are consistently thwarted being foiled by El Gato Negro, a desperate El Graduado held Agustin hostage at his own produce company. After refusing El Graduado's offer to become a "silent partner" he is sentenced to death. Escaping the firing squad, Agustin managed to incapacitate his would-be executioners and allows Francisco enough time to subdue El Graduado.
In 1997's "Enter: The Dogs of War" storyline, Agustin's grandson faced off against the Briones Brothers. The evil duo ambushed El Gato Negro and nearly beat him to death. Despite suffering from near inter-cranial injury, Francisco managed escape and drag himself home, where he collapsed in the arms of his grandfather.
Skills, abilities and resources.
El Gato Negro has no superhuman abilities, instead he makes use of his martial arts, boxing, and lucha libre training as well as his own deductive reasoning. Another powerful tool in his arsenal is the fact that the general public believes the vigilante to be something more than human; an urban legend. As most discredit his existence, El Gato Negro is able to do things an ordinary man cannot.
Costume.
Agustin's costume design is typical for the lucha libre tradition, consisting of a black sleeveless shirt, black pants, and a black cat mask. The design of the mask has varied throughout the years, but has retained its familiar cat motif. In some depictions his costume includes a long black cape. The cape was designed more for looks rather than functionality and is generally excluded from the stories.
In other media.
The adventures of El Gato Negro are currently featured in a bi-monthly comic strip for South Texas Nation, which is the first publication to feature an origin story revealing El Gato Negro's ties to the Mexican Revolution.


Dendritic cell-based cancer vaccine

Dendritic cells (DCs) are powerful antigen presenting cells for the induction of antigen specific T cell response. DC vaccine has been introduced as a new therapeutic strategy in cancer patients. DC-based immunotherapy is safe and can promote antitumor immune responses and prolonged survival of cancer patients.
Human DC subsets.
Immature dendritic cells.
Non-activated (immature) DCs are usually located in the peripheral non-lymphoid tissues and they can present self-antigens to T cells, that leads to immune tolerance either through T cell deletion or through the differentiation of regulatory T cells or suppressor T cells.
Mature dendritic cells.
Mature DCs have ability to present antigens in the lymphoid tissues and prime, activate and expand effector immune cells with unique functions and cytokine profiles.
Myeloid dendritic cells (cDCs).
Myeloid or conventional DCs (cDCs) are derived from myeloid progenitor cells in the bone marrow and are characterized by expression of CD11c. cDCs can be subdivided into 3 groups: monocyte-derived DCs, CD1a- interstitial DCs, and CD1a+ Langerhans cells.
Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs).
Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) differentiate from lymphoid progenitor cells in the lymphoid tissues. They express CD123 and product high levels of type I interferon. pDCs also contribute to inflammatory responses in the steady state and in pathology. During inflammatory response, inflammatory DCs (iDCs) are generated from monocytes.
Function of cancer therapeutic vaccines.
The main goal of the therapeutic vaccines is to elicit cellular immunity. They should prime naive T cells as well as induce transition from chronically activated non-protective CD8+ T cells to healthy CD8+ T cells able to produce cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs), that recognise and eliminate cancer cells in an antigen-specific way and also provide long-lived memory CD8+ T cells that will act to prevent relapse. The most critical step in vaccination is the effective presentation of cancer antigens to T cells and because of DCs are the most efficient antigen presenting cells, they are the promising option for improvement of therapeutic vaccines.
Methods for exploiting dendritic cells in cancer therapeutic vaccines.
DC-based immunotherapy approach can be employed in a couple of ways:
Direct targeting/stimulating of the DCs "in vivo" to accentuate their anticancer phenotype.
Most of trials testing "in vivo" DCs’ stimulation with synthetic peptides failed because of inability of effective stimulation of CD4+ cellular responses and stimulation of Th2 type cytokines. The solution showing clinical responses was pre-treatment with single-dose cyclophosphamide as well as vaccination with tumor associated antigens (TAAs) and granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF).
Stimulation of the DCs "ex vivo" and infusing them back into the host for carrying out anticancer effector function.
In this way, DCs’ precursors are isolated from the patient through leukapheresis and after maturation/stimulation of these precursors "ex vivo", fully mature DCs are injected back into the patient. There are different ways applied to generate cancer cells-specific DCs. We can used specific TAAs, tumor lysates, created DC-cancer cell fusions, electroporation/transfection of DCs with total cancer cell-mRNA or tumor derived exosomes (TDEs) by the stimulation. There is also the possibility of additional co-stimulating with cytokine “cocktails” to assure strong maturation.
Dendritic cell vaccine against brain tumor.
The most well-known source of antigens used for vaccines in Glioblastoma (Aggressive type of brain tumor) investigations were whole tumor lysate, CMV antigen RNA and tumor associated peptides for instance EGFRvIII. The initial studies showed that patients developed immune responses as measured by Interferon-gamma expression in the peripheral blood, systemic cytokine responses, or CD8+ antigen specific T cell expansion. Clinical response rates were not as vigorous as the immune response rates. Overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS) varied in different studies but were enhanced compared to historical controls.
Sipuleucel-T.
Sipuleucel-T is the first DCs- based cancer vaccine for men with asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) . It is an active cellular immunotherapy, which involves obtaining antigen-presenting autologous dendritic cells from the patient following a leukapheresis procedure. The cells are incubated "ex vivo" in the presence of a recombinant fusion protein PA2024 containing a prostate antigen, prostate acid phosphatase and GM-CSF, an immune-cell activator. The cells are then returned to the patient to generate an immune response.