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69952010

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan%20Skarbek

Jan Skarbek

Jan Skarbek – born June 15, 1885 in Paszczyna near Dębica, was a Polish Roman Catholic priest, chronicler. Jan Skarbek is one of the honorary citizens of Oświęcim – he was given this title from city authorities in 1934. He was known for cultivating interfaith relations in Oświęcim and maintaining friendly relations with local Jewish community. Biography Education In 1909 he was ordained a priest and a diploma in theology at the Jagiellonian University. He was also a law graduate of the same university in Kraków. He was ordained a priest in Kraków in 1909. His first pastoral institution was the parish of St. Adalbert and St. Catherine in Jaworzno. In 1914. it ended up in nearby Szczakowa, and a year later in Pleszów, near Krakow. In January 1926, Skarbek became the parish priest of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary parish in Oświęcim and held this position until his death. Interwar period He came to Oświęcim in 1926. He was a town councilor for many years. In 1934, he was awarded the title of an honorary citizen of Oświęcim. He was active in a number of charity, social and educational organizations, and was also involved in maintaining proper interfaith relations in Oświęcim. In 1929, he became chairman of the committee devoted to building and establishing the first secondary school in the city, which functions to the present day (today, the Stanisław Konarski Secondary School in Oświęcim). World War II During the war, Jan Skarbek worked with the resistance movement at the Auschwitz concentration camp. He was involved in helping escapees from the KL Auschwitz camp, including by issuing false baptism records. On the night of July 1-2, 1942, German policemen arrested the parish priest, treasurer and one of the vicars. The priests were beaten and the presbytery was plundered. The parish priest's housekeeper was also arrested. Skarbek was arrested for "storing excessive amounts of food in the presbytery". He was imprisoned in Oświęcim, Katowice, Mysłowice and Bielsko. After his release, the German authorities did not allow him to return to Oświęcim and he did not return there until 1945; then he continued to act as a parish priest. He died on February 2, 1951 in Oświęcim and was buried in the parish cemetery in Oświęcim. Activities for interfaith relations Jan Skarbek actively built good relations with the Jewish community of Oświęcim based on mutual respect. He maintained warm, friendly relations with the local rabbi Elyahu Bombach, socialised with other rabbis and encouraged the Catholic community of the town to be similarly open towards other religions. Skarbek met the rabbi of Oświęcim in the park, where they talked together in Hebrew. References People from Oświęcim

69954886

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynching%20of%20F.%20W.%20Stewart

Lynching of F. W. Stewart

The lynching of F. W. Stewart occurred shortly after midnight on November 7, 1898, about a mile outside of Lacon, Illinois. Stewart had been accused of the assault of a miner's daughter in Toluca. About one hundred miners formed a mob and broke into the Marshall County jail to retrieve Stewart, who they hanged. History F. W. "George" Stewart was an African American from Toluca, Illinois, a mining town along the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway. Stewart had previously served a sentence in Peoria County for an 1896 burglary and had lived in Toluca for about four months following his release. The recent growth of Toluca stoked racial tensions; according to the Chicago Tribune, "many colored men were forced to leave town because feeling was running so high." Mary O'Brien, the daughter of the pit boss of the Toluca mine, was allegedly assaulted on November 4, 1898. A man hit O'Brien in the head with a rock, but she was able to cry for help, scaring the assailant away. O'Brien was unable to provide a description of her assailant. A mob of about one hundred miners formed and were supposedly led to Stewart's residence by a bloodhound. Although Stewart succeeded in initially convincing the mob of his innocence, local police quietly arrested him for his own safety and held him in the Marshall County jail in the county seat of Lacon. The mob of miners formed again the next morning and were dismayed that Stewart was in custody. In hopes of quelling the mob, the mayor and city marshal of Toluca procured a confession from Stewart. However, after they returned to town to relay the news, the mob set out for Lacon. They camped a mile east of town, and sent about fifty into town to retrieve Stewart. The sheriff refused to turn Stewart over, so the miners used their mining implements to break down the door. They locked the sheriff in a side room and broke open Stewart's cell with a sledgehammer. A rope was placed around Stewart's neck, and then he was led back to the camp, where Stewart was hanged from a white oak tree. By the time the sheriff was able to escape and locate the camp, the mob had dispersed. It was ruled that Stewart's death came at the hand of "persons unknown" and the sheriff declined to press charges due to "public sentiment". Stewart was buried in the local potter's field. See also Pana riot References 1898 in Illinois 1898 murders in the United States Lynching deaths in Illinois Marshall County, Illinois Racially motivated violence against African Americans

69958056

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin%20%281981%20film%29

Martin (1981 film)

Martin (The Execution) is a Norwegian drama film from 1981 directed by Leidulv Risan. The screenplay was written by Anne Gullbjørg Digranes, and Bjørn Skagestad starred in the title role. Plot Beneath the surface of a small Norwegian town in Western Norway hide completely different forces than peace and tolerance. It all starts with the teacher Martin being accused of being gay. The gossip spreads and also affects his cohabiting friends Kjersti and Sara. In the public eye, these three people are deviants that threaten the image of reality. In the municipal administration, two corrupt officials use the gossip to hide their own dishonesty. Martin is broken by suspicion and direct terror over the course of a few spring days. Cast Bjørn Skagestad as Martin Unni Evjen as Kjersti Horn Nina Hart as Sara Trioli Pia Bragmo as Ellen Jon Eikemo as Karlsen Terje Frækaland - Thomas Sverre Gran as the head of the social welfare board Roland Hedlund as the drunken man Inger Heldal as Randi Olsen Sigrid Huun as the charmer's girl Helge Jordal as the charmer Kaare Kroppan as a social welfare board member Lars Andreas Larssen as the gymnastics teacher Rolf Arly Lund as the policeman Hallvard Lydvo as the medical intern Mona Olsen as Marianne Sverre Anker Ousdal as Arne Olsen Amalia Palma as Bjørg Janne Rygg as Kari Morten Sandøy a Magnus Anne Semmingsen as Mrs. Hansen Kjell Stormoen as the principal Erik Strømmen as Ola Rudi Sønnevik as Jens Liv Thorsen as the waitress Geir Kåre Veum as Runar Wenche Wefring as Carina Kalle Øby as the postman References External links Martin at the National Library of Norway 1981 films Norwegian drama films Norwegian-language films

69958525

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provincial%20government%20response%20to%20the%20COVID-19%20pandemic%20in%20Ontario

Provincial government response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario

The following has been the Provincial governmental response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario. Initial response On March 15, 2020, Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) ordered the closure of all provincial casinos. On March 17, 2020, Premier Ford declared a provincial state of emergency, prohibiting public gatherings larger than 50 people, and ordering the closure of all schools, child care services, libraries, indoor recreation facilities, dine-in bars and restaurants, and all cinemas, theatres, and concert venues. Ford stated the "vast majority" of businesses were not affected by the order, promising that "essential services and essential needs will be available to every individual and families. On March 20, 2020, further measures were announced, including waiving the three-month waiting period for Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) coverage, the launch of an e-learning portal, and extended privileges for hospitals to re-deploy staff. On March 23, 2020, Ford ordered all "non-essential" businesses closed by 11:59 p.m. A list of 74 "essential" businesses was published later in the day. On March 27, 2020, at 2:00 p.m. ET, Alert Ready was activated on all radio stations, television broadcasters and LTE wireless networks in Ontario, broadcasting an emergency alert warning those returning from international travel of their obligation to self-isolate for 14 days under the Quarantine Act. On March 30, 2020, the Ontario government extended the state of emergency through April 13, 2020, and also ordered the province-wide closure of all outdoor recreational amenities, including beaches, playgrounds and sports facilities (several Ontario municipalities including Toronto, had already ordered similar closures of their recreational amenities several days prior to the province-wide order). On April 3, 2020, it was announced the number of "essential" businesses would be reduced to 44 beginning 11:59 p.m. on April 4, 2020; this included Ontario Cannabis Store and the halting of most non-essential construction, including industrial construction, and residential construction that did not begin before April 4, 2020, but excluding "critical" infrastructure projects. On May 27, 2020, all existing public health orders were extended through June 9, 2020. On April 27, 2020, Premier Ford released "A Framework for Reopening our Province", a roadmap detailing a "gradual" lifting of economic restrictions. The process was divided into three stages, with the first intending to allow reopening outdoor spaces, businesses that can "immediately meet or modify operations" to allow a larger number of participants in certain types of gatherings and allow the resumption of some non-elective medical procedures. Stage 2 would allow additional businesses and outdoor spaces to reopen, and increase the limit on participants in gatherings. Stage 3 would contain further relaxation of prior restrictions, although restrictions on large public gatherings will remain in place indefinitely. After the process began in mid-May, the entirety of the province reached Stage 3 in mid-August. On June 12, Chief Medical Officer of Health David Williams issued guidelines for "social circles" — allowance for families to expand their interactions with up to 10 people (including themselves) from outside of their immediate household. On September 17, in response to a surge in new cases in parts of the province, it was announced that the maximum size of "unmonitored social gatherings and organized public events" in the Ottawa, Peel, and Toronto regions would be reduced from 50 people indoors and 100 outdoors, to 10 indoors and 25 outdoors. Organizers of events that violate this restriction can be fined a minimum of $10,000, on top of the existing $750 fine for violating Ontario public health orders. Ford stated that the rule was primarily intended to target events occurring in parks and private locations, and that staffed facilities not targeted under the rule (such as banquet halls, cinemas, convention centres, and restaurants) have employed safety protocols compliant with the province's health guidance. On September 19, the aforementioned restrictions on private gatherings were extended province-wide. On September 25, it was announced that effective September 26 province-wide, strip clubs would be ordered closed, and that all bars, restaurants and nightclubs would be required to end the sale of alcoholic beverages at 11:00 p.m. and close their dining rooms between midnight and 5:00 a.m. nightly. On October 2, Premier Ford announced that the wearing of face masks would become mandatory province-wide in all public spaces and workplaces when social distancing is not possible, effective October 3. A number of health regions had already implemented similar mandates at the regional level. In addition, new restrictions were introduced in the Ottawa, Peel, and Toronto regions; bars and restaurants must collect contact information from all patrons for contact tracing purposes, and are capped at a capacity of 100 people and six patrons per table. Event facilities were capped at a capacity of 50 people total (rather than 50 per room) and also subject to the six-person cap. Gyms are also capped at 50 patrons, and exercise classes were capped at 10. Due to heightened cases in the regions, Peel, Ottawa, and Toronto were rolled back to Modified Stage 2 from October 10 to November 7, reinstating closures of indoor dining areas, casinos, cinemas and theatres, gyms, and personal care services that require the removal of face masks. All gatherings are capped at 10 people indoors and 25 outdoors, and team sports are restricted to practices only, with scrimmages and games prohibited. Wedding receptions were also prohibited following the Thanksgiving long weekend. Schools and places of worship will continue operations. On October 16, it was announced that York Region would also be placed under Modified Stage 2 beginning October 19. On November 25, a report was released by Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk which found that Ontario's initial response to COVID-19 was "slower and more reactive relative to most other provinces and many other international jurisdictions" (in contrast to its response to the SARS outbreak). The report found that Public Health Ontario had a "diminished role" in the response, including the province's Central Co-ordination Table for COVID-19 consisting largely of deputy ministers rather than public health officials such as Chief Medical Officer of Health David Williams (who acted primarily on the advice of Ontario's Health Command Table), and ignoring recommendations made by public health officials. Lifting of restrictions after the first wave On May 14, 2020, it was announced that Stage 1 of Ontario's lifting of restrictions would begin May 20, focusing primarily on "workplaces that are well-positioned to follow public health advice to maintain physical distancing, implement workplace safety guidance and limit gatherings". Certain outdoor recreation activities that are part of Stage 1 were allowed to resume on May 16, for the Victoria Day long weekend. On June 8, it was announced that Stage 2 would be implemented across most of the province, excluding 10 Southern Ontario health regions primarily in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area and along the Canada–United States border (such as Windsor-Essex County) due to a large number of active cases. In addition, Ford announced that the cap on gathering sizes would be increased to ten province-wide regardless of phase, and that there would be a moratorium on evictions through the end of August of small businesses which are eligible for the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program. On June 15, the Durham, Halton, Haldimand-Norfolk, Hamilton, Lambton, Niagara, and York health regions were allowed to enter Stage 2. On June 22, it was announced that Peel and Toronto would be allowed to enter Stage 2 on June 24. Windsor-Essex was still excluded from Stage 2 due to outbreaks involving the agriculture industry. On June 24, it was announced that most of Windsor-Essex would be allowed to enter Stage 2 on June 25, excluding Kingsville and Leamington. On July 3, Premier Ford stated that he did not have a specific timetable for Stage 3; "You see what's happening [in the United States] when you move too quickly, you see what's happening south of the border. We don't want that happening up here." By August 12, after a region-by-region roll-out, all regions in Ontario had entered Stage 3. On September 8, in response to growing case numbers, the provincial government announced a moratorium on further lifting of restrictions (such as expansion of "social circles" and gatherings) for at least four weeks, besides those already ongoing (such as schools, and reopening of selected casinos on September 26). Second province-wide shutdown (December 26, 2020 – January 25, 2021) On December 21, 2020, Premier Ford announced that in order to "save lives and prevent our hospitals from being overwhelmed in the coming weeks", a "strict" province-wide shutdown would begin in all health regions (regardless of their current status on the response framework) at 12:01 a.m. ET on December 26, 2020 (Boxing Day). This measure will last for 28 days. It was originally to last only 14 days in the northern regions of the province (north of Sudbury), but on January 7, 2021, it was announced that the province-wide shutdown will be extended in these regions to the same length as in Southern Ontario. Indoor social gatherings that involve people from outside of one's immediate household are prohibited. Outdoor gatherings are limited to 10 people with social distancing. All non-essential businesses, retail outlets (which include all businesses deemed non-essential under the "Lockdown" tier of the response framework, as well as hardware stores and pet shops), cultural amenities, sports and recreation facilities (unless "being used by high-performance athletes and specified professional leagues"), and personal care services must close to the public. Essential retail businesses are subject to capacity limits stricter than those used under Lockdown (50% for supermarkets and pharmacies, 25% for liquor stores and allowable big-box stores that sell groceries). Bars and restaurants are prohibited from offering dine-in service. All drive-in or drive-through events are prohibited, excluding drive-in religious services. All publicly-funded schools remained closed to in-person classes (resuming remotely after the holiday break) until January 11, 2021, in Northern Ontario, and January 25, 2021, in Southern Ontario. Elementary schools were originally slated to reopen in Southern Ontario on January 11, but on January 7, it was announced that this would be delayed. Second stay-at-home order (January 14 – March 8, 2021) On January 12, 2021, citing models forecasting that Ontario's health care system will be "overwhelmed" with cases and mortality exceeding those of the first wave unless actions are taken, Premier Ford declared a second provincial state of emergency and announced stricter province-wide measures, to take effect on January 14 at 12:01 a.m. ET and last through at least February 11. These measures upgraded the province-wide shutdown to a stay-at-home order; all Ontario residents were required to remain at their homes unless conducting an activity deemed essential. Essential activities include shopping at grocery stores or pharmacies, receiving health care, exercise, or conducing essential work that cannot be performed remotely. All employees were required to work from home if they have the capability of doing so. The province states that what is considered "essential work" is based on "[the] best judgement and common sense of employers". Performing arts facilities were required to cease all operations, even for virtual streaming concerts. All other restrictions enacted under the province-wide shutdown remained in force, and the colour-coded response framework was officially considered "paused" due to the declaration of emergency. Certain businesses, such as liquor stores, hardware stores, and stores offering delivery or curbside pickup services, were required to close from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. nightly. Non-essential construction activity was also suspended. Outdoor gatherings were limited to five people, and guidance now recommends masks be worn outside (in addition to the existing indoor mandate) if social distancing is not possible. The closure of schools in Hamilton, Peel, Toronto, Windsor-Essex, and York was extended further to February 10. The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), municipal police departments, bylaw officers, and provincial workspace inspectors, had the authority to issue tickets to enforce the stay-at-home order and mask mandate, however they will not have the authority to stop drivers or pedestrians for questioning. Premier Ford stated plans for a compliance "blitz" of retail store inspections beginning the weekend of January 15. Results of the inspection "blitz" revealed 36 of 110 stores visited in violation of COVID-19 measures, or 70 percent compliance rate. The measures faced criticism for disproportionately favouring big box retailers, by not restricting the times of day in which they may offer curbside pickup or delivery services, or preventing them from selling non-essential goods. It also does not include funding to cover paid sick leave for essential and low-wage workers. On February 8, 2021, Premier Ford announced that the declaration of emergency would expire, but that the stay-at-home order would be extended in the majority of health regions to allow a gradual reinstatement of the response framework. The order was first lifted on February 10 in Eastern Ontario's Hastings Prince Edward Public Health Unit, the Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Health Unit, and the Renfrew County and District Health Unit. The stay-at-home order was expected to be lifted in most of Ontario on February 16, excluding Peel, Toronto, and York (expected to occur on February 22), and any other area where the province believes it is not yet safe to lift the order. This was later amended to exclude York and include North Bay-Parry Sound. Even as the restriction is lifted, the province still encourages residents to stay at home whenever possible, and discourages social gatherings and non-essential travel (including travel between regions with different levels on the response framework). On February 19, 2021, York region was announced to be moving to Red (Control) on February 22 while Toronto, Peel and North Bay-Parry Sound were to remain in a stay-at-home order until at least March 8. On March 5, 2021, the provincial government announced these last three regions would be moving to the response framework on March 8, officially ending stay-at-home orders originally in effect since January 14, 2021. Regional advisory system Response framework Use during the second wave from November 7 – December 26, 2020 On November 3, 2020, Premier Ford stated that future modifications of restrictions during the second wave will be performed regionally using a colour-coded "response framework". The framework went into place on November 7. On November 11, it was reported by the Toronto Star that the Ford government had allegedly ignored recommendations by Public Health Ontario regarding the metrics used for the advisory system — which were four times narrower than what was actually implemented by the government. Two days later, Premier Ford announced that the thresholds for each level would be decreased: for example, the criterion for the "Control" (Red) level was reduced from a weekly incidence rate of 100 or more per-capita, to 40 or more. Regions included in each tier were adjusted to match the new thresholds effective November 16. Ford stated that the original criterion was based on earlier models that had anticipated only 950–1,250 new cases per day by the time it was implemented and that he would not have used them if case numbers had reached the point they had on November 10. Use during the third wave beginning February 8, 2021 Due to the declaration of emergency and a stay-at-home order issued, the response framework was officially considered paused from December 26, 2020, to February 9, 2021. On February 8, 2021, Premier Ford announced that the response framework would be gradually reinstated to replace the stay-at-home order, beginning with the Hastings Prince Edward Public Health Unit, the Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Health Unit, and the Renfrew County and District Health Unit on February 10 (which reopened into the "Prevent" tier). Unlike the earlier revision, the "Lockdown" tier will allow for non-essential retail with capacity limits (unless the region is subject to a stay-at-home order). The framework is now subject to an "emergency brake", where regions may immediately be placed back in the "Lockdown" tier as a circuit breaker if health officials believe that the incidence rate is increasing too rapidly and the healthcare system is at a severe risk of being overwhelmed. As of March 26, health officials may impose a stricter lockdown (equivalent to the earlier province-wide shutdown) under the emergency brake as well. On March 20, further amendments to the response framework were implemented for restaurants; outdoor dining is now permitted in regions in the "Lockdown" tier, and capacity limits for restaurants in the "Control" and "Restrict" tiers were increased from 10 and 50 customers respectively to 50 and 100, or 50 percent capacity, whichever is lower. Additional modifications were announced on March 26; as of March 29, the "Lockdown" category began to allow outdoor fitness classes of up to 10 people. Personal care services were to be allowed operate by-appointment only at 25 percent capacity/5 people (whichever is fewer) in "Lockdown" regions beginning April 12. In addition, subject to physical distancing, capacity limits were removed for outdoor religious services (including funerals and weddings) in all regions. Third province-wide shutdown and stay-at-home order (April 3 – June 2, 2021) On April 1, 2021, amid rising new infections, particularly exacerbated by variants of concern and preceding the Easter weekend, Premier Ford announced a third province-wide shutdown beginning April 3. All regions were moved to a new sixth level of the response framework, "Shutdown" (white), re-imposing measures that were introduced during the first province-wide shutdown. This includes prohibiting all indoor organized events and gatherings, limiting outdoor gatherings to five people, capacity limits for retail (50% for essential retail, 25% for all other stores), and ordering the closure of all in-person dining (regardless of setting), daycamps, personal care services, sports and recreation facilities, meeting and event spaces, and cinemas, and capping capacity of religious services to 15 percent. All performing arts facilities must close, even for internet streaming events. The response framework is paused. Premier Ford faced criticism over the new shutdown (which resulted in only minor changes for health regions already in the "Lockdown" tier), with Leader of the Opposition Andrea Horwath arguing that it was "a too little too late response by this government to what we knew was coming". On April 4, the medical officers of Ottawa, Peel Region, and Toronto sent a letter to the government requesting that a stay-at-home order be issued. On April 7, 2021, Premier Ford declared a third state of emergency and announced that a third stay-at-home order will take effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on April 8, and last for four weeks. All Ontario residents must remain at their homes unless conducting an activity deemed essential. Essential activities include shopping at grocery stores or pharmacies, receiving health care, exercise, school, or conducting essential work that cannot be performed remotely. All employees must work from home if they have the capability of doing so. Ford explained that "the situation is evolving rapidly, hour by hour. And as things change, as we learn more about these deadly new variants, as we see new problems arise, we need to adapt. We need to move quickly and decisively. And right now, above all else, our plan is to get needles in the arms and protect our hospitals." All shutdown restrictions and all other restrictions from the previous stay-at-home order apply. Furthermore, essential retail stores are only allowed to sell food, pharmacy items, and cleaning supplies, and all other non-essential goods are prohibited from being displayed or sold to in-store customers. In addition, retailers of assistive devices, automotive and equipment rental services, motor vehicle and boat dealers, vehicle and equipment repair services, prescription eyewear, safety supplies, and telecom services may operate at 25 percent capacity by appointment only. Following criticism of photos showing displays of cloth masks blocked by local Walmart stores, representatives of the government clarified that they were considered an essential good. The order does not include paid sick leave; Premier Ford accused those advocating for paid sick leave of "playing politics", and not directing people to the Canadian Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB) instead (which is a retroactive payment), which he deemed sufficient. Extension of the stay-at-home order and further restrictions On April 16, 2021, Premier Ford announced that due to record high hospitalizations and cases, the stay-at-home order had been extended through at least May 20, and that several additional restrictions will also be imposed. Effective April 17, outdoor gatherings with anyone from outside of the immediate household are prohibited, all outdoor recreation amenities must close, allowable "big box" retail stores are restricted to 25% capacity, and all non-essential construction projects must be suspended. Beginning April 19, land travel into Ontario is restricted at the provincial border to essential purposes (transport of goods, medical care, work, and exercising treaty rights) only, and indoor places of worship are limited to 10 people. Furthermore, Solicitor General Sylvia Jones announced that police would receive enhanced authority to enforce the stay-at-home order, including being able to perform random stops of individuals they suspect are travelling in violation of the stay-at-home order. They could compel individuals to state their home address and purpose of travel; failure to comply with a request for this information would be a ticketable offence. Premier Ford stated that "I have never shied away from telling you the brutal honest truth, never shied away from tough decisions and today I am here to do just that. My friends we are losing the battle between variants and vaccines", and that "we need to step up enforcement and we need to focus on those who are deliberately putting others at risk by ignoring the stay-at-home order." The new measures faced criticism; the province did not introduce paid sick leave, the new police authority was criticized for resembling carding and having a disproportionate impact to BIPOC communities, while a number of municipal police departments announced that they would not perform random stops under the measure. On April 17, Jones announced that the new police authority would be narrowed to only allow them to stop and ticket individuals they suspect are participating in a public event or social gathering. Despite the changes, the revised measures elicited continued concerns. Criticism has also been raised over the prohibition of outdoor recreation, due to outdoor spaces being considered to have a generally lower risk of transmission over indoor spaces, and calls for the provincial government to promote outdoor recreation for physical and mental health. The province backpedaled on restricting playgrounds, but the remainder of the order remains in effect. On April 20, 2021, Peel Public Health issued a Section 22 order effective April 23, requiring any business that has been linked to five or more COVID-19 infections within the past 14 days to shut down for 10 days. All employees of the business must self-isolate for the duration, and it is "strongly recommended" that impacted employees be provided with paid leave. Peel Public Health stated that "workplace exposures in Peel Region continue to drive the region's high case counts of COVID-19. Expedited closure will also allow Peel Public Health to investigate workplace exposures without risk of continued spread." This order will not apply to healthcare, schools, or other "critical infrastructure". Toronto Public Health subsequently issued a nearly identical order. On April 22, 2021, in his first public appearance since April 16, and while self-isolating due to being a close contact of a positive case within his staff, Premier Ford admitted that the new enforcement measures announced last Friday "went too far". He also announced that Ontario was working on developing a paid sick leave benefit, arguing that they needed to fill "gaps" in the CRSB that were not fulfilled by the 2021 federal budget, and that they planned to make it "the best program in North America". The province officially announced the temporary "COVID-19 Worker Income Protection Benefit Program" on April 29, providing up to three paid sick days for full-time or part-time workers, and paying up to $200 per day. Employers will be reimbursed via the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB). The program will last through September 25, 2021 (the last day of the CRSB), and is retroactive to April 19. On May 13, 2021, the stay-at-home order was extended by 14 days through June 2. Premier Ford stated that the additional time was necessary in order to ensure that "most normal July and August possible", but that this would not allow large public gatherings such as concerts or sporting events. Transition from stay-at-home order and Step 1 On May 20, 2021, alongside the announcement of a new roadmap for lifting restrictions, Ford announced that beginning May 22, outdoor recreation amenities would be allowed to reopen, and outdoor gatherings of up to five people would also be permitted. On May 21, 2021, with warmer weather, splash pads were opened ahead of the Victoria Day weekend. On June 2, 2021, the stay-at-home order officially expired, leaving the province with some restrictions, bans on outdoor activities like camping stayed closed. On June 7, 2021, it was announced Ontario would enter Step 1 on June 11 at 12:01am. Three-step roadmap for reopening On May 20, 2021, Premier Ford announced a three-step plan to reopen the economy, based on vaccination rate goals. Initially, the province was to stay in each Step for a minimum of 21 days before moving onto the next. However, each reopening step was put in place before 21 days had passed. Proof of vaccination requirements begin (September 22, 2021–present) On September 1, 2021, despite having initially been against the concept as to not create a "split society", Premier Ford announced that the province would mandate the presentation of proof of vaccination in order to access certain non-essential indoor businesses, effective September 22, 2021. The province announced plans to also develop a verifiable digital credential in QR code format. Ford criticized Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for not developing a domestic vaccine passport at the federal level, despite him having only previously called for one to be developed for international travel. Patrons 12 years of age or older must present proof of full vaccination in order to access the indoor areas of the following settings, unless otherwise noted: Restaurants and bars (dine-in service) Nightclubs (including outdoor areas), strip clubs, bathhouses, and sex clubs Entertainment and gaming venues such as cinemas, concert halls, casinos, etc. Sports and recreation facilities, such as pools, gyms, and fitness centres, and the seating areas of indoor sports venues. There are exceptions for persons under 18 years of age that are participating in organized sports activities. However, some health units (such as Windsor–Essex County and Toronto) have revoked this exception and require all participants to be fully vaccinated, regardless of age. Effective December 20, 2021, this exception will be removed province-wide. Meeting and event spaces There are exceptions for the attendees of a funeral service or wedding ceremony. However, receptions are still subject to mandate. Racing facilities Patrons must present the Ontario COVID-19 vaccination receipt and valid photo identification. Valid medical exemptions include adverse reactions to the first vaccine dose, or life-threatening allergies to vaccine ingredients, and must be issued by a doctor. On October 14, 2021, Ontario began to roll out proof of vaccination expressed as a QR code. They can be checked by businesses using the Verify Ontario mobile app. The app was developed in partnership with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE). Following the implementation of the proof of vaccination system, on September 25, 2021, certain venues where vaccination is mandated were given increased capacity limits. Most indoor facilities' capacity limits were increased to 50 percent or 10,000 people (whichever is higher). Certain outdoor venues where people stand were increased to 75 percent or 15,000 people (whichever is higher) and for outdoor venues where people are seated, this was increased to 75 percent or 30,000 people (whichever is higher). On October 8, 2021, ahead of the opening of new seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and in the National Hockey League (NHL), Premier Ford announced that capacity limits would be lifted for certain venues and events where proof of vaccination is required, including cinemas, theatres, and concerts, the seating areas of sports, recreation, and racing facilities, meeting and event spaces (subject to social distancing), and the studio audiences of commercial film and television productions. This decision faced criticism from the restaurant industry for being a double standard, noting that indoor arenas would be allowed to operate at full capacity with nearly 20,000 spectators, but restaurants are still subject to capacity limits. An Ontario government spokesperson stated that restaurants were deemed a higher-risk setting due to patrons not wearing masks for prolonged periods. The involvement of MLSE—owner of most of Toronto's professional sports teams—in the development of the Verify Ontario app was also scrutinized by the industry, who accused the provincial government of favouring the interests of larger corporations over small businesses. Ford denied the accusations, stating that the changes impacted multiple industries beyond just sports. MLSE stated that they were being a "good corporate citizen", and their involvement primarily involved refinements to a beta version of the app. They also highlighted other contributions they had made in support of the pandemic response, including use of their facilities as homeless shelters and vaccination sites. On October 22, 2021, Premier Ford announced a long-term plan to eventually lift the remaining public health measures; On October 25, 2021, capacity restrictions were lifted for most facilities where proof of vaccination is presently required. This does not apply to specific "high-risk" settings, such as food and drink establishments (including wedding receptions) with dance floors, nightclubs, strip clubs, and sex clubs. Personal care services can operate at full capacity if all customers are fully vaccinated. By November 15, 2021, capacity limits were to be removed at other facilities and venues that are "high-risk" but require proof of vaccination. By January 17, 2022, the proof of vaccination requirement was to be removed for restaurants, sports facilities, and casinos. The requirement could be lifted from other venues over time. By March 28, 2022, all remaining province-wide health orders issued pursuant to the Reopening Ontario Act were to be revoked and lifted. Officials have stated that health measures may be reintroduced on a regional basis if needed. On October 28, 2021, restrictions on the capacity of general admission indoor concerts were lifted, including the requirement that all patrons be seated. This was moved ahead from the original second step on November 15. On November 10, 2021, the lifting of capacity restrictions for "high-risk" venues was delayed for at least 28 days out of an abundance of caution due to rising indicators. On December 7, 2021, this was delayed indefinitely. Omicron variant and rollback to Stage 2 (December 10, 2021–present) On December 10, 2021, citing the spread of the Omicron variant, Ontario announced upcoming changes to the proof of vaccination requirements, which have henceforth been extended indefinitely. Beginning December 20, the previous exemption to the proof of vaccination requirement for youth under 18 years of age participating in organized sports was removed. Beginning January 4, 2022, only a certified QR code is accepted as valid proof of vaccination or medical exemption. Notes from physicians are no longer accepted effective January 10, 2022. On December 15, 2021, Premier Ford announced that due to the Omicron variant, a 50 percent capacity limit would be reintroduced for meeting and event spaces, indoor sports venues with a capacity over 1,000, and indoor entertainment venues. On December 17, Ford also announced that permissible social gatherings would be reduced to 10 people outdoors and 25 outdoors, and most indoor settings will be restricted to 50 percent capacity (unless being used for a faith-based ceremony). Mingling and dancing at bars and restaurants is prohibited. All venues will be subject to a 10 p.m. last call for alcohol sales, and all bars, restaurants, and strip clubs must close to dining at 11 p.m. In addition, all event venues and casinos will be prohibited from serving food and beverages. On December 30, 2021, Ontario further restricted venues to a maximum of 1,000 spectators or 50 percent capacity, whichever is less. MLSE announced that all Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors home games will be played behind closed doors while this restriction is in effect. On January 3, 2022, Premier Ford announced that to protect the hospital system, Ontario would be rolled back to modified Step 2 beginning January 5, 2022 for least 21 days: All employees must work from home if they have the capability of doing so. Social gatherings are restricted to five people indoors and ten people outdoors. All schools will return to online learning through at least January 17, 2022. Retail, libraries, and personal care services are capped at 50 percent capacity. Bars and restaurants must close to in-person dining. Elective procedures at hospitals will be suspended. Indoor meeting and event spaces, indoor sports facilities, indoor recreational fitness facilities (except for use by training Olympic and Paralympic athletes, or athletes of specified professional and elite amateur sports leagues), indoor entertainment facilities (including cinemas, concert venues, theatres, museums, etc.), landmarks, historical sites, and festivals must close, with some exceptions for outdoor events. This effectively mandates that indoor sporting events must be held behind closed doors. Indoor weddings and funerals are capped at 50 percent capacity. On January 20, 2022, the province announced plans to ease some of these restrictions beginning January 31, 2022: Beginning January 31, 2022 Social gatherings are restricted to 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors. Indoor bars and restaurants (without dance floors), indoor meeting and event spaces, indoor sports facilities, indoor recreational fitness facilities, indoor entertainment facilities, landmarks, and historical sites may reopen at 50 percent capacity. Theatres, concert venues, and indoor arenas may reopen at a maximum capacity of 500 people or 50 percent capacity, whichever is less. All proof of vaccination requirements remain in force. Beginning February 21, 2022 Social gatherings are restricted to 25 people indoors and 100 people outdoors. Indoor public venues subject to proof of vaccination may operate at full capacity. Indoor public venues without proof of vaccination must restrict capacity to allow two metres social distancing. Indoor religious ceremonies without proof of vaccination requirements must restrict capacity to allow two metres social distancing. Theatres, concert venues, and indoor arenas may operate at a maximum capacity of 50 percent. Indoor "high risk" settings subject to proof of vaccination may operate at 25 percent capacity. Beginning March 14, 2022 Social gatherings are restricted to 50 people indoors, and no longer limited outdoors. Capacity restrictions lifted for religious services. Capacity restrictions lifted for indoor public venues. All proof of vaccination requirements remain in force. At least 21 days must elapse between each phase. References Ontario COVID-19 pandemic Disasters in Ontario Health in Ontario Ontario 2021 in Ontario Ontario

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis%20Garc%C3%ADa%20Guijarro

Luis García Guijarro

Luis García Guijarro (1883-1974) was a Spanish politician and civil servant. Initially he was active within Carlism, then he joined the breakaway Mellistas, settled well in the Primo de Rivera regime, emerged as a key Derecha Regional Valenciana leader within CEDA, and eventually merged within the Francoist structures. He was elected to the Cortes in 1916, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1923, 1933 and 1936, though his 1920 ticket has been annulled. His career of civil servant climaxed with the short-lived 1931 nomination to director general of the Customs Office. Between 1916 and 1951 during short strings he served as either consul or commercial attaché in Hamburg, Damascus, Newcastle, Managua, Boston, again Damascus and Washington; in 1935-1936 he was the Spanish minister plenipotentiary to Czechoslovakia. He held also numerous minor jobs in central administration and abroad. Throughout most of his career García Guijarro was an active lobbyist on part of the Valencian orange industry. Family and youth There is nothing known about distant ancestors of Luis García Guijarro; none of the sources consulted provides any information which branch of the Levantine Garcías he descended from. The only forbearer identified was his father, Luis García Andreu (1847-1910). In 1877 he was appointed registrador de la propiedad, an official close to the real estate notary; at the time he was posted to the town of Pego, in the province of Alicante. Either in 1878 or a year later he married Josefa Guijarro Mendoza (1857-1926); almost nothing is known about her except that she was very pious. Some contemporary press and present-day sources alike claim that Luis descended from the family of Aparisi Guijarro or even that he was a nephew of the great Traditionalist thinker, Antonio Aparisi Guijarro; however, no details are provided and along the matriline his grandfather was an unrelated Fernando Guijarro Estupiñan. Luis García Andreu and Josefa Guijarro Mendoza settled in Pego. He kept ascending along the professional path; though he performed the same role of property registrar until death, Luis García kept moving to larger and more prestigious locations. In 1886 he was nominated registrador de la propiedad in Yecla, a city in the neighboring province of Murcia, where he served during the following 9 or 10 years; at the time he acted also as the Yecla representative of Unión de Propietarios Vinícolas de España and a “propietario” himself. Either in 1895 or 1896 the family moved to the coastal city of Gandia (Valencia province), where Luis kept serving as the registrar. He became a well known local personality; apart from official role he was also in executive of the Gandian Casa de Ahorros and remained an active correspondent of numerous Catholic newspapers and periodicals; none of his articles has been identified and it seems he published under a pen-name. The couple had 7 children, Luis born as the second one and the oldest son. The young Luis spent childhood in Yecla and early teens in Gandia. At unspecified time prior to 1902 he entered the faculty of law at the University of Valencia and was an active student. He double majored in law and philosophy/letters. In 1906 he applied for the chair of historia de España Antigua y media in Seville, but nothing is known about him assuming the job. In 1908 he received a governmental grant enabling further research abroad; first he studied in France at Sorbonne and in Toulouse, and then between 1909 and 1910 in the United States at Yale, where he focused on social sciences. Having returned he was admitted as auxiliar interino at the faculty of philosophy and letters at Universidad Central in Madrid. At unspecified time though after 1919 he married Lucila Gómez Sisniega (1896-1927), previously employed as “modista”. The couple settled in Madrid; they had no children. In 1946 García Guijarro remarried with Anastacia Ramos Díaz (1914-2005). Their only child, Luis García-Guijarro Ramos, is professor of medieval history at the University of Zaragoza. Early public activity García Guijarro's father was a vehement and die-hard Carlist; during the Third Carlist War he managed a local periodical El Volante de la Guerra, contributed to another one titled El Católico, and according to some sources he was co-responsible for executions in Valles, where he reportedly acted as the representative of Carlos VII. Also 25 years later, in the late 1890s, he was referred to as "carlista enragé". The young Luis inherited political preferences from his father and in his early 20s used to publish under pen-names in the Carlist semi-official mouthpiece, El Correo Español. However, he was also attracted to a new phenomenon of social Catholicism. As a student he gave lectures on socialismo católico and inspired by Rerum Novarum, in the early 1900s he co-founded and helped to run Caixa d’Estalvis de Gandia, the institution managed by the local priest Carlos Ferrís. In Gandia he was also involved in charity activities related to buildup of sanitary infrastructure to treat leprosy. Initially García Guijarro demonstrated some leaning towards literature and science. Following early pamphlets in 1908 he published both his doctoral dissertations; La guerra de la Independencia y el guerillero Romeu was dedicated to a local Valencian hero of anti-Napoleonic war José Romeu Parras, while Agustín Sales. Apuntes bio-bibliográficos focused on Agustín Sales Alcalá, a Valencian Franciscan theologian and one of great figures of Spanish mid-18th century Enlightenment. When in the United States he contributed unorthodox Spain-related articles to numerous American periodicals, including the prestigious The American Review of Reviews; 3 years after return to Spain García Guijarro published an account of his spell in the US, Notas americanas (1913). In 1911 he published a legal work Bases del derecho inmobiliario en la legislación comparada and in 1914 he translated from French a juridical study of Jorge de Lacoste. Apart from membership in the Valencian Colegio de Abogados, in the mid-1910s he was also a member of the American Historical Association. García Guijarro's professional record of the early 1910s is unclear. It is known that in 1912 he renounced his chair of auxiliar interino at facultad de filosofía y letras in Universidad Central. In 1913 he was reported as entering the competition for the chair of España Antigua y media at the University of Barcelona; another source claims he applied for a job at Facultad de Derecho. However, in 1914 and 1916 he was still noted as teaching at Universidad Central. In 1916 he again applied for España Antigua y media in Barcelona, though eventually he did not sit the exams. Also in 1916 García Guijarro entered examination for consular service and few weeks later he was nominated vice-consul in Hamburg. It is known that his term in Germany lasted at least until 1917. According to one unfriendly source, he was expelled from service as a zealous Germanophile, who compromised the Spanish diplomacy by voicing open support for German submarines, which at the time were sinking merchant ships in the Atlantic. Carlista In the early 1910s García Guijarro started to emerge as a young star of Valencian Carlism; he kept contributing to El Correo Español and used to speak during indoor meetings, e.g. delivering lectures at Circulo Jaimista in Valencia. At the time the Levantine branch of the movement was dominated by 3 personalities: Manuel Polo Peyrolón, Joaquín Llorens Fernández and Manuel Simó Marín, the latter two politicians in conflict with Polo; it is not clear who García Guijarro sided with. Prior to the electoral campaign of 1916 he and Simó were appointed by the provincial Jaimista structures to represent the party on a broad right-wing coalition list. Simó failed; García Guijarro's result of 9,537 votes gathered out of 51,867 possible was sufficient to ensure his triumph. It took a special Cortes electoral commission to declare his consular duty compatible with the Cortes mandate. In the chamber García Guijarro proved a fairly active deputy. He was busy mostly with promotion of local Valencian issues, e.g. advocating construction of new roads, though he voiced also against what was perceived as anti-religious, secular governmental policy and participated in debates on civil service, especially the consular network. Banking on his deputy status, he frequented local Carlist rallies and took to the floor as a distinguished speaker. In 1916 García Guijarro visited his king, at the time sort of incommunicado at home arrest in Frohsdorf. The episode remains somewhat obscure; it seems that at the time he still acted as a Spanish consul in Hamburg, though other sources suggest he was briefly detained and interrogated at the police station, as the Austrian security services suspected him of spying. Don Jaime handed him letters to the Spanish party executive; in the documents he demanded strict Carlist neutrality during the Great War. There are doubts as to what happened later. A pro-French Carlist campaigner, Francisco Melgar, claimed that García Guijarro kept at least some documents to himself, which contributed to disorientation within Carlism and allowed pro-German propaganda by the key party theorist, Juan Vázquez de Mella. A present-day historian maintains that the letters were promptly delivered to the party jefé Marquéz de Cerralbo. In the following general elections of 1918 the party Junta Provincial again appointed García Guijarro as one of two Carlist candidates. He was again successful as member of a broad right-wing coalition, though he failed to improve his performance compared to 1916: García Guijarro gathered 9,521 votes our of 53,410 possible in the Valencian district. Like in the previous term, in the chamber he focused mostly on local Valencian issues, e.g. discussing agricultural problems or excessive fiscal burden imposed upon smaller municipalities. He remained particularly engaged in promotion of the key Levantine product, oranges, and a number of times lobbied in favor of local orange growers. However, he voiced also in general questions like regulations referring to state civil servants. On exceptional basis he attended Carlist party events beyond his native Levantine region, e.g. in the Navarrese Alsasua. Mellista In the late 1910s Carlism was increasingly paralyzed by conflict between supporters of Vázquez de Mella and followers of Don Jaime; the former advocated pro-German stand and a grand ultra-right coalition, the latter was leaning towards the Entente and demanded that political alliances did not jeopardize the dynastic issue. García Guijarro tended to side with de Mella and already during the 1916 and 1918 elections he was considered a Mellista. This was due not only to his alleged Germanophile sentiments, but also because he was inclined towards right-wing coalitions, which twice ensured his Cortes mandate; since the mid-1910 he was engaged in a Valencian right-wing umbrella organisation Agrupación Regional de Acción Católica. When in early 1919 the conflict between de Mella and Don Jaime erupted into a full-scale confrontation, García Guijarro decided to join the breakaway Mellistas; together with 6 deputies and senators he issued a statement against Don Jaime. Following the secession García Guijarro attempted to take away the entire Valencian structures of Jaimismo and seize the local casa social, but failed. Following initial confusion in the 1919 elections García Guijarro stood as Mellista on the list of Derechas Valencianas. The campaign was very confrontational, especially between the Mellistas and the Jaimistas; García Guijarro was physically assaulted and suffered injuries. He was elected with 13,974 votes out of 43,325 possible and in the chamber he assumed presidency of a minuscule minoria mellista. The term was brief and in the following campaign of 1920 he stood again. He hoped to get Carlist votes and by some was presented as candidato legitimista; the party leader Larramendi disauthorized him. Eventually he ran on Mellista ticket supported by Liga Católica and got elected. However, following few weeks his ticket was annulled on technical grounds in early 1921. In 1921 García Guijarro returned to the consular service and was appointed to Damascus, but in May of this year he became the second class consul in Newcastle, the role performed at least until 1923. Back in Spain during the 1923 electoral campaign he again fielded his candidature to the Cortes, again in the Valencia district. He appeared as a Mellista on the list of the Defensa Social coalition, formed by Liga Católica, the Integrists and the Mellists. The campaign was again very confrontational, especially against the Jaimista candidate Marqués de Villores; there were some brawls and disturbances recorded. Eventually with 10,817 votes out of 45,045 possible he emerged victorious. At the time García Guijarro was already close to the nascent offshoot post-Mellista party, Partido Social Popular; the initiative failed to take off the ground as the Primo de Rivera coup soon brought political life in Spain to a standstill. Primoriverrista During first years after the military coup García Guijarro did not appear in politics. Most information on his public activity is related to Unión Nacional de Exportación Agrícola, a syndicate grouping mostly exporters of citrus fruits. In 1924 for the first time he appeared in its executive, listed as a treasurer. During the following year he remained active as the UNEA lobbyist in Madrid and in 1926 he became secretario general of the organisation. García Guijarro attended numerous commercial conferences and meetings; the one of particular importance was Conferencia Nacional Naranjera, staged by the provincial Valencian Cámara Oficial Agrícola and UNEA with the royal patronage. He also published a few booklets discussing either technicalities of the fruit industry or Spanish international commerce, mostly focused on oranges. In 1926 García Guijarro assumed a post in the central state administration; he became a member of Comisión Permanente de Comercio within Ministerio de Trabajo, Comercio e Industria. The same year and as the representative of UNEA he was nominated by the military directorio to Junta Central de Puertos. In 1927 he was appointed to Sección de Tratados within Consejo de la Economía Nacional; his interest was, among others, the Spanish-American commerce. In 1928 García Guijarro got nominated to another advisory body, Junta de Crédito Agrícola. The climax of his engagement in primoriverrista structures was the 1927 appointment to Asamblea Nacional Consultiva; he received nomination from the pool of Representantes de Actividades de la Vida Nacional. Admitted by Alfonso XIII and by Primo, he emerged among key lobbyists of the Valencian orange industry business in the capital. Information on García Guijarro's activity in the late 1920s is confusing. He was reported as active in various economy-related state bodies, like Junta Central de Puertos or Comisión Permanente del Comercio, and collected appointments to new ones, like Comisión del Patrón Oro or to executive of Banco Exterior de España. He was also nominated the academic of Academia de San Carlos. However, the press reported his numerous appointments within the consular service abroad; in 1928 to Managua, in 1929 and as cónsul de primera clase to Boston, and in 1930 again to Damascus. He supervised Spanish sections at trade expositions in Antwerp/Liege, Frankfurt and Prague and took part in official Spanish trade missions, e.g. in the UK. Still active within UNEA, he turned his attention to Eastern Europe: he gave lectures on trade perspectives with Czechoslovakia and entered Comité Hispanoeslavo. His career as civil servant climaxed in February 1931, when García Guijarro was nominated Director General de Aduanas. At the time the dictablanda regime was crumbling; in general elections, planned for the spring of 1931, García Guijarro together with Luis Lucía was supposed to represent Derecha Regional Valenciana. Cedista The new Republican government dismissed García Guijarro from head of the Customs Office in mid-April 1931; his tenure barely lasted 2 months. During the general elections of June 1931 DRV did not field its candidates; he stood as independent and lost to left-wing candidates. However, in the district of Valencia elections proved inconclusive and the second round was needed. In October he stood as the candidate of Derecha Regional Valenciana, though some newspapers dubbed him a Carlist and some advertised him as a generic Catholic candidate; with 18,924 votes he came third and narrowly failed to win the mandate. García Guijarro focused on his role in orange exporters syndicate, by some dubbed “alma de la UNEA”; he kept lobbying and lecturing. He resumed some teaching duties at Complutense, listed as professor auxiliar at Filosofía y Letras. In public he seemed to have accepted the new regime, e.g. during a monetary conference in 1932 he declared satisfaction with the economic course of the government. In early 1933 he was reported as “consejero comercial de España en los Balkanes”, but his tenure did not last beyond 1934. In the 1933 elections García Guijarro again represented DRV, though he enjoyed support also of the monarchists from Renovación Española. He was comfortably elected with 111,618 votes gathered; due to his post in the administration there were some doubts about his ticket, which in early 1934 was eventually confirmed by the electoral commission. He joined the CEDA parliamentary group and was the party secretary general. His activity in the chamber and beyond was mostly about international trade, with particular focus on citrus fruits; his public interventions were related e.g. to Spanish commerce with France, Romania or the Netherlands. The left-wing press denounced him as one of the sinister “superviventes de la dictadura”. In early 1935 the centre-right government appointed him to the highest post abroad so far, this time not in the consular but in the diplomatic service: he was nominated minister plenipotentiary to Czechoslovakia. He arrived in Prague to assume office in May 1935. Until early 1936 García Guijarro's relations with the official strata were good; in January he was admitted at a personal audience by the president, Niceto Alcalá-Zamora. During the general elections of February 1936 he traditionally represented Derecha Regional Valenciana in the Valencia district; his 7th electoral try produced the largest support so far and with 140,561 votes out of 308,694 possible he easily prolonged his parliamentary ticket. There were again some doubts as to his mandate, but Comisión de Actas confirmed it in May. It is not clear whether García Guijarro took part in a single sitting of the new Cortes, as he kept residing in Czechoslovakia and tried to develop export of Spanish oranges. However, in early June 1936 Cortes found his diplomatic role incompatible with parliamentary mandate and he filed his resignation from the Prague post. He was asked to remain in office until his substitute is appointed. Franquista Despite initial doubts either in July or in August 1936 García Guijarro declared support for Junta de Defensa Nacional. The Republican decree which dismissed him was issued either in mid- or in late August 1936. His whereabouts during the next few months are unclear. In March 1937 he was in the Nationalist zone and donated money to Junta de Defensa; when noting the donation the press did not refer to any role. In mid-1937 Junta Técnica nominated him Delegado Especial de Presidencia for the Balearic Islands and he was engaged in control of local exports. In March 1938 he was admitted by the vice-president of Junta Técnica and the acting Francoist minister of foreign affairs, Jordana; also in May Jordana admitted him at an audiencia diplomatica. In August he was nominated president of the almond section within Subcomisión de Frutos Secos of the quasi-ministry of economy and based in Palma, in late 1938 he supervised almond crops in the Baleares. He was last referred as head of the subcomisión in July 1939. In the summer of 1938 he was re-admitted to the diplomatic service; in 1941 he was acknowledged as ministro plenipotenciario de tercera clase, but it is not known where he served. In 1943 he was nominated ministro-consejero de economía exterior at the Spanish embassy in the US. Some Americans perceived his appointment as controversial; John M. Coffee denounced him as a Fascist sidekick of Juan March, who supported German submarine warfare during World War One. In the mid-1940s García Guijarro a few times travelled from the United States to Mexico to explore prospects of resuming Spanish-Mexican diplomatic relations. In the mid-1940s Martín Artajo considered his promotion to embassador in Washington, but Franco had other preferences. Lequerica referred to García Guijarro as "rojillo" and wanted him removed altogether, especially that Garcia Guijarro was highly critical of the official economic policy. Fearing Lequerica's harassment, García Guijarro refused the post of consul in San Francisco. He remained in Washington and terminated his mission in the US in 1951. In 1951 García Guijarro was promoted to ministro plenipotenciario de primera clase, but there is no information on his assignment. In 1953 the MFA declared him “en situación de disponible”, effectively given the status of a retiree. Already in his 70s he withdrew into privacy and no longer featured in the press; the exception were his rare appearances in societé columns, usually related to various family events, and acknowledgement of his study on the Levantine orange industry. Since then he entirely disappeared from the public eye, though due to his old familiarity with Ignacio Villalonga he was associated with Banco Central and until the mid-1960s he kept writing regular reports on economic and financial sitation in the country. There are no further details available on the last 10 years of his life. Apart from a private necrological note, his death in 1974 went almost entirely unnoticed and no obituaries appeared in the press. See also Carlism Traditionalism (Spain) Mellismo Notas americanas online Footnotes Further reading Juan Ramón de Andrés Martín, El cisma mellista. Historia de una ambición política, Madrid 2000, ISBN 9788487863820 José Francisco Mejía Flores, México y España: exilio y diplomacia, 1939-1947, Mexico 2017, ISBN 9786070293879 Luis Montilla Amador, Las relaciones entre España y Checoslovaquia en la etapa de entreguerras (1919-1936) [PhD thesis UNED], Madrid 2020 Tereza Purnochová, Československo-španělské vztahy v letech 1918-1936 [MA thesis Univerzita Hradec Králové], Hradec Králové 2017 External links Garcia Guijarro at the official Cortes service Diccionario biográfico de políticos valencianos 1810-2005 online on Wayback Machine service Por Dios y por España; contemporary Carlist propaganda 20th-century Spanish businesspeople Academics of the Complutense University of Madrid Businesspeople from the Valencian Community Carlists CEDA politicians Commercial attachés Complutense University of Madrid alumni Members of the Congress of Deputies of the Spanish Restoration Members of the Congress of Deputies of the Second Spanish Republic People from Valencia 20th-century Spanish lawyers 20th-century Spanish journalists Spanish anti-communists Spanish civil servants Spanish diplomats Spanish economists Spanish monarchists Spanish Roman Catholics Spanish people of the Spanish Civil War (National faction) Spanish publishers (people) University of Valencia alumni

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurence%20Ralph

Laurence Ralph

Laurence Ralph is an American writer, filmmaker and researcher. He is a Professor of Anthropology at Princeton University and the Director of Center on Transnational Policing. Ralph's research interests include urban ethnography, disability studies, social inequality, African American studies, race, policing, theories of violence, popular culture and hip-hop. He authored the books Renegade Dreams: Living Through Injury in Gangland in 2014 and The Torture Letters: Reckoning with Police Violence in 2020. He is also writer and director of the animated short film, The Torture Letters. Ralph has received the Guggenheim and Carnegie Fellowships, and is a fellow of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. He also received a fellowship from Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, and a Trustees Fellowship from the University of Chicago. He has received grants from the National Science Foundation, the Wenner Gren Foundation, and the National Research Council of the National Academies and is a member of the Institute for Advanced Study and the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. He is the Editor in Chief at Current Anthropology and has been the Associate Editor at Transforming Anthropology. Education Ralph received his Bachelor of Science degree in history, Technology and Society from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2004. He then earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in anthropology from The University of Chicago in 2006 and 2010 respectively. Career Ralph began his academic career at the University of Michigan in 2010, where he was a Visiting Faculty member and a Mandela-Rodney-Dubois Postdoctoral fellow at the Center for African and Afro American Studies. He was an assistant professor in the Departments of African and African American Studies and Anthropology at Harvard University from 2011 to 2015, after which he became the John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Social Sciences till 2017 and subsequently became the Professor of Anthropology and African American Studies there. Since 2018, he has been the Professor of Anthropology at Princeton University. Since 2015, he has been the Director at the Center of Transnational Policing and since 2017, he has been on the Advisory Council of the Wenner Gren Foundation. Works Ralph's work focuses on the way police abuse, mass incarceration and the drug trade have historically normalized disease, disability and the premature death of black urbanites as they are often perceived as being expendable. The research he does lies at the junction of critical medical and political anthropology, African-American studies and the emerging scholarship on disability and he combined the literature on these to show for black urban residents, violence and injury plays a central role in their day-to-day lives. He has explored these themes in Disability Studies Quarterly, Transition, Anthropological Theory, and Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power. In an article, Ralph examines the life and career of a Chicago police detective, Richard Zuley, who tortured criminal suspects in the United States and Guantánamo Bay. He builds on the scholarship on white supremacy, as he discusses the schema of racism that informs state-sanctioned violence which is often subconsciously used as a rationale for fighting terrorism as it is deeply ingrained in people's minds and cannot be "unthought." His findings in the Torture without Torturers paper concluded that the legal categorization of trauma is problematic as it rationalizes the inequality of police brutality on black victims because of the allowances that are given which betray the implicit assumption that they are debilitated because of their racialized status before any reprieve can be offered by the law. In The logic of the slave patrol: the fantasy of black predatory violence and the use of force by the police, he studied the 2014 shootings and discovered that in the instance McDonald shooting, the gun helped in reproducing the fantasy of Black predatory violence that stems from slavery. While examining the mechanisms used by African American residents in a low-income community in the Westside of Chicago, he gained valuable insights in the ways in which they face a dearth of institutional resources, differ from popular expectations of mourning and thus develop the concept of “becoming aggrieved” which is not just mourning death but also about affirming life. In his article on The Qualia of pain, he considers the relationship between the qualitative experience, enactments of violence and the intense silences that obscure its recognition. He argued that black urbanites could convert their experiences of injury into communal narratives by coming to terms with the qualia of pain. In another study, he detailed what wounds revealed about diversity in stigmatized groups and ethnographically examined anti-gang forums hosted by disabled ex-gang members, enabling them to save lives, making a point about it being politically strategic to inhabit the role of a “defective body” as to make claims about a violent society. Books In 2014, Ralph wrote the book Renegade Dreams: Living Through Injury in Gangland Chicago, published by the University of Chicago Press, which won the Society for the Study of Social Problems: C. Wright Mills Award and the J.I. Staley Award from the School for Advanced Research. The book emphasizes on the after-math of the “war-on-drugs” along with mass incarceration, the consequences of heroin trafficking for teenagers that are HIV positive, the danger of gunshot violence and the subsequent injuries sustained by gang-members. This allowed him to detail the social forces that make black residents susceptible to diseases and disability. William Julius Wilson, the author of The Truly Disadvantaged, praised his book “Renegade Dreams is a tour de force―extremely well written and engaging, and replete with original insights. Once I began reading Ralph’s book I had a difficult time putting it down. His field research is fascinating. And his explicit discussion of the interconnections of inner-city injury with government, community institutions, as well as how it is related to historical and social processes, is a major contribution.” The Times Higher Education said that “Although it lacks the easy narrative of many traditional ethnographies, this is precisely the book’s strength. There is no convenient valorisation of the ordinary extraordinariness of the lives portrayed here. Their dreams are shown to be chaotic, complex and contradictory. Just like life in ‘Eastwood.’” Ralph wrote another book in 2020 titled The Torture Letters: Reckoning with Police Violence, also published by the University of Chicago Press, which won the Robert Textor Prize for Excellence in Anticipatory Anthropology This book explored the scandal that spanned over a decade about how 125 black suspects were tortured in police custody. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., author of Stony the Road: Reconstruction, White Supremacy, and the Rise of Jim Crow describes the book as “Devastatingly powerful, The Torture Letters is one of those extraordinary volumes whose contents are accessible to all readers. It is a necessary and important book that measures both the economic and, more importantly, human cost of police violence.” The Publishers Weekly called it "[A] deeply caring work. . . An essential primer on the roots of police violence" and the Kirkus Review said "Ralph brings necessary light to the problem of police torture. A damning indictment of the senseless and seemingly unceasing violence committed by those charged with serving the public." He then adapted this book into an animated short film, also called The Torture Letters which was featured in The New York Times Opinion Documentary series. It won the Best in Show at Spark Animation Film Festival, the Diversity Award at Women in Animation and the Social Impact Award at the Black in Animation. The Torture Letters also qualified for an Academy Award in the animated short category. According to WIA President Marge Dean The Torture Letters uses the medium of animation in the best way possible by telling a story that is not often heard but is critical for the advancement of humanity.” Awards and honors 2004 - Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship in Humanistic Studies, Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation 2004 - Trustees Fellowship, University of Chicago 2005 - National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Award 2009 - Mellon Dissertation Year Fellowship, University of Chicago 2009 - Erskine Peters Dissertation Year Fellowship, University of Notre Dame 2010 - Du Bois-Mandela-Rodney Post-Doctoral fellowship, University of Michigan 2012 - Ford Foundation Diversity Postdoctoral Fellowship, National Research Council of the National Academies 2015 - Visiting Fellow, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Cambridge, MA 2015 - Andrew Carnegie Fellowship, Carnegie Corporation of New York 2019 - Humanities Council Magic Grant, David A. Gardner ’69 Fund, Princeton University 2021 – Fellowship, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University 2021 - John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship Bibliography Books Renegade Dreams: Living through Injury in Gangland Chicago (2014) ISBN 9780226032719 The Torture Letters: Reckoning with Police Violence (2020) ISBN 9780226729800 References Living people American writers American academics Princeton University faculty University of Chicago alumni

69959544

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FOM%20Atake

FOM Atake

Franklin Oritse-Mueyiwa Atake (6 May 1926 – 1 March 2003) prevalently known by his initials FOM Atake was a prominent Nigerian Judge (1967–1977) and Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1979–1982). Early life Franklin Atake was born 6 May 1926 in Sapele, a town in the British Colony of Southern Nigeria. He was educated at Baptist School, Sapele, where he was a good chorister. He also attended St. Luke’s Church Missionary Society School also in Sapele. Franklin Atake had his secondary school education in Ibadan Grammar School. In Ibadan Grammar school, Franklin Atake was quite proficient in Latin and often used sophisticated Latin words or phrases in school in his daily conversations. As a result, he was nicknamed: “Atakurus Esse”. Whenever he was called “Atakurus Esse”, he answered: “God bless you my brother”. Atake passed from Ibadan Grammar School with exemption from London Matriculation. Thereafter, he worked in the Treasury Department in Lagos until 1951. In 1951, he left for England to study law. He studied law at the University of London and at the Inns of Court School of Law, London. He was called to the English Bar on 18 May 1954 by the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn. By June 1954, he was back in Nigeria. He was enrolled in Nigeria as a Barrister and Solicitor on Friday 16 June 1954. Thus, making him the four hundred and seventh (417th) person to do so on the all-time list of persons so enrolled to practice law in Nigeria. Career Having been enrolled to practice law in Nigeria, Atake established his legal practice in Sapele and Warri. After a few years in practice in the 1950s, he opted for the Magisterial Bench in the Colony of Lagos, the Federal Territory. As a magistrate In 1957 he was appointed a magistrate in the Colony of Lagos, Nigeria. He sat in what was well known as the Tapa Court in Lagos. As a magistrate, Franklin Atake handled many cases and became well known for the speed and the sense of justice with which he dealt with cases that came before him. In no time the then Chief Justice of Lagos and the Southern Cameroons, The Honourable Sir Clement Nageon De Lestang, CJ, transferred him temporarily to the Cameroons to handle a large backlog of cases. On his return from the Cameroons, he was elevated to the position of Senior Magistrate in 1959. Rise to prominence Atake handled many cases as a Magistrate, but charge no. 28175/60 – Police v. AK-N-, AK-NS-L; A-L-B and Ors. is often referred to. It was a case of unlawful assembly by students at the University College, Ibadan who had organized a demonstration in Lagos on the 28 November 1960 at the Tafawa Balewa Square. The students were protesting vehemently against a defence pact that Nigeria was to enter with Great Britain. The protests got completely out of hand and the students who held out against anti-riot police jumped over the fences into Parliament buildings destroying most of the furniture and beating up anyone in sight. Some prominent Parliamentarians such as Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh (Federal Minister for Finance) and Chief T. O. S. Benson (Federal Minister for Information) were caused bodily harm. Messrs Adewale Thompson, A K I Makanju, Aliyi Ekineh, Sobo Sowemimo and some others acted for the students. The Defense Counsel, in that case, advised their clients, the students, to plead guilty in the hope that they would convince the Magistrate, His Worship, Franklin Atake not to impose a prison sentence since most of the students were in their final year and imprisonment would completely ruin their chances of completing their studies. Mr. Adewale Thompson, having addressed the court at length about the harm imprisonment would cause to the lives of the students and that the students meant no harm, Franklin Atake condemned the action of the students and accepted the plea of counsel to caution and discharge them, adding that they should be bound over to be of good behaviour for twelve months. Said Mr. Justice Adewale Thompson writing in 1991 in his book Reminiscences At The Bar at 65: “We had advised the students to plead guilty so that I could address the court in Allocutus under section 450 of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance, requesting the magistrate to exercise his discretion to dismiss the charge because of the hardship a conviction will cause to the career of the students who were in their final year at the University College. That discretion included a decision of the magistrate to convict, which was not subject to appeal. It was therefore a gamble that was taken because I had implicit confidence in the competence of the magistrate and his courage to do what was proper in the overall interest of society. He was not the type who would be afraid in such a sensitive case, in which parliamentarians had been assaulted and Parliament itself invaded. I am sure our gamble would have failed if that matter had come before another magistrate with timorous proclivities.” With the creation of the Mid-Western Region, Nigeria in 1963, Franklin Atake left Lagos to take an appointment as Chief Magistrate in Warri. He served also as a Chief Magistrate in Benin before the civil war in Nigeria broke out. At the outbreak of the civil war, he was appointed a Judge of the High Court of Justice in the Mid-Western, Nigeria in 1967. A judge of the High Court of Justice Mid-Western Nigeria Atake was appointed a judge of the High Court of the Midwestern Nigeria in 1967 along with three other judges. They are the Hon. Justice Victor Ovie Whisky, Hon. Justice S O Ighodaro and the Hon. Justice M A Aghoghovbia. He was 41 years old. He was assigned to the Sapele Division to join the Hon. Justice E A Ekeruche and the Hon. Justice Akinwunmi Rhodes-Vivour. Other brother Judges at the time of his appointment included: Hon. Justices Mason Begho (Chief Justice, Mid-West), J O Izuora, Andrews Otutu Obaseki, Ayo Gabriel Irikefe, Arthur Edward Prest, J. Omo-Eboh and Uche Omo. Atake served in various judicial divisions of the High Court in the Mid-West that included the Benin, Warri and Agbor divisions. He handled a wide range of cases. It is on record that he was quick in the uptake. In his court, the dispensation of justice was fast and quick. He was highly principled, strong-willed. That reputation still precedes him in all the divisions he served either as a Magistrate or as a Judge of the High Court. Said Ephraim Akpata, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, in his autobiography Justice For All And By All (1994) at 148: “Justice F O M Atake was one of the most efficient Chief Magistrates before whom I practised. He was……very quick in the uptake. His Judgements were well researched, well written and of high intellectual standard. Proceedings in his court were fast. To the best of my knowledge, he harassed no counsel or litigant……. Justice Atake was strong-willed and highly principled and held fast to what he believed in. He was blunt, not deceptive…” However, when it came to the law of contempt of court, Franklin Atake found himself, somewhat to his surprise, at the centre of controversy. Some of his decisions in contempt of court cases brought him in full collision with the press and brought a renewed bout of national publicity. He sent the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, his cousin, Mr. Godwin Mogbeyi Boyo to prison for contempt of court when he thought he crossed the line. In 1969, he handed down what proved to be a controversial decision in the case reported as Boyo v The Attorney-General, Mid-West [1971] 1 All NLR, 342; [1971] NSCC, 333; See also, Re: GM Boyo v The State [1970] 1 All NLR, 111, [1970] NSCC, 87. Mr. Godwin Mogbeyi Boyo was arrested on a warrant issued by Franklin Atake. On an objection by Boyo’s counsel that the court had no jurisdiction to hear the contempt proceedings, Atake ruled that he was indeed competent to try Boyo for contempt of court. Naturally, as Godwin Boyo was the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, the decision received a great deal of publicity. The press generally supported Boyo – there were persistent calls in nearly all the Nigerian newspapers for Franklin Atake to resign from the Bench. This went on for a considerable period. Years. The Governor of Mid-Western Nigeria, Brigadier Samuel Ogbemudia, also involved himself in the matter. Having failed to convince the then Chief Justice of the Mid-Western Nigeria, The Honourable Mr. Justice Mason Begho, to refer the matter to the Federal Advisory Judicial Committee (a body responsible, inter alia, for taking disciplinary action against judges), the Governor wrote to the Head of State and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces, General Yakubu Gowon, asking that some way be found to refer the matter to the Committee. The Governor recommended that Franklin Atake be invited to resign or be removed from the Bench. General Gowon accordingly referred the matter to the Federal Advisory Judicial Committee. The Chairman of the Committee, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Dr. Taslim Olawale Elias, called on Franklin Atake for his comments. After a very detailed consideration of the matter, the Federal Advisory Judicial Committee decided (in a decision endorsed by the Head of State) that: “Although Mr. Justice Atake may have acted indiscreetly, it did not see that a case had been made out for his removal from the Bench or for any disciplinary action to be taken against him. If the then Chief Justice Sir Adetokunbo Ademola felt that disciplinary action was necessary, he would have so directed and raised the matter before the Committee at one of its subsequent meetings. The Committee deprecates the attitude of the press and Military Governors interfering in matters that are essentially judicial, and in calling for the removal of judges. It would be preferable to let the Chief Justice of a State ask that something be done if a judge of his court behaves in an unbecoming manner.” (Excerpts from the minutes of the Advisory Judicial Committee meeting held in Lagos on 28 July 1972). Franklin Atake was thus absolved and continued his judicial career in the Mid-Western Nigeria Judiciary. A Senator of The Federal Republic of Nigeria Atake voluntarily retired from the Bench in 1977. He was persuaded to stand for the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and was elected with a landslide victory as Senator for Bendel Delta Senatorial District with 59,632 votes under the banner of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) in 1979. It was a surprise to many that he went into politics as it was thought that he was not cut out for it. However, having found himself there, he decided to make the most of his time in the Senate. He combined a brilliant intellect with acute political instinct and fought most strenuously and tirelessly for what is right. In a short time in the Senate, the wider public admired him as a figure of integrity and courage. His parliamentary eloquence also led so many to admire him. He was nominated by the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) to be their candidate for the President of the Senate, the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) nominated Dr. Joseph Wayas. Atake entered fully into the spirit of the occasion hoping to win. The NPN had a very good majority in the Senate and had an accord with the Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP). Senators voted strictly on party lines and Dr. Joseph Wayas became the victorious President of the Senate winning by 52 votes to 42 votes. It was a disappointment to Franklin Atake that votes were cast strictly on party lines and not on a non-partisan basis and on merit. Be that as it may, he was not deterred from commenting on issues of national importance and in no time, he became an outstanding political figure. On the Senate floor, he gained a reputation for being a doughty fighter. He was a leading advocate and resolute fighter for the principle of derivation; the principle in which resources from states are to be shared in an equitable manner. As a Senator, Franklin Atake was the originator of the Resources Control Movement. Until his death, he advocated Resource Control being carried to its logical conclusion. The local governments concerned should get their share of the resources, especially the derivation of petroleum resources. He advocated for the establishment of 50% derivation, with 25% to the state government and 25% to the local governments. The balance can be retained by the Federal Government. Atake opposed most vehemently anything that did not conform to the principles and the rule of law. Two of such examples would suffice. First, when the Senate passed what was called the Allocation Of Revenue (Federation Account) Act 1981 and the then President, Shehu Shagari unconstitutionally signed it into law (as was eventually upheld in the Supreme Court – see Attorney-General, Bendel State v Attorney-General, Federation & Others [1982] 3 NCLR, 1,) he went to court challenging the purported law on the ground that it was unconstitutional, void and of no effect having regard to the provisions in sections 149(2) & (3) of the 1979 Constitution of the Federal Republic. Secondly, when the then Chief Judge of the Bendel State, the Hon. Justice Victor Ovie Whisky was nominated Chairman of the Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO) and his nomination came before the Senate for ratification, the proceedings of the Senate show that it was Franklin Atake who opposed most strenuously the ratification on the floor of the Senate on the ground that Ovie-Whiskey, CJ was still a public officer (Chief Judge of Bendel State). Atake argued that Ovie-Whiskey had not first resigned or retired as Chief Judge of Bendel State in accordance with a provision in the 1979 Constitution and so any appointment as FEDECO Chairman would be null and void. Notwithstanding that objection, the Senate went ahead to ratify the nomination. In the end, Mr. Justice Victor Ovie Whisky was appointed Chairman of FEDECO. Franklin Atake, who was travelling abroad at the time, could not take up the constitutional issue in Court. However, another prominent Senator did. When the matter finally came up before the Supreme Court of Nigeria, it was decided that, that Senator had no locus standi to bring the action. Hence, the now famous and landmark decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Senator Abraham Adesanya v President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; The Hon. Justice Victor Ovie-Whiskey [1981] NSCC, 146. Having served one term in the Senate, Atake did not stand for a second term. He therefore left the Senate in 1982. In retirement He was named a Chief with the title Aboludero of Warri Kingdom by His Majesty Erejuwa II the paramount ruler of the Itsekiri and the Olu of Warri Kingdom in 1983. In retirement, Franklin Atake did not disappear from public life. He became a famous litigant on several issues some of which were personal and others pertaining to the rights of the people of the Niger Delta. Two cases of which he was a litigant set judicial precedents. In Justice F O M Atake v Chief Nelson Asigboro Afejuku [1994] 9 NWLR Part 368, 379, the Supreme Court of Nigeria for the first time in Nigerian Legal Jurisprudence decided that a Judicial Officer who has ceased to be one is entitled to conduct his case in person. That when he appears in person, he is not for that purpose, acting as a legal practitioner within the purview of the Constitution. Similarly, in Justice F O M Atake v Chief Mene-Afejuku [1996] 3 NWLR Part 437, 483. At issue was the Supreme Court decision in which Karibi-Whyte, JSC held that, section 340(2) of the Criminal Procedure Law, Cap. 32, Laws of Lagos State 1973 as amended prohibited the right to private prosecution with respect to all criminal offences. (See Akilu v Fawehinmi (no. 2) (1989) 2 NWLR, part 102, 122).That decision had prevented litigants from prosecuting privately criminal offences in Lagos State. However, Franklin Atake thought that the law had been wrongly construed and caused a private prosecution to be brought. In a landmark decision, the Court of Appeal held that the right to a private prosecution in Lagos State was only barred with respect to indictable offences and that the right is not prohibited with respect to non-indictable offences. That it is fair to imply Karibi-Whyte, JSC in his leading Judgement did not mean to exclude all offences but only indictable offences. He also continued to produce a stream of opinions on national issues particularly on derivation, and matters pertaining to the Itsekiri tribe and the Warri crisis. For example, he submitted an address to the “Judicial Commission of Inquiry into The Ethnic Conflicts Between Ijaws and Itsekiris In The Warri North, South and South-West Local Government Areas Of Delta State”. He also appeared before the Commission in person. The Commission had been set up inter alia, to find out the immediate and remote causes of the conflict between Ijaws and Itsekiris in the months of March to May 1997. Atake went before the Commission to say and also published in some National newspapers that, the cause of the conflict was the false announcement by the Military Administrator of Delta State, Colonel J Dungs that Warri South Local Government Area had been created with headquarters at Ogbe Ijaw; an Ijaw settlement in Warri Division. Atake blamed the entire cause of the crisis at the door of Colonel Dungs and Dungs’ “acts of gross illegality”. Right to the very end, Franklin Atake remained a stalwart and vociferous defender of the Itsekiri people and the rights of the people of the Niger Delta. He was one of the strongest advocates of the principle of derivation in the country. It was very dear to his heart and as Senator of the Federal Republic, he moved several motions on the floor of Parliament for this principle to be adopted. Consequently, when the Supreme Court in what has become known as the On-shore/Off-Shore case (see, A-G, Federation v A-G, Abia State(No.2) [2002] 6 NWLR Part 764 at 542) in which that court decided that the seaward boundaries of Nigeria’s littoral states, viz.: Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Cross Rivers and Akwa Ibom for the purposes of calculating the amount of revenue derived from the natural resources of those states is the low watermark of the land surface of each of those states, Franklin Atake disagreed with the Court and caused his views in a well-articulated article to be published in some national newspapers. Personal life He died in Lagos 1 March 2003 at the age of 76 of a heart-related disease. He married Victoria Arugha Patricia Atake (née Foss). They had several children, including Eyimofe Atake, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and Adewale Atake also a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. References 1926 births People from Delta State Itsekiri people Political office-holders in Nigeria Alumni of the University of London Nigerian judges 20th-century Nigerian lawyers Members of Lincoln's Inn Nigerian jurists 2003 deaths

69959874

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph-Alexandre%20Auzias-Turenne

Joseph-Alexandre Auzias-Turenne

Joseph-Alexandre Auzias-Turenne, born on March 1, 1812, in Pertuis (Vaucluse) and died on May 27, 1870, in Paris, was a French doctor. Biography He advocated the preventive inoculation of syphilis, on the model of the variolation, and dedicated his life to this idea that posterity has not ratified. In 1859, with Camille-Melchior Gibert, he took part in a controversial experiment in which human patients were deliberately infected with syphilis in order to prove the infectious nature of secondary syphilis. He supported a theory of immunization as depletion, in the subject, of a substance necessary for the infectious agent. This theory, although adopted by Louis Pasteur, has not been ratified by posterity either. He advocated the use of microbial antagonisms for therapeutic purposes (cure of diseases like favus, elephantiasis, lupus and cancer). This idea was also defended by Pasteur and, this time, ratified by posterity, but was not implemented neither by Auzias-Turenne, nor by Pasteur. Publications Jenner et la vaccine, Paris : Imprimerie Divry et cie., 1862 Questions, 1° Des causes des scrofules : 2° Des luxations, des causes qui les déterminent et de leur mécanisme : 3° Quelles sont les diverses substances qui entrent dans la composition du cervelet ? Quelle est leur situation respective et dans quelles propositions concourent-elles à la formation de l'organe ? : 4° Quelles sont les préparations dont l'aconit fait la base. Les décrire et les comparer entre elles, Paris : Imp. Rignoux, 1841 Théorie ou mécanisme de la migraine, Paris, Plon, 1849 La variole et la vaccine ne sont pas produites par un même principe virulent, Paris, 1850 De la syphilisation et de la contagion des accidents secondaires de la syphilis : communications à l'Académie Nationale de Médecine, par MM. Ricord, Bégin, Malgaigne ; avec les communications de MM. Auzias-Turenne et C. Sperino à l'Académie des Sciences de Paris et à l'Académie de Médecine de Turin, Paris : J.-B. Baillière, 1853 Lettre à M. le préfet de police sur la syphilisation, Paris, 1853 Discussion sur la syphilis : Extrait des procès-verbaux de la Société médicale du Panthéon, Paris : Imprimerie de Moquet, 1856 Correspondance syphilographique, suivi du Rapport fait par M. Gibert à l'Acad. imp. d. Méd., Paris : Leclerc, 1860 Communication sur le traitement de la blennorragie et de la blennorrée, faite à la Société médicale du Panthéon, le 10 août 1859, Paris, L. Leclerc, 1860 Discours sur la syphilisation..., Paris : Bailly, 1861 De la syphilis vaccinale : Communications à l'Académie impériale de médecine, par Depaul, Suivies de mémoires sur la transmission de la syphilis par la vaccination et la vaccination animale, par A. Viennois, Paris : J.-B. Baillière et fils, 1865 Les Virus au tribunal de l'Académie & dans la Presse, Paris : Imp. Divry, 1868 La syphilisation, Publication de l'oeuvre du docteur Auzias-Turenne faite par les soins de ses amis. Paris, G. Baillière, 1878 Théorie ou mécanisme de la migraine, Paris, Plon, 1849. Electronic edition online. Discours prononcés sur la tombe de M. Isidore Geoffroy-St-Hilaire, le 13 Octobre 1861, Henri Milne-Edwards, Paris, F. Didot Bibliography Burke D. S. , « Joseph-Alexandre Auzias-Turenne, Louis Pasteur, and early concepts of virulence, attenuation, and vaccination », Perspectives in biology and medicine, 1996, vol. 39, n° 2, pp. 171–186. Dracobly, Alex. « Ethics and Experimentation on Human Subjects in Mid-Nineteenth-Century France: The Story of the 1859 Syphilis Experiments », Bulletin of the History of Medicine, vol. 77, n° 2, 2003, online. Notes and references External links Daniel Wallach, « Les inoculations dans l'histoire des maladies vénériennes », Société française d'histoire de la dermatologie. French physicians 1812 births 1870 deaths Deaths in Paris

69961784

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hope%20Street%20%28TV%20series%29

Hope Street (TV series)

Hope Street is a British crime serial drama filmed in Donaghadee, Northern Ireland. The series premiered on BBC One Northern Ireland in November 2021, with later broadcast in the wider United Kingdom and North America in January 2022, on BBC One and Britbox, respectively. Hope Street stars an ensemble cast almost entirely collected from the local area, including Des McAleer, Amara Karan, Niall Wright, Kerri Quinn, Aaron McCusker, Niamh McGrady, Brid Brennan and Ciarán McMenamin. Cast Des McAleer as Barry Pettigrew Amara Karan as DC Leila Hussain Niall Wright as PC Callum McCarthy Kerri Quinn as Sergeant Marlene Pettigrew Aaron McCusker as Clint Dunwoody Niamh McGrady as Nicole Devine Brid Brennan as Concepta O'Hare Ciarán McMenamin as Inspector Finn O'Hare Premise The sudden arrival of DC Leila Hussain in the fictional Northern Irish town of Port Devine results in local residents pondering the reason behind her arrival. Inspector Finn O'Hare knows why Leila has transferred to Port Devine, but is keeping it to himself. On Leila's arrival to the town, Karan hinted: "The secret, the reason why she's been brought to Northern Ireland, is actually a matter of life-and-death". Alongside following the events of the police department and the town's local residents, each episode features a self-contained crime story. Development Series co-creator and co-executive producer Paul Marquess stated that his aim whilst creating the series was to make a long-running, local drama. Due to being born in Belfast, he wanted to avoid the stereotypes that come with Northern Irish media portrayals, instead focusing on the "humour and warmth" of the area. Marquess and colleague Susan Farrell decided that the series should not focus on serial killers or the Troubles, but instead on the resilience of the community in Northern Ireland. Another of Marquess' aims was to increase the amount of television productions in Northern Ireland, specifically since he had moved from the country to pursue a career in production in his youth. Himself and Farrell created a cast and crew almost entirely formed of local talent from in and around Donaghadee, where the series is filmed. The 10-episode first series was funded by Northern Ireland Screen and it was confirmed that it would premiere on BBC One Northern Ireland in November 2021, as well as having a January 2022 broadcast on BBC One in the wider United Kingdom and Britbox in Northern America. Cast member McMenamin was helped with his research about the police by two schoolfriends who are part of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). After reading the scripts for the series, he was excited to be part of Hope Street due to its modern-day portrayal of his community. He said that his experiences on set are the happiest moments of his professional life, due to the locations they film on and the cast and crew. McMenamin explained: "The craic is a different level. When you live away, to come home and be surrounded by people just as sarcastic as you, makes getting out of bed in the morning a joy". Quinn opined that it is refreshing for Hope Street not to mention the Troubles and appreciated that the scripts place a focal point on relationships and the small community of Port Devine. Wright echoed her comments, feeling that the serial drama is "a completely different take" to other dramas on television at the time of transmission. He added that the series would have plenty of twists and cliffhangers and hoped that the series would be renewed for several further series. English cast member Karan said that whilst filming for the series, the locals of Donaghadee were very proud of their town, but "went out of their way to make [her] feel welcome". She added that she loved playing Leila even though she "sticks out in her new environment like a sore thumb". Episodes Reception On the Northern Irish BBC iPlayer, Hope Street received 1.6million streams on the first five episodes of series one. Stephen Patterson, writing for the Metro, gave the series four stars out of a possible five. He wrote that within minutes of the first episode, the community-driven aspect is established "incredibly well". Patterson noted that the core cast are talented, praising McGrady specifically for "stealing every scene she's in". He also praised the standalone stories in each episode, feeling that they raise important issues in ways that he did not expect from the series. He opined that Marquess had succeeded in his aims for the series to accurately portray Northern Ireland. He added that despite serial dramas such as Red Rock, The Bill and Holby City losing popularity, Hope Street "suggests that there is still something of an appetite for this kind of programming", also hoping for more series of the programme. References External links 2021 British television series debuts 2020s British crime drama television series 2020s British police procedural television series 2020s British workplace drama television series BBC crime drama television shows BBC Daytime television series BritBox original programming English-language television shows Television shows filmed in Northern Ireland Television shows set in Northern Ireland

69962206

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tappu%20Chesi%20Pappu%20Koodu

Tappu Chesi Pappu Koodu

Tappu Chesi Pappu Koodu () is a 2002 Indian Telugu-language comedy film directed by A. Kodandarami Reddy and produced by Mohan Babu under Sree Lakshmi Prasanna Pictures. The film stars Mohan Babu, Srikanth, Gracy Singh, Sujatha and Radhika Chaudhari. It is a remake of Priyadarshan 2001 Malayalam film Kakkakuyil. The film's score and soundtrack is composed by M. M. Keeravani. Tappu Chesi Pappu Koodu released on 22 May 2002. Plot Sivaji is an unemployed person who is in a dire need of money for his mother's medical treatment. Lying to his family that he is leaving for the United States, Sivaji arrives in Mumbai instead to find a job. However, he loses his luggage immediately after arriving in the city but finds Ramesh, his old friend who makes a living by cheating people. With no option left, Sivaji joins Ramesh in the cheating business to make easy money. Together with Pedda Koteswara Rao and Cheecha, the gang carries out a bank robbery. Planning to steal the entire share of the money, Cheecha anonymously informs the police about the robbery. She informs that it was Koteswara Rao who carried out the entire plan. Before being arrested, Koteswara Rao puts all the money in the locker of another bank and nobody has any idea about where the money is hidden. Meanwhile, a blind old couple, Zamindar Bhupati (also called Raju gaaru) and his wife are rich Telugus living in Mumbai. Their son and daughter-in-law are deceased and they lost their eyesight due to an accident. Their grandson Bujji is studying in the United States but they have not seen him in several years. The old couple takes the help of a paan seller to read any letters they receive. One day, they get a telegram. Because the paan seller cannot read English, they ask Ramesh to read out for them. While it is written that Bujji would visit Mumbai after six months, Ramesh senses an opportunity in it and tells them that Bujji would be arriving the following day. Ramesh introduces Sivaji as Bujji to the old couple in order to take cover from the police. The old couple has the ability to remember the voice and touch of any person they meet. As things turn out, they register Ramesh's body and Sivaji's voice as Bujji. While this is going on, they happen to tell that Bujji has a girlfriend in the US. Much to their astonishment, Radhika Rani arrives at their house and introduces herself as Bujji's girlfriend. She acts as an impediment to the plans of Ramesh and Sivaji. When Radhika Rani realizes that Ramesh and Sivaji are not actually cheating the old couple for money, she reveals to them that Bujji has died in an accident back in the states and she had come to Mumbai to deliver the news of Bujji's death to Raja gaaru. As the couple seemed happy and cheerful while seeing Bujji in Ramesh and Sivaji, she decided not to tell the truth and tag along. Ramesh, however, gets desperate for money. He steals a valuable idol from the old couple's house and decides to sell it. Sivaji confronts Ramesh about the same but he leaves angrily. When a guilty Sivaji confesses the same to Raju gaaru, he requests them to continue the drama as his wife would not digest that her grandson has died. Raju gaaru's wife arrives calling for Bujji and Ramesh arrives just in time after feeling remorse over his actions. Feeling elated, Raju gaaru hugs Ramesh and Sivaji affectionately. Cast Soundtrack The soundtrack album consists of five singles composed by M. M. Keeravani. Reception In his review for Zamin Ryot, Griddaluru Gopalrao opined that Kodandarami Reddy had succeeded in creating an entertaining film, though the humour felt too slap stick at times. Reviewing the performances, Gudipoodi Srihari of The Hindu wrote, "Mohanbabu and Srikanth set themselves well in the roles. Gracy singh makes her presence interesting towards the end of the film. Balayya and Sujata live in their roles." On the technical front, he stated that Keeravani's music and Jayaram's cinematography "accentuate the dramatic impact of the film." A reviewer from Sify, who rated the film 3/5, wrote: "The film sags due to its weak script and buffoonery passing off as a comedy." References External links 2002 comedy films Indian comedy films Films directed by A. Kodandarami Reddy Films scored by M. M. Keeravani Films set in Mumbai Telugu remakes of Malayalam films

69962567

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxi%20to%20Gibraltar

Taxi to Gibraltar

Taxi to Gibraltar () is a 2019 Spanish-Argentine buddy road movie and madcap comedy with adventure elements directed by Alejo Flah, starring Joaquín Furriel, Dani Rovira and Ingrid García-Jonsson. Plot Diego (an Argentine con-man), León (a grumpy Spanish taxi driver) and Sandra (a woman dissatisfied with her life), embark on a road trip to Gibraltar set to look out for a gold treasure purportedly hidden in the tunnels below The Rock. Cast Production The screenplay was penned by alongside . A Spain–Argentina co-production, the film was produced by La Terraza Films, Atresmedia Cine, Ikiru Films, Sacromonte Films, Código Sur Producciones and La Mano de Dios la Película AIE alongside Film Tonic and AZ Films. It had the participation of Atresmedia, Amazon and Canal Sur, funding from the ICAA, support from , and the collaboration of INCAA and the Ibermedia programme. It was shot in Madrid, La Línea, and Gran Canaria. Release Taxi to Gibraltar screened as the opening film of the 22nd Málaga Spanish Film Festival on 15 March 2019. Distributed by Warner Bros España, it also hit Spanish theatres on the same day. It premiered in Argentina on 14 November 2019. Reception Raquel Hernández Luján of HobbyConsolas gave the film 58 out of 100 films (overall assessment: "so-so"), considering that despite the good casting, the very good shooting and resourceful production, the film fails because of the writing. She highlighted the Spanglish-speaking police agents from Gibraltar to be the best thing about the film. She however deemed García-Jonsson's and Rovira's unfunny characters to be a drag, whereas supporting actors José Manuel Poga and Mona Martínez featured too little screentime. Reviewing for Cinemanía, Rubén Romero Santos scored 2 out of 5 stars, considering that despite a promising initial approach (successfully portraying the losers who cannot see the end of the economic crisis) the film is derailed by the inclusion of a romantic comedy, an episodic story and even an adventure-mystery story as subplots. Juan Pando of Fotogramas rated the film with 3 out of 5 stars, highlighting Furriel's "touching" caricature of a deceitful Porteño as the best thing about the film. See also List of Spanish films of 2019 List of Argentine films of 2019 References External links Taxi to Gibraltar at ICAA's Catálogo de Cinespañol Films shot in Andalusia Films shot in the Canary Islands Films shot in Madrid Spanish road movies Spanish comedy films Argentine comedy films Spanish adventure films Argentine adventure films 2019 films Spanish-language films Atresmedia Cine films Ikiru Films films

69963398

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew%20M.%20Blair

Andrew M. Blair

Andrew M. Blair (April 1818???) was an American lawyer, politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He served in the Wisconsin State Senate, representing Ozaukee County. Biography Andrew Blair was born in Stannard, Caledonia County, Vermont, in April 1818. He was raised on his father's farm and attended the Newbury Seminary, then spent one year studying at the University of Vermont. He read law in the office of attorney Thomas Bartlett, in Lyndon, Vermont, and was admitted to the bar in December 1843. He practiced law in Hardwick, Vermont, for five years before deciding to move west to the new state of Wisconsin. In June 1849, he settled at Port Washington, Wisconsin, in what would soon become Ozaukee County—at the time, this area was part of Washington County. He established a legal practice in Port Washington and quickly became involved in local affairs. He was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate in 1852, running on the Democratic Party ticket. During his term, Ozaukee County was created from the towns which made up his Senate district. In 1854, he was the Democratic nominee for Wisconsin circuit court in the 3rd circuit, but was defeated by incumbent Charles H. Larrabee. Blair subsequently joined the new Republican Party shortly after its formation in 1854. He remained a Republican through the Civil War, supporting Lincoln and Grant, but then joined the Liberal Republican Party in 1872, and subsequently rejoined the Democratic Party when the Liberal Republican Party dissolved. During the Civil War, Blair was caught up in the Ozaukee Draft Riot. Blair was originally suggested to Governor Salomon as a good candidate for draft commissioner in Ozaukee County, but did not receive the appointment. The man who was appointed drew the wrath of the public with a selection process that seemed to excuse the wealthy. On the day of the draft, a mob descended on the draft office and destroyed the draft rolls. They then destroyed the home of the draft commissioner and the homes of several other prominent masons in the city, including Andrew Blair. Blair received $1,200 compensation from the Wisconsin Legislature in the 1863 session. He relocated to the city of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, in the Spring of 1863, and became a prominent lawyer there. He served for many years as a justice of the peace, police justice, and circuit court commissioner. He can be found as a frequent litigant before the Wisconsin Supreme Court with the legal partnerships Blair & Lord and later Blair & Coleman. Personal life and family Andrew M. Blair was one of eight children born to Andrew Blair and his wife Elizabeth ( Reynolds—sometimes spelled Runnels or Ronnalds). The grandfather of Andrew M. Blair was Robert Blair, a Scottish American immigrant who established a farm in Caledonia County, Vermont. Several of Andrew M. Blair's siblings also settled in Wisconsin in the early years of the state. His older brother Robert lived for some time in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, before moving to Virginia, and his brother Alexander and sister Eliza lived the rest of their lives at La Crosse, Wisconsin. Andrew Blair married Caroline Tuttle at Detroit, Michigan, in 1852. Caroline Tuttle was the daughter of David Tuttle of Hardwick, Vermont. There were no known children from this marriage. Electoral history Wisconsin circuit court (1854) | colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| General Election, April 4, 1854 References People from Caledonia County, Vermont People from Port Washington, Wisconsin People from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin Wisconsin state senators Wisconsin Democrats Wisconsin Liberal Republicans Wisconsin Republicans 1818 births Date of birth uncertain Year of death unknown 19th-century American politicians

69963927

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder%20of%20Kishan%20Bharvad

Murder of Kishan Bharvad

Kishan Bharvad , a 30-year-old shop owner, was allegedly shot by Shabbir and Imtiaz in the Modhwala locality in the city of Dhanduka in Gujarat on January 25, 2022, and he died on the spot. The 2 accused were arrested by the police. The case is being investigated by Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and National Investigation Agency (NIA). Background On January 6, Kishan had posted a video on social media in which Hindu deity Krishna was depicted 'Superior' to Islamic Prophet Muhammad and Jesus. Shortly after this social media post, there was outrage by some members of Muslim community & a FIR was filed on him under the Blasphemy Law 8 days before the murder. He was made to apologize, after which he was released by the police. Murder At 5:30 on 25 January, as Kishan had moved outside his house for the first time since his release from police custody, he was shot by 2 bike-borne assailants later identified as Shabbir and Imtiaz by Gujarat Police. Kishan died on the spot. Later, when the police tried to return the body to the family, it refused to receive it and only accepted the body and funeral proposals after meeting Hindu Organization leaders in the area. Leaders from Antarashtriya Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal organized Bandh as a form of protest saying that the Hindu Youth was Martyred. Investigation On 27 January, Maulana Ayyub, Muslim Cleric was arrested from Ahmadabad, Gujarat. On 29 January, Gujarat Government handed this case over to ATS for further investigation. On 30 January, ATS arrested Maulana Qamar Ghani, a Muslim Cleric, from Daryaganj, Delhi. The investigators believe that the murders acted on the direction of Qamar Ghani and the Gun and Cartridges were arranged by Maulana Ayyub. On 2 February, the Gujarat ATS invoked Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act on both clerics , Ayyub and Qamar Ghani. According to the ATS , Maulana Qamar Ghani runs an Islamic organization called Tehreek Farogh e Islami. This organization has circulated videos in pasts encouraging Muslim youth to attack non Muslims who "insult" Islam. On the same day, 3 more people were arrested. Razeem Seta, Hussain Khatri and Matin Modan were arrested for allegedly procuring the weapon and providing food and shelter to the prime accused. On 4 February, National Investigation Agency (NIA) joined the investigation of the murder to investigate the possible Terror angle. The ATS denied finding of any Pakistan angle in the case. On 7 February, the ATS released the information that Maulana Ayyub had profiles of 26 individuals in his mobile that might be targeted in future. On the same day, the 3 main accused were sent in for extra 10 days of remand. According to ATS , they are currently investigating a list of 10 persons who had allegedly insulted Islam. These people are BS Patel, Pankaj Arya, Pushpendra Kulshreshtha, Mahendrapal Arya, Rahul Arya, Radheshyam Acharya, Updesh Rana, Upasana Arya, Sajan Odedara and RSN Singh. On 16 February, Maulana Qamar was sent on a judicial custody. Public reactions State Home Minister Harsh Sanghvi tweeted, “The case of the violent incident of Dhanduka has been handed over to ATS. Gujarat Police is committed to provide justice to the victim's family”. See also Murder of Nikita Tomar Kamlesh Tiwari References Religiously motivated violence in India 2022 in India

69964412

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burrundie%2C%20Northern%20Territory

Burrundie, Northern Territory

Burrundie is a locality in the Northern Territory, Australia. It is located within the Victoria Daly Region, approximately north of Pine Creek. A mining settlement of the same name was established in the area during the late 1880s, but the town was abandoned after 1900. The present day locality consists mostly of rural land holdings and was officially defined in April 2007 for administrative purposes. "Burrundie" is believed to be derived from the local aboriginal name for the area surrounding Mount Wells, a prominent feature in the locality. History The Woolwonga aboriginal tribe claim Burrundie as part of their traditional lands. Recognition of this claim was complicated by a frontier conflict in 1884. As reprisal for reportedly spearing and killing four European settlers, the Woolwonga were believed to have been exterminated in a series of massacres, often associated with the town of Burrundie, which was the regional centre for the goldfields at the time. Documents uncovered in the 2010s however indicate that the daughter of a Woolwonga woman and a white settler had survived and was registered in the 1899 census, leading her descendants to assert native title over Burrundie. Mining town Following the discovery of gold at nearby Yam Creek in 1872, a town site was surveyed by South Australian government in 1884 along a corridor reserved for the Palmerston and Pine Creek Railway. It became the second town in the Northern Territory when gazetted on 30 October, with the first of 316 allotments made available by public auction in December of that year. By 1887, a police station and mining warden's office had been relocated to Burrundie from an isolated location in the goldfields, while residents petitioned for the nearest telegraph station to also be relocated to improve the efficiency of services in the town. At its peak during the 1890s the town boasted a railway station, court house and a hospital. It was a key location during construction of the railway to Pine Creek with an underground explosives magazine built in 1885. An above ground magazine added in 1896 remained in use until World War II, well after the town's decline. The magazines were added to the Northern Territory Heritage Register in 1995. Burrundie's significance waned in the early 20th the century, evidenced by the closure of the police station in 1906 (was briefly reopened before again closing in 1908), abolition of the local court in 1908 and the relocation of the prefabricated Mining Warden's Office building to Pine Creek in 1913. Burials at Burrundie cemetery lasted from 1893 until 1901. 21st century In September 2014, Woolwonga descendents met at the former Burrundie railway siding for a ceremony to affirm their cultural identity and commemorate the 130th anniversary of a raid by white settlers and police that killed 30 aboriginal men and an unknown number of women and children. During the ceremony, a plaque was unveiled by Senator Nigel Scullion, Minister for Indigenous Affairs commemorating the massacre and describing the plight of the Woolwonga in the years that followed. Present day Today, the boundaries of Burrundie have been redefined as an expanded rural locality taking in many of the surrounding former goldfields with a population of 35 people. Within the former township, there remain 25 freehold titles, although these are mainly historic records. The 1896 railway powder magazine is the last building still standing, while some ruined foundations and the railway station platform are all that remain of the mining town. The standard-gauge Adelaide–Darwin railway follows the 19th century narrow-gauge alignment through Burrundie, passing close to the former station. References Populated places in the Northern Territory Victoria Daly Region Abandoned settlements in the Northern Territory Ghost towns in the Northern Territory

69964892

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebrahim%20Buzhu

Ebrahim Buzhu

Ebrahim Buzhu (4 December 1969 – 15 January 2022) was a Dutch cocaine trafficker of Moroccan origin. A member of the Mocro Mafia, he was forced to leave the Netherlands in 2016 to escape prosecution. Biography Buzhu's father emigrated to the Netherlands from Morocco in the 1950s to work in a Dutch mine. His mother later rejoined his father and the couple settled in Utrecht. His father then opened a butcher shop in Amsterdam and provided financial stability to the family. After his father died, Buzhu fell into criminal activity alongside several other Moroccans who had emigrated to the Netherlands. Lacking a paternal influence, he settled into organized crime for good. In order to hide his illicit wealth, Buzhu pretended his money was earned through real estate investment. In 1990s, however, he was convicted by Dutch police of possession of illegal firearms and participating in torture. However, police were unaware of his large quantities of drugs smuggled in from Morocco. On 24 June 2015, a friend of Buzhu's went to police in Driebergen claiming he found a tracking beacon underneath his vehicle. Buzhu also came forward and claimed that the case was related to the kidnapping of coffeeshop owner Saïd Faggous in 2009. However, the police closed the case without a thorough investigation. A few days later, he returned to the police station and filed a complaint against Ridouan Taghi and his right-hand man Saïd Razzouki for death threats. He claimed that Taghi was hiding in Belgium and was a powerful cocaine trafficker in the Netherlands. Further investigations led Buzhu to identify several organized criminals in the Dutch drug trade, with his statements giving rise to the 26Koper investigation. On 17 April 2016, his neighbor, Samir Erraghib, also involved in international cocaine trafficking, was found shot dead a few streets down from Buzhu's childhood home. On 29 May 2016, Bagdad El H. and Ranko Scekic were the victims of an attempted assassination from Taghi's hitmen for their allegiance with Buzhu. However, the assassination was called off due to heavy police presence in the neighborhood. Scekic was killed in Utrecht the following month, and Buzhu testified in the trial against Taghi and Razzouki. He then left the Netherlands for his own safety and settled in Spain. He returned to the Netherlands in December 2021. He rented a car on 10 January 2022, accompanied by a trusted driver, due to his inability to fly following a positive test for COVID-19. On 15 January 2022, Ebrahim Buzhu was shot in the head while driving in Cádiz. He was then put in the trunk of a vehicle which was subsequently lit on fire. His body was noticed by a passerby who notified the Civil Guard. The Spanish police believe Buzhu was severely tortured prior to being shot. They also believe that he was kidnapped. References 1969 births 2022 deaths Mocro Maffia People from Utrecht (city) Dutch gangsters Dutch people of Moroccan descent Dutch torture victims Dutch people murdered abroad People murdered in Spain Male murder victims

69965417

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New%20South%20Wales%20Police%20Force%20strip%20search%20scandal%20%28Law%20Enforcement%20Conduct%20Commission%20investigations%29

New South Wales Police Force strip search scandal (Law Enforcement Conduct Commission investigations)

In October 2018, the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) announced plans to launch a formal investigation into the use of strip searches by members the New South Wales Police Force, citing complaints from members of the public and wider community concerns surrounding the practice. As part of a two-year inquiry, the Commission conducted a number of closed-door investigations relating to specific complaints, as well as two public hearings in relation to strip searches of minors at separate music festivals in 2018 and 2019. In a final report handed down in December 2020, the Commission made a total of 25 recommendations aimed at improving existing protocols governing the use of strip searches by NSW Police. Review of police standard operating procedures As part of its investigation, the commission began an initial review of protocols governing the use of the use of searches in custody at police stations in New South Wales, with a particular focus on strip searches. At the commencement of the review, the commission was made aware of the fact that there were 113 separate Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs) currently in use by NSW Police, with some being exclusive to specific police stations while others applied to wider police area commands. A report handed down in February 2020 found that there were "considerable discrepancies" in the instructions given to police across separate SOPs, with the commission finding that many of the existing guidelines contained "incorrect and inconsistent" information and that "none provided sufficient guidance as to the procedures that police should follow in conducting those searches". A single standardised set of protocols for searches in custody was introduced in August 2019, referred to as the "The Charge Room and Custody Management Standard Operating Procedures" or "Custody SOPs". In conjunction with the release of the new Custody SOPs, NSW Police had also released an updated "Person Search Manual" – an updated set of guidelines for officers to follow when conducting general searches and strip searches in custody and in the field. The document was made publicly available in September 2019. At a coronial inquest in July earlier that year, Counsel Assisting the Coroner Dr. Peggy Dwyer had called on NSW Police to release its strip search protocols. The request was made after a 28-year-old witness had broken down in tears at the inquest while recalling how an officer had ordered her to strip naked and repeatedly "squat and cough" inside a booth at the Knockout Circuz music festival in 2017. The officer had reportedly threatened to make the woman's search "nice and slow" if she failed to produce any drugs. Responding to the release of the new Custody SOPs and Person Search Manual, the LECC expressed concerns about a number of the instructions put forward in both documents, suggesting they were "wrong at law". "The Person Search Manual currently states that police officers may, amongst other things, request that a person squat, lift their breasts, part their buttock cheeks or turn their body," the Commission noted.A subsequent internal investigation conducted by NSW Police (see Strike Force Blackford Report) made reference to the Commission's objections, stating that, "The NSWPF does not intend to reverse their current instructions to police on these aspects of person searches". Operation Brugge In September 2019, the LECC announced plans to hold a public hearing in relation to an incident which had allegedly taken place at the Splendour in the Grass music festival in July 2018. The inquiry would seek to determine whether officers had unlawfully strip searched a 16-year-old girl who was attending the event, while also conducting a broader examination of strip search practices employed by NSW Police. A four-day hearing commenced at the Commission's Elizabeth Street headquarters on 21 October, presided over by LECC Chief Commissioner Justice Michael Adams. In a statement read by Counsel Assisting Dr. Peggy Dwyer on the first day of the inquiry, the Commission was told how the 16-year-old had been left feeling "completely humiliated" after being made to strip naked in front of a female police officer inside a tent at the event. The inquiry was told that the girl had been queueing up at the entrance of the festival when she was stopped by a drug detection dog, at which point an officer had instructed her to "put your hands where I can see them and don't reach for anything". After being taken to a separate area inside the venue, it was alleged that the girl had been questioned by officers before being asked to hand over her phone and ID. She said she was then taken into a tent by a female police officer, who instructed her to "stand in the corner of the tent for more privacy" before asking her to remove her clothes. It was alleged that once she was completely naked, the girl had been told to squat, at which point the officer "squatted down and looked underneath her". After the search had been completed, the 16-year-old's phone and driver's license were returned and she was allowed to enter the festival. "I was absolutely shocked that the police would do this to me" she recalled. "I was extremely upset. I was sobbing. I sat with my friend trying to calm down. I did not stop crying for approximately 20 minutes". The Commission was told that police had conducted 512 personal searches over the course of the 2018 Splendour in the Grass music festival, including 143 strip searches. More than 90% of strip searches conducted at the event had resulted in no drugs being found. Seven of the festivalgoers strip searched by police were recorded as being under the age of 18. On the first day of the inquiry, the Commission heard evidence from the on-site commander in charge of the police operation at the Splendour in the Grass music festival in 2018. The officer, a chief inspector, was one of six police officers to give evidence over the course of the hearing and was referred to by the Commission as "BR1". When asked if he thought police were justified in strip searching the 16-year-old, the officer replied, "probably not, no". The chief inspector said he was not surprised by the number of strip searches conducted by police at the event. When asked by LECC Chief Commissioner Michael Adams about the fact that more than 90% of those searches had resulted in no drugs being found, the officer's legal counsel rejected suggestions that this meant strip searches were being conducted with "no proper basis", answering "No, your honour, not necessarily" on his behalf. On the second day of the hearing, the female police officer who had allegedly strip searched the 16-year-old was called to give evidence. The senior constable, referred to by the Commission as "BR4", acknowledged documents which showed that she had strip searched other festivalgoers at the event, though denied having any memory of the incident involving the 16-year-old. The officer also acknowledged that the entrance of the tent used by police to conduct searches at the festival was unable to close, describing the situation as "not ideal" and recalling that she would instruct female patrons to stand in the corner so "that if anyone was walking past, they couldn't see her". In her evidence to the Commission, the officer recalled that she would routinely ask female patrons "turn around and squat" when conducting a strip search, suggesting that this was to "see if they have got anything inserted inside them in their vagina or anus". When asked how she would do this, the officer said she would "bend down" and "have a glance", telling the Commission that "when they'd squat, it would either fall out or you could see something protruding". The officer rejected suggestions that any of the patrons she had strip searched were at any point completely naked. There was also confusion about how the officer had been instructed to perform strip searches. When asked whether she thought police were permitted to ask a person to "touch their own intimate body parts" to assist with a search, the officer said she believed they were, stating that "the police handbook says you can". When asked which version of the handbook she was referring to, the officer replied, "I wouldn't have a clue. It's just on our intranet". The officer also claimed that the handbook instructed officers that they were permitted to ask a person to "squat" or "spread their buttocks" in the course of a search. Earlier in the day, the Commission heard from another officer who was also present at the Splendour in the Grass music festival in 2018. The officer, also a senior constable, had been working with BR4 and had completed the police database entry in relation to the strip search of the 16-year-old, though when questioned about the matter claimed to have "absolutely no memory" of the incident. Referred to by the Commission as "BR3", the senior constable wrote that the girl had recently admitted to using cannabis, though conceded under questioning that this was "an error". When asked about the decision to strip search the 16-year-old, he acknowledged that there was insufficient justification to carry out the search, agreeing that "there was nothing about the circumstances themselves which suggested any urgency or seriousness". The same officer was also recorded as having strip searched 19 male festivalgoers at the event, with only one of those searches resulting in any illicit substances (a single diazepam tablet) being found. Responding to questions from LECC Chief Commissioner Michael Adams, the senior constable conceded that none of those searches met the "seriousness and urgency" threshold officers are required to meet when conducting strip searches in the field in New South Wales. The senior constable admitted that there were no "circumstances of urgency" in any of the 19 strip searches he performed, agreeing with the Chief Commissioner's suggestion that the searches were "not lawful". The officer also acknowledged that it was his "modus operandi" to strip search any patron who had been stopped by a drug detection dog at the festival in 2018. On the third day of the hearing, another officer was criticsed after admitting that she had in some cases "guesstimated" the quantities of drugs which had been seized from patrons at the event. "Yes, there were drug scales there, but there was so much going on there that, you know, maybe that other one I estimated because the drug scales were being used or I couldn't find the drug scales" she told the Commission. In one incident, two tablets had initially been recorded as weighing 0.4 grams, however that amount had been changed to 3.18 grams on a 'statement of facts' document which had been prepared for the courts. When asked to explain this, the officer was unable to do so, suggesting that she may have gotten "a little bit muddled up" and rejecting claims that she had "cut and paste" the amount from another case where an identical amount of drugs were seized. On the final day of proceedings, the Commission heard evidence from a solicitor who was present at Splendour in the Grass music festival in 2018. Tracy Randall had been operating a legal advice stall at the event when she was approached by the 16-year-old and her friends. "She crying to such a degree that it took quite a long time for me to actually be able to settle her down and find out what had happened" she recalled. "I think I was acting more as a mother than a lawyer at that point. She was extremely distressed". In the weeks after the event, Randall had assisted the 16-year-old in making a complaint to the LECC. Speaking about the police operation at the festival in 2018, she described it as being more aggressive than it had been in previous years, recalling that there seemed to be an "us and them mentality" between officers and attendees. She said she had spoken to a number of stallholders who were concerned about the "military style formation" of police at the entrance of the event. "In previous years, my experience was that the sniffer dogs and searching police were on the other side of the entry gates, so not actually in the event, and my observations were that they generally would be just walking dogs through the crowds that were coming in to the entry gate. In 2018, that changed, and a large number of police were positioned on the other side of the entry gate". In her evidence to the Commission, Randall claimed she had spoken with "two or three" stallholders who had been strip searched as they were re-entering the festival after a lunchbreak, suggesting that this may have occurred because they had been handling money inside the event. No illicit substances had reportedly been found during any of those searches. She also expressed concerns about the legal advice some officers had been providing to patrons who had been caught with drugs, allegedly telling them that their charges would be dismissed without conviction (referred to as a section 10 dismissal in New South Wales) if they submitted a written "plea notice" admitting their guilt. "It's not a reliable prediction" she said. A final report from the inquiry was handed down by the LECC in May 2020, with the Commission finding that the strip search performed on the 16-year-old was "unlawful". The Commission found that police had failed to adhere to legal requirements mandating the prescense of a support person when strip searching a person under the age of 18 and that the strip search itself was "not justified", stating that "neither BR3 nor BR4 possessed a suspicion on reasonable grounds that a strip search was necessary for the purposes of the search". The Commission found that the conduct of BR4 when conducting the strip search was also unlawful, suggesting it was "satisfied that BR4 had 'no reasonable grounds' to believe that the removing all of BRC's clothing, requesting that she remove her panty liner and directing that she squat whilst naked was reasonably necessary for the purposes of the search". The report also identified a number of broader issues relating to policing at the 2018 Splendour in the Grass music festival. The Commission found that police record keeping at the event was "inadequate" and that officers possessed an "insufficient knowledge" of key legal requirements in relation to strip searches. The Commission also criticised the tent used by police to search patrons at the event, finding that it did not offer "reasonable privacy" on account of the fact that it "did not fully close, so that even, from the corner of the tent, BRC could see BR3 standing outside, with his back to the tent". Responding to the findings, NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said he was "disappointed" with the conduct of officers in relation to the strip search of the 16-year-old. "There's certainly been a couple of examples recently from the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission where I was disappointed with the way the powers were used" he told the ABC in November 2019. "It doesn't make me happy". Operation Gennaker A second public hearing was announced by the LECC in November 2019, this time investigating complaints of unlawful strip searches at an under 18's music festival at Sydney Olympic Park earlier in the year. The inquiry was centred around allegations made by three teenage boys who had allegedly been strip searched at the Lost City music festival in February, while also examining strip search practices employed by NSW Police more broadly. This second four-day hearing commenced at the Commission's Elizabeth Street headquarters on 2 December and was presided over by LECC Chief Commissioner Justice Michael Adams. Over the course of the hearing, the Commission heard evidence from multiple witnesses, including twelve police officers who were present at the event. The inquiry was told that police had strip searched 30 attendees, 27 male and 3 female, with drugs being found in nine of those searches. On the first day of the inquiry, the Commission heard evidence from a 15-year-old boy who had allegedly been strip searched at the festival after being stopped by a drug detection dog. In a statement read by Counsel Assisting the Commission Dr. Peggy Dwyer, it was alleged that the 15-year-old had been taken into a cubicle with two police officers, who then instructed him to pull down his pants and lift up his testicles. He recalled that one of the officers then "bent down to have a look, approximately one metre away from him". No drugs were found and the 15-year-old was later allowed to enter the festival. Police records of the incident made no mention of the fact that a strip search had taken place. When asked about the matter, the officer who had created those records was to unable to explain why this was the case. In another incident, a 17-year-old boy was reportedly asked to remove his clothes, lift up his testicles and "squat and cough" inside a cubicle at the event. In his statement to the Commission, he recalled asking officers "why is this happening" after complying with the request. A police database record of the incident claimed that the search had been conducted after security guards had "sighted a package" in the boy's groin area. The Commission accepted that the 17-year old's explanation that he and a friend had hidden bum bags inside their pants, as patrons were prohibited from bringing them into the festival. The boy said he had removed the bum bag and shown it to officers in an attempt to explain the situation, however this information had not been recorded by police. A separate 'field processing form' which had been completed at the event provided a different reason for the search, suggesting instead that the 17-year-old was "stopped after avoiding the dog", in reference to the drug detection dogs which were present at the festival. When asked why this was the case, the officer who had completed the form was unable to explain the discrepancy. In a separate complaint, it was alleged that a 16-year-old boy had been told to "lower his shorts and underwear" before being instructed to "grab his penis and to lift it up". It was claimed that an officer then "inserted his hands inside" the boy's underwear and pushed his testicles "forwards, then backwards". The same officer then reportedly moved behind him and "placed both hands inside his shorts and ran his hands around his buttocks, in a circular motion, apparently in an effort to detect if drugs were concealed there". The Commission was told that the officer was not wearing gloves while the search was taking place. After speaking with the guard, GEN8 told the Commission he believed it was necessary to strip search the boys as quickly as possible, "because the longer I left it, the more opportunity they had to think about disposing of drugs". The officer recalled that in each of the searches, he would ask a boy to "pull out their pockets, lift up their t-shirt and turn around", before asking them to "pull out" their pants and underwear in front of their bodies. He would then "look inside his pants and underwear at the front and the back". The officer rejected suggestions that any of the boys had been naked or had been asked to remove their shorts. He also denied touching any of the boys or instructing them to manipulate their genitals or "spread their legs". These searches had not been conducted inside the cubicles used by police at the event but had instead taken place in "an area outside the venue, in a small, u-shaped side area with a brick wall on one side, a chain link fence on the other and a gate, covered by black tarp, at the back". The Commission was told that despite no drugs being found on the 16-year-old, he along with the other boys "had his wristband removed and was ejected from the venue". In that incident, it was alleged that the 16-year-old had entered the festival when he and seven other boys were detained and taken to a separate area by a group of security guards. It was later revealed that one of the guards had purchased drugs from two of the boys, allegedly ordering his colleagues to detain the other six as he believed they were working together as part of a larger group. He then shared this information with a detective sergeant, referred to by the Commission as "GEN8", who was one seven police officers that responded to the incident after being summoned by security. Throughout the hearing, GEN8 was involved in a number of tense exchanges with LECC Chief Commissioner Michael Adams. The officer was criticsed over his record keeping of the incident and acknowledged that a police database entry he had created incorrectly listed him as having strip searched all eight of the boys who were detained. The detective sergeant conceded that he had failed to record his justification for the searches and the names of the other officers involved in the incident, though denied that this information had been deliberately omitted. GEN8 claimed that he had personally strip searched "three or four" of the boys, but in a later submission to the LECC rejected suggestions that the 16-year-old was among them. One particular area of concern throughout the inquiry was the use of volunteers who had been asked to be present at the event while strip searches were conducted. In accordance with legal provisions in New South Wales, police are legally required to have a 'support person' present to act as a witness when strip searching any person under the age of 18. The Commission was told that members of the New South Wales SES had been asked to attend the festival for this purpose. On the final day of the hearing, the Commission heard evidence from the three SES volunteers who were present at the event, two men and one woman. In his evidence to the Commission, one of the men, an SES Unit Commander, recalled being contacted by a chief inspector (referred to as GEN4) about having some of his staff assist police at the festival. Email correspondence showed that the officer had asked for SES personnel to "act as support people" while attendees were being interviewed. Recalling a phone conversation he had with GEN4, the Commander said there was no mention of the fact that SES personnel would be used to witness strip searches at the event, telling the Commission it was only after speaking with the other two volunteers at the end of the festival that he was made aware of the fact that this had occurred. The Commander also revealed that three SES personnel, including the two volunteers who were present at the Lost City event, had been withdrawn from a separate 'all ages' music festival the weekend before the hearing, telling the Commission that there were "concerns from my superiors" about "legal ramifications". Giving evidence later that day, the other male SES volunteer who was present at the event told the Commission he had been asked by police to witness six searches at the festival in February, though was unable to recall if all of them were strip searches. He said that each of the searches he had witnessed were conducted inside the booths used by police at the event (referred to by the Commission as "searching pods" during the hearing).In one of those incidents, officers had asked a festivalgoer to strip naked and remove drugs which had been secreted "in his back passage". The drugs had been wrapped inside a condom, which he then removed. Giving evidence on the first day of the inquiry, GEN4, the chief inspector who had recruited the SES volunteers, admitted that he hadn't attempted to verify whether they had valid Working with Children Checks, advising the SES Unit Commander via email that it wasn't "a deal-breaker" if they didn't. When asked why he thought members of the SES were suitable to witness strip searches at the event, the officer said, "well, I guess they are members of a very reputable organisation, being the SES", to which the Chief Commissioner replied, "yes, but it is not part of their ordinary duties to watch naked young people being searched by police, is it?". The Commission was told that several volunteers from the Red Frogs charity organisation had also been present during searches at the event. In one instance, a 17-year-old Red Frogs volunteer had reportedly been asked to act as a witness while a 13-year-old girl was strip searched by police. In a final report handed down in May 2020, the LECC concluded that each of the three strip searches investigated during the hearing was "unlawful". The Commission found that in all three cases, officers had failed adhere to legal requirements mandating the prescense a support person when strip searching a person under the age of 18. The Commission also found that the searches of the 15-year-old and 17-year-old were "not justified", however due to poor record keeping practices at the event it was unable to make conclusive findings in relation to the 16-year old's complaint, as the officer who had conducted the search could not be identified. It was concluded that the 16-year-old had most likely been searched by an unidentified male officer who was partnered with a detective sergeant (referred to as GEN7) who had given evidence at the hearing. The Commission's report also highlighted a number of other concerns relating to policing at the Lost City music festival in 2019, finding that the officers who gave evidence at the hearing lacked knowledge of their legal requirements in relation to strip searches and had not been adequately trained or instructed on how to perform them. The report also criticised police record keeping at the event, describing it as "inadequate" and "unsatisfactory". Despite acknowledging that officers had engaged in "unlawful conduct", the Commission declined to make "serious misconduct" findings against any police officer who gave evidence at the hearing, citing a "lack of training and direction" which had been provided to them. Dismissal of LECC chief commissioner In December 2019, it was announced that LECC Chief Commissioner Michael Adams would not have his term in the role extended, with his contract set to expire on 31 January 2020. The decision was announced by New South Wales Special Minister of State Don Harwin. The move was criticised by a number of state opposition MPs, who suggested it was a deliberate attempt by the government to derail the Commission's ongoing inquiry into the use of strip searches by NSW Police. In the days leading up to the announcement, Adams had been the subject of controversy after suggesting that corrupt police officers were involved in the state's methamphetamine trade. The comments had been condemned by the New South Wales Police Association, with President Tony King labelling the accusations "disgusting". In February 2020, The Guardian reported that Adams' dismissal had come after a complaint was made by LECC Oversight Commissioner Patrick Saidi. Saidi had reportedly raised concerns about management at the organisation, accusing Adams of running the LECC in an "autocratic fashion". An internal investigation carried out by the Commission's Assistant Inspector Bruce McClintock found no merit to the allegations, suggesting instead that Saidi himself may have engaged in "maladministration or misconduct". In January 2020, it was reported that Saidi had been sacked in his role as Oversight Commissioner by the New South Wales Government. Following Adams' dismissal, former Supreme Court Justice Reginald (Reg) Blanch was appointed as interim head of the LECC, later assuming the role on a permanent basis in August 2020. Operation Karuka In July 2017, a complaint was made to the Commission by a 29-year-old Aboriginal man who had allegedly been strip searched in custody at a Sydney police station. The man had reportedly been strip searched twice after being arrested in June. In his complaint to the LECC, the 29-year-old alleged that an officer had racially vilified him during one of the searches, while also claiming that an officer had digitally penetrated him during the second search. The matter was initially investigated by NSW Police, who in October 2017 recommended that "not sustained" findings be made against the officers involved. A separate investigation was subsequently launched by the LECC, who in October 2018 began conducting separate interviews with the eight officers involved in the incident. In a final report handed down in May 2020, the Commission took issue with several of the allegations made by the 29-year-old, finding no merit in suggestions that he was racially vilified or digitally penetrated during either of the two strip searches. The LECC had come to this conclusion after reviewing CCTV footage from both searches and receiving testimony from the officers who were present. Speaking about the man's treatment in custody, the report described it as "highly unsatisfactory", criticising what it described as a "miscommunication" between the officers involved in the man's detention. The Commission found that the second strip search performed on the 29-year-old was "unjustified", but ultimately concluded that the actions of police did not amount to "serious misconduct". Operation Mainz An investigation into the arrest and subsequent strip searching of a 16-year-old boy in regional New South Wales in November 2018. It was alleged that the boy had been carrying a small amount of cannabis wrapped in foil when he was spotted by two police officers, who claimed to have seen him drop the item before placing it into his pocket. An initial search of the 16-year-old was then reportedly conducted in the street, a process which allegedly involved both officers separately placing their hands inside the boy's shorts before they "pulled them out and looked inside them". The boy reportedly wasn't wearing any underwear at the time and the Commission found that these actions amounted to a strip search. When no drugs were found during the initial search, the 16-year-old was handcuffed and transported back to a police station inside a caged police truck. A second search was then conducted inside the truck while it was parked inside the station's vehicle dock, a process which allegedly involved a sergeant pulling down the 16-year old's shorts before pushing down on his shoulder to force him to squat. The boy had reportedly discarded the cannabis before arriving at the police station, with the same officer spotting it inside the truck shortly after this had taken place. It was alleged that the officer had questioned the 16-year-old about the item while he was still partially naked. This second search had been recorded on CCTV, with the footage later forming part of the Commission's investigation. The boy was later charged with possession of a prohibited drug. In a final report handed down in May 2020, the LECC found that both the initial search conducted in the street and the subsequent strip search conducted at the police station were carried out in breach legal requirements. The Commission found that actions of police amounted to "unsatisfactory performance" but did not recommend that "serious misconduct" findings be made against any of the four officers involved, citing an "absence of effective training" which had been provided to them prior to the incident. Investigation into the arrest, detention and strip searching of two female protestors In January 2018, the Commission began overseeing an internal police investigation stemming from separate complaints made by two women who had been strip searched at Newtown police station in 2017. The women, aged 51 and 43, had been attending a pro-refugee rally in Eveleigh before being arrested when the protest moved into the inner-city suburb of Redfern. The pair were then transported back to Newtown police station where they were separately taken into a cell and strip searched. "I was informed that they would need to conduct a strip-search and this was for my protection because I was in their care and custody and there might be something on my person I could hurt myself with" one of the women told Buzzfeed News shortly after the incident. "I was asked to turn around and squat and asked if I had any contraband". It's alleged that the other woman was asked to remove her bra but refused a request to remove her underwear. "They said 'take off the bra' at which I was incredulous and then they said 'jewellery and shoes' and asked me to take off my underwear," she said. "I said 'this is ridiculous, I have my period' and so they did a pat down". Both women were later released without charge. Three separate internal investigations were launched in response to the matter. In findings handed down in May 2018, a police investigator recommended that "not sustained" findings be made against the officers who had strip searched the two women, though did recommend that "sustained' findings be made against the officer who had ordered that the two women be strip searched, citing a failure to comply with LEPRA guidelines. That officer was subsequently issued a "Commanders' Warning Notice" and was "required to undergo a face to face training session on LEPRA strip search requirements". Responding to the findings, the Commission raised concerns about several aspects of the police investigation, noting that the investigator had not been spoken to either of the two complainants during the investigation. In June of 2019, the Commission wrote to NSW Police advising that it did not agree with the "not sustained" findings made against the officers who had strip searched the two women, suggesting that in the view of the LECC "there could be no finding other than a sustained finding" in the matter. Sustained findings were ultimately made against the two officers. In a final report published in June 2020, the Commission noted that NSW Police had refused an initial request to hand over two documents which had been requested as part of its investigation, objecting on the grounds that the material could "invoke the provisions commonly referred to as legal professional privilege". After several additional requests were made, the documents were eventually provided to the Commission seven months after they had first been requested. In September 2019, it was reported that NSW Police had issued a formal apology for the "distress and embarrassment" caused during the incident, agreeing to settle a civil case launched by the two women for an undisclosed amount. "The simple fact that they gave us the apology letter sends a pretty strong message that they know they were in the wrong. We also were very confident that we had a strong case" said one of the women in response to the announcement. Operation Sandbridge An investigation into the unlawful detention and strip search of a 53-year-old man at Kings Cross police station in 2015. The incident had been referred to the Commission after the matter was heard in the District Court of New South Wales in 2018. The 53-year-old had been made to "strip to a naked state, squat and expose his genitals", describing the experience as "humiliating" and "outrageous". In handing down his judgement, Presiding Justice Phillip Taylor found that the officers involved had acted with "an almost reckless indifference" before awarding the man just over $112,000 in damages. In reviewing the incident, the Commission examined the conduct of the four officers involved in the arrest and subsequent strip search of the 53-year-old. The investigation focused primarily on the actions of a female senior constable who had made the decision to detain the man before transporting him to Kings Cross police station. The woman had later instructed two male officers to strip search the 53-year-old while he was in custody. She was referred to in the Commission's report as "SAN1". In his ruling, Justice Taylor had raised concerns about the officer's conduct, expressing his belief that the decision to conduct a strip search was not based on any genuine suspicion of wrongdoing, but was instead motivated by the man's "lack of submission" at the scene of his arrest. The 53-year-old had initially refused to submit to search in Darlinghurst when the senior constable had told him she suspected he was in possession of illicit drugs. Justice Taylor found that the officer had "no reasonable grounds" to support this suspicion and that the subsequent arrest of the man was "unlawful". After the strip search had been conducted, the officer had reportedly said to the man, "You see, if you just did what we asked you to do, this could have all been avoided". In a final report handed down in May 2020, the Commission found that the actions of SAN1 amounted to "serious misconduct", suggesting that the senior constable "thought she was entitled to obedience" and was "indifferent to the legal limits of her powers as a police officer". It was also revealed that the woman had attempted to influence the testimony of other officers during the investigation. In a submission to the LECC, legal counsel for SAN1 argued against the serious misconduct findings, highlighting the senior constable's previous record as a police officer and citing a lack of training provided to her in relation to strip searches. The Commission maintained that the serious misconduct findings should be upheld, but on the basis of this submission ultimately decided to make "no recommendation as to reviewable action". Strike Force Blackford report In July 2020, the LECC published the findings of an internal police investigation carried out by officers from the Force's Professional Standards Command. The investigation was monitored by the Commission and centred around five complaints made in relation to unlawful strip searches, four of which had allegedly taken place at separate music festivals across New South Wales. In each incident, a strip search had reportedly been conducted after a positive indication from a drug detection dog. None of the individuals searched were found in possession of any illicit substances. One of those incidents stemmed from a complaint made to NSW Police by the mother of a 19-year-old woman who had allegedly been strip searched at a music festival in March 2019. The woman had been attending the Hidden music festival at Sydney Olympic Park when she was reportedly stopped by a drug detection dog. It's alleged that she was then escorted to a police search area inside the venue before being taken into a booth with a female officer, who instructed her to remove her clothes. The officer had reportedly asked the 19-year-old to "squat and cough" while she was completely undressed. It was also alleged that that the door of the booth had been left unlocked while the search was taking place. Despite no drugs being found, the 19-year-old was issued with a 'ban notice' prohibiting entry to the Sydney Olympic Park precinct for six-months. Following an investigation, NSW Police conceded that there was "insufficient lawful basis" to strip search the 19-year-old. Findings published in the report alleged that officers had mistakenly identified the woman as carrying drugs, with investigators claiming that the dog's handler had said "same as the last girl" and pointed to the woman's groin before handing her over to a male police officer. This officer, referred to as "MIS5", acknowledged that it was his decision to have the 19-year-old strip searched, reportedly using a similar phrase when handing the woman over to the female officer who had conducted the search. It's alleged that she had just finished searching another woman who had admitted to concealing drugs internally. In relation to the conduct of the search itself, the report acknowledged that the door of the booth had been left open, suggesting that "officer safety required the door to remain unlocked" and that "the doors were unable to be fully closed as they apparently locked automatically". Police investigators also found that there were "insufficient reasons or grounds" to issue the woman with the 6 month ban notice. "Sustained" findings were recommended against MIS5, who had issued the document and a female officer referred to as "MIS8", who he believed had directed him to do so. MIS8 had questioned the girl after the strip search had been conducted. No disciplinary findings were mentioned against any officer in relation to the search, however the LECC recommended that NSW Police consider issuing an apology to the woman. The Commission was also informed that police investigators were inquiring as to why the police database entries in relation to the strip search and the ban notice had been deleted, as requests for deletion were required to be "directed to the Commissioner of Police who will then forward the request to the appropriate Region for consideration". In another incident, a complaint had been made by the parents of a 21-year-old performer who had allegedly been taken to a tent and made to "pull her underpants down and bend over" after being stopped by a drug detection dog at the Secret Garden music festival in 2019. In findings published in July 2020, police investigators found that there was "no apparent justification" for strip searching the woman, alleging that the officer who conducted the search was under the belief "that she had been directed to search all persons upon whom the drug dogs had detected". When questioned about the matter, the officer claimed to have no specific recall of the incident, telling investigators that "I don't recall the female herself at all. I recall on the day I strip searched alot of females. And the majority of those females I witness(ed) (sic) the drug dog indicate on". It was also acknowledged that after the search had been completed, a male officer had spoken to the woman and made comments to the effect that "the drug dog sat for you again, we will have to press charges", before other officers laughed and told the 21-year-old that she should "take a joke". Speaking to investigators, the officer conceded that his comments were "inappropriate and unprofessional", suggesting that he was attempting to "make light of a difficult situation". The report found that the officer's conduct constituted a "breach of the NSWPF Code of Conduct and Ethics". Two separate complaints had also been made by festivalgoers who attended the Midnight Mafia music festival at Sydney Showground. A solicitor acting on behalf of an 18-year-old woman who had attended the event in 2018 alleged that she had been unlawfully strip searched by officers after a drug detection dog indication, describing the incident as "traumatic". It's alleged that two female officers had initially performed a general search and had conducted a search of the woman's bag where they found a "Vicks inhaler and a lollipop". The report suggested that "that these items have been linked to the use of prohibited drugs at music festivals" and that they had "increased the searching officer's suspicion that she may have been in possession of illicit drugs". A strip search was then conducted by the two officers, though due to a "miscommunication" between the pair neither officer had made a record of the search on the police database. Despite no drugs being, found the woman's ticket was cancelled and she was ejected from the event. Both officers denied any wrongdoing and police investigators recommended that "Not Sustained findings be made with respect to the lawfulness and conduct of the search". In another incident, NSW Police had launched an investigation in response to an article published by The Sunday Telegraph in May 2019. The Telegraph had spoken to two patrons (a man and a woman) who had allegedly been ejected from the Midnight Mafia music festival after being strip searched by police. Both festivalgoers had reportedly been stopped after separate drug detection dog indications. No illicit substances were found and the pair described the searches as "humiliating". Following an investigation, NSW Police recommended that "not sustained" findings be made against both the male officer who had strip searched the man and the female officer who had strip searched the woman. The report also made reference to a 5th complaint made by two women who had allegedly been strip searched outside Sydney's Star Casino in January 2019. That incident had been investigated by NSW Police but the investigation was not overseen by the Commission. The women had reportedly been stopped after an indication from a drug detection dog. During the incident, it's alleged that one of the women had been asked to remove a tampon while a strip search was conducted. An internal police investigation found that there was a "a lack of clarity for frontline officers regarding the lawfulness of such a request", however no further details about the incident or subsequent findings of the investigation were provided in the report. Final report In December 2020, the LECC handed down a final report detailing the findings of its two-year inquiry into strip search practices employed by the New South Wales Police Force. The Commission found that "a recurrent issue throughout the inquiry was the failure of officers to comply with, or at least to properly account for their compliance with, the legal thresholds for conducting a strip search". The report made reference to the findings of several previous LECC investigations, including two public hearings centred around the unlawful strip searches of minors at separate music festivals in 2018 and 2019. Additional information published in the report included statistical data and internal police guidelines which had not previously been made available to the public. A total of 25 recommendations were made by the Commission, generally centred around better guidance and training for officers and improved record keeping practices. Echoing a request made by the New South Wales Ombudsman in 2009, the Commission also called on Parliament to clarify whether it was lawful to instruct a person to squat or move their genitals in the course of a search. In a statement uploaded to Facebook, a spokesperson for NSW Police said that the organisation would review the Commission's findings, noting that several changes had already been made to existing strip search procedures and that "since 2016, the percentage of strip searches conducted in the field resulting in a find has risen from 33% to 46%". Notes References Strip search

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism%20of%20Fidesz

Criticism of Fidesz

The Hungarian conservative party Fidesz has been accused of exhibiting anti-democratic and authoritarian tendencies while in government. The Fidesz-led government has been accused of severely restricting media freedom, undermining the independence of the courts, subjugating and politicising independent and non-governmental institutions, engaging in electoral engineering, and assailing critical NGOs. The Fidesz-led government has been accused of engaging in cronyism and corruption. Fidesz has been accused of antisemitism, and the Fidesz-led government has been accused of passing legislation that violates the rights of LGBT persons. Due to its controversial actions, Fidesz and its government have come in conflict with the EU on multiple occasions. Authoritarian and anti-democratic actions The Fidesz government has been accused of "[chipping] away at the country's democratic framework, reducing judicial independence, taking control of most state and private media and reshaping the electoral system to favor [...] Fidesz." It has also been accused of providing a "blueprint for the erosion of democratic institutions" in countries like Poland, and an inspiration for far-right politicians Italy, France, the Netherlands, and Brazil, while leaving analysts struggling to determine whether Hungary is still a democracy. Bertelsmann Stiftung, a German research organisation, has assessed that Hungary under Fidesz-dominated government is approaching autocracy. Fidesz's governance has been described by some as reminiscent of Communist-led Hungary of the Kádár-era. Members of Fidesz have argued that the party is simply pursuing an alternative model of democracy, different from the common example of liberal democracy. Press freedom The Fidesz government has been accused of "silencing media", and of controlling all major media outlets in Hungary, thus creating an echo chamber that has excluded alternative political voices. The government has been accused of selectively starving non-loyal media organisations of government advertising revenues (the government is the country's second largest advertiser) while pressuring owners of media companies by targeting their other business interests so that they would either fall in line or sell their media holdings. Over 500 Hungarian news outlets were said to be supportive of the government in their coverage as of 2018, up from only 31 in 2015. By 2017, 90% of all Hungarian media was owned by either the state or by Fidesz allies, according to one Hungarian scholar. All regional newspapers are said to be controlled by pro-Fidesz owners. Orbán attributed Fidesz's 2002 electoral loss to the country's "liberal media", initiating a campaign to recruit loyalists who would buy up media outlets and create a more friendly media environment while engaging operatives to coordinate and administer the media under the government's sway. Media organisations owned by Fidesz-friendly oligarchs are said to coordinate daily press coverage, following "preset news themes". Legislation regarding media regulator appointments and coverage rules for journalists Shortly after taking power in 2010, Orbán passed laws enabling him to appoint candidates to lead the country's main media regulators while expanding the powers of the same regulators to fine and punish media organisations. The law would also impose hefty fines for coverage it finds "unbalanced or offensive to human dignity or common morals". The law was strongly condemned by the European community. Journalists working for public media organisations are furthermore required by law to "promote a national identity" in their reporting. State media State media is said to be "entirely loyal to" Orbán and his government. Soon after taking office, the Fidesz government dispatched new managers to the offices of the Hungarian public radio that were later described as "propagandists" by one employee (a popular radio host). A third of the staff at public broadcasters was also purged. Journalists at the public broadcasters were directed to report on political issues so as to be favourable to the government and its message, faced political interference while reporting on certain topics (e.g. LGBT issues, climate change, and migration), needed to obtain permission from superiors before beginning to write or publishing reports on certain "sensitive" topics that were listed on an internal "watch list", and were prohibited from reporting certain topics. State media has been accused of refusing to cover anti-government protests. Klubrádió The independent opposition-aligned radio station Klubrádió was gradually stripped of radio frequencies until it was only able to broadcast from Budapest, and was to be taken off air by the Hungary's media council in 2011. After a campaign by listeners, Klubrádió was awarded a long-term frequency in March 2013. In February 2021, Klubrádió was finally stripped of its license by the media council (which is staffed by government supporters) after failing to file required paperwork in time. Other broadcasters had committed similar mistakes without suffering such a fate. It's appeal to restore its frequency was rejected by the media council in March 2021, saying the filing contained errors and did not meet legal requirements. The European Commission said it was considering legal action against Hungary for its failure to renew the radio station's license. Népszabadság The largest-circulation daily newspaper, Népszabadság, was shut down shortly after publishing a story about a profligate luxury helicopter trip of close Fidesz ally and media operative Antal Rogán and his family. In 2018, immediately following a landslide Fidesz electoral victory, Magyar Nemzet, one of the two national daily newspapers opposed to the government (which had been in print for 80 years) and its sister radio station (both owned by Lajos Simicska, a businessman that entered into confrontation with Orbán in 2015 after a longstanding alliance between the two) announced their intention to cease operations due in part to a government advertising boycott. Hír TV, another media holding of Simicska's media empire, was converted into a pro-government outlet. Origo The transformation of Origo, Hungary's leading news website, from an opposition publication to a government-friendly one has been regarded as an exemplary "cautionary tale" for the stifling of press independence. The site was established in the late 1990s by Magyar Telekom and gradually evolved its investigative journalistic brand. In 2013, Origo was Hungary's most-read news website known for its investigative journalism. Magyar Telekom was acquired by the German Deutsche Telekom (DT) in 2005. In 2010, DT encountered a hostile business environment fostered by the new Fidesz government which adopted punitive measures against foreign owners of domestic companies. During DT's negotiations with the Hungarian government over telecommunications policy, a senior Fidesz official (János Lázár) suggested a covert line of communication between the government and Origo editors because "Origo's journalists had historically struggled to grasp the government's perspective on certain matters". Origo signed a contract with a media consultancy firm run by Attila Várhegyi, a former senior Fidesz member, after which the telecommunications deal was finalized on terms favourable to DT. This resulted in a revolt of Origo employees and editors. During the first half of 2014, political interference in journalists' work and editorial policy began to become noticeable, according to one former employee. After one Origo journalist launched an investigation of Lázár's foreign travel expenses despite Várhegyi's firm's requests to slow the investigation, Lázár complained to Magyar Telekom executives in 2014. Origo, headed by a combative editor-in-chief (Gergő Sáling) protecting a tenacious investigative reporter, persisted in scrutinising Lázár's record and eventually launched court proceedings to obtain documents regarding Lázár while also publishing several pieces unfavourable to Lázár. After Orbán re-election and months of pressure, Magyar Telekom gave in and fired the editor shielding the investigations. Several journalists resigned in protest. Regarding it as a political liability, Magyar Telekom decided to sell Origo. In an open sale process, businesspeople close to the ruling party purchased the news outlet. By 2018, Origo's coverage took a steadfastly pro-government stance. Central European Press and Media Foundation In late 2018, over 400 news media outlets – most of the private media in the country – were consolidated into a central holding company, the Central European Press and Media Foundation, administered by people close to the government. The media organisations were transferred to the Foundation by over a dozen pro-government business "moguls" and were already highly supportive of the government. The move was thus largely symbolic, but nonetheless unprecedented within the EU. One of the foundation's board members announced the Foundation has an "undeniably" right-wing agenda and that one of its goals is to prevent "opposition-minded media outlets" from regaining "the prominent market position that they held before Mr. Orban's election". Viktor Orbán argued that in Hungary still the "leftist, liberal media outlets are in majority", and the newly created foundation is a national interest because it is non-profit. Prevention coverage of the treatment of migrants Journalist require government permits to report from near the national border. The government has been accused of blocking journalists' access to refugee camps and immigrant transit centres, restricting refugee-related coverage, and government forces have been accused of forcing journalists to delete footage, physically attacking journalists, and damaging journalists' equipment. Attacks on government critics by pro-government media Pro-government media has been known to attack and deride opposition politicians and other critics, including a high school student that used obscene language to criticize and lampoon the government and Fidesz politicians during a protest. Spying on journalists According to the findings (released in July 2021) of a collaborative journalistic investigation, multiple journalists as well as businesspeople with media holdings (and possibly others) appear to have been spied on by the Hungarian government with Pegasus spyware. Slovenia-Hungary diplomatic row over press freedom On 22 March 2019, Slovenian weekly political magazine Mladina published an issue with the feature article detailing the intervention of the Slovenian Democratic Party within the European People's Party (of which SDS is a member) to prevent Fidesz's exclusion from EPP, reporting that SDS was the pivotal factor in EPP's decision to enact the much more lenient suspension of Fidesz's membership instead of a full ousting. The issue also featured a comical cartoon cover portraying Hungarian MP Orbán giving a Nazi salute and wearing a Hungarian flag armband while being amorously embraced by SDS politicians (with one of them holding a Slovenian flag featuring the Hungarian tricolor). Mladina's cover was widely covered by Hungarian opposition media. Mladina has long been known for its satirical and politically provocative covers. The portrayal of Orbán as a Nazi was harshly criticised by Hungary's ambassador to Slovenia, and by the Hungarian press secretary. The ambassador's protest was lampooned by the magazine, which published a "corrected and courteous" cover, now portraying Orbán, with a flower in his hair, extending an olive branch, while Mladina's cartoonist jestingly published a sarcastic "apology". On 5 April, the Slovenian Foreign Ministry dismissed a formal request by the Hungarian embassy on the topic of the contentious Mladina cover that called on Slovene authorities to assist the Hungarian government in preventing "similar incidents" from occurring in the future because "the Hungarian embassy in Ljubljana is convinced that actions such as the publication of the aforementioned cover harm the otherwise excellent bilateral cooperation between the countries". The Ministry responded by stating "[we] strictly respect the freedom of speech and freedom of the press and would never interfere in any of the media's editorial policy". The request was condemned by the Slovenian Journalists' Association, multiple MPs of Slovenia's governing coalition, the president, prime minister, and other prominent politicians, with one MP announcing that he will be requesting that the parliamentary Committee on Culture and Foreign Policy be convened over the issue. Multiple diplomats and experts also expressed consternation over what they described as an unprecedented/"unheard of" diplomatic move. Freedom of the judiciary The Fidesz government has been accused of removing independent judges, stacking the Constitutional Court and judicial institutions with loyalists, and appointing as chief prosecutor a former party member who has seldom pursued corruption charges against Fidesz politicians. In 2011, the government lowered the mandatory retirement age from 70 to 62, forcing judges to retire and freeing up vacancies for appointments by the government. In 2012, the government was criticized by the Venice Commission for concentrating too much power in a single official, the head of the then recently established National Judicial Office. In 2018, Tünde Handó, the government's judicial chief with close personal ties to Orbán and Fidesz, was accused by an independent panel of senior judges of abusing her function to interfere with the appointment process for senior judges in a move that confirmed longstanding accusations by individual judges and the political opposition. Hando unsuccessfully attempted to prevent the council from convening to frustrate the release of the report. A flurry of judges' resignations prior to the report's release had also fueled suspicions that "something [...] sinister was afoot". Constitutional Court Fidesz dismantled a Constitution Court nominations committee that was originally staffed by representatives of all parliamentary parties to ensure consensus, instead taking complete control over the nomination process. The size of the Constitutional Court was expanded to allow for stacking by Fidesz appointees. This resulted in all Constitutional Court judges being appointees of Fidesz after 8 years of its rule, with multiple judges having close connections to the party and the Constitutional Court consistently voting in line with the Fidesz government. In instances where laws were struck down by the Court as unconstitutional, the Fidesz-dominated parliament simply amended to Constitution. The authority of the Constitutional Court was also constricted by the new Constitution in 2011 in a move that further drained power away from the judicial branch. "Parallel court system" for public administration matters The Fidesz-dominated parliament has altered the Constitution to establish a "parallel court system" to handle cases pertaining to public administration, leading to fears that the new courts would be stacked by government loyalists and used to approve contentious politically motivated reforms and actions ("for instance dismissing challenges to government decisions, penalizing civil servants whose loyalty to Mr. Orbán is in doubt, or rejecting freedom of information requests from journalists investigating government corruption"). The government has argued that such a reform of the judicial system is in keeping with European and international norms and recommendations, and that the system will be independent and more efficient. Independent institutions The Fidesz government appointed former party politicians to non-partisan oversight institutions that were created as checks on government power after the fall of the Communist regime. The institutions involved included the State Audit Office, the State Prosecution Service, and the National Fiscal Council. Independence of the Hungarian central bank In 2011, the government proposed legislation that could endanger the independence of the Hungarian central bank, according to the then head of the organisation, András Simor. The law was also criticized by European Central Bank president Mario Draghi. Due to the controversial central bank reforms, IMF and European Commission representatives walked away from 2011 negotiations about providing assistance for the heavily indebted Hungary. A Fidesz loyalist was later appointed to head the central bank. Parliamentary process Taking power in 2010 with a supermajority able to propose and pass legislation largely at will, Fidesz has often denied parliament sufficient time to deliberate proposals, sometimes giving only a few hours' notice before discussions on proposals and only allowing a few hours of debate. The laws were also often presented by low-ranking lawmakers that had neither written nor read the legislation they were introducing. Elections Between 1990 and 2010, the National Assembly of Hungary used a complex, three-tier system to fill its 386 seats: one part was elected through a two-round system in single-member districts, another through a one-round regional list proportional representation, and a third were national top-up seats calculated from the wasted votes of the two other paths. This system, in accordance with Duverger's law, produced a multi-party polarization, in which Fidesz became the right-wing's primary party, until 2010, where, thanks to a decimated and divided opposition, Fidesz won a two-thirds supermajority with half of the votes. The ensuiing Fidesz supermajority government then acted to reform the electoral system by introducing parallel voting, and reduced the number of seats in the National Assembly by half, down to 199 seats. About half of these seats would be filled through plurality voting in redrawn and larger single-member districts, while the other half would be elected through a national list proportional representation. This electoral system, used since 2014, incentivizes unity, which so far has benefited Fidesz against a still-fragmented opposition. As a result, the left-liberal parties and Jobbik decided to form a united front for the 2022 elections. Opposition parties and critics have warned of possible gerrymandering. Promotion of fake parties The government passed legislation setting up lax requirements and financial incentives for creating new political parties. The resulting proliferation of fake parties has further divided the opposition vote. Fidesz candidates have been accused of directly colluding with the "bogus parties" to prop them up. Expanding the electorate by easing citizenship criteria for ethnic Hungarians living abroad By expanding the ability to easily gain citizenship to ethnic Hungarians abroad with a 2010 law, Fidesz was able to greatly expand its electorate; about 10% of the current electorate acquired voting rights due to the measure, with 95% of these voting Fidesz. Embargo on opposition political ads in state media The government has also been accused of blocking opposition candidates from publishing ads in state media while allowing the same for Fidesz candidates. Use of government resources for electioneering The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, an international election observer, has accused Fidesz of using government resources to bolster its electoral chances, "[blurring] the line between state and party" during the 2018 parliamentary election. It also reported "media bias, and opaque campaign financing", describing the election as "free but not entirely fair". Civil society The Orbán government has been accused of infringing on a free civil society. The government's crackdown on civil society organisations has been criticized as an assault on the only bastion of democratic checks and balances and opposition to the Fidesz government and its agenda. Central European University, Open Society Foundations, and role of George Soros Fidesz's attacks on civil society organisations are often combined with attacks on Hungarian-born financier George Soros whom they accuse of attempting to undermine the traditional Hungarian and European societal values by surreptitiously and insidiously promoting mass migration through covert channels that include NGOs. After 35 years, Soros' Open Society Foundations relocated from Budapest to Berlin in 2018 due to the increasingly hostile attitude the government has taken against the organisation and its founder. The Hungarian government passed a bill allegedly targeting the Soros-funded Central European University that effectively prevented CEU's operation. The law was denounced both domestically and internationally as it was perceived as infringing upon academic freedom. CEU announced it was closing down due to government pressure in December 2018. Funding of NGOs The National Cooperation Fund, headed by László Csizmadia, a vocal Fidesz supporter, has preferentially tended to support groups with religious and nationalist aims, with three of the top recipient organisations led by Fidesz politicians. Csizmadia, a right-wing theorist, has on numerous occasions written about his belief that the function of NGOs should be to "preserve national identity and uphold Christian values" and that civil society should be subjugated to the will of the government to enact the will of the people. The government funding squeeze of non-loyal NGOs has left these starved of resources; NGOs have thus increasingly turned to foreign donors to finance their operations, in particular, the Norwegian government, and the Soros-headed Open Society Foundation. The government had subsequently raided some organisations distributing Norwegian funds while accusing recipients of being beholden to foreign powers. In a meeting with a government minister, PM Orbán reportedly labelled NGOs as "foreign-funded enemies of the state" that he wished to eliminate. The Hungarian government has cracked down on NGOs that receive foreign donations; such organisations have to register with authorities and follow stringent rules to declare their foreign funding (including on all websites and publications) or risk fines or termination. NGOs and the "Stop Soros Law" In 2018, the government also passed laws (the "Stop Soros Law") that financially sanction any NGO that "promotes illegal migration", threaten activists that organize or support migration or carry out work contrary to "Hungary's national security interests" with restraining orders preventing them from approaching the boarder, criminalize assistance to asylum seekers ("facilitating illegal immigration") (thus potentially threatening activists, lawyers, and NGO employees with prison sentences), allow the banishing of foreign citizens who support migration from the country, and vest the interior minister with the authority to review organisations involved in immigration advocacy and forbid them if they are deemed to represent a "national security risk". The reform has been widely condemned, including by the UN, and Amnesty International. In 2018, the youth wing of Fidesz engaged in a campaign marking the buildings of civil organisations with red stickers with the message "This organization supports immigration". Promotion of Hungarian nationalism in schools The government has battled educators over textbook content that promotes a narrative of ethnocentrism and Hungarian victimhood. The government line has been pushed into school textbooks; history textbooks present Orbán's views on the threat of immigration, going on to state that "It can be problematic for different cultures to coexist", and the high school curriculum has been expanded to include teaching the new Fidesz-passed Hungarian Constitution (that includes provisions that may discriminate against religious minorities). Independence of universities Funding of university departments has been transferred to government-appointed supervisors in a move the government argues was intended to reduce costs. In 2020, the Fidesz-led government attempted to transfer the management of the Budapest University of Theater and Film Arts to a foundation headed by an Orban ally who wanted to make the university more "national" and "Christian", with students protesting the plan by occupying the university building. In 2021, the Fidesz-led government introduced a law that would transfer the ownership of state university to foundations, which would be headed - according to PM Orban - by nationalists, with people with "internationalist" or "globalist" views disqualified from holding administrative positions in the foundations. The opposition criticised the push to transfer the control over universities to foundation as attempt by Fidesz to extend its control over the universities even in the even of an electoral loss. Politisation of universities and artistic institutions Fidesz appointees and loyalists have also come to dominate artistic institutions and universities. Art exhibitions and plays have begun to assume nationalist and anti-Western undertones. The government wields the authority to appoint theatre directors, and it has, in one instance, appointed a director who pledged to promote Hungarian values and combat liberalism, and attract audiences that believe in a "nation state", while in another instance summoning a theatre director that was appointed by the previous government and produced plays that questioned "Hungarian national narratives" for questioning by Parliament and later refusing to renew his contract. The government also recruited a group of right-wing artists with ties to Fidesz and turned it into a government agency with the power to distribute stipends and prizes to artists that displayed a "clear national commitment". "The government is using its democratic legitimacy not only to reform the state but to reform the society" said professor Andras Patyi who had headed a new university established by Fidesz to train future civil servants, police, and soldiers, adding that other leaders in democratic societies have commonly attempted to do the same. Reprisals against critical religious institutions Religious organisations critical of the Fidesz government have allegedly been selectively denied legal status and funding. Religious institutions had historically dependent upon significant government subsidies. Loss of legal status would result in the loss of government and taxpayer funds. The law was deemed a violation of religious freedom by the European Court of Human Rights in 2014, but the Hungarian government refused to properly amend it. The government asserted the reform was necessary to address widespread abuse of the system while some government officials said the law needed to be amended but blamed a lack of cooperation from the opposition. Cronyism and corruption The Fidesz government has been accused of corruption and of fostering a "clique of loyal oligarchs". Hungary's corruption assessment has worsened significantly according to World Bank data despite a regional trend in the opposite direction. The EU anti-fraud agency has launched multiple investigation into misuse of EU funds by people close to PM Orbán, including a company owned by Orbán's son-in-law. The government has been accused of punishing non-loyal businesspeople with punitive taxes and regulation. A Hungarian economist described the government's economic shenanigans as "authoritarian capitalism" while some Hungarian and international experts have described post-2010 Hungary as a kleptocracy. During the first 6 years of the Fidesz government, 5 of Orbán's closest associates were awarded ~5% of all public procurement contracts, totaling $2.5bn. The Fidesz government has been accused of diverting billions of euros of EU and federal funds toward loyal allies and relatives (with those who fell out of favour with the party also ceasing being granted the lucrative contracts). Civil rights violations and discrimination against minorities Antisemitism Memorialisation of antisemitic figures Fidesz has been accused of antisemitism due to the memorialisation of certain historic figures associated with Hungarian nationalism by Fidesz politicians. In 2012, prominent Fidesz politicians Máté Kocsis and Sándor Lezsák unveiled a statue of Cécile Tormay - an enthusiastic supporter of Adolf Hitler - in Budapest. This event was also supported by István Tarlós, Fidesz Mayor of Budapest. However a proposal to name a street after Tormay was suspended by Tarlós following an international outcry about this. Fidesz supports the rehabilitation of Miklos Horthy, a controversial figure serving as regent of Hungary during the interwar period and World War II period. Vilification of George Soros Hungarian-born American billionaire George Soros, who is Jewish, has been repeatedly targeted by Fidesz in its campaigns and national surveys. These attacks, which among other things accuse him of masterminding a Europe-wide conspiracy to open Hungary's borders and flood the country with refugees, frequently reproduce antisemitic tropes. In March 2018, Orbán said of Soros: "We are fighting an enemy that is different from us. Not open, but hiding; not straightforward but crafty; not honest but base; not national but international; does not believe in working but speculates with money; does not have its own homeland but feels it owns the whole world." Holocaust revisionism In 2019 the Holocaust Remembrance Project published the Holocaust Revisionism Report in which they highlighted holocaust revisionism of EU countries and highlighted the position of Hungary in this. They stated that "The Hungarian (Fidesz) government is minimising its country's participation in the genocide, rehabilitating war criminals, and introducing anti-Semitic writers into the national curriculum." The report describes the Fidesz party as engaging in "dangerous memory politics". Antisemitic comments by Fidesz politicians In 2008, Zsolt Bayer, one of the founding members of Fidesz, wrote the following in Magyar Hírlap: "In 1967, Jewish journalists in Budapest were still vilifying Israel. Today, the same Jewish journalists are vilifying the Arabs. And the Fidesz. And us. Because they hate us more than we hate them. They are our reason-Jews - you understand: their very existence justifies antisemitism." More than a hundred Hungarian intellectuals protested against the opinion piece in an open letter, including Ibolya Dávid, leader of the Hungarian Democratic Forum, and Gábor Demszky, Mayor of Budapest. In a 2009 television interview, then-Fidesz MP Oszkár Molnár said that "I love my homeland, love the Hungarians and give primacy to Hungarian interests over those of global capital – Jewish capital, if you like – which wants to devour the entire world, especially Hungary." He claimed that students in Jerusalem schools were taught in the Hungarian language, citing this as evidence of a Jewish conspiracy to take over Hungary. Molnár's comments were widely criticised by the Jewish community and other parties, but Fidesz refused to denounce him nor expel him from the party; Viktor Orbán, however, described the claims as "embarrassing". In 2013, Magyar Narancs published audio recordings of Ferenc Haszilló, the Fidesz mayor of Kecel, saying that "the Jews control the country, but the gypsy children deserve a slap" and that "the parliament should reinstate the death penalty and execute five or six liberal Jewish politicians". Haszilló promised to leave the party after the leak, but he did not, and Fidesz nominated him for re-election as mayor in 2019. Lajos Kósa, the party's deputy leader, said Haszilló regretted what he had said earlier. In 2015, Gábor Huszár, the Fidesz mayor of Szentgotthárd, said in response to the November terrorist attacks in Paris: "I want everyone to accept that what happened in Paris is clear proof that certain business circles, and I am saying this here, which is most likely the Jewish state, want to align the Christian Europe against Islam, so the establishment of this camp has nothing to do with the events in Paris." The mayor's remarks were condemned by Israel's embassy in Hungary, as well as by MSZP and LMP, who called for Huszár's resignation. In its response, Fidesz said that Huszár said what he said as a private citizen, so they had nothing to do with it. Immigration Depriving detained migrants of food The European Court of Human Rights has rebuked the Hungarian government for failing to provide food to asylum seekers residing in Hungarian detention centres. Vague law potentially outlawing aid to migrants The "Stop Soros" law outlawing support or promotion of illegal immigration has been criticized for being so vague as to potentially criminalize providing humanitarian aid to immigrants; giving food for undocumented migrants on the street, distributing information about the asylum process, providing migrants with financial assistance, or even attending political rallies in support of immigrants' rights. Exploiting immigration for political gain The Fidesz government has been accused of using an illusory spectre of immigration for its political gain; despite decreasing numbers of migrants making their way into the region, the government escalated its rhetoric on immigration. Increasing economic migration Due to socioeconomic factors, the Orbán government increased the extent of economic migration into the country, despite Orbán's previous statements denouncing foreign workers. Reportedly, the government's anti-immigration sentiment has fueled social strife between Hungarian and foreign workers. Hungarian trade unions also voiced fears that the increase in low-wage foreign labourers could suppress overall wages. LGBT issues In 2021, the Hungarian parliament passed a bill that featured provisions banning depictions of LGBT persons in mass media or educational materials that may be viewed by underage persons. The stated goal of the provisions was to prevent underage persons from viewing content that promotes homosexuality or gender change. The law bans the portrayal of LGBT persons/characters or symbols on television outside of watershed time, bans LGBT issues from being mentioned in school educational materials, bans advertisements that feature favourable portrayals of LGBT persons if underaged persons may be the audience, and creates an official registry of sex educators permitted to conduct sex education classes in schools. The law also put limits on sales of literature that features LGBT topics, requiring such children's books to be sold in closed packaging, and forbids the sale of such books or other media in the vicinity of churches or schools. The legislation was also seen as conflating homosexuality with paedophilia. Leaders of 17 EU countries signed a joint statement condemning of the legislation and threatening to challenge the legislation in court over human rights violations if it were not withdrawn. The legislation was also denounced by the president of the European Commission. Conflict with the EU Conflict with EU institutions and the "dance of the peacock" strategy Orbán was on multiple occasions also rebuffed by various institutions of the European Union. In a speech, Orbán boasted to his supporters that he had been out-maneuvering EU institutions by implementing contentious policies without excessively provoking them and incurring only painless criticism instead of any real push-back (a tactic he has dubbed "the dance of the peacock"). Push to suspend Hungary's voting rights within the EU in the European Parliament In September 2018, the European Parliament voted to suspend Hungary's voting rights within the EU, accusing it of breaching democratic norms and EU's core values. Poland however vowed to veto the sanctions immediately after the European Parliament voted to pursue the sanctions against Hungary. The move was the first step in a procedural process to sanction the Hungarian government that could result in the country losing its EU voting rights were it to be successfully completed, marking the first instance of the punitive process' use in the history of the EU. "A report detailing Hungary's alleged breaches of democratic norms, which was used to justify European Parliament's disciplinary action, cited violations including weakening media plurality, crackdowns on civil society and moves towards limiting educational freedom." Members of the Hungarian government challenged the legality of the vote saying that the just made decision of not counting abstentions as votes cast is irregular and because only by violating rules was it possible to reach the necessary two-thirds majority. Péter Szijjártó, Hungary's FM stated "it's a collection of qualified lies" and they will challenge the vote with the EP's leadership Comments regarding death penalty On policy grounds, Orbán and his government also came into conflict with the EU by voicing support for the possible reintroduction of the death penalty within Hungary (EU rules prohibit the death penalty for all member states) and by clashing with the EU over the handling of the European migrant crisis. Conflict with the EPP Fidesz has also come into conflict with the EPP; after 12 member parties called for Fidesz's expulsion or suspension, Fidesz's membership was suspended by a mutual agreement. Orbán has also suggested that Fidesz is considering leaving the EPP voluntarily. Fidesz's advertising campaign criticising the EU Fidesz has also been condemned by EU politicians and institutions for launching a government campaign - involving ads, billboards, and letters sent to all citizens - that suggested that EU's immigration policy is being controlled by Soros (who is depicted standing behind and smiling with Jean-Claude Juncker with the subtext reading "‘You have the right to know what Brussels is planning to do ... compulsory relocation quotas"). In response to the political ad campaign, the leader of the EPP has demanded Orbán apologize for and renounce the criticism levied against EU by him and his party or face Fidesz's suspension from the EPP. Anti-government protests Internet tax protests After the government revealed a plan to tax internet users' traffic in 2014, up to 100,000 people gathered in a series of protests. Facing widespread opposition, the government reduced the proposed tax rates, however, discontent and protests continued. The design of the tax was also criticized by the European Commission. The plan was eventually scrapped by the government entirely. Overtime law In late 2018, the government amended the labour code to increase maximum overtime from 250h to 400h, and delaying the employee compensation deadline from 1 to 3 years. In some instances, the law would also allow employers to compensate workers at the regular hourly rate for overtime work. The changes were motivated by the country's labour shortage, and sparked a wave of protests and opposition. Opponents dubbed the proposed changes the "Slave law". The government says the labor reforms are necessary to provide much-needed support for businesses struggling to cope with a shortage of workers. The jobless rate in Hungary has dropped to a near all-time low of 3.7 percent, while the number of unfilled jobs has reportedly doubled to a record high in the last three years. The protests that initially opposed the "Slave law" soon evolved to also voice opposition to the nature and actions of the ruling government in general, with multiple opposition parties joining the protests in solidarity. The protests, with the number of attendants peaking at about 15,000, have been one of the most significant shows of public opposition to the Fidesz government. A government spokesman dismissed the notion of popular support for the protests. References Fidesz

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning%20of%20British%20Embassy%2C%20Dublin

Burning of British Embassy, Dublin

The burning of the British Embassy in Dublin happened on 2 February 1972 at 39 Merrion Square. This occurred during demonstrations by a very large and angry crowd (estimates vary between 20,000-100,000 people), following the Bloody Sunday massacre in Derry on 30 January 1972, when the British Army's Parachute Regiment shot dead 14 unarmed Catholic civilians during a civil rights demonstration. Timeline Sunday 30 January A protest organised by Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association against internment in Northern Ireland on 30 January 1972 ended in a massacre by members of the first battalion of the Parachute regiment of the British Army. A telephone conversation was held in the evening between prime ministers Sir Edward Heath and Jack Lynch. In the tense call, Sir Edward never expressed any shock or horror at what had happened and told Mr. Lynch that the IRA were "bound to intervene" at the march and that the organizer's of the demonstration carried a "heavy responsibility" for what happened. Taoiseach Jack Lynch addressed the Irish public in a television address, saying "The government is satisfied that British soldiers recklessly fired on unarmed civilians in Derry yesterday and that any denial of this continues and increases the provocation offered by present British policies both with the minority in Northern Ireland and to us here". Monday 31 January On Monday 31 January, angry protests began throughout Ireland, with some walk-outs from places of employment and boycotts of British services at Dublin airport and port. The UK Home Secretary, Reginald Maudling, gave a statement in the House of Commons affirming, "A large number of trouble-makers refused to accept the instructions of the march stewards and attacked the Army with stones, bottles, steel bars and canisters of C.S. The Army met this assault with two water cannon, C.S., and rubber bullets only. The G.O.C. has further reported that when the Army advanced to make arrests among the trouble-makers they came under fire from a block of flats and other quarters. At this stage the members of the orderly, although illegal, march were no longer in the near vicinity. The Army returned the fire directed at them with aimed shots and inflicted a number of casualties on those who were attacking them with firearms and with bombs." Prime Minister Ted Heath made no substantial comments, in or outside of parliament. Tuesday 1 February In the morning, prime minister Heath spoke in the House of Commons about the terms of the Widgery inquiry. He stated "I do not wish to comment now on the events of last Sunday" but later added "The security forces are under very strict orders. It is, of course, the responsibility of Her Majesty's Government, and of the Secretary of State for Defence in particular, to see that those orders are appropriate and are carried out." Wednesday 2 February In the afternoon, a large protest march was held in the city center, followed by a protest march towards the nearby embassy. Then RTÉ security correspondent Tom McCaughren estimated there were eight to ten thousand people, in the confined space immediately outside the building (estimates of the size of the earlier marches vary between 20,000-100,000), The large crowds outside, and in the vicinity, made it hard for the security forces, and later the fire brigade, to intervene. Protesters carried black flags, tricolours and placards condemning the British government. Black coffins painted with "Bloody Sunday" and "13" were carried by the crowd and placed at the embassy door. Gardaí tried at first to keep the protestors away from the embassy but were very largely outnumbered. The press reported 30 injuries as the police charged the crowds. The embassy had been evacuated by the afternoon. Around 4pm petrol bombs began to be thrown, without much effect. Finally a man climbed a neighbouring building, and then across to an upper floor of the embassy, setting it alight, with the interior fire underway by 7pm (and by which time night had fallen). Dublin Fire Brigade could not reach the embassy and the building was gutted. McCaughren felt the demonstration had been allowed to proceed as an "expression of anger". A British insurance company’s branch office in Dun Laoghaire was also destroyed. The Royal Air Force club was attacked and several other British owned shops around the country were vandalised. Subsequent history of Merrion Square building The Electricity Supply Board bought the building in 1973 and then restored it. The row of houses 39-43 were offered for sale in 2019. References 1972 in the Republic of Ireland Attacks on diplomatic missions of the United Kingdom

69967315

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joephy%20Chan

Joephy Chan

Joephy Chan Wing-yan (; born in 1990) is a Federation of Trade Unions politician in Hong Kong, who is currently a member of the Legislative Council, representing New Territories South West. She is a former member of the Sham Shui Po District Council for Lai Kok from 2016 to 2019. Biography Chan's father is Chan Chi-kwong, president of the Hong Kong Customs Officers Association and former vice chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions (FTU). She went to the United Kingdom to study since middle school, and graduated from the University of Hong Kong and the University of London. She holds a Bachelor of Economics and Finance from the HKU and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of London. Later, she joined FTU as a community officer in Sham Shui Po. During the 2015 Hong Kong local elections, Chan represented the Federation of Trade Unions in the Lai Kok constituency seat of Sham Shui Po District Council and competed with Federick Fung, then a member of the Legislative Council of the ADPL. In the end, she won with 2,531 votes, while former ADPL member Wong Chung-kei got 215 votes at the same time. However, on 2019 Hong Kong local elections, she was defeated by Li Kwing of the ADPL, losing her bid for re-election. After losing the district council election, she opened her YouTube channel to comment on current affairs and became an internet celebrity; she also runs a YouTube channel with another unsuccessful district councillor candidate, Navis Ha Wing-ka. In the 2021 Hong Kong legislative election, she represented the Federation of Trade Unions in the newly created New Territories South West constituency. Chan won 62,690 votes and became the youngest member of the 7th Legislative Council of Hong Kong. Controversies Fake news on COVID-19 On April 2020, Chan posted a video on her YouTube channel titled "A new discovery by British and German scientists debunks the conspiracy of the United Kingdom and the United States to claim compensation from China. The source is the United States and Australia? The first case appeared in September last year? Both the United Kingdom and the United States have a guilty conscience?" The content quoted the new coronavirus study by the University of Cambridge research team pointed to the origin of the virus as the United States or Australia. As of 28 April, the video had more than 380,000 views. An investigation by the Hong Kong news agency, FactWire, found that the video was taken out of context and misinterpreted the research results. Dr. Peter Forster, an expert who led the research team, responded to the FactWire inquiry and stated that the purpose of the research is not to find the source of the virus at all, but to analyze how the virus mutates over time and spreads among humans. He also said that data showed that the patients in the early stage of the virus outbreak were generally from East Asians, which strongly indicated that the virus spread among them in the early stage of the outbreak. Pro-police comments On September 2020, Chan and another pro-establishment figure, Navis Ha, commented on a pregnant woman who was pushed down by the police during a demonstration on the first anniversary of the Prince Edward station attack. She described the pregnant woman as a "criminal woman" and questioned her "after being interviewed by the media." On 29 September, Hong Kong Police commissioner, Chris Tang, took the initiative to mention during the Yau Tsim Mong District Council meeting that on 31 August and 6 September, during the police operations at the Mong Kok demonstration site, a pregnant woman was pushed down on the day. Tang said that the demonstration scene was very chaotic. Some people did shout "pregnant women", but not everyone present could hear it. References External links 1990 births Living people Alumni of the University of Hong Kong District councillors of Sham Shui Po District Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong politicians Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions Members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong HK LegCo Members 2020–2024 Members of the Election Committee of Hong Kong, 2021–2026 Hong Kong pro-Beijing politicians

69967750

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norfolk%2C%20Nebraska%20minor%20league%20baseball%20history

Norfolk, Nebraska minor league baseball history

Minor league baseball teams were based in Norfolk, Nebraska in various seasons between 1914 and 1941. The Norfolk minor league teams played as members of the Class D level Nebraska State League in 1914 to 1915 and 1922 to 1923, the Tri-State League in 1924, the Nebraska State League from 1928– to 1938 and the Western League from 1939 to 1941. The Norfolk Elks were a St. Louis Cardinals minor league affiliate in 1936. Norfolk played as an affiliate of the New York Yankees from 1937 to 1941 and adopted the Norfolk "Yankees" moniker in 1940. History Nebraska State League / Tri- State League 1914 to 1924 Minor league baseball began in Norfolk, Nebraska in 1914. The Norfolk Drummers became members of the eight–team Class D level Nebraska State League, replacing the Fremont Pathfinders franchise in league play. At the home opener in 1914, it was noted Mayor Carl Verges threw the first pitch and Prof. Doering and the Battle Creek Band played. Before a reported crowd of 2,000, Norfolk lost to the York Prohibitionists by the score 3–1. At the local Y.M.C.A., bulletin boards were placed at the inside lobby and outside the building to report standings and scores. During away games, Norfolk fans would gather at the boards, waiting for the game score to be called in by phone and updated on the bulletin boards. Fans yelling profanity in the presence of ladies at Norfolk home games were reprimanded by the police, who were present at games, including Police chief Jolly. A public apology, arrest or a $7.50 fine were all used to punish fans using profanity. In a 1914 home game against the Beatrice Milkskimmers, it was reported police chief Jolly broke up a fight between Beatrice player Branon and umpire Dixon. According to the Norfolk paper, Branon attacked Dixon, Jolly intervened and arrested Branon. Branon was fined $7.50. In their first season of play, the 1914 Norfolk Drummers placed 6th in the eight–team Nebraska State League final standings. The Drummers ended the season with a record of 52–60, playing under managers Warren Cummings and Babe Towne. With no playoffs held, Norfolk finished 14.0 games behind the Grand Island Islanders in the final standings. Pitcher Verne Hirsch of Norfolk led the Nebraska State League with 244 strikeouts. The Norfolk Drummers continued play in 1914 and folded during the Nebraska State League season. On June 28, 1915, the Drummers folded with a 24–13 record, playing under returning manager Babe Towne. On July 18, 1914, the Nebraska State League folded. After a seven-season hiatus, the 1922 Norfolk Elk Horns won the pennant. The Elk Horns formed as the six–team Class D level Nebraska State League reformed. In June, 1922, it was reported the team bought three new Ford automobiles for travel, saving $1,000 over train travel. Norfolk finished the season in 1st place, with a record of 70–48. The Elk Horns finished a mere 0.5 game ahead of the 2nd place Lincoln Links in the final standings. Ernie Adams and Runt Marr served as managers. Norfolk lost in the league Finals as the Fairbury Jeffersons defeated Norfolk 4 games to 3. Norfolk player Claude Mitchell led the Nebraska State League with 21 home runs and player/manager Runt Marr won the batting title with a .364 average on a league leading 167 hits. It was reported that admission to home playoff games was .55 cents and the team enjoyed large crowds for the games. The losers share for the playoff was estimated to be $24.00 per player. After the season, the town held a special dinner for the team at the Merchants Cafe. After the league ended, many of the players stay and barnstormed in the area. They were noted to have played against the town team in Snyder, Nebraska for $500.00. The Norfolk Elk Horns were the runner–up in the 1923 Nebraska State League. With a final record of 68–66, the team placed 2nd, playing under the direction of manager Ed Reichle. Norfolk finished the season 2.5 games behind the Lincoln Links in the final standings of the six–team league. No playoffs were held. In 1924, Norfolk briefly played as members of the six–team Class D level Tri-State League. On July 17, 1924, the league folded. Norfolk placed 3rd 31–30 3rd, playing under manager Nig Lane when the league disbanded. Norfolk finished 2.0 games behind the Beatrice Blues and Sioux Falls Canaries who were tied for 1st place with 35–30 records in the final standings. Nebraska State League 1928 to 1938 The 1928 Norfolk Elks resumed minor league play as the eight–team class D level Nebraska State League reformed. Norfolk would continue play in the league through the 1938 season, as other league franchises relocated or folded during the period. The 1928 Elks ended the season with a record of 55–66, playing under manager Lefty Wilkus. The team placed 6th and ended the season 16.5 games behind the 1st place McCook Generalsin the final standings as no playoffs were held. The Norfolk Elks placed 7th in the 1929 Nebraska State League. Playing under returning manager Lefty Wilkus, Norfolk ended the season with a record of 43–73, finishing 31.0 games behind the McCook Generals in the Nebraska State League final standings. John Smith of Norfolk hit 15 home runs to lead the league. The Norfolk Elks continued play in the 1930 eight–team Nebraska State, placing 6th. Ending the season with a record of 56–65, playing under manager Hal Brokaw, the Elks finished 30.0 games behind the champion McCook Generals in the final standings. The 1931 Norfolk Elks were managed by Joe McDermott. Norfolk ended the 1931 with a final record of 47–58 to place 5th in the six–team league. Playing under returning manager Joe McDermott, the Elks finished 18.0 games behind the Grand Island Islanders in the final standings of the Nebraska State League. Grand Island won the Finals over the North Platte Buffaloes. Sebastian Wagner of Norfolk hit 22 home runs to lead the Nebraska State League. The 1932 Norfolk Elks won the Nebraska State League pennant. Playing again under manager Joe McDermott, Norfolk finished 1st in the regular season standings with a record of 75–35. The Elks finished 13.5 games ahead of the 2nd place Beatrice Blues in the six–team league. Norfolk lost in Finals, as the Beatrice Blues defeated Norfolk 4 games to 3. Norfolk pitcher Otto Davis, led the league with 24 wins, while teammate Luke Bucklin had a 1.89 ERA to lead the league. Norfolk player Walt Gannon had 150 total hits, most in the league. The Norfolk Elks won their second consecutive pennant in the 1933 four–team Nebraska State League regular season. Led by Joe McDermott the Elks finished with a record of 60–45 to place 1st, just 0.5 game ahead of the 2nd place Beatrice Blues. Norfolk lost in Finals, as the Beatrice Blues won 5 games and the Norfolk Elks 4. Ray Bertram of Norfolk had 156 total hits to lead the Nebraska State League. 1934 Norfolk Elks placed 2nd in the four–team league, as Joe McDermott continued as manager. The Elks ended the season with a record of 60–49, finishing 8.5 games behind the Lincoln Links in the final standings of the Nebraska State League. Pitcher Jack Farmer of Norfolk won 19 games to lead the Nebraska State League, while teammate George Silvey had 143 overall hits, most in the league. The Norfolk Elks won the 1935 Nebraska State League championship. Norfolk ended the season in 2nd place with a record of 58–49 Managed by Pat Patterson, Norfolk finished 11.5 games behind the 1st place Sioux Falls Canaries in the final standings of the four–team Class D league. In the finals Norfolk defeated Sioux Falls 4 games to 3 to become league champions. Norfolk's John Grilli had 116 RBI to lead the league and teammate Orie Arntzen had 184 strikeouts to led the Nebraska State League. Norfolk Elks continued Nebraska State League play in 1936 and became a minor league affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. With Joe McDermott returning as manager, the Elks finished with a record of 63–57 to place 3rd in the six–team league. The Elks finished 8.0 games behind the Sioux Falls Canaries in the final standings. Norfolk qualified for the playoffs and lost in the 1st round, as the Mitchell Kernels defeated Norfolk 3 games to 1. Bill A. James led the Nebraska State League with 29 home runs and fellow Norfolk player Dexter Savage paced the league with 128 RBI. The 1937 Norfolk Elks became a New York Yankees minor league affiliate. Norfolk ended the season with a final record of 50–65, placing 4th in the six–team league and finisheing 31.0 games behind the 1st place Sioux Falls Canaries in the Nebraska State League final standings. Manager Doc Bennett began his four-season stint as the Norfolk manager. In Norfolk's final season of Nebraska State League play, the 1938 Norfolk Elks were Nebraska State League champions. Norfolk ended the 1938 with a record of 67–49 to place 2nd, playing under returning manager Doc Bennett. In the regular season standings, Norfolk finished 2.5 games behind the Sioux City Cowboys in the final standings. In the Finals Norfolk defeated Sioux City 4 games to 2 to become league champions. The Nebraska State League folded following the 1938 season. When the league resumed play in 1956, Norfolk did not field a franchise in the league. Western League 1939 to 1941 Continuing as a New York Yankees affiliate, the 1939 Norfolk Elks became members of the six–team Western League and won the league pennant. Playing again under manager Doc Bennett, the Elks ended the season with a record of 75–44 to place 1st in the regular season standings. Norfolk finished 8.0 games ahead of the 2nd place Sioux Falls Canaries. In the playoffs, Norfolk lost 1st round, as the Sioux City Soos defeated Norfolk 3 games to 2. William Morgan of Norfolk led the league with 17 home runs. In 1940, the Western League reduced to four teams. The newly named "Norfolk Yankees" continued as an affiliate of the New York Yankees. The Yankees ended the 1940 in 1s place with a final regular season of 73–39. Norfolk finished 16.0 games ahead of the 2nd place Sioux Falls Canaries, managed again by Doc Bennett. In the Finals, Sioux Falls defeated Norfolk 4 games to 2. In their final minor league season, Norfolk continued Western League play. The Norfolk Yankees' final season of play saw the franchise win their third consecutive pennant. Norfolk ended the 1941 in 1st place with a record of 64–44. The Yankees finished 2.0 games ahead of the 2nd place Cheyenne Indians, playing under manager Ray Powell. Frank Bocek led the league with 92 RBI. In the playoffs, Norfolk beat the Sioux City Cowboys 3 games to 2. The Pueblo Rollers won 3 games to Norfolk's 2 as the Yankees lost in Finals. The Western League did not play in the 1942 through 1946 seasons, with World War II interrupting play. When the 1947 Western League reformed, Norfolk did not field a franchise in the league. Norfolk, Nebraska has not hosted another minor league team. The ballpark For their duration, Norfolk minor league teams were noted to have played home minor league games at Athletic Park. In 1922, a new facility was built, with wooden grandstands covered behind home plate, bleachers down both lines and right field having a set of bleachers. The park was noted to have also been used for the Harvest Festival and local fairs. The ballpark was reportedly located at North 4th Street & Prospect Avenue, Norfolk Nebraska. Timeline Year-by-year records Notable alumni Orie Arntzen (1935) Doc Bennett (1937–1940, MGR) Jim Dyck (1941) Marv Felderman (1936) Oris Hockett (1931–1932) Johnny Hopp (1936) Hugh Luby (1931–1933) Runt Marr (1922, MGR) Max Marshall (1936) Johnny Orr (1938) Joe Orrell (1936) Ray Powell (1941, MGR) By Speece (1922) Les Rock (1932) Bill Starr (1932) Babe Towne (1914–1915, MGR) Bennie Warren (1934) See also Norfolk Drummers players Norfolk Elks players Norfolk Elk Horns players Norfolk Yankees players External links Baseball Reference Baseball Reference Bullpen References Norfolk, Nebraska

69967901

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enio%20Mora

Enio Mora

Enio "Pegleg" Mora (1949–11 September 1996) was an Italian-born Canadian gangster. Mora was born in Sora, Lazio, but grew up in the south of France. In 1968, he moved to Canada, where he immediately became involved in organized crime. Mora was involved in running illegal gambling houses, home repair scams, loansharking and money laundering. More legal activities the sale of insurance; work as a building contractor; owning a drywalling firm; and operating a restaurant. Initially, Mora worked for the Toronto gangster Rocco Zito. Mora was described by one author as having "a cocky, flamboyant personality". By 1975 Mora was selling heroin, and in November of that year become involved in an offer to sell heroin to undercover policemen. On 11 August 1976, Mora was arrested by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on charges of conspiracy to sell heroin. Mora did not think much of the charges and several times told the policeman Carl MacLeod that all of the charges would be dismissed by January 1978. In 1979, Mora was the victim of a murder attempt when much of his lower left leg was torn off by a blast from a shotgun when he was lounging in an illegal gambling house on Harbord Street in Toronto. As a result, Mora was fitted with an artificial leg that caused him to walk with a limp. The prime suspect in the shooting of Mora, Anthony Carnevale, was killed in January 1980 when he was shot dead in the basement apartment that he lived in with his parents. The police regarded Mora as the prime suspect in Carnevale's murder, but he was never charged. The weapon used to kill Carnavale was a shotgun, the same weapon that had cost Mora his leg. On 24 September 1980, Mora made a plea bargain with the Crown under which he pledged guilty to the heroin charges and served two years in prison. By the early 1980s, Mora had transferred his loyalty from Zito over to Paul Volpe. Mora was also a prime suspect in Volpe's murder as he was one of the last people to see him alive, and the police suspect that Mora at very least helped to lure Volpe into an ambush. After Volpe's murder in 1983, Mora visited Millhaven Penitentiary on 5 February 1984 to meet the imprisoned gangster Antonio "Tony" Musitano of the Musitano family. However, Mora instead joined the Papalia family. In December 1985, a crew of Papalia family Mafiosi led by Carmen Barillaro were charged with extortion from the illegal gambling houses in Toronto's Greektown in the Pape-Danforth area. Mora was one of those charged as part of Barillaro's crew Mora was known for his practice of dousing those behind in their debts to Johnny Papalia with gasoline and threatening to burn them alive if they refused to pay up promptly. Together with Barillaro, Mora was one of Papalia's principle lieutenants, in charge of the Papalia family's operations in the Toronto area while Barillaro ran the operations in the Niagara Peninsula. Barillaro was considered as the more important of the two owing to the proximity of the Niagara peninsula to the American border and hence placing him in charge of drug-smuggling. Following Mora's convictions on weapons and drugs charges, the government of Canada attempted to deport him to Italy, but Mora's lawyers successfully argued in court that it would be cruel to separate Mora from his wife and three daughters, leading the judge to rule that Mora be allowed to stay in Canada. In 1995, Mora took out a loan of $7.2 million from Vito Rizzuto, the boss of Montreal's Rizzuto family. In turn, Mora handed over most of the loan to Papalia and Barillaro who used some of it to open nightclubs and restaurants while the rest just vanished. Neither Papalia nor Barillaro were interested in repaying the loan as the police recorded Barillaro saying on his phone "They can't touch us". The Canadian journalists André Cédilot and André Noël wrote that this was a "major mistake" as Rizzuto decided to wipe out the Papalia family's leaders. In 1995, the police tapped Mora's phone, and heard him talk about a wedding reception he was planning to attend at the Sutton Place Hotel in Toronto. He mentioned in one of his calls that the father of the bride was Alfonso Caruana, who was wanted in Italy for money laundering. Caruana had disappeared and Mora's reference to him was the first indication as to he had gone after fleeing Italy. On 11 September 1996, Mora was shot four times in the head and his corpse was left in the trunk of his Cadillac automobile, on Teston Road in rural Vaughan. Detective Sergeant Ron Sandelli of the Toronto police told the media: "It [Mora's murder] sure wasn't a surprise. He had his hand into so many things". The police established via forensic testing that Mora was murdered on a farm in Vaughan, where he often visited before his body was placed inside of his Cadillac. Mora's corpse was found with his pants and underwear pulled down, an indication that he likely had committed a sexual offense, as within the Mafia subculture removing a murder victim's pants and underwear indicates that the victim had sex with someone whom they were not supposed to. Within the Mafia subculture, for a Mafiosi to have sex with the wife of another Mafiosi is punishable by death. In practice, the enforcement of such rules largely depend upon the seniority of a Mafiosi. Within the Mafia, actions that offended the "honor" of another Mafiosi can be ordered without the approval of a more senior boss. Giacinto Arcuri was arrested and charged with Mora's murder, but was acquitted for lack of evidence. A shirt with Acruri's DNA and Mora's blood had been found near where Mora's body had been discovered. Acruri was unable to explain to the police how his shirt came to be covered with Mora's blood, saying "I have fifty shirts". At his trial in the fall of 2002, Acruri testified he had been an investor in land speculation alongside Mora; the restaurateur Nicola Galifi; and "a Chinese person". Acruri was the last person known to see Mora alive, saying he was going to show Mora a treadmill on the day of the murder. However, the Crown's case was circumstantial and the Crown Attorney, Peter Westgate, was unable to give a motive for the murder. Moreover, Acruri was a frail-looking senior citizen with one eye whom the jury was unable to believe had killed Mora, removed his pants and underwear and then placed his 260-pound corpse into the trunk of a car. The journalists Peter Edwards and Antoni Nicaso wrote that with the murders of Mora, Papalia and Barillaro within the space of less than a year "created more space" for the Rizzuto family, which was now able to dominate Ontario. Books and articles References 1949 births 1996 deaths People from Sora, Lazio Canadian drug traffickers Canadian gangsters of Italian descent Canadian people of Italian descent Murdered Canadian gangsters Murdered Mafiosi Canadian people convicted of drug offences People murdered by Canadian organized crime Organized crime in Hamilton, Ontario Deaths by firearm in Ontario 1996 murders in North America People murdered in Ontario Murder in Canada 1990s murders in Canada

69968375

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim%20Yong-won

Kim Yong-won

Kim Yong-won (Korean: 김용원의; born 1966) is a South Korean serial killer and rapist who killed two women and a child around various cities in North Chungcheong Province from March to June 2005, in addition to being suspected, but never charged with, the 1994 murder of a man during an argument. He was convicted and sentenced to death for the latter crimes, which were compared to the more infamous Yoo Young-chul's murders due to their sheer brutality. Early life Kim Yong-won was born on a farmhouse in North Chungcheong Province in 1966, the youngest of four children of rural farmers. His early life was marred by violence, as his violent and alcoholic father frequently beat his spouse and children, while Kim's brother, who was nine years his senior, bullied him in turn. Due to these circumstances, he felt no affection towards his family members, and repeatedly claimed that he could not wait to become an adult so he could leave them. Kim eventually dropped out of middle school and started working up until the age of 20, when he finally left the family household. However, his life did not proceed smoothly as the first woman he loved dearly later left him for his best friend, causing him to harbor hostile feelings towards women as a whole. While acquaintances generally described him as a nice and gentle person, they would also note that has very easily angered and would get violent when drunk. In addition, Kim was repeatedly imprisoned, with his first conviction for rape, assault and theft dating back to December 1984. He was later kicked out of the Armed Forces for his inability to control his kleptomania, and from 1988 to 2001, he would be repeatedly jailed for a myriad of offences, spending a combined total of 13 years behind bars. In between his prison stints, Kim worked as a driver for a variety of companies, which allowed him to hone his driving skills. Kim would eventually quit around 2005, when he began smuggling Viagra, camphor and ginseng to and from China. In April 2005, he began dating a Korean-Chinese woman and even planned to officially marry her in China in July of that year, but unbeknownst to her, he also dated two mistresses behind her back. Crimes Suspected murder Kim's first supposed crime took place in April 1994. At that time, he was accused of strangling and bludgeoning a man named Ji with a sledgehammer in Seobu, Goesan County, because he had supposedly slandered him. However, Kim steadfastly denied guilt and despite being considered the prime suspect, he was released due to lack of evidence. Shortly afterwards, he would instead be imprisoned for rape and served a 3-year prison sentence, later followed by other convictions. Serial murders In mid-March 2005, Kim was drinking with his 43-year-old sister-in-law Seong, who was living with him at his apartment in Cheongju. The pair then got into an argument, which resulted in Kim beating and later strangling her. Instead of disposing of the body immediately, he left it inside the house for four days while he went out drinking. As Seong's only close associate was Kim himself, no missing persons report was filed. After eventually returning to the house, Kim asked a younger acquaintance from his hometown to help dispose of the body, but he refused and encouraged him to surrender himself instead. Kim did not heed his advice and instead convinced him to remain silent about the murder; he then wrapped Seong's body in a blanket and moved it to an isolated section of the mountains near Cheongwon-gu, where he buried it. After the murder, Kim started spending more with one of his mistresses, a 48-year-old woman surnamed Park, who ran a pub in Cheongju. Their relationship proved to be strained, as he would often talk to his fiancée on the phone in front of Park, sometimes using her own cellphone. On June 3, approximately a month before his scheduled wedding, the pair and a younger friend were drinking at the pub when Park started criticizing Kim for talking on the phone for a prolonged period of time. Infuriated by her reprimands, the drunken Kim told their friend to leave, and after he did, he took hold of Park and smashed her head a dozen times against a gas burner in the kitchen, killing her. After this, he stole 100,000 won from the counter in an attempt to make it look like a robbery, and then fled the scene. About eight hours later, police received a report that a murdered woman's body was found at the pub, and immediately began investigating. Upon closer inspection, it was quickly determined that the crime scene had likely been staged to look like a robbery by the perpetrator, whom police suspected might be an acquaintance of the victim. After they started looking into Park's associates, authorities eventually came across Kim, who was known to frequent the establishment. Not long after, they received a tip from the young man Kim had attempted to convince to dispose of Seong's corpse, accusing him of this and the 1994 murder. Two days later, while on the run from the police, Kim visited the country house of his 31-year-old acquaintance, Mr. Choi, in Jincheon County. He then lured her 13-year-old daughter, Yang-eun, to his car, whom he had sexually harassed and assaulted on previous occasions. After raping her this time, however, the girl threatened to tell her father of what he was doing, prompting a drunken Kim to strangle her to death. He then put her body in his car, stole a shovel from a nearby farm and drove to a church near the Baekgog Reservoir, where he buried her in a shallow grave, which he covered with tree branches. Shortly after murdering Yang-eun, Kim returned to her father, and the pair drank alcohol together as if nothing had happened. When Choi filed a missing persons report five days later, Kim even offered to help search for her in the nearby villages. Arrest and investigation In the meantime, the authorities had learned that Kim was hiding in an abandoned house in Cheongju, where they found his passport, marriage certificate, a picture of his fiancée, a pot of ramen, a bottle of soju and items indicating that he planned to flee into China. Believing that he might try to ask his family and relatives for money to help him escape, undercover policemen were placed in locations he was known to frequent, and on June 10, Kim was caught by officers in Cheongwon-gu while meeting his maternal cousin. Initially, he denied all charges against him, but after being presented with an abundance of evidence, Kim confessed to all three murders. Before doing so, he asked that he be permitted a phone call to his fiancée in China, where he told her to consider him "dead" and that she forget that they ever met. Despite this, he continued to deny the 1994 murder, and as there was insufficient evidence to charge him in that case, Kim was charged with the other three killings. Trial, sentence and imprisonment At his trial, the Cheongju District Court took into account Kim's previous prison stints for various violent crimes and how he had not shown any sign of rehabilitation. And so, in September 2005, he was found guilty on all counts and sentenced to death. Kim appealed the decision in December to the Daejeon District Court, citing his drinking problems as a mitigating circumstance, but this appeal was promptly dismissed as well. The following year, at his third trial in March 2006, newly appointed Supreme Court justice, Kim Young-ran confirmed the lower courts' ruling, effectively finalizing the death penalty. This was considered a unique decision, as not only was it a much quicker affirmation of a death sentence by the Supreme Court (which usually take a year or more), but also because Justice Kim was an outspoken opponent of capital punishment. As of February 2022, Kim Yong-won remains on South Korea's death row awaiting execution. At the time, the death of Choi was served as a major inspiration for the draft of a bill which proposed increased funding and focus on childcare centers and providing professional counseling for maltreated children. See also Yoo Young-chul List of serial killers by country External links Supreme Court Decision (2006) (in Korean) References 1966 births Living people 20th-century criminals 21st-century criminals Male criminals Male serial killers South Korean serial killers South Korean murderers of children South Korean rapists South Korean people convicted of murder People convicted of murder by South Korea South Korean people convicted of rape South Korean prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of South Korea South Korean prisoners sentenced to death Prisoners sentenced to death by South Korea Violence against women in Asia People from North Chungcheong Province

69970840

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A%20Village%20Afraid

A Village Afraid

A Village Afraid is a 1950 detective novel by the British writer Cecil Street, writing under the pen name of Miles Burton. It was part of a lengthy series of books featuring the detective Desmond Merrion and Inspector Arnold of Scotland Yard. Synopsis Five prominent members of the little village of Micheigreen gather for drinks coaching inn The Swan after a meeting of the Parish Council. The next day one of their number, wealthy businessman Norman Rother is found dead. While initial suspicion points at his dissatisfied younger wife Annette, the local police are flummoxed can call in the expertise of Merrion and Arnold. References Bibliography Evans, Curtis. Masters of the "Humdrum" Mystery: Cecil John Charles Street, Freeman Wills Crofts, Alfred Walter Stewart and the British Detective Novel, 1920-1961. McFarland, 2014. Herbert, Rosemary. Whodunit?: A Who's Who in Crime & Mystery Writing. Oxford University Press, 2003. Hubin, Allen J. Crime Fiction, 1749-1980: A Comprehensive Bibliography. Garland Publishing, 1984. Reilly, John M. Twentieth Century Crime & Mystery Writers. Springer, 2015. 1950 British novels Novels by Cecil Street British mystery novels British detective novels Collins Crime Club books Novels set in England

69971218

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...And%20Give%20Us%20Our%20Daily%20Sex

...And Give Us Our Daily Sex

...And Give Us Our Daily Sex (, ) is a 1979 Italian-Spanish film directed by José Ramón Larraz, written by Larraz and Sergio Garrone, and starring Laura Gemser and Bárbara Rey. Plot Alfonso is a teenager who lives in a wealthy family, with an adulterous mother and a foolish father. As he experiences his first sexual impulses, Alfonso discovers that a couple of charming nurses live upstairs in his apartment, so he will look for any excuse to get in touch with them, including building a handmade periscope to spy on them. Cast Laura Gemser as Verónica's friend Bárbara Rey as Verónica Ángel Herraiz as Alfonso Mila Stanic as Carla, Alfonso's mother José Castillo as Don Ignacio, Alfonso's father Alfred Lucchetti as Carla's lover (as Alfredo Luchetti) José Sazatornil as José Antonio Cañavate (as José Sazatornil 'Saza') José María Cañete as Editorial Employee (como José Mª Cañete) Francisco Jarque as Pawn Shop Clerk Daniele Vargas as Oculist (as Danielle Vargas) Jordi Bofill as Leatherworking owner (uncredited) Manuel Bronchud as False policeman (uncredited) Mir Ferry as Hairdresser (uncredited) Amparo Moreno as Felisa (uncredited) Gabriele Tinti as Professor (uncredited) Arnau Vilardebó as Hairdresser client (uncredited) Production The film is part of a wave of softcore pornographic films made in Spain during the second half of the 1970s, part of a cultural trend known as el destape ("the uncovering"). It is one of a group of Italy-Spain softcore film co-productions, alongside Historia de Eva/Piccole labbra (1978), both featuring Bárbara Rey. The film is one of Gemser's films that features her husband Gabriele Tinti in a minor role. Release The film was released in Spain on 26 February 1979 and in Italy on 5 December 1979. It was released in Mexico at the Bergman, Chaplin II, Del Pueblo II and Kubrick theaters on 23 December 1983, for two weeks. It wsa released in Germany as Zeig mir, wie man's macht ("Show me how to do it"). References External links 1979 films 1970s Spanish-language films Italian films Spanish films Italian sex comedy films Spanish sex comedy films Films directed by José Ramón Larraz 1970s sex comedy films

69971458

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death%20Takes%20a%20Flat

Death Takes a Flat

Death Takes a Flat is a 1940 detective novel by the British writer Cecil Street, writing under the pen name of Miles Burton. It was the twenty-third in a series of books featuring the detective Desmond Merrion and Inspector Arnold of Scotland Yard. It was published in the United States by Doubleday under the alternative title Vacancy with Corpse. Reviewing the novel for The Observer Maurice Richardson considered it was "Told with Mr. Burton's usual concentrated but infectious interest" while Maurice Willson Disher in the Times Literary Supplement noted "Mr. Burton follows the prevailing fashion of creating characters who obviously have a motive for murder and are obviously innocent, and of fastening the guilt upon an "unsuspect" whose motive is not worth the risk of hard labour, let alone the hangman's noose". In America, Isaac Anderson in the New York Times felt it "offers a good puzzle on which to test your wits" Synopsis Major Pontefract, recently retired after a career in the British Indian Army, and his wife take a service flat in Kensington rather than following his instinct to buy a rural property. However, when the enter the apartment they find the body of Edgar Staplehurst, manager director of the company that owns the building, laying there. The police arrive and Arnold believes he has solved the murder, only for Merrion to disprove this theory. References Bibliography Evans, Curtis. Masters of the "Humdrum" Mystery: Cecil John Charles Street, Freeman Wills Crofts, Alfred Walter Stewart and the British Detective Novel, 1920-1961. McFarland, 2014. Herbert, Rosemary. Whodunit?: A Who's Who in Crime & Mystery Writing. Oxford University Press, 2003. Reilly, John M. Twentieth Century Crime & Mystery Writers. Springer, 2015. 1940 British novels Novels by Cecil Street British mystery novels British detective novels Collins Crime Club books Novels set in London

69972350

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liz%20Fong-Jones

Liz Fong-Jones

Liz Fong-Jones (born 1987 or 1988) is a site reliability engineer and developer advocate known for labor activism with her contributions to the Never Again pledge and her role in leading Google worker organization efforts. She is the president of the Board of Directors of the Solidarity Fund by Coworker, which she seeded with her own money. Education Fong-Jones started attending college in the San Francisco Bay Area for a couple of years, then took a sabbatical until returning to finish a scientiae baccalaureus (SB) in computer science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2014. Career and activism Fong-Jones started her career in technical support at a massively multi-player online game studio. She says that her career followed in the footsteps of her family members, who are mainly engineers. Google (2008-2019) 2008-2016 In 2008, Fong-Jones joined Google, which she said is one of the best places for a transgender person to work, as a systems administrator in their Mountain View, California office, eventually becoming a software engineer in the field of site reliability at their Cambridge, Massachusetts office, followed by their New York City office. She says she began organizing within the company in 2010, focusing on "equity engineering" by working on fixing issues with products that adversely affected marginalized communities, like insuring accessibility for customers who utilize assistive technology. She later expanded her advocacy to minority groups of employees within the company, like gender pay equity and transgender health care issues. In 2011, she began taking fellow employee concerns to management, starting when Google+ was about to launch. On behalf of her and her colleagues, she warned executives from requiring users to disclose their real names. Following public outrage, part of the Nymwars, she successfully negotiated a new policy, which she subsequently communicated directly to concerned employees, making her an unofficial "union representative" for workers. In 2016, Fong-Jones contributed to the codebase of the 2016 Never Again pledge, which made it easier to verify signatories ' identities who pledged not to work on harmful projects. Google's Ideological Echo Chamber memo (2017) Fong-Jones said that while the activism always created tension, it turned hostile in 2017 following James Damore's Google's Ideological Echo Chamber memo, which argued that women lacked innate qualities to be engineers using talking points from evolutionary psychology. The data and arguments of the essay were widely criticized as "debunked" and "shaky scientism", and many concluded that it was naiveté rooted in politics attempting to use scientific rhetoric to make sexist power dynamics permanent. Damore was later terminated. On August 10, 2017, Pichai was set to answer employee questions about controversy at the company's weekly all-hands, known as TGIF, but cancelled it 45 minutes prior, citing that the leak of the questions and fear of employee safety for "asking a question". Fong-Jones referred to it as an "excuse" to not answer questions like her own, like why they had let the Damore's memo stay on their servers for more than a month if it was grounds for termination, and that she felt it was "a triumph" for her harassers. After a Google+ conversation criticizing the memo was leaked to an alt-right blog, Vox Popoli, and picked up by public figures such as Milo Yiannopoulos, Fong-Jones became a public target for harassment, blaming her and seven other vocal Google employees for Damore's termination. The harassment included death threats and doxing by other employees on websites such as Breitbart News and 4chan. The targeted employees filed complaints, and said that the security teams were vigilant about physical threats to employee safety, including offering to put doxxed employees in a hotel for a night. Danielle Brown, the company's chief diversity officer at the time, who was also a target of the harassment, was supportive, but that none of the complaints about individual employees involved were acted upon and that they were told they may fall under the protection of the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 as "protected concerted activity". Several activist employees who spoke internally about racism and sexism in the wake of the harassment were terminated, and subsequently sued Google. The terms used by some of the reprimanded employees included "white privilege" and "white boy", which Google said in a statement was grounds for termination under their policy that "Promoting harmful stereotypes based on race or gender is prohibited". In October 2017, Fong-Jones arranged for Coworker.org, a labor group that typically assists blue-collar workers in organizing, to give her colleagues a "know your rights" training. She said that when she and her coworkers felt that internal pressure had been fruitless, they wanted to understand what their legal rights were. They had understood that talking to the press was not allowed, due to the company's culture of secrecy. She said they quickly learned they had the right to talk to the press, and that using Google's social networks would not be legally protected. Fong-Jones helped start a petition, along with a statement about her and her colleagues decision to go to the press, demanding a safer working environment, including better moderation of mailing lists, and rules against doxing colleagues. The petition gathered 2,600 signatures. Google Walkout (2018) In February 2018, concerns about Project Maven (Maven), a Pentagon project, which Fong-Jones had previously heard about from a small group of engineers in August 2017 working under Dr. Fei-Fei Li, the chief scientist for Artificial Intelligence (AI) on Google Cloud, materialized into an internal Google+ post by Fong-Jones. The post expressed "grave concerns" that Google might be assisting the United States Armed Forces carry out drone strikes. Fong-Jones, and a group of engineers who posted concerns about being tasked with building an air gap, were referred to as "the Group of Nine" by outraged employees, causing Diane Greene, then-CEO of Google Cloud, to respond on Google+, which was subsequently leaked to The Intercept. Fong-Jones, who had been solicited for comment by a journalist at the outlet, feared that management would feel backed into a corner and offered to help leadership catch "the leaker". Meredith Whittaker, a former Google Cloud program manager, circulated a petition to other employees demanding cancellation of the contract, writing, "Google should not be in the business of war". In June 2018, Google responded to employee and public pressure, promising not to utilize AI for weapons or surveillance and not to renew its Maven contract. In October 2018, Google was accused of mishandling sexual harassment complaints, including a $90 million severance package for Andy Rubin, who was accused of coercing a junior employee into sexual contact, which he denied. Fong-Jones said that the company "covers up harassment," contributing to a work environment that discourages women from reporting misconduct, saying that victims believe, "the men will be paid and the women will be pushed aside." In 2017, Fong-Jones had alleged on Google+ that she was sexually assaulted by a director at the company, which was later reported on. In a series of tweets, Fong-Jones criticized the company's culture as allowing leadership to operate "abuse of power relationships where there was no consent, or consent was impossible." She went on to name the director from her 2017 Google+ post as Richard DeVaul, the head of X Development, who was also named in The New York Times (NYT) article about Rubin. DeVaul apologized for his behavior. On November 1, 2018, across 50 cities, nearly 20,000 Google employees participated in the Google Walkout for Real Change demanding over their working conditions, ethical technology concerns, and how the company handles sexual harassment complaints. One of the catalysts was a report that Project Dragonfly (Dragonfly), a search engine built by Google for China involving censorship that was implicated in the persecution of the country's Muslim minority, the Uyghurs, had ignored the company's privacy review process and lied to the public about how close it was to launch. Pichai was later called to appear before the United States House Committee on the Judiciary at a hearing about Dragonfly. He testified that they had no current plans to launch a search product in China. On November 29, 2018, Fong-Jones started a solidarity strike fund, consulting with Coworker.org, which is backed by Pierre Omidyar of the Omidyar Network, promising that if her fellow employees donated $100,000, she would match it, which she publicized on Twitter. The fund was matched within a few hours, and reached $250,000 within days. Fong-Jones told Fast Company she was seeking to start a fund for workers so that they "feel empowered to speak up about issues in the future", and later to Protocol, "I'm trying to use some of my financial privilege to help those who can't afford to be suddenly laid off". At the time, Fong-Jones noted that the pledges weren't binding and that she would work with lawyers and labor organizations to set up a more formal fund. One of the motivations to threaten to strike again was Dragonfly, and the allegation that the few people with knowledge of the project would be terminated if it was revealed to anyone else, which Google denied. Research scientist Dr. Jack Poulson resigned over the revelations. Fong-Jones threatened to resign if an employee was not appointed to the board of directors, one of the unmet demands from the walkout, by February 1, 2019. Dragonfly had been the subject of the November 1 walkout, but also a petition in August 2018 co-signed by about 1,400 employees, and another on November 27 by more than 700. Employee concerns were downplayed by the CEO of Alphabet, Google's now-parent company, Sundar Pichai, who said they only wanted to learn what Google would "look like" in China, referring to Dragonfly as a "very early" "exploration", a statement that was later alleged to be false or misleading based on leaked internal communications. Resignation (2019) Fong-Jones voluntarily resigned from Google in early January 2019, saying she wanted to create a "more just world rather than exacerbating inequalities". She said she left a job where her compensation totalled about $800,000 in a year, and a half million in unvested restricted stock. In her resignation, she offered that she would reconsider if the company conceded to the previous demand that Google place an employee on its board. Fong-Jones alleges that Google's Human Resources department tried to push her out prior to the end of her notice period, February 1, 2019, and filed a retaliation claim. Google's investigation determined that her allegations were unfounded. She later accepted a stock grant from Google close to around $100,000 to leave early, which she later donated to other organizing workers. She told Business Insider, "If I didn’t care about Google I probably would have silently quit many, many months or years ago." Fong-Jones said that she was worried if she had stayed at Google and continue her activism without burning out, but applauded her colleagues who pressed on without her. Following her departure, she shared responses from the application Blind which were mainly derogatory comments, including transphobia and racist comments about her identity. Comments made on Blind are anonymous, but the comments Fong-Jones shared were in the Google section, which requires a Google email address to be authenticated. She said that it was "scary" to know that they were written by some of her coworkers. In an essay she published on Medium in February 2019, she said, "I have grave concerns about how strategic decisions are made at Google today, and who is missing a seat at the bargaining table." 2019-present In February 2019, Fong-jones joined the startup named Honeycomb, an observability software service, as the company's first developer advocate. She hopes to help engineers better understand distributed systems. Of the company she said she is impressed by the company's commitment to diversity and corporate ethics, with a large number of its leadership roles held by women. In 2021, Fong-Jones spoke at Pulumi's Cloud Engineering Summit for Honeycomb. Fong-Jones has continued to publicly advocate for inclusion, equity, and diversity in the workplace. She has said that the most important thing companies can do is to involve employees in structural decision-making processes, pointing to European Works Councils as an example for American companies to follow. In 2019, Fong-Jones invested $200,000 into Tall Poppy, named for the Roman metaphor, a startup that provides health insurance for online harassment. The Solidarity Fund In 2020, Coworker.org incorporated The Solidarity Fund as a 501(c)(4) Nonprofit organization, after a year of researching the legal intricacies involved in turning Fong-Jones' Google strike fund into a broader fund for the tech industry. To seed the fund, Fong-Jones donated the equivalent of her exit stock grant, which was distributed to 44 organizing tech workers. Roughly half of the initial fund went to Amazon workers. Fong-Jones joined the board as its president, along with Whittaker. Laurence Berland and other Google workers joined as committee members. In fall 2021, Fong-Jones and The Solidarity Fund created an emergency fund after Apple workers, including committee member Cher Scarlett, had been vocal about unfair labor practices, and Netflix workers protested over a Dave Chappelle show with transphobic comments. The fund offered stipends up to $5,000 for Apple and Netflix workers who were involved in organizing efforts. Personal life In 2012, while residing in Massachusetts, Fong-Jones rented her car out through RelayRide (Turo), a ridesharing company that allows you to rent your car out peer-to-peer, and the driver was involved in a traffic collision that resulted in a total loss of her vehicle and the loss of his life, along with damaging another vehicle, and injuring four other people, which the police determined was the fault of the deceased. Fong-Jones was contacted by her own insurance company, Commerce Insurance Group, and learned she could be liable to a lawsuit that exceeded Turo's coverage limits. She posted about the incident on Google+, which was later reported on. When asked about whether or not they would cover any personal liability to Fong-Jones for incident, Turo's insurance lawyer told NYT, "What happens in any sort of accident with insufficient coverage? That’s the societal burden of torts that have liability where there is no insurance coverage," and NYT suggested a lawyer covering both Turo and Fong-Jones may be a conflict of interest. NYT was also unsure if federal laws that protects rental car companies from liability of accidents caused by renters. Months later, Turo's service was suspended in New York state (NY) after the Department of Financial Services contended that they were not licensed to sell third-party insurance, leaving owners liable for damaged caused by renters. Turo re-launched in NY for commercial hosts in 2021. Fong-Jones is transgender. She said that she experienced dysphoria that she could not cope with when she was 15, leaving her no choice but to start transitioning. She said that her parents were not supportive, and that her biological father disowned her. She said that she has given 40-50% of her income over several years to support other trans people. Selected works Resolving Outages Faster with Better Debugging Strategies USENIX SRECON18. Refining Systems Data without Losing Fidelity USENIX SRECON19. Identifying Hidden Dependencies USENIX SRECON20. Optimizing Cost and Performance with arm64 USENIX SRECON21. Using Serverless Functions for Real-time Observability USENIX SRECON22. Charity Majors, Liz Fong-Jones, George Miranda. Observability Engineering: Achieving Production Excellence. O'Reilly Media, 2022. See also Margaret Mitchell Claire Stapleton Timnit Gebru Chelsey Glasson References External links 1980s births 21st-century American activists 21st-century American women activists 21st-century American women Living people Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Transgender and transsexual women Workers' rights activists Computer systems engineers Google employees Women systems engineers Year of birth missing (living people)

69973992

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985%E2%80%931987%20Watsonville%20Cannery%20strike

1985–1987 Watsonville Cannery strike

The 1985–1987 Watsonville Cannery strike was a labor strike that involved over 1,000 workers at two food processing facilities in Watsonville, California, United States. The facilities were owned by Watsonville Canning and Richard A. Shaw Inc., two of the largest frozen food processors in the United States, while the workers were all union members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Local 912. The strike began on September 9, 1985, and completely ended about 18 months later, on March 11, 1987. The city of Watsonville has historically been a center for the food processing industry in California, and by the mid-1900s, it had branded itself as the "frozen food capital of the world", with eight frozen food processing plants in the city. These plants were in an industry-wide labor contract with IBT Local 912, who represented several thousand employees in the city. By the 1980s, due to an increase in immigration from Mexico, a large number of these food processing workers were Latinos. Around that same time, changes in the food processing industry caused the Watsonville plants to become less profitable, and in 1982, Watsonville Canning (the single-largest frozen food processor in the United States) negotiated an hourly wage decrease for their union employees from $7.06 to $6.66. In 1985, their labor contract had expired, and Watsonville Canning began pushing for further wage and employee benefits reductions. Richard A. Shaw Inc., another major food processing company in the city, similarly began requesting wage and benefits reductions, which were opposed by the local union. On September 9, union members from both companies began a strike, with picketing commencing shortly thereafter. The strike received significant support from the local Latino community, with support coming from Chicano and Hispanic organizations such as the League of United Latin American Citizens and the Mexican American Political Association. Additionally, civil rights leaders Cesar Chavez and Jesse Jackson were supportive of the strikers, viewing the labor dispute as part of a larger struggle for civil rights for Latinos in the United States. Additional support came from organized labor activists in both northern California and nationwide, and the strike was characterized by its militancy and rank-and-file leadership. The strikers elected their own Strike Committee that managed the overall daily operations of the strike, and the Teamsters for a Democratic Union also contributed to organizing the strike. On February 14, 1986, Shaw and Local 912 agreed to an hourly wage of $5.85, which soon became the industry standard. However, the strike continued against Watsonville Canning through 1986. In August, the company tried to decertify the union in an election, but failed, and subsequently the company (which had taken on a large debt during this time) declared bankruptcy, with the plant being sold. A tentative contract was reached with the new owners in March 1987 that set wages to the industry standard but contained cuts to medical benefits. While the IBT declared the strike over, several workers continued the dispute as a wildcat strike that lasted for about a week before the company agreed to include medical benefits, with the strike finally coming to an end on March 11. Labor historians note the significance of the strike as one of the few successful strikes in the United States during the 1980s, compared to other strikes of the time such as the Arizona copper mine strike of 1983 and the 1985–1986 Hormel strike, with the Northwest Labor Press calling it "a rare union victory during an era of union-busting". In Watsonville, the strike coincided with increased political activity from the Latino community. Oscar Rios, a union organizer during the strike, was elected the city's first Latino mayor several years later, stating, "The strikers helped change the politics in our city and county". However, in the years following the strike, most of the major food processors relocated from the city, with only one frozen food plant left in the city by 2000. Background Food processing industry in Watsonville Watsonville is a city located about south of San Francisco, in the Monterey Bay area. Founded in the mid-1800s by Americans from the east coast and European immigrants, the city had become a major food processing center by the early 1900s. Due largely to its location near the agriculturally productive Pajaro Valley and Salinas Valley regions (which by the 1960s were responsible for about 80 percent of vegetable production in the United States), Watsonville was a major canning location for vegetables grown in the area, such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower. By the 1950s, food processors in the city began freezing this food instead of canning, and soon the city was home to eight frozen food plants, earning it the nickname of the "frozen food capital of the world". By 1986, the city, with a population of about 27,000, was processing about 40 percent of the frozen broccoli, Brussels sprouts, green peppers, and spinach produced in the United States. By the mid-1980s, the city's industry was dominated by two firms in particular: the Watsonville Canning Company and Richard A. Shaw Inc. Together, these two companies accounted for about 80 percent of Watsonville's frozen food output. These two firms were also the largest frozen food processors in the United States. Watsonville Canning, the larger of the two, was the largest frozen food processing company in the United States. It employed about 5,000 people and processed roughly half of the United States's supply of frozen vegetables. The company, which by the 1980s was owned by Watsonville native Mort Console, produced frozen vegetables for Birds Eye and private supermarket brands. Latinos in the area In 1900, Watsonville had a population of 3,528, of which only 118 were from Mexico. Many of the food processing workers in Watsonville were Portuguese or Slavic. However, as the agricultural industry in the region grew through the 1900s, more Mexican immigrants came to the area to find work through the Bracero program. Starting in the 1960s, the industry began recruiting female workers, primarily Mexican immigrants from South Texas, to work in the Pajaro Valley. Watsonville's food processing industry provided many of these immigrants with more stable employment than that of farmworkers, and the city became a center of a growing Latino population. Through the 1980s and 1990s, the city grew at an annual rate of about 38 percent, due in large part to Latino immigration, and many during this time were able to rise into the middle class. By the 1980s, Latinos made up a majority of the city's population, making it the first California city north of Fresno to hold that distinction. Among frozen food workers in the city, nine out of ten were Latino. However, despite the change in demographics, white Americans still held most of the economic and political power in the city. Discrimination against Latinos was common in Watsonville, with housing discrimination being a major issue. In 1969, some Latino students at Watsonville High School held a walkout and boycott of classes, demanding that more Latino teachers and employees be hired by the school. By 1985, the mayor, fire chief and police chief were all white, and only one member of the city council was Latino. Additionally, Watsonville Canning was white-owned. Regarding the economic disparities between Latinos and white Americans, scholar Erik Davis once referred to Watsonville as "a poor town with a large, struggling migrant population". Union activity Through the 1930s and 1940s, labor unions began a concerted effort to unionize food processing workers in the southwestern United States. These efforts primarily targeted Latina workers and involved high-ranking Latina labor leaders, such as Luisa Moreno, Manuela Solis Sager, and Emma Tenayuca. Militant unions such as the Cannery and Agricultural Workers' Industrial Union (CAWIU), the United Cannery, Agricultural, Packing, and Allied Workers of America (UCAPAWA), and the Food, Tobacco, Agricultural, and Allied Workers (FTA), were largely responsible for these early efforts and led to large-scale strike actions such as the 1938 San Antonio pecan shellers strike. Both the UCAPAWA and the FTA were affiliate unions of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), which had been founded in the 1930s as an alternative to the more conservative American Federation of Labor (AFL). In the mid-1940s, the AFL-affiliated International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) began to also organize workers in California, often in direct competition to union efforts from the FTA. The IBT's organization efforts were aided by the California Processors and Growers (CPG), an employers' organization representing agricultural businesses in the state, who supported the comparatively conservative IBT over the FTA. In 1950, following the passage of the Taft–Hartley Act, the FTA was expelled from the CIO, leading to the IBT becoming the dominant union in the industry. The IBT worked closely with business interests to create "sweetheart" contracts that were generally favorable to the companies, and in 1949, Edward T. Console, owner of Watsonville Canning, signed the first labor contract between a Watsonville food processing company and the IBT, setting a wage pattern for the city's industry as a whole. Under these industry-wide agreements, the Watsonville canneries would pay the same wages and offer the same benefits. Due in large part to these favorable contracts and conservativeness of the IBT, the food processing industry in California would not see a major industrial dispute for the next three decades. Local 912 In 1952, with assistance from the owners of Watsonville Canning, IBT Local 912 was organized in Watsonville to represent cannery workers in the city, and by 1986, they represented almost all of the roughly 4,000 food processing workers in Watsonville. By the mid-1990s, roughly one out of every four Watsonville residents were members of Local 912. This local union was closely aligned with the local business interests, leading to some researchers calling it a "company union" that "was controlled by a corrupt leadership". According to activist Frank Bardacke, "the bosses allowed the union officials a good deal of personal power, as long as they refrained from challenging the employer's prerogatives in production or encouraging workers to organize themselves". Some of the union leaders would socialize and play poker with cannery officials, and Richard King, who served as the secretary-treasurer for several years before becoming the local's president in 1967, was the father-in-law of a business partner at Richard A. Shaw. As the head of the local, he was generally uninvolved in union activities, rarely attending union meetings, and some rank and file union members were critical of his accommodationist approach to labor-management relations. In 1985, about 70 percent of Local 912's membership was Latino, and more Latinos voted in Teamsters elections than they did in municipal elections. However, the local was dominated by white Americans who were largely disconnected from these members' concerns. Union meetings were held only in English and, until the mid-1980s, only one person on the local's leadership, a business agent who had been appointed by the local in 1968, spoke Spanish. Additionally, while women made up the majority of Local 912 membership, they were not represented on the local leadership, and few attended union meetings due to a lack of child care coverage from the local and the bureaucratic and parliamentarian nature of the meetings. Despite these issues, the local had managed to negotiate some of the highest wages for food processing workers in the country, with a base hourly pay up to $7.05 for most workers and up to $12 for machine operators, plus employee benefits. Changes in the industry in the 1980s In 1973, Local 912 membership peaked at about 7,000 members, with peak season employment in the Watsonville canneries reaching about 10,000. During this time, California held what an article in The New York Times called a "virtual monopoly" on the processing of certain vegetables. However, the mid-197s through the 1980s saw a continuous decline in both employment and union membership. This was due primarily to increased competition in the food processing industry from firms outside of Watsonville. Primarily, imports from Latin American countries, such as Guatemala and Mexico, were entering the United States market, and food processing operations in right-to-work states such as Texas had seen a noted growth. This growth was primarily due to lower labor costs, as in the mid-1980s, the average Texas food processing worker had an hourly wage of $3.36, while in Mexico and some Central American countries like Guatemala, workers earned only a few dollars per day. According to the United States Department of Commerce, between 1983 and 1984, foreign imports of broccoli and cauliflower increased from to and to , respectively. In addition to increased competition, the time period saw a change in consumer preferences away from frozen or canned foods and towards more fresh food options. Between 1975 and 1983, over a dozen major canneries in California closed, leading to roughly 15,000 lost jobs, with only about 19,000 workers remaining in California canneries. According to academic Patricia Zavella, in the years leading up to 1985, "the global restructuring of agriculture ... prompted local farmers and processors to expand acreage in Mexico, grow new crops locally for the fresh market, and downsize food processing in Watsonville". Wage decreases at Watsonville Canning Food processing companies in Watsonville responded to these changing market trends by renegotiating labor contracts with Local 912. In 1982, Watsonville Canning negotiated an agreement with Local 912 wherein they would reduce their hourly wages from the industry standard of $7.06 to $6.66. The company argued that the pay cut was necessary due to a decline in business, claiming that the company was near bankruptcy and the cuts would allow the company to remain profitable. Additionally, the company agreed to restore the wages if business improved. The cuts gave Watsonville Canning a competitive edge over the other food processing plants in Watsonville, with the company seeing a five percent increase in business during 1985. Soon after these changes were implemented at Watsonville Canning, other food processors began requesting similar wage decreases from the union. Contract negotiations In early 1985, the union and Watsonville Canning entered into negotiations for a new labor contract, with the existing contract, including the wage reduction agreement, set to expire that June. The company proposed a two-tier wage system that would see existing employees maintain their $6.66 hourly pay, while new hires would start at a base pay of $4.25. However, the union members voted to reject this proposal in August and instead requested that wages be restored to the original $7.06 rate. With the contract expired by this point, Watsonville Canning implemented this proposal as negotiations continued. Throughout negotiations, the company submitted 22 different offers, all of which containing rollbacks that would decrease wages and benefits. During negotiations, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service became involved, and by September, the company implemented a base hourly pay for existing employees of $4.75, with new hires earning $4.25. Additionally, the company took away 54 employee benefit items, including a reduction in healthcare, vacation benefits, and an end to union dues automatically being pulled from employees' paychecks. In addition, Watsonville Canning instituted an increase in production quotas for broccoli processing, which was in violation of an agreement the company had with the union. The changes resulted in an increase in work accidents, as well as the firing of about 25 employees, many of whom had worked for the company for several years, for failing to meet these new standards. As part of these speedup policies, workers on the line were forbidden from using the restroom outside of their scheduled breaks. The changes were ill-received by the union members at large, with one calling it "a terrorist attack" on the workers. In defending the policy changes, Smiley Verduzco, an executive at Watsonville Canning, stated that there had been work slowdowns prior to the changes. Around the same time, Shaw also left the industry-wide agreement and began pushing for terms similar to what Watsonville Canning had. Shaw proposed a base hourly pay reduction from $7.06 to $6.66, with new hires earning $4.43 per hour. Additionally, the company was pushing for 25 takeaways in employee benefits. As it became apparent that an agreement between Local 912 and both Watsonville Canning and Shaw was unlikely to be reached, the companies began preparing for possible strike action. Watsonville Canning began to stockpile its product during mid-1985, and additionally secured $18 million in credit from Wells Fargo. In an article for the Los Angeles Times, union officials stated that the speedups and policy changes made during mid-1985 were intended to force a strike in sentiments that were echoed by Charles Craypo, head of the economics department at the University of Notre Dame, who said, "Companies today are taking the offensive, doing things to weaken unions and sometimes forcing them into strikes that they can’t win". Don McIntosh, editor of the Northwest Labor Press, stated that the company had recently hired an anti-union law firm and, on their advice, were attempting to provoke a strike, hire permanent replacements, and decertify the union in a government-administered decertification election that would involve voting from those permanent replacements. Speaking about the policy changes and wage reductions, King said, "The companies are trying to break the union here and send us back into the 1950's". In comparison to Watsonville Canning, Local 912 was unprepared for a strike. Leaders within the local were generally opposed to a strike, and the local lacked a strike fund. However, on Friday, September 6, at a meeting of 200 union members at the union hall, the union decided that a strike would commence. By this point, the workers had been without a contract for three months. While some workers had considered a walkout in early 1985, this decision was postponed until peak season in order to most affect the companies. The following day, an informal group was organized amongst the union members to create a rudimentary plan for the strike, and Watsonville Canning and Richard A. Shaw were served strike notices that day. On September 8, some members met at the union hall to create picket signs. The strike would be Watsonville's first in 37 years. The strike would target both Watsonville Canning and Richard A. Shaw, affecting over 1,000 workers. Of these workers, about 85 percent were Latina, many single mothers. According to academic Margie Brown-Coronel, the strike was not only to oppose the company's wage decreases and benefits reductions, but "also ... to protest lack of leadership and support required of the Teamsters Union". The strike was somewhat unique in that rank and file members initiated the action, which was then supported by the international union. Meanwhile, other food processors in the area agreed to extend their $7.06 agreements with the union for another year in order to see the outcome of the labor dispute. Course of the strike Early activities during the strike The food processing workers began their strike on September 9, 1985. At 5 a.m. that Monday, union members met at the union hall and were given picket signs and sent to the gates of the two frozen food plants. At Watsonville Canning, the strikers formed a picket line that stretched for eight city blocks, while at Shaw, the line was a third of a mile long. Many of the picket signs were written in both English and Spanish, and many of the strikers brought their children with them. In response to the picketing, the district attorney and Console, who stated that he "feared for [his] personal safety", requested Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge William Kelsay to issue a temporary restraining order against the strikers, which he granted at 8 p.m. that day, within 15 hours of the start of the strike. As part of the restraining order, there could be no more than four pickets within of each of Watsonville Canning's eight gates, pickets could not be within of each other, and only people going to work at the plant could congregate within of the plant. The restraining order significantly hampered the effectiveness of the strike, with each plant limited to only 60 pickets. Soon after the strike began, the Watsonville City Council increased funding for their police department, with many in the department working twelve-hour shifts to ensure that at least twelve officers were at the scene of the picketing at all times. By 1 a.m. on September 10, the police had cleared the area around Watsonville Canning, and they issued their first citation against a striker after someone struck a delivery truck with a picket sign. By October, the police had arrested several strikers for violations of the restraining order. In an effort to further reduce the size of the picketing, Watsonville Canning replaced several of their gates with chain-link fencing, which decreased the number of pickets legally allowed around the property. Additionally, the company did not allow strikers to come into the plant to pick up their last paycheck, instead mailing it to them. On September 20, about 17 students from Watsonville High School were arrested after joining with picketers near the plant, and in the immediate aftermath, police in riot gear dispersed the crowd that had gathered to protest the arrests. Around the same time, Judge Kelsay upgraded the restraining order to an injunction. Community support for the strike To make up for the lost wages, strikers received a weekly strike pay of $55. Strikers continued to pay union dues for the duration of the strike (which was equal to about twice what the workers earned in an hour of work), and the pay was a significant decrease from the $250 that most workers received in weekly pay. In addition to the lost income, strikers also lost employee benefits, and few received government assistance such as food stamps and other forms of welfare. Extended families and local food banks helped support many workers for the duration of the strike, and the strike received significant support from the local Mexican-American community. In several cases, strikers received extended credit from local grocers, and some had their rent payments delayed. Some supporters saw the strike as an "Anglo assault" on the Latino community, highlighted by the white power structure in the majority-Latino city. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Mike Herald, the head of a group of several community churches that provided charitable services to the strikers, expressed this opinion, saying, "The city’s white power structure has lined up on one side and the strikers on the other". Within the first few weeks, two support groups were formed to assist the strike, and the strikers began receiving donations from various Chicano groups such as the League of United Latin American Citizens and the Mexican American Political Association. Activists from nearby universities, such as Stanford University and the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), also participated in supporting the strike. Teamsters for a Democratic Union One of the groups involved in the strike were the Detroit-based Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU), a group within the IBT that had been formed in the 1970s with the intent to challenge the conservative old guard and push for more militant union with more of an emphasis on rank-and-file leadership. The TDU had become involved in Local 912 activities in the early 1980s when it campaigned for union meetings to be held in both English and Spanish Some TDU members in Local 912 were active in pushing for a strike in mid-1985, and at the start of the strike, the TDU chapter in Watsonville attempted to fill the power vacuum in the strike leadership. The TDU also pushed for weekly strike meetings and attempted to raise the weekly strike pay from $55 to $100. Strikebreakers and instances of violence In order to continue operations during the strike, the two companies began hiring strikebreakers shortly after the strike began. These workers were paid slightly over $5 per hour, with no employee benefits or guaranteed job security. For roughly the first two months of the strike, the plants operated with about 80 to 100 strikebreakers, whereas before the strike these plants operated with between 1,000 and 2,000 employees. As a result, the plants operated at a reduced production level. Through the strike, there was a high turnover rate among the replacement workers, with many working only a few weeks before quitting. However, by September 1986, Watsonville Canning had about 900 replacement workers in their employment. Police accompanied the strikebreakers to and from the plants, as picketers would often intimidate them, sometimes spitting in their direction and yelling that they were "esquiroles" (the Spanish word for "scab"). Some violent outbreaks occurred in the first few months of the strike, including attacks on strikebreakers. Some of the strikebreakers' cars were vandalized, and strikebreakers used sand-filled socks to bust out the windows on the buses that carried the strikebreakers to and from the plants. Additionally, one striker was arrested for attempting to throw a Molotov cocktail at one of these buses. During the strike, three cars that were owned by company executives were destroyed, and instances of arson increased during that time. Several homes were firebombed, and two fires at properties owned by Watsonville Canning resulted in about $1 million in damages. In total, four instances of arson resulted in damages of about $2 million. Despite this, no major injuries were reported from strike-related activities. Late 1985 On October 6, the Watsonville TDU helped to organize a "Solidarity Day" rally in Watsonville that included a march to the Watsonville Canning plant, with about 3,000 supporters participating. Several days later, on October 15, about 400 strikers met to elect their own Strike Committee that would function independently of either the IBT or the TDU. Regarding the creation of this group, Gloria Betancourt, one of the rank-and-file union members who was elected to the committee, said, "We didn't trust the union officials anymore. We felt as workers we had to form our own Strike Committee". This strike committee, composed of workers from both plants, handled the day-to-day operations of the strike, which included, among other things, 24-hour picketing and food distribution. The same month that the strike committee was formed, Watsonville Canning presented their final proposal to Local 912. The company offered a base hourly pay of $5.05, as well as a preference for the replacement workers over the striking workers. On October 28, 1985, union members voted 800–1 to reject this offer. On November 3, the strike committee called for another rally, which was again attended by about 3,000 supporters. The following month, Local 912 held officer elections in which the more moderate incumbent members of the union were challenged by more militant candidates, including Betancourt, who was the first Mexican women to run for president in the local's history. While several members of this slate were elected, Betancourt lost her bid. King, meanwhile, was not reelected as an officer of the union. This trend of more militant union members winning Local 912 elections continued in next December's elections, though again Betancourt lost her bid for president. Shaw settles with strikers In February 1986, after several months on strike, the workers from Richard A. Shaw settled with that company, ending their strike on February 14. As part of the agreement, the workers accepted an hourly pay rate of $5.85, which, while higher than the $5.05 Shaw had proposed prior to the strike, was still significantly lower than the previous industry standard. The agreement affected about 900 union employees of Shaw, who ultimately took a 17 percent pay cut. Additionally, the contract contained language that would allow the company and union to renegotiate wages if Watsonville Canning settled with their employees for a lower rate. According to Chavelo Moreno, a member of the Strike Committee, the agreement set a wage ceiling for industry, which made it more difficult for the Watsonville Canning employees to negotiate a higher rate. In July 1986, union employees at another Watsonville plant accepted a pay rate of $5.85 per hour, cementing that as the new industry standard. However, the language of this master agreement that the IBT had with the industry included a "me-too" clause that would not allow Watsonville Canning to undercut this rate. According to Local 912 President Leon Ellis, the local had agreed to the $1.21 pay cut after Shaw disclosed their financial information to the union that proved that the company was losing money. The local had also requested that Watsonville Canning disclose their private financial information as part of contract negotiations, but Verduzco stated that the company would only do so if the union paid a $500,000 fine. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, he said, "I don’t trust those hoodlums; they want to run this company out of business. We are a privately held corporation. Our financial statements are our financial statements; they don’t belong to the people". Early 1986 On International Women's Day (March 8), another rally was held that drew about 4,000 supporters. Political activist Jesse Jackson gave a speech at this event, and labor activist groups from the San Francisco Bay Area were well-represented. In a further show of solidarity among labor unions, on April 12, a representative of Local 912 spoke at a union rally in Austin, Minnesota, which was the site of the then-ongoing 1985–1986 Hormel strike, about the similarities between the two strikes. In addition to the Hormel strikers, Local 912 also tried to forge connections with other striking workers across the United States, including flight attendants who were on strike against Trans World Airlines. The Local 912 strikers held a joint rally with the flight attendants in San Jose, California, which was followed by a rally in Watsonville. Regarding the relationship-building with other striking workers, Betancourt stated, "we learned from them, what they did, what worked and didn't". On June 29, the Strike Committee held another large rally in Watsonville that drew over 4,000 attendees, with a significant number of supporters from northern California, including members of Chicano organizations, labor activists, and members of the United Farm Workers (UFW). Jackson, who by this time was seeking the presidency of the United States in the 1988 Democratic Party presidential primaries, again addressed the crowd, where he drew comparisons between the strike and the Selma to Montgomery marches during the civil rights movement. While the IBT had been reluctant to allow Jackson to speak, the Strike Committee was in full support. Jackson was one of the most vocal national advocates for the strikers, and members of his National Rainbow Coalition participated in picketing and other forms of support for the strike. In 1988, Betancourt served as a delegate for Jackson at the 1988 Democratic National Convention. Local 912 targets Wells Fargo and company moves to decertify Around mid-1986, Local 912 began to focus its attention on Wells Fargo for its role as a major financial backer of Watsonville Canning. This idea to put pressure on Wells Fargo had initially been proposed in November 1985 by UFW president and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez. In May 1986, the IBT voted to pressure Wells Fargo, allowing Local 912 to campaign for northern California labor unions and groups to withdraw their funds from Wells Fargo if the strike did not end on terms favorable to the union. Despite this vote, the international union did little in active campaigning against Wells Fargo, and that same month, the IBT voted to "undertake economic sanctions" against Watsonville Canning but stopped short of calling for a full boycott of Watsonville Canning products. In July 1986, Chavez met with strikers in Watsonville and pushed for a boycott against Wells Fargo. The Strike Committee's decision to meet with Chavez was against the wishes of the IBT, who were opposed to the UFW and had competed directly against that union in organizing farm workers in the 1970s. By this time, many of the strikers had taken on other jobs to support themselves, and some left Watsonville altogether. In August 1986, Console filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to decertify Local 912. A vote was scheduled that would include both striking union members and non-striking workers to decide whether Local 912 would continue to represent the workforce at Watsonville Canning. Local 912 began gathering union members, including those who had moved as far away as Texas and Mexico, to return to Watsonville to vote against decertification. Console, meanwhile, hired additional strikebreakers, sometimes doubling the number of workers on a line and hiring many for four-hour shifts in order to bolster the non-union vote. In a narrow election, the union members won out over the non-union employees, with the decertification effort failing in a 914–848. Console goes into default, sells Watsonville Canning Following the failed decertification vote, Console's financial situation deteriorated, and Watsonville Canning closed for 11 days before reopening with funding from a new $930,000 loan from Wells Fargo. By this point, Console was in excess of $30 million in debt. After this loan was approved, the Strike Committee began to push for the IBT to withdraw all their assets from Wells Fargo and began pushing for other IBT members to cancel their Wells Fargo accounts. However, while the IBT was unwilling to do this, the Chicano activist group MEChA began their own boycott of Wells Fargo, and in January 1987, eight Wells Fargo branches in northern California were targeted in a series of rallies, including one in the San Francisco Financial District. By September, the Los Angeles Times reported that the local had been waging a "corporate campaign" against Watsonville Canning's creditors for the past three months. That same month, the California Department of Food and Agriculture announced that they were opening an investigation into Watsonville Canning. By this point, Wells Fargo had loaned the company $23 million, and Watsonville Canning owed the bank $18 million, in addition to $7 million it owed to its growers. In December 1986, saddled with this debt, Console closed the plant down for one month. Two months later, Wells Fargo declared that Console was in default on his loans. At this point, in order to avoid bankruptcy, Console was forced to sell the plant. In the aftermath of this, Wells Fargo sold the company, and new ownership of the plant was established in February 1987. The owner of this new company, named Norcal Frozen Foods, was a grower who was owed $5 million from Watsonville Canning, and 18 other growers who were owed money from Watsonville Canning were also part of this company. On February 28, 400 strikers elected a new negotiating committee to reach a deal with these new owners, and on Friday, March 6, a tentative agreement had been reached that would see an end to the strike. The deal would set hourly wages at $5.85, the industry standard, and was approved by both the negotiating committee and union leadership. However, many union members were opposed to the agreement because it would deny many of them medical benefits that they had had before the strike. Ultimately, the union members voted to wait one week before voting on whether or not to approve the contract. However, with the tentative agreement, the IBT announced that the strike was over, and as a result, they ended strike benefits, locked members who continued to strike out of the union hall, and stated that the union may go into trusteeship if strike activities did not cease. Without IBT approval, the members of Local 912 continued their labor dispute as a wildcat strike. Hunger strike, religious pilgrimage, and end of the strike In defiance of the IBT, six women, including Betancourt, initiated a hunger strike to protest the lack of medical benefits. The next day, the new plant owners stated that seniority rights would be revoked for any employees not reporting to work that Monday, March 9. On March 9, several hundred strikers protested outside the plant, demanding a reinstatement of medical benefits. Only a few dozen actually reported for work that day, effectively keeping the plant out of operation. The next day, the protesters outside of the plant began a religious procession, with more than 20 women and several men walking on their knees for four city blocks. The procession, which ended at St. Patrick's Catholic Church over from the plant, included prayers to Our Lady of Guadalupe and the leader of the procession chanting, "“As long as God is in Heaven, I will never give up". A special mass was held, with the local priest urging the strikers to continue the protest until their medical benefits were part of the contract. The pilgrimage was a tactic that had been used by UFW members during a strike about 15 years earlier. Later that night, contract negotiations between Local 912 and the company resumed. On March 11, a new contract that preserved the workers' medical benefits was ratified, passing in a vote of 543–21. In addition to the medical benefits, the three-year contract workers maintained their seniority rights and received strike amnesty. With regards to pay, the workers accepted the new industry standard of $5.85, although an incentive pay plan could raise their hourly wages up to $6.61. Additionally, the contract allowed for negotiations on economic terms to start again in February 1988 and 1989. In celebration of the end of the strike, union members held a parade down Watsonville's Main Street. However, due to the wage reduction, many of the strikers viewed the outcome less as an outright victory and more as a compromise. According to Betancourt, "It was not what we wanted, but it was still a victory". Aftermath and legacy Impact in Watsonville In total, the IBT spent roughly $5 million in strike benefits over the course of the strike. According to municipal officials, the strike cost the city government about $1 million in police overtime and lost sales. A 1986 article from the Los Angeles Times stated that the strike had "devastated" Watsonville, highlighting the increased rates of violence and the impact on the local economy. That same article states that Watsonville had seen an uptick in domestic violence cases and rates of alcoholism, as well as an increase in prostitution. With a reduced income, many of the strikers saw their savings decline significantly, and some permanently relocated from Watsonville. After the strike, the plant reopened with a skeleton crew composed of former strikers brought back on a seniority basis. While the owners of the plant provided their own produce for processing, other growers who had previously operated with Watsonville Canning had made deals with other plants during the strike, decreasing the overall output of the plant. Norcal Frozen Foods ultimately went out of business, and several hundred jobs were lost. In the years following the strike, more food processing plants in the city closed, with many of the companies relocating their operations to Mexico. In 1991, Green Giant relocated their facilities from Watsonville to Mexico, and more companies moved during the 1990s after the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Within ten years of the strike, five of the city's eight frozen food plants had relocated, and by 2000, the former "frozen food capital of the world" was home to only one frozen food plant that employed about 400 people. As a result of the plant closures, the unemployment rate in Watsonville remained high compared to the rest of the state. Political developments in Watsonville The strike coincided with a federal court case, Gomez v. City of Watsonville, that dealt with the lack of Latino representation in Watsonville city politics. The court's decision led to an electoral district system that could better represent the ethnic demographics of the city, and in the following years, several Latinos were elected to city council and other government positions. In 1991, three Latinos were elected to the city council, and Oscar Rios, a union organizer from San Francisco who had moved to Watsonville during the strike, was later elected the city's first Latino mayor. Discussing the link between the strike and the shifting politics, Rios stated, "The strikers helped change the politics in our city and county". In 2017, some of the individuals who had been involved in the strike gathered at the Watsonville Public Library to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the strike. Later analysis and legacy The strike is noted for being one of the largest and most important in the United States during the 1980s. Academic Erik Davis called the strike "one of the most important labor campaigns of the 1980s", while activist Kim Moody called the event "one of the most important strikes against concessions" during that time. Moody also listed the strike as one of the decade's largest, occurring during a time when strikes were becoming more uncommon, but the length of strikes was increasing. Labor historian Jeremy Brecher stated that the strike was one of the "most important" strikes of the time, alongside the Hormel strike and the Pittston Coal strike. However, unlike many of the other long labor strikes that occurred during this time, the Watsonville strike was one of the only successful ones, with an article in the Northwest Labor Press calling it "a rare union victory during an era of union-busting". Political activist Sharon Smith noted it as one of the few exceptions to the trend of strike failures, and several sources noted that the solidarity of the strikers was crucial to the strike's victory. As multiple sources have noted, none of the strikers crossed the picket line for the duration of the strike. The strike is also seen as an important moment in the history of Latino relations in the United States. A 1996 book co-written by economist Teresa Amott called the strike "one of the most important recent episodes in Chicana labor history", and it is seen as one of the major strikes in the American southwest that was led by Chicanos, alongside the Arizona copper mine strike of 1983 and the 1938 pecan shellers' strike in San Antonio. Speaking further of the relation between this strike and older strikes, labor historian Myrna Cherkoss Donahoe compared the militant nature of the rank-and-file Watsonville strikers to those of the CIO strikes of the 1930s. Notes References Sources Further reading 1985 in California 1986 in California 1987 in California 1985 labor disputes and strikes 1986 labor disputes and strikes 1987 labor disputes and strikes Agriculture and forestry labor disputes in the United States Cesar Chavez Chicano Economic history of California Food processing industry in the United States Hispanic and Latino American history History of Santa Cruz County, California Hunger strikes Labor disputes in California Mexican-American history Watsonville, California

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder%20of%20Mo%C3%AFse%20Mugenyi%20Kabagambe

Murder of Moïse Mugenyi Kabagambe

On 24 January 2022, Moïse Mugenyi Kabagambe, a Congolese immigrant in Brazil, was killed in the beach kiosk Tropicália by three men in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. His family would only learn about his death in the next day. Moïse's death would only be reported in newspapers on January 29, followed by numerous reactions on social networks condemning the murder and demanding justice. Politicians, celebrities, and organizations linked to human rights and the black movement also expressed their outrage at Moïse's murder. On the 5th of February, protests took place in several Brazilian capitals and at the Brazilian embassy in Berlin, Germany. The protests were in memory of Moïse, and denounced racism and xenophobia. In some protests, there were also calls for impeachment against Jair Bolsonaro. Background Moïse Mugenyi Kabagambe was born in Bunia, in the Ituri Province. Because of the Ituri conflict, Moïse and his family left the Democratic Republic of the Congo and immigrated to Brazil in 2011, together with his siblings and mother, as a refugee. He worked in a beach kiosk called Tropicália in Barra da Tijuca district, Rio de Janeiro, receiving daily wages for his work. Day of the murder On January 24, 2022, Moïse Mugenyi Kabagambe went to the Tropicália kiosk, where he worked, to collect two unpaid daily wages, worth R$200 (US$38). According to family members, he was tied up and beaten, including with a baseball bat. A couple who witnessed the incident claim that they asked for help from two municipal guards, but that the guards did not go to check on the Tropicália kiosk. In a video circulated by the press and on social media, it is shown that Moïse was arguing with an employee, who grabs a piece of wood. In response, Moïse picks up a chair and a broom, and shortly after releases them. Kabagambe then takes out a bag and his shirt and opens the freezer, when another man approaches and starts to attack Moïse. Two other unidentified men join in the violence against Moïse. The aggressors, noticing Moïse's lack of reaction, try to help him by performing CPR, but to no avail. At the end of the video, it is possible to see that Moïse is being dragged away. According to the local Instituto Médico Legal, the institution responsible for autopsies in Brazil, claimed that he died due to blunt trauma to his chest. Aftermath Relatives told the press that they were intimidated by the military police agents on January 25 and 29. On February 1, 2022, three people had been arrested by the police. The next day, the Court of Justice of the State of Rio de Janeiro declared the temporary arrest of the three individuals already detained by the police. Also on February 2, the Public Ministry of Labor started an investigation. The kiosk Tropicália was shut down by local authorities. The kiosk next to Tropicália, called Biruta, also had its license suspended by Orla Rio, Rio de Janeiro's kiosk concessionaire. Alauir Mattos de Faria, the supposed owner of kiosk Biruta, was considered "irregular occupant". The irregular situation motivated Orla Rio to open a lawsuit against Celso Carnaval, the actual owner of Biruta. Lawyers of Carlos Fabio da Silva Muzi, the owner of Tropicália, ruled out any involvement with the assassination, and deny that there is any debt to Moïse since he was not a fixed employee. The lawyers also stated that Carlos Muzi has been receiving death threats since the murder came to light. The three individuals arrested by the police assume that they were the Moïse's killers, but deny that they had the intention of killing him, or that the violence against Moïse was motivated by racism or xenophobia. Reactions The Congolese community in Brazil released a statement to the press. On social media, there were several mentions of Moïse's death. The hashtags "#JustiçaParMoise" and "#JustiçaParaMoiseMugenyi" were used on Twitter. Brazilian politicians and celebrities also expressed outrage and disgust on their social media accounts. Both Rio de Janeiro Governor Claudio Castro and Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes have made statements on Twitter. Eduardo Paes said that Kabamgabe's murder was "unacceptable and outrageous" and that those responsible will be punished. In another tweet, Paes is shown together with Kabamgabe's family. In a joint statement, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), International Organization for Migration (IOM), and PARES Caritas RJ stated that ""are following the case, hoping that the crime will be clarified. At this moment, the organizations express their sincere condolences and solidarity to Moïse's family and to the Congolese community residing in Brazil." The Brazilian chapter of Amnesty International published a statement repudiating the violence against Kabamgabe, stating that the murder was "a blatant and unacceptable case of violation of the human right to life and human dignity". Human Rights Watch said that the murder was "deplorable", and expressed solidarity with Kabamgabe's family and the Congolese community in Brazil. The Black Coalition for Rights repudiated the assassination of Kabamgabe, and affirmed that violence against Afro-Brazilians is common. The coalition also said that they would be helping organizing the protests against Kabamgabe's murder. The embassy of the Democratic Republic of Congo denounced the death of Kabagambe and demanded answer from Brazilian authorities. The diplomatic representation also stated that there are four other cases of Congolese murdered in the country still waiting for the results of police investigations. The Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (known as Itamaraty), in response, said "Itamaraty expresses its indignation over the brutal murder and hopes those responsible are brought to justice as soon as possible." In the public statement, Itamaraty also mentioned the process of obtaining refugee status in Brazil. The Brazilian ambassador in Kinshasa was summoned by the Democratic Republic of Congo Foreign Affairs Minister Christophe Lutundula. The kiosks will become a memorial to Congolese culture, and one of the establishments was given to Moïse's family. Disinformation On 31 January 2022, a Twitter account that is supposedly connected to Anonymous released the name of a person who was thought to be the current owner of the kiosk. The claim was shown to be false by journalist Giselle Aquino, and her findings were published by journalist Diego Sangermano, both working for SBT. Protests On 29 January 2022, friends and family of Moïse Mugenyi Kabagambe protested near the kiosk and condemned the crime. In the early morning of February 3rd, a demonstration with 50 people was registered near the Tropicália kiosk. Protests happened on February 5th in several cities in Brazil, including Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Salvador, Brasília, São Luís, Porto Alegre, e Belo Horizonte, Recife, Cuiabá, Curitiba, and Palmas. Outside of the country, there are protests scheduled to happen in New York City and London. Deutsche Welle reported that there was a demonstration near the Brazilian embassy in Berlin. The purpose of the protests, besides calling for justice for Moïse, was to denounce racism, xenophobia and police brutality against Black people in the country. There was also calls for the impeachment of Jair Bolsonaro. Incidents In Rio de Janeiro, Brazilian journalist Manoel Soares reported that he was verbally and physically attacked by white people. In Curitiba, there was some confusion between protesters and religious people. The protesters were in the downtown district of the city, near the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary of the Black Men of Saint Benedict, where the priest Luiz Haas was leading a mass. The priest and the protesters argued, and the protesters invaded the church and protested there for a few minutes. No damages were done to the church or the people inside it. The videos of the invasion were widely shared on social media. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Curitiba criticized the act done by the protesters. President Jair Bolsonaro, who until then had not commented about the murder of Moïse, criticized the invasion of the church. Local politicians were also criticized because of their involvement with the protests. Councilwoman Carol Dartora (PT) participated in the protests, but wasn't part of the group of protesters who invaded the church. Nevertheless, she received hateful and racist messages by people who associated her with the protesters who invaded the church. Councilman Renato Freitas (PT) was with the group who invaded the church, and was criticized during a session in the Curitiba City Council by councilmen Osias Moraes (Republicanos) and Tico Kuzma (Pros). See also Crime in Brazil References 2022 controversies Murder in 2022 2022 murders in South America January 2022 events in Brazil January 2022 crimes 2020s in Rio de Janeiro Murder in Brazil Democratic Republic of the Congo emigrants to Brazil Democratic Republic of the Congo refugees Democratic Republic of the Congo people murdered abroad

69974957

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The%20Motor%20Rally%20Mystery

The Motor Rally Mystery

The Motor Rally Mystery is a 1933 detective novel by John Rhode, the pen name of the British writer Cecil Street. It is the fourteenth in his long-running series of novels featuring Lancelot Priestley, a Golden Age armchair detective. It was published in the United States by Dodd Mead under the alternative title Dr. Priestley Lays a Trap. It takes place against the backdrop of the real life RAC Motor Rally, which concluded at Torquay. Reviewing the novel in The Spectator Dilys Powell concluded "Dr. Priestley as usual takes nothing on trust; and Mr. Rhode achieves a pretty piece of deduction." In the New York Times Isaac Anderson felt "this story is one of the best of the Priestley series, and that is no faint praise." Synopsis During an overnight thousand mile motor rally an accident to one of the cars leads to the death of the two occupants. The local police are far from convinced that everything is above board and call in Scotland Yard. The case is led by Inspector Hanslet, but the real work is done by the criminologist Priestley who retraces the entire journey of care in order to solve the mystery. References Bibliography Evans, Curtis. Masters of the "Humdrum" Mystery: Cecil John Charles Street, Freeman Wills Crofts, Alfred Walter Stewart and the British Detective Novel, 1920-1961. McFarland, 2014. Herbert, Rosemary. Whodunit?: A Who's Who in Crime & Mystery Writing. Oxford University Press, 2003. Reilly, John M. Twentieth Century Crime & Mystery Writers. Springer, 2015. 1933 British novels Novels by Cecil Street British crime novels British mystery novels British detective novels Collins Crime Club books Novels set in London Novels set in Devon

69975000

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International%20response%20to%20the%20MeToo%20movement

International response to the MeToo movement

The #MeToo hashtag has trended in at least 85 countries. The campaign has encouraged people around the would to spread their stories of sexual assault. This article lists the various international responses to the movement. Afghanistan The #MeToo hashtag initially spread in Afghanistan where it is estimated about 90% of women experience sexual harassment in public, at school, or at work, but was quickly silenced when those who shared their stories started fearing for their life. Less than 1% of police officers or military members are women, and sexual assault is often ignored by law enforcement and the military. Rape threats and other types of harassment are common on Facebook and other social media in Afghanistan. Sharing stories of sexual abuse against higher-ranking men is especially dangerous for women in the country, and may result in the killing of the victim or her family members. Some women are also punished or killed to by their own family for speaking out, to redeem their "honor" after being tarnished by rape. Despite the risks, some notable people such as Sarienews journalist Maryam Mehtar, and presidential advisor Shaharzad Akbar have shared their own #MeToo stories on social media. Mehtar experienced extreme abuse and several death threats for sharing her story about being sexually harassed in public daily, and was publicly called a "whore" in an interview with The New York Times by Afghan writer Jalil Junbish. He also called the NYT reporter a whore in the same interview. He later denied making the comments. Other women only share their first name or a fake name, and typically describe the story without naming the perpetrator to avoid reprisal. Sexual harassment was first defined in Afghanistan in 2016, though there has been little effort made to enforce laws against it. Rod Nordland and Fatima Faizi of The New York Times reported that a colonel in the Afghan Air Force was secretly and clearly videotaped sexually assaulting a subordinate in November 2017, and the video quickly went viral, but despite an alleged investigation, the colonel has not been formally accused of misconduct. The Ministries of Interior and Communications set up a phone hotline for women to call to report sexual misconduct from law enforcement officials, but a call to the line revealed the hotline will offer advice only about phone harassment, and stated if a person harasses you in person, to "slap them". Australia In October 2017, reporter and journalist Tracey Spicer announced on Twitter that she was launching an investigation into reports of sexual harassment by powerful Australian men in the media in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations and the rise in public awareness of the #MeToo movement. Earlier that same year, Spicer had released a memoir, The Good Girl Stripped Bare, where she wrote about her own experiences of sexual harassment in the work place. Spicer later reported that she had received responses from 470 people about people in the industry, including Australian television presenter and producer Don Burke. The extent of the claims against Burke were published by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and The Sydney Morning Herald in a joint investigative piece on November 26, 2017, where it was reported that "One name kept recurring – Don Burke." Spicer, along with Kate McClymont, Lorna Knowles and Alison Branley, won the 2018 Walkley Awards in the print/text journalism and Television/Video Current Affairs Short (less than 20 minutes) categories for their investigation and on Australia Day in 2018, Spicer was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia "for significant service to the broadcast media as a journalist and television presenter, and as an ambassador for social welfare and charitable groups". Later that same year, Spicer and Melinda Schneider launched NOW Australia, a campaign aimed at helping connect people with legal support and counselling. Since then the #MeToo movement has now expanded beyond Australian media and the Australian Human Rights Commission has launched an independent search into workplace sexual harassment that is the first of its kind in the world. It has been hypothesised by The Age that Australia's strict defamation laws make it difficult for more victims to come forward. The Daily Telegraph reported an accusation against Geoffrey Rush. He then successfully sued the newspaper for defamation; this may have a chilling effect on the #MeToo movement due to the lack of protection for freedom of speech. Yael Stone separately described sexual misconduct by Rush. Tarana Burke and Tracey Spicer won the 2019 Sydney Peace Prize for their role in the #MeToo movement. The award was presented on November 14, 2019. In February 2021, four women accused a former parliament staffer of rape, including Brittany Higgins who mentioned that she was raped in the office of the then-defence industry minister Linda Reynolds inside Parliament House in March 2019. Days after Higgins came forward, Attorney-General Christian Porter gave a media statement about a 1988 rape allegation made against him by a woman who committed suicide in 2020. Belgium On November 9, 2017, The Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie stopped all collaboration with Bart De Pauw, a Belgian TV producer, after several complains and allegations of sexual intimidation were filed against him. The TV producer is facing charges of stalking women and electronic nuisance behaviour. The trial will start on January 14, 2021. In May 2019, Julie Van Espen was the victim of a homicide in Antwerp. Her death has led to political protests against sexual violence. That month, over 15,000 people walked a 'silent march' in Antwerp for Van Espen. The hashtags '#enough', '#MeToo' and '#JulieVanEspen' were used by people on social media to command attention to the case, to raise awareness on sexual violence, and to address that the suspect of her murder had been convicted of rape twice before. Canada In French-speaking parts of Canada, the campaign is done under the hashtag . A minister of Quebec, , said she believed a global movement was in the works and we should salute this change. It was reported that calls to rape and women's crisis centers have increased dramatically, up to 553% above normal levels, since started trending in October 2017, causing problems with staffing and budgeting. Quebec has contributed $1 million to help support these crisis hotlines. Hundreds of people marched to promote at an event in Toronto in December 2017. In the wake of , a candidate for mayor of dropped out of the race in response to allegations of sexual misconduct from several women. Montreal police set up a phone hotline for people who have been raped or harassed to call. Radio and TV presenter was accused by 11 people of either sexually harassing them, or engaging in such conduct that they witnessed. He lost several endorsements and was suspended from most projects he was involved with. Humorist resigned from all his positions and tried to sell his company in the wake of several sexual misconduct allegations, including one from producer , a class action lawsuit from several women, and a sexual assault report filed with the police. A newly popular hashtag, (#AndNow or Now What?) has started spreading as the "second part" to to discuss what to do now that the magnitude of the problem with sexual misconduct in the workplace has been exposed. is represented by a yellow heart. It was unveiled on the show in January 2018, with the stated purpose of determining which attitudes related to society, politics, institutions, and media need to be changed to ensure equity between all people. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been a vocal advocate and supporter of the #MeToo movement. In a speech at the World Economic Forum in January 2018, Trudeau called for critical discussion on issues brought up by the #MeToo and Women's March movements and by Time's Up. Trudeau has also advocated and acted upon a high standard set for himself and members of his government. Trudeau stated that he holds a "zero tolerance for sexual assault, harassment or other forms of misconduct by his employees or caucus colleagues". As leader of the Liberal party, Trudeau initiated investigations on several members of parliament resulting in the dismissal of cabinet minister Kent Hehr, the resignation of MP Darshan Kang, and the suspension and later expulsion of MPs Scott Andrews and Massimo Pacetti. In an interview, Trudeau explained that the zero tolerance standard applied to himself as well and stated, "I've been very, very careful all my life to be thoughtful, to be respectful of people's space and people's headspace as well." However, an editorial written in August 2000 resurfaced during his premiership regarding an alleged incident where an author accused Trudeau of groping a reporter and in July 2018 Trudeau publicly rejected the accusations. The piece stated Trudeau provided a "day-late" apology to the reporter, saying, "If I had known you were reporting for a national paper, I never would have been so forward." On July 6 Trudeau stated there was no need to investigate the allegations against him. Chile In April–June 2018, female students marched around Chile and occupied universities to protest sexual harassment. Multiple actresses levelled accusations of Weinstein-like behavior at telenovela director Herval Abreu in April and film director Nicolás López in June; both men have denied any wrongdoing. China On Chinese social networks, hashtags #WoYeShi or #metoo are sometimes used to denote the #Metoo hashtag. Mi tu pronounced in Mandarin, meaning "rice bunny", is also used with a hashtag of #RiceBunny. In mainland China, the Chinese internet censorship service has slowed down the Chinese MeToo posts via censorship. So far, the #MeToo debate appears to be limited to universities. An article appearing on the state-run China Daily newspaper states that sexual misconduct is rare in China due to superior education and culture has caused considerable Internet outrages. A recent study from a pair of professors from City University of Hong Kong indicated that about 80% of working women in China have experienced sexual harassment at some point in their career, and there were strong reactions of anger online following the report. The article has since been taken down. Activist Feng Yuan points out that China does not have national laws prohibiting sexual harassment, and uses state media to encourage women to focus on family and stay home. New laws recently made it illegal for television programming to contain images of a women's cleavage, sexual acts outside of marriage, or any topics that present "Western lifestyles" in a positive light. #MeToo has received extreme governmental censorship online. Sophie Richardson, the Human Rights Watch director for China, stated the Chinese government regularly suppresses discussion of women's rights, for example an incident in 2015 where Li Tingting and four other activists were arrested when the government learned they planned to hand out stickers about preventing sexual harassment on public transportation. In Hong Kong, track and field athlete Vera Lui Lai-Yiu posted her case of sex abuse alongside #metoo on her Facebook fanpage on her 23rd birthday. She posted in response to a similar action by gymnast McKayla Maroney. Lui posted a picture of herself holding a piece of paper with the handwritten words "#metoo lly" (her initials). In January 2018, student Zheng Xi publicly started a campaign against sexual harassment in response to #MeToo. Dr. Luo Xixi, an academic, revealed being sexually assaulted by a professor at Beihang University when she was in her 20s. Luo gathered extensive evidence from many women, including recordings, and presented it to the institution. She waited until the professor was already suspended before going public with the story. Her post was viewed over 3 million times within 24 hours. She said that #metoo gave her the courage to speak up. She is currently living in the US. Zhou Xiaoxuan, a 25-year-old screenwriter in Beijing, stated that the China Central Television host and anchor Zhu Jun assaulted her in his dressing room while she was an intern of his in 2014. When she went to the police, she was urged her to drop her report, telling her that her parents, who both work for government institutions, could lose their jobs. So for years, Ms. Zhou kept what had happened a secret, only known by herself, her parents, and some close friends. That was until one day, where she saw a "#MeToo" post, and decided to share her own story. Her intentions were to share with her friends that this happens to people close to themselves, but instead her post was shared rapidly over the Chinese internet, until the Chinese government intervened and banned state-run media from covering the story. Zhou has sued Zhu, who has countersued. Yue Xin, an undergraduate of Peking University in Beijing, led a campaign to uncover information regarding the alleged assault and subsequent suicide of Gao Yan, a student who was allegedly assaulted by former professor Shang Yang. Peking University took measures to attempt to dissuade Yue from pursuing her investigation. Yue Xin would eventually participate in the Jasic Incident. On November 2, 2021, professional tennis player and former doubles world no. 1 Peng Shuai shared allegations of sexual assault against Zhang Gaoli, former Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China and a high-ranked official of the Chinese Communist Party cadre. Denmark In September 2020, a letter addressed to Sofie Linde, signed by 700 women, stated that she was not the only person being sexually harassed. Over the following months, debate eventually resulted in the Lord Mayor of Copenhagen, Frank Jensen, admitting that he had sexually harassed women over a span of about 30 years. He resigned one day later. The head of the Danish Social Liberal Party, Morten Østergaard, also resigned. Egypt The #MeToo movement in Egypt was instigated by the social media campaign of student Nadeen Ashraf, who was compelled to create the account "Assault Police" to enable women in Egypt to have a public platform to call out their abusers anonymously. Ethiopia Alyssa Milano specifically called for supporting the victims in Ethiopia in an interview with Rolling Stone. In Ethiopia, up to 40% of students may have experienced sexual violence. In November 2017, nine middle-school aged girls organized together and spoke out about an abusive teacher in their school, saying they got the idea from the "Me Too" movement. The teacher was dismissed and referred to law enforcement. UNICEF's Amanda Westfall said the teacher likely would have gotten away with it just a few years ago. France Variants of the phrase trended in France, especially (#DenounceYourPig), which encouraged users to share the names of their alleged abusers. was first used by Sandra Muller. She was requested to take down her tweet by two lawyers. In France, 93% of complaints against criminal sexual harassment are dropped or never followed up on by law enforcement. Prosecutions are extremely rare, and only 65 of 1,048 sexual harassment lawsuits from 2014 actually led to a conviction. In 40% of workplace sexual violence cases, the person who makes the complaint is reprimanded or fired, while the accused person is typically not investigated or punished. There is no French equivalent to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which gives victims a place to report workplace sexual violence if the employer and/or law enforcement refuses to address the complaint. Brigitte Macron, wife of French President Emmanuel Macron, expressed support for the #MeToo movement. Initially the hashtag went viral, but there was an almost immediate media backlash. Soon after, 100 high-profile French women, including actress , former actress and radio host , art critic and author , and German singer and actress Ingrid Caven, signed an open letter by which criticized the #MeToo / #BalanceTonPorc campaign. It was noted the letter is poorly edited with several typos and unclear or clumsy passages. The people who signed the letter, especially and , were criticized for saying men should have the "right to pester" women. The letter also told people not to be bothered by small amounts of sexual harassment, for example men who rub against women on public transportation. The letter states women should "consider it as the expression of a great sexual misery, or even as a nonevent". French politician said some aspects of the letter were "profoundly shocking" and "we have immense difficulty convincing young women that when a man rubs his genitals against a woman in the Métro without her consent, it is an act of sexual assault that can lead to three years in prison and a 75,000 euro fine." A week after its publication, issued a letter of clarification, and said although she still agrees with the spirit of the original letter, she wants to clarify that she does believe sexual harassment and assault are real problems, and apologized to all victims of unpleasant sexual acts who read the letter and felt hurt by it. Political commentator said the movement to prevent sexual misconduct at work is more accepted by younger women in France because they take sexual freedom as a given, while older feminists are afraid #MeToo may hurt the sexual revolution. Legal professional noted that when people are given "concrete examples" of sexual misconduct, they often "change their minds and acknowledge how harmful some situations can be". French politician said that the #MeToo movement will continue because French women have been silenced for too long. A petition aimed at President demanded sexual harassment to be taken more seriously in France, and received more than 100,000 signatures in three days. Singer Tom Connan said in an interview published by L'Obs that he had been the victim of sexual harassment and stated that men (not only women) were also affected by the problem. NousToutes In 2018, 30,000 women marched in Paris with the #NousToutes, dressing in purple. Tens of thousands of men and women demonstrated on November 23, 2019, in more than 30 cities. Ligue du LOL In February 2019, prominent male Parisian journalists were accused of forming a group called the "Ligue du LOL" that ran online harassment campaigns against feminists, female journalists, writers of color and gay people over a 10-year period. The group's founder, , was suspended by the daily newspaper Libération, whose own fact-checking unit broke the story. The NGO SOS Racisme called for a judicial investigation. Germany MeToo was not particularly popular in Germany until January 11, 2018, when it started trending after the weekly newspaper published reports about three German former actresses who alleged that award-winning TV director Dieter Wedel had committed sexual assault. There have been official concerns about the alleged long-time coverup of 's actions because most of his work was done through public broadcasting and received government money. The report detailed a months-long investigation into the three allegations, and included 50 interviews. has not responded to the allegations in , stating through a spokesperson he is in the hospital and having heart trouble. Another high-profile German case concerned the former president of the Munich Academy of Music, Siegfried Mauser. In a study of 2000 Germans conducted after the initial spread of #MeToo, it was found that 43% of women and 12% of men have experienced sexual harassment or abuse, most commonly inappropriate touching. Greece The MeToo movement took off in Greece when, in November 2020, Olympic sailing champion Sofia Bekatorou revealed publicly that she had been the victim of sexual assault by a senior Hellenic Sailing Federation (HSF) executive in 1998. The case's revelation led to a wave of solidarity among all the segments of the Greek society with the hashtag #MeTinSofia (#IAmWithSofia) becoming a hit and the country's political leadership, including Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, expressing their full support to her. The mounting pressure led to the resignation of the assailant from the HSF. The wave of #MeToo allegations rocked the country and spread from Sports sector to other segments of the Greek social life, including the Arts and Entertainment industry, and eventually inspired Zeta Douka and a number of other actresses and actors to come forward with their own stories of workplace bullying, sexual harassment and abuse, with reports surfacing about the involvement of high-profile people, such as actors George Kimoulis and Petros Filippidis, as well as the Greek National Theatre director Dimitris Lignadis, in violent incidents, sexual assaults and rapes. Following these revelations, Filippidis was removed from the TV shows he was starring, and Lignadis resigned from his position where he was hired by Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni under controversial circumstances which were the subject of a public debate and strong criticism against Mendoni. Lignadis was later arrested by the authorities on rape charges. Following the #MeToo wave, the Greek government proposed in February 2021 law changes designed to combat sexual abuse in the country. Iran In October 2018, in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a message stating the "disaster of countless sexual assaults on Western women – including incidents leading to #Metoo campaign" can be solved with the Islamic solution of hijab. In August 2020, a #Metoo movement gained momentum on social media in Iran. Most prominently, in a New York Times article by Farnaz Fassihi, published on October 20, 2020, thirteen women accused Aydin Aghdashloo, an internationally famous Iranian artist with ties to the Iranian regime, of repeated acts of sexual assault and abuse over many years. The wave of allegations against Aghdashloo began with a Twitter thread by former journalist Sara Omatali on August 22, 2020, and were corroborated by 45 people in research for the Times article. The article stated that, out of these 45 people interviewed, "nineteen described him as the 'Harvey Weinstein of Iran'." Aghdashloo responded by stating that "the allegations of sexual abuse against me are full of significant inaccuracies, mischaracterizations and fabrications." At the same time, discussion of the case of university art professor Keivan Emamverdi flooded Iranian Twitter accounts in 2020. He was accused by multiple female students of inviting them to his home, then drugging and raping them. After a number of former students leveled allegations against Emamverdi on social media — using fake names to remain anonymous — Tehran's police chief announced Emamverdi's arrest on August 25, 2020. The list grew to include more than 100 notable Iranians, including Mohsen Namjoo (singer), Ebrahim Soltani (Eastern Michigan University professor), and Bahman Jalali (photographer). India The use of the #MeToo hashtag on social media spread quickly in India, where sexual harassment is commonly referred to by the word 'eve-teasing', a term described as misleading, tame, and diluting the seriousness of the crime. In response to #MeToo, there have been attempts to teach Indian women about workplace rights and safe reporting, as well as educate men about the scope of the problem. Some have likened #MeToo to a 2012 social movement which followed a violent gang rape in New Delhi that later resulted in a woman's death, which caused the Indian government to institute harsher punishments for rape. Others have suggested there was underlying public anger over a Delhi rape conviction that was overturned by Judge Ashutosh Kumar a month before against filmmaker and writer Mahmood Farooqui, ruling that a "feeble" no was not enough to revoke consent because it was typical for one partner to be less willing. The case is being appealed to the Supreme Court. Activist Jasmeen Patheja, head of Blank Noise, stated #MeToo's power is in demonstrating India can no longer ignore the scope of the problem. Kaimini Jaiswal, a lawyer at the Supreme Court of India, stressed the importance of teaching women how to read, especially in rural villages, because most women in these areas are illiterate and financially and emotionally dependent on a male relative. Blogger Sheena Dabholkar's viral #MeToo tweet resulted in the boycott of Khodu Irani's popular Pune pub, High Spirits, by several well-known performers. Several women mentioned Mahesh Murthy, which initiated a police case in January 2018. The Trends Desk of The Indian Express wrote many Indian men are speaking up as a part of #MeToo, including discussions about consent and how some men are also abused. Rina Chandran of Reuters said that #MeToo is ignoring the 600,000 women in India who are currently involuntary sex workers, and are typically poor, uneducated or lack a family. There were reports of mass sexual assaults during the 2018 new year's celebrations in Bangalore, which have been associated with #MeToo. The incidents were initially dismissed by the police until someone uploaded CCTV footage of the assaults to social media. Home Minister G. Parameshwara, Abu Azmi, and other officials came under fire for stating "western" women's clothing and values were the cause of the rapes and that women's families should not allow them to go to parties or major celebrations. Several lists of alleged rapists and harassers started spreading on social media in India, including "The List" which initially included the names of about sixty highly respected academic men. The List of Sexual Harassers in Academia ("LoSHA") was posted on October 24, 2017, by activist Inji Pennu and an Indian student in California named Raya Sarkar, . This list has resulted in criticism against #MeToo because the allegations were unverified before they started spreading on social media. Some of the victims from the list have come forward to explain they were ignored, mistreated or retaliated against when they tried to pursue action. Sarkar has defended The List, saying that she posted it only to warn her friends about professors and academics to avoid (mostly upper caste men), and had no idea it could become so popular. A second list came out a week later that was made by women from a lower caste background and included more names, raising the total to around 70. Twelve prominent Indian feminists dismissed The List in a formal letter, saying they understand that the justice system is typically tilted against victims, but unverified claims make things harder for the feminist movement. Writers Rhea Dangwal and Namrata Gupta responded that most victims from the list were poor students who tried to go through official channels without success or recourse, while every single man on the list can defend himself socially and legally. On September 27, 2018, former actress Tanushree Dutta accused Nana Patekar of sexual harassment, which was the catalyst of the "Me Too" movement in India. The accusation by Dutta stirred a row of accusations from many women in industries including media and politics. In October 2018, the Minister of state for External Affairs, MJ Akbar was accused of sexual harassment by several female colleagues through the 'Me Too' Movement in India. On October 21, 2018, former music director Anu Malik was suspended from the jury panel of Indian Idol 2018, after facing multiple allegations of sexual harassment made through the movement. Israel In Israel, the Hebrew hashtag (#UsToo) began trending on October 18, 2017, with a front page spread in the newspaper . Asi Levi said at the Ophir Award ceremony that unlike America, in Israel the status of those accused does not change. A hashtag for men, #HowIWillChange, has also become popular. Palestine or (#MeToo) has also been used by Palestinian women from refugee camps. Italy In Italy, women posted stories of assault and harassment under the hashtag , which translates literally as "TheTimeThat". The phrase was launched by the journalist . Italian journalist wrote in The Washington Post that the initially popular movement quickly died out in Italy. She stated that Italian politician and former Prime Minister , who is known for his role in wild parties (Bunga Bunga bacchanals) with underage girls and prostitutes, has contributed to a strong sexist culture with few female politicians in positions of power. Movie directors and were accused of harassment by more than a dozen women but did not face any significant consequences or media scrutiny. The New York Times described the movement in Italy as "Meh" due to the lack of discussion. , the president of the lower house of Parliament, has declared that the movement cannot touch Italy because although there is much harassment, victims are often silenced and there's also a belief that "in our country, there are no harassers". It has been reported that nearly 70% of female university students have been sexually harassed, and it is widely accepted that Italy is behind other countries when it comes to gender rights. In response to , one article from was titled, "First they put out, then they whine and pretend to regret it." Italian , an employee and friend of Harvey Weinstein, was widely covered by the media after he was accused of allegations that he aided Weinstein in sexually harassing Italian actress and former model , though he denies all wrongdoing. said of Italy, "Nothing has changed", and described her life after going public with the allegations as living a nightmare. She has made plans to leave Italy. Conservative TV news editor criticized for being an accomplice to Weinstein for not reporting him immediately, and several other public figures and politicians questioned her innocence. The group (Not One Woman Less), which is dedicated to stopping violence against women, wrote a letter to support and organised a protest in November 2017 where tens of thousands of people gathered in Rome. Blogger (I Break Down Walls), journalist , (literally, Loose Bitches), and author also strongly supported publicly. Italian women's rights activist has stated that it is taken for granted that women must give or sell their body in order to get high-profile positions in politics, film, and media. , a politician who has created governmental initiatives aimed at teaching women it's okay to say no to sexual advances, has been targeted in the news and on social media for her support of the movement. She has been impersonated in several fake interviews where the actresses portray in unflattering ways. Photoshopped images of have been shared widely on social media, including a doctored image with her underwear showing during her swearing-in ceremony, which never occurred. , the chair of the Commission of Inquiry into Femicide in Italy, said that one woman is killed every two days on average by male violence, and the problem is severely under-reported, though she credited the hashtag and the work by with making a positive difference. Argento, herself, was accused of sexual misconduct in 2018 by actor Jimmy Bennett. Following this allegation, Argento was fired from her work on The X Factor Italy. Japan In Japan only around 4% of rapes are reported due to social stigmas against sexual assault survivors, of which half of the criminal charges are dropped by prosecutors. Many rape myths in Japanese culture typically hold women accountable for sexual assaults instead of the assaulter, creating an environment where even if victims come forward "Japanese society wants them to stay silent." Political Scientist Mari Miura argues that a lack of solidarity among women and the complicated, stigmatized and lengthy process of prosecuting rapists deters sexual assault survivors from speaking out. The word "rape" is taboo in Japan, instead described with less threatening words like saying an underage victim was "tricked," or a woman was "violated" thus contributing to a public lacking comprehensive understanding of the pervasiveness of the problem. The legal age of consent in Japan is 13. Women in Japan are regularly exposed to harassment from a young age; for example, on public transportation it is called chikan. Prior to 2017, laws regarding the treatment of sexual assault had remained unchanged since 1907. It previously failed to consider oral and anal rape as assault. Despite the definition of assault being expanded in 2017, rape is criminalized and prosecutable under law only if there is clear evidence of physical force and resistance being involved in the act. Multiple other authors and public figures have criticized what they saw as Japan's silence on the topic of sexual assault, such as Kyoko Nakajima, Mayumi Mori, Kirsten King, Akiko Kobayashi, Hakuo Au (née Haruka Ito). BuzzFeed Japan writer Takumi Harimaya has stated that by sharing these stories, other victims of sexual assault and harassment can know they are not alone. Another journalist, Keiko Kojima stated that the movement is necessary to let people know that it is okay to say no to sexual violence, including male victims. She further remarked that despite how it is attacked in Japanese media, that #MeToo is not an "anti-man" campaign and that it is simply about anti-violence and anti-harassment. Kojima also believes it is extremely important for men to call out behaviors in others such as sexual harassment or having sex with someone who is unconscious and that every person who is not committing sexual violence is part of the #MeToo movement, whether they are male or female. As part of the #MeToo movement, Shiori Itō went public alleging that she was raped by Noriyuki Yamaguchi, a prominent TV journalist and acquaintance of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, an admission she says was unthinkable for a woman to do in Japan. Yamaguchi rejects her accusations, and says that sex was consensual. She said her experience with Japan's legal system showed her that victims of sex crimes were undermined and ignored. She called for the Japanese parliament to update Japan's laws regarding rape, which were over a century old. She explains how she could not get information on which hospital provides rape kits without going through a preliminary interview in person. When she went to the police, she was discouraged from filing a report, and informed her career would be ruined for no reason if she did this. She was told she did not act like a victim, and had to be interviewed by several officers, including one who made her reenact the rape with a dummy while he took pictures. Although they initially said they would arrest Yamaguchi, the case and charges were unexpectedly dropped. Itō then went to the media, but no one would take her story. When she spoke about the experience at a press conference, she made national news and immediately started receiving a negative backlash, hate mail, and threats. She has been unsuccessful in her attempts to have criminal charges brought against Yamaguchi, but as of 2018 she was still pursuing a civil case against him, which he was defending. After reflecting on her experience with reporting sexual assault, Itō notes that there "is little concept of sexual consent in the law or in society" which indicates a need for more education in schools especially given the prevalence of rape culture and power imbalances in Japanese society. Itō further stated that the #MeToo Movement was small in Japan but that "what's happened in the United States and elsewhere has provided an opening in our media to discuss sexual harassment and assault here, and to raise awareness". In 2018, Junichi Fukuda, a deputy finance minister in the Abe Administration, resigned after being accused of sexual harassment by his former subordinates and an anonymous TV Asahi reporter. TV Asahi warned against their employee making this allegation and going public with the allegedly incriminating conversation between her and Fukuda. Fukuda was publicly defended by his boss, Finance Minister Aso Taro, who stated that Fukuda was unjustly reprimanded since sexual assault is not a punishable crime in Japan. Aso Taro retained his job despite commenting that replacing female reporters with men should stop sexual harassment. A former member of the Japanese idol group Niji no Conquistador pressed charges against Pixiv representative director, Hiroaki Nagata, for sexual harassment during her time with the group, motivated by the #MeToo movement. Nagata resigned following the lawsuit. As a result of the severe culture of victim blaming, the slogan #WeToo was developed in conjunction with #MeToo. The slogan was launched to spur more women to openly support the feminist agenda of revealing the prevalence of sexual harassment and showing solidarity with victims. By replacing "Me" with "We", the slogan allowed women to contribute to the movement without having to speak of their own experience with sexual harassment, which is associated with the risk of receiving stigma, shame, and ostracization. The slogan was developed by Monica Fukuhara, who had first hand experience in the difficulty women in Japan face in regards to the fear of speaking of their experience with sexual assault. Another manifestation of the MeToo movement in Japan was the following development of the KuToo campaign. Based on the Japanese word "kutsu" for shoes and the word for pain "kutsuu", the campaign was launched in response to the corporate norm that expects women at the workplace to always wear high heels. Similarly, women are pressured to wear high heels when job hunting, so as to raise the prospects of finding a competitive position in a corporation. Founded and supported by writer Yumi Ishikawa, the campaign gained enough support to result in a petition being sent to labour ministry officials. Specifically, KuToo aims to prompt officials to create anti-sexual harassment and discrimination laws that will prohibit companies from restricting women from wearing anything other than high heels at the workplace. Kenya When #MeToo first went viral in October 2017, coverage was overshadowed in Kenya by a presidential election that was occurring the next week. However, the #MeToo movement started slowly spreading in Kenya after the election was over. In January 2018, it became especially popular after several new mothers alleged sexual misconduct at Kenyatta National Hospital, claiming that after giving birth they have been sexually assaulted when they went alone to breastfeed. There were also allegations that children in the hospital have been sexually assaulted. The hospital announced that the women were all lying, but in the future, women should stay together in groups in the hospital to prevent sexual assault. In response, hundreds of people protested in the streets of Nairobi, Kenya, and an investigation was initiated by the health minister. Lithuania The independent cinema director Šarūnas Bartas and the politician Mykolas Majauskas galvanized Lithuania's first #MeToo cases in 2018. In neither case legal prosecution followed. Bartas continues to direct. Majauskas survived two impeachment attempts and remains in politics. In the latter case the media withheld the names of the alleged victims due to alleged intimidation and their fears of retaliation. Nepal Former Mayor of Kathmandu Keshav Sthapit has been accused of sexual harassment by two female office clerks of the Kathmandu Metropolitan Office, Rashmila Prajapati and Ujjwala Maharjan, as a part of the Me Too movement in Nepal. Nigeria Culture Nigerian women and children get sexually assaulted every day and do not speak up about it due to fear of stigmatisation and prejudice. Official silence seems to surround sexual abuse of women in Nigeria, with the police frequently not taking sexual abuse reports seriously. As a result, men, who are often the perpetrators of sexual abuse go unchallenged, and unpunished owing to factors such as culture and popular beliefs. The custom of victim blaming is evident in testimonies rape and sexual abuse survivors. Nigerian cultures look down on the open discussions of sexual matters and desires. A great deal of the pressure to remain silent stems from socio-cultural values, customs and expectations about what constitutes socially accepted behaviours. Cultural socialisation recognises men as having a naturally stronger sexual drive, and speaks of women in terms of shame, lack of interest in sexual matters and as one to be conquered by a domineering man. Nigerians are socially nurtured and fed by oppressive patriarchal subjectivities that try to instil a sense of what is normal: sexually-speaking. Role of power and privilege There is a factor of power influencing the slow growth of the movement in Nigeria. The country is a highly patriarchal society. Women have complained of how unimaginable it is in the country to report cases of harassment. Yet, sexual harassment is so prominent within the country that it is perceived as almost a right to men. Brenda Uphopho case She had been assaulted three times by three different men. The first incident took place at age five. At that time, she was too young to understand what happened until a similar incident occurred at age 18. She was at a party when a stranger forced her to have sex with him. Upon her refusal, he beat her up and raped her. Due to the stigma attached to being raped, she resorted to silence. The final experience took place at her workplace when her boss forcibly put his hand under her skirt. She still remained silent with the notion of not being believed and being judged by others. Realizing she could not remain silent and needing to make an impact, Uphopho currently works with her husband to break the "culture of silence" around abuse in Nigeria. They produced a play called Shattered which seeks to encourage victims of sexual abuse to speak up. Norway In Norway, under the hashtag #stilleforopptak (en. SilentforRecording), almost 600 actresses signed a petition and shared their stories through Aftenposten on November 16, 2017. This also inspired dancers and musicians to create their own petitions, #nårdansenstopper (en. WhentheDanceStops) signed by 792 dancers, and #nårmusikkenstilner (en. WhentheMusicQuiets) signed by over 1110 musicians. , the deputy leader of the Norwegian Labour Party and a former cabinet minister in Norway, resigned from his political positions on January 7, 2018, after being accused of an extensive pattern of sexual assault and sexual harassment of young women, and of taking advantage of his political positions to make unwanted sexual advances. The accusations came in the context of the Me Too debate and dominated Norwegian media for several weeks from December 2017. Accusations towards the now former leader of the Norwegian Young Conservatives, , also saw the light of day. In a Facebook post, wrote: "I have been confronted with the fact that members of the Norwegian Young Conservatives on several occasions have reacted to my behaviour." It would later be revealed that the Conservative Party had received 15 alerts, whereas 10 of them regarded . , Norwegian politician for the Progress Party and member of the , had to take a break from office after it was discovered that he had shared pornographic images with a 14-year-old member of the Progress Party's Youth and suggested a threesome between him, a 30-year-old woman and a 15-year-old member of the Progress Party's Youth. Pakistan Zainab rape-murder case After the rape and murder of 7-year-old Zainab Ansari in January 2018, a wave of declarations were posted on Pakistan social media in #MeToo style. Sexual assault against a minor in Pakistan will result in 14 to 20 years in prison and a fine of 1 millions rupees. Sheema Kermani, a classical dancer, has been called the leader of the Pakistan #MeToo movement. Former model Frieha Altaf and designer Maheem Khan shared stories of sexual abuse, and challenged Pakistan to be more proactive at stopping children from getting raped. Film industry Protests marked the premieres of Teefa in Trouble in Karachi and Lahore by activists who boycotted the film over the sexual harassment allegations leveled against Ali Zafar by Meesha Shafi, as well as at least half a dozen other women, earlier in the year. Zafar categorically denied the allegations and sued Shafi for defamation in the court where the case is ongoing. On the other hand, Shafi had also filed a harassment case against Zafar, which, itself, is an ongoing investigation. With hashtags such as #BoycottAliZafar, #BoycottTeefainTrouble, and #TeefaisTrouble, a huge wave of activists built a momentum on social media ahead of the movie's premiere and subsequent screenings. A few major Pakistani media outlets outright ignored the demonstrations but others had to give in when protestors turned up at cinemas and police and other law enforcement agencies got involved. Zafar reportedly also had to avoid his grand arrival at the film's Karachi premiere and take a detour through the basement at Nueplex Cinemas in DHA, Karachi, to avoid the hoard of demonstrators who had gathered at the venue's main entrance. During the protest, Feroze Khan, an actor and Zafar's friend, returned from inside the cinema in an attempt to sway the protestors by telling them to support "Pakistani cinema"; however, he was turned away owing to his stance, to which he responded by making obscene gestures. Reports had also emerged that the Nueplex Cinemas’ security manhandled some of the demonstrators and verbally abused multiple people at the protest. Protestors again showed up at Lahore's CineStar to voice their anger and disappointment at both the promotion of the film of an alleged harasser and the celebrities pouring in to support him. The controversy deepened when, in one instance, the demonstrators asked Waleed Zaman, the creative director of women's clothing brand Kayseria, the reason he was backing the film, to which Zaman responded by saying: "We support sexual harassment of women." Zaman later posted and deleted multiple apologies on his social media accounts. At yet another screening of the film at Nueplex Cinemas at Rashid Minhas Road, Karachi, protestors were allegedly held in the basement and beaten by the cinema's private security, with various media reports confirming the incident. The demonstrators’ phones were also confiscated and the cinema's security allegedly tried to plant incriminating evidence in one of the protestors' bags to make their case appear stronger to police. However, they were let go later after the arrival of Rangers personnel. Stand-up comedy At least four women leveled allegations of sexual misconduct against Junaid Akram, a prominent stand-up comedian and vlogger. Most of the accusers were girls in their teens and early twenties. Akram, too, denied "all allegations of sexual harassment and sexual misconduct", labeled them "false", and announced that he intended to pursue legal actions as he had "already met my legal team". Akram also clarified that his "marital status is public information". Charity sector The son of world-renowned late philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi, Faisal Edhi, who now heads the Edhi Foundation, was also accused of sexual misconduct by a former journalist, who said the man "grabbed my hand tightly and tried to kind of pull me back into the van". Faisal Edhi has denied the claims. Philippines The Me Too movement has slowly picked up in the Philippines. In the culture of the Philippines, shaming and victim blaming are still present and is often encouraged. They are afraid to say #MeToo because people do not believe them. Stories finally were heard from after actress Saab Magalona retweeted Alyssa Milano's infamous quote. The accusations revolved around the entertainment industry as one of the bands, Jensen and The Flips was being brought up and they acknowledged their mistakes and apologized for their misconduct. Statistics from the Philippine Commission on Women from 2004 to 2013 revealed that only 629 cases had been recorded with the Philippine national police's Women and Children Protection Center. This figure is believed to only be a fraction of the actual number of harassment offenses committed against women. While the movement has not been as big as in the U.S., other movements such as #BabaeAko have started as a result of #MeToo. #BabaeAko translates to "I am a Woman" and began in May after President Rodrigo Duterte declared that the next Chief Justice of Philippines could not be a woman. Serbia Inspired by the women of the global MeToo movement, Marija Lukić has stood up against Milutin Jeličić, her boss and the Mayor of Brus, a small town in central Serbia and taken her accusations to court. She and several other women from Brus have accused Mayor of sexual harassment and disturbing messages. Lukić faced threats and pressure, but she also received scores of support messages flooding in on social media with the hashtag #PravdaZaMarijuLukić (#JusticeForMarijaLukić). These events were one of the triggers for the anti-government protests, which forced Jeličić to resign from office and his duties in the governing Serbian Progressive Party were suspended. Lukić stated that she no longer believes in Serbian justice, but she is determined to fight for her rights at the European Court of Human Rights. On July 10, 2020, Mutin Jeličić received a three-month prison sentence. In January 2021, Serbian actress Milena Radulović (sr) accused Miroslav "Mika" Aleksić (sr) of raping her, when he was her mentor at the Stvar Srca acting studio, as published in an interview by Blic. He was later arrested due to allegations from four other women of sexual abuse between 2008 and 2020. During this time, the hashtag #NisiSama (#YouAreNotAlone) gained popularity. In March 2021, Serbian actress Danijela Štajnfeld named Branislav Lečić as her rapist from 2012 after previously making a documentary "Hold Me Right" about the sexual assault and its impact on survivors. A few days later another actress, Merima Isaković (sr) accused Lečić of raping her in 1978. In April 2021, the vice president of the Party of Freedom And Justice, Marinika Tepić, accused Dragan Marković-Palma and his partners for "prostitution of women and girls" in Jagodina. Tepić also revealed a video of the testimony of an anonymous man who is informed of the prostitution case. In the video he explained how everything was organized, who knew everything about cheating minors and which government members attended parties where prostitution was happening, claiming that all of this was happening in Hotel Končarevo whose "real owner" is Palma. The prosecutors announced that they would investigate the claims. In June 2021, five survivors (with over 20 more who didn't talk on the record) talked in Vreme about their assaulter "S" from Petnica Science Center, with the physical and mental assaults dating back to 2003. A few days later, in "S's" (Branislav Savić) flat the police found boxes of photos of underage girls. South Korea In South Korea, the Me Too movement started to gain momentum as public prosecutor Seo Ji-hyeon shared her experience of assault by a high-level prosecutor and oppression of government authorities on national television on January 29, 2018. As part of her interview, Seo claimed that she was sexually assaulted by then Korean Ministry of Justice Policy Planning Director and former prosecutor Ahn Tae-geun at a funeral in 2010. She reported the activity to her superiors, however, her superiors covered up the incident and demoted her to Changwon Public Prosecutor's Office from her post in Seoul, in spite of the fact that she was highly praised and awarded for her work performance by her superiors prior to the incident. After Seo's public admittance of sexual assault, the Me Too movement spread quickly to other areas of society. On February 13, 2018, several women, including former actress Kim Soo-hee and actress Hong Seon-joo, accused Lee Yountaek, a prominent and critically acclaimed stage director, of sexual harassment. Lee allegedly forced many women in his theater troupe, for 18 years, to massage his genital area prior to raping them. In addition, Kim Soo-hee stated that in 2005, Lee raped her and got her pregnant, for which she had an abortion. Moreover, actress Hong Seon-joo alleged that Lee forcibly penetrated her private part with sticks and wooden chopsticks, saying it will help her vocalization. As a result, Lee resigned from all his positions in the theater world and formally apologized to the victims. Lee admitted to all his crimes except the abortion. However, discussion on sexual assault and harassment preceded the MeToo with a series of hashtags under the scope of #000_nae_seongpongnyeok (#sexual_violence_in_000) with particular attention in the arts and culture #yeonghwagye_nae_seongpongnyeok (#sexual_violence_in_the_film_industry). These hashtags were used on Twitter in October 2016, a year before the MeToo movement in the West. They document a work culture that encourages men to act aggressively, and women to "defeminize" in order to avoid objectification. Anonymous accounts set up to document sexual assault and harassment received legal action, and or had personal information leaked (doxing). In addition to the trauma of sexual assault, they must also face the financial, psychological and social burden of litigation. On February 22, 2018, actor Oh Dal-su was accused of sexual harassment, for which he denied the accusation. However, February 26, further accusations against Oh were broadcast on JTBC Newsroom, during which an interview was conducted with the woman who had accused Oh of sexual harassment and sexual assault. Moreover, on February 27's episode of JTBC's Newsroom, actress Uhm Ji-young came forward to say that she was also sexually harassed by Oh in 2003. As a result, Oh pulled out of his upcoming TV series My Mister. However, all charges against Oh were dismissed following a police investigation. Also on February 22, 2018, students in Cheongju University in Korea divulged the long-time crimes of professor and actor, Jo Min-ki. At first, he denied his crimes and dismissed them as rumors. However, as many other students, including fellow male students accusing him of such exploitation, he admitted to the allegations and apologized publicly. It was confirmed that Jo would be investigated by the police. On March 9, 2018, Jo committed suicide following his scandal, which triggered backlash against the Me Too movement in South Korea. On February 23, 2018, actress Choi Yul accused actor Cho Jae-hyun of assaulting her sexually. On February 24, Cho acknowledged the accusations. On February 28, 2018, Ko Un, one of South Korea's most iconic and prominent poets and frequently mentioned Nobel laureate shortlist candidate, was also accused of sexual assault. First reported by the Dong-A Ilbo, poet Choi Young-mi's poem 'The Beast' suggests sexual assault by Ko approximately 20 years ago. The poem did not explicitly mention Ko, but the details of the frequently mentioned "En", which bears similarities to Ko's name – Ko Un – highly matches the accused poet's past. It also confirms the constant rumors and allegations that have been circulating in the past years that Ko has been using his privilege as a prominent poet to gain sexual advances and favors. As a result, Ko was pulled from textbooks and critically denounced by fellow literaries alike. Ko also resigned from various posts that he held, including his professorship at KAIST. On March 2, 2018, Ko offered his statement to The Guardian through UK publishers Bloodaxe Books, writing that "he had ‘done nothing which might bring shame on my wife or myself." Despite the denial, more allegations are emerging against Ko. As more public figures are denounced across society, there has been an increased number of celebrities accused of unwanted sexual advances and activities in the Korean television and cinematic industries, including Choi Il-hwa and Kim Heung-gook. On March 5, 2018, prominent Democratic Party of Korea presidential contender and former Chungcheongnam-do province Governor Ahn Hee-jung resigned from the governorship and announced his retirement from public service, as his former secretary Kim Ji-eun accused him of multiple cases of sexual assault. She claims that Ahn assaulted her multiple times and said that there is more than one victim inside the Governor's office. Ahn admitted about his sexual activity to his former secretary and apologized, however claimed that it was consensual. He was expelled from his party on the same day. A female executive of Hyundai resigned due to the movement. In response to the support of the MeToo movement, Citizen's Action to Support the MeToo Movement was created in early 2018. It is a network of groups that work together to organize events and mass protests to support victims of sexual assault and the enactment of legal and societal reform in regards to the issue. Citizen's Action is responsible for various large scale protests and public speaking events. Spain The Spanish-language counterpart is . On October 25, 2017, several Spanish actresses recognized in a report the existence of sexual harassment in Spanish cinema, among them , , , and . Also explaining cases of harassment suffered by them were the actress, scriptwriter and film director and . The Me Too movement found an echo in the ongoing uproar raised by the La Manada sexual abuse case, resulting in numerous protests across the country. Sweden In Sweden, several women used the hashtag to confront television presenter 's, whose shows on TV4 were cancelled on October 20, 2017, and journalist 's, who later got fired in his role as lead columnist at Aftonbladet, alleged abuse towards them. Carl XVI Gustaf, king of Sweden, said #MeToo is a positive movement that is good for society, and urged victims to come forward and share their stories. A major part of the Me Too debate in Sweden focused on the affair surrounding Jean-Claude Arnault that led to several members of the Swedish Academy leaving their positions and Arnault getting sentenced to prison for two sexual assaults. Gender studies scholar and legal scholar wrote that the Swedish journalistic profession bore a large part of the blame in Sweden for the problems the Me Too debate had highlighted because Swedish journalists had systematically attacked critical discussion of and research on men's violence against women for over 20 years. Ellinor Skagegård in the Swedish newspaper wrote that during the Me Too campaign, it looks as if Lundgren was right in her research on men's violence against women. The Me Too movement in Sweden resulted in the resolution of structural problems by the form of action plans and educational events organized around the country. Some results that came from this include the government increasing funding for women's shelters, training for professionals on issues about sexual violence, increased tendency to report domestic violence, and inclusion of sex education in schools. On October 21, 2017, the Nordic Museum launched an online collection specifically for Me Too. This launch came a day before demonstrations took place around the country and was created to collect stories from Swedish citizens on their experiences. They could choose to publish their stories publicly and also to be submitted to the archives for further research. Images were also accepted but the museum chose to un-publish stories that appeared too personal. More than 170 stories were collected of which 66 were made public. Tunisia Tunisia's #EnaZeda movement (en: #MeToo) began when politician Zouheir Makhlouf was seen allegedly masturbating in a vehicle, whilst following a schoolgirl home. A Facebook group was set up in response to the purported incident, which has over 21,000 members. Najma Kousri, one of the co-founders of the movement, praised the energy from social media as it has gathered huge amounts of testimony and provided support for survivors of sexual violence. Turkey Following the murder of a university student named Pınar Gültekin by her boyfriend in July 2020, many celebrities and members of the public condemned domestic and sexual violence against women. A global Instagram hashtag campaign called #ChallengeAccepted was relaunched by a group of Turkish women in wake of her murder and many came out in support for the initiative worldwide. In December 2020, novelist Hasan Ali Toptaş was accused of sexual misconduct by 20 women. Inspired by the Me Too movement, many women later expressed solidarity with the victims. The publication house responsible for publishing his works cut all ties with him, and the city of Mersin revoked the Literature Award that had been given to him. United Kingdom In the wake of #MeToo, a Labour activist shared her 2011 story of being raped by a senior person in the Labour Party, but being warned that her career could be damaged if she reported the incident. In the UK, the Cabinet Office has launched an investigation in allegations that Parliament member Mark Garnier ordered a secretary to buy sex toys for his wife and mistress. A series of allegations concerning the involvement of British politicians in cases of sexual harassment and assault arose in October and November 2017, the 2017 Westminster sexual scandals. Allegations were prompted by discussions among junior staff employed in the UK Parliament at Westminster following the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations in Hollywood earlier in October, and the subsequent rise of Me Too. The journalists Jane Merrick and Kate Maltby made allegations against the Defence Minister Michael Fallon and de facto Deputy Prime Minister Damian Green, respectively. These led to the departures of both from Theresa May's cabinet, the latter after a two-month inquiry that also considered allegations that Green had lied about copious amounts of pornography found on his parliamentary computer. Both Merrick and Maltby cited the #MeToo movement as inspiring their allegations. Rape statistics (2016–2017) from Rape Crisis Centers across England and Wales unfolds that every year, about 85,000 women and 12,000 men become victims of rape. In January 2018, Channel 4 News's Cathy Newman conducted an interview on Canadian professor of psychology Jordan Peterson. Newman was criticized for the interview and Rachael Revesz of The Independent wrote that subsequent abuse targeted at Newman was a symbol of a backlash against the MeToo movement. In the UK, British celebrities such as Emma Watson, Jodie Whittaker, and Keira Knightley came together and donated one million euros to give to sexually harassed victims. Venezuela In April 2021, after Venezuelan vocalist and member of the band Los Colores Alejandro Sojo was denounced for sexual abuse, several allegations of abuse, including against minors, were made public against musicians and artists in Venezuela. The hashtag #YoSíTeCreo (#IBelieveYou) started trending in social media. On April 28, the Venezuelan Public Ministry opened an investigation against Alejandro Sojo; the drummer of the band Tomates Fritos, Tony Maestracci; and writer Willy Mckey after allegations were made against them. References Sexual abuse Feminist movements and ideologies MeToo movement

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances%20Fong

Frances Fong

Frances Fong (September 22, 1927 – October 24, 2012) was an American singer and actress whose performing career spanned over fifty years. Early life She was born Frances Chung in Honolulu, in what was then the Territory of Hawaii. Her parents, Francis Chung and Emma Leong Chung, were both born in Hawaii to immigrants from China. She had one older brother. Her father started as an electrician repairing appliances in a shop, and later became an executive of a lumber company. When the children were old enough for school, her mother worked as a packer in a pineapple cannery. English was Frances Chung's only language growing up. Frances Chung attended Kalihi-weana Elementary, Kalakaua Junior High, and Roosevelt High School. At Roosevelt she was active in student government, volunteered in the school library, and was a member of the A Cappella Choir and Swim Club. She also belonged to the school's Allied Youth Organization, for which she was vice-president. During high school Frances Chung took part in USO entertainments in Hawaii, and performed in a continuing community variety show called "The Gay Nineties". After graduating from Roosevelt High School in June 1945, she attended Long Beach City College (LBCC) on the mainland, studying Dramatics. MGM contract After just a few weeks at LBCC, Frances Chung was in a show for war workers at Douglas Aircraft Corporation. Francis Lederer spotted her and brought her to the attention of MGM scouts, who had her tested for a part in Holiday in Mexico. She got the part and a contract, though her performance wound up on the cutting room floor. She continued to use Frances Chung as billing for all movies she made while under contract to MGM from 1945 thru 1948, despite having been married in May 1946. She was first loaned to 20th Century for an uncredited bit in Anna and the King of Siam. She was then loaned to Universal for a thirteen part serial, Lost City of the Jungle, her first credited part. Back at MGM in 1947, she was in Dark Delusion (sometimes mistakenly cited as Dark Illusion). For 1948 she was loaned out again, to Paramount for Saigon. Her final film in 1948 may have been done after her MGM contract finished, an independent production titled Women in the Night. A mildly lurid melodrama, it did provide her with screen credit and newspaper publicity. Film, TV, and singing Following 1948 she had no film roles for seven years. She joined a twelve-piece band called "The Cathayans", doing lead vocals for engagements at the St. Francis Hotel and other San Francisco venues. During winter 1953-54 she entered a contest for Miss Chinese New Year Festival, the winner to be determined by which contestant sold the most festival entry tickets. Though not a beauty contest, a photo of her and two other contestants was widely circulated among newspapers around the country. The publicity led to Frances Fong (as she now billed herself) obtaining parts in at least four episodes of The New Adventures of China Smith during 1954. Her first television work, this series set in Singapore and nearby locales used her in different roles rather than as a recurring character. This led to her next film, Soldier of Fortune, a Hong Kong-based story starring Clark Gable. She didn't receive screen credit, but was mentioned favorably in newspaper reviews. She had another uncredited role in Hell on Frisco Bay (working title The Darkest Hour) which was filmed in April and May 1955, but not released until 1956. Fong had another uncredited bit part in Around the World in 80 Days, plus appearances on television series Navy Log and Cavalcade of America during 1956. Nightclub work During 1956 Fong created a nightclub act that played for nineteen months at the New Frontier and seven months at the Thunderbird. The act was built around her singing, with some sultry dance routines and jokes added. She was top billed at San Francisco's Forbidden City during the last quarter of 1958, with local columnists noting whenever she temporarily left to film a show in Hollywood. Fong herself described her routine to an interviewer: "I wear sleek gowns, sing sexy songs. The women don't like it, but the men do." An example of her repartee between the songs and dances: "All I ever meet are Cads driving Jags". For all her engagements, Fong's contract allowed her time off for television work. Her nightclub wardrobe enhanced her value for television roles in which she played an entertainer. While still at Forbidden City she started working for Warner Brothers Television, doing episodes of 77 Sunset Strip and Lawman. For the former, she was required to speak Chinese over the phone. Since she didn't know the language she started taking lessons, to which fact publicity agents tipped reporters. TV work 1959-1961 By January 1959 Fong had quit nightclub work in favor of television. For the next three years she had parts in a dozen different TV series, some of them for multiple episodes. She had been cast for recurring roles in two series, Shark Street and Brady, but after filming the pilot episodes both shows remained unsold. Some of the shows she did appear in such as Peter Gunn, Hawaiian Eye, Bachelor Father, and Perry Mason were quite popular, so that she felt it worthwhile to purchase a modest second home in Van Nuys instead of commuting from San Francisco and staying in hotels. However, she also did a number of short-lived and single season shows: Yancy Derringer, 21 Beacon Street, Johnny Midnight, The Case of the Dangerous Robin, and Mr. Garlund which only lasted seven episodes. With no series regular or recurring roles on the horizon, Fong decided to take a chance on performing live again, this time in theatre. Pajama Tops From June 1962 Fong was involved with a touring company production of the French farce Pajama Tops. So far as is known, this was her only appearance on the stage. The play, adapted from Moumou by Jean de Létraz, had been running steadily for five years in small Los Angeles theaters with an ever-changing cast. Producers Stan Seiden and Zev Buffman decided to take it on tour, beginning with the Moore Theatre in Seattle. That city was then hosting the World's Fair, ensuring large visiting crowds. The action centered around three "couples" at a Deauville country house, with a diminutive police inspector as odd man out. The touring company cast was small, just seven actors, with John Agar and June Wilkinson as the stars. Fong, as the ambitious maid "Claudine", Cliff Halle, Leslie Vallen, Brad Logan, and Don McArt completed the cast, while Richard Vath directed the action. The broad comedy included many intentional prop mishaps and stage miscues, delighting audiences and appalling critics. After nine SRO weeks in Seattle, the company moved to Miami's Coconut Grove Playhouse, where it set performance records with another nine week run. From there it went to Pittsburgh's Nixon Theatre, then to Kingston, Jamaica, St. Louis, Kansas City, Baltimore, and other cities for two and three week runs. The year-long tour playing what was essentially a burlesque given a veneer of stage legitimacy took its toll on the players. Director Richard Vath had to take over Agar's part and James Winslow replaced Logan as the butler "Jacques". Fong and Wilkinson had reportedly stopped speaking to each other off-stage. Finally, in a reversal of the usual process, the comedy went to Broadway in late May 1963, where it had 4 previews and 52 performances at the Winter Garden Theatre. Towards the end of the run, Wilkinson deliberately upstaged Fong during the latter's big scene, causing a backstage brawl that left the stage manager, who unwisely tried to intervene, with a sore jaw. Pajama Tops had occupied over a year of Fong's career and given her the cachet of a Broadway production, albeit one that a critic said "may set the theater back a few millenium". It had also taken her away from Hollywood and television; her last two TV episodes had been filmed in 1961 and it would be 1965 before she returned to the small screen. Later career Fong returned to television in 1965, doing two or three series episodes or TV movies each year up to 1982, when her small screen work became much more intermittant. She was now a character actor rather than a leading lady. She had a small part in the John Wayne film Hellfighters during 1968. She was credited with doing three movies in the 1970s and 1980s, Golden Needles, Dragon Force, and Bruce Lee's Dragons Fight Back that may actually have been performed by a much younger Hong Kong based actress with the same name. This may also have been the case with a 1990 episode of a Hong Kong made British television series Yellowthread Street. Her last film was a bit part in 1998 for Rush Hour, while her last television work was a year later for Martial Law. Fong died on October 24, 2012; the place and cause of death are not public knowledge. Personal life Growing up in Honolulu, Frances Chung was known as a strong swimmer and body surfer. She also liked fishing and sea diving, both of which she was taught by her father. She was fond of Russian cuisine and became adept at cooking it. She took part in a charity auto race and rally along with other celebrities in 1962. When Frances Chung was first signed to an MGM contract in 1945, she met actor Leslie Fong, who had just appeared in Tokyo Rose. They were married May 18, 1946 in San Francisco, where Fong's family owned a men's clothing store. The couple had two sons, both of whom went into acting: Leslie Howard Fong Jr and Brian Fong (Chase). While married to Leslie Fong, Frances Chung continued to use her birth name for professional credits. The couple divorced after the birth of their second son. Frances Chung then met and married George Kim Fong, a CPA and USAAF veteran from Oakland, California. They had one son together and maintained a primary residence in San Francisco. It was only after this second marriage that she switched to using "Frances Fong" for professional billing. George and Frances Fong shared an interest in Chinese ceramics; they donated their large collection to the Berkeley Art Museum in 1996. Filmography Notes References 1927 births 2012 deaths American television actresses 20th-century American actresses

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhojpur%20Uprising

Bhojpur Uprising

Bhojpur uprising was an armed Maoist communist peasant revolt in 1975 in the Bhojpur block of Bhojpur District in Bihar, India. It was mainly led by second general secretary of CPIML Subrata Dutta. The armed struggle became an inspiration to the naxalite movement which rapidly spread in all over Bihar. Origin In 1973, the original Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) split, with one group led by Sharma and another by Mahadev Mukherjee. Vinod Mishra initially belonged to Mukherjee's party, but he and the Burdwan Regional Committee broke with Mukherjee in September 1973. Mishra sought contact with the Sharma group, but the Burdwan Regional Committee was later divided and Mishra denounced the political line of Sharma (a critique, which amongst other things, called for the formation of open mass organizations, a move that almost constituted a heresy in the CPIML ). In 1974, Mishra came into contact with Subrata Dutta (Jauhar), a leader of armed struggle in the plain areas of Bihar. On 28 July 1974 (the second death anniversary of Charu Majumdar) a new party Central Committee was formed with Subrata Dutta as General Secretary, Vinod Mishra and Swadesh Bhattacharya as founder party members. The reorganized party became known as the 'anti-Lin Biao' group became known as CPIML Liberation. After the promotion as general secretary, Subrata Dutta launch Bhojpur Peasants Movement.<ref name="lib" Decline By 1974, activities of the Lal Sena increased along with there increasing actions. The government sent 4,000 police and 800 CRPF to tackle the uprising. By January 1975, 120 CRPF were killed. But the uprising soon met a rapid decline. The major cause of decline the uprising because death of leading figures of the movement like Subrata Dutta, Doctor Nirmal and Satyendra Yadav. References Communist rebellions Land rights movements Naxalite–Maoist insurgency Peasant revolts Political uprisings in India Rebellions in India Riots and civil disorder in India

69976509

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald%20Matticks

Gerald Matticks

Gerald Matticks (born 4 July 1940) is a Canadian gangster and the long-time leader of the West End Gang of Montreal. Criminal career From rags to riches Matticks was born in Goose Village section of the Pointe-Saint-Charles district of Montreal, the youngest of 14 children in a very poor family of Irish immigrants. His father worked as a driver of a wagon for the city of Montreal while his mother was a housewife. Matticks was married at the age of 17 and had fathered four children by the time he was 21. By the 1960s, Matticks together with his brothers John, Fred, Robert and Richard were leaders of a gang whose forte was hijacking trucks. The Matticks brothers eventually joined the West End Gang led by Frank Ryan. In 1971, Matticks was charged with attempted murder of a Montreal dockworker who had complained to the police that he and his brothers were stealing from the Port of Montreal. At his trial, Matticks was acquitted when three witnesses gave him an alibi, saying they were drinking with him at a local pub. One of the men who gave Matticks an alibi, an officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, later joined the West End Gang. In 1977, Matticks was found by the police to have some stolen jewelry worth $5,000 in his house, but was acquitted when the Crown was unable to establish that he had stolen the jewelry. In 1981, Matticks was again acquitted of charges of hijacking a truck in 1973. Increasingly prosperous, Matticks became the owner of a trucking firm, a farm for cattle and a beef wholesaling company. Matticks left Montreal and purchased a rural estate outside La Praire consisting of nine buildings. In the South end of Montreal, Matticks became celebrated for dressing up as Santa Claus every Christmas to hand out free food to the poor. Matticks in particular was known for handing out frozen chickens and turkeys for Christmas and Thanksgiving, which he seemed to posses an endless supply of. A devout Catholic, his parish priest, Father Marc Mignault, has praised him for his generosity in supporting the Catholic Church, saying that Matticks had the leaking roof of his church repaired for free. Father Mignault argues that Matticks is a fundamentally decent and good man. A different picture of Matticks was presented by Commander André Bouchard, the head of Montreal police's Major Crimes Unit. Bouchard stated that starting in the 1980s: "People were literally sniffing it [cocaine] right there on the bar and on the tables, even on boards' bellies. I mean they weren't even hiding it in the toilets... So we said, 'Wait a minute, how the fuck is all this shit coming in?' And that's when the name Matticks kept popping up. We'd bust a [drug] dealer downtown and he'd give up a name. It was always Gerry Matticks and the West End Gang". In 1992, when Allen "The Weasel" Ross, the boss of the West End Gang, was convicted of drug charges in the United States and at that point, Matticks replaced him as leader of the gang. The West End Gang controls the Port of Montreal, making them into critical players in the Montreal underworld as the gang to a large extent controls the supply of illegal drugs imported into Canada. In 1990, Matticks was convicted of a 1988 hijacking of a truck, for which he served 24 weekends in row in prison for. L'Affaire Matticks In April 1994, a Norwegian container ship, the Thor 1, docked in Montreal. Acting on an anonymous phone tip, the Sûreté du Québec searched the Thor 1 and discovered some 26.5 tons of hashish hidden within the ship in the precise location where the anonymous caller said it would be found. On the basis of the drugs seized from the Thor 1, Matticks was charged with conspiracy to import drugs in May 1994. The case against Matticks collapsed in the courtroom in 1995 when Mattick's lawyers established that the Sûreté du Québec had planted evidence, most notably documents written in French that were found in Mattick's house. Matticks had never attended school, spoke English as his first language, was illiterate, and was quite incapable of writing anything in either French or English. The fall-out from the Thor 1 affair was a royal commission headed by Justice Lawrence Poitras which criticized the Sûreté du Québec for routinely engaging in unprofessional actions such as planting evidence, threatening witnesses, and perjury. According to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) informer Dany Kane, the anonymous caller was Hells Angels Montreal chapter president Maurice Boucher who had also bribed the Sûreté du Québec detectives to plant the evidence, as this would be a "win-win" for him. If Matticks was convicted, he would eliminate a potential rival or if Mattick's lawyers would expose the planted evidence, the resulting backlash would bring disgrace and discredit upon the Sûreté du Québec. The scandal, known as L'Affaire Matticks, did much damage to the reputation of the Sûreté du Québec. Operation Springtime As part of an investigation into the Hells Angels, the police observed Boucher meeting Matticks on 25 May 1999 at his office at Viandes 3–1, an office complex owned by Matticks. On 2 December 1999, Boucher was again observed meeting Matticks at Viandes 3–1. On 10 October 2000, Mattick's business partner, Louis Elias Lekkes, was observed by the police picking up two boxes full of money from the Hells Angels and taking it to Viandes 3–1, and from there to Mattick's estate. On 16 November 2000, Lekkes was observed taking a bag with some $500, 000 in cash from the Hells Angels to Matticks's estate. On 7 December 2000, Matticks and Lekkes were observed meeting with Normand Robitaille of the Hells Angels' Nomad chapter at an Italian restaurant. Robitaille handed over to Matticks a briefcase. The Hells Angels in their records referred to Matticks as "Beef 1" and Lekkes as "Beef 2". According to the police, in the year 2000 Matticks oversaw the importation of eight shipments of drugs into Montreal totaling some 44 093 tons of hashish and 265 kilos of cocaine with a total street value of some $2 billion. Matticks and Lekkes preferred to use walkie-talkies instead of cellular phones, and Matticks was constantly on his guard for phone bugs. On 28 March 2001, Matticks was arrested as part of Operation Springtime, a crackdown aimed at the Hells Angels, but which also embraced him. As part of Operation Springtime, the police seized the records of the Hells Angels, which showed that Matticks was one of their main suppliers of drugs. At the time of Operation Springtime, the Hells Angels owned Matticks some $7 million accordingly to the records seized by the police. In Mattick's office at Viandes 3–1, the police found a refrigerator with a note-tag reading "Mom" (Boucher's nickname) and "Guy" together with two phone numbers. One number was for the cell phone number for Guy LePage, a former policeman turned chauffer for Boucher while another was for a pager registered in LePage's name. In Mattick's house, the police found some $6,200 U.S dollars in cash and $41,000 Canadian dollars in cash. After the arrests, Lekkes turned Crown's evidence in exchange for a lesser sentence. Lekkes tried to commit suicide on 16 July 2001 and the next day as he recovered decided to turn Crown's evidence. According to Lekkes, the West End Gang controlled the port of Montreal, which Matticks used for drug smuggling, selling drugs to the Rizzuto family, the Hells Angels and the Rock Machine. Lekkes testified that he started working for Matticks in 1995 in his meat-processing plant. Soon after, Lekkes was involved in stealing a shipment of Tommy Hilfiger clothing from Asia for Matticks at the port of Montreal, and he was also became involved in stealing chickens intended for Europe. Having gained Mattick's trust, Lekkes testified that he was sent to Colombia to make contact with the Cali Cartel. Lekkes signed a statement for the Crown stating that Matticks, who controlled the longshoreman's union at the Port of Montreal, had made profits of $22 million from smuggling drugs into the city and had sold the Angels at least 700 kilos of cocaine in the last two years. Lekkes testified: "From different series of importations, we would take a percentage of the product. The first one was 33 percent. That is what we could charge to bring in merchandise for either ourselves or the people who owned it...We had different people we sold to. Namely one was Norm Robitaille. He was a Hells Angel". On 6 August 2001, Matticks pleaded guilty to the drug charges in exchange for a lesser sentence. Matticks was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Lekkes later testified at other trials in 2002 and 2003 that he regularly took cardboard boxes containing about $500,000 in cash from the Hells Angels as payments to the West End Gang and that the chicken which Matticks was so generous in donating to Catholic charities at Thanksgiving and Christmas times were stolen from container ships meant to export the chickens to grocery stores in Europe. Inspired by Lekkes's example, John McLean, one of Mattick's lieutenants, agreed to turn Crown's evidence and to testify against Matticks's son, Donald, in exchange for an 8-year prison sentence. Lekkes received a 7-year prison sentence with the promise that he would receive a new identity and police protection for the rest of his life when he was released, and as a result Donald Matticks pleaded guilty in 2002 rather than face extradition to the United States, where he was wanted on charges of smuggling cocaine. At his sentencing hearing, Gerald Mattrick's own lawyer admitted that his client controlled the port of Montreal and would demand a cut of anything illegal coming in. During his time in prison, Matticks became a friend of Danny Wolfe, the imprisoned leader of the Indian Posse gang. As Matticks was illiterate while Wolfe was literate, the latter wrote and read letters for the former. Wolfe in a letter to his brother Richard wrote "Running the fucking shit yet he couldn't read or write". Matticks served as a mentor for Wolfe, recounting his youth in a working-class Montreal neighborhood and recalled how the West End Gang fought off the attempts by the Mafia to take over the port of Montreal. In Montreal, Matticks is widely considered to be a folk hero, seen as the champion of the working class, and his conviction led to a campaign to have him released early. Books . References 1940 births Living people Canadian gangsters of Irish descent Canadian crime bosses 20th-century Canadian criminals Canadian male criminals Criminals from Montreal Organized crime in Montreal Anglophone Quebec people Quebec people of Irish descent Canadian drug traffickers Canadian people convicted of drug offences Canadian prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Canada

69977142

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Javed%20Iqbal%3A%20The%20Untold%20Story%20of%20A%20Serial%20Killer

Javed Iqbal: The Untold Story of A Serial Killer

Javed Iqbal is a 2022 Pakistani film, that is based on the life of the notorious Pakistani serial killer and sex offender, Javed Iqbal. The film is written and directed by Abu Aleeha and stars Yasir Hussain in the titular role.Ayesha Omar will be seen playing a police officer in this film. The film is produced by Javed Ahmed under K K films. The trailer of the film was released on 8 December 2021 with the film earlier scheduled to be released on 24 December 2021. However it was postponed until January 2022. The film was scheduled to release in the theatres on 28 January 2022 after a premiere in Karachi.. However was banned by the Punjab government and the Central Board of Film Censors before its release. Cast Ban The film was pulled out of theatres a day before its release, owing to the ban by the Punjab government and the Central Board of Film Censors. Pakistani celebrities such as Iqra Aziz, Ali Rehman Khan and Osman Khalid Butt came out in the support of the makers and protested against the ban. References External links 2022 films Pakistani films Pakistani action films Pakistani action thriller films

69977200

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryhill%20Burgh%20Halls

Maryhill Burgh Halls

Maryhill Burgh Halls is a local heritage site located in the Maryhill area of Glasgow, a few miles North-West of Glasgow city centre. Maryhill Burgh Halls was initially opened in 1878 as a municipal building complex, which served as a police station and fire station until the 1970s. The complex fell into disuse and disrepair especially towards the late 20th century, and plans for its demolishment were proposed. However, as a result of local campaigning, the decision was taken to restore the complex and for it to be used as a community resource. Repairs, selective demolition, restoration, and development work took place between 2008 and 2011. The halls re-opened in April 2012. Maryhill Burgh Halls is run by the Maryhill Burgh Halls Trust. The Maryhill Burgh Halls Trust was established in 2004 and is community led. Volunteers form a major and vital component of the Maryhill Burgh Halls Trust. Volunteers carry out a variety a roles within the Trust including the day to day running of the Maryhill Burgh Halls and forming a majority part of the Board of the Trust. The Maryhill Burgh Halls provides for the community office spaces, hall spaces to facilitate the hosting of events of various kinds, and a museum and exhibition space. The museum and exhibition space hosts artefacts and exhibitions relating to local heritage, local history, and other themes of interest. Various organisations operate from the Maryhill Burgh Halls including an architecture company, an accountancy firm, a local housing association, a children’s nursery, and the constituency office of the Member of Scottish Parliament for the area. When the halls initially opened, it contained twenty stained glass windows depicting individuals carrying out various trades and occupations that could be found practiced within the local area. The windows were produced by the studio of Adam and Small and were specially commissioned for the complex. Today, the halls has eleven of the original windows on display. The remainder are stored within the collections of Glasgow Museums. Along with the eleven original panels, another ten stained glass panels are on display that were produced by artists Alec Galloway and Margo Winning around 2015. Each of the ten panels depicts a different theme of modern Maryhill. The themes depicted were chosen from suggestions given by over two hundred members of the community. History of Maryhill Burgh Halls Maryhill Burgh Halls complex was opened in 1878 in response to the growing population of the Burgh of Maryhill and ensuing lawlessness. The complex’s architect was the Glasgow based Duncan McNaughton who was born in Rutherglen. The complex was designed in a revivalist French Renaissance style. The complex consisted of a police station, a court room, a fire station, a tenement which housed the firemen, and a public hall that could seat nine hundred people. The Burgh of Maryhill being subsumed by the City of Glasgow in 1891 resulted in the civic function of the complex being lost, however it continued to be utilized for social use. A swimming baths and washhouse was added to the complex in 1898. The police station and fire station remained in use up until the 1970s, however the complex fell into disuse and disrepair over the course of the remainder of the 20th century and plans for its demolition were proposed. Pressure from the local community led to the restoration of Maryhill Burgh Halls and it being purposed once again as a community resource. The Maryhill Burgh Halls now provides for the community office spaces, a museum and exhibition space, and halls that can be used for the hosting of events of various kinds. Restoration of Maryhill Burgh Halls In 2004 the Maryhill Burgh Halls Trust was set up in order to bring the complex back into use for the local community. In 2006 the Cities Growth Fund granted the Maryhill Burgh Halls Trust £1.1 million. This funding allowed the Trust to carry out various preliminary tasks pertaining the restoration of Maryhill Burgh Halls including the necessary design and planning application work. The restoration of Maryhill Burgh Halls took place between 2008 and 2011. Stonework and masonry repairs in order to secure the stability of the structure took place in 2008. Funding for the remaining restoration and development work was secured in Autumn 2009 after five years of campaigning by the Trust. A total of £9.2 million funding for the restoration and development of the halls was secured. In November 2009 transfer of ownership of the halls, the police station, and the fire station from Glasgow City Council to the Maryhill Burgh Halls Trust took place. The main restoration and development work on the parts of the complex under the stewardship of the Maryhill Burgh Hall Trust also started in November 2009. This work was completed in November 2011, and the halls re-opened in April 2012. The main funding sources for the restoration and development of Maryhill Burgh Halls are: Scottish Government City Growth Fund Phases 1 and 2, The Heritage Lottery Fund, Big Lottery (Growing Community Assets), The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), Glasgow City Council Better Glasgow Fund, Glasgow City Council Vacant and Derelict Land Fund, Scottish Government Town Centre Regeneration Fund, Historic Scotland, Scottish Government Wider Role Fund, and Robertson Trust. The baths remained under the ownership of Glasgow City Council. A separate project was undertaken by Glasgow City Council to convert the former baths into a modern leisure centre for the community of Maryhill. The leisure centre was opened in April 2010 and makes available a 25m swimming pool, sauna, gym, sports hall, dance studio, and other facilities for community use. Maryhill Burgh Halls Trust Maryhill Burgh Halls is owned and run by the Maryhill Burgh Halls Trust. The Maryhill Burgh Halls Trust was established in November 2004. It is a partnership between local residents, Cube and Maryhill Housing Associations, Glasgow City Council, Elected Members, and officers of local organisations. Members of the public can apply to join Maryhill Burgh Halls Trust. It currently has 180 members. Maryhill Burgh Halls Trust has a few waged members of staff and a number of volunteers who are involved in its day to day running. The Trust also sub-contracts a number of building management roles and office marketing. The Board of the Trust has fifteen members. The fifteen members include ten members of the public who are local residents or who work in the local area and have been or are active in Community Development Work in the area over a number of years. These ten members of the Board of the Trust are elected on to it by the members of Maryhill Burgh Halls Trust at the Annual General Meeting. The remainder of the Board consists of two co-opted individuals and experienced members of staff of Cube Housing Association, Maryhill Housing association, and Glasgow City Council. The Stained Glass Windows When Maryhill Burgh Halls first opened they contained twenty specially commissioned stained glass windows. These were removed from the halls in 1963 and were stored in the collection of Glasgow Museums. The panels were then restored through a process of cleaning, repairing, and reframing. Today, the Maryhill Burgh Halls has eleven of these panels on display along with ten specially commissioned glass panels that were produced around 2015. The Historic Stained Glass Windows The stained glass windows that were on display in the Maryhill Burgh Halls when it first opened were produced by the Glasgow studio Adam and Small. Adam and Small was founded by Stephen Adam, who was born in the vicinity of Edinburgh in 1847 and was of international renown in the field of stained-glass design and production. He had the author Robert Louis Stevenson as a school classmate and started as an apprentice of James Ballantine of Edinburgh. The panels depict ordinary people, dressed in their ordinary work clothing, carrying out various trades that could be found practiced in the Maryhill area during the period. This makes the panels unique, for at the time religion was the main theme depicted by stained glass artists. In other stained glass panels of the period where workers are depicted, they are usually depicted in classical, biblical, or medieval clothing, poses, and settings. The author Michael Donnelly writes that the commission for Maryhill Burgh Halls was ‘…one of the most important commissions…’ of Stephen Adam’s career. The author Ian R Mitchell describes the stained glass panels as of ‘world-historic’ importance for being ‘…one of the largest and most realistic collection of portraits of labour produced in two centuries.’ The titles of the glass panels in alphabetical order are: The Blacksmiths, The Boatbuilder, The Bricklayers, The Calico Printers, The Canal Boatman, The Chemical Workers, The Dye Press Worker, The Engineers, The Glassblower, The Iron Moulders, The Joiners, The Linen Bleachers, The Papermaker, The Railway Men, The Sawyer, The Soldiers, The Teacher, The Wheelwrights, and The Zinc Spelters. Due to a dearth of accounts or photographs of the historic glass panels as they were originally on display in the halls, it is currently unknown in what order they were initially displayed. Eleven of the historic stained glass windows are now on display in Maryhill Burgh Halls. Ten of them can be found mounted in the main hall, and The Canal Boatman is on display at the main entrance to the building. The Modern Stained Glass Windows In order to contribute to the lasting legacy of the Maryhill Burgh Halls restoration project, ten new stained glass windows were commissioned. The ten stained glass windows were produced by the Scottish artists Alec Galloway and Margo Winning. The themes for the modern stained glass windows were chosen to reflect themes of importance for the community of Maryhill today. The themes were chosen from suggestions gathered from over two hundred of members of the community. The suggestion were taken over a period of several months at a series of workshops, visits, and talks. The final themes chosen were: culture, diversity, education, heavy trades, regeneration, social heritage, space age, sport and leisure, workers, and youth. After approval of the final designs, each panel was built at Alec Galloway’s workshop in Greenock. The titles of the panels are: Art-Beat, Down Maryhill Road, Playing the Game, Global Village, Knowledge, Going Out, Burning Spirit, Made in Maryhill, Touching the Stars, and Yesterday and Today. It is claimed that due to the inclusion of an active QR code on the ‘Touching the Stars’ panel, this makes it the world’s first ‘interactive stained glass panel’. The Courtyard Entrance Gates The entrance to the Maryhill Leisure Centre and Maryhill Burgh Halls share a common courtyard. This courtyard used to be the site of the fire station. The fire station included a three storey tenement above four stone archways. The archways remain today and form the entrance to the courtyard. In order to connect its current use to what was there in the past, the well known Scottish sculptor Andy Scott (The Kelpies in Falkirk are amongst Andy Scott’s other creations) was commissioned to produce four metal gates to fill in the archways. The metal gates feature firemen in period uniforms along with period equipment and engines. Maryhill Museum Maryhill Burgh Halls Trust is committed to collecting and making accessible the history of the Burgh Halls and Maryhill area. For this purpose a permanent museum has been created inside the Halls. The museum is a place to share the Halls’ local history collection and offers opportunities for community displays. Locals are encouraged to share their memories of Maryhill as well as learn about the history of the area. Through this, the Burgh Halls hopes to advance local access to arts, heritage and culture, and engage with the local and wider community to safeguard and celebrate a shared history. Recent Exhibitions Fred’s War 2018 exhibition Fred’s War told the story of the 1st Cameronians who achieved notoriety for selling the Great War’s earliest front line photographs. Leaving from Maryhill Barracks, Fred Davidson, their 25-year-old medical officer (one of the first doctors to win the Military Cross) smuggled his camera to the front line in his medical bag. On display at the Burgh Halls was a WW I metal helmet, some medals, a nurse’s cap, field glasses, various maps, a wide selection of Fred’s photographs and a camera similar to that used by Fred. For this exhibition, some examples of the types of cameras which would have been used at the time were sourced. One of these was an Ansco 'Buster Brown' No.2 Box Camera which had a very old spool of medium format, 120 film inside waiting to be developed. The roll was partially developed and found to contain old pictures of Lincoln and nearby Boston in the USA. Some of the pictures were destroyed by light leakage. Partick Thistle Football Club: Then and Now Between 6th March 2019 and 27th September 2019 the museum hosted an exhibition pertaining to the history of Partick Thistle Football Club. Partick Thistle Football club was founded in 1876 and has been based in Maryhill since 1908. Their nickname is ‘The Jags’, and they are based in Firhill Stadium in Maryhill. A Flag for Maryhill A competition was launched on 31st August 2020 that involved inviting individuals, local community groups and local schools to create proposals for a community flag. Amongst the reasons for setting up this competition, named ‘A Flag for Maryhill’, was to bring the community together to reflect on Maryhill’s history and look to the future, and to create a symbol which would represent Maryhill’s pride as being a part of Glasgow with its own unique sense of character. The entries were submitted to an assessment panel which included representatives from the Flag Institute, the Lyon Court (a court of law that regulates heraldry in Scotland) and a special celebrity guest judge, Scottish actress, Jane McCarry. The panel narrowed the selection down to 5 top designs. From these 5 entries the public voted for their favourite design either by social media or in-person at the Burgh Halls. Voting opened on 5th July 2021 and closed 17th August 2021. The top designs were revealed on 4th July 2021 across the Burgh Halls’ social media accounts. The winning flag was revealed at a community event street party on 2nd October 2021 at 1pm. Children and parents could participate in various activities during the event including face painting, art & crafts, balloon sculpture, and card-making. The Way We Were Between the 1st of September 2020 and 18th of September 2020 the museum hosted an exhibition consisting of black and white photographs by the Glaswegian photographer Morton Gillespie. This exhibition depicted the social history of 1960’s Glasgow. Glasgow Photo Journey 1978 Between 12th of July 2021 and 26th of December 2021 the museum hosted an exhibition of black and white photographs by the Manchester based photographer Jos Treen. The exhibition consisted of a selection of photographs taken around the streets of Glasgow in 1978 by Jos Treen during the year in which he was living there. The collection of hundreds of photographs lay forgotten for forty years before they were rediscovered. A selection of the photographs were posted on his social media feeds previous to Jos’ exhibition in Maryhill Burgh Halls. Loving Earth Textile Panels Between 18th September 2021 and 15th November 2021 the museum hosted an exhibition consisting of a selection of textile panels produced by members of the public for The Loving Earth Project. The Loving Earth Project invited members of the public to submit 30 cm x 30 cm textile panels that depict themes pertaining to the effects of environmental degradation, contribution of one's own lifestyle to the degradation, and measures that can be taken to address it. The exhibition was timed to coincide with the weeks leading up to and including the COP26 climate conference that took place on Glasgow between 31st October 2021 and 13th November 2021. Jo Sunshine Art A selection of drawings by the visually impaired Glasgow based artist Jo Sunshine have been on display in the museum since Autumn 2021. Jo was left completely blind in her left eye and with a misty blur in her right eye since being involved in a car accident. Subsequently, she draws everything large and in bold colours. Glasgow Orchestral Society Since the 29th of November 2021, the museum has hosted an exhibition consisting of artefacts pertaining to the history of the Glasgow Orchestral Society. The Glasgow Orchestral Society was formed on the 29th of December 1870 (it was initially called the Glasgow Amateur Orchestral Society). They have used Maryhill Burgh Halls as a venue for their weekly rehearsals since October 2011. Maryhill Burgh Halls Café When the Maryhill Burgh Halls re-opened in 2012 it also opened a café on the premises. The café provided a number of seated tables and made available to its visitors various hot and cold food and drink for purchase. The café did not re-open when the halls were once again made open to the public after the first UK Covid-19 lockdown. There are plans to re-open the café in the spring of 2022. References Maryhill Buildings and structures in Glasgow Buildings and structures completed in 1878 Defunct fire stations 1878 establishments in Scotland French Renaissance Revival architecture Defunct police stations

69978172

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuri%20Kurilsky

Yuri Kurilsky

Yuri Kurilsky (Belarusian: Юрый Курыльскі; 1980 – 2007), known as The Monster with the Black Volga (Belarusian: Монстар з чорнай волгай) was a Belarusian serial killer who raped and killed three teenagers around the Vitebsk Region from 2004 to 2005. He was convicted, sentenced to death and subsequently executed for these crimes in 2007. Biography Little is known of Kurilsky's personal life. Born in Novopolotsk in 1980, by the time of the crimes he was married and worked as a operator at the Naftan Oil Refinery. While he was a respected citizen, locals noted that he was easily angered and very aggressive when provoked. From 2004 to 2005, Kurilsky would cruise around the Vitebsk Region in his black Volga and would pick up any victims he found suitable to satisfy his sexual demands. The first victim was a 23-year-old resident of Novopolotsk, whom, after he had sex with her, Kurilsky beat to death with a tire iron and then threw her body into the Usvyacha river. At first, this murder was considered an isolated incident, but almost a year later, two more bodies were pulled out of the river, bearing similar injuries to the first one. The first victim was determined to be a 16-year-old schoolgirl from Gvozdovo, who had been strangled, while the other was a prostitute from Polotsk whose throat had been cut. The latter murders were determined to have been committed only a month apart, but DNA determined that all three victims had had sexual intercourse with the same man. After interviewing witnesses, authorities determined that all three victims were seen entering into a Soviet-era black Volga, a vehicle which was uncommon for the area. This enabled them to check every vehicle matching the description, eventually leading them to Kurilsky. Upon inspecting his apartment and car, police found a knife with bloodstains from the one of the victims, as well as bloodstains from yet another in the back of his car. In the subsequent interrogations, he readily admitted his guilt, but was unable to provide an adequate explanation for why he carried out his murders. Allegedly, it was later written in the court verdict that the reason for his actions "suddenly arisen hostile relations". A psychiatric examination ruled that Kurilsky was sane, and legible to stand trial. During said trial, he again reiterated that he was guilty and asked for forgiveness from the victims' families. Subsequently, he was found guilty and sentenced to death. Upon hearing the verdict, Kurilsky simply smiled. After presumably refusing to appeal his conviction, Kurilsky was shot in the execution chamber of Pishchalauski Castle in Minsk in 2007, though the exact date remains unknown. See also List of serial killers by country References 1980 births 2008 deaths 21st-century criminals Male criminals Male serial killers Belarusian serial killers Belarusian murderers of children 21st-century executions by Belarus Executed serial killers People executed by Belarus Executed Belarusian people People executed for murder People from Vitebsk Region

69978360

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lai%20Minhua

Lai Minhua

Lai Minhua, Chinese: (January 1959 - 30 October 2015) was a police officer from Macau, who was Director General of Macau Customs Service. According to official sources, she died by suicide in 2015, however doubt has been cast over this verdict. Early life and education Lai was born in January 1959 in Macau, but her family originate from Guangdong. She graduated from Macau Security Force Higher School with a BA in Police Science and went on study for a MA in Public Administration from Sun Yat-sen University. Career Lai joined the Macau Public Security Police Force in April 1984. She moved to the Marine Police Inspection Team the following year as a second-class officer. In June 1986, she was promoted to Deputy Sheriff; in October 1990, she was promoted to Sheriff. She was appointed Deputy Superintendent of Police in January 1995, and then rose to the position of Chief Police Officer. In March 1999, she was appointed deputy director of the Marine Police Inspection Bureau and deputy director of Customs. At the time of her death, she was Director General of Macao Customs Service. Death On 30 October 2015, she was found dead in a public toilet next to a private housing estate in Taipa. According to the police, Lai had taken sleeping pills, had cuts on her right neck and wrists, and a plastic bag was placed on his head. The wounds on her body were consistent with self infliction, but the utility knife apparently used was found neatly stored in the deceased's handbag. Initially the possibility of suicide was ruled out, as no suicide note was found at the scene, and she was scheduled to go to Zhuhai that day to discuss anti-smuggling work with the local police. Later, the Judicial Police ruled out the possibility of murder, so she was suspected of dying by suicide. However, according to the Macau Independent Commission Against Corruption, Lai was not one of the targets of the ICAC's investigation, and there is no known reason for suicide. On the day the news of Lai's death was posted, some netizens questioned the veracity of the claim of suicide, and citing whether the deceased could cut other parts of the body and use a plastic bag to cover their head, whilst under the influence of drugs, with multiple wounds. Hong Kong cartoonist Bai Shui expressed this question in cartoons in his satirical comic work "Warm Shui Theater". Legacy According to official sources, Lai was the first senior official to commit suicide in office since Macau was handed over to the People's Republic of China in 1999. Her death, and its subsequent reporting, has been used as a case study on media use in Macau and in particular how mainstream media was reluctant to report on her death. References 1959 births 2015 deaths Macau women in politics Sun Yat-sen University alumni Macanese people Women police officers

69979265

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanyao%20poisoning

Sanyao poisoning

The Sanyao poisoning was a mass poisoning in Sanyao Management District which was committed by Du Runqiong and Tang Youhua. Poisonings Strange deaths of animals and fish began in the Sanyao Management District (三姚管理区) in June 1995. They were not given much attention then. Beginning in August 1995, along with the deaths of animals began strange deaths, diseases and fainting of people on the street. After that, locals began to accuse the gold mining company Lixing Co., Ltd. Once a group of people stormed the building of this company. After this incident, a special working group was corrected in the area. This company was engaged in smelting gold mines. In May 1995, they launched a trial production. This contributed to the death of crops in the fields, plague of fish, death of chickens and livestock. After complaints from residents, production was halted, but the company continued covert production. Some locals thought it was a plague and fled the area. Then schools and factories were closed, all exits were closed and there was chaos. On August 27, a pond with a large number of dead fish fry was discovered. More than 10 empty bottles of tetramine were found near the reservoir. After this finding, police began to suspect intentional mass poisoning. Due to the fact that the relatives of the locals refused to perform autopsies, it was impossible to determine the exact cause of death. Police have met with significant opposition to dissecting the bodies of those killed by local prejudices. After some time, with the help of local authorities, relatives of the 6 dead agreed to an autopsy. Testing of samples began on October 17. On November 21, after a detailed examination of samples from the stomachs of humans and animals, the investigation found that all were poisoned with fluoroacetamide and sodium fluoroacetate and it was a deliberate mass poisoning. Arrest In mid-November 1995, a waiter at a diner in Jinli noticed a woman throwing something into a kettle over breakfast. The waiter then called the police. After analyzing the water in the pot, it was found that it contains large amounts of fluoroacetamide and zinc phosphide. Poisoners On December 7, 1995, a 42-year-old woman, Du Runqiong (杜润琼), and her 19-year-old son, Tang Youhua (汤友华), were detained. On December 11, their home was searched. During the search, aluminum pots with poison, a backpack with poisoned items and a kilogram of poisoned rice were found. Laboratory tests have confirmed the assumptions of police officers. During interrogation, Du Runqiong admitted that she mixed poison with rice in aluminum pots and used a backpack to carry the poison. Du Runqiong graduated from the 3rd grade of elementary school and was superstitious. She often went to the local temple and divination. One day in May, she gave birth to sentences that she understood as a call to kill bad people to prevent them. After that, in June 1995, Du Runqiong and her son Tang Youhua began a series of poisonings. They used the metamidophos pesticide and "Living Angel" rat poison, which contains fluoroacetamide and sodium fluoroacetate. They acted mostly at night. Spread the poison on the leaves of plants, poured the poison in the field, poured into the mouths of animals, mixed with rice and gave to pigs and fish. Later, they began to pour poison into the porridge cooked in the diner, put it in the meat cupboard in kitchens and markets. A search of 2,300 empty tetramine bottles used to carry the poison was found. Damage As a result of the poisoning, 18 people died, and another 163 were hospitalized. Ten large cattle also died, along with 243 pigs, more than 3,100 chickens, and more than 300 fish. This resulted in direct economic losses of 2.8 million yuan. Legal proceedings On December 26, 1995, Zhaoqing Interim People's Court sentenced Du Runqiong and Tang Youhua to death. They appealed to the Guangdong High People's Court. The court upheld the verdict. On January 8, 1996, they were both executed. See also Fudan poisoning case Nanjing Tangshan Poisoning Case - a case of deliberate mass poisoning in which 42 people died and 400 were injured. Qian Renfeng's Poisoning Case Chen Fuzhao - chinese serial poisoner that poisoned 17 people. References Mass poisoning 1990s murders in China Chinese serial killers

69979760

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The%20House%20on%20Tollard%20Ridge

The House on Tollard Ridge

The House on Tollard Ridge is a 1929 detective novel by John Rhode, the pen name of the British writer Cecil Street. It marked the sixth appearance of the armchair detective Lancelot Priestley, who featured in a long-running series of novels during the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. The plot was partly inspired by Rudyard Kipling's short story Wireless, which Rhode mentions in the novel. Synopsis At the brooding, isolated house of Samuel Barton on Tollard Ridge, the owner of the house is found murdered. The obvious culprit appears to be his wayward son Arthur, and the local police have no difficulty and presenting a case against him and bringing him to trial. Meanwhile Samuel Barton's ward and heiress Kitty plans to use the money to break free of her uninspiring marriage with a local farmer and live a little. A second suspicious death leads to the arrival of the celebrated criminologist Priestley, who soon unearths an elaborate plot of murder. References Bibliography Evans, Curtis. Masters of the "Humdrum" Mystery: Cecil John Charles Street, Freeman Wills Crofts, Alfred Walter Stewart and the British Detective Novel, 1920-1961. McFarland, 2014. Herbert, Rosemary. Whodunit?: A Who's Who in Crime & Mystery Writing. Oxford University Press, 2003. Reilly, John M. Twentieth Century Crime & Mystery Writers. Springer, 2015. 1929 British novels Novels by Cecil Street British crime novels British mystery novels British thriller novels British detective novels Geoffrey Bles books Novels set in England

69979901

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death%20at%20the%20Club

Death at the Club

Death at the Club is a 1937 detective novel by the British writer Cecil Street, writing under the pen name of Miles Burton. It is the fifteenth in a series of books featuring the amateur detective Desmond Merrion and Inspector Arnold of Scotland Yard. It was published in the United States by Doubleday the same year under the alternative title The Clue of the Fourteen Keys. It takes the form of both a locked room mystery and a closed circle of suspects, both popular branches of the genre during the decade. In the Times Literary Supplement Elizabeth L. Sturch noted "Mr. Miles Burton can always be relied on for a good, serious, straightforward detective story with no shilly-shallying and no side-issues to divert the reader’s attention from the all-important task of discovering the murderer". Isaac Anderson in the New York Times felt "the author has contrived a pleasing combination of routine police procedure with clever deduction". Synopsis The Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police is a member of London's exclusive Witchcraft Club and while there he encounters the corpse of the club secretary. He and the other twelve remaining members of the club are all suspects, to the embarrassment of the investigating Inspector Arnold. Only the intervention of his friend Merrion leads to the solving of the case. References Bibliography Evans, Curtis. Masters of the "Humdrum" Mystery: Cecil John Charles Street, Freeman Wills Crofts, Alfred Walter Stewart and the British Detective Novel, 1920-1961. McFarland, 2014. Herbert, Rosemary. Whodunit?: A Who's Who in Crime & Mystery Writing. Oxford University Press, 2003. Reilly, John M. Twentieth Century Crime & Mystery Writers. Springer, 2015. 1937 British novels Novels by Cecil Street British mystery novels British detective novels Collins Crime Club books Novels set in London

69982259

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New%20South%20Wales%20Police%20Force%20strip%20search%20scandal%20%28Freedom%20of%20Information%20releases%29

New South Wales Police Force strip search scandal (Freedom of Information releases)

The following sections detail information relating to the use of strip searches by the New South Wales Police Force obtained under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009. Use of body cameras to record strip searches Internal police documents published in November 2018 revealed that officers had been instructed to activate body cameras when conducting strip searches, though it remains unclear when and if these guidelines were followed. The "Body Worn Video Standard Operating Procedures'" or "BVW SOPs", stated that "police should capture a strip search on BWV where possible" and that any video should be "filmed from behind the person searched and at 45 degrees for the purpose of maintaining the person's privacy". The information was released in July 2019 in response to a Freedom of Information request submitted by Redfern Legal Centre. Male and female strip search statistics Data obtained under Freedom of Information laws showed that in the three-year period between July 1 of 2016 and June 30 of 2019, 3919 women had been strip searched by NSW Police. Of that number, 122 were girls under the age of 18. The data pertained to strip searches carried out 'in the field', i.e.at music festivals and other public locations. The information was published by Redfern Legal Centre in November 2019. Responding to revelations that NSW Police had strip searched 122 underage girls, Police Minister David Elliot was criticised after suggesting that he would have no problem with his own children being strip searched by police. "I've got young children and if I thought the police felt they were at risk of doing something wrong I'd want them strip-searched" Elliot told reporters, before suggesting that most parents would be "pretty happy" if their children were strip searched and found with drugs. "I think you'd be pretty happy that they got found out". Figures published by Redfern Legal Centre the following month in December revealed that during the same period, 11,304 men had been strip searched by NSW Police, including 344 boys under the age of 18. "I have found with young male clients who have been strip-searched there is a deep sense of humiliation and isolation, especially for those who have been asked to lift their testicles or made to squat," said Redfern Legal Centre's Samantha Lee in response to the figures. Strip searches of minors Data published by Redfern Legal Centre revealed that 96 children under the age of 18 had been strip searched by NSW Police during the 2019–20 financial year, with more than 20% recorded as being of either Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent. Speaking to The Guardian, Karly Warner, chief executive of the NSW Aboriginal Legal Service, said that the organisation was "incredibly disturbed" that police have "continued their strip searching of children". "Forcing a child to remove their clothes is deeply intrusive, disempowering and humiliating, and especially for Aboriginal people who have too often been targets of discrimination and over policing", she said. Legal settlements paid by New South Wales Police Figures obtained by NSW Greens MP David Shoebridge and published by The Guardian in December 2020 revealed that in the four-year period between 2016 and 2019, NSW Police had paid $113.5 million in compensation to settle civil misconduct cases, with the figure pertaining to more than 1000 cases of unlawful searches, illegal arrests, false imprisonment, assault and harassment. Specific details of most of those cases were unknown due to non-disclosure agreements. The figure of $113.5 million put forward by The Guardian was inconsistent with separate figures published in earlier reports. A separate article published by The Guardian earlier that year in February instead claimed that since 2016, NSW Police had paid $238 million in legal compensation, while statistics published by The Daily Telegraph in October suggested that NSW police had paid $89.62 million to settle 968 civil cases during the same four-year period. Responding to questions tabled to Parliament by Shoebridge in June 2019, a representative for Police Minister David Elliot had said that the minister's office was unable to provide accurate figures in relation to police misconduct settlements. "Claims against the NSW Police for compensation resulting in settlements or judgements are often multi-faceted. It is for not possible [sic] to separate out specific claims of police misconduct, civil liberties infringements and litigation arising in police operations from other types of compensation involving police officers, stations or personal injury claims against serving officers, or from other legal costs. Accurate information cannot therefore be provided in response to these questions". Personal search quotas Freedom of Information documents obtained by NSW Greens MP David Shoebridge in February 2020 revealed that NSW Police had set annual personal search quotas for officers to meet during the 2018 and 2019 financial years. Between July 1 of 2018 and June 30 of 2019, officers were set a target of 241,632 personal searches, with this figure being made up of a combination of strip searches and general searches. Official data showed that officers narrowly fell short of this target, with 238,923 personal searches being recorded during the 2019 financial year. A similar quota had been set by NSW Police for the 2018 financial year, with 238,813 personal searches being performed during this period, exceeding a set target of 223,272 searches. A spokesperson for NSW Police defended the use of quotas by the organisation, stating that "the NSW Police Force deploys various proactive strategies as part of an ongoing commitment to reducing crime and the fear of crime in the community." Speaking in opposition to the practice, former Director of Public Prosecutions Nicholas Cowdery warned that "if a target is set by superior officers, especially a target that will be relevant to performance assessment, natural human response will be to seek to meet the target by proper or improper means - by fudging, by exercising power where it is not properly warranted". Creation of police database records after strip searches Freedom of Information documents obtained by Redfern Legal Centre in April 2021 revealed that between 2018 and 2020, the personal information of more than 5500 people who had been strip searched by officers had been recorded on the electronic police database (referred to as the Computerised Operational Policing System, or "COPS" database in New South Wales). None of those individuals had been found in possession of any illicit substances. The issue had earlier been raised at a Law Enforcement Conduct Commission hearing in October 2019. Responding to questions at the inquiry, a senior police officer acknowledged that a COPS entry which showed that a person had been stopped by a drug detection could potentially be used as a justification for a subsequent search, even in cases where an individual had not been found in possession of any illicit substances. Writing on Reddit in 2019, a festivalgoer who was allegedly searched by police at a music festival after a drug detection dog indication recalled being questioned about the matter during a traffic stop several months later. In a final report handed down in December 2020, the Commission warned that "COPS records which note the reasons for a search as 'suspected illegal drug possession' create a negative inference about the person searched", suggesting that the information "may be used as a justification for a subsequent strip search". To minimise the risk of this happening, the Commission recommended that In cases where no drugs had been found, officers should instead record personal details in handwritten notes, with "an appropriate cross reference to these handwritten notes being made in COPS". This measure was opposed by NSW Police, who argued that a person's name "should be recorded 'irrespective of whether anything is found' to facilitate subsequent searches for records of the search". In a submission to the report, Redfern Legal Centre also warned that the Commission's proposed changes may make it more difficult to obtain information for "a potential complaint or tort matter". Similar concerns about police recording practices had also been raised by the New South Wales Ombudsman in 2006 in relation to searches carried out following drug detection dog indications. The Ombudsman had been made aware of the fact that after a search, some officers would routinely create "intelligence reports" or "information reports", on the COPS database, even in cases where no drugs were found. These reports would contain the personal information of persons who had been searched, with the Ombudsman warning that the practice could "prejudice future police dealings" for those individuals. At one briefing, a senior police officer had cautioned against the practice in cases where no drugs were located, noting that the information would routinely be reported as "drug-related intel" to officers in the field during radio checks. Amended guidelines implemented by NSW Police in 2001 advised that searches following drug dog indications should instead be logged as "events" under a new "Person Search Category". Notes References

69982427

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central%20Maluku%20riot

Central Maluku riot

On 26 January 2022, a riot between villagers of Kariu village and Pelauw village in Central Maluku Regency erupted. The riot was caused by a dispute over land borders close to the boundaries between the two villages. Three people died in the riot and 211 houses burned down. Additionally, four people were injured. Hundreds of villagers took refuge in nearby forests following the violence. Background Animosity between the two villages dated back far before the riot. Kariu village consisted of a small group of nomads that inhabits the region around Aboru and Wassu. Pelauw, also known as Matasiri, was a small kingdom located in the same region. After the arrival of the Dutch, a fort was constructed on the eastern side of Pelauw on 1656. Dutch troops there often asked villagers of Pelauw to help them hunt boars in the forest. Pelauw was majority Muslim and its king, Upu Latu Mawarakan, disliked the Pelauw villagers' helping the Dutch to hunt boars. At the same time, the group of people who would found Kariu village heard about hunting activities in the jungle and asked if they could participate in the hunt. As a result, the king of Pelauw awarded them with lands close to the fort. In exchange, they took the places of Pelauw villagers in helping Dutch troops hunt boars. Kariu village was soon grew in size and nominally became independent from Pelauw. In 1933, conflict erupted between the two villages after a Pelauw villager was allegedly shot by a Kariu villager. As the result, villagers of Kariu were forced to relocate across the Marike'e river by the king of Pelauw, which would become the customary boundary between the two villages. During the Maluku sectarian conflict, many villagers of Kariu took refugee across the customary boundary of two villages until the Second Malino Accord ended the conflict. At the end of the conflict, the resettlement of Kariu villagers inside Pelauw was tough due to a perceived boundary and as a result some Kariu villagers remained and settled down. Relations deteriorated further following the alleged destruction of Pelauw customary site by Kariu villagers and a Kariu village claim to the eastern part of Ua Rual inside Pelauw village. Pelauw villagers reported such actions to local police several times to resolve the issue but received no significant response, prompting further tensions between the two villages. In addition, police personnel of Kariu village origin were seen as pro-Kariu by Pelauw villagers. On 26 January 2022, a villager was shot dead on Maraka'e bridge close to the customary boundaries between to villages, which erupted into conflict between the villages. Aftermath Following the riot, one company of the Mobile Brigade Corps was deployed on the villages. Injured victims of the riot were evacuated to Ambon. Kodam XVI/Pattimura deployed troops to the village. Many prominent figures in Indonesia responded to the riot. Sultan of Ternate, Mudaffar Sjah, urged villagers to "not be provoked by information that could sever brotherhood". The Mayor of Ternate, Tauhid Soleman, also urged people to remain calm to prevent the spread of violence. A peace agreement between the two villages was established at night on the same day. Advocate groups form the village blamed authorities for not responding to complaints of Pelauw villagers as the cause of the conflict. Fearing of repeating sectarian conflict in Maluku, university students from Maluku in Yogyakarta staged a demonstration urging both sides to upheld peace and raise concern about the situation. Another group of university students in Palu from North Maluku also urged both sides to remain calm and not to be provoked. A protest in Ambon was staged by students under the Indonesian Christian Student Movement to ask the governor of the province, Murad Ismail, to pay attention to the conflict. Chief Police of Maluku province visited the site after the violence to negotiate between two villages. Regent of Cental Maluku and commander of Kodam XVI/Pattimura also paid visit to the site after the violence. Chief Police of Maluku, Lotharia Latif, proposed the dispute to be settled by customary law of both villages if possible, adding that legal solution as alternative if the dispute is not resolved after that. Parliament of Maluku province urged the provincial government to construct housing for displaced Kariu villagers. Other than that, the parliament blamed police and military for having weak intelligence on the matters and failed to prevent the conflict. Chief police resort of Haruku district, Subhan Amin, was accused of not neutral and siding with Kariu village, with images of him shakehand with Kariu villagers in front off a church circulating. The claim was denied by the police later on. A charity concert for the conflict was held by group of artists in Ambon, Maluku, in addition of a vaccination booth. Regent of Cental Maluku, Tuasikal Abua, claimed that the regency government lacked fund to resettle displaced Kariu villagers. The claim was harshly criticized by provincial parliament, citing that the regency's action of only waiting for money from central government was regrettable and politically motivated, and the lack of fund claim was not true. On 4 February 2022, Subhan Amin was discharged from his position as chief police resort of Haruku, together with several other police officers in the aftermath of the riot. References Central Maluku Regency 2022 in Indonesia Riots and civil disorder in Indonesia

69982568

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A%20Superior%20Day

A Superior Day

A Superior Day () is an upcoming South Korean television series directed by Jo Nam-hyeong and starring Jin Goo, Ha Do-kwon, and Lee Won-keun. Based on webtoon, this series depicts 24-hour runaway thriller in which only the most superior survives, in which the most ordinary man must kill the serial killer who lives next door to save his kidnapped daughter. It is scheduled to premiere on OCN on March 13, 2022, and will air every Sunday at 22:30 (KST). Casts Main Jin Goo as Lee Ho-cheol Ha Do-kwon as Bae Tae-jin Lee Won-keun as Kwon Si-woo Supporting Kim Do-hyun as Seo Dong-ju, a private security guard in Parisville who helps Ho-cheol in search of a murderer. Lee Seo-joon as Detective Oh. Lim Hwa-young as Choi Jeong-hye, Ho-cheol's wife and a former police officer. Gyeol-hwi as Jeong-min. Jo Yu-ha as Lee Su-a, the kidnapped daughter of Lee Ho-chul. Production Filming Filming began at Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju-si in November 2021 after finalizing complete cast. References External links A Superior Day at Daum Korean-language television shows OCN television dramas OCN original programming 2022 South Korean television series debuts South Korean workplace television series South Korean serial killers Upcoming drama television series

69982746

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The%20Robthorne%20Mystery

The Robthorne Mystery

The Robthorne Mystery is a 1934 detective novel by John Rhode, the pen name of the British writer Cecil Street. It is the seventeenth in his long-running series of novels featuring Lancelot Priestley, a Golden Age armchair detective. It was published in the United States the same year by Dodd Mead. Reviewing the book for The Sunday Times Dorothy L. Sayers wrote "One always embarks on a John Rhode book with a great feeling of security. One knows that there will be a sound plot, a well-knit process of reasoning, and a solidly satisfying solution with no loose ends or careless errors of fact." Isaac Anderson in The New York Times remarked that "no one who has ever read a Dr. Priestley story will be surprised to learn that this is a genuinely baffling crime puzzle of the first quality". Synopsis Gentleman of leisure Maurice Robthorne is found dead on Guy Fawkes Night in the greenhouse of his large country home, a week after he had been visited by his brother Warwick. Apparently a victim of suicide. This coincides with a police operation in London led by Inspector Hanslet against a gang of drug smugglers. It falls to the gifted criminologist to tie all the evidence together between the two cases. References Bibliography Evans, Curtis. Masters of the "Humdrum" Mystery: Cecil John Charles Street, Freeman Wills Crofts, Alfred Walter Stewart and the British Detective Novel, 1920-1961. McFarland, 2014. Herbert, Rosemary. Whodunit?: A Who's Who in Crime & Mystery Writing. Oxford University Press, 2003. Reilly, John M. Twentieth Century Crime & Mystery Writers. Springer, 2015. 1934 British novels Novels by Cecil Street British crime novels British mystery novels British detective novels Collins Crime Club books Novels set in London

69983402

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wichita%20Aero%20Commandos

Wichita Aero Commandos

The Wichita Aero Commandos were an American football team that played in 1942. Located in Wichita, Kansas, the team's players consisted of employees from the Aero Parts Manufacturing Company. Many of the team's opponents were from military installations that were established during World War II, though they also played two games against National Football League franchises. The team maintained a partnership with the Chicago Bears that turned the Commandos into a de facto farm team. Former Bears player Frank Bausch served as head coach. Formation In 1942, with the United States fighting in World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt urged sports programs to continue operating. John MacCullough, a former USC Trojans football player and the owner of Aero Parts Manufacturing Company, was inspired by Roosevelt's words and formed a team consisting of his employees. In announcing the team's founding on August 2, MacCullough explained, "We feel that inasmuch as Wichita is an outstanding defense city it is important that the workers be provided with clean, wholesome sports recreation. We are hopeful that our sponsoring of the professional football team will accomplish that purpose." To lead the team, MacCullough appointed Aero Parts assistant chief of police Frank Bausch as head coach. A Wichita native, Bausch was an All-Pro center for the Chicago Bears during his NFL career in the 1930s, and was an assistant line coach with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1941. The hiring was endorsed by Bears coach George Halas. In a phone call with MacCullough on August 8, Halas agreed to provide the Wichita team with developing players from the Bears; Halas cited Bausch's presence as a key factor in making the deal as the Bears and Bausch both used the T formation offense. Bears assistant Gene Ronzani joined the team as a player-coach. Other staffers included E. E. "Dutch" Scheufler as athletic trainer; Scheufler previously worked in the same position for the National Baseball Congress and the Henry's Amateur Athletic Union basketball team. When assembling a roster, Bausch emphasized that although many college students were being hired at war plants, he would not recruit players who were still eligible to play college football. Among the team's signings were former Kansas quarterback and Aero Parts personnel department employee Ralph Miller, Miller's high school teammate and running back Burt "Red" Hayes, Wichita University fullback and punter Doug McEnulty, and Tennessee fullback Chet Robertson who lost a finger in an accident at a Boeing plant later in August. On September 5, the team was formally dubbed the Wichita Aero Commandos. Some official NFL records refer to the team as the Aero Commanders like the Arizona Cardinals' media guide. Schedule The Aero Commandos played eight games, six of which were against military teams. The final two games came against the NFL's Chicago Cardinals and Cleveland Rams, both of whom had bye weeks and scheduled the games as additional preparation. Wichita's season was initially supposed to begin against Lowry Field, but a military order prevented them from playing teams outside the base. Waco Army Air Field, the original Week 3 opponent, canceled after a string of blowout losses. Lawrence Stadium hosted every game. Although primarily a baseball park, it was completely resodded for football and bleachers were constructed. The seating capacity was also increased to 12,500. Season tickets were not sold to avoid clashing with Wichita University's own sales, though fans were able to reserve single-game tickets for the entire season. The team held preseason practices at Friends University. Game summaries Week 1: vs. Camp Gruber The Aero Commandos' inaugural game came against Camp Gruber, a United States Army team from Oklahoma that won the branch's football championship in 1941. Miller was named the starting quarterback with Ronzani as his backup, while Bausch started at center. One minute into the game, Hayes intercepted a pass on his team's 30-yard line to set up a 70-yard scoring drive in which Miller threw to Triplett, who made a lateral pass to Hayes and ran for the touchdown. In the second quarter, "Tip" Mooney ran for 12 yards to Gruber's 23-yard line, where he completed a 20-yard pass to Elmo Kelly and Paul Graham ran in for another score. Ronzani led another series that ended in a score via Floyd "Snoz" Wheeler. McEnulty recorded the final touchdown on a five-yard run. Down 26–0, Gruber attempted to throw the ball but only completed three of 11 passes for 38 total yards. Wichita recorded 256 total yards while Gruber had just 40. The Aero Commandos also outgained their opponent in first downs with 18 to Gruber's four. Week 2: vs. Colorado Springs Air Base Army Air Base, Colorado Springs, a team that was regarded as having "a reputation for wide open football" with the single-wing formation, visited Wichita for the Commandos' second game. The lone change to the starting lineup came at right end where Bob Layton was named the starter over Triplett. Before the game, the Aero Commandos signed West Texas alumnus Teeter Schupach and Washington State's Sam Godfey. The Commandos scored 27 unanswered points in the first half beginning with Miller's first quarter touchdown pass to Hayes. A quarter later, Chief McClain scored twice on 13- and 17-yard runs, followed by Ronzani's eight-yard touchdown throw to George Gruber shortly before halftime. Another touchdown came in the third quarter to put Wichita up 33–0. Colorado finally scored later in the quarter when halfback Bob Thereate lateraled to Gil Keith who ran 45 yards for the score. The fourth quarter saw a final touchdown by the Commandos. Colorado totaled 162 in rushing yardage but also lost 59 such yards, while Wichita had 266 rushing yards with only 22 lost. The airmen were also limited to just one completed pass for no yards in 12 attempts with three being intercepted. Week 3: vs. Albuquerque Air Base Multiple lopsided defeats resulted in Waco Army Air Field canceling their game against the Aero Commandos, and Wichita scheduled Albuquerque Air Base in their place. The Kellys, who were missing eight players due to injuries, had their flight to Wichita delayed due to inclement weather the day before the game. As a result, they left Albuquerque on Sunday and the game was pushed back by half an hour from its original 2:30 start time to accommodate the visitors. Due to the delay, the Kellys arrived minutes before kickoff. A muddy field resulted in both teams struggling to move downfield as the first half ended in a scoreless tie. The Commandos had scored shortly before halftime on a five-yard touchdown pass by Miller to Joe Byrnes, but it was nullified as Miller was too close to the line of scrimmage when he threw (the quarterback had to be five yards behind the line before throwing, a rule that existed in college at the time but which the NFL removed in 1933; the first half of the Commandos–Kellys game was played under collegiate rules while the second utilized the professional rulebook). Early in the third quarter, Miller fumbled while returning a punt on his team's ten-yard line which was recovered by Albuquerque's Charles Mathis. Eddie Marshall made a field goal from the 17-yard line to give the Kellys a 3–0 lead entering the fourth. A 61-yard punt by McEnulty was muffed by the Kellys and recovered by Wichita at the Albuquerque 27, which set up Miller's five-yard touchdown to Joe Byrnes. Another touchdown from Miller to Hayes was called back for illegal pre-snap motion. Nevertheless, the Commandos scored a second touchdown on Milley's five-yard pass to Godfrey. The weather, which included more rain during the second half, resulted in the Commandos and Kellys only recording 79 and 17 rushing yards, respectively. Conversely, Wichita had 101 passing yards to Albuquerque's 20. Week 4: vs. Randolph Field The Texas-based Randolph Field Ramblers played the Commandos in their first game in Kansas. Wichita shuffled their starting lineup for the game, with Ronzani being named the first-string quarterback over Miller, Swede Ellstrom starting at halfback over Hayes, and Thurman Garrett taking over starting center duties. Aided by having larger players than the military personnel of their opponent, Wichita had nearly triple the rushing yards of Randolph Field with 232 to 80. The Commandos also recorded nine times as many passing yards at 166 (on seven of 14 passes) to 21 (on three of 20) and ten more first downs with 17 to seven. McEnulty and Mooney helped lead the Commandos to a 55–0 win. Week 5: vs. Fort Riley The Fort Riley Centaurs took on the Commandos a week after defeating Wichita University, a game Bausch and Ronzani attended to analyze their upcoming opponent. In turn, Centaurs head coach Lieutenant Curry N. Vaughan and his staff had scouted the Commandos' first four games before attending the Randolph Field matchup a day after their Wichita University meeting. Bausch described the Centaurs' scouting of Wichita as granting them "the best of the deal. We did a lot of scoring against Randolph and used a lot of plays, while Fort Riley didn't uncover too much of their pet stuff." Much of Wichita's gameplanning focused on the Centaurs' running back Benny Sheridan, prompting Bausch to comment that "we'll have our hands full trying to stop him", along with opposing backs like ex-Georgia captain Bobby Nowell and former Bear Bobby Reale@; Riley also gained the services of star Green Bay Packers center Lt. Tom Greenfield who had just returned from playing with Major Robert Neyland's All-Eastern Army Team. Vaughan proclaimed Wichita had "a lot of stuff, but I think we have a footballl club strong enough to defeat them." After a scoreless first quarter, the Centaurs scored first on a seven-yard touchdown by Nowell to complete a 70-yard drive. Winford Johnson made a 20-yard field goal in the third quarter. Ronzani attempted to rally the offense in the fourth quarter, but one drive that reached Riley's red zone ended in a turnover on downs when his pass on fourth down was too low. Another Wichita offensive drive went as deep as the Centaurs' seven-yard line before being intercepted by Nelson Catlett. Fort Riley accumulated 190 rushing yards while Wichita had 166, and both teams had nine first downs gained via running plays. Despite the similar rushing stats, the Commandos threw two interceptions, lost a fumble, and turned the ball over on downs thrice. The physicality of the game resulted in Commandos guard Jim Finlay being hospitalized. Week 6: vs. Fort Sill Wichita sought to rebound from their first loss of the season against Fort Sill, a team The Wichita Beacon described as "a classy squad [...] that boasts of plenty of split second runners who can fan the breeze in nothing flat." The Beacon predicted the game would be a "battle royal" as the Commandos had "some mighty nice looking speed merchants themselves". Five minutes into the game, Hayes returned an interception 85 yards for a touchdown. Later in the first quarter, Fort Sill reached the Wichita 26-yard line before turning the ball over on downs. The second quarter began with Fort Sill quarterback Bert Roberts recovering a poor snap in his end zone for a Wichita safety. Wheeler ran for another score while Miller added a third touchdown of five yards to Joe Byrnes. A fourth quarter Fort Sill drive stalled on the Commandos' 14, from which Wichita drove 86 yards for the fourth and final touchdown of the game. The Commandos outperformed Fort Sill in nearly every major statistical category including rushing yards (203–72), passing yards (124–3), and interceptions (4–1). Future Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Red Grange was on the game's officiating crew as the head linesman; in a halftime public address, Grange praised the Commandos but commented that the interior of the team's line needed more strength. Week 7: vs. Chicago Cardinals After finishing 5–1 against military clubs, the Aero Commandos played the first of two NFL games against the struggling Chicago Cardinals, who had lost their last three games to drop to 3–5. Although the Cardinals were viewed as the superior team as an NFL franchise, head coach Jimmy Conzelman conceded the Commandos' T formation "has everything, and I'm frank to tell you I don't know how to stop it." Exacerbating matters for the Cardinals was the absence of ten players—primarily linemen—due to injuries. Bausch, who coached against the Cardinals while with the Eagles, declared that his team had "the plays to go against the Cards and we don't fear them. If we click we might come up with the upset of the season." The opening quarter saw Chicago scoree three touchdowns, with two by Bud Schwenk on 16- and 11-yard runs and one by Bob Morrow via a 16-yard rush. The Cardinals added a fourth in the second quarter when McEnulty's punt was blocked on the Wichita 12-yard line, which was recovered by Alton Coppage and returned for a score. The quarter also saw the Commandos score their lone touchdown of the game on Hayes' 22-yard run. A fifth and final touchdown by the Cardinals came in the third period with Joe Bukant's pass to Frank Ivy. Despite the 35–7 defeat, The Beacon claimed McEnulty brought "the fans to their feet" with a kick, aided by wind, that went approximately 120 yards. The Wichita Eagle Pete Lightner also noted the Commandos were able to publicly uncover a key factor in the Cardinals' struggles against NFL opponents as they found success against Chicago's depleted line, especially among the less talented reserves once the Cardinals withdrew their starters. Week 8: vs. Cleveland Rams The 5–5 Cleveland Rams were the Commandos' final opponent. The Rams were fairly comparable to the Cardinals, with the teams splitting their two meetings in 1942; although the Cardinals had a better rushing offense, the Rams possessed a stronger passing attack despite losing star quarterback Jack Jacobs to the United States Navy. The Eagle described the Rams as "fully as tough" as the Cardinals though their offensive style, a modified T formation under coach Dutch Clark, was "more open" than Chicago's. The day before the game, Bausch announced he would retire as a player. Cleveland's first score, a 55-yard touchdown pass from Parker Hall to Dante Magnani, came just two minutes into the game. In the following quarter, the Rams had an 80-yard drive that culminated in a touchdown run by George Morris. Herb Schlotthauer recorded Wichita's lone touchdown of the game in the third quarter on a 80-yard run. The Commandos finished the season with a 5–3 record. Aftermath The team did not continue in 1943, though Bausch remained at Aero Parts. A year later, he became an assistant coach at Wichita University. Players like Garrett joined the military. Garrett enlisted in the Army and was stationed at Fort Sill before attending college at Oklahoma A&M University, though he was banned from playing for the football team as his stint with the Aero Commandos was ruled as professional football experience. Some Commandos would later play for the Bears like McEnulty and Garrett. McEnulty won the 1943 NFL Championship Game in his first of two seasons with Chicago, while Garrett played in 1947 and 1948. References 1942 establishments in Kansas American football teams established in 1942 American football teams disestablished in 1942 American football teams in Kansas Sports in Wichita, Kansas

69983847

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing%20of%20Amir%20Locke

Killing of Amir Locke

Amir Locke, a 22-year-old Black American man, was fatally shot on February 2, 2022, by a SWAT officer of the Minneapolis Police Department inside an apartment in Minneapolis, Minnesota where police were executing a no-knock search warrant in a homicide investigation. The shooting is under review by the office of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, the Hennepin County attorney's office, and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey imposed a moratorium on most no-knock warrants on February 4. Background Persons involved Amir Locke was a 22-year-old Black man born in Maplewood, Minnesota, and raised in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul suburbs. According to his mother, Locke was starting a music career and planned to move to Dallas the following week. Mark Hanneman has been a police officer in Minneapolis since 2015. He is a member of the Minneapolis Police Department's SWAT team. According to personnel records released by the department, Hanneman had three past complaints, all closed without disciplinary action. Prior to working with the police department, Hanneman was employed as a police officer in Hutchinson, Minnesota, starting in 2010. Search warrant Locke was shot while police were executing a search warrant in relation to a homicide that occurred in nearby Saint Paul, Minnesota, in January 2022. The Saint Paul Police Department applied for a "knock and announce" warrant, and the Minneapolis police department insisted on a no-knock warrant, according to the St. Paul Police Department. Police also had "probable cause pick up and holds" for three people. Amir Locke was not named in the search warrant and was not a target of the homicide investigation. Incident On February 2, 2022, police unlocked and opened a door to an apartment at approximately 6:48 a.m. Police body camera footage reviewed by reporters "showed several officers quickly rushing into the apartment at the same time", several yelling "Police! Search warrant!", one officer yelling "Hands, hands!", and another yelling "Get on the ground!" Locke was lying on a couch wrapped in a blanket, and an officer kicked the couch. Locke then sat up and turned toward the officers while holding a gun, and in a still image released by police, his trigger finger is along the barrel of the gun. He was then shot twice in the chest and once in the wrist by Hanneman. The time from when police entered the unit, to when Locke was shot, was less than 10 seconds. Locke was treated at the scene and transported to Hennepin Healthcare, where emergency medics pronounced him dead at 7:01 a.m. Investigations The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension opened an investigation and Hanneman was placed on paid administrative leave. An autopsy report published on February 4 by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner classified the manner of Locke's death to be homicide due to gunshot wounds. The office of the Attorney General of Minnesota will work with the Hennepin County attorney's office to review the case. Prosecutors will determine whether to bring criminal charges against Mark Hanneman. No-knock warrant policy moratorium and review Following the killing of Amir Locke, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey imposed a moratorium on no-knock warrants on February 4, with an exception for "an imminent threat of harm to an individual or the public and then the warrant must be approved by the Chief", such as hostage situations or extreme domestic violence. Racial justice activist DeRay Mckesson and professor of police studies Peter Kraska of Eastern Kentucky University will work with the city to review possible changes to the no-knock warrant policy during the moratorium. On February 7, the Minneapolis City Council Policy and Government Oversight Committee began discussion about no-knock warrants. Minnesota legislators also plan to consider a ban on most no-knock warrants, and Governor Tim Walz has indicated he will sign the legislation. The Minneapolis Office of Police Conduct Review is also reviewing the no-knock warrant policy. Reaction Family The parents of Amir Locke said the death was an "execution". His parents also stated their son did not live at the apartment. The family said Amir was "a deep sleeper" and may have been startled and "grabbed for his gun". The family also said he had a gun license and a concealed carry permit, and had a gun for protection due to his work for DoorDash. Minnesota attorney Jeff Storms and civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci are representing Locke's family as legal counsel. On February 4, Crump stated, "If we've learned anything from Breonna Taylor, it's that we know no-knock warrants have deadly consequences for Black American citizens." At a press conference on February 7, Crump stated, "Warrants create chaotic, confusing circumstances that put everyone present at risk and those people are disproportionately marginalized people of color." On February 10, family members of Locke and Breonna Taylor held a press conference with Crump, Storms, and Romanucci, and called for a ban on no-knock warrants. Officials On February 3, Minneapolis interim police chief Amelia Huffman said both a knock and no-knock warrant were obtained as part of a St. Paul Police Department homicide investigation so the SWAT team could make its best assessment, and that it was "unclear" if Locke was connected to the St. Paul investigation. A spokesperson for the police department refused to comment due to the ongoing nature of the homicide investigation. Body camera footage was released to the public after Representative Ilhan Omar and members of the Minnesota House of Representatives called for the immediate release of the footage. Based on a still shot from the body cam footage, Huffman stated "That's the moment when the officer had to make a split-second decision to assess [...] an articulable threat, that the threat was of imminent harm, great bodily harm or death, and that he needed to take action" to protect himself and other officers. Huffman also stated, "Ultimately, that decision of whether that threshold was met will be examined by the county attorney's office that reviews this case." Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison stated "Amir Locke's life mattered" when it was announced that his office will work with the Hennepin County attorney's office in its review. Minnesota Representative Esther Agbaje, who resides in the building where Locke was shot and was home at the time, said "We need to continue to have a serious conversation about what does policing look like in this city, so it's safe—not only for the police officers but also for the people who live here." Minnesota House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler said, "Minnesotans deserve a thorough and impartial investigation into the events that led to Mr. Locke's death, including the Minneapolis Police Department sharing inaccurate information in the immediate aftermath." Community groups On February 2, local civil rights activists held a vigil and asked police and city leaders for more information, including who authorized the SWAT team. On February 4, during a press conference by Interim Chief Amelia Huffman and Mayor Jacob Frey after the body camera footage was released, reporters and community members, including civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong, challenged Huffman about her initial description of the body camera footage. Huffman had initially stated officers "loudly and repeatedly announced police search warrant before crossing the threshold into the apartment" and then later encouraged people to "make their own assessment" after the footage was released. On February 7, the Minneapolis NAACP called for a moratorium on no-knock warrants throughout the state, "pending a determination by the Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) Board as to whether the no-knock procedure is an appropriate use of police power". The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) noted a lack of a police command to Locke to drop the gun or a warning that he would be shot. The ACLU of Minnesota called for a ban on no-knock warrants. According to Rob Doar, the senior vice president of governmental affairs in the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, "Mr. Locke did what many of us might do in the same confusing circumstances, he reached for a legal means of self-defense while he sought to understand what was happening." According to the Chair of the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, Bryan Strawser, "Black men, like all citizens, have a right to keep and bear arms. Black men, like all citizens, have the right to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable search and seizure." A statement from the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis, the local police union, includes: "Policing, particularly with a SWAT team, is a dangerous, high-stress profession where officers are forced to make important split-second decisions in defense of themselves and fellow officers, especially when weapons are involved". Protests In Minneapolis—Saint Paul On the evening of February 4, protesters in cars began honking outside Minneapolis City Hall and then moved through downtown towards where the shooting occurred, until about 8:00 p.m. On February 5, hundreds of people in Minneapolis protested Locke's death. On February 6, protesters gathered outside Huffman's home in the Cedar-Isles-Dean neighborhood of Minneapolis to demand her resignation. On February 8, high school students in St. Paul and Minneapolis organized by MN Teen Activists walked out of class in protest and marched to the residence of the governor. Jerome Treadwell, the executive director of MN Teen Activists, stated, "Our message today is that we need to protect young black lives. We are humans, we deserve to live and we have hopes and dreams." On February 11, a protest of approximately 100 people marched through south Minneapolis during the evening to demand justice over the police killings of Amir Locke and Winston Boogie Smith, who had been killed by law enforcement on June 3, 2021. Along Lake Street, several properties were vandalized and tagged with anti-police and anarchist graffiti. Some demonstrators threw rocks at the Minneapolis Police Department's fifth precinct station building. On February 16, approximately 40 protesters gathered outside the home of Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to demand justice over Locke's death. On February 20, protesters gathered outside the Minnesota State Capitol building in Saint Paul for a "Justice for Amir Locke" rally. Elsewhere In Chicago, Illinois, a protest over Locke's death was held on February 11—the first protest in that city over his death. In Portland, Oregon, protesters planned a demonstration for February 19 in response to the police killings of Amir Locke and Patrick Kimmons, who was fatally shot by Portland police officers in 2018. As people gathered for the demonstration, five people were injured by gunfire, and one woman was killed during a nearby shooting in Normandale Park. See also List of killings by law enforcement officers in the United States, February 2022 List of killings by law enforcement officers in Minnesota 2020–2022 United States racial unrest 2020–2022 Minneapolis–Saint Paul racial unrest Notes References External links Minneapolis public data, "February 2, 2022 officer-involved shooting" 2022 controversies in the United States 2020s in Minneapolis Filmed deaths in the United States Minneapolis Police Department Filmed killings by law enforcement African Americans shot dead by law enforcement officers in the United States No-knock warrant

69984622

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List%20of%20Beastars%20characters

List of Beastars characters

This is a list of characters of the manga series Beastars. Main characters Legoshi , 17 years old at the start of the story but turns 18 years old in Volume 14, is a towering gray wolf. A second-year student, Legoshi works as a member of the drama club's stage crew, and enjoys watching tragic stories performed despite never having had to directly participate in them. He attempts to hide his more terrifying traits in order to better acquaint his herbivorous classmates. He takes it upon himself to solve the murder of Tem. Generally conflicted with his status as a carnivore, Legoshi wishes to suppress his predatory desires which become even more complicated as he develops confused feelings towards Haru. Legoshi also has a complicated past, having mostly been raised by his Komodo dragon maternal grandfather Gosha, as Legoshi's hybrid wolf-Komodo dragon mother Leano had mostly withdrawn from life and committed suicide when Legoshi was 12. Legoshi inherited Gosha's Komodo dragon eyes with small pupils and an immunity to Komodo dragon venom, though Legoshi himself is not venomous. Jack knows about Legoshi's heritage, but few others do, and at school Legoshi is registered only as a gray wolf. Itagaki had first conceptualized a wolf character while she attended junior high school; the design ideas remained similar, but over time she had different ideas for the character's story. Itagaki stated that she chose to make a wolf character as their similarity to dogs make them familiar to readers and that wolves' "sneaking around" makes them "cute". The name "Legoshi" refers to actor Bela Lugosi while she used Mathieu Amalric as a model for Legoshi's face. She stated "I sometimes think of Kenichi Matsuyama when I'm drawing the body." Haru , a third-year, is the lone member of Cherryton's gardening club and general outcast of the school due to her promiscuity. As a white dwarf rabbit, she often finds herself being treated as a fragile individual by society and wants to be validated as a person; she feels that having sex is the only way she can feel in control of herself. Haru tends to keep people at a distance, even those like Legoshi and Louis who wish to become closer with her. Louis the red deer, 18 at the start of the story, is a third-year student at Cherryton and star actor of the school's drama club. Prideful and confident, Louis has a dream to become the next Beastar. He tends to look down upon those around him and assert his dominance even as an herbivore surrounded by carnivores. Though typically manipulative for his own desires, Louis has shown kindness and admiration (especially with Legoshi) that evolves over the course of the story. He has been romantically entangled with Haru. Itagaki gives the character a "feminine" appearance, and that of the characters as of Volume 2 he "is the most difficult character[...] to draw" due to issues in making him show emotional characteristics, adding that she did not have difficulty drawing the actual parts of the character. Itagaki stated that she chose the name "Louis" due to its upper class connotations. Juno is a first-year female gray wolf student and new member of the drama club who falls in love with Legoshi at first sight after he protects her from bullies, having heard of him prior to meeting him, even though he never shows any signs of romantic feelings for her at all. Despite this, she is determined to win his heart and become a Beastar alongside him, to create a new peaceful era for all carnivores together, although she fails multiple times at doing so. Gohin is a giant panda who works as a psychiatrist and back-alley doctor, who treats and rehabilitates carnivores whose predatory instincts start to overtake them. He first encounters Legoshi when he passes out in the Black Market, and at first assumes that Legoshi is one of many carnivores succumbing to their feral instincts, but soon develops something of a friendship with him, eventually becoming a mentor of sorts to him. Cherryton Academy Cherryton Academy students Jack is a Labrador Retriever and also Legoshi's closest friend. The two have been acquaintances since their childhood. He is very friendly and wants the best for Legoshi, supporting him no matter what. Bill is a Bengal tiger and second-year student at Cherryton Academy. He is also a member of the drama club's acting division and desires to become the next Beastar in order to prove the worth of all carnivores. He even comes to view Legoshi as a rival in terms of acting skill. An Old English Sheepdog and friend of Legoshi's who lives in the same dorm. A fennec fox and friend of Legoshi's who lives in the same dorm. A spotted hyena and friend of Legoshi's who lives in the same dorm. A coyote and friend of Legoshi's who lives in the same dorm. A pelican and head director of the drama club. Kai is a mongoose. Formerly part of the drama club acting team, he is demoted by Louis to working as a stagehand and supporting the actors of the club. Els is an Angora goat who was the object of Tem's affection. She initially feared Legoshi following Tem's murder, but she changed her mind and forgave the wolf when he gave her Tem's love letter. A third-year peafowl and the stage crew leader of the drama club. An anteater member of the drama club's stage crew. A third-year cheetah and a high ranked member of the drama club serving as the choreographer. A bald eagle second-year student and friend to both Legoshi and Bill. Ellen is a second-year plains zebra student at Cherryton Academy. She is a member of the drama club who holds great respect from the herbivore side (though not nearly as much as Louis). She is shown to be easily scared of carnivores and is the first to blame one of them for Tem's death. A paranoid Harlequin rabbit student at Cherryton Academy in Haru's grade who believes herself an endangered species and enjoys belittling Haru as inferior to her. A Leghorn chicken student at Cherryton High School who sits next to Legoshi because the seats are arranged alphabetically. Every Wednesday, she sells her eggs to the school store, where Legoshi buys eggs from to make egg sandwiches. Although they seldom interact with one another, Legom appreciates Legoshi's affinity for her eggs. Tem is an alpaca who was mysteriously murdered. Before his death, he had feelings for Els and made a love letter (which Legoshi knew about and gave to Els afterward). Later in the series, the murderer is revealed amidst plenty of intrigue. Zoe is a goat and member of Cherryton Academy's drama club. Tao is a black panther second-year student at Cherryton Academy as well as a member of the drama club. Pina is a Dall sheep first-year student and a new member of the drama club. Cherryton Academy faculty The Siberian tiger who is the headmaster of Cherryton Academy who is also a member of the All-Organism Council that helps in selecting new Beastars each year. An unnamed female mandrill who is in charge of the carnivore male dormitory at Cherryton Academy. A very long rattlesnake who is the security guard of Cherryton Academy and has become fascinated by Legoshi. Her name - "Six Eyes" - refers to the eye-like markings on her body. Civilians The unnamed lion mayor who selfishly ignores any negative behavior of other carnivores (especially lions) for the sake of preserving the peace. He admits to spending an exorbitant amount of money on plastic surgery to make himself look more like an herbivore for the sole purpose of appearing less threatening, and therefore more "electable" like replacing his fangs with dull dentures, enlarging his eyes, and having his shoulder width reduced. The mayor only kept his large hands and claws unchanged because they are liked by his wife. A red deer who is the owner and head of The Horns Conglomerate. Being infertile and in need of having a successor, he adopted Louis from the Back Market Alley when the latter was very little. A 54-year-old male Komodo dragon who is Legoshi's maternal grandfather and only living relative. In Gosha's teen years, he was best friends and police partners with Yahya, and they were both candidates to become the new Sublime Beastar. But Gosha fell in love with Toki, a gray wolf, and her unplanned hybrid pregnancy prompted Gosha to give up that dream and focus on family life. Venomous species were not allowed to marry non-venomous species, but Gosha and Toki nevertheless raised Leano as their daughter until Toki's tragic death, and later Gosha raised his grandson, Legoshi, mostly by himself after Leano had become increasingly withdrawn and later killed herself. Gosha pays for Legoshi's tuition to attend Cherryton Academy until Legoshi drops out, and tracks down and reunites with his grandson because of this. Legoshi's brushes with the criminal justice system also brings Yahya back into Gosha's life. Gosha is a kind and loving grandfather, but also a formidable brawler determined to protect his family. A 51-year-old male horse and the reigning Sublime Beastar. As a teenager he was Gosha's best friend and police partner, and they had planned to become Beastars together, and Yahya subsequently came to resent Gosha for abandoning his role in that dream to start a family after Gosha's wolf girlfriend Toki became pregnant. Since then, Yahya takes a dim view of interspecies relationships and hybrids including Gosha's family, and comes to single out Legoshi as the living symbol of Gosha's unforgiven betrayal. Whereas most Beastars became involved in the media or politics to help unite society, Yahya proves to be a more reclusive Beastar, acting mainly as an independent vigilante with police contacts and generous public funding. In this, Yahya does frequently legitimately fight for social justice by stopping criminals and opposing workplace exploitation. But he has also committed some horrifying acts, such as killing criminals and disposing of their corpses as fertilizer for his prized carrot garden. A 29-year-old female Merino sheep who works at a sportswear company where the executives and most of the employees are carnivores. She chooses to move out of a posh condo and into a tiny unit at the Beast Apartments, and soon befriends the recent high school dropout Legoshi as her new neighbor. A male spotted seal who has spent most of his life living in the ocean, but has become a expatriate living on land at the Beast Apartments where he hopes to translate land-dweller literature into the language of ocean-dwellers. Sagwan has customs considered shocking to land-dwellers, such as being naked whenever he's not in public (as is commonplace for inhabitants of the ocean even in public), but he is a very kind and friendly individual who quickly befriends both Seven and Legoshi as his new neighbors. Antagonists A brown bear student and the series' third arc's antagonist. Being over , he is required to take government-sanctioned medications to limit his strength and thus (theoretically) reduce the danger he poses to society. However, the drug's side effects cause him to suffer from headaches and uncontrollable bouts of aggression, and it was during one of these seizures that he devoured his fellow drama club member and friend, Tem. Unable to cope with his guilt, he keeps deluding himself that Tem willingly agreed to be eaten, and he becomes viciously aggressive towards anyone—especially Legoshi—who challenges him. After his final confrontation with Legoshi, Riz surrenders to the authorities and goes to juvenile prison for his crimes, largely disappearing from the story until near the end of the series, when Pina is shown to have since become close to Riz and has been regularly visiting him. Shishigumi The Shishigumi are a back-alley gang of lions that are one of the four major criminal organizations that control the Black Market. Among its members are: A lion who was the first leader of the Shihigumi and the main antagonist of the Meteor Festival arc. He kidnapped and tried to eat Haru before being defeated by Legoshi and killed by Louis. Member of the Shishigumi that operates in the black market. Ibuki is a clever and calm Maasai lion among its reckless members. He has a strong father/son-like relationship with Louis. Member of the Shishigumi who is a quick-tempered Indian lion that actively takes on the lead in turf wars. Aggressive but also likes to joke around. A 24-year-old male gazelle/leopard hybrid who becomes the new leader of the Shishigumi crime syndicate and the primary antagonist of the final arc. He is a sociopathic serial killer who has killed dozens of animals since his young childhood, including his own mother. The top half of his face is like that of a gazelle with horns, but the bottom half is like that of a leopard with spots, and he usually wears a cloth face mask in public to pass as an ordinary herbivore so he can gain the confidence of his victims. Melon enjoys hurting people, and also experiences pain as pleasure and occasionally self-harms for this reason. Dokugumi The Dokugumi are a gang of Komodo dragons that are one of the four major criminal organizations that control the Black Market. Each of its members wear gas masks or anything that can cover their mouths. A Komodo dragon that is the leader of the Dokugumi. Inarigumi The Inarigumi are a gang of female foxes that are one of the four major criminal organizations that control the Black Market. A female red fox in an eyepatch who is the leader of the Inarigumi. Madaragumi The Madaragumi are a gang of leopards and jaguars that are one of the four major criminal organizations that control the Black Market. A leopard who is the leader of the Madaragumi. Notes References Beastars

69984751

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allan%20Ross%20%28gangster%29

Allan Ross (gangster)

Allan Ronald Ross (17 April 1944 – 21 August 2018), better known as "Allan the Weasel", was a Canadian gangster best known for leading the West End Gang of Montreal. Criminal career Thief Ross was born as Alan Ross, but he was usually known as Allan. Unlike most other West End Gang members who grew up in poverty, Ross was born into a well off family in the middle class district of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce in Montreal. Ross's criminal record began at the age of 18 when he was arrested three times within a period of five months for automobile theft, a home invasion and automobile theft again. Ross was first convicted of a criminal offense, namely automobile theft, on 8 May 1962. Ross joined the West End Gang in the 1960s, and rose up to become the right-hand man to the boss Frank "Dunie" Ryan. Initially only a lowly thief and a truck hijacker, Ross started to rise to prominence in 1976 when Ryan put him in charge of the drug operations. The "King of Coke" When Ryan was murdered on 13 November 1984, Ross took command of the West End Gang. His first action as leader was to hire the hitman Yves Trudeau of the Hells Angels' Laval chapter to hunt down and kill those responsible for the murder of Ryan. The man responsible for Ryan's murder, Paul April, was boasting that with Ryan dead that he was now roi de Montréal ("king of Montreal"). On 19 November 1984, Trudeau visited April's apartment to pay his respects to the self-proclaimed roi de Montréal on behalf of the Hells Angels. During the visit, Trudeau noticed that April did not have a functioning television, and he promised him that he would bring him one along with a VCR. On 25 November 1984, Trudeau dropped off a TV, a VCR and a video tape to the apartment where Ryan's killers, Paul April and Robert Lelièvre were hiding. After leaving the apartment, Trudeau used a remote control to set off a bomb that he had hidden inside the TV. The explosion killed both April and Lelièvre plus two other men in the apartment. Trudeau had been promised by Ryan that he would pay him $200,000 dollars to kill April and he had been paid $25,000 dollars in advance. When Trudeau tried to collect the rest of the $200,000 after killing April and Lelièvre, Ryan told him he should go collect the money from the Halifax and Sorel chapters of the Hells Angels who owned the West End Gang drug debts, saying he would forgive those debts if those chapters paid the money to Trudeau instead. The president of the Hells Angels Halifax chapter, David "Wolf" Carroll, paid Trudeau $98,000. Carroll later learned that the Laval chapter was actually entitled to one-quarter of the money, and that Trudeau had used the extra money to support his cocaine addiction. As the Halifax chapter was much poorer than the Laval chapter, Trudeau's behavior was considered to be especially crass. Trudeau's stealing from the Halifax chapter led directly to the Lennoxville massacre of March 1985. The third man involved in the plot to kill Ryan, Eddie Philips, was murdered in March 1985 by a West End Gang member David Singer. Singer went to Florida to hide out, but Ross had doubts whatever he could handle a police interrogation, leading him to order Singer's murder. Ross had gone into business with John Quitoni, a former New Jersey state trooper. In May 1985 during a visit to Fort Lauderdale, Ross requested that Quitoni work with Alain Strong, a West End Gang member. On 10 May 1985, Strong paged Quitoni that he needed a handgun, which Quitoni provided. Later that night, Strong together with another West End Gang member, Raymond Desfossés, murdered Singer. On 28 August 1985, Trudeau who had turned Crown's evidence after the Lenoxville massacre, testified that it was Ross who had hired him to kill April and Lelièvre in November 1984. Despite Trudeau's testimony, the Canadian authorities took no action against Ross, under the grounds that the word of a hitman was not be trusted, through that did not stop the authorities from charging Hells Angels on the basis of Trudeau's testimony. Ross lacked the charisma of Ryan and was respected rather than loved by the West End Gang. The moniker of "Allan the Weasel" reflected his weasel-like face and his ability to "weasel" out any situation. In the late 1980s, Ross was a successful drug dealer who frequently went to Florida and Aruba to import cocaine, marijuana and hashish. Ross took charge of a drug smuggling network running from Florida to Quebec. Starting in late 1984, cars equipped with secret compartments delivered 15-kilogram packages of cocaine on a biweekly basis. By 1986, the amount of cocaine being smuggled had increased to 20–40 kilograms of cocaine. In 1987, Ross started to export cocaine to the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Ross was greatly helped by the fact that Inspector Claude Savoie, the director of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's drug squad and assistant director of the Criminal Intelligence Service was working for him. The conduit between Ross and Savoie was a prominent Montreal lawyer, Sydney Leithman, who was Ross's lawyer. Ross paid Savoie $200,000 dollars per week for his information. The police eventually concluded that Ross knew too much about their activities, and that he must have a "mole" within their ranks. In 1989, the Drug Enforcement Administration listed Ross as one of the biggest drug dealers in the entire world. Downfall In 1990, Quitoni was arrested in El Paso, Texas. In exchange for a lesser sentence, Quitoni revealed to the American authorities his involvement in Singer's murder in 1985. On 13 May 1991, Leithman was murdered in Montreal. In October 1991, Ross was arrested in Fort Lauderdale. The U.S. Marshals arrested Ross on 7 October 1991 as he was arriving at the airport. After his arrest, he told Detective Chris Dale of the Broward County Sheriff's Office: "Not that I would, but it sure would be nice if I could give you $200,000 or so and you would let me go." After a six-week trial in the spring of 1992, an American jury found Ross guilty of drug trafficking. On 15 May 1992, a jury in Gainesville found Ross guilty of charges of conspiracy to traffic in a least 10,000 kilograms of cocaine plus more than 300 tones of marijuana from 1975 to 1989. The judge sentenced him to life imprisonment with no chance of parole plus fined him $10 million U.S. dollars. In the meantime, the media had become curious about Leithman's murder, and started to probe the links between Savoie, Leithman and Ross. The fact that the American police agencies investigating Ross refused to share information with the Canadian police forces under the grounds that they suspected that there was a police "leak" became the source of some scandal in Canada. American law enforcement complained that whatever information that was shared with the RCMP always seemed to reach Ross. The Fifth Estate television show aired a segment about the connections between the three men. On The Fifth Estate, Savoie was interviewed where he stated: "Allan Ross, for us from '86 to '91, was not one of our problems. Allan Ross – everybody says he was head of this. People were saying this. But I must say that in my work, I wouldn't be able to say that. And we were not sure, we never had him pinned". In a follow-up interview on another show of The Fifth Estate, Savoie stated: "I know with Allan Ross, there's no doubt that was word always you know that he had access to somebody and you know maybe he did... And I gather from you wanting to talk to me that you feel maybe I was one of those people on the list and that's fair game I guess... Sometimes people make mistakes. What can I tell you?" On 21 December 1992, Savoie committed suicide by shooting himself in the head in his office just minutes before he was due to be questioned about his corruption. Savoie pressed his service revolver against his temple while wrapping his gun through sleeve of his uniform to silence the blast before pulling the trigger. Savoie was buried on Christmas Eve 1992 with no honor guard of the Mounties to honor him as is usually the case with a Mountie who has died. In 1993, Ross was convicted of another set of drug charges together with the murder of Singer. During the trial, it was revealed that Ross had offered the Hells Angels $13,000 dollars for killing Quitoni. On 29 October 1993, Ross was found guilty of first-degree murder. In the 1993 case, the judge sentenced Ross to 30 years in prison atop of his life sentence. About his conviction, Ross was quoted as saying: "They can ship my body to Florida to start the last 30 years." Ross was replaced as boss of the West End Gang by Gerald Matticks. In May 2009, Ross asked for the fine to be waived under the grounds that he had colon cancer. In a letter, Ross stated he had not been able to work within the prison for the last twelve years because of his poor health, while his wife and mother were paying the fine. He wrote: "In the last few years it has been a hardship on my family and myself. My wife is 64 years old and due to health problems, now only works part time. My mom is 86 years old and just had a knee replacement, she lives on her old age pension... I can no longer impose upon my family in these difficult times". The judge refused his request. In February 2017, he appealed in court for an early release owning to the fact that he was dying of colon cancer, which a judge refused.. Ross died in the Federal Medical Center, Butner in North Carolina of complications from colon cancer. Books . References 1944 births 2018 deaths Canadian gangsters of Irish descent Canadian crime bosses Criminals from Montreal Organized crime in Montreal 20th-century Canadian criminals Canadian male criminals Anglophone Quebec people Quebec people of Irish descent Canadian prisoners and detainees Canadian people imprisoned abroad Prisoners and detainees of the United States Gangsters sentenced to life imprisonment Canadian people who died in prison custody Canadian drug traffickers Canadian people convicted of drug offences Canadian people convicted of murder Deaths from cancer in North Carolina

69985873

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abhijit%20Mazumdar

Abhijit Mazumdar

Abhijit Mazumdar (born 12 Aug 1964), popularly known as Comrade Abhi, is the son of Naxal leader Charu Majumdar. Abhijit is a central committee member of the CPIML Liberation politburo. He was only six years old when his father Charu Majumdar died in police custody in Lalbazar. Abhijit Mazumdar is the present state secretary of CPIML Liberation West Bengal . In August 2021, Abhijit Mazumdar succeeded as the secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation in the state of West Bengal. Political beliefs Abhijit Mazumdar does not support the Maoist path to make India a socialist country. He follows Marxism-Leninism and Mao's Thought. References 1964 births Living people Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation politicians People from West Bengal People from Siliguri

69987394

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionel%20Jora

Ionel Jora

Ioan "Ionel" Jora (20 June 1921 – 5 June 1950) was a Romanian communist activist and officer of the Securitate, Romania's secret police, who was assassinated by the son of a suspect he had apprehended. Biography Ionel Jora was the third child of a working-class family from the port of Galați; his parents, Ion and Tudorița, were under the surveillance of Siguranța, Romania's secret police before World War II, for their communist convictions. By fourteen, he was already working as a shop boy, and joined the Galați shipyard as an apprentice in 1936. After participating in industrial action together with older workers, he came under pressure from his employer and the Siguranța, being forced to leave the shipyards for the Gallus paint factory in 1938. Soon after, in 1940, he was recruited into the outlawed Union of Communist Youth. By October 1940, together with his brother Alexandru, Jora was part of a communist cell constituted at the shipyard. The cell held several clandestine meetings and on the night 12–13 December 1940 organised the distribution of manifestos directed at the shipyard employees, workers of the port and the general populace. The latter manifestos condemned the indifference of the authorities towards the victims of the 1940 Vrancea earthquake and called on the inhabitants to protest the presence of German troops in the city. During this period, Jora met future communist leader Miron Constantinescu, who had been sent to the city to coordinate the communist cells in the region. One of the meetings took place in a room rented by Jora, as he had left home due to disagreements with his father. The same room was also used for preparing propaganda work and organising the cell. In the early days of 1941, as Romania's dictator Ion Antonescu was aligning the country closer with Nazi Germany, Jora was involved in spreading anti-fascist flyers in his native town. After one member of the cell was apprehended during the action, the local police quickly rounded up all suspected communists in the city, including Jora and his brother. On Jora's arrest, a pack of manifestos were found under his clothes. As reported later by the Securitate's internal news bulletin, as well as biographic article in the Magazin Istoric magazine, during interrogations Jora refused to divulge information regarding his comrades. After a trial that lasted only four days, on 10 February 1941 the Military Tribunal of the 3rd Army Corps sentenced the Jora brothers to five years of penal labour and civic degradation each. Eleven other members of the cell received sentences ranging from 5 to 14 years of hard labour. The communist activists, imprisoned in the Galați Penitentiary, organised themselves in four party cells coordinated by a prison committee, and attended courses in history of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, economy, arithmetic and others held by members of the group, including Constantinescu. The members of the group were moved to other prisons during the summer of 1941; suffering from lung disease, Ionel Jora was ultimately transferred to the Târgu Ocna Prison in early 1944. After the 1944 Romanian coup d'état, with the Communist Party recognized as a legal organisation, Jora worked as an activist for the Covurlui County party committee. For a short time beginning with 1947, he returned to the Galați shipyard to work as a turner. Dissatisfied with this position, in early 1948 Ionel Jora requested to enrol in the Siguranța, soon to become the General Directorate for the Security of the People, joining as a lieutenant. In this capacity, together with other officers, he led a team active against anti-government armed bands which were hiding in the Vrancea Mountains. The band, constituted of members of the fascist Iron Guard, had been robbing local household and tourists, destroying sheepfolds, attacking local collective farms and had killed several forest workers. The Securitate managed to capture all of the members of the band, including its leader, who had initially managed to flee. Jora has been credited by Magazin Istoric with personally capturing the leader and preventing him from attacking another operative. He was also involved in the capture of another clandestine member of the Iron Guard who was preparing to flee the country. By the summer of 1949, Jora had been promoted to substitute political officer of the Râmnicu Sărat County Security Service. In February 1950 Jora was assigned to lead a team in capturing a former member of the Gendarmerie accused of war crimes who had been hiding in Dâmbovița County. Depending on the account, the suspect either surrendered peacefully or Jora managed to capture him following a short struggle in April. Toma Bârlădeanu, the son of the suspected war criminal, witnessed the arrest and began seeking revenge. Initially, he planned to attack the Râmnicu Sărat Securitate office, however he renounced after his brother refused to participate. Afterwards, Bârlădeanu managed the find out Jora's identity and began secretly pursuing him. On 3 June 1950, Bârlădeanu managed to steal a Luger pistol from a Miliția officer he had befriended. After failing to find Jora on 4 June, the assassin returned the following day, spotting Jora around 11 PM in the town's public garden, as the latter was returning from work. Attacked by surprise near his home, Jora was barely able to defend himself and was ultimately shot by Bârlădeanu, dying on the spot. Toma Bârlădeanu stole Jora's pistol, hid the two guns and left for a nearby village. By 8 June, the Miliția officer whose pistol he had stolen managed to track him down and confronted him regarding the gun. Bârlădeanu initially denied involvement in Jora's death, however he acknowledged it after the officer suggested he would join him in forming an anti-communist group in the Apuseni Mountains. The officer led him to believe they will leave for the mountains, however he arrested him shortly after. Bârlădeanu was ultimately sentenced to death for terror acts by the Military Tribunal of Galați on 14 July 1950. Legacy After his death, Jora's name was awarded to the Greierul metalworking plant in Galați, which became the "Ionel Jora" State Industrial Enterprise. The enterprise was eventually merged into the "June 11" Enterprise after 1959. Jora's life was the subject of a short film prepared for training of Securitate officers by the "Alexandru Sahia" Cinematographic Studio. A 1974 review in the Securitate internal news bulletin lists it among the films that, while not excelling at cinematographic technique, constituted valuable documentaries. Romanian realist sculptor Vasile Vedeș dedicated a bust to the Securitate officer, currently on display in the Museum of Visual Art of Galați. Jora's only son, Miron, studied at the Politechnical Institute of Galați, becoming a professor and specialist in welding engineering. Notes References 1921 births 1950 deaths People from Galați Romanian communists Romanian World War II resistance members Inmates of Romanian prisons Securitate officers Assassinated Romanian people Deaths by firearm in Romania People murdered in Romania

69987524

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerty%20Dambury

Gerty Dambury

Gerty Dambury (born 1957) is a writer, educator and theatre director from Guadeloupe. Since 1981, she has written several plays including Lettres indiennes (1996) translated as Crosscurrents (1997). Her first novel Les rétifs (2012) appeared in English as The Restless in 2018. It is centred on the police violence in French Guadeloupe in 1967. For her play Le rêve de William Alexander Brown, she was awarded the Prix Carbet de la Caraïbe et du Tout-Monde in 2015. Biography Born on 27 February 1957 in Pointe-à-Pitre, Gert Dambury studied English and Arabic at Paris Vincennes University. She went on to study drama at Paris Nanterre University and at Paris Sorbonne Nouvelle University. She first taught English in Guadeloupe and in the Paris region. In 1981, she began writing plays in French or Creole. Her most famous play, Lettres indiennes, comparing Martinique life for immigrants with that of Guadeloupe, was first performed in Avignon in 1996 and in English as Crosscurrents in New York in 1997. Her play Trames (2008), presented in English as Shades, was awarded the prize for drama by the Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques. In 2015, she received the Prix Carbet de la Caraïbe et du Tout-Monde for her play Le rêve de William Alexander Brown. Dambury's first novel, Les rétifs, published in French in 2012, builds on the riots in Guadeloupe in May 1967 when the author was 10 years old. The character Emilienne appears to bear many similarities to Dambury herself. The novel was published in English as The Restless'' in 2018, attracting positive critical support. See also Kiyémis References External links Gerty Dambury's webiste (in French) 1957 births Living people People from Pointe-à-Pitre 20th-century French poets 20th-century French dramatists and playwrights 21st-century French poets 21st-century French dramatists and playwrights 21st-century French novelists French women writers Paris 8 University Vincennes-Saint-Denis alumni Paris Nanterre University alumni University of Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris 3 alumni

69987692

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19%20vaccination%20mandates%20in%20Canada

COVID-19 vaccination mandates in Canada

COVID-19 vaccination mandates in Canada are the responsibility of provinces, territories, and municipalities, and in the case of federal public services and federally-regulated transportation industries, the federal government. There is no federal mandate for COVID-19 vaccines in Canada. COVID-19 vaccines are free in Canada through the public health care system. The federal government is responsible for procurement and distribution of the vaccines to provincial and territorial authorities; provincial and territorial governments are responsible for administering vaccinations to people in their respective jurisdictions. Mass vaccination efforts began across Canada on December 14, 2020. As the second vaccinations became more widely available in June 2021, Manitoba became the first province in Canada to offer a voluntary vaccine passport. As Canada was emerging from the fourth wave in mid-Augustwhich had been dominated by the highly contagious SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant, governments at different levels were considering the use of vaccine mandates. At the international level, Canada was in dialogue with other member nations of the Group of Seven, with the World Health Organization and the International Civil Aviation Organization to discuss "proof of vaccination for international travel". These "reliable and secure" "proof of vaccination credentials" were often referred to as vaccine passports. During this same period, at the domestic level an emerging "patchwork" system of vaccine mandates began to be introduced across Canada. In August 2021, a number of public and private entities nationwide began to consider implementing vaccination mandates. With healthcare capacity spread "too thin" during the "rising fifth wave driven by the Omicron variant" in early January 2022, federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos suggested that provinces implement mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations. There have been protests against public health restrictions all across Canada. In early 2022, protests against mandates increasingly involved anti-government sentiments, with a blockade and occupation of Parliament Hill occurring in late January and lasting for nearly a month. The protest led to tens of millions in economic costs, including trade and supply chain interruptions, policing costs, business closures, and temporary lay-offs of over a thousand workers. In response, the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act on February 14 for the first time in Canadian history, giving police and other government agencies extraordinary powers to handle the ongoing protests. Overview During the fourth wave of the pandemic, dominated by the highly contagious SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant, known as "Delta", the first vaccine mandates were introduced in Canada. By mid-August 2021, as Canada was facing a potential surge during the fourth wave of the highly infectious and dangerous Delta variant, vaccinations were available to most adult Canadians, and many Canadians had been vaccinated. As borders were reopening and school terms beginning in the near future, experts called for vaccine mandates. The federal government imposed mandatory vaccinations on federal public servants. By November 2021, with the second winter with COVID-19, health agencies attempted to reach more vaccine-hesitant Canadians. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) announced that that the number of new Omicron infections had peaked in January 2022. As the fourth wave ended, Canada's Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said that the world will be grappling with future waves of SARS-CoV-2 virus variants in the "months and years to come"some of which that "will be quite severe and disruptive." The CPHO said that in the coming weeks "all existing public health policies"including "provincial vaccine passports" would have to be "revisited", to avoid being in a "crisis mode" all the time and to address future waves in a "longer-term" "more sustainable way" that will include "capacity building." Swedenwhich unlike Canada, has a very high rate of booster vaccinationswill remove all vaccine passports by February 9. While the percentage of Canadians with two vaccinations is quite high, only 50% have received the booster, which limits the effects of COVID-19 complications. Public health definitions In its April 13, 2022 Policy Briefing, the World Health Organization described vaccine mandates as "[c]ontemporary forms of "mandatory vaccination" as the compelling of vaccination by "direct or indirect threats of imposing restrictions in cases of non-compliance" which usually include some legitimate exemptions, for example, medical contraindications. Vaccine mandates calling for "mandatory vaccination" are "not truly compulsory"in non-compliance does not result in a "threat of criminal sanction". It recommended that "stricter regulatory measures", including vaccine mandates, should only be used after other methods of increasing acceptance of vaccinations, such as through education of the "benefit and safety of vaccines", have proven to be unsuccessful. It also promoted adequate discussions and considerations on whether a vaccine mandate was an "ethically justifiable policy option." Before they are introduced, the WHO recommended that mandatory vaccinations, like all public health policies "should be supported by the best available evidence and should be made by legitimate public health authorities in a manner that is transparent, fair, nondiscriminatory, and involves the input of affected parties." "Quasi-mandatory" vaccine policies are those that "require individuals to be vaccinated unless they qualify for an exemption and where there are penalties for those who do not comply." Federal public service On August 13, 2021, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc and Transport Minister Omar Alghabra announced that the federal government plans to mandate the vaccination of all federal public servants, employees in federally-regulated transport industries, and passengers of commercial air travel, interprovincial rail service, and large marine vessels with overnight accommodations (e.g. cruise ships). The government will also "expect" the vaccination of all employees in industries regulated by the Canada Labour Code. That day, the Government of Canada estimated that there were approximately 19,000 employers and 1,235,000 employees (8% of all workers in Canada) subject to the vaccine mandate. Since October 29, proof of vaccination has been mandatory for employees of federal public services and federally regulated industries, including banking. By early January, in these public sectors, those "without proof, or an exemption on medical or religious grounds, have been put on unpaid leave". A January 27, 2022 CTV News explainer provided an update on current "vaccine mandates and public health restrictions" across Canada. These mandates and restrictions "fall under provincial and territorial jurisdiction" and most are "not federal responsibilities." Federal travel The federal government has been in dialogue along with other members of the Group of Seven nations, with the World Health Organization and the International Civil Aviation Organization and others to discuss international issues related to the global pandemic. This includes dialogue on "proof of vaccination for international travel". As Canada was emerging from the fourth wave in mid-August, in order to "support the re-opening of societies and economies" while also reducing the "risk of spread and importation of COVID-19", Canadians needed a "reliable and secure" "proof of vaccination credentials" required by both Canadian and foreign border officials. The ArriveCan app was introduced for travellers arriving in Canada. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) says that the ArriveCan app has "set the stage" for a new system with technological changes to speed up entry to Canada at the border, starting with major airports. In order to be "eligible for the exemption from quarantine and post-arrival testing requirements", travellers need to submit their proof of vaccination" which includes the option of uploading it to ArriveCAN. Domestic As of November 30 2021, Canadians who wish to travel domestically on airplanes or by VIA Rail trains have been required to prove they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 Cross-border In October 2021, new United States Department of Homeland Security regulations were released regarding cross-border travel between the Canada and the United States based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. To prevent supply chain disruptions, the DHS allowed for a window of four monthsuntil January 22, 2022for Canadian truckers to get fully vaccinated against COVID-19. On November 19, 2021, the Public Health Agency of Canada announced upcoming adjustments to Canada's border measures. Included in the announced adjustments was the requirement for essential service providers, including truck drivers, to be fully vaccinated after January 15, 2022. The announcement clarified that unvaccinated or partially vaccinated foreign national truck drivers would be prohibited from entering Canada after that date. According to the Canadian Press and CBC, as of January 22, the mandates would impact an estimated 26,000 unvaccinated truckers of the 160,000 truck drivers in both the United States and Canada who regularly cross the border. Provinces and territories A October 21, 2021 federal briefing said that the provinces and territorieswho hold all of the vaccination informationare responsible for providing the vaccine passport that Canadians need to travel internationally, using "existing provincial proof of vaccination systems". By 2022, all provinces and territories had "vaccine passports with the QR code that meets the recommended Canadian standard for domestic and international travel". Alberta Under the Premiership of Jason Kenney, the province removed the "power of mandatory vaccination from the provinces Public Health Act, to ensure there could not be a vaccine mandate. In May 2021, Premier Kenney promised Albertans the "best summer ever" and on June 18, he announced the government's plans to reopen with a prediction that the pandemic was ending. On July 28 Alberta Chief Medical Officer of Health,Deena Hinshaw, announced sweeping changes during her COVID-19 pandemic update. Hinshaw explained that the increased uptake of vaccinations was one of the factors influencing her decision to gradual remove all restrictions; to decrease testing; and shorten the quarantine period. Kenney took a lengthy holiday overseas in August while cases increased. In mid-September, as Alberta was reaching the peak of daily cases during the fourth wave, the number of active cases reached 20,614representing the first time the number was greater than 20,000; the daily case count exceeded 1,600, the number of hospitalization was over 1,130. The number of active cases on September 20 was "far more than twice as many as any other province or territory." In mid-September facing criticism on all sides, Premier Kenney introduced his Restrictions Exemption Program (REP)described by many as a vaccine passportalong with "sweeping new measures to combat the COVID-19 surge." If businesses require their adult patrons to "show proof of vaccination or recent negative test result", they can forego certain other restrictions. By early October 2021, CBC News was citing Alberta as a "cautionary tale for the rest of Canada". The province had made a series of "bad policy decisions"; vaccination rates were low; and the government did nothing. By October 1, a November 30, 2021 deadline had been set by Premier Kenney for approximately "25,500 public service employees" to get vaccinated. In January 2022, Kenney refused to introduce a mandate. British Columbia In an October 5, 2021 update, Provincial Health Officer for British Columbia, Dr. Bonnie Henry and health minister, Adrian Dix, announced a vaccine mandate for public service employees and visitors to many health-care settings. This includes long-term and assisted care. Ontario The Ontario government announced a COVID-19 vaccine certification system that came into effect on 22 September. It was met with protests. On October 28, 2021, Chief Medical Officer of Health of Ontario Kieran Moore said that Ontario will not integrate a COVID-19 vaccine requirement into the Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA) "at present". On February 10, 2022, the Chief Medical Officer of Health of Ontario, Dr. Kieran Moore, said that there was a "remarkable improvement" in "all of key metrics" in the province that will lead to a review of all COVID-19 "public health measures" which includes "mask mandates and proof of vaccination." Manitoba On June 8, 2021, Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister announced that the province would be providing secure vaccination cards in digital and paper form linked to the provincial health card to be used for proof of vaccination status. Users of this vaccine passport, the first in Canada, faced fewer COVID-19 public health restrictions. By early July, the demand for the paper vaccine passports temporarily overwhelmed the system. At the same time, the province reached a new "marker in the pandemic"the COVID-19 vaccines supply exceeded "demand on a daily basis." By early August at the beginning of the fourth wave, case numbers and test positivity rates were declining in Manitoba in spite of the increase in the proportion of cases of Delta. On August 7, 2021, with a majority of eligible Manitobans vaccinatedwith 71.4% fully vaccinated, and 80% with the first dose of the vaccine, Premier Pallister introduced his +4-3-2-One Great Summer plan to re-open by lifting restrictions, including the mask mandate. Quebec On August 17, 2021, Premier François Legault announced that healthcare workers in Quebec, both in the private sector and the public sector, would have to be fully vaccinated by October 1, 2021. Workers who do not comply would face suspension without pay and, if applicable, would have their licenses to practice revoked by their provincial medical organization. On September 7, the Minister of Health and Social Services, Christian Dubé, moved the date to October 15. Two days before the mandate was meant to come into effect, the Quebec government again delayed the date by a month, to November 15, 2021, fearing a staffing shortage in Quebec's already strained healthcare system; approximately 17,140 healthcare workers would be at risk of suspension, 5,000 of which were likely to be in direct contact with patients, according to Minister Dubé. Finally, on November 3, the mandate was abandoned altogether. New hires in the healthcare system would still have to be fully vaccinated. On September 1, 2021, a vaccine passport in the form of a QR code came into effect in Quebec, requiring patrons to be adequately vaccinated in order to gain entry to certain places deemed to be high-risk, including gyms, restaurants, bars, and indoor venues. During the Omicron wave, the passport was expanded to provincial alcohol stores (SAQ), provincial cannabis stores (SQDC). and big-box stores, including Walmart, Costco, and Canadian Tire. Private companies and public schools As early as April 2021, nationwide public colleges and universities, private companies, and for-profit long-term care facilities began to consider vaccine mandates. Protests There have been a number of protests over responses to the COVID-19 pandemic across Canada. Vaccine mandates and passports became increasingly controversial as the pandemic entered its third year. The largest and most destructive series of protests, linked with the Canada convoy protest, was originally called the "Freedom Convoy" by its organizers. After protesters had demonstrated for nineteen days on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Canada's capital, the three levels of governmentmunicipal, provincial, and nationalhad invoked three states of emergency for the city. See also COVID-19 vaccination in Canada Vaccine passports during the COVID-19 pandemic COVID-19 pandemic in Canada Further reading Bensadoun, Emerald (January 9, 2022). "Is mandatory COVID-19 vaccination coming to Canada? A look at each province and territory's restrictions and vaccine mandate policies". The Globe and Mail. External links Notes References Sources </ref> </ref> COVID-19 pandemic in Canada 2021 in Canada 2022 in Canada

69988867

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Place%20Fontainas

Place Fontainas

The (French) or (Dutch) is a square in Brussels, Belgium. It was created following the covering of the river Senne (1867–1871). It is named in honour of André-Napoléon Fontainas (1807–1863), a former mayor of the City of Brussels. The square lies at the conjunction of the Boulevard Anspach/Anspachlaan to the north with the / to the south, in the Midi–Lemonnier or Stalingrad Quarter (southern part of the City of Brussels). It is served by the premetro (underground tram) station Anneessens on lines 3 and 4. History Early history The Place Fontainas was laid out following the covering of the river Senne (1867–1871), as part of the major urban works by the architect Léon Suys under the tenure of the then-mayor of the City of Brussels, Jules Anspach. Located at the junction of the Boulevard Anspach/Anspachlaan (then called the /) and the /, the square occupies the site of the former Small Island (, ) formed by two arms of the Senne, an old link between the / and the /. The bent end of the latter now forms the western side of the square. In his 1865 project, Suys planned to erect a monumental fountain on the square, which was to break the monotony of the boulevards, but it was abandoned for budgetary reasons.. Since 1871, the square has borne the name of the liberal politician and former mayor of the City of Brussels André-Napoléon Fontainas. 1970s to present Due to the presence of gay bars on and around the Rue du Marché au Charbon, the Place Fontanais became the centre of gay prostitution in Brussels from the early 1970s. Men from all walks of life came there to pick up often young prostitutes (between 14 and 25 years old). After the police ended a prostitution network with Macedonian children aged 12 to 14 in 1995–96, gay prostitution in the square no longer caused any particular problems. Since its creation in the 19th century, the square has often changed appearance. Nevertheless, it retains a large number of fin de siècle buildings. Since 29 June 2015, it has been part of a large pedestrian zone in central Brussels (). On that occasion, it was partially restored to its original appearance and was repaved. Decorated with plantations and equipped with numerous benches, it once again constitutes a pleasant space. See also Neoclassical architecture in Belgium History of Brussels Belgium in "the long nineteenth century" References Notes Bibliography Squares in Brussels City of Brussels 19th century in Brussels

69989075

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gobonamang%20Prudence%20Marekwa

Gobonamang Prudence Marekwa

Gobonamang Prudence Marekwa is a South African politician, trade unionist and police officer who has served as a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa since November 2021, representing the African National Congress. Early life and education Marekwa was born in Kimberley. She has a diploma in education as well as certificates in economic development and personnel and training management. She also holds an advanced diploma in public administration and went on to study for a bachelor's degree in business administration. Career Marekwa joined her local South African Police Service (SAPS) station in 1991. She completed her training in Hammanskraal in June 1992 and began working for the Kimberley police station. In 1993, she joined the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU). She became a shop steward for the union two years later. She was elected deputy secretary for the former Diamond Field Branch in 1996. Marekwa became deputy secretary of the provincial interim gender structure in 1997. She served as deputy secretary of the Kimberley branch for two years from 1997 to 1999, before she was elected as branch secretary, a position she held until 2001. In 2001, she was deputy provincial secretary of POPCRU. Marekwa was elected treasurer of the Congress of South African Trade Unions' (COSATU) Northern Cape and Free State region in 2001 and served in the position until 2008. She also served as the acting provincial secretary of POPCRU in the Northern Cape twice, in 2004 and from December 2005 until October 2007. When COSATU's Northern Cape structure was established in 2008, she was elected provincial treasurer. She currently serves as the second deputy president of POPCRU. Parliamentary career Marekwa became a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa for the African National Congress in November 2021. References External links Profile at Parliament of South Africa Living people Tswana people People from the Northern Cape Year of birth missing (living people) African National Congress politicians Members of the National Assembly of South Africa Women members of the National Assembly of South Africa 21st-century South African women politicians

69989847

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United%20Kingdom%20and%20the%20League%20of%20Nations

United Kingdom and the League of Nations

The United Kingdom and the League of Nations played central roles in the diplomatic history of the interwar period 1920-1939 and the search for peace. British activists and political leaders help plan and found the League of Nations, provided much of the staff leadership, and Britain (alongside France) played a central role in most of the critical issues facing the League. The League of Nations Union was an important private organization that promoted the League in Britain. By 1924 the League was broadly popular and was featured in election campaigns. The Liberals were most supportive; the Conservatives least so.. From 1931 onward, major aggressions by Japan, Italy, Spain and Germany effectively ruined the League in British eyes. Eric Drummond, Secretary-General, 1920-1933 Between 1918 and 1919, he was a member of the British delegation to the Paris Peace Conference, where he was engaged in the drafting of the Covenant of the League of Nations. In 1919 he accepted the position of the Secretary-General of the League of Nations, on the recommendation of Lord Cecil. Before the 1919 Paris Peace Conference in 1919, much work had been put into finding a suitable candidate for secretary-general of the newly-established League of Nations. Cecil, who played a key role in drafting the Covenant and organising the League, initially wanted a person with a background in politics for the post; there were several suitable candidates, but none accepted his proposal. He believed that only somebody of the highest ability would be sufficient for this role. However, after it transpired that the office holder would not be given as many powers as initially thought, Cecil reconsidered and sought to find somebody who was a well-trained civil servant and less known as a big political figure. He first approached Maurice Hankey, who for some time showed interest in the position but in the end rejected the offer only ten days before the Paris plenary session. In the event that Hankey would turn down the offer, Cecil and the American Edward M. House had developed a contingency plan to substitute Hankey with Sir Eric Drummond. As early as 1915, Drummond expressed himself favourably towards the establishment of an international organisation. As such, Drummond was involved in negotiations regarding the establishment of the League of Nations. In addition, he was also a British national, which Cecil valued very highly. Drummond was an experienced diplomat and had earned a high reputation during his 19 years at the Foreign Office, which helped him to be considered the best choice available. After some initial doubt in which Drummond expressed anxiety about organising the League, he finally accepted the proposal. At the Paris Peace Conference's plenary session on 28 April 1919, the conference accepted the appointment of Drummond as the first secretary-general of the League of Nations. Establishment of permanent secretariat (1919–1920) One of the secretary-general's major deeds was the establishment of a permanent and strictly international secretariat. No such thing had ever been attempted, and prewar secretariats had largely been confined to the national sphere as regards who supplied them and the civil servants who worked there. The creation of an international civil service was problematic, and administrative leaders thought it unthinkable that such a body would ever be united, loyal or efficient. By August 1920 the secretariat was fully established. The secretariat's personnel came from over 30 countries and differed in language, religion and training. They were all appointed by the League, not by national governments. That once again underscored the difference between the new international body and previous national secretariats. In all, the secretariat came to consist of seven sections: a Mandate Section, an Economic and Financial Section, a Section for Transit and Communication, a Social Section, a Political Section, a Legal Section and an International Bureau Section. Leadership style Drummond approached the role conservatively. His somewhat-subdued role in the British Foreign Office easily transferred over to the position of secretary-general. He was not a major political figure and so did not seek to turn the office into a reflection of his personality. Drummond set about creating the administrative divisions for the League. He took no risk in his appointments to senior positions in the League of Nations and chose to appoint only members who supported their nation's government and gave the positions only to members of leading states. Drummond was regarded as taking great care with issues and taking his position very seriously. He would read everything that came to his desk and would often call meetings regularly to discuss various issues. The meetings would often take place with various members of governments, which managed to established contact by his appointments to the League. Drummond thus became aware of sensitive information from various governments and nongovernmental organisations but became someone who could be trusted by various politicians worldwide. He was widely regarded as shying away from the public and political spotlight, despite the high-profile nature of his position. He, however, was believed to be highly political behind the scenes but was often forced to do to appease various nations and because of often lacking support from many governments. One example was his 1920s dealings with Benito Mussolini's policies towards the Balkans, Africa and Europe. Drummond was unable to condemn any of Mussolini's policies publicly, as he did not have the backing of Britain and France. He wanted to maintain good relations with Italy, which helped to render him somewhat impotent. Drummond had to perform his function behind the scenes of the League. He took great care to maintain world peace, as was hoped during the creation of the League, but he also appeased nations, rather than keeping them in check against international law. Despite the limitations coming from outside the League, he largely decided how he would run the office since he was very seldom under any kind of supervision. Drummond became regarded as a central hub within the League of Nations for most issues, and he would often pick the ones that interested him the most and delegate the lesser issues to his staff. He could thus be regarded as a leader who used the office for his own political interests. National links of League officers The ideal underpinning the secretariat and those working there was one much resembling a Weberian understanding of bureaucracy, the idea of a non-political, neutral, effective and efficient bureaucrat. Drummond admitted, "It is not always those who secure public praise to whom thanks are mainly due, and the work unknown to the public which is done behind the scenes is often a large factor in the success which has been obtained". The ideal was not always upheld, and national preferences were never really abandoned. New under-secretaries-general who were appointed were more often than not of the same nationality, with candidates of smaller powers excluded. Drummond did not practice what he preached, which created small national islands from which the appointed officials conducted national, rather than international, politics. In 1929, the Assembly decided to make a thorough investigation of the secretariats, the International Labour Organization and the Permanent Court of International Justice. The minority report showed that the political influence in substantive issues by the secretariats and its main officers was enormous and could not be overlooked. However, that was not recognised by Drummond before the 1950s and until then had readily defended the notion of nonpolitical character of international secretariats. Despite the political character of the international civil service, the Secretariat came to be widely recognised as an instrument of the highest efficiency and the structural framework became a model for future international civil services, such as seen in the United Nations. Role during crises During Drummond's secretary-generalship there were several crises that called for his attention. The League of Nations' Council relied on the willingness of its members to use their militaries to apply its collective security mandate during crises. Many of them centred on border disputes from the collapse of empires after the First World War. As the League got involved in such matters throughout the 1920s with members and non-members alike, Drummond was at the centre of the talks and the negotiations. The League was involved in disputes in Latin America, the Baltics and then China. Peter Yearwood argues that although Drummond was an idealist, as were most other people, he also 'made use' of his connections in politics. Drummond was widely regarded as somebody who shied away from the public and political limelight, despite the high-profile nature of his position. He managed to achieve that but was believed to be highly political behind the scenes. He was often forced to appease various nations because he often lacked support from governments. One example was his dealings with Benito Mussolini's policies in the 1920s towards the Balkans, Africa and the rest of Europe. Drummond was unable to give a public condemnation of Mussolini's policies, as he had the backing of neither Britain nor France and wanted to maintain good relations with Italy. That was one of the many reasons that helped to render him a somewhat impotent leader. Drummond had to perform his function behind the scenes of the League of Nations. He took great care to maintain world peace, as was hoped during the creation of the League of Nations, but he appeased nations, rather than keeping them in check against international law. Despite the limitations coming from outside the League of Nations, he largely decided how he would run the office within it, since he was very seldom under any kind of supervision. He became regarded as a central hub within the League of Nations for most issues, and would often pick the ones that interested him the most and delegate the lesser issues to his staff. He could thus be regarded as a leader who used the office for his own political interests. Another factor that partly drove Drummond's ambitions and his way of handling the crises presented before him was his religion. He was a devout Catholic, which had a significant impact in his dealings with the Polish–Lithuanian War early in his career. He strongly urged a plebiscite to which Poland could agree, most Poles being Catholic. Also, Drummond seemed to be pro-active. On the crisis between Russia and Finland over the latter's independence gained after the First World War, Drummond was one of the first to consider a possible solution. Another important factor of his secretary-generalship was his willingness to step beyond the boundaries given to him in his position. During the crisis over the Chaco War near the end of Drummond's career at the League, he was praised for being a helpful mediator and for doing more than his position allowed. Mukden Incident One of the less successful moments for Drummond was one of the most prominent crises of Drummond's career, the Mukden Incident. China allegedly blew up part of a railroad, which Japan then used as an excuse to invade Manchuria. China appealed to the League for measures against Japan. According to Michael E. Chapman, Drummond's initial response was not that of an imperialistic western leader but that of a bureaucrat. Somewhat limited in his powers, he looked towards the two most powerful Western nations in the region, Britain and the United States, which more or less stated that they were 'too busy' to deal with the crisis at hand. When the crisis reached its peak, Stimson advised Drummond to "strengthen and support treaty obligations" the Japanese action had caused British discomfort. He was advised to try not to arouse nationalist feelings in Japan. Drummond wanted to be an active player in the crisis but was mostly outplayed by Henry Stimson and Hugh R. Wilson. Public opinion in Britain British public opinion was generally favorable toward the League, providing its major basis of popular and financial support. However Conservatives were generally suspicious, especially regarding the danger of naval disarmament to its control of the oceans. David Lloyd George, prime Minister until 1922, believed that the League without the United States was a member was a worthless and probably dangerous organization. He quietly made sure that it dealt with minor items of little importance, and this approach was largely supported by the other powerful member France. (Russia and Germany were not members at first.) The league was heavily a European organization, at a time when most of Asia and Africa was in the control of European powers. The independent nations of the Latin America were all members, but they rarely took leadership roles. Indeed, the Covenant had acknowledged the Monroe doctrine, to the effect that the nations of the Western hemisphere could handle their own affairs without recourse to the League of Nations. League of Nations Union In every member nation, organizations were formed to generate public support and publicity for the League of Nations. The most successful support organization worldwide was the League of Nations Union (LNU) in Great Britain. The LNU was formed by the merger of the League of Free Nations Association in the U.S. and the League of Nations Society in Britain. They were already working for the establishment of a new and transparent system of international relations, human rights, and for world peace through disarmament and universal collective security, rather than traditional approaches such as the balance of power and the creation of power blocs through secret treaties. The LNU promoted international justice, collective security and a permanent peace between nations based upon the ideals of the League of Nations. By the mid-1920s, it had over a quarter of a million subscribers. By contrast the comparable French organization was one-fourth the size. LNU's paid membership peaked in 1931 at 407,000 in 2,982 local branches, 295 junior clubs, and 3,058 local Protestant church chapters (heavily based in Nonconformist churches). After 1931 membership steadily declined. By the 1940s, after the disappointments of the international crises of the 1930s and the descent into World War II, membership fell to about 100,000. There was another problem. Pacifists were less and less willing to maintain membership as the LNU in the 1930s more and more proposed economic sanctions and suggested military sanctions against aggressive nations. Activities According to B. J. C. McKercher, LNU had considerable success in leading the mainstream of British society to its cause, including labour, the churches and the principal newspapers. LNU was most influential in the Liberal Party, although that party was rapidly losing MPs. It had great strength in the Labour Party, which was growing. It was weakest in the Conservative Party, which dominated politics in the 1930s. Most Conservatives were deeply suspicious of the LNU's support for pacifism and disarmament,. The three main leaders were Gilbert Murray (an Oxford professor), Lord Robert Cecil (who helped Woodrow Wilson design the League of Nations Covenant in 1919), and the general secretary, J. C. Maxwell Garnett. In terms of impact on the government, Birn argues that it helped push the government to admit Germany to the League in 1926, impose an arms embargo during the Far Eastern crisis of 1933, and to impose sanctions against Italy in 1935. These were exceptional, Birn argues, because these were rare instances wherte the LNU got its way in controversial issues. Peace Ballot The most famous operation of the LNU was its organisation of the Peace Ballot of 1935. It asked British adults to decide on questions relating to international disarmament and collective security. The Peace Ballot was a private operation not an official government-sponsored referendum. More than eleven million people participated in it, representing strong support for the aims and objectives of the League of Nations, influencing policy makers and politicians. The results were publicised worldwide. The vote for military action against international aggressors, as a matter of last resort, was almost three-to-one. Educational programmes The LNU was highly successful in reaching schools; teachers were eager to join. It provided publications, films, speakers and lesson plans that were endorsed by Local Education Authorities, and the National Union of Teachers. Brian J. Elliott shows the material downplayed simple moralism, criticized narrow nationalism and gave historical studies a broad European perspective. British role in major panels Conference of Ambassadors "The Conference of Ambassadors of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers" was an inter-allied organization of the Allies of World War I following World War I. Formed in Paris in January 1920, it was the successor of the Supreme War Council and was soon incorporated into the League of Nations. It became less active after the Locarno Treaties of 1925 and formally ceased to exist in 1931. The Conference consisted of ambassadors of the United States Great Britain, Italy, and Japan accredited in Paris and French minister of foreign affairs. The American ambassador attended as an observer because the United States was not an official party to the Treaty of Versailles. French diplomat René Massigli was its secretary-general for its entire existence. It was chaired by French foreign ministers, among them Georges Clemenceau, Raymond Poincaré and Aristide Briand. The most important British action in the Conference was brokering an agreement in 1923 between Italy and Greece in the Corfu incident. When brigands murdered several Italian diplomats on the Greek island of Corfu, the Mussolini government issued an overnight ultimatum, bombarded the island, and demanded a large cash payment. Britain brokered a settlement that favored the Italians. Most historians consider it a failure that underlined the basic weakness of the League of Nations when dealing with a powerful member. A minority opinion of historians argues that British action was suitable and honourable. British role in major proposals Åland Islands dispute of 1920–21 When Finland was part of Russia, it controlled the Åland Islands. In 1920 now that Finland was independent, Sweden called on the principle of self-determination, pointing out the island population was 90% Swedish and wished to join Sweden. The British took the lead in setting terms for negotiations before the League of Nations. It ruled in favour of Finland in 1921. Admission of Albania and Bulgaria After extensive debate on the question of admitting Albania and Bulgaria, Lord Cecil proved most convincing, and secured their admission in late 1920. Admission of Germany The admission of Germany was much more complicated. Britain under Lloyd George strongly recommended admission, but France was bitterly hostile. The Germans misplayed their diplomacy so badly that the British gave up trying. The 1924 Locarno agreement enabled German admission, but there were further delays caused by a crisis over giving a permanent seat on the Council to Spain or Brazil. Germany was finally admitted in 1926 and given the permanent seat in question. David Carlton argues that Foreign Minister Austen Chamberlain badly mismanaged Britain's role, defied public opinion inside Britain, and made many Europeans hostile to Britain. Treaty of Mutual Guarantee disarmament was a high priority for the League but it proved increasingly difficult to come up with a solution. The problem is that if almost everyone was disarmed, the remaining armed power would be very dangerous. In the context of Europe in the 1920s, the fear was that Germany could quickly rearm, threaten the neighbor, and the disarmed members of the League would be helpless to stop it. Lord Cecil (at the time a delegate from South Africa) proposed a solution in 1922 called the Treaty of Mutual Guarantee. Every country that signed, and had reduced its armaments according to the agreed schedule, would be protected. If anyone attacked it, the Treaty would guarantee that the victim would be immediately support by all the other signatories. France and Britain, although quarreling on many other issues, supported the proposal. As the other nations debated the proposal, confusion and difficulty arose – some governments said the proposal went too far, others said it did not go far enough, and few were actually satisfied with it. Latin American states ignored the issue. The report of the Permanent Elements Commission, representing military leaders, said such a treaty would never work. Finally in September 1923 a French draft retitled the "Treaty of Mutual Assistance" was supported by majority, with a large dissenting minority. At the time Italy and Greece were at swords' point, so the proposed treaty was not just a hypothetical solution to imaginary problems. Lord Cecil, now a member of the British government, built up support. The new version would empower the Consul to designate an aggressor, apply economic sanctions, mobilize military forces, and supervise their action. This indeed is what happened in 1950 when the United Nations entered the Korean War, but at this point there was little enthusiasm from any government. The Soviet Union and United States rejected the proposed treaty. Germany was critical. Italy and France gave support. The British dominions were opposed. The death blow came in Geneva on 4 September 1924 when Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald rejected it and called instead for a system of arbitrating disputes. Geneva Protocol of 1924 A draft treaty was assembled in 1923 that made aggressive war illegal and bound the member states to defend victims of aggression by force. Since the onus of responsibility would, in practice, be on the great powers of the League, it was vetoed by Great Britain, who feared that this pledge would strain its own commitment to police its British Empire. The "Geneva Protocol for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes" was a proposal by British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald and his French counterpart Édouard Herriot. It set up compulsory arbitration of disputes and created a method to determine the aggressor in international conflicts. All legal disputes between nations would be submitted to the World Court. It called for a disarmament conference in 1925. Any government that refused to comply in a dispute would be named an aggressor. Any victim of aggression was to receive immediate assistance from League members. British Conservatives condemned the proposal for fear that it would lead to conflict with the United States, which also opposed the proposal. The British Dominions strongly opposed it. The Conservatives came to power in Britain and in March 1925 the proposal was shelved and never reintroduced. Notes See also International relations (1919–1939) Interwar Britain United Kingdom and United Nations Further reading Barros, James. Office Without Power: Secretary-General Sir Eric Drummond 1919–1933 (Oxford 1979). Bendiner, Elmer. A time for angels : the tragicomic history of the League of Nations (1975); well-written popular history. online Birn, Donald S. The League of Nations Union, 1918-1945 (1981) Brierly, J. L. and P. A. Reynolds. "The League of Nations" The New Cambridge Modern History, Vol. XII, The Shifting Balance of World Forces (2nd ed. 1968) Chapter IX, . , by the Englishman who helped found the League. Chaudron, Gerald. New Zealand in the League of Nations: The Beginnings of an Independent Foreign Policy, 1919–1939 (2014) Chaudron, Gerald. "New Zealand’s international initiation: Sir James Allen at the League of Nations 1920–1926." Political Science 64.1 (2012): 62-80 online. Clavin, Patricia. Securing the world economy: the reinvention of the League of Nations, 1920–1946 (Oxford UP, 2013). Clavin, Patricia. "The Ben Pimlott Memorial Lecture 2019—Britain and the Making of Global Order after 1919." Twentieth Century British History 31.3 (2020): 340-359. Dykmann, Klaas. "How International was the Secretariat of the League of Nations?." International History Review 37#4 (2015): 721–744. Egerton, George W. Great Britain and the Creation of the League of Nations: Strategy, Politics, and International Organization, 1914–1919 (U of North Carolina Press, 1978). Farmer, Alan. British Foreign and Imperial Affairs 1919–39 (2000) Feiling, Keith. The Life of Neville Chamberlain (1947) online Gill, George. The League of Nations : from 1929 to 1946 (1996) online Ginneken, Anique H.M. van. Historical Dictionary of the League of Nations (2006) excerpt and text search Gram-Skjoldager, Karen, and Haakon A. Ikonomou. "Making Sense of the League of Nations Secretariat–Historiographical and Conceptual Reflections on Early International Public Administration." European History Quarterly 49.3 (2019): 420–444. Grant, Kevin. "The British empire, international government, and human rights." History Compass 11.8 (2013): 573-583 Henig, Ruth. The Peace that Never was: A History of the League of Nations (Haus Publishing, 2019), a standard scholarly history. Holmila, Antero, and Pasi Ihalainen. "Nationalism and internationalism reconciled: British concepts for a new world order during and after the World Wars." Contributions to the History of Concepts 13.2 (2018): 25-53 online. Housden, Martyn. The League of Nations and the organisation of peace (2012) online Ikonomou, Haakon, Karen Gram-Skjoldager, eds. The League of Nations: Perspectives from the Present (Aarhus University Press, 2019). online review Johnson, Gaynor. Lord Robert Cecil: Politician and Internationalist (London, 2013) excerpt Joyce, James Avery. Broken star : the story of the League of Nations (1919-1939) (1978) online Kaiga, Sakiko. Britain and the Intellectual Origins of the League of Nations, 1914–1919 (Cambridge University Press, 2021). Kaiga, Sakiko. "The Use of Force to Prevent War? The Bryce Group's “Proposals for the Avoidance of War,” 1914–15." Journal of British Studies 57.2 (2018): 308-332. online Kahlert, Torsten. "Pioneers in international administration: a prosopography of the directors of the League of nations secretariat." New Global Studies 13.2 (2019): 190–227. Lloyd, Lorna. "'On the side of justice and peace': Canada on the League of Nations Council 1927–1930." Diplomacy & Statecraft 24#2 (2013): 171–191. McCarthy, Helen. The British People and the League of Nations: Democracy, citizenship and internationalism, c. 1918–45 (Oxford UP, 2011). online review Macfadyen, David, et al. eds. Eric Drummond and his Legacies: The League of Nations and the Beginnings of Global Governance (2019) excerpt Medlicott, W. N. British foreign policy since Versailles, 1919–1963 (1968). pp 46-80, 359 online Mowat, Charles Loch. Britain Between the Wars, 1918–1940 (1955), 690pp; thorough scholarly coverage; emphasis on politics; also online free to borrow Myers, Denys P. Handbook of the League of Nations : a comprehensive account of its structure, operation and activities (1935) online. Northedge, F. S. The troubled giant: Britain among the great powers, 1916–1939 (1966), 657pp online Northedge, F.S The League of Nations: Its Life and Times, 1920–1946 (Holmes & Meier, 1986). Ostrower, Gary B. The League of Nations: From 1919 to 1929 (1996) online, brief survey Pedersen, Susan. The guardians : the League of Nations and the crisis of empire (2015) online; in-depth scholarly history of the mandate system. Reynolds, David. Britannia Overruled: British Policy and World Power in the Twentieth Century (2nd ed. 2000) excerpt and text search, major survey of British foreign policy to 1999 Steiner, Zara. The Lights that Failed: European International History 1919-1933 (Oxford University Press, 2005). Steiner, Zara. The triumph of the dark: European international history 1933-1939 (Oxford University Press, 2011). Swart, William J. "The League of Nations and the Irish Question." Sociological Quarterly 36.3 (1995): 465–481. Taylor, A. J. P. English History, 1914–1945 (Oxford History of England) (1965) excerpt and text search, Witty and scholarly survey; online free to borrow Temperley, A.C. The Whispering Gallery Of Europe (1938), highly influential account of League esp disarmament conference of 1932–34. online Thorne, Christopher G. The limits of foreign policy; the West, the League, and the Far Eastern crisis of 1931-1933 (1972) online online free; the standard scholarly history Webster, Andrew. Strange Allies: Britain, France and the Dilemmas of Disarmament and Security, 1929-1933 (Routledge, 2019). Wilson, Peter. "Gilbert Murray and International Relations: Hellenism, liberalism, and international intellectual cooperation as a path to peace." Review of International Studies 37.2 (2011): 881-909. online Winkler, Henry R. Paths Not Taken: British Labour & International Policy in the 1920s (1994) online Winkler, Henry R. "The Development of the League of Nations Idea in Great Britain, 1914-1919." Journal of Modern History 20.2 (1948): 95-112 online Yearwood, Peter J. Guarantee of Peace: The League of Nations in British Policy 1914–1925 (Oxford UP, 2009). Yearwood, Peter. "‘On the Safe and Right Lines’: The Lloyd George Government and the Origins of the League of Nations, 1916–1918." Historical Journal 32.1 (1989): 131-155. Yearwood, Peter J. "'Consistently with Honour'; Great Britain, the League of Nations and the Corfu Crisis of 1923." Journal of Contemporary History 21.4 (1986): 559-579. Yearwood, Peter J. "‘Real securities against new wars’: Official British thinking and the origins of the League of Nations, 1914–19." Diplomacy and Statecraft 9.3 (1998): 83-109. Yearwood, Peter. "“A Genuine and Energetic League of Nations Policy”: Lord Curzon and the New Diplomacy, 1918–1925." Diplomacy & Statecraft 21.2 (2010): 159-174. Historiography and memory Elliott, Brian J. "The League of Nations Union and history teaching in England: a study in benevolent bias." History of Education 6.2 (1977): 131-141. Gram-Skjoldager, Karen, and Haakon A. Ikonomou. "Making Sense of the League of Nations Secretariat–Historiographical and Conceptual Reflections on Early International Public Administration." European History Quarterly 49.3 (2019): 420–444. Jackson, Simon. "From Beirut to Berlin (via Geneva): The New International History, Middle East Studies and the League of Nations." Contemporary European History 27.4 (2018): 708–726. online Pedersen, Susan "Back to the League of Nations." American Historical Review 112.4 (2007): 1091–1117. in JSTOR Petruccelli, David. "The Crisis of Liberal Internationalism: The Legacies of the League of Nations Reconsidered." Journal of World History 31.1 (2020): 111-136 excerpt. Primary sources League of Nations. Staff of the Secretariat: report presented by the British representative, Mr. A.J. Balfour, and adopted by the Council of the League of Nations, meeting in Rome, on 19th May, 1920 (1920) online Medlicott, W. N. et al. eds. Documents on British Foreign Policy, 1919–1939 (HMSO, 1946), primary sources; many volumes online Wells, H.G. "British nationalism and the league of nations" (1918) online Wiener, Joel H. ed. Great Britain: foreign policy and the span of empire, 1689-1971; a documentary history (vol 4 1972) online League of Nations History of the foreign relations of the United Kingdom Foreign relations of the United Kingdom

69990118

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/100%20%282021%20film%29

100 (2021 film)

100 is a 2021 Indian Kannada-language film directed by Ramesh Arvind . The film stars himself, Rachita Ram, Poorna, and newcomer Vishwa Karna. The film is an official adaptation of the Tamil movie Thiruttu Payale 2. The film released on November 19, 2021 . Story Vishnu is an honest police officer who is living at home with his family- his mother, younger sister and wife, Anagha. His boss asks him to tap phone calls of a few senior police officers and politicians to track their illegal activities. A cyber criminal named Harsha befriends his sister and gathers enough information to blackmail her. Vishnu decides to take matters into his own hands and faces off against the cyber criminal to protect his family. Cast Ramesh Aravind as Vishnu, Cyber Police Rachita Ram as Hima, Vishnu's Sister Poorna as Ananga, Vishnu, Wife Vishwa Karna as Harsha, An Cyber Criminal Prakash Belawadi, An Higher Officer in Police Department Raju Talikote Shobaraj as DGP Police Amita Ranganath Production The film is produced by M Ramesh Reddy and Uma under Suraj Productions. Akash Shrivatsa worked as an editor for this film. Soundtrack Music is composed by Ravi Basrur. Release The Film was released on 19 November 2021. Reception The film received positive reviews from critics. New Indian Express said "The timing of this film is noteworthy considering digital crime is on the rise. 100 is an attempt at sensitising audiences about the crime". Deccan Herald gave four out of five and said that "Ramesh Aravind's '100', a masterfully crafted cyber crime drama, proves this. The seasoned artiste brings in his experience to craft a near-perfect suspense thriller. It's hard to find faults in the film as it shines in all departments". Bangalore Mirror gave the same rating. The Times of India gave the film a rating of 3.5/5 and said that "100 has a pertinent message that deals with how social media has taken over most lives. This can be a good choice for a family movie outing for this weekend". Theme and Influence This Film is Adapted From Susi Ganeshan Tamil film Thiruttu Payale 2 with Some Changes. In Kannada Version Hero's Sister Character is Created, In Tamil Version Have only Heroine Character. Phone Tapping and Cyber Crime In this Movie Are Inspired from Present day Technology Advantages and Disadvantages. Facebook Instagram Also Referenced. Hero"s Sister Unknowingly Being Trapped from An Cyber Criminal. Home Media 100 Film Digital Rights bagged Bye Zee5 and Premiered on 4 February 2022. Television Premiere Yet to be Telecast in Zee Kannada References External links 100 at IMDB Indian thriller films Indian crime thriller films Kannada remakes of Tamil films

69990791

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santos%20Quispe

Santos Quispe

Santos Quispe Quispe (born 26 November 1982), commonly known as Wayna Mallku, is a Bolivian doctor and politician serving as governor of La Paz since 2021. A member of Forward United People, of which he is the leader, Quispe was a relative unknown in politics until he replaced his late father, the renowned peasant leader Felipe Quispe, as Jallalla La Paz's candidate for the governorship of the La Paz Department. Shortly after winning the election, Quispe terminated his party's pact with Jallalla, establishing a confrontational attitude with the Departmental Assembly for the duration of his term. In early 2022, he was sentenced to house arrest with the right to work after being discovered allegedly intoxicated at his office. Early life and career Santos Quispe was born on 26 November 1982 in Achacachi, La Paz, the youngest of seven siblings born to Felipe Quispe, "the Mallku", a renowned Aymara peasant leader. Quispe was raised in the Aymara community of Chilijaya in the Achacachi municipality, where he resided for the majority of his life. In 2004, he enrolled as a student of sociology at the Higher University of San Andrés and from 2015 was a member of the student body of the Public University of El Alto, where he studied educational sciences. Prior to becoming governor, Quispe was still enrolled in these institutions, carrying out his sixth and third semester, respectively. He studied abroad in Cuba at the Latin American School of Medicine, graduating with a bachelor's degree in medicine in 2012. Upon returning to Bolivia, he joined the Association of Doctors Graduated Abroad and, in 2016, was appointed as part of the administrative support staff of the Departmental Health Service of La Paz (SEDES). Governor of La Paz Election In 2014, together with his father, Quispe participated in the formation of Forward United People (APU), a political party which, by 2021, lacked legal status with the Supreme Electoral Tribunal to participate in elections. As a result, for the departmental elections in La Paz, Quispe secured an alliance for APU with the civic group Jallalla La Paz of Leopoldo Chui. On 15 December 2020, the two fronts presented Quispe's father, Felipe Quispe, as Jallalla's candidate for the governorship of the La Paz Department. However, just over a month later, on 19 January 2021, the Mallku unexpectedly died of cardiac arrest in the midst of the campaign. His demise immediately put into question the electoral future of Jallalla, which was forced to seek an alternative candidate. A day after the Mallku's death, the leadership of APU announced that it had decided that Santos Quispe would replace his father on the ballot. Quispe characterized himself as the only candidate capable of fulfilling his father's legacy and stated that, if Jallalla failed to choose him, it would constitute a "betrayal" of the Mallku. He further outlined that he already carried the support of Jallalla's mayoral candidates, including the popular ex-senator Eva Copa, who stated that "out of ethics, out of respect for the memory of our brother Felipe […], his successor is his son, Santos". After a seven-day mourning period, on 2 February, Jallalla proclaimed Quispe as its replacement nominee. The decision was reached through consensus between representatives from all seventy-eight municipalities in which the organization had a presence. Upon assuming the candidacy, Quispe pledged to "sacrifice my life for humble people, for my father's ideals" and accused those calling him an "inheritor" of tarnishing his late father's image. The results of the first round of voting on 7 March were close. Exit polls indicated that Franklin Flores, the candidate for the Movement for Socialism, had reached thirty-nine percent of the vote, one point less than what was necessary to achieve a large enough plurality to avoid a runoff and win in the first round. Because of this, Quispe denounced the possibility of electoral fraud and led his supporters in a vigil outside the headquarters of the Departmental Electoral Tribunal (TED). Ultimately, the final tally revealed that Flores had failed to reach forty percent, pushing the two candidates into a second round. On 14 April, Quispe was declared the virtual winner of the election, defeating Flores with fifty-five percent of the votes. Tenure Quispe was sworn in as governor of the La Paz Department on 3 May 2021. In his inaugural address, he promised to "always work for the unity of all Paceños" and notably announced that he was "removing my political color, I am not going to work for a political [party]". On 28 April, on the same day the TED accredited him as governor, Quispe had publicly broken his pact with Jallalla and revealed his intent to move forward under the APU acronym. In retaliation, just a week after Quispe took office, on 10 May, Jallalla expelled him from its organization, naming him a "traitor". The group's leader, Leopoldo Chui, went on to announce that Jallalla had already begun to process of seeking support for a recall referendum against the governor. Quispe responded by affirming that Jallalla could not expel him because, as the leader of APU, he was never even a member of that group. Apart from the break with Jallalla, Quispe was involved in a further six separate controversies within his first month in office. Two of these were recorded on his first day, stemming from the revelation that his wife, Ana María Salgado, had been elected as an assemblywoman, and his irritated response to a journalist who asked him about it. Three days later, on 6 May, it was noted that Quispe had declared Bs0 in his affidavit of assets, despite the fact that he was a salaried worker at SEDES before being elected. Legal processes Vehicle collision case On 18 June 2021, Assemblyman Leopoldo Chui filed a criminal complaint with the Prosecutor's Office after the Governor's Office failed to deliver a report on the collision of a government vehicle on 13th Street in Calacoto on 13 June. The victim of the accident, Jaime Jiménez Tórrez, alleged that Quispe was in the vehicle at the time of the crash, a claim denied by his office. On 26 August, the Prosecutor's Office issued an arrest warrant against Quispe on charges of improper use of public goods and services and dangerous driving, though it was ultimately not executed upon appeal. That same day, he testified that the legal processes against him were purely political and affirmed that he was not present during the accident. On 22 December, Prosecutor Gustavo Balderrama reported that an investigation had determined that both Quispe and his driver were intoxicated when his official vehicle was involved in the traffic accident. Quispe denounced political persecution and decried a plot by his opponents to remove him from office. Departmental Secretary of Legal Affairs Mario Flores announced that his office would request an audit of the investigation due to irregularities in its findings. He pointed to the fact that the date of the accident had been changed from 12 to 13 June and asserted that "there is not even a breathalyzer test" as evidence. Detention and house arrest On the night of 1 February 2022, in a live video broadcast on Facebook, departmental assemblyman Israel Alanoca recorded himself confronting Quispe in his office. The video showed the governor in an inebriated state with a bag of empty beer cans at his feet. Quispe admitted to drinking, but assured that had not been doing so in his office. According to Alanoca, at around 9 p.m., government officials had called to inform him that Quispe and members of his staff were in a drunken state at his office. Upon arriving, he recalled hearing "loud music" and stated that the secretaries accompanying the governor had locked themselves in another room. Quispe denied the allegations against him and claimed that the beer cans had been planted there by the opposition. Shortly thereafter, police arrived on the scene and the governor was detained by officers of the Special Crime Fighting Force (FELCC). After spending the night in a police cell, and notably refusing to submit a breathalyzer test, the Prosecutor's Office charged Quispe with the crimes of improper use of public property and obstruction of justice, for which they requested three months of preventative detention. Instead, an anti-corruption judge in La Paz determined to sentence Quispe to mandatory house arrest with the authorization to be absent from his home between 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. from Monday to Saturday in order to carry out his official duties. Additionally, Quispe was required to post Bs70,000 bail, comply with mandated sobriety, was barred from entering establishments where alcoholic beverages are sold or from leaving the country, and was prohibited from meeting with the nine individuals alleged to have accompanied him on the night he was arrested, or with any of the complainants in his case. Quispe thanked the judge for his decision and affirmed his continued innocence. He also confirmed that he had no intentions of resigning from office. In response, assemblymen from the opposition assured that they would appeal the decision. Political positions Santos Quispe has been described as "a true unknown". His campaign failed to deliver a government program to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, although it should have been submitted in January. After securing his gubernatorial candidacy, Quispe's media presence dropped considerably and attempts by outlets to secure interviews with him were met by claims that his campaign schedule prevented him from finding the time to answer questions regarding his policy proposals. At campaign events, Quispe's rhetoric often appealed to an ideal of fulfilling his father's legacy, but was characterized as lacking clear ideas, not even tangential to the Mallku's indigenismo ideology. Electoral history References Notes Footnotes Bibliography 1982 births Living people 21st-century Bolivian politicians Bolivian people of Aymara descent Bolivian public health doctors Governors of La Paz Jallalla La Paz politicians Pachakuti Indigenous Movement politicians People from Omasuyos Province

69991561

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin%20Taylor%20%28serial%20killer%29

Kevin Taylor (serial killer)

Kevin Taylor (born June 11, 1974) is an American serial killer and rapist who strangled four prostitutes in Chicago's Southside from June to August 2001, later discarding their bodies inside abandoned structures. After a would be fifth victim survived and identified him, Taylor was arrested and sentenced to multiple life terms in 2006. Early life Taylor was born on June 11, 1974. Throughout his childhood, he was placed in numerous foster homes, as his mother was a convicted drug addict and his father was a convict. Taylor lodged his first arrest in 1993 for burglary, for which he was sent to serve four years in prison. In 1999, he was convicted for the unlawful use of a weapon. In December 2000 he was granted work at a Cheesecake Factory on North Michigan Avenue, where he started working as a cook. By the summer of 2001, Taylor was living with his girlfriend and his two children in Edwardsville. Murders Taylor, an avid frequenter of prostitutes, chose them as his murder victims. He would approach his would-be victims and make arrangements to meet up and have sex. He would then take them to secluded locations and would proceed to get into drug-induced arguments about the cost of sex, which resulted in him strangling them to death. Between June and August 2001, he attacked five women, and in total killed four of them: Ola Mae Wallace (39): body discovered on June 25, 2001, inside an alleyway along North Sheridan Road. Diane Jordan (42): body discovered in an alleyway on July 10, 2001, in the 1400 block on North Mohawk Street. Phyllis Robinson (38): attacked and strangled on July 27, 2001. She was not sexually assaulted and is the only victim to have survived Taylor. Cynthia Hawk (38): body discovered inside a trash can in an alley on July 29, 2001, at 1150 N. LaSalle Street. Bernadine Blunt (39): body discovered on August 18, 2001, inside an abandoned building at 331 E. Kensington Ave. Investigation and arrest By early August 2001, police in Chicago's south side had been investigating the deaths of up to 18 women involved with prostitution dating back to the 1990s. When police were examining the body of Blunt, they discovered a timecard underneath her, which contained Taylor's name, and he was arrested on August 20. By this time, the four murders were suspected to be linked, and police sought to question the only surviving victim of the killer, who was Robinson. In a police line-up, Robinson identified Taylor as the man who attacked her. Upon this, Taylor admitted that he had been responsible for all five crimes. His arrest surprised just about everyone who knew him. Larry Jones, a friend of Taylor's girlfriend, told the Chicago Tribune that "He just didn’t do all the things they say he did. I went to church today to pray for him. I hope he gets through this alright." Trials and imprisonment In January 2006, Taylor's trial for one of the murders, that of Cynthia Halk, was opened, and he was later convicted and given a 50-year sentence. His trial for the three other murders began later that year, and he pleaded guilty to avoid a possible death sentence. In the end, he was convicted once again, receiving a sentence of life imprisonment without parole. As of 2022, Taylor is incarcerated at Menard Correctional Center in Chester, Illinois, under the identification number B52807. See also List of serial killers in the United States Southside Strangler References External links Illinois Department of Corrections Information 1974 births 2001 murders in the United States 20th-century American criminals American male criminals American people convicted of attempted murder American people convicted of burglary American people convicted of murder American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment American serial killers Crime in Chicago Criminals from Chicago Living people Male serial killers People convicted of murder by Illinois Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Illinois Violence against women in the United States

69992139

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanjavur%20student%20suicide%20case

Thanjavur student suicide case

The Thanjavur student suicide case also known as Lavanya suicide case, relates to the death of a 17-year-old student in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu, India. The cause of the suicide is disputed and are being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the federal investigative agency in India. The investigation was transferred by the Madras High court from the local police to CBI. The Supreme Court has allowed CBI to continue the investigation. Incident Lavanya Muruganantham was a 17-year-old student of Sacred Heart Girls Higher Secondary School, a recognized minority school administered by Franciscan Missionaries of Mary in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu. On 9 January 2022, Lavanya consumed pesticide in an attempt to kill herself. After she was taken to a hospital, she regained consciousness. She died on 19 January 2022. Unverified video After her death, an unverified video was shared in the social media captured by Vishwa Hindu Parishad's Ariyalur District Secretary, in which Lavanya is seen alleging that she was forced into chores related to cleaning, maintenance and administration of the hostel. The video suggested that Lavanya was being pressured to become Christian Three more videos were later leaked. The Hindu reported that the second video of Lavanya appeared to have been shot while Lavanya was undergoing treatment at the hospital. The video purportedly showed that Lavanya had attempted suicide as she was unable to concentrate in studies due to the non-academic work she had to do in the hostel. The video did not mention religious conversion. She identified herself in one video by providing personal information. In another video, she explained about the chores she was made to do in school, and in another, she talked about her stepmother. The videos were first investigated by the police and the case heard in the Madurai bench of the Madras High court. Investigation After Lavanya's death the 62 year old hostel warden was arrested by the police under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, on charges of abatement to suicide. Police have interrogated 50 people connected to Lavanya. The school have denied any wrong doing in the case. The girl's parents alleged that the police was not taking seriously, their complaints of their daughter being pressured to convert. Senior police officer in Thanjavur, Ravali Priya Gandhapuneni, said that the police had recorded Lavanya's complaint, statement and dying declaration in front of the Judicial Magistrate. Lavanya did not speak about religious conversion while recording her statements. The parents of the girl also did not allege religious conversion. She noted that the police had also started investigation on the allegations of conversion. Police was also searching for the person who filmed the video shared on social media to verify the authenticity of the shared video and the motives of the person in releasing the video. According to the police officer, revealing the identity of a minor girl is a violation of law. Court proceedings The parents of the girl approached the Madras High Court on 21 January asking for a CBI investigation. On 31 January, upholding the plea from Lavanya's parents the Madras High Court ordered the case to be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation for further investigation. On 14 February 2022, the Supreme Court hearing the plea of Tamil Nadu government challenging the Madras High Court judgement, refused to intervene with the High court judgement. Politics South China Morning Post reported that the far-right Hindu groups in the region often accused the health care and educational institutions run by the Christian organisations of proselytising. The opposition NDA alliance partner, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced that it will set up a committee for investigating the allegations of coerced conversion. K. Annamalai, the president of Tamil Nadu wing of BJP was leading the political campaign that focused on the death of the girl. Annamalai had shared Lavanya's video on his Twitter profile. Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M. K. Stalin accused the BJP of doing communal politics over the incident. On 28 January, a group of the villagers from different religions of Michaelpatti village submitted petitions to Thanjavur Collector alleging that "vested interests" were attempting to disrupt the religious harmony of their village using the incident of Lavanya's death. Their village of 800 families following Christianity, Hinduism and Islam lived amicably since five generations. So far no one had attempted to convert the villagers into another religion, neither in the village nor in the school. They demanded that independent committees created by the political parties and religious organizations be prevented from conducting investigations in their village. The girl’s father too petitioned the Collector, seeking action against school authorities for “forcing his daughter to end her life.” The parent-teachers association president, residents, parents of students and alumni of the school, where Lavanya studied, submitted their separate petition to the Collector, seeking protection for the School. They stated that since the death, some political parties and religious outfits were carrying out a "smear campaign" against the school and teachers. In their petition, action against these parties and outfits was sought. Members of the minority groups in Karur lodged a legal complaint against the state BJP president K. Annamalai at Thanthonimalai police station accusing him of making attempts to disturb the religious harmony. The Police did not immediately, file an FIR on the complaint. The accused hostel keeper was released on bail on 13th February 2022. She was greeted by DMK's Trichy East Assembly member Inigo Iruthayaraj and presented with a shawl and garland. References 2022 in India Drug-related suicides in India

69994653

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanishing%20Hotel%20Room

Vanishing Hotel Room

The Vanishing Hotel Room (also known as The Vanishing Lady) is an urban legend which claims that during an international exposition in Paris, a daughter left her mother in a hotel room and when she came back her mother was gone and the hotel staff claimed to have no knowledge of the missing woman. Legend According to the legend, a woman was taken ill while traveling in a foreign country with her daughter. While she lied down in her hotel bed, the daughter made a trip across town to pick up a needed prescription. When she returned, she found that her mother, as well as the hotel room that they stayed in, have disappeared. No one remembered having seen either her or her mother. Origin According to the Quote Investigator website and Bonnie Taylor-Blake, the author of the earliest known instance of the legend was Nancy Vincent McClelland who wrote a version in an article titled "A Mystery of the Paris Exposition" in The Philadelphia Inquirer dated November 14, 1897. The QI and Taylor-Blake also found a version of the legend in the Detroit Free Press in 1898 titled "Porch Tales: The Disappearance of Mrs. Kneeb", which designated Kenneth Herford as the author. It is theorised that "Kenneth Herford" was a pen name for Karl Harriman. Variations There are multiple variations of the "Vanishing Hotel Room" story. Usually, the story is set in Paris, France, during the Paris Exposition of 1889 or 1900, where, most commonly, a woman with her daughter have just traveled. Sometimes the women in the story aren't related; they're traveling companions of roughly the same age, and on rare occasions, both the searcher and the one sought after are male. Usually, the daughter gets sent to a mental hospital, where she spends rest of her days. In the version printed in the July 6 and July 13, 1929, issue of The New Yorker, it was revealed that the mother had died of Black Plague and the hotel management and the police had kept her death a secret so that the visitors to the city would not leave. In popular culture The story inspired several novels: The End of Her Honeymoon by Marie Belloc Lowndes (1913), She Who Was Helena Cass by Lawrence Rising (1920), The Vanishing Of Mrs. Fraser by Basil Thomson (1925) and The Torrents of Spring by Ernest Hemingway (1926), as well as following films: The Midnight Warning (1932), The Lady Vanishes (1938), Covered Tracks (1938), So Long at the Fair (1950), The Forgotten (2004) and Flightplan (2005). It was also featured as a "true story" in a 2002 episode of the Fox television program Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction. References American legends Urban legends Paris in fiction

69995712

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimean%20Tatar%20repatriation

Crimean Tatar repatriation

The main wave of Crimean Tatar repatriation occurred during in the late 1980s and early 1990s when over 200,000 Crimean Tatars left Central Asia to return to Crimea. While the Soviet government attempted to stifle mass return efforts for decades by denying them residence permits in Crimea or even recognition as a distinct ethnic group, activists continued to petition for the right of return. Eventually a series of commissions were created to publicly evaluate the prospects of allowing return, the first being the notorious Gromyko commission that lasted from 1987 to 1988 that issued declaring that "there was no basis" to allow exiled Crimean Tatars to return en masse to Crimea or restore the Crimean ASSR. However, the government soon reconsidered its decision in light of the June 1989 pogroms against minorities in the Fergana valley where Crimean Tatars were exiled to, resulting in the formation of the Yanaev commission to readdress the possibility of allowing Crimean Tatars to return to Crimea. As result, on 14 November 1989, the Supreme Soviet issued a statement unequivocally condemning the deportation and exile of Crimean Tatars, re-recognizing them as a distinct ethnic group, and calling for the implementation of a state-sponsored repatriation of exiled Crimean Tatars to Crimea. Subsequently a commission led by Vitaly Doguzhiyev was formed to develop plans to carry out the repatriation and assist Crimean Tatars in returning to Crimea. However, many of the state-sponsored return efforts did not last very long due to the subsequent dissolution of the Soviet Union, and when the Crimean ASSR was re-established in 1991 it was designed as a regional autonomy, not on part with being the de facto Crimean Tatar titular republic of the original Crimean ASSR. What followed was the mass return of a large portion of the Crimean Tatar diaspora in Central Asia, with an estimated 166,000 making it to Crimea by the end of 1991. Eventually over 200,000 Crimean Tatars returned to Crimea, but many struggled to get suitable housing and citizenship in newly independent Ukraine for several years and to this day remain poorly integrated in Russian-dominated Crimean society. Today they compose an estimated 12% of the population of Crimea, living mostly in the central parts of the peninsula with negligible representation in the southern coastal regions where they were a majority before the deportation, which are currently very expensive to live in. Background Ever since the deportation of 1944, Crimean Tatar exiles sought to return to their homeland. However, while most deported peoples, including the Chechens, Ingush, Kalmyks, were all allowed to return to their homelands, had their titular national republics restored, and were recognized as distinct ethnic groups. However, the same 1956 decree that restored the rights and republics of those deported peoples deliminated Crimean Tatars, failing to recognize that they never part of the Volga Tatar people, and rationalized that the Crimean ASSR didn't need to be restored since the Tatar ASSR already existed, suggesting that "people of Tatar nationality formerly living in the Crimea" "return" to Tatarstan. Although Crimean Tatar rights activists attempted to explain to the Kremlin that they were a distinct ethnic group and not part of the Volga Tatar people colloquially simply called "Tatars", and only wanted to return to Crimea, they remained unrecognized, continuing to be counted simply as "Tatars" in censuses, and their repeated petitions requesting right of return to Crimea and restoration of the Crimean ASSR were rejected. Eventually in September 1967 a carefully worded decree proclaiming that "Citizens of Tatar nationality previously living in the Crimea" were officially rehabilitated, leading to confusion among many Crimean Tatars about their status, but the subsequent fine print declared that they were "firmly rooted" in "places of residence" and reinforced that they could move about "in accordance with the passport regime". The initial vaugeness of the announcements resulted in the first wave of Crimean Tatar returnees arriving in Crimea. While some of them were granted the required propiska (residence permit) to live in Crimea legally, many others were turned away and re-deported to Central Asia. The "lottery for the homeland" died off, with the number of Crimean Tatar families permitted to return to Crimea each year turning into a trickle by the 70's. Nevertheless, numerous Crimean Tatar families continued to seek repatriation to Crimea, only for most of them to be re-deported to Central Asia after being denied the required residence permit. Meanwhile, slavic settlers in Crimea from the mainland Ukraine and the RSFSR continued to flow into Crimea, and faced no barriers to obtaining housing and the required residence permit. Gromyko commission Eventually after decades of petitioning and delegations the Soviet government agreed to form a commission in 1987 to evaluate the possibility of allowing Crimean Tatars to return to Crimea. The ensuing commission led by Gromyko, who did not hide his disdain for Crimean Tatars and was reluctant to even meet with them, contained no Crimean Tatars on the board, and in July 1988 a formal conclusion statement was issued saying that there was "no basis" to allow mass repatriation of Crimean Tatars to Crimea and or the restoration of the Crimean ASSR on practical grounds due to the sharp demographic changes in Crimea over the decades, reaffirming the status quo of only seldom allowing small numbers of Crimean Tatars into Crimea on an individual basis. Fergana pogroms In June 1989, Uzbek nationalist mobs attacked en mass the Meskhetian Turk minority (another ethnic group exiled in the Uzbek SSR) and other minorities to a lesser extent, including the Crimean Tatars. Earlier in December 1988 there had been a rally in Tashkent where Uzbek nationalists held banners saying "Russians - go to Russia! Crimean Tatars - go to Crimea!" Anecdotal evidence suggests that while approximately three-fourths of Crimean Tatars wanted to return to Crimea before the pogroms, almost all Crimean Tatars wanted to leave the Uzbek SSR afterwards, as they felt that the writing was on the wall that they would be the next target and the authorities would not be able to protect them when targeted by Uzbek mobs, just like they were unable to protect the Meskhetian Turks. In addition, the blatant violence against minorities in the riots limited the government's ability to claim Crimean Tatars and other exiled minorities had "taken root" in the Uzbek SSR or had reason to want to leave. Yanaev commission After the initial failed Gromyko commission and the subsequent Fergana pogroms, the government decided to officially reconsider the possibility of allowing Crimean Tatars to return to Crimea. The Commission on the Problems of the Crimean Tatar headed by Gennady Yanaev was formed on 12 July 1989. Just like in the previous commission, members of the commission travelled across the Soviet Union to speak with Crimean Tatar diaspora communities in Central Asia as well as the leadership of Crimea and the Central Asia republics, as well as activists from across the spectrum of the Crimean Tatar rights movement ranging from the NDKT to the OKND. The conclusions, issued on 28 November 1989, cleared the way for the rehabilitation of the Crimean Tatar people and supported allowing their return to Crimea. Although it acknowledged that mass return would not be easy due to the demographics of Crimea at the time, which the Gromyko commission used as an excuse to reject the right of return, it noted that such excuses were an unacceptable grounds to deny justice to the Crimean Tatar people, who long lived in hope of seeing Crimea again. In addition, it pointed out and condemned the hypocrisy of the continued recruitment of people from other parts of the union to work and live in Crimea while denying Crimean Tatars the same opportunity to do so, and acknowledged that the Crimean Tatars were widely discriminated against when attempting to get residence permits in Crimea, and called for the abolition of decrees specifically intended to limit their ability to return. Subsequently, another commission, led by Vitaly Doguzhiyev and composed of various Soviet politicians in addition to five Crimean Tatars (Refat Appazov, Refat Chubarov, Ferit Ziyadinov, Akhtem Tippa, and Riza Asanov) was formed to develop proposals for the implementation of the planned return. Return process The repatriation program approved by the government in 1989 intended to aid the return of 50,000 exiled Crimean Tatars each year, and set targets for the number of housing units to be constructed in Crimea for returnees each year. However, the program supporting Crimean Tatar returnees did not meet its construction targets, and after Ukraine gained independence from the USSR the number of Crimean Tatars returning each year drastically declined, with Crimean Tatars largely left with no option but to claim an unused land plot in a remote area and build a house from scratch there, and until then live in tents. However, some Crimean Tatars nevertheless aimed for returning to the coast: on 23 October 1989 the first temporary tent city on the south coast was established in Degirmenkoy, after repeated attempts to obtain residence permits and land through the formal process reached a dead end. However, the tent city was soon violently demolished on 14 December 1989 when over 600 policemen accompanied by over 200 vigilantes attacked the camp, who brutalized residents including the elderly; one farm director who participated in the attack would knock people over and then kick them on the ground. In the midst of the chaos, Seidamet Balji set himself on fire, attempting self-immolation, but was soon extinguished. Nevertheless, Crimean Tatars were not intimidated by the events, and continued to return to Crimea, building villages in empty fields. By the time most Crimean Tatars started returning to Crimea, the already expensive housing prices in Crimea continued to rise while the prices of housing in Central Asia continued to decrease, resulting in very few Crimean Tatar returnees being able to buy their own houses. As a result, most returning Crimean Tatars settled in Central Crimea where the land was less costly and constructed their own shanty towns there. Results Reactions from Russian residents The Russian population of Crimea, who formed the majority demographic of the peninsula, were often very hostile to returning Crimean Tatars, whose return was perceived as an invading enemy. Organizers encouraged fellow Russians in Crimea to buy up land plots as soon as possible and ask their Russian relatives outside Crimea to help buy more to prevent it from being bought by Crimean Tatars. With the complicity of Crimean authorities, Crimean Tatars continued to be presented with bureaucratic obstacles to buying land and housing in Crimea, while state land that was earmarked for redistribution to Crimean Tatar returnees to build housing on ended up being given to the slavic population in Crimea for gardens and dachas. Ruralization and impact on Crimean Tatar community Although around two-thirds of Crimean Tatars in exile lived in urban areas of Central Asia by the 1980's, upon returning to Crimea, about the same percent were settled in the rural areas where the land was of lower value, where they built shanty towns, instead of mass resettling in the south coast where most of the Crimean Tatar population used to live. The exclusion of large swaths of the Crimean Tatar population from the economy of the South Coast further deepened the poverty of the returnees in the steppes, who often lacked basic utilities or even insulation in the hastily-constructed houses. With unemployment among Crimean Tatars reaching 40% to 70% at some points, many who were well-educated ended up working in menial jobs well below their skill level; however, very few left Crimea for Central Asia, (less than 2%) and most who did leave did so only temporarily. Over time migration within Crimea moved somewhat southward towards their ancestral villages and closer to urban areas where employment opportunities were better but the cost of living higher. References Politics of the Crimean Tatars Contemporary migrations 1989 in the Soviet Union 1990 in the Soviet Union 1991 in the Soviet Union 1992 in Ukraine 1993 in Ukraine

69996223

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria%20Brownworth

Victoria Brownworth

Victoria Brownworth (born February 1959 or 1960) is an American journalist, writer, and editor. Throughout the 1980s and '90s, she wrote numerous award-winning articles about AIDS in women, children, and people of color. She was the first person in the United States to write a column about lesbianism in a daily newspaper and host a lesbian radio show. In 1983, Brownworth was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for her journalism exposing "corruption at a Philadelphia based social service agency." She has also won the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery for her 2016 novel Ordinary Mayhem. Personal life In her early-to-mid-thirties, Brownworth started experiencing a number of symptoms she chalked up to being overworked (e.g., general malaise and difficulty walking). In one 18-month period, she broke 13 bones due to her symptoms, though she still believed nothing was seriously wrong. However, when she went blind due to optic neuritis, she visited a doctor who diagnosed her with primary progressive multiple sclerosis, a diagnosis she resisted for over a year. In 1994, she began to use a wheelchair, which she has used on and off since. Brownworth has also had breast cancer, has a damaged heart, and "a spot on [her] lung." Brownworth currently lives in Philadelphia with her partner, Maddy Gold. The couple met while attending the Philadelphia High School for Girls and dated off and on for years. Brownworth and Gold had been living together for many years when Pennsylvania deemed the ban on same-sex marriage to be unconstitutional, and Brownworth immediately proposed. They were married in October of that year on their 15-year anniversary. Education and career Brownworth published her first book of poetry at age 18. Brownworth studied American studies and women's history at the Temple University and represented the university at the first National Women's Studies Association. Near graduation, she became the star witness "in the first federal police brutality trial in Philadelphia." The police were acquitted, and she began her career in advocacy journalism. In the 1980s and early 1990s, Brownworth worked for the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News, where she became the first open lesbian in the United States to write column about lesbian issues in a daily newspaper. Later, she also became the first person to host a lesbian radio program in the United States, Amazon Country on WXPN-FM. In 1993, after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Brownworth began focusing primarily on writing books and editing anthologies. She has also been a contributing editor for Curve and Lambda Literary Review and has been a regular contributing writer for SheWired, Advocate, The Independent, and HuffPost. In 2010, Brownworth co-founded Tiny Satchel Press, a publishing company that printed young adult books featuring characters from systemically marginalized populations. Brownworth has won the Society of Professional Journalism Award and the NLGJA Award. Awards Publications Anthology contributions Women of Mystery: An Anthology (2006) Fantasy: Untrue Stories of Lesbian Passion (2007) Wild Nights: (Mostly) True Stories of Women Loving Women (2007) Persistence: All Ways Butch and Femme (2011) Women of the Mean Streets (2011) Night Shadows: Queer Horror (2012) Anthologies edited Out for Blood (1995) Night Bites: Vampire Stories by Women Tales of Blood and Lust (1996) Out for More Blood (1996) Night Shade: Gothic Tales by Women, with Judith M. Redding (1999) Restricted Access: Lesbians on Disability (1999) Coming Out of Cancer: Writings from the Lesbian Cancer Epidemic (2000) Bed: New Lesbian Erotica (2007) The Golden Age of Lesbian Erotica: 1920-1940, with Judith M. Redding (2007) From Where We Sit: Black Writers Write Black Youth (2011) Ordinary Mayhem (2015) Books written Film Fatales: Independent Women Directors, with Judith M. Redding (1997) Day of the Dead (2009) Ordinary Mayhem (2015) Erasure (2017) Sleep So Deep (2017) Essay collections Too Queer: Essays from a Radical Life (1996) References Living people American lesbian writers Writers with disabilities Writers from Philadelphia People with multiple sclerosis 20th-century American writers 21st-century American writers 20th-century American journalists Temple University alumni Year of birth missing (living people)

69996801

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead%20on%20the%20Track

Dead on the Track

Dead on the Track is a 1943 detective novel by John Rhode, the pen name of the British writer Cecil Street. It is the thirty seventh in his long-running series of novels featuring Lancelot Priestley, a Golden Age armchair detective. Like a number of mystery novels of the era, it has a railway setting. In theme and plot it is very similar to the author's earlier 1931 work Tragedy on the Line. It is the first entry in the series since Hendon's First Case (1935) in which Priestley's old associate Hanslet is the lead investigator. The other recurring police officer in the series Inspector Jimmy Waghorn is now working with military intelligence. Synopsis Near the small settlement of Filmerham, the stationmaster discovers a body lying close to the tracks not far from the station. Due to a wartime shortage of police personnel, the retired Superintendent Hanslet is called back into action. By recalling an earlier deduction made by Priestley in a similar case, he is able to work towards a solution. References Bibliography Evans, Curtis. Masters of the "Humdrum" Mystery: Cecil John Charles Street, Freeman Wills Crofts, Alfred Walter Stewart and the British Detective Novel, 1920-1961. McFarland, 2014. Magill, Frank Northen . Critical Survey of Mystery and Detective Fiction: Authors, Volume 3. Salem Press, 1988. Reilly, John M. Twentieth Century Crime & Mystery Writers. Springer, 2015. 1943 British novels Novels by Cecil Street British crime novels British mystery novels British detective novels Collins Crime Club books Novels set in London

69997512

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boots%20theory

Boots theory

The Sam Vimes "Boots" theory of socioeconomic unfairness, often called simply the boots theory, is an economic theory first popularised by English fantasy writer Terry Pratchett in his 1993 Discworld novel Men at Arms. In the novel, Sam Vimes, the captain of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, reasons that poverty causes greater expenses to the poor than to those who are richer. Since its publication, the theory has received wider attention, especially in regards to the effect of increasing prices of daily necessities. Conception In the Discworld series of novels, Sam Vimes is the curmudgeonly captain of the City Watch of the medieval city-state of Ankh-Morpork. Vimes' upbringing in poverty informs his character traits as an incorruptible old-school policeman, even as the character reluctantly rises into the city's aristocracy over the course of the series. The boots theory comes from a passage of the 1993 novel Men at Arms, the second novel to focus on the City Watch, where he muses about his experiences of poverty as compared to his fiancé Lady Sybil Ramkin's conception of poverty: The theory has its antecedents; in Robert Tressell's 1914 novel, The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists, protagonist Frank Owen directly refers to clothes and boots as necessities where the total cost over time is greater for the working classes, as "[they] can seldom or never afford to buy good things" and therefore must "buy cheap rubbish, which is dear at any price". Likewise, in a 1954 column for The Observer, humourist Paul Jennings made similar comments about boots, and the adage "buy cheap, buy twice" has reportedly sustained itself as a Northern English adage. It has thus been theorized that Pratchett drew inspiration from these antecedents. Since the publication of Men at Arms, others have also made reference to the theory. In 2013, a ConsumerAffairs article made reference to the theory in regards to purchasing items on credit, specifically regarding children's boots from the retailer Fingerhut; a $25 pair of boots, at the interest rates being offered, would cost $37 if purchased over seven months. In 2016, the popular left-wing blog Dorset Eye also ran an article discussing the theory, giving fuel poverty in the United Kingdom as an example of its application, citing a 2014 Office for National Statistics (ONS) report that those who pre-paid for electricity — who were most likely to be subject to fuel poverty — paid 8% more on their electricity bills than those who paid by direct debit. Vimes Boots Index In a January 2022 opinion piece for The Guardian, antipoverty activist and food journalist Jack Monroe announced their own index, which they called the Vimes Boots Index (VBI), as a rival to the ONS's official Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Retail Price Index (RPI). Speaking in the context of the official rate of inflation reaching 5.4 per cent, Monroe argued that the CPI did not properly reflect the priorities of the average consumer; in particular they cited items in the ONS's 700-item "basket"—including legs of lamb, televisions, and champagne—whose lower rises in price, they argued, had the effect of depressing the effective cost of inflation. Monroe also cited the withdrawal of many value-branded items from supermarkets—for example, a packet of ten stock cubes from Sainsbury's raising from 10p in 2012 to 39p (for beef and chicken) or £1 (for vegetable) in 2022—as contributing to increased food poverty. The estate of Pratchett, who died in 2015, gave its full support to Monroe's campaign, quoting Pratchett to say "Sometimes it’s better to light a flamethrower than curse the darkness. Shortly after Monroe's announcement, the ONS stated they were going to move to personalised inflation rates that take people's income into account. The ONS's head of inflation statistics, Mike Hardie, wrote in a blog post on the department's website that "the average annual rate of inflation can conceal a lot", and agreed that some items analysed in its basket—such as fruit drinks and margarine—had experienced annual price increases of over 30 per cent, and in some cases, over 100 per cent. Monroe hopes to have the first edition of the VBI published mid-February 2022. An article exploring how VBI applies to various supermarkets in the UK noted it applied variably across chains but held up overall, noting the "ONS collects inflation data through in-store visits, tracking prices against a fixed list of products. If one of the items is delisted, they find a replacement of similar quality. However, if a value item disappears altogether, ONS says that "breaks the price chain" and it will no longer be included in the statistic. Therefore, in cases like Asda’s cheapest rice or Morrisons’ ‘wonky’ apples, though shoppers are suddenly forced to pay more, this is not reflected in the inflation figure." Asda, whose prices Monroe cited in their tweet as an example of inflation, has "taken on board" the concerns raised by VBI and stated they are taking steps to offer more budget items across all locations. CEO of Tesco John Allan stated that "I think the combination of increasing energy prices, the impact of National Insurance increases [in April] on people's incomes, and to a much much lesser extent increasing food prices, is going to squeeze the hardest-up still harder." He did not comment on the state of the industry but stated that Tesco's food inflation rate had been kept at one per cent over the last three months. References Price indices Macroeconomics Discworld

69997583

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001%20Special%20Operations%20Unit%20mutiny%20%28Serbia%29

2001 Special Operations Unit mutiny (Serbia)

On 9 November 2001, soldiers of the Special Operations Unit (JSO), an elite special forces police unit of the FR Yugoslav State Security Service (RDB), also known as the Red Berets, raised a mutiny in response to the arrest and extradition of the Banović brothers, indicted for war crimes before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the group's opposition to the Government of Serbia headed by Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić. The mutiny ended on 17 November 2001 after certain concessions had been given to the Unit and the key figures in the State Security Service were dismissed. The mutiny was the forerunner of major political upheavals in Serbia, one of which was the assassination of Zoran Đinđić in 2003. Background Overthrow of Milošević During the overthrow of Slobodan Milošević in October 2000, the Special Operations Unit (JSO) played a significant role. The Unit's commander Milorad Ulemek made an agreement with opposition leader Zoran Đinđić which resulted in Ulemek refusing to carry out Milošević's order to open fire on the anti-government protesters in Belgrade. Arrest of Milošević and split within the transitional government The following year, Milošević was arrested and transferred to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in the Hague in late June 2001. This became a wedge issue, leading to a split within the transitional authorities and the formation of an "anti-Hague lobby" centered around Yugoslav President Vojislav Koštunica. As Koštunica distanced himself from the ruling DOS coalition, he created a kind of shadow government grouped around his presidential cabinet. This opened an opportunity for remnants of the Milošević regime to capitalize on the ongoing power struggle between Prime Minister Đinđić and President Koštunica, with the ultimate goal of preserving their interests. Milorad Ulemek's resignation and criminal activities During the year following the overthrow of Milošević, Milorad Ulemek increasingly associated with Dušan Spasojević, allegedly a former JSO member, who was a leader of the Zemun Clan. This was first made clear during the arrest of Spasojević and several Zemun Clan members in May 2001 in France, when Ulemek argued for their release in front of Interior Minister Dušan Mihajlović. After hearing of their arrest, Ulemek started a fire in the disco "Tvrđava" (Fortress) in Kula. He started several incidents in Belgrade's cafes, culminating on 15 June in the cafe "Bojan Stupica", during Ceca Ražnatović's birthday party. The Stupica incident, which included Ulemek threatening police officers while armed, led to his resignation from the Ministry of the Interior on 26 June 2001. Still, Ulemek kept his influence in the JSO, now led by Dušan Maričić "Gumar", and remained its de facto commander. After his resignation, Ulemek continued to enjoy certain privileges afforded to former high-ranking State Security operatives, such as armed guards dispatched from the police force. Ulemek spent the several following months in Greece, where he was arrested in August 2001 for possessing a forged passport. Ulemek was released after State Security Service director Goran Petrović submitted a written request to Greek authorities. This arrest further upset him because he had long suspected that he, too, was wanted by the ICTY, and that he could be charged for the Ibar Highway attack. Increasingly paranoid, Ulemek met with Čedomir Jovanović, a member of Đinđić's inner circle, on 5 October 2001 in the Zemun Clan headquarters in Šilerova street. According to Jovanović, Ulemek relayed these fears to him during their meeting, meanwhile boasting of his alliance with Security Administration chief Aco Tomić. Another event that made Ulemek feel threatened was ICTY prosecutor Carla Del Ponte's request for information from Interior Minister Mihajlović during her stay in Serbia on 19 October 2001. The information concerned around 200 individuals, including members of the JSO. Ulemek was also scheduled to appear before the court as a witness in the Ibar Highway case on 12 November. He was later himself indicted in the case and was sentenced to 40 years in prison. Immediate causes The immediate cause for the mutiny was the arrest of Predrag Banović and Nenad Banović, two brothers who were indicted for war crimes committed during the Bosnian War in Keraterm camp, and their subsequent extradition to the ICTY. The arrest was carried out by the JSO on 8 November 2001 in Obrenovac. During the mutiny, the JSO claimed they had no knowledge that the, what they considered an "unlawful and unconstitutional" extradition of the brothers to the ICTY will take place following their arrest. However, according to deputy State Security director Zoran Mijatović, the JSO was informed of the fact in a meeting on 7 November attended by commander Dušan Maričić and reserve commander Zvezdan Jovanović, and had not protested during the meeting. Another possible underlying reason for the mutiny was the fact that the Banović brothers were former members of the Wolves of Vučjak paramilitary unit, closely aligned with the JSO, which could have raised fears that some members of the JSO might be arrested in the future. Mutiny On the evening of 9 November 2001, the Special Operations Unit disobeyed the State Security Service and most of its members withdrew from their jobs, including drivers and bodyguards of Serbian government officials. When the mutiny arose, Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić and Interior Minister Dušan Mihajlović were on official business while Goran Petrović, director of the State Security Service, was on vacation. Petrović informed deputy director Zoran Mijatović in the evening. Around that time, he also informed Čedomir Jovanović who tried to establish contact with the Zemun Clan in Šilerova, where he left a message for Ulemek. That same evening, the JSO barricaded themselves inside their headquarters, a training center built on the site of the former salaš Štolc in Kula. There, they held a press conference from the memorial room, a space decorated with images of members who were killed in action, as well as maps describing their activities during the Yugoslav Wars. Their demands were read out to a group of journalists by a man who introduced himself as "major Batić", later identified as Vladimir Potić. These included the enactment of a law on cooperation with the ICTY and the dismissal of Interior Minister Dušan Mihajlović. The demand for a law on cooperation with the ICTY corresponded to President Koštunica's views on this matter. While there is no evidence that he was directly involved, his support for the mutineers gave the JSO additional legitimacy in the eyes of the public. In fact, his command over the army stopped the Government from resorting to a military solution to the crisis. Additional informal demands were established later, including the removal of Goran Petrović from his position of director. On 10 November, the JSO refused all communication with the government institutions. That day, the Unit blocked a loop of the E75 highway near Vrbas from around 1 PM to 3 PM. Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić returned from his visit to the United States on 11 November. In the afternoon, he chaired a meeting held at the Ministry of Internal Affairs. At this meeting, Đinđić asked Sreten Lukić for a direct answer to the question of whether the police could prevent JSO in its potential attempt to occupy the government building and he received a negative answer. Čedomir Jovanović got a coded letter from Milorad Ulemek during the day inviting him and Đinđić to the JSO headquarters to negotiate. In the evening, Đinđić visited the center of the Special Operations Units in Kula. Talks were held for three hours in order to calm the situation and find a solution. The statement, which was distributed to the journalists points out that Đinđić accepted the reasons for the protest, but was not ready to support them. Highway blockade in Belgrade On Monday, 12 November at around 5:20 AM, about 70 armed members of the Special Operations Unit blocked the highway through Belgrade near Sava Centar in the direction of the Gazela Bridge with their Humvee vehicles. Among the rebels was Zvezdan Jovanović, later sentenced to 40 years in prison for the assassination of Đinđić. At around 7:30 AM, Goran Petrović sent his deputy Zoran Mijatović to negotiate with the Unit. Mijatović came to the blockade at around 8 AM, where he talked to Maričić and threatened him with an ICTY indictment. Mijatović was incorrect, seeing as neither Maričić nor any other members of the JSO, apart from Franko Simatović, were ever indicted by the ICTY. During the negotiations on the highway, Mijatović also threatened Maričić saying the population in the surrounding buildings consisted mainly of former and current army officers, many of whom owned weapons. Meanwhile, the Special Anti-Terrorist Unit of the Ministry of the Interior was on full alert that day and the day before. The JSO cleared the highway around 3 PM on 12 November. That afternoon, Milorad Ulemek testified at the trial for the murders on the Ibar Highway. He came to court together with several armed men, which affected other witnesses who refused to testify at the hearing out of fear. After leaving the courtroom, Ulemek told the media that he supported the mutiny and that everyone had the right to protest in their uniforms. This sentiment was echoed several days later by President Vojislav Koštunica, who justified the JSO protesting armed and uniformed by comparing them to doctors who would protest in their lab coats. Agreements and the end of the mutiny On 13 November, Deputy Prime Minister Čedomir Jovanović and Interior Minister Dušan Mihajlović went to Kula to negotiate an end to the mutiny. The JSO demanded that Mihajlović resign from the position of minister, to which he agreed. However, Jovanović took the written resignation from his hands and tore it up. A fight broke out and Zvezdan Jovanović threatened Jovanović with a knife. It was agreed that Mihajlović should present a letter of resignation to the Government. The following day, the Government of Serbia declined Mihajlović's resignation, but accepted the resignation of State Security Service director Goran Petrović and his deputy Zoran Mijatović. Mihajlović made Andreja Savić acting director of the Service the day after on 15 November. Following the negotiations with the Special Operations Unit, some concessions were given and Goran Petrović was removed from the position of director of the State Security Service and Andreja Savić was appointed in his place permanently, while Milorad Bracanović was appointed his deputy. Bracanović was a security officer for the JSO before the mutiny. This position was later occupied by Veselin Lečić. The Unit was reassigned from the State Security Service to the Public Security Service and it was agreed upon that the Unit can be used only be the order of the minister and with the approval of the Government of Serbia. Đinđić refrained from dissolving the JSO in the name of preserving stability. The mutiny ended on 17 November 2001, at around 7 AM, when armored personnel carriers and armed guards who had been there throughout the uprising were removed from the entrance to the JSO base. The base was visited by Andreja Savić and Sreten Lukić. Role of the Zemun Clan Dušan Spasojević, the leader of the Zemun Clan, was one of the main organizers of the mutiny. In the intercepted telephone conversations between him and JSO commander Dušan Maričić, held on 9 and 11 November, Spasojević discussed the mutiny, the next steps JSO needs to take and how to tactically coordinate the event's media coverage. According to the testimony of Zoran Vukojević "Vuk", a protected witness in the trial for the assassination of Zoran Đinđić, members of the Zemun Clan visited the Special Operations Unit base in Kula every day during the uprising and influenced journalists. He also testified that Spasojević was planning on making lawyer Gradimir Nalić the Interior Minister if Mihajlović were to resign. Additionally, on 12 November, district prosecutor Rade Terzić informed the Fourth Municipal Prosecutors' Office that the JSO was demanding the release of Mile Luković "Kum" and several other Zemun Clan members from custody. His request was declined. Terzić later released Luković from custody himself, due to lack of evidence, on 16 November. Responses and reactions President of FR Yugoslavia Vojislav Koštunica supported the rebellion, saying that "these were people who did not endanger the country's security". At one point, he seemingly quoted a public statement by Milorad Ulemek on the matter, justifying the JSO protesting fully armed and uniformed. Later, Koštunica would assess the coincidence of his statement with Ulemek's as "unimportant". Rade Bulatović, Koštunica's security advisor and later State Security Service director, supported Savić and Bracanović at the helm of the Service, publishing the article "Pobeda patriotizma" (Victory of Patriotism) on the topic in the March 2002 issue of NIN magazine. Koštunica's potential role in the mutiny would repeatedly come into question in the following years. Goran Petrović has described the event as a "counter-revolution" prepared by Koštunica. The president of New Serbia Velimir Ilić supported the mutiny, with the caveat that it would "complicate the security situation in the country". The Socialist Party of Serbia also supported the mutiny. Vice president of the Christian Democratic Party of Serbia Živojin Stijepić opposed the mutiny and said the leaders of the JSO should be replaced. Deputy Prime Minister Momčilo Perišić attributed the event to post-traumatic stress disorder. Minister of Agriculture Dragan Veselinov and the Social Democratic Union led by Deputy Prime Minister Žarko Korać advocated for a dissolution of the JSO following the mutiny. Milorad Ulemek was interviewed for the magazine ID on 21 November by Gradiša Katić, later arrested during Operation Sabre. In the interview, he insisted the event was a protest instead of a mutiny, saying "if it were a mutiny, we would have taken over all Government offices by Saturday". Aftermath On 12 March 2003, Đinđić was assassinated in the yard of the Serbian government headquarters. He was killed by Zvezdan Jovanović, the then assistant commander of the Special Operations Unit. On 25 March 2003, the Special Operations United was disbanded. The indictment for the assassination of Prime Minister Đinđić states that the JSO mutiny was the "beginning of creating a political environment for the assassination". On 11 November 2010, Đinđić's mother's and sister's lawyer, Srđa Popović, filed a criminal complaint with the Special Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime against Ulemek, Maričić, Koštunica, Tomić and five others for the participation in the mutiny. The indictment was raised on 9 March 2012, but ultimately discarded the complaint against Vojislav Koštunica and Aco Tomić. The Higher Court in Belgrade found the accused not guilty in the first instance in July 2018, after which the Appellate Court acquitted them in June 2019. References Literature Protests in Serbia 2001 protests Mutinies

69997874

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder%20of%20Patsy%20Morris

Murder of Patsy Morris

On 16 June 1980, Patricia "Patsy" Morris, a fourteen-year old schoolgirl from Isleworth, London, was murdered by strangulation. She disappeared after leaving her school during her lunch break, and was found dead in undergrowth on Hounslow Heath near her home two days later. Despite repeated appeals for information by police, her murder remains unsolved. The murder was brought to public attention again in 2008, when it was discovered that she had been a childhood girlfriend of west London serial killer Levi Bellfield. Police investigated links between her murder and Bellfield but he was never formally charged over her death. Background Patricia Morris (10 January 1966 – 16 June 1980) was a blonde 14-year-old schoolgirl born to George Morris, a retired army chief, and Marjorie Morris. She had moved with her family from Birmingham to Isleworth, South West London, in 1979. She attended Feltham Comprehensive School with her sister and two brothers. Disappearance On 16 June 1980, Morris disappeared, having been seen leaving her school during her lunch break. Various explanations have been cited as the reason she left her school that lunch. According to some sources, she had forgotten her rain coat that morning and told her friends that she was going to return home at lunchtime to change in to dry clothes, as she had got wet from the rain. Other sources state that she had a double history lesson scheduled for that afternoon which she often avoided attending, and so bunked off the rest of the school day. A witness recalled seeing her soon after noon near her home. Another witness recalled seeing a girl who may have been Morris crouching at a bus stop on the Hounslow Heath side of Staines Road, just west of the Hussar public house between 12:20 p.m. and 12:40 p.m. These were the last sightings of her alive. After she was reported missing a large search operation was launched to find her, involving hundreds of police officers, helicopters and members of the public who had volunteered to help. Discovery of body Two days later, on the evening of 18 June, Morris's body was found by a police dog handler face down in a copse on nearby Hounslow Heath, close to her home. She was variously described as being fully-clothed or half-naked. She had been found ten yards from a path through one of the small woods. She had been strangled with a ligature. For an unknown reason, police found that she had been wearing two pairs of knickers that day. Her knickers and her tights had been pulled down over her ankles. A second pair of tights with one leg missing was tied around her leg and wound upwards until it was knotted four times around her neck, as a form of ligature. An identical pair of one-legged tights was also wrapped three times around both her wrists in front of her body and then over her breasts. There was no signs of sexual assault, but her knickers being pulled down and her clothing being organised in the way it was suggested a sexual motive to the killing. The evidence suggested the perpetrator had found sexual stimulation without penetration. Police investigations Police released a public statement after the death, warning parents in west London not to let their children cross Hounslow Heath alone. Morris's mother said that she had no reason to be on Hounslow Heath, stating to the press: "We can't understand what she was doing on the heath. She was always told not to go there and never disobeyed our orders". Attacks on women and even deaths were not unknown in the area, but previous attacks had invariably involved the full rape of the victim. Soon after Morris was found dead, her father received a phoned death threat from an unidentified teenage boy. The call was from a local caller with a local sounding voice. Police investigations at the time drew a blank and no suspects were identified. In 1996 police arrested a man from Hounslow, but he was released on bail and no further action was taken. Peter Tobin as a suspect In 2007, Morris's murder was one of a number of cases linked in the press to newly discovered Scottish serial killer Peter Tobin, who was found to have killed three women between 1991 and 2006. After hearing of the discovery of two women's bodies buried at Tobin's former Margate home, George Morris said that something inside him "clicked" and that he believed Tobin had also murdered his daughter. Her case was reviewed as part of an investigation into other potential victims of Tobin, named Operation Anagram, but Morris's family heard no more from the police and the investigation was wound down in 2011, having found no evidence that conclusively linked Tobin to any other murders. Levi Bellfield as a suspect In February 2008, police revealed they were investigating a possible confession to the murder made by Levi Bellfield, an Isleworth-born killer who lived nearby at the time and who had just been convicted of two murders and an attempted murder. The attacks had been committed between 2003 and 2004 in the vicinity of the Morris murder site. Bellfield was alleged to have made the confession to a cellmate while on remand. It was then revealed that Bellfield had attended Feltham Comprehensive with Morris, and that he was her childhood boyfriend. Morris's family told the press that they had not known they had known each other, and her sister stated: "We did not know him. It was a shock when we found out they knew each other. Friends told us about it. It is horrendous." In 2011, Bellfield was further convicted of the murder of another schoolgirl, Milly Dowler, who he had abducted and raped in 2002. Bellfield would have been 12 years old at the time of Morris's murder, which occurred a year before he received his first conviction, for burglary, aged 13. He was known to have repeatedly played truant while at school and was known to often frequent Hounslow Heath when he should have been at school. He was known to have not attended school the day of the murder. Former partners of Bellfield recounted that he had a hatred of blonde women and targeted them for attacks, and it was noted that Morris was herself blonde. Some claimed that Morris's death could have been the start of Bellfield's violent obsession with blondes. After it was revealed that Bellfield was being investigated by police for his daughter's murder, George Morris stated that he was certain that the teenage boy who had given him a death threat in a call at the time was Bellfield, saying: "He's a local man, which is why it could be him. And it's terrifying to think that someone of twelve or thirteen could have done it". Subsequent events With Bellfield having not been charged with Morris's murder, it was reported in 2012 that he may have been ruled out as a suspect. However, in 2016 it was reported that links between Bellfield and other crimes had been reinvestigated after new information had been found, and that Morris's case could have been one of around 20 crimes believed to have been committed by Bellfield that police had questioned him on. Police subsequently announced that all lines of enquiry had been exhausted and no evidence had been found to link him to any other unsolved crime. Morris's murder remains unsolved. Both of her parents have since died. Alleged links to Peter Sutcliffe In 2015, crime writers Chris Clark and Tim Tate published a book alleging links between a number of unsolved murders and the infamous "Yorkshire Ripper" serial killer Peter Sutcliffe. In the book, the authors claimed that Morris could have been a victim of Sutcliffe, since he was known to have been house-sitting nearby in Alperton with his brother at the time, and both were regularly cruising and picking up women in their car for sex. Clark and Tate claimed that Morris was found half-naked and that her clothing had been arranged in a typical Yorkshire Ripper-like fashion, with her clothes pushed upwards over the top half of her body. Her body was allegedly also posed in the same fashion as his known victims. Police have apparently never investigated links to Sutcliffe. In popular culture Morris's murder has featured in a number of documentaries about Bellfield, such as the 2012 documentary His name is Evil: Levi Bellfield which was shown on Crime + Investigation as part of the Evidence of Evil series. Her murder is also discussed in the 2021 Channel 5 documentary Levi Bellfield: Getting away with Murder?, featuring an interview with Jeff Edwards, the chief crime correspondent at the Daily Mirror at the time. In 2011, crime writer Geoffrey Wansell released a book on Bellfield that also suggested possible links between him and Morris's murder, titled: The Bus Stop Killer: Milly Dowler, Her Murder and the Full Story of the Sadistic Serial Killer Levi Bellfield. Wansell speculated that the murder could have been as a result of her rejecting Bellfield and him becoming infuriated as a result. Chris Clark and Tim Tate's book which suggested links between Peter Sutcliffe and Morris's death was published by John Blake publishing in 2015. ITV filmed a documentary based on the book titled Yorkshire Ripper: The Secret Murders which is to be shown in February 2022. See also List of solved missing person cases List of unsolved murders in the United Kingdom References Sources 1980 in London 1980 murders in the United Kingdom 1980s missing person cases 1980s murders in London History of the London Borough of Hounslow Incidents of violence against girls June 1980 crimes June 1980 events in the United Kingdom Missing person cases in London Unsolved murders in London Violence against children in London

69998458

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garnet%20McEwen

Garnet McEwen

Garnet Douglas McEwen (25 September 1945 – 27 January 2012), nicknamed "Mother", was a Canadian outlaw biker, gangster and police informer, most notable as a longtime member of Satan's Choice Motorcycle Club before serving as the first national president of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club in Canada. Satan's Choice McEwen was born in Campbellton, New Brunswick and moved to St. Catharines, Ontario as a young man. McEwen always talked with a strong Maritime accent. Initially, he worked as a pencil salesman before saving up enough money to open up a tattoo parlor. As a result of a motorcycle accident, he lost one of his legs, which had to be replaced with a plastic prosthetic leg. As his tattoo parlor was popular with members of Satan's Choice Motorcycle Club, he ended up joining the club and rose up to become the president of the St. Catherine's chapter. When the Satan's Choice national president, Bernie Guindon, was convicted of rape in 1969, McEwen became the interim national president, serving in that role until Guindon was released from prison in 1974. In 1974, McEwen together with Cecil Kirby went to Fort Lauderdale, Florida to meet the leaders of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club. Kirby was clean shaven and had no difficulty leaving the Fort Lauderdale airport as he did not look like an outlaw biker, unlike McEwen whose long hair and beard caused the airport security to view him as a trouble-maker. Kirby described most of the Outlaws he met in Florida as Vietnam veterans who had been unable to adjust to civilian life and were full of rage and hate. McEwen, by contrast, was deeply impressed with the Outlaws and became the main advocate within Satan's Choice of an alliance with the American club. In June 1975, Guindon formally made an alliance with the Outlaws, agreeing to have Satan's Choice sell methamphetamine and PCP manufactured in northern Ontario for resale in the American Midwest. However, this was not enough for McEwen, who wanted to pursue the "Yankeeization" of Satan's Choice. The American journalist Mick Lowe described McEwen as suffering from "...the classic Canadian-American love-hate relationship, a distinctly Canadian malady, since Americans never thought enough about Canada to either love or hate their northern cousins one way or the other". McEwen felt very strongly that he could only become a powerful biker by joining an American outlaw biker club. McEwen had an obsession with guns and wanted to join the Outlaws so that he could import guns in mass from the United States. McEwen invited several Outlaw leaders from their headquarters in Chicago to meet Guindon in Oshawa. However, Guindon declined a request to have Satan's Choice formally "patch over" their relationship with the Outlaws, saying he wanted to keep his club Canadian. On several visits to Chicago, McEwen was courted by Harry Joseph "Taco" Bowman, the president of the American Outlaws, which increased his sense of self-importance. McEwen also worked as a police informer, selling information to the police. In August 1975, Guindon visited a hunting lodge at Oba Lake in northern Ontario owned by Alain Templain, the president of the Oshawa chapter of Satan's Choice. The lodge was the location of a PCP factory. McEwen informed the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) of the PCP factory and when it was that Guindon would be visiting Oba Lake so they could arrest him. This got Guindon out of the way so that McEwen could pursue his plans for "Yankeeization". On the night of 6 August 1975, a group of undercover OPP officers raided a shack located on an island in Oba Lake and discovered Guindon and Templain with CAD$6 million worth of PCP tablets together with PCP-manufacturing equipment. With Guindon imprisoned, McEwen again became the interim national president of Satan's Choice. In one of his first acts as national president, McEwen arranged for a common "association patch" between the Outlaws and Satan's Choice, allowing for equality between the two clubs. McEwen was an unpopular national president, due to his "dictatorial" leadership style. Lorne Campbell spoke negatively of him, saying "He was just a fat, stinky guy. That's all he was. He was just a dirty guy who looked like a 1950s biker. He was filthy". Campbell liked to joke about McEwen's artificial leg that he "didn't have a leg to stand on", a joke that McEwen did not find amusing. McEwen decision to "bug" the automobiles of other Satan's Choice members further alienated him from many gang members who saw him as a "rat". During McEwen's presidency, in-fighting between the various chapters of Satan's Choice became endemic and in 1977, McEwen tried to expel the entire Kitchener chapter after some of its members talked too frankly to journalists from the Kitchener Record. McEwen called a secret meeting William "King" O'Reilly, the president of the Windsor chapter; John "Doctor John" Arksey, the president of the Ottawa chapter; and Joseph "Sonny" Lacombe, the president of the Montreal chapter. O'Reilly and Arksey both supported McEwen's plans to have Satan's Choice "patch over" to the Outlaws, while Lacombe remained non-committal for a time. In March 1977, McEwen arranged for the Windsor and St. Catherine's chapters to secretly join the Outlaws. Outlaws On 1 July 1977, McEwen summoned most of the Satan's Choice chapter presidents for a meeting, where he called for "patching over" to the Outlaws, arguing that being members of an American club would improve their image, and that the St. Catherine's and Windsor chapters had already decided to join the Outlaws. The chapter presidents known for their loyalty to Guindon were not invited to the meeting. The meeting was not held at the normal meeting place of Wasaga Beach on Georgian Bay, instead held at Crystal Beach on Lake Erie close to the American border. McEwen brought over a number of American Outlaws from their Detroit chapter to provide intimidation at the Crystal Beach meeting. Lowe wrote that the chapters "began to fall like dominoes" as one by one the various chapter presidents agreed. To mark the change, a ceremony was performed at Crystal Beach where the Satan's Choice chapter presidents burned their jackets with the Satan's Choice patches while putting on new jackets with the Outlaw patch. From within the Millhaven prison, Guindon was alleged to have placed a bounty on McEwen, promising to pay $10,000 as the reward for killing him. McEwen's house in St. Catherine's was shot up by the Satan's Choice in a failed assassination attempt. Many of the members of the Satan's Choice chapters whose presidents had chosen to join the Outlaws resigned, thereby weakening both clubs. As a police informer, McEwen realized that the Outlaws would be a more attractive target for the police than Satan's Choice, and it has been alleged by several Satan's Choice members that he arranged the "patch over" to the Outlaws on the orders of his police handlers. Feelings against him were very strong as one Satan's Choice, Steve Erslavas, stated: "I don't like to say anything bad but anybody except Garnet McEwen – he was a backstabbing, fucking prick. Mother was in it for his own personal reasons – his own gain. He thought there was a payday for him... There was nothing noble about it." McEwen's reign as the first national president of the Canadian Outlaws was a failure, as the American Outlaws led by Bowman expelled him after he was caught embezzling some $30,000 he owed to them. Fearing that his life was in danger, McEwen fled to Alberta where he ended up working as a dishwasher at a restaurant located in a Calgary hotel. McEwen then became a member of the Chosen Few biker gang. After being caught stealing from the Chosen Few, other members of the gang beat him nearly to death with his artificial leg. Later life and death In 1980, McEwen abandoned biking to become a dishwasher, which was felt to be sufficient punishment by Satan's Choice. McEwen settled in Saskatoon, where he lived with his common-law wife Tina Karsten and fathered a son, Dakota. McEwen died in Saskatoon aged 66 on 27 January 2012. Books References 1945 births 2012 deaths Canadian gangsters Canadian crime bosses Canadian male criminals Police informants People from Campbellton, New Brunswick 20th-century Canadian criminals

69999028

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynching%20of%20William%20Johnson

Lynching of William Johnson

The lynching of William Johnson occurred at Thebes, Illinois on April 26, 1903. Johnson had been accused of assaulting a 10-year-old girl. He was apprehended by a mob of farmers and hanged. History William Johnson was an African American man who lived in a work camp for erecting the Thebes Bridge in Thebes, Illinois, over the Mississippi River. In late April 1903, Johnson was accused of assaulting the 10-year-old daughter of Branson Davis at his residence a half-mile east of Santa Fe, Illinois (modern day Fayville). A mob of farmers gathered to apprehend Johnson on April 26, but he had already been taken into police custody. The farmers overwhelmed the officers and Johnson was captured. They brought him back to Thebes near the bridge that was being constructed and hanged him from an oak tree. After Johnston expired, the mob shot up the body. The mob then attacked the work camp, exchanging fire and injuring several workers. The farmers then burned the camp and then dispersed. On May 1, the mob raided another work camp on May 1 and dispersed the black workers there. Illinois governor Richard Yates offered a $200 bounty for the arrest of those who committed the lynching. Six men were arrested, however, they were released due to insufficient evidence. See also Danville race riot Lynching of David Wyatt References 1903 in Illinois 1903 murders in the United States Lynching deaths in Illinois Alexander County, Illinois Racially motivated violence against African Americans

69999608

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DJ%20Tillu

DJ Tillu

DJ Tilluis a 2022 Indian Telugu-language romantic crime comedy film directed by debutant Vimal Krishna who co-wrote the film with Siddhu Jonnalagadda and produced by Suryadevara Naga Vamsi's Sithara Entertainments. The film stars Jonnalagadda alongside Neha Shetty, Prince Cecil, and Brahmaji. Initially scheduled to be released on 14 January 2022, it was indefinitely postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in India. The film's music is scored by S. Thaman while the soundtrack is composed by Sricharan Pakala and Ram Miriyala. Released theatrically on 12 February 2022, the film received mixed reviews from critics. DJ Tillu was successful at the box office, grossing over on a budget of . Plot DJ Tillu, also known as Bala Gangadhar Tilak, is a young man who wants be a DJ. One day, he meets Radhika in a club and falls for her; he asks for a drink to which she nods. He drops her at her apartment and she has a boyfriend and she hides from Tillu. When she is going to her apartment, she calls her boyfriend, Rohit, but she hears the sound of another girl with him and confirms that he is cheating on her. She decides to pay back her boyfriend and begins a relationship with Tillu. A few weeks pass by and on Tillu's birthday, Rohit shows images of Radhika and Tillu together and he decides to expose them. Radhika on the other hand, leaks about the affair that Rohit was having and she decides to leave the apartment. She then goes into her room to pack her luggage and Rohit, full of anger and jealousy, tries to assault her. In self-defense, Radhika pushes Rohit, which causes him to hit his head on the wall and die from the injury. Radhika then calls Tillu and tells him to come her apartment and he does so leaving his party. Tillu shows up angry but after cooling down, he asks Radhika where the bathroom is. As he is going to the bathroom near him, Radhika says that the flush was not working and asks him to go to another bathroom. As Tillu exits the bathroom, he sees all the photos in the room with Rohit and he also sees Rohit's dead body. Tillu being scared tells Radhika that he wants to call the police and that they will tell the police what happened. Radhika however does not want to call the police as she is afraid that she will be sentenced to prison for killing Rohit. She explains everything to Tillu and they both decide to bury the body somewhere were nobody would find them. However, when they were burying the body, a drunk man saw them bury the body and filmed the entire process. The man then stops Tillu and Radhika and shows them the video and he states that he wants ₹2.5 million in two days in order for the video not to be leaked. Radhika then suggests the idea that she knows a club and that the owner, Shannon, does illegal business and they can obtain the money from him. She then manages to seduce Shannon and obtains the ₹2.5 million. Tillu frustrated on how Radhika obtained the money and seeing the way she seduced Shannon, he gets into an argument Radhika about it. Seeing the fight ensure, a cop pulls over Tillu and Radhika and to get out of the situation, Radhika says that she does not know Tillu and that she needs to be dropped off at home. Tillu is then found by Shannon at a tea stall and he manages to get Tillu out of the situation and asks where his money was. Tillu says that it was in his car and he gets Shannon to drive to the spot earlier but the car and the money are not there. He then finds the car and Radhika at the spot where they buried Rohit and Shannon finds his money. While driving back, they are chased by the cop and Radhika explains that he came into her apartment and found blood and threatened that he would get her arrested and he attempts to assault her. The chase keeps going on and Shannon is thrown out of the car and Tillu and Radhika both go to a hotel with the money. Radhika then explains to Tillu that she tried to give the money to the drunk man, but the man also tried to assault her and she left the premises. Tillu then goes to the bathroom and in this timespan, Radhika leaves the hotel with the money. Shannon and the cop find Tillu in the hotel room and beat him to the point where he goes into a coma and loses his memory due to it. Tillu is then admitted to the hospital where Shannon and the cop interrogate Tillu for the money and the cop's phone. With Tillu not remembering what happened the cop tries file a case in court with Radhika and attempts to get them both arrested for the murder. At court, it is shown that Tillu bribed both the drunk man and the cop's colleague with a video and manages to get both Radhika and the cop arrested and sent to prison. Tillu then visits Radhika in prison a month later and explains that he never lost his memory and made a plan to find Radhika and to obtain the ₹2.5 million by bribing a music director that behaved rudely with Radhika. He then gets Radhika a bail order and explains that he has moved on in his life but he only let her go because he felt bad for her. Shannon then calls Tillu and asks for his money and Tillu then tells Shannon that the money is in Paris and that the story would continue from there. Cast Siddhu Jonnalagadda as Bala Gangadhar Tilak "DJ Tillu" Neha Shetty as Radhika Prince Cecil as Shannon Brahmaji Pragathi Narra Srinivas Kireeti Damaraju Production Development and casting Vimal Krishna narrated the storyline of the film to actor Jonnalagadda in 2019, but got delayed in further production due to COVID-19 pandemic in India. The film was announced in October 2020 under the title Narudi Brathuku Natana. Director Trivikram Srinivas also guided Krishna and the team in designing the story and screenplay of the film. In an interview with The New Indian Express, Vimal Krishna revealed about the Tillu's character that, "During my initial days in Hyderabad, I happened to meet and interact with a few DJs and was really bowled over by their conversations, attitude and body language. They carry a different persona and each one is his own boss. I have infused these characteristics and developed Tillu’s character". In January 2021, the film was then officially launched under the same title. The film's title was then changed to DJ Tillu in an uncited reason. About his character 'Tillu' in the film, Jonnalagadda told The Hindu that "I grew up in areas near Padmarao Nagar (in Hyderabad). Youngsters in Warasiguda and Chilkalguda talk like Tillu (the Hyderabadi Telangana dialect). We wanted Tillu to reflect on how these youngsters speak and how they handle things. Each one is his own boss and for no reason, there is the rivalry between gangs from each street. These boys are also more chilled out than those in, say, Banjara Hills". Filming Principal photography for the film began in February 2021 but was then later stopped due to the second lockdown in India. Filming was then resumed in June 2021. Soundtrack Sricharan Pakala and Ram Miriyala composed the film's soundtrack. The audio rights were acquired by Aditya Music. In early-January 2022, S. Thaman joined the production to compose the film score. Soon after, the first song "Tillu Anna DJ Pedithe" was released on 6 January 2022. Sung and composed by Ram Miriyala, the song became an instant chartbuster. The second song "Pataas Pilla" sung by Anirudh Ravichander, was released on 24 January 2022. The third song "Nuvvala" sung by Jonnalagadda, was released on 7 February 2022. While the female version of the song later released through the album on 9 February 2022. Release The film was initially scheduled to release on 14 January 2022 coinciding with the festival of Sankranthi due to the postponement of films such as RRR and Radhe Shyam. However due to the restrictions on cinema due to COVID-19 pandemic in India the film was postponed. It was later decided that the film was going to release on 11 February 2022 along with Khiladi. In order to avoid the clash with Khiladi, DJ Tillu was then postponed to 12 February 2022. Home media The digital rights were acquired by aha. Reception Critical reception DJ TIllu opened to mixed reviews with some critics praising the "madcap fun moments" and while others criticised the narration. Thadhagath Pathi of The Times of India gave the film 3/5 and wrote "DJ Tillu relies heavily on dialogue and less on the actual story at hand. Such films usually end up being the perfect weekend watch, so this one’s for you if you enjoy humour". Pinkvilla gave the film a rating of 3/5 and wrote "DJ Tillu has more 'mass' in it than the introductory songs for top stars in mass masala movies. And Thaman's background music hits the ball out of the park, designed to make the scenes look like they have been choreographed to enable the BGM composer have a blast in the studio. The editing is solid, making the shots look consummately etched".123Telugu gave the film a rating of 3 out of 5 and wrote "DJ is a timepass comedy which has standout performance by Siddhu Jonnalagadda. You will love his character and the comedy that he generates. The film has no strong storyline and rushed situations but when the hero’s character is so strong and the situations give you ample entertainment, you should give this film a shot and have a good weekend". Deccan Chronicle gave the film a rating of 3 outof 5 and wrote "DJ Tillu is a breezy entertainer that has elements of fun and quirkiness. The writing was cool, but goes overboard towards the end. Watch out for Siddu’s characterisation and performance". The Hans gave the film a rating of 2.5 out of 5 and wrote "Vimal tried to keep the audience to sit with his narration. Thaman’s background score is an asset. He keeps the tempo with his techno sounding. The songs are neat. The cinematography is adequate. Dialogue writing is a huge plus for this romantic crime thriller".News18 stated "Director Vimal Krishna did well, though he could’ve stretched his limits more, experts say. The movie is a one-time watch for a few laughs in the first half". Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu stated "Director Vimal Krishna helms a laughter riot populated with quirky, morally ambiguous characters". Box office DJ Tillu grossed worldwide on its opening day, with coming from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. References NotesCitations' External links Telugu-language films 2020s Telugu-language films 2022 films Indian romantic comedy films 2022 romantic comedy films Film productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic Films set in Hyderabad, India Films shot in Hyderabad, India Films scored by S. Thaman 2022 directorial debut films

70000038

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love%20You%20Rachchu

Love You Rachchu

Love You Rachchu is a 2021 Indian Kannada-language romantic thriller film directed by Shankar Raj. The movie stars Ajay Rao and Rachita Ram in the lead roles. The Music composed by Manikanth Kadri while the film is produced by Guru Deshpande under G Cinemas banner. Plot Ajay and Rachu are happily married couple. Ajay had seen Rachu while working with her father in their family nursery and fell in love with her. He comes to her home and talks to her father about the marriage proposal , for which her father happily agrees seeing Ajay's background. Ajay had to go to Mumbai for a business trip and is returning back on the day before Rachu's birthday. As it's her first birthday after their marriage, he has planned romantic getaway to a resort in Mudigere. His driver Kumar was supposed to pick him up at the airport, but both Rachu's and Kumar's phone are unreachable. After coming back home, he finds Kumar dead, murdered by his wife, seemingly due to self defence. He hatches a plan that instead of going to police, they will dispose the body and goes to resort as planned, so that no one doubts them. They even go to driver's house and talk with his wife , so that his wife doesn't suspect them about her husband disappearance. With lot of hurdles they reach Chikmagalur, only to be blackmailed by a unknown caller for 25lakh rupees. Ajay somehow arranges the money and puts the money in drop location asked by the blackmailer. He drives away from the spot, only to go back and fight the blackmailer to know who he is. In the ensuing fight, blackmailer is killed, and Ajay takes his phone and belongings and they both escape from the spot. Blackmailers death is soon found out about by the police and they start searching the murderer. Police realise that 2 cars had passed that location during the death and is announced in tv that both car owners would be investigated. Ajay realises that other car was owned by a local goon who is feared by police and locals. He stashes blackmailer phone, and the bag with money in goon's car and informs police with a mobile phone snatched from one of the goon's gang that, blackmailer was killed by the goon as part of some deal. Police goes to goon's home to investigate, but is thrashed by goon and his gang. Ajay and Rachu reach their resort at night, celebrate her birthday and has planned to dispose the body early morning. police are informed that goon has escaped through foot, so police starts chasing him as well. When both Ajay and Rachu gets up early morning and opens the car trunk to dispose the body, the bag which contained the body has disappeared. Not wanting to be blackmailed again, Ajay tells that he will go to police and inform them that he killed his driver when he saw him attacking his wife. seeing how he is ready to sacrifice his life for her, Rachu starts telling the truth. The blackmailer is none other than Rachu's boyfriend Varun before marriage. After she married Ajay he came back to her life, manipulated her to become his friend and on the day of the birthday tricks her to sleep with him. This is seem by the driver who in turns blackmails them for 10lakh. Seeing this Varun kills the driver and asks rachu to lie to his husband who will protect her due to his love for her. She carries on with the same plan. But after seeing his husband's love for her , she can't hide it anymore and tells everything. Ajay says that he knew about Varun and her, after going through Varun's messages after he is killed in the fight, but also knows that it was Varun fault to have tricked Rachu and he happily forgives her and ready to move on. He had disposed the body in the late night without telling her , as he wanted to hear her confess about Varun. Meanwhile the police is tracking the goon who is still escaping on foot and is nearby Rachu and Ajay.The police fire his gun at the goon but misses him and hits Rachu. Rachu asks for forgiveness and asks him to marry a nice girl and dies in his arms. The camera pans out where we can see Ajay is still crying over his wife. Cast Ajay Rao as Ajay Rachita Ram as Rachchu Raghu Shivamogga as the Driver Achyuth Kumar Arjun Gowda B. Suresha Soundtrack Manikanth Kadri composed music. Release The Film was released on 31st December 2021. References External links Love You Rachchu at IMDB Kannada-language films 2020s Kannada-language films Indian romantic thriller films 2020s romantic thriller films

70000653

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing%20of%20Jay%20Abatan

Killing of Jay Abatan

Jay Abatan died in hospital in January 1999 following an altercation outside the Ocean Rooms nightclub in Brighton, UK. Abatan had been celebrating a promotion at work when a row over a taxi resulted in several men assaulting him and his brother. He was seriously injured and died in hospital five days later. Two men were charged with manslaughter but were not prosecuted, then two separate reviews of the investigation made by Sussex Police reported major errors and the killing was later announced to have been racially motivated. The family of Abatan campaigned for justice, supported by local Members of Parliament. In 2010, an inquest was held and returned a verdict of unlawful killing. A vigil was held outside Brighton police station in January 2022. Killing Jay Abatan was born in England and moved to Nigeria when he was six years old. He moved back to England at the age of 18 and became an accountant, working first for the Inland Revenue and then for PricewaterhouseCoopers. He lived in Eastbourne and was engaged to be married with his partner; they had two children together, aged 8 and 9. On the night of 23 January 1999, he went out in Brighton with his brother Michael Abatan and another friend to celebrate his promotion at work to senior tax advisor. They went to a wine bar, then to the Ocean Rooms nightclub on Morley Street in Carlton Hill. At 2:30 am, they left the club and called a taxi. A taxi arrived and the three believed it was for them, so they asked the two men inside it to get out. An altercation started with those men and others, in which the two brothers were assaulted. Jay Abatan was punched two times in the face and fell over, fracturing his skull on the pavement. His brother was kicked and punched as he tried to help him. The attackers then drove off in the taxi. Jay Abatan regained consciousness in the ambulance, then slipped into a coma and was taken to the intensive care unit at the hospital. He died of his injuries five days later. Michael Abatan survived the assault and began a campaign for justice; Abatan's family was convinced that the attack had been racially motivated. Michael Abatan commented in 2019 "all the people that got hit that day were mixed race. No white people got hit.". Two men were quickly arrested by Sussex Police and charged with manslaughter, then the charge was dropped for lack of evidence. They were also charged with affray and causing actual bodily harm of Michael Abatan, and at trial by jury they were found not guilty. The judge did not tell the jury that Jay Abatan had been killed in the attack. One of the two former suspects committed suicide in 2003 and the same year the Abatan family and Sussex Police offered a reward of £175,000 for any help in finding the killers. Legacy After the Abatan family pressured for more information about what had happened, an investigation by another force, Essex Police, ran from July 1999 until December 2000. It found that there had been 57 serious errors made by Sussex Police, which included not taking the details of witnesses and not setting up a crime scene. Recommendations made by the Macpherson Report about the murder of Stephen Lawrence had not been followed. Sussex Police refused to release the full report, but parts were leaked to the press, leading to the force offering a public apology to the Abatan family and stating for the first time that the killing was racially motivated. Sussex Police replaced the entire investigation team with 36 new detectives and launched a new enquiry. The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) invited a second report from Avon and Somerset Police, led by Ken Jones, which again found that Sussex Police had made serious mistakes. Jones then became Chief constable of Sussex Police and promised to keep the family informed, although the force then refused to release the IPCC report. It also did not authorise an inquest. In 2005, three police officers were disciplined for blunders they had made. A detective superintendent was found guilty of five misconduct charges and was docked nine days' pay; later in the year, two detective inspectors were found guilty of misconduct. Doreen Lawrence, the mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence, commented that the errors made by Sussex Police demonstrated that "institutional racism was alive and well in Britain today". The family continued to campaign for justice, supported by local Members of Parliament Peter Bottomley (Worthing West) and Des Turner (Brighton Kemptown). Bottomley supported the Justice for Jay campaign and Turner tabled an early day motion in 2007. In October 2010, an inquest was held after pressure from Abatan's family. The coroner recorded a verdict of unlawful killing, saying that Abatan had been assaulted with two punches to the face in a fight which was "entirely unprovoked and entirely unexplained". The head of the Sussex Criminal Investigation Department told the inquest that the police had interviewed 750 people, including 47 out of a total 49 visitors to the Ocean Rooms who had been identified from CCTV footage. It emerged in 2014 that a serving police officer had been drinking at Ocean Rooms with the two men who were charged with manslaughter, a fact which had not been previously disclosed; Michael Abatan said that he no longer trusted the police. In response, Sussex Police said there was no evidence that a police officer had been involved in the attack and that the investigation had been closed in 2013. In 2020, Jay Abatan was remembered at a Black Lives Matter march in Brighton and Sussex Police offered a reward of £10,000 for any new information relating to the case. The family of Jay Abatan held a vigil outside Brighton police station on 29 January 2022. See also List of unsolved murders in the United Kingdom (1990s) References 1999 deaths 1950s births History of Brighton and Hove English accountants Deaths in England Unsolved murders in the United Kingdom

70000737

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrey%20Yezhov

Andrey Yezhov

Andrey Sergeyеvich Yezhov (Russian: Андрей Сергеевич Ежов; 1967 – July 6, 2020), known as The Kashirsky Maniac (Russian: Каширский маньяк), was a Russian serial killer and rapist who was forensically linked to at least nine sexually-motivated attacks against young girls and women in Moscow's Kashirsky and Stupinsky districts from 2010 to 2020, seven of which were fatal. He was arrested and later admitted to the respective crimes, but hanged himself in the detention center before he could be charged. Early life Andrey Sergeyevich Yezhov was born in 1967 in the village of Sloboda, Smolensk Oblast, the younger of two sons born to a milkmaid and a tractor driver. While little is known of his childhood, neighbors described the Yezhovs as caring parents who never subjected their children to violence. When he became a teenager, unbeknownst to anyone in his family, Yezhov began spying on women who bathed in the village's bath house, a practice which he continued into adulthood. Around the same time, he had his first sexual encounter when he had sex with a dead cow - the pleasure provided by this act prompted him to start abusing other animals on the family farm. After studying until the 8th grade in secondary school, Yezhov entered a vocational school, where he graduated with qualifications as a mechanic and tractor driver. He then enrolled and served in the Strategic Rocket Forces for several years, before returning to work as a stoker at a state dairy farm, where he was later promoted to being a driver. During his time there, he fell in love with another employee, Valentina, and soon the young couple moved to the Kashirsky District in Moscow in search for better job opportunities. Yezhov found himself a job as a driver at a farmers' co-op, while his girlfriend became a veterinarian. After spending six months together, the pair decided to get married, but at the wedding party, he fell in love with a female friend of his brother's wife, whom he started dating behind his wife's back. Eventually, he left his wife and married to the mistress, with whom he went on to have children and later grandchildren. However, family life did not deter him from his voyeurism, as he continued to peep on women bathing in bath houses. Alternatively, he would go peek through the windows of apartments on the first floor and watch the residents undress. In the mid-2000s, Yezhov's relationship with his wife deteriorated, as he began to spend more time by himself in his garage, drinking vodka. Murders Yezhov's first known murder took place circa February 2010, in the Kashirsky District. One night, while he was walking around in the area when he stopped to peep through the window of a first-floor apartment, where he observed a 79-year-old woman sleeping on her bed. After watching her for around ten minutes, Yezhov went through the unlocked front door and strangled her in her sleep before proceeding to rape the woman's corpse. Afterwards, he stole a TV receiver and returned home, where he hid it in his garage. When the crime was discovered, investigators were able to obtain DNA from the killer, but due to the lack of witnesses or any solid leads to a suspect, Yezhov was not caught. For the next three years, no known attack or murder has been linked to Yezhov. One article speculated that he was afraid of being caught, or felt no need to claim another victim due to improving his relationship with his wife. In April 2013, after drinking vodka and going on another walk, he peered through the window of a residential building, where he located a 95-year-old pensioner sleeping in her nightgown. After confirming that she was alone, Yezhov went inside by slipping through a small window in the bathroom, went to the woman's room and subsequently strangled her. However, he was unable to sustain an erection, prompting him to grab a nearby object and sodomize the body. He then stole six of her deceased husband's medals, and left the apartment. Not long after, Yezhov planned another attack, this time in the neighboring Stupino District. On his way home from work at the Domodedovo Airport, he stopped at Stupino Station and started looking for a suitable victim. He eventually found a 60-year-old woman lying on her sofa, and after entering through a window, he strangled and raped her. As the victim was poor, he took nothing from the apartment and returned to the station, where he caught the next train home. After another two-year-long break, Yezhov killed his next victim in March 2015. While he was repairing some items in his garage, a drunken 42-year-old comptroller stumbled into the premises. Whilst she was younger than his usual victim type, he nonetheless decided to kill her as well. After she refused a drink for him, Yezhov overpowered her before strangling the woman. He then dragged the body to the back seat of his car, where he raped the corpse. Upon finishing, he drove to an isolated area in Tesna Station, where he dumped the body in the woods. After taking another four-year-long break, Yezhov committed two murders in November and December 2019: both took place in the Kashirsky District against two elderly women (aged 70 and 75, respectively), who lived on the same street. Despite the authorities correctly summarizing that the crimes were committed by the same perpetrator and checking the local railway employees for involvement, they were unable to obtain any useful genetic samples. On January 3, 2020, Yezhov climbed through a bedroom window into the room of a 10-year-old girl, whom he raped and attempted to strangle. However, he was prevented from finishing her off by her parents, who rushed to her aid, but were unable to catch the assailant. The girl was driven to the hospital, where doctors asserted that the hyoid bone had been broken, and she likely would have been killed. After the attack, the victim spent a month in hospital and was later ordered to undergo psychiatric counseling. While the police were investigating and clearing the male family members as per police procedure, Yezhov attacked again the following month, attempting to strangle a 14-year-old girl whom he found sleeping by herself at home. The girl fiercely resisted and hit him several times, disorienting her attacker and forcing him to break a nearby window and flee. While the girl immediately called the police, they were still unable to capture him in time. After these two attempted murders, Yezhov took another four-month break, before claiming his final victim on June 8. On that day, he broke into a house on Dzerzhinskaya Street in the Kashirsky District, where he strangled and raped an 88-year-old pensioner. Following the murder, he stole the woman's passbook and attempted to steal her TV, but the TV proved to be too heavy, so he left it at the porch. The victim's body was discovered a few days later by a social worker. Investigation, arrest and suicide Soon after the discovery of the latest victim's body, the Moscow City Police decided to check the surveillance cameras for any possible clues. While browsing through the footage, they came across a peculiar scene showing an unidentified male in a denim suit disposing of a pile of documents in a pile of grass, not far from the crime scene. They went to investigate the scene, and after examining them, authorities determined that they belonged to the elderly woman. In the ensuing investigation, DNA samples were collected from a variety of men living in the area, including Yezhov. These samples were examined by two investigative committees, which positively linked his DNA to three of the murders and the rape of the 10-year-old girl. On June 10, 2020, Yezhov was finally arrested by police officers, much to the shock of his family members and neighbors, who believed that the authorities had made a mistake. To their shock, however, Yezhov readily confessed not only to the crimes he was linked to, but four other murders and one more rape dating back to 2010. When asked for his motive, he claimed that he had a "periodic desire to kill" and that he liked to have sex with corpses. For the next few weeks, Yezhov actively cooperated with investigators, explaining in detail how he committed his attacks in a calm, collected manner. The case was extensively covered in the Muscovite press at the time, which heavily emphasized on the fact of how a seemingly "normal"-looking man was able to commit such heinous acts, or compared him to other infamous murderers like Andrei Chikatilo, Vladimir Ionesyan and Anushervon Rakhmanov. While awaiting charges for his crimes, Yezhov was detained at a detention center in Noginsk. On July 6, 2020, prison guards found Yezhov dead in his cell. A preliminary autopsy report concluded that he had committed suicide by hanging, with prison authorities announcing that an audit would take place to determine whether negligence on behalf of their staff allowed the detainee to end his own life. Even before his suicide, both law enforcement and psychiatrist Alexandr Bukhanovsky, who created the psychological profile of Andrei Chikatilo, stated their belief that Yezhov likely had more victims between his "gaps", possibly dating back to the 1990s. See also Incidents of necrophilia List of Russian serial killers References 1967 births 2020 deaths 21st-century Russian criminals Russian male criminals Male serial killers Russian serial killers Russian rapists Necrophiles Animal cruelty incidents Serial killers who committed suicide in prison custody Suicides by hanging in Russia Prisoners who died in Russian detention People from Smolensk Oblast

70001067

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/23%20Field%20Regiment%20%28India%29

23 Field Regiment (India)

23 Field Regiment (Ad Teclesan and OP Hill) is part of the Regiment of Artillery of the Indian Army. Formation and early history The British developed mountain artillery in India in the 1800s to allow field guns to accompany its forces operating in the conflicts taking place in the frontier mountainous regions of North West India, neighbouring Afghanistan. These mountain artillery units were organised as mountain batteries, with each battery consisting of four to six mountain guns. These batteries took part in the many campaigns in Afghanistan, the Third Anglo-Burmese War and then in the First World War, during which more batteries were raised. These batteries proved their mettle at various fronts during the great war. During the war, the practice of grouping together batteries as brigades began, though most batteries still fought singly, often quite far away from other parts of the brigade. Most such brigades were formed in the Middle East and East Africa, where these batteries were deployed. In North West India, 3rd Indian Mountain Artillery Brigade was formed in the Kohat Kurram Force in June, 1919 by grouping 3rd (Peshawar) and 8th (Lahore) mountain batteries. The first commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel T M Luke . The brigade continued to be in the Kohat area till 1924. In 1920, the nomenclature mountain was changed to pack and these units were named as pack brigades. The numbering of the brigade was also changed and thus in 1920, the name was changed to 9th Pack Artillery Brigade, when it was at Parachinar. Each pack brigade consisted of headquarters, one British pack battery armed with four 3.7 inch howitzers and three Indian pack batteries consisting of four 2.75 inch guns. Occasionally, Indian pack batteries too were equipped with Howitzers. A re-designation of units took place following Indian Army Order 1279 of 1921 – Pack Artillery Brigades were redesignated at Indian Pack Artillery Brigades and the 6th to 11th brigades were renumbered from 20th to 25th. Thus, 9th Pack Artillery Brigade became 23rd Pack Artillery Brigade. In 1922, the unit was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel James Hayes-Sadler and consisted of the following batteries - In 1924, the unit was part of Razmak Field Force and the batteries included Headquarters, 103rd (Peshawar) Pack Battery, 108th (Lahore) Pack Battery, 121st Indian Pack Battery and 11th Pack Artillery Battery, R.G.A. In 1926, the regiment was located at Razmak and was being commanded by Lieutenant Colonel P H H Preston. It consisted of No. 17 British Pack Battery, 103rd (Peshawar) Pack Battery (Frontier Force), 108th (Lahore) Pack Battery and 116th (Zhob) Pack Battery. In 1935, the regiment was in the Ambala – Dehra Dun area. The class composition at that time was Punjabi Muslims and Jat Sikhs. The regiment was then involved in operations in Waziristan. By Indian Army Order 204 of 1938, the nomenclature ‘Brigade’ was replaced by ‘Regiment’ and thus the title of the unit became 23rd Mountain Regiment. From 1 August 1939, Indian Mountain Artillery ceased to belong to the Royal Regiment of Artillery and formed part of His Majesty's Indian Forces. The Corps of Mountain Artillery was transferred to the Indian Regiment of Artillery, later renamed the Regiment of Indian Artillery (R.I.A.). World War II At the outbreak of war, the regiment was located at Abbottabad and commanded by Lieutenant Colonel L R Stansfeld. It consisted of 3rd (Peshawar) F.F., 8th (Lahore), 17th (Nowshera) and 12th (Poonch) mountain batteries and remained in Abbottabad till 1941. It moved to Kakul in the autumn of the same year. It was from Kakul that the regiment proceeded to the Burma theatre. The regiment consisting of R.H.Q., 3rd (Peshawar) F.F., 8th (Lahore), 17th (Nowshera) and 2nd Jammu and Kashmir batteries joined 14th Indian Infantry Division, headquartered at Comilla, Chittagong in March 1942. The division had under it 4th Indian Infantry Brigade and 47th Indian Infantry Brigade. The regiment was equipped with sixteen 3.7 inch howitzers and commanded by Lieutenant Colonel B C Barford. Soon after, 2nd Jammu and Kashmir battery joined 4th Indian Infantry Brigade to move under 4 Corps at Imphal. The regiment along with 130 Field Regiment, R.A. formed the initial divisional artillery. Anticipating a Japanese landing on Chittagong, the regiment and other elements of the 47th Brigade were deployed between Feni and Feni River. The division was joined by the 123rd Indian Infantry Brigade in June 1942 and the regiment fell back to its original position focussing on training and exercises to familiarise themselves with the new terrain and jungle warfare. The division began moving to the Arakan coast in October 1942. The regiment, less 3rd battery supporting 123 Brigade moved to Buthidaung. In January 1943, two attempts were made by 123 Brigade to capture Rathedaung with support of 3rd and 17th batteries, without success. 8th battery was involved in multiple attempts to capture Donbaik between January and March 1943. Though unsuccessful, the battery received a lot of praise for its prompt response to aid and accurate shooting. 3rd battery headquarters with its Punjabi Muslim section was moved from Htizwe on the newly laid track to the Kaladan River. The battery in support of 8/10 Baluch was attacked in force by the Japanese and their defended localities were overcome. The battery had to take the difficult decision to destroy their guns and shoot their mules to prevent them falling in enemy hands. The battery had to trek for four days through extremely difficult terrain to reach back to Htizwe. On 4 March 1943, following a Japanese attack at Thaungdara, Lieutenant M Burrows, who was the F. O. O. gallantly launched a counterattack after the infantry officer of 10th Lancashire Fusiliers became a casualty. He was awarded the Military Cross for this action. On 11 March, the Sikh section of the 3rd battery were in support of 2/1 Punjab and fought with the Japanese in the open, a fight which ended with the Punjabis charging with their bayonets. On 11 and 12 March, the regiment and other forces withdrew from Htizwe. After the withdrawal from Htizwe, 14 Indian Division was relieved by 26 Infantry Division. But owing to shortage of artillery, 23 Mountain Regiment continued in the location, but serving under a new division. The Japanese continued their relentless attacks for three weeks and 8th and 31st batteries fought in support of 55th Indian Infantry Brigade at Kin Chaung, covering Buthidaung. (2nd Jammu and Kashmir battery had meanwhile been renamed as 31st (Jammu) Mountain Battery.) R.H.Q, 3rd and 17th batteries were eventually relieved and sent back to Chittagong, where they got into the process of replenishing their animals and equipment. By the end of May 1943, 8th and 31st batteries too were relieved and they joined the regiment at Chittagong. A month later, they were transferred to Ranchi to join 20 Infantry Division. 17th battery left to join 32nd Indian Mountain Regiment. The regiment had thus fought continuously and well during the First Arakan campaign and provided close and accurate shooting in support of the infantry, without any damage to own troops. In 1944, the regiment under 20 Indian Division was part of 4 Corps, which was at Tamu Road and Kabaw Valley. It consisted of 3rd (Peshawar) F.F., 8th (Lahore) and 31st (Jammu) batteries. The latter two batteries did well during an action at Kyauktaw. 20 Division was moved under 33 Corps under Fourteenth Army. On 22 January 1945, 3rd battery supported 32nd Indian Infantry Brigade in the capture of the important river port of Monywa. Following the crossing of the division across the Irrawaddy River, 8th and 31st battery saw fierce fighting on the night of 16 February 1945 near Myingyan. For his gallant actions, Captain C J S Burne of 31st battery was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. From there, the division rapidly moved to Magway. 3rd battery under 32 Brigade moved down the east bank of the Irrawaddy river to clear it as far as Allanmyo. The 8th battery formed the rear guard of the division and moved down the road to Prome, which was captured on 2 May 1945, thus blocking the escape route of the Japanese from Arakan. The 31st battery joined the force for the capture of Bassein, but found that the Royal Indian Navy had beaten them to it. Following this, the regiment went into camp for training at Minhla and then to Hmawbi. Following the surrender of the Japanese in Singapore, 20 Division was moved from Burma to French Indochina to maintain law and order. The regiment carried out police duties in Saigon till January / February 1946. At Saigon, the regiment came in contact with Major Abhe of the Japanese 55th Mountain Artillery Regiment, who remarked that the 23rd was nicknamed the Devil Regiment of Artillery by the Japanese, for the destruction caused by the regiment's accurate and devastating artillery firing. In March 1946, 20 Division returned to India, but the regiment moved to Malaya under 7th Indian Infantry Division, where it continued with police work. The regiment returned to India by the end of 1946. During the war, the regiment had won the following gallantry awards - Distinguished Service Order – Captain C J S Burne Military Cross – Major W B P Milne, Lieutenant S Kapilla, Lieutenant Brown, Lieutenant M Burrows Indian Distinguished Service Medal – Havildar Mahomed Khan, Signaller Shamsher Singh, Jemadar Mohamed Hussein Partition and re-raising Following the partition of the country, 3rd (Peshawar) F.F and 8th (Lahore) moved to join the Pakistan Army. They joined 21st Mountain Regiment, which is presently 1 (SP) Medium Regiment, Pakistan Artillery. 31st became a field battery in Pakistan. On 15 January 1953, the regiment was re-raised in India as 23 Mountain Composite Regiment (Pack) with the headquarters battery and the following three batteries of the erstwhile Indian States Forces - 74 (Gwalior) Mountain Battery 75 (Patiala) Mountain Battery 76 (Jammu and Kashmir) Mountain Battery The regiment has since been converted to a field regiment, a medium regiment and is currently back as a field regiment. Operations Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 23 Mountain Composite Regiment (Pack) commanded by Lieutenant Colonel H S Sihota was deployed in Jammu and Kashmir under 15 Corps. The Battle of OP Hill (NL1053) took place on 2 and 3 November 1965, after the ceasefire came into effect on 23 September 1965. OP Hill was a tactical Border Observation Post in the Bhimber-Gali-Mendhar Sector, 20 km south west of Poonch. This Observation Post (OP) was stealthily occupied by the Pakistani troops on 2 August 1965 and was being used by the Pakistanis to direct accurate artillery fire and to facilitate infiltration. To avoid isolation of Balnoi from Mendhar and Krishna Ghati and to safeguard Mendhar-Baloni and Mendhar-Poonch roads, the capture of OP Hill was of vital importance. Following a failed battalion level offensive by 2 Garhwal on 6 and 7 October 1965, a full-fledged brigade attack was mounted on 2 November 1965. 120 Infantry Brigade was tasked to evict the enemy from this strategic location. After a tough battle lasting 2 days, the enemy was dislodged, with the regiment providing accurate artillery fire facilitating the capture and also using two guns in direct firing role. For its actions, 23 Mountain Composite Regiment along with 5 Sikh Light Infantry, 2 Dogra, 7 Sikh and 169 Mountain Regiment were awarded the battle honour OP Hill. The regiment won one Vir Chakra, five mentioned in despatches and one Chief of Army Staff Commendation Card. Major Jagdish Singh of Patiala Mountain Battery was awarded the Vir Chakra. Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 The regiment was deployed under 57 Mountain Division of 4 Corps in the eastern sector during the war. It was equipped with 75/24 Pack Howitzers. It was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Jagjit Singh. The regiment was involved in multiple operations involving 61 Mountain Brigade, which was detached from 57 Mountain Division to 23 Mountain Division. The regiment won one Vir Chakra, one Vishisht Seva Medal, one Sena Medal and one mentioned in despatches. Captain Uday Parshuram Sathe was awarded the Vir Chakra for his gallant actions. Counter insurgency operations The regiment has taken part in anti-terrorist operations in Jammu and Kashmir between 2008 and 2011. Honours and achievements The honour title Ad Teclesan was conferred on 1 (Jammu and Kashmir) Mountain Battery (presently 76 (Jammu and Kashmir) Battery) during the Second World War. The battery equipped with 3.7 inch howitzers arrived in Sudan in November 1940. It then joined to become part of 5th Infantry Division during the campaign against the Italians in Eritrea (Italian East Africa). It took part in the final attack in the battle of Keren on 25 March 1941 as part of 10th Indian Infantry Brigade. The battery knocked down multiple Italian machine guns with direct hits facilitating the advance. Keren was occupied on 27 March. The battery, which was the only mountain battery in the battle, almost continuously fired from the morning of 25 March to the evening of 27 March. It then moved forward with the 29th Indian Infantry Brigade in the advance to capital city of Asmara. The battery's artillery fire proved decisive on 30 and 31 March 1941 on the Ad Teclesan position, the last Italian position covering the capital. The effectiveness of the battery in the face of heavy enemy fire and the repulse of a counterattack carried out by an Italian machine gun battalion earned the battery its honour title. The regiment earned its second honour title OP Hill during the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965. The famous Chinese Bell at Artillery Centre, Nasik Road was brought by the regiment from the Royal Palace at Beijing. The regiment has won a total of one Distinguished Service Order, six Military Crosses, three Indian Distinguished Service Medals, three Vir Chakras, one Sena Medal, 16 mentioned in despatches, three Chief of Army Staff Commendation Cards and five GOC-in-C Commendation Cards. During the 1971 war, Captain (later General and COAS) Deepak Kapoor served in the unit, before being attached to HQ 61 Mountain Brigade as a GSO3. He later commanded 74 Medium Regiment. Lieutenant General Jagdish Singh who had served in the regiment in the 1965 war went on to become Colonel Commandant and Director-General of the Regiment of Artillery. He was also Director Financial Planning and Director General Discipline. Regimental batteries 74 (Gwalior) Battery The Gwalior artillery was formed in Morar around 1865. It consisted on one battery each of Thakurs, Brahmins and Gujjars. The unit was organised as a mountain battery in 1926 and equipped with 2.75-inch guns. The battery traces its history to 1738, when it was raised as a bullock artillery battery of the Sindhia's army. It saw action in Chitral in 1940. It joined 20th Mountain Regiment in April 1941 at Quetta and moved to Wana later that year, where it stayed till the end of the war. It returned to Gwalior state in February 1946. Post independence, the battery saw action in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948 and three personnel were mentioned in despatches. Among its commanders was Major (later Colonel) Prithipal Singh Gill, who had unique distinction of having served in all three services. 75 (Patiala) Battery Though initially a saluting battery in Patiala, in December 1942, it was moved to Ambala and turned into a mountain battery. After training, it joined the 31st Mountain Regiment in Kohat. It returned to the state in February 1946. The battery was among the first gunners to be flown in during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948 and was under 161 Infantry Brigade. It also saw action during Operation Eraze. Personnel from the battery were awarded eight mentioned in despatches. Major (later Lieutenant General) J F R Jacob commanded the battery shortly after independence. 76 (Jammu and Kashmir) Battery An artillery unit with mountain guns in the Princely State of Kashmir and Jammu is likely to have been in existence during as early as 1848 during the Second Anglo-Sikh War. In 1889, the Kashmir artillery and infantry were the first to become Imperial Service Troops. The artillery was converted to No. 1 and No. 2 Kashmir Mountain Batteries in 1891 and 1892 respectively and were equipped with 7-pounder mountain guns. These guns were replaced with 2.5 inch screw guns in 1902, 10-pounder mountain guns in 1916, 2.75-inch guns in 1923 and 3.7-inch howitzers in 1939. The battery was handed over to the Indian Army in October 1942, where it became 30th (Jammu) Mountain Battery, Indian Artillery. After the Second World War, the battery moved to Nowshera in November 1945. The battery was disbanded in Nowshera on 30 June 1946. The Dogra personnel of the battery were absorbed in a field battery of Royal Indian Artillery and the mules were taken over by the 5th (Bombay) Mountain Battery (now part of 57 Field Regiment). The Muslim personnel were absorbed by the 26th Jacob's Mountain Battery, which is now part of the 1st (SP) Medium Regiment (Frontier Force) of the Pakistan Army. 1 Jammu and Kashmir Mountain Battery was re-raised on 22 January 1948. The battery saw action during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948, where it provided effective artillery support to 77 Parachute Brigade during the Zoji La operations. Captain Risal Singh was awarded the Vir Chakra and four were mentioned in despatches. The battery took part in the following operations and events – Hunza–Nagar Campaign, 1891 Relief of Chitral, 1895 Tirah campaign, 1897-8 Delhi Coronation Durbar, 1903 East African campaign (World War I) 1916-18 East Persia Cordon, 1919–20 Eritrea (World War II), 1940 Syrian campaign, 1941 Operations in Datta Khel, 1942 Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948 Further reading The History of the Indian Mountain Artillery by Brigadier-General C.A.L. Graham. Published by Gale and Polden Ltd, 1957. References Military units and formations established in 1919 Artillery regiments of the Indian Army after 1947 British Indian Army regiments Indian World War II regiments Artillery units and formations of British India

70002085

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asad%20Gate

Asad Gate

Asad Gate is an archway located in Lalmatia, Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. According to the name of this arch, the name of that place has become Asadgate. This road goes from Asadgate to Mohammadpur. It is located on the right side of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban. History Its former name is Ayub Gate. The President of Pakistan Ayub Khan came to Dhaka and allotted the first fifteen houses in Mohammadpur area for some families. That is why the main gate of the main road in Mohammadpur area was named Ayub Gate. Amanullah Asaduzzaman, a student leader, was shot dead by the police on 20 January 1996, in a mass movement demanding 11 points. The next day a mourning procession came out in the capital Dhaka with the blood stained shirt of Shaheed Asad. The angry mob then rushed to Mohammadpur in front of the then Ayub Gate and as an angry symbol of protest they tore down the nameplate of Ayub Gate and wrote Asad Gate with blood. In order to protect Assad's memory, the people of Dhaka changed the name of Ayub Gate to Asad Gate. References Gates in Dhaka Roads in Dhaka

70002774

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special%20Force%20to%20Fight%20Drug%20Trafficking

Special Force to Fight Drug Trafficking

The Bolivian Special Force to Fight Drug Trafficking or Special Antinarcotics Force (, FELCN) is a section of the Bolivian National Police focused on fighting the country's drug trade. It largely focuses on the production of cocaine and its precursors from coca leaves grown in the country. The FELCN was created on 24 July 1987, and took over supervision of the Rural Mobile Patrol (UMOPAR). The Umopar, popularly known as "The Leopards" (Los Leopardos), was formed in late 1983 under a United States-funded program designed to eradicate the nation's cocaine trade and in accordance with four treaties on narcotics, signed by both countries on August 11, 1983. As of the late 1980s, FELCN and UMOPAR comprised about 6,000 members. Both were highly militarized police units. By early 1989, FELCN had its own intelligence service, which was charged with collecting evidence on individuals suspected of narcotics trafficking. During the late 1980s and 1990s, according to an investigation of Bolivian policing, FELCN, UMOPAR, and the US Drug Enforcement Administration "constituted the three armed branches of the fight against narcotrafficking. These three forces, supported by an important external financing, carried out a very hardline policy of interdiction and eradication of coca." References Law enforcement agencies of Bolivia Drug control law enforcement agencies

70003755

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin%20Irvin

Marvin Irvin

Marvin Lee Irvin (born May 4, 1949) is an American serial killer and former police officer who murdered two women in St. Joseph, Missouri in September and October 1990, and after his arrest confessed to an additional 1979 murder, which up to that point he had been the prime suspect in for years. For all three crimes, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. Early life Marvin Lee Irvin was born on May 4, 1949, in St. Joseph. His family rented a three-story home, and they were friendly to neighbors, who recalled Irvin as a quiet but polite boy. Irvin graduated from Highland High School, and in 1970 joined the St. Joseph Police Department as an officer, but it was not long before he resigned. In April 1974 Irvin was accused of picking up a 15-year-old outside a drug store, later driving her to a secluded area in Kansas and having sex. He was arrested, but the charge was dropped after the girl refused to testify. Irvin met up with another young girl named Ruth West in 1979, and the two sparked a relationship, and at age 15, West delivered Irvin's baby. West would later describe their relationship as abusive, claiming Irvin was emotionally manipulative. Crimes Disappearance of Micki Jo West In 1979, Ruth, her brother Calvin West, and Calvin's wife 19-year-old Micki Jo West left for California, with Irvin following not far behind. In March, Ruth and Irvin officially married in Ventura, but by the time they returned to Missouri, their relationship had downgraded, with Ruth claiming Irvin beat her. In August, she and her 4-year-old son fled and took refuge in a motel in Elwood, Kansas, only sharing this information with her mother, her sister, the couple who helped her relocate, and Micki Jo West. On September 11, Micki Jo West was scheduled to show up to her job at a hospital, but she never arrived. Later that same day, Irvin and two friends broke into Ruth's motel room, dragged her and their son into a car, and drove them back to St. Joseph. When Micki was reported missing, Irvin became a suspect, and he was required to take multiple polygraph tests, but the tests were inconclusive. Ruth West officially divorced Irvin in August after another domestic dispute, which resulted in Irvin chasing West barefoot across St. Joseph. On September 11, 1986, exactly seven years since Micki's disappearance, an anonymous letter was found inside a Kansas City shopping mall. The letter, which was addressed to the St. Joseph police, contained details about the writer being with Marvin Irvin at the time of Micki's disappearance, claiming he killed her. However, the writer left no details about who he/she was, and police were not able to follow up on an exact lead. In 1988, a television reporter named Therman Mitchell received a letter addressed to him. The letter contained details about where Micki's body was, and the writer inviting Mitchell to show him where Micki's body was. Instead of meeting up with the anonymous sender, Mitchell aired a news story on the letter, pleading for the sender to come forward. That same year, Irvin and another woman moved to Ames, Iowa, where Irvin got a job working at railroad tracks. There, on March 30, Janet Huegerich filed a police report because Irvin had shot over her head multiple times. The resulting police confrontation ended with a police chase across multiple counties, with over 20 police officers in pursuit. After his eventual arrest, Irvin pleaded guilty to avoiding arrest and two weapons charges and was sentenced to five years probation. Disappearances of Patricia Rose and Crystal Simmons Irvin returned to St. Joseph not long after. There, on September 17, 1990, meat cutter 31-year-old Patricia Diane Rose visited a local bar named Brew's Blue Town to take a break from work and was due to return, but she never did and was reported missing. A month later, On October 29, 33-year-old Crystal Lynn Simmons also disappeared, last seen at downtown bar. During the investigation, investigators received a tip, saying that Simmons was last seen with a man named Marvin Lee Irvin, and to inspect his truck as evidence. They followed up on it and received a warrant to search his vehicle. They temporarily removed the seats and discovered a partially wet towel soaked in blood. Further tests on the blood proved it belonged to Simmons, and Irvin was arrested. In November, skeletal remains of two women were found in a cornfield in Kansas, both were later positively identified as belonging to both women. An autopsy on both declared their cause of death as multiple blows to the head. Confessions While in jail awaiting charges, Irvin denied killing anybody. His brother openly believed this, accusing officials of setting-up Marvin, saying, "They want a guy for a lot of cases, I feel like the whole thing is kind of a set up." Detectives learned that Irvin was a suspect in the disappearance of Micki Jo West, and they used that to build up their case further. Over time, Irvin changed his mind and pleaded guilty to all three murders, offering details to where he buried West's body. During his sentencing, he said that in 1979, he took West to a cornfield in Kansas, where he proceeded to kill her and bury her body. In October 1991, Irvin pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment with no chance of parole. Irvin led investigators to a farm in Kansas where he said he disposed of West. Authorities prepared search dogs and a bulldozer to scour the area, but due to heavy rainfall, the search was delayed. Another search attempt was made on October 11, but the search team was unable to find her body. As of 2022, West's body has yet to be found. See also List of serial killers in the United States Media Before Irvin's arrest, the case surrounding his first victim Micki Jo West was featured on season 1 episode 13 of the documentary television show Unsolved Mysteries. An updated episode after Irvin's arrest and conviction was featured in Season 4 episode 21. References External links Missouri Department of Corrections Information 1949 births American serial killers Male serial killers African-American people American people convicted of murder American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Missouri People from St. Joseph, Missouri Living people Violence against women in the United States 1979 murders in the United States 1990 murders in the United States People convicted of murder by Missouri 20th-century American criminals American male criminals Crime in Missouri 20th-century African-American people

70004130

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special%20Allocation%20Scheme

Special Allocation Scheme

The Special Allocation Scheme (SAS) is a process within the National Health Service in England, that allows general practitioners to deny their patients access to their general practice and others general practice if they think a patients behaviour is aggressive or violent, limiting a patients access to primary care to centres that have mitigations for risk of violence. The scheme was previous referred to as the Violent Patient Scheme (VPS). There were 1686 referrals of patients to the scheme in 2018 in England. Legislation The legal rights of a GP to remove a patient in response to violence or behaviour causing fear of violence that is reported to the police was created by secondary legislation applying to the National Health Service Act 1977. The provision of services for patients barred from non-emergency medicine, was created by secondary legislation applying to the National Health Service Act 1977, by The National Health Service (Improved Access, Quality Information Preparation and Violent Patients Schemes) (England) Regulations 2003 to provide general medical services to patients immediately removed from a GP practice due to "act or threat of violence". Behaviours where the SAS does not apply Primary care guidance states referral to the scheme should not be used lightly and should not be used for minor incidents or for behavior that could be ascribed to health conditions which could be alleviated through care management and treatment. The scheme does not normally cover swearing, invasion of personal space, shouting, banging on a desk or a previously non-aggressive patient who is clearly suffering mental or physical anguish. It also does not cover incidents in a hospital or community setting. Appeal and review Primary care guidance state that there should be an appeal process and this appeal should occur within 28 days and if appropriate allow for a patient to be represented, but that removal occurs prior to an appeal. In South West England, patients are entitled to appeal, but must appeal within a month of being referred to the special allocation scheme. A panel will then be held within 28 days involving healthcare staff. A review of patients is made each year, and if the panel deems the patient to not present a risk to health staff they are removed from the scheme. References

70005413

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional%20E-Hailing%20Drivers%20and%20Private%20Owners%20Association

Professional E-Hailing Drivers and Private Owners Association

The Professional E-Hailing Drivers and Private Owners Association (PEPDA) is a trade union federation of ridesharing and other gig transport workers. In Nigeria, these workers primarily work for Uber and Bolt. The federation is affiliated with the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria. History PEPDA was founded in August 2020. The immediate reasons for the creation of the federation were confiscations of drivers' vehicles by police in order to gain a negotiating advantage over the transport companies, as well as a sharp rise in inflation. The union criticised the business practices of transport companies and urged them to register with state authorities. In October 2020, PEPDA announced a strike against drivers shouldering the competition between transport companies. The strike was suspended in reaction to the security chaos caused by the End SARS protests, citing fears of police retribution. The union also called for constructive dialogue to solve the problems at the root of the protests. In April 2021, PEPDA conducted a strike against Uber's and Bolt's competitive pricing. The union began a one-week strike on April 19, demanding a reduction of the companies' commission from 25 to 10 percent and consultation in future pricing decisions. On April 20, police arrested five PEPDA-affiliated drivers, including union president Idris Shonuga, in Surulere. Police stated that the drivers were not arrested due to taking part in the strike, but due to blocking a road. PEPDA alleged that transport companies had been involved in the arrest. In May, Uber raised its prices in Nigeria. References Trade unions in Nigeria National federations of trade unions 2020 establishments in Nigeria Trade unions established in 2020

70007365

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation%20Long%20Arm

Operation Long Arm

Operation Long Arm was the first internet child pornography crackdown recorded in the United States, and involved the United States Customs Service along with Danish law enforcement. It resulted in 34 arrests and convictions in the US and 2 in Australia. Overview In early 1992, a tip-off from the arrest in Miami of an individual trying to buy a child pornography VHS cassette from an undercover police, led to the discovery of a Bulletin board system based in Denmark called Bamse. The network operated with a $80 annually pay fee or the supply of child-porn images in exchange. At the moment of the shutdown it had a peak of 900 active users ranging from countries like the United States, Denmark and Australia. References Child pornography Child pornography crackdowns 1992 crimes Cybercrime in Australia Cybercrime in the United States 1992 crimes in Australia 1992 crimes in the United States Cybercrime in Denmark Bulletin board systems

70007498

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andreaskorset

Andreaskorset

Andreaskorset (literally Andrew's Cross, released in English as The Crossing) is a Norwegian erotic thriller film that premiered in 2004. The film received lukewarm reviews, and it is perhaps best remembered as one of 2004's least viewed films. Just over 3,000 people watched the film, and by the end of the year all the magazines and newspapers in Norway named the film "the biggest flop of the year." This is also connected with the fact that well-known names such as Martin Asphaug and Eirik Ildahl were associated with the project. The film is about Andreas (played by Trond Fausa Aurvaag), a man in his early 30s that is paralyzed from the waist down after a car accident. His wife, Liv (Stine Varvin), leaves him, and he is trapped in his own house until Wagner (Svante Martin), a Finn from the Assistive Technology Center, takes Andreas under his wing. Liv returns, but she feels attracted to the Wagner while Andreas in turn feels neglected and overlooked in his disabled life. Cast Trond Fausa Aurvaag as Andreas (credited as Trond Fausa Aurvåg) Stine Varvin as Liv (credited as Stine Hoel Varvin) Svante Martin as Wagner Sverre Anker Ousdal as Uncle Carl Marit Andreassen as Dr. Vibeke Holt Martin Asphaug as a man on the train Harald Dal as a policeman Mats Mogeland as a policeman Eirik Ildahl as a man at the assembly (cameo, uncredited) Ulf Norström as a man on the train (uncredited) Robert P. Olsson as a man on the train (uncredited) References External links Andreaskorset at the National Library of Norway Andreaskorset at Filmfront 2004 films 2000s erotic thriller films Norwegian-language films

70008088

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ern%C5%91%20Vad%C3%A1sz

Ernő Vadász

Ernő Vadász (May 6, 1960 – July 14, 1988) was a Hungarian murderer who was sentenced to death and subsequently hanged for the torture-murder of a man in Tiszacsege in 1988, amidst a series of violent robberies. He is the last person to be executed in the country, as Hungary abolished the death penalty two years later. Early life Ernő Vadász was born on May 6, 1960, in Tiszacsege. He claimed to have had a difficult childhood and started doing small-time crimes from an early age, due to which he had been repeatedly incarcerated in prison. Upon release, Vadász would frequently get himself drunk and reoffend again, preferring to spend his time drinking alcohol at the local pubs than to search for a job. He and his friend, István Lakatos, became feared by local residents, as the two men were known for their violent tempers and inclination towards criminal behavior. Robberies and murder On November 10, 1986, the two friends met as per usual at the local bar. During their drinking session, the pair turned their attention towards József Hajdú, for whom other customers had gossiped that he lived alone. Upon learning this, Vadász and Lakatos decided to rob him. Later that night, the two men entered the house through the open front door and woke Hajdú up, shining a flashlight directly into his eyes. They then dragged him out of bed, twisted his hands behind his back and tied them with an electric cord, before also covering his head with a sheet. While searching through the apartment, the pair took turns beating their captive who, being relatively poor, could only offer them bacon, which further angered them. While Vadász dismantled the radio and TV, Lakatos forced Hajdú to play a game of chess with him while they waited. After they were finished, the pair threatened the man they would burn his house down if he reported them to the police, before finally fleeing the crime scene. In total, they had stolen 350 forints in cash, some razorblades and a table clock. A month later, on December 10, having run out of money, Vadász and Lakatos decided to rob another local, Imre Juhász, and then steal his money. The pair rode their bicycles to his house on Dobó Street, where they broke in, knocked him on the ground and pulled his trousers to search him. To their disappointment, Juhász had not collected his paycheck on that day, and instead, they decided to steal his documents, a gas lighter, two packs of cigarettes and a half of litre of brandy. However, when he began to regain consciousness, Lakatos and Vadász started kicking him in the head, before the latter climbed on some nearby furniture and jumped onto their victim's stomach, causing him severe pain. While Juhász lay dying, the criminals stuffed a plastic bag down his throat and promptly left, leaving him to succumb to his injuries. Subsequent investigations revealed that Vadász and Lakatos continued their crimes, stealing bicycles, bottles of beer and money whenever they could. They also attacked and beat up an older acquaintance after burgling into his apartment, but as there was no money to be stolen, they took whatever valuables they could find. Their final attack was the break-in of a restaurant, from where they stole 4,000 forints, a calculator and several packs of cigarettes. Arrest, trial and sentence On January 6, 1987, both Vadász and Lakatos, who were well known to local police, were arrested and charged with the murder, as well as several counts of robbery and fraud. On January 12, 1988, both were found guilty, with Vadász receiving a death sentence for the crime of premeditated murder, two counts of robbery, theft and fraud, while Lakatos was handed an 18-year prison term and a 10-year deprivation of civil rights for the same offences. Both men appealed their respective sentences to the Curia, but Justice György Pálinkás rejected their appeal on May 18, 1988, stating that the established facts confirmed their guilt in the murder. Vadász then petitioned for clemency, but his request was denied by the Presidential Council, which finalized his death sentence. Execution A day before his scheduled execution, Vadász was interviewed on death row by János Farkas, a journalist for the Hajdú-Bihari Napló. During said interview, Vadász avoided questions about his personal life or to explain his actions, and instead commented on his intentions to commit suicide by bashing his head against the toilet seat, as he did not want to be executed. His threats did not come to fruition, and on the following day at 5:00 AM, Vadász was hanged at the Budapest Prison and Detention Center in Budapest by executioner György Pradlik. After the abolition of the death sentence in 1990, the judge who handed down Vadász's death sentence was interviewed about in 2009, where he reiterated his belief that capital punishment should be retained for certain crimes. See also List of most recent executions by jurisdiction References 1960 births 1988 deaths 20th-century criminals Hungarian criminals Hungarian people convicted of murder People convicted of murder by Hungary People convicted of theft People convicted of robbery 20th-century executions by Hungary Executed Hungarian people People executed by Hungary by hanging People executed for murder People from Hajdú-Bihar County

70008794

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles%20Geoffrey%20Buckland%20Stevens

Charles Geoffrey Buckland Stevens

Charles Geoffrey Buckland Stevens was a British bureaucrat and district magistrate of Comilla district during the British Raj. Suniti Choudhury a fourteen year old revolutionary from Bengal shot him dead on 14 December 1931. One the pretext of seeking permission to arrange a swimming competition among their classmates, Suniti Choudhury and Santi Ghosh met Stevens in his office and as he was going through the request letter, Suniti Choudhury drew the gun and fired at him from point blank range. An Indian orderly, also injured by bullet, caught both the girls and handed over to police. They declared that they killed Stevens in retribution to hanging of Bhagat Singh by British police. References Administrators in British India 1931 deaths

70008951

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon%20Sanders%20%28disambiguation%29

Jon Sanders (disambiguation)

Jon Sanders (born 1939) is an Australian yachtsman. Jon Sanders may also refer to: Jon Sanders (director) (born 1943), British film director See also John Sanders (disambiguation) Jonathan Sanders (died 2015), Black man killed while being restrained by police in Stonewall, Mississippi, U.S.

70009053

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New%20Order%20%28Germany%29

New Order (Germany)

The New Order (NO) (German Neue Ordnung) is a German neo-Nazi group recruited from both the Reichbürger movement and armed neo-Nazism. The founder and head of the group is neo-Nazi Meinolf Schönborn. In 2013, the federal prosecutor's office in Karlsruhe investigated members of the NO for founding a terrorist organization. History Foundation NO founder Meinolf Schönborn was chairman and leader of the Nationalist Front (NF), which was banned at the end of 1992 and was one of the most important cadre organizations of neo-Nazism in Germany in the 1990s. The reason for the ban on the NF was the establishment of a "National Task Force" (NEK), i.e. the preliminary organization of the armed struggle. In 1995 he was sentenced to two years and three months in prison for continuing the banned NF. After he had served these, he tried again and again to build up new armed neo-fasics structures. However, since he had lost contact with the central figures of the scene, Schönborn turned to the Reichscitizens movement, sought contact with Holocoaus denier Ursula Haverbeck and continued to hold comradeship meetings. Activities The NO is particularly active in Brandenburg and Berlin; according to Berliner Zeitung, however, there are also activities in Thuringia. At right-wing demonstrations, NO members tried to win supporters for their group. Schönbarn died of heart failure in March 2012. At the site of his body, the police found three sharp weapons, one with a telescopic sight and more than 300 rounds of ammunition, belonging to his political companion Jörg Lange. This find was followed by raids in Berlin, Brandenburg and North Rhine-Westphalia, where the group was particularly active. The group's propaganda materials were also seized. The public prosecutor's office in Neuruppin investigated five members for forming an armed group and violating the Weapons Act. The federal prosecutor's office in Karlsruhe later got involved and investigated Meinolf Schönborn and four other NO members on suspicion of founding a terrorist organization. References 1992 establishments in Germany Far-right political parties in Germany Fascist parties in Germany German nationalist organizations German nationalist political parties Nationalist parties in Germany Neo-Nazi organizations Neo-Nazism in Germany Strasserism

70009972

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiy%C3%A9mis

Kiyémis

Kiyémis (born 1993) is a militant French Afro-feminist, poet and lecturer. The name she uses is a pseudonym, combining the first name of her mother with that of her grandmother. Realizing during the 2005 French riots that the police were treating Black people differently from the native French, she became interested in supporting their rights. In 2012, while at university she began to contribute to Twitter and two years later launched her popular blog Les Bavardages de Kiyémis (Chat by Kiyémis). Her collection of poetry, À nos humanités révoltées (To Our Outraged Kinsfolk), was first published in Toulouse in 2018 and republished by Premiers Matins in 2020 with a supportive introduction by Gerty Dambury. Biography Born in 1993 in the Paris area, Kiyémis was raised between Bobigny and Paris before moving to Lyon. She had a happy childhood with her Cameroon-born father, mother and grandmother, and her twin brother. From the age of 13, she realized that as a Black women, she was not being treated in the same way as the ethnic French. She first graduated in history and then earned a master's degree in political science. In 2012, while studying history, she began to contribute to Twitter together with other young women interested in Afro-feminism. Encouraged by her mother, two years later she launched her blog, Les Bavardages de Kiyémis dealing with her personal writings, how black women fared at work and the lack of mixing between Blacks and Whites. While some expected her to write an essay on Afro-feminism, she responded by writing poetry. The small publishing house Métagraphes was so impressed with the verses she sent in that they encouraged her to publish a short collection. It appeared in March 2018 as A nos humanités révoltées, expressing her ideas on oppression and all the related struggles. It was republished by Premiers Matins in late 2020 with a preface by the Cameroonian writer Gerty Dambury. It received positive reviews. References External links Kiyémis' website (in French) 1993 births Living people Writers from Paris French women writers Black feminism 21st-century French poets French women's rights activists French bloggers Pseudonymous writers

70010086

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnus%20Jackson

Magnus Jackson

Magnus Jackson (25 September 1831 – 27 April 1891) was a Scottish landscape photographer from Perth. He was noted for his use of the collodion process in developing his photographic film. He left around 2,500 glass photographic negatives taken in Perth and the surrounding area between the late 1850s and 1890. These are now on permanent display at Perth Museum and Art Gallery. In 2017, Perth Museum and Art Gallery exhibited Jackson's work over four months. The exhibition featured a projected silhouette of Jackson describing, in his own words, the challenge of using wet-plate collodion photography. Early life Jackson was born on 25 September 1831 to Thomas Jackson and Helen Miller, one of their six children (three sons and three daughters). Thomas Jackson was a picture-frame maker, looking glass manufacturer, a restorer of oil paintings and a print seller. His business was at 70 George Street. The family home was at 3 Bridge Lane, at the rear of the business. His eldest son, James, took over the business in the late 1840s. Magnus, in turn, inherited the business from his brother. He continued to run the carving and gilding business alongside his career as a photographer up until his death. In the early 1850s, took lessons in wet-plate collodion photography in London. After three years in the capital, he returned to Perth, where he established his own photography business in a wooden studio in Marshall Place, on the site of today's St Leonard's-in-the-Fields Church, overlooking the city's South Inch. Career By 1884, his success was at its peak, allowing him the funds to construct new premises at 62 Princes Street, a few yards to the north, adjacent to Greyfriars Burial Ground. The same year, he was awarded a medal at the International Foresty Exhibition in Edinburgh. In 1886, he was awarded the bronze medal and diploma of merit at the International Exhibition of Industry, Science and Art in Edinburgh for his photographs of ferns and foxgloves. When his health began to fail, in the late 1880s, his sons, Thomas and Magnus Jr, took over the business. They used the trade name T. & M. Jackson from 1891. Magnus Jr was working alone by 1893, and he continued until around 1898, when he committed suicide. The business folded at that point, and the premises were taken over by Burrows Brothers photographers. Personal life Jackson married Jessie Christie in December 1859. They lived in Bridge Lane, but as their financial situation improved they moved, firstly in December 1870, to 30 James Street, then to 59 Scott Street. The couple had three children: sons Thomas (1861) and Magnus (1865) and, between them, daughter Catherine Stewart (1863). Each of them received photography training from their father. In 1897, Thomas emigrated to South Africa, where he continued to be a photographer. He married Adelaide Sarah Grove, a Londoner. He died in Colesberg, South Africa, in 1940, aged 78. In 1877, Jackson was elected a member of the Perthshire Society of Natural Science (PSNS), a decade after its formation. The following year, he was elected to Perth's town council. In 1879, he was part of a committee charged with building the Perthshire Society of Natural Science Museum at today's 62–72 Tay Street. He was elected to the council of PSNS the following year, elevating to vice-president between 1882 and 1884. In the middle of this tenure, he exhibited his work A piece of larch from a tree which had been struck by lightning. He was appointed Police Commissioner for Perth in 1885, under the General Police and Improvement (Scotland) Act, 1862. His role was to oversee the police department, street lighting and fire services. By the last decade of his life, Jackson was on the council of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. A supporter of the Literary and Antiquarian Society of Perth, he bequeathed a brass candlestick to their collection. It was reportedly given to one of his ancestors, Magnus the Miller, by William Wallace. It is in the collections of Perth Museum and Art Gallery. In 1887, he was a part of a committee that dealt with a boat carrying victims of cholera, and found a safe mooring place on the Tay that allowed the facilitation of treatment for and isolation of the patients. Two years before his death, in May 1889 he officially opened Perth's public swimming baths on Dunkeld Road. His wife, Jessie, died two months later, on 18 July. Death Jackson died on 27 April 1891, aged 59. His death was not unexpected, his having been ill for several years. His causes of death were given as "senile decay, chronic hepatitis, acute dyspepsia and inanition". In his newspaper obituary, the Perthshire Constitutional noted that he was "known across Scotland as a first-rate landscape photographer". Jackson and his wife are interred in Perth's Wellshill Cemetery. Publication Photography Outside the Studio (1881) – published in two parts in both The Photographic News and the British Journal of Photography References External links Magnus Jackson: Photographer – Dundee University Review of the Arts "'Whistling Willie', The Lion Man" – Hole Ouisa Perth North Inch – Scotland's Landscape, BBC 1831 births 1891 deaths People from Perth, Scotland 19th-century Scottish photographers Landscape photographers Deaths from dementia Deaths from hepatitis Deaths from digestive disease Deaths by starvation

70010396

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bestia%20%282021%20film%29

Bestia (2021 film)

Bestia is a 2021 Chilean stop-motion animated short film directed by Hugo Covarrubias and co-written with Martín Erazo. It is inspired by Íngrid Olderöck, DINA agent during the Chilean military dictatorship. The film received a nomination for Best Animated Short Subject at the 49th Annie Awards. It also made the shortlist for Best Animated Short Film at the 94th Academy Awards, later achieving the nomination. Release The film screened at the 2021 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, where it competed in the Short Films section and won the Festival Connexion Award. Production Bestia is the third animated short film directed by Hugo Covarrubias, after El almohadón de pluma (2007) and La noche boca arriba (2012). The idea arose with the intention of addressing part of the history of Chile "with lesser-known characters, less official and darker". Although the original objective was to produce an animated series, Covarrubias decided to focus on one of those stories to make a unitary short film. The main character is inspired by Íngrid Olderöck, a police major and DINA agent during the Chilean military dictatorship, responsible for human rights violations in that period. According to Covarrubias, the objective of the film is not a biography of Olderöck but «a visit to her secret life, her relationship with her dog, her fears and frustrations, which are ultimately the x-ray of a country that is fractured, a country that it is full of wounds that are not even close to healing yet». The technique used was stop motion animation, which was done by Covarrubias and Matías Delgado. The design of the protagonist was based on the aesthetics of porcelain dolls, to convey the inexpressiveness and coldness of the character. The character was created with polyurethane resin bathed in crystal resin, to give her face a texture similar to ceramic. Meanwhile, the sets and decorations were made with different opaque cardboards to create a contrast with the brightness of the resin. The short film was produced by Tevo Díaz, through the company Trébol 3, while Cecilia Toro worked as a costume designer and art producer. Its financing came from the "Audiovisual Development Fund" of the Ministry of Cultures, Arts, and Heritage of Chile. Accolades References External links 2021 films 2021 animated films 2020s animated short films 2020s stop-motion animated films

70010519

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo%20Narrows%20murders

Buffalo Narrows murders

On the night of January 30, 1969, in Buffalo Narrows Frederick Moses McCallum, 19, broke the door to the Pederson's family home with a long-handled fire axe killing seven people and wounding one. Events Frederick Moses McCallum, 19, broke the door to the Pederson's family home and with a long-handled fire axe killed seven people and wounded one. In the home, he killed the father, mother, family friend, two sons, two daughters, and wounded one son. All the bodies of family members lay in bed and the body of a family friend lay in the living room. After the killings, McCallum called a local priest and told him about the killings. The priest called the police. When police detained McCallum he was sitting in the kitchen and sipping tea. The wounded son after the murders was in a coma for several months. In court, a psychiatrist said McCallum had signs of schizophrenia. McCallum was initially found unfit for criminal responsibility and sent to a psychiatric hospital in Ontario. In 1970, he was allowed to stand trial and McCallum was sent to Prince Albert Penitentiary. After some time he was again diagnosed with schizophrenia and sent to a psychiatric institution in Penetanguishene. In 1989, McCallum was released on condition that he not return to Saskatchewan. Victims In the two-room house the RCMP found the bodies of Thomas Pederson age 32 John Baptiste Herman age 48 of La Loche who was a guest Grace Ann Pederson age 8 Robert Thomas Pederson age 5 Richard Daniel Pederson age 4 Rhonda Beatrice Pederson age 2 Bernadette Pederson age 32, the mother of the children died a few hours later. Fred Donald Pederson age 7 survived the attack with head injuries. References External links Continuation report Stabbing attacks in Canada 1960s murders in Canada Murder in Saskatchewan Disasters in Saskatchewan 1969 crimes in Canada Canadian folklore Mass murder in 1969 People murdered in Saskatchewan Massacres in Canada Crime in Saskatchewan 1969 in Saskatchewan January 1969 events in Canada 1969 murders in North America Family murders

70011548

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter%2047%20%28Seneca%29

Letter 47 (Seneca)

Seneca the Younger's Letter 47 of his Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium, sometimes known as On Master and Slave or On Slavery, is an essayistic look at dehumanization in the context of slavery in ancient Rome. It was a criticism of aspects of Roman slavery, without outright opposition to it (Seneca was himself a slaveholder), and had a favorable later reception by Enlightenment philosophers and subsequently the 19th century abolitionist movement, though it has also been seen as a proslavery apologia, as well as in the light of the Stoic philosophical idea that "all men are slaves". Historical Stoicism believed in human equality by natural law, but also recognized positive law. It was in disagreement with Aristotle's earlier concept of natural slavery. As such, Seneca made objection to behavior seen as particularly degrading such as corporal punishment and sexual exploitation of enslaved people, but not to the overall social system. Influence As a Roman letter expressing ambivalence about slavery from the 1st century, it has been compared to the early Christian writing in Paul's Epistle to Philemon. And Gregory of Nyssa in the 4th century condemns slavery outright, in rhetorical terms that may draw from Seneca, but that go beyond him. In support of his argument, Seneca references the proverb totidem hostes esse quot servos ("as many enemies as you have slaves"), cited by many Europeans in the early Atlantic slave trade as a caution against slave rebellion. Hegel's master–slave dialectic in The Phenomenology of Spirit of 1807 picked up the philosophical theme, later commented on by Jean-Paul Sartre in the 20th century. Jean-Jacques Rousseau's sequel to the 1762 Emile, or On Education sees the novel's protagonist sold into the Barbary slave trade, and develops Seneca's ideas, while taking them further to show slavery as inherently unjust. The letter is quoted in the British abolitionist William Wilberforce's 1807 A Letter on the Abolition of the Slave Trade, and is mentioned in Pierre-Suzanne-Augustin Cochin's L'Abolition de l'esclavage in 1861 amid the American Civil War. Seneca's writings were popular with African American activists, and may have inspired the naming of the free settlement of Seneca Village in early 19th century New York City, a possible influence of the African Free School. At an 1855 raid in Washington, D.C., as police asked African American activists "whether they had anything to say", an activist simply placed three books on the desk: the Bible, Life in Earnest, and Seneca's Morals, and requested their examination. References Letters (message) Philosophical works by Seneca the Younger Slavery in ancient Rome Works about slavery

70013378

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchism%20in%20Taiwan

Anarchism in Taiwan

Anarchism in Taiwan first developed out of the anti-imperialist resistance to the Empire of Japan, when a number of young Taiwanese nationalists were exposed to anarchism during their studies abroad. Influenced by the anarchist movements in China and Japan, and in close cooperation with a number of Korean anarchists, the Taiwanese anarchist movement reached its height during the 1920s, before being suppressed by 1931. History Following the First Sino-Japanese War, the island of Taiwan was ceded by the Qing dynasty to the Empire of Japan. Attempts to form an independent Republic of Formosa were defeated by the Japanese invasion, which brought the island under Imperial rule. In the wake of the occupation, Taiwanese social movements started to focus on calls for democracy and self-determination, with more radical and revolutionary ideas also beginning to take shape. Following the events of the Russian Revolution and with the outbreak of the May Fourth Movement in the Republic of China, many young Taiwanese nationalists experienced a sharp turn towards left-wing politics, with a number picking up on the ideas of anarchism and communism during their studies in Tokyo or Beijing. In 1919, when the Japanese colonial government of Den Kenjirō started to implement a policy of cultural assimilation in Taiwan, the Taiwanese anarchist Yu Gingfang led an uprising against imperial rule, but it was put down. In Beijing, where the Chinese anarchist movement was rising to prominence, the Taiwanese anarchist Fan Benliang founded the "New Taiwanese Anarchist Society" and the anarchist newspaper New Taiwan. During the early 1920s, anarchist and communist ideas took hold within the youth faction of the Taiwanese Cultural Association. On 30 July 1923, the Taipei Youth Association was founded, and by December 1926, the organization had expanded into the . This organization used the Cultural Association as a platform to promote anarchist ideas publicly, even openly opposed the Petition Movement for the Establishment of a Taiwanese Parliament. The Black Youth League organized hundreds of public meetings and lectures that were attended in the thousands, with one meeting that was called in support of the Korean independence movement being attended by prominent Japanese anarchists such as Iwasa Sakutarō and Hatta Shūzō. On January 2, 1927, the Black Youth League began to take steps to organize trade unions in Taiwan, but on January 31, the organization was discovered by Japanese police. In February 1927, the Black Youth League was banned and its members were subjected to mass arrests, with many being sentenced to months in prison. In November 1929, the anarcho-syndicalist Taiwanese Workers' Mutual Aid Association was established by Chang Weixan. But by August 1931, a number of its members were charged with illegally possessing weaponry and another wave of mass arrests followed. Meanwhile, in mainland China, many Taiwanese anarchists found themselves collaborating with Korean anarchists due to their shared anti-imperialism, notably together establishing the Eastern Anarchist Federation (EAF) in Shanghai. The Korean anarchist leader Sin Chaeho even collaborated with the Taiwanese anarchist Lin Bingwen in an attempt to forge banknotes for funding the EAF's activities, but they were both arrested by the Japanese authorities in Taiwan and would later die in prison. The EAF also established anarchist schools in Quanzhou, which included two Taiwanese teachers in the faculty at the Dawn Advance Middle School. The suppression of the Taiwanese anarchist and communist movements in 1931 marked the beginning of Japan's turn towards military dictatorship, culminating in the Pacific War, when the Empire of Japan was finally defeated by the Allies. Taiwan was subsequently retroceded back to the Republic of China, and when the Kuomintang was defeated in the Chinese Civil War, the nationalist government retreated to Taiwan. Among those that fled to Taiwan were a number of Chinese anarchists, two of which included the anarchist elders Wu Zhihui and Li Shizeng, supporters of Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist government. The new Taiwanese government subsequently oversaw a "White Terror" against left-wing political dissidents, implementing martial law that lasted until the end of the Cold War. Since democratization, there has been a renewed interest of anarchism in Taiwan. In 2003, the Atayal community of adopted a form of Christian anarchist organization, where community assets are managed cooperatively by the villagers. In 2016, the newly elected President Tsai Ing-wen recruited Audrey Tang, a self-described "conservative anarchist", to join the Democratic Progressive Party's government as a member of the Executive Yuan. As a government minister, Tang has since voiced her support for e-democracy and radical transparency in Taiwanese politics. References External links Taiwan section - The Anarchist Library Taiwan section - Libcom.org Taiwan Political history of Taiwan Taiwan

70013619

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatsuya%20Suou

Tatsuya Suou

is a fictional character featured in the Persona series primarily developed and published by Atlus, appearing as a main character in the 1999 role-playing video game Persona 2: Innocent Sin, in addition to its direct sequel Persona 2: Eternal Punishment (2000), both initially released for the PlayStation. Debuting as the main player protagonist in the former game, he is portrayed as a silent character whose thoughts and actions are decided by the player, whereas he appears in a supporting capacity with a defined voice and characterization in the latter entry. He is a student attending Seven Sisters High School in Sumaru City alongside his best friend Lisa "Ginko" Silverman, until they are both encouraged to investigate a mysterious phenomenon involving rumors being spread around their school coming to fruition as a result of the obscured entity known as "Joker". He along with Silverman, subsequently awakens to a power concealed within them known as the "Persona"—metaphysical deities representing his subconscious spirit, and learns to wield said power when embarking on a trip across the city to investigate the origins of the rumor phenomenon. Tatsuya was designed by Kazuma Kaneko, lead character designer on the first three main entries in the Persona series in addition to numerous other titles in the larger Megami Tensei franchise. Kaneko commented on the character's sexuality and relationship towards another party member in Innocent Sin, Jun Kurosu, stating that his characterization and design stemmed from a desire to attract the Yaoi subculture within the Japanese fanbase, consisting of young females valuing homosexual relationships between fictional male characters. The character is voiced by Takehito Koyasu in Japanese, and in English by Kim Strauss in the original PlayStation version of Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, while he's voiced by Keith Silverstein in the PlayStation Portable remake of Innocent Sin, which was the first time the latter game was made available in territories outside of Japan. Outside of the main entries, Suou has also appeared in Persona 2: Tsumi - Lost Memories, a mobile RPG adapting Innocent Sin's narrative, as well as Persona 2: Innocent Sin ~ The Errors of Their Youth, an audio drama CD that serves as a prologue to the events of Eternal Punishment. Tatsuya Suou's character has been positively received by critics and fans across the Persona 2 duology, with many holding his characterization and relationship arc with Jun Kurosu in particularly high regard. Character creation Tatsuya Suou was designed by Kazuma Kaneko, the primary artist behind the PlayStation entries in the Persona series, as well as a recurring artist throughout the Megami Tensei franchise. The central theme behind the characters present throughout the Persona 2 duology was intended to revolve around the exploration of the human condition, and the main characters discovering their true selves. Innocent Sin's theme in particular centralized on the growth of teenagers and how they overcame hardships in life. While designing Suou and the other main characters in Innocent Sin, Kaneko emphasized the character's focus in the narrative. In order to prioritize this through the character's visual direction, Tatsuya and Lisa wore the same school uniform, while each main character was also given an item of importance to individually distinguish them. Throughout the game, Tatsuya carries a lighter, later revealed to have belonged to Jun prior to becoming Joker. Tatsuya had a characteristic habit of constantly flicking the lighter while idling, a habit he retained by purchasing a new lighter upon being transported to the Eternal Punishment timeline, since Jun and Tatsuya would've never met in that continuity and thus, he never would've received Jun's lighter as a gift during his childhood like he did previously. Speaking on the same-sex relationship that can be initiated between Tatsuya and Jun in Innocent Sin, Kaneko stated the intention behind Tatsuya's characterization as an openly bisexual protagonist stemmed from Atlus' desire to capitalize on the growing fanbase in Japan for "yaoi" manga and anime, spearheaded by young female players who advocate for homosexual relationships between fictional male characters. The developers also expressed an interest in using Tatsuya and Jun's openly-romantic dynamic to make players question their perception towards non-heterosexuality. Appearances In Persona 2: Innocent Sin Tatsuya, an attendee of Seven Sisters High School, receives a letter from fellow student and childhood friend Lisa Silverman about a student having been kidnapped by the gang leader of rival school Kasugyama High School. Upon visiting the Sumaru City prison as directed by said gang leader, Eikichi Mishina, it is revealed that the victim was used as bait to persuade Suou to join his band he formed with his friends. Lisa provokes Eikichi into a fight between her, Tatsuya and himself, with the latter summoning his Persona, Rhadamantus, to knock both of them out, eventually causing them to awaken to their respective Personas, with Tatsuya receiving Vulcanus—the Roman God of fire. All three pass out thereafter, being summoned by Philemon, who informs them of their newfound abilities and the oncoming phenomenon regarding rumors being spread throughout their respective schools becoming reality. The three students are joined by journalist Maya Amano and her close friend & photographer Yukino Mayuzumi. The five collectively search for the mysterious entity known as "Joker", who had contacted Suou, Silverman and Mishina upon their attempt to play the Persona game, which Yukino similarly did during her tenure as a student at St. Hermelin High. Their search for who they believe to be the source of rumors becoming reality leads them to confront Joker on multiple occasions, with the figure eventually revealing himself to be Jun Kurosu, Tatsuya's closest friend. This discovery causes the team to recall memories of their childhood, when they once partook in a play group known as the "Masked Circle", where Maya was treated as the authoritative figure, while Tatsuya, Lisa, Eikichi and Jun were all suboordinates in the games they played together. They eventually reminisce about the fateful day their shrine was set on fire by an arsonist similarly named Tatsuya Sudou, after Maya had been locked in the shrine by Lisa and Eikichi in an attempt to prevent her from leaving the playgroup and moving abroad with her father. Suou managed to awaken to his Persona then, attacking the arsonist and suffering a knife wound during the conflict, while Maya was presumed dead. In actuality, she survived as she awoke to her Persona, Maia, who gave her protection, whilst the incident would cause her to develop an extreme case of pyrophobia. Since the incident, Jun repressed his feelings and used Joker as a platform to make other people's wishes and aspirations come true using rumors, in order to atone for his own mistakes. Realizing his manipulation under the god Nyarlathotep after being defeated by the team, he sheds his Joker form and resumes his civilian identity, reconciling with Tatsuya. Yukino then forfeits her ability to summon Personas, granting Jun her power. By then, they hear of a widely spread rumor that the former Führer of Germany, Adolf Hitler, had in fact survived World War II and amassed a secret militia of artificial Nazi soldiers known as the Last Battalion. As he prepares to invade Sumaru City, Tatsuya and his acquaintances fight off their forces in conjunction with the remaining members of the Masked Circle cult, in addition to their corrupted Shadow-selves, who came into conflict upon tempting them with their suppressed desires. Upon defeating the remnants of the Masked Circle cult, the party's Personas evolve to their ultimate forms, with Tatsuya awakening to Apollo--Greek god of the Sun. Towards the end of their journey, Tatsuya and the team board Xibalba, an alien spaceship that materialized as a result of another rumor coming true, where they find, confront and defeat the Fuhrer. Hitler eventually reveals himself to the party as Nyarlathotep himself, who had orchestrated the preceding events of the narrative as part of a bet he made with Philemon that humanity's negatives would vastly outweigh their positives. After being defeated in his final form, he subsequently summons and orders Maya Okumura, whom had been posing as Lisa's homeroom teacher at Seven Sisters, to impale Maya Amano with the Spear of Destiny—the blade said to have pierced Jesus Christ and causes a mortal wound the second it strikes skin. Maya bids farewell to the team before passing on, surrounded by her friends, and thus fulfills the prophesized destruction of the world. Tatsuya, heartbroken, willingly relinquishes the memories he had with his friends in exchange for saving Maya's life, thus saving Sumaru City from the ongoing collapse of the world, and creating a new timeline of events where Nyarlathotep failed his mission, allowing Suou to begin anew and prosper. In Persona 2: Eternal Punishment Tatsuya leads a sheltered life in the new timeline. He is revealed to have inherited the body of the Tatsuya native to this timeline while having retained all of his memories of the preceding events in Innocent Sin. Through the possession of his new body, he hopes to permanently seal Nyarlathotep away in order to atone for his inability to forget his childhood friends like he claimed he would. He investigates the new JOKER phenomenon independently of the new timeline's Maya and his brother Katsuya, insisting on staying alone in order to prevent any of his friends from regaining their memories of the previous timeline, which threatened to undo the spell Philemon cast that restored the world to its state prior to being destroyed. Despite these efforts, he is reluctantly assisted by Shiori Miyashiro, an officer at the Kounan Police Department who assists his and Katsuya's father. Eventually, his forced partner is corrupted by JOKER, turning her into a demon-infused Shadow, who Tatsuya confronts and subsequently sedates. Taking her to the Velvet Room, he pleaded with its proprietor, Igor to restore her, intending on continuing his journey alone. Reluctantly, he accepts the help of Maya and Katsuya—both of whom have been joined subsequently in their own efforts to investigate the JOKER conspiracy by other Persona users. Though they are successful in their attempt to restore Shiori to purity, they come into conflict again with Nyarlathotep, who mocks Tatsuya for his inability to uphold his end of the promise he made to Philemon. Upon his defeat, Tatsuya finally reconciles his feelings and is presented another opportunity to return to the "Other Side". He willingly relinquishes all of the bonds he formed with his acquaintances and close friends, bidding farewell to them as he vacated the body of This Side's Tatsuya and returned to his original timeline. In Persona 3 In Persona 3 (2006), Tatsuya makes an off-screen cameo appearance on the in-universe talk show Who's Who?. At this point in life he is said to be in his twenties, and aspires to become a policeman like his older brother Katsuya. Another, more indirect reference to Tatsuya is found in the game through the protagonist's Social Link with his homeroom teacher, Ms. Toriumi. Toriumi is a frequent player of the in-universe MMORPG "Innocent Sin Online" (itself a reference to the game Persona 2: Innocent Sin), and converses with the protagonist exclusively through the in-game chat prior to reaching the max rank of the Social Link. The protagonist's username in the game is "tatsuya", referencing Suou, while Toriumi talks to you as "maya", referencing Maya Amano, a main character in Innocent Sin and the main playable protagonist of Eternal Punishment. Reception Tatsuya Suou has been positively received by critics and fans across his two major appearances in the Persona 2 duology. Writing for RPGFan, Neal Chandran remarked that "he fits the mute lead role quite well, as he is a private person". He further praises his characterization as being distinct from other examples of silent protagonists in the JRPG genre, exclaiming, "...unlike many angsty teens, Tatsuya is surprisingly likeable, pretty sociable, and many of his actions show strength of character". In his review of Innocent Sin's remake for PlayStation Portable, IGN's Vince Ingenito commented that Tatsuya's characterization, among the other playable characters, "creates a serious commentary on the average person's willingness to believe anything they see or hear while making teenage ennui manifest in tangibly dangerous ways", while also likening the game's overall narrative and portrayal of its characters, to an episode of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003). Notes References Persona characters LGBT characters in video games Sega protagonists Fictional bisexual males Video game characters introduced in 1999

70014734

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raka%C5%AD%20Ghetto

Rakaŭ Ghetto

The Rakaŭ Ghetto was established on 21 August 1941 in Rakaŭ, in the Byelorussian SSR (present-day Belarus), soon after the city's capture by Nazi Germany during Operation Barbarossa. An estimated 1,050 Jews were killed in the ghetto between its creation on 21 August 1941 and its liquidation on 4 February 1942. History Prior to Operation Barbarossa, an estimated 928 Jews lived in the city of Rakaŭ, now in Minsk Region of Belarus. In June 1941, Wehrmacht soldiers occupied the city, and it was liberated on 4 July 1944. On the first day of the occupation of Rakaŭ, a regiment of the Byelorussian Auxiliary Police was organised in the city. Immediately, a campaign of unrestrained looting of Jewish property began. Violent repressions soon followed; on 14 August 1941, 45 Jews from Rakaŭ were taken from the city and forced to dig a hole, in which they were then laid down and shot to death. On 21 August, 14 Jews travelling from Minsk to Rakaŭ were detained and killed. The latter city was immediately ghettoised. Yasinsky, a farmer located nearby, was appointed commander of the Rakaŭ Auxiliary Police in September, and his assistant was a local citizen named Survillo. Jewish property was plundered frequently; the Auxiliary Police often demanded personal possessions, such as shoes and clothing, from the ghetto's inhabitants, and, after Rakaŭ was liberated, furniture, dishes, and personal belongings of the Jews were found by the Red Army. Gebietskommissar of Vileyka, Handel, forced ghetto inhabitants to collect and burn Sifrei Torah from the city's local synagogues, while Jewish girls were forced to dance and sing Hatikvah. Liquidation The Germans, perhaps fearing a resistance movement akin to the nearby Minsk Ghetto, quickly moved to exterminate the population of the ghetto. On Rosh Hashanah of 1941 (29 September 1941), 105–112 men in the ghetto between the ages of 16 and 50 were executed. On 4 February 1942, the Auxiliary Police, led by commander Nikolay Zenkyevich, herded the ghetto's remaining population into the "Cold Synagogue", one of four synagogues in Rakaŭ. Here, they were stripped of their valuables, undressed, and beaten by police. Afterwards, the synagogue was doused in gasoline and burned down as the police threw grenades into the building. 920–950 Jews were burned to death. Legacy In 1955, a sign commemorating the victims of the Rakaŭ Ghetto was erected on the site of the "Cold Synagogue", in the form of a chopped tree. In July 2005, another monument, in the Jewish Cemetery of Rakaŭ, was erected; a stone saying in Belarusian, Hebrew, and English, "Here, in the autumn of 1941, 112 Jews from the village of Rakaŭ were brutally tortured. This place of massacre was discovered by the Commission to Perpetuate the Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, established by the leaders of the Jewish communities and organizations of Belarus." References Jewish ghettos in Nazi-occupied Belarus Holocaust locations in Belarus World War II sites in Belarus

70014870

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT%20rights%20and%20The%20Church%20of%20Jesus%20Christ%20of%20Latter-day%20Saints

LGBT rights and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) has been involved with many pieces of legislation relating to LGBT people and their rights (e.g. housing, job discrimination, and same-sex marriage). These include playing an important role in defeating same-sex marriage legalization in Hawaii (Amendment 2), Alaska (Measure 2), Nebraska (Initiative 416), Nevada (Question 2), California (Prop 22), and Utah (Amendment 3). The topic of same-sex marriage has been one of the church's foremost public concerns since 1993. Leaders have stated that it will become involved in political matters if it perceives that there is a moral issue at stake and wields considerable influence on a national level. Over a dozen members of the US congress had membership in the church in the early 2000s. About 80% of Utah state lawmakers identied as Mormon at that time as well. The church's political involvement around LGBT rights has long been a source of controversy both within and outside the church. It's also been a significant cause of disagreement and disaffection by members. Teachings on sexuality and gender identity motivating political involvement LDS Church leaders have stated that the church will become involved in political matters if it perceives that there is a moral issue at stake, such as same-sex marriage, and the church wields considerable influence in the United States. All homosexual or same-sex sexual activity is forbidden by the LDS Church in its law of chastity, and the church teaches that God does not approve of same-sex marriage. Additionally, in the church's plan of salvation, noncelibate gay and lesbian individuals will not be allowed in the top tier of heaven to receive exaltation unless they repent, and a heterosexual marriage is a requirement for exaltation. In 1995 Church president Gordon B. Hinckley read "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" in the Fall General Conference which states that marriage between a man and a woman is essential and ordained of God and that gender is an essential part of one's eternal identity and purpose. Gender identity and roles play an important part in Latter-Day Saint teachings which teaches a strict binary of spiritual gender as literal offspring of divine parents. "The Family Proclamation" has been submitted by the church in several amicus briefs as evidence against legalizing same-sex marriages. From 1976 until 1989 under president Spencer Kimball the Church Handbook called for church discipline for members attracted to the same sex equating merely being homosexual with the seriousness of acts of adultery and child molestation—even celibate gay people were subject to excommunication. Kimball's numerous publications discussing "curing" homosexuality and condemning same-sex attractions (even without action), and his rise to the church presidency in 1973 set the stage for years of harsh treatment of gay church members. Since the first recorded mentions of homosexuality by general LDS Church leaders, teachings and policies around the topics of the nature, etiology, mutability, and identity around same-sex romantic and physical attractions have seen many changes through the decades, including a softening in rhetoric over time. Views on discrimination laws In February 2003, the LDS Church said it did not oppose a hate-crimes bill, which included sexual orientation, then under consideration in the Utah state legislature. The church opposes same-sex marriage, but does not object to rights regarding hospitalization and medical care, fair housing and employment rights, or probate rights, so long as these do not infringe on the integrity of the family or the constitutional rights of churches and their adherents to administer and practice their religion free from government interference. Following two months of negotiations between top Utah gay rights leaders and mid-level church leaders, the church supported a gay rights bill in Salt Lake City which bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in housing and employment, calling them "common-sense rights." The law does not apply to housing or employment provided by religious organizations. Jeffrey R. Holland, of the church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, stated that it could be a model for the rest of the state. The LDS Church has not taken a position on ENDA. Many surveys have been conducted on church members and their views on homosexuality and discrimination. In a 1977 Utah poll three-fourths of LDS-identified responders opposed equal rights for gay teachers or ministers and 62% favored discrimination against gays in business and government (versus 64% and 38% of non-LDS respondents respectively). A 2017 Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) survey found that over half (53%) of all Mormon adults believed small private business should be able to deny products and services to gay or lesbian people for religious reasons (compared to 33% of the 40,000+ American adults surveyed), and 24% of all Mormon adults oppose laws that protect LGBT Americans against discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations. In a 2007 US poll, only 24% of Mormons agreed that "homosexuality is a way of life that should be accepted," less than any other major religious group in the survey except for Jehovah's Witnesses, and 2 out of 3 (68%) latter-day saints said it should be discouraged. In a similar poll seven years later, 36% said homosexuality should be accepted and over half (57%) said it should be discouraged. Additionally, 69% of adherents supported laws that protect LGBT Americans against discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations, but 53% believed small private business should be able to deny products and services to gay or lesbian people for religious reasons. Several church employees have been fired or pressured to leave for being celibate but gay, or for supporting LGBT rights. A Church employee described how his stake president denied his temple recommend resulting in him getting fired simply because of his friendship with other gay men and his involvement in a charity bingo for Utah Pride in a 2011 article. Opposition to same-sex marriage legislation In 1997, then church president Gordon B. Hinckley declared the church would "do all it can to stop the recognition of same-sex marriage in the United States", and apostle M. Russell Ballard has said the church is "locked in" if anything interferes with the principle of marriage only being between a man and a woman. Beginning in the mid-1990s, the LDS Church began to focus its attention on the issue of same-sex marriages with one scholar citing the church's views of God's male-female union plan, their sense of responsibility in publicly protecting traditional morality, and a fear of government encroachment in church performed marriages as the motivations for this opposition. In 1993, the Supreme Court of Hawaii held that discrimination against same-sex couples in the granting of marriage licenses violated the Hawaiian constitution. In response, the church's First Presidency issued a statement on February 13, 1994, declaring their opposition to same-sex marriage, and urging members to support efforts to outlaw it. Fund-raising assignments were given to stake presidents in Hawaii and the LDS Church contributed $600,000 to pass HB 117. With the lobbying of the LDS Church and several other religious organizations, the Hawaii legislature enacted the bill in 1994 outlawing same-sex marriages. Other states were considering legislation against recognizing same-sex marriages, but Utah acted first in 1995. With its large majority Latter-day Saint legislature it passed a law forbidding the recognition of same-sex marriage that was drafted by a Brigham Young University BYU law professor. In 1995, the LDS Church released "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" reaffirming its stance that marriage is between one man and one woman. However, this monogamous stance has been strongly criticized as hypocritical given the church's historical disagreement with this legal definition which bars polygamy. In 1998, the church donated $500,000 towards banning same-sex marriage in Alaska (Measure 2). This made up nearly 80% of the entire budget of the coalition lobbying for the measure. The same year in Nebraska, church members collected about half of the 160,000 signatures gathered to place Initiative 416 on the ballot in order to ban same-sex marriage there. For Nevada's Question #2 members played a key role in passing it by collecting the necessary petition signatures with many collected by making use of the church directories and venues. In 2004, the church officially endorsed a federal amendment to the United States Constitution as well as Utah Constitutional Amendment 3 banning any marriages not between one man and one woman and announced its opposition to political measures that "confer legal status on any other sexual relationship" than "a man and a woman lawfully wedded as husband and wife." This statement seemed to also oppose civil unions, common-law marriages, plural marriages, or other family arrangements. This political involvement elicited the criticism of California Senator Mark Leno who questioned whether the church's tax-exempt status should be revoked. On August 13, 2008, the church released a letter explaining why it believed that same-sex marriage would be detrimental to society and encouraging California members to support Proposition 8 which would bar anything but opposite-sex marriages. The letter asked members to donate time and money towards the initiative. Church members would account for 80 to 90 percent of volunteers who campaigned door-to-door and as much as half of the nearly $40 million raised during the campaign. In November 2008, the day after California voters approved Proposition 8, the LDS Church stated that it does not object to domestic partnership or civil union legislation as long as these do not infringe on the integrity of the traditional family or the constitutional rights of churches. Soon after, L. Whitney Clayton, a church general authority, stated that members who opposed Proposition 8 may be subject to discipline from local church leaders. In a special meeting for some Oakland, California members it was reported that Marlin K. Jensen, Church Historian and general authority, apologized to straight and gay members for their pain from the Proposition 8 campaign and some other church actions around homosexuality. In 2010 the LDS Church was fined for failing to properly report about $37,000 in contributions in 2008 towards Prop 8. in violation of California state's political contribution laws. The whistleblower Fred Karger went on to found the organization Mormon Tips seeking information on further political involvement that may violate the LDS church's tax-exempt status. On December 20, 2013, the topic of same-sex marriage and the LDS Church was raised again when U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby struck down the Utah ban on same-sex marriage, saying it violated the U.S. Constitution's Equal Protection Clause. In response, the church released instructions to leaders regarding same-sex marriage in Utah. These included the stance that, while the church disagrees with the court ruling, those who obtain same-sex marriage should not be treated disrespectfully. Additionally, it stated that church leaders were prohibited from employing their authority to perform marriages, and that any church property could not be used for same-sex marriages or receptions. In November 2015, a new policy was released stating that members who are in a same-sex marriage are considered apostates and may be subject to church discipline. Additionally, the children of parents who are in same-sex relationships must wait until they are 18 years old and then disavow homosexual relationships before they can be baptized. In April 2019, the church's First Presidency announced a revelation reversing the policy, but still affirming that same-sex marriage was a "serious transgression." Russell M. Nelson had previously characterized the 2015 policy as direction from God in 2016, stating "Each of us during that sacred moment felt a spiritual confirmation. ... It was our privilege as apostles to sustain what had been revealed to President Monson." Shortly after the change, Nelson said in a press release that the reversal was, "revelation upon revelation." A 2017 PRRI survey found that over half (52%) of Mormon young adults (18–29) supported same-sex marriage while less than a third (32%) of Mormon seniors (65+) did. Overall, 40% of LDS adults supported same-sex marriage, and 53% were opposed. Criticism and Protests The church's political involvement around LGBT rights has long been a source of controversy both within and outside the church. It's also been a significant cause of disagreement and disaffection by members. A 2003 nationwide Pew Research Center survey of over 1,000 LGBT Americans found that 83% of them said the LDS church was "generally unfriendly towards lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people" surpassed only by "the Muslim religion" at 84%. Additionally, in May 2008 a Georgia Tech gay-rights manual referred to the LDS Church as "anti-gay." After two students sued the school for discrimination, a judge ordered that the material be removed. The church's political involvement around LGBTQ rights has sparked critical media and protests. This includes the 2010 documentary film 8: The Mormon Proposition, the play "8" and the following protests: 4 October 1999 – 150 members of Affirmation staged a protest in Salt Lake City over the church's lobbying and funding of anti-same-sex-marriage initiatives in California and other states. 2 November 2008 – Hundreds of people gathered at the Salt Lake City library in a protest of Prop 8 organized by LDS mothers of gay children. 6 November 2008 – In Los Angeles over two thousand people protested at the LDS temple over the LDS church's heavy involvement in the recent passing of California's Prop 8 banning same-sex marriage. 7 November 2008 – Three days after Prop 8 passed nearly five thousand protesters gathered at the Salt Lake Temple. That evening a candlelight vigil by about 600 mothers of LGBT children was also held at the Salt Lake Temple. Timeline of events and publications around the LDS church and LGBT rights Below is a timeline of events and publications around LDS Church political involvement around LGBT rights. 1800s 1851 – The church-controlled legislature of the newly formed Utah Territory passed the first law addressing same-sex sexual behavior banning any "man or boy" from "sexual intercourse with any of the male creation" with penalties left to the courts' discretion. Brigham Young acted as both Utah governor and church president in the theocratic government and oversaw the selection of the legislators. 1858 – Travelling bishop and later church historian A. Milton Musser wrote that Salt Lake City member Almerin Grow had demonstrated odd behavior and was wearing his wife's clothing in one of the first reported instances of gender non-conforming dress in the Mormon community. Church president Young (who had only recently stepped down as governor of the Utah Territory) subsequently sent Grow south to "never return," so Grow appointed Musser as guardian of his daughter. 1897 – During the October General Conference, First Presidency member George Q. Cannon used the media attention on the 1895 conviction and two-year imprisonment of famed Irish poet Oscar Wilde as an opportunity to condemn homosexual behavior as an "abominable", "filthy", "nameless crime" that "caused the utter destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah". He continued stating that the only way to stop these "dreadful practices" was "by the destruction of those who practice them" and "for the Lord to wipe them out" noting that "if a little nest of them were left ... they would soon corrupt others". 1950s 1952 – An increase in US public discourse around homosexuality in the McCarthyist Lavender scare era contributed to the first explicit mention of the term homosexual in general conference. Apostle Clark lamented that homosexuality is found among men and women, and that homosexual people exercise great influence in shaping culture. After this LDS leaders started regularly addressing queer topics in public especially towards the end of the decade. 1955 – A Boise, Idaho, gay witch hunt was launched to hunt down gay men among moral panic over several local arrests of males for same-sex sexual activity. This resulted in nearly 1,500 people questioned, producing hundreds of names of suspected homosexuals including several Mormons. Author John Gerassi cites an oppressive environment engendered by the predominantly LDS population in his seminal 1966 work Boys of Boise as a contributing factor for the illegal sexual activity and subsequent witch hunts. The documentary The Fall of '55 was made about the events in 2006. 1957 – Apostle Clark cited Old Testament punishments for same-sex sexual activity stating, "for homosexuality, it was death to the male and the prescription or penalty for the female I do not know." 1959 – The fictional book Advise and Consent is released featuring the story of a married Mormon US senator named Brigham Anderson from Utah who has an affair with another man. It won a Pulitzer Prize and was later made into a film in 1962. The novel's plot takes place during the ongoing 1950s McCarthyist Lavender Scare era when thousands of lesbian and gay applicants were barred from federal employment as national security threats under President Eisenhower's Executive Order 10450, and over 5,000 federal employees were fired under suspicions of being homosexual. 1960s 1960 – Utah native and LDS-raised R. Joel Dorius (born 1919) would become an unwitting champion of gay liberation after he was arrested in Massachusetts along with two coworkers and fired from his language and visual arts Smith College professorship. His house was raided and beefcake fitness magazines with erotic images of men were found in what is now considered a McCarthyist gay witch hunt. Along with a coworker, Dorius appealed the verdict of pornography possession to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and all three professors were exonerated as the raid warrants were deemed unconstitutional. The scandal has been dramatized in The Scarlet Professor and the PBS documentary The Great Pink Scare. 1964 – Apostle Kimball addressed seminary and institute faculty on BYU campus calling homosexuality a "detestable crime against nature" that was "curable" by "self mastery". He cited one lay bishop (a businessman by trade) assigned by the church to administer a "program of rehabilitation" through which there had been "numerous cures". He said "the police, the courts, and the judges" had referred "many cases directly" to the church. 1965 – In a churchwide broadcast address the apostle Mark Petersen cited the movements to remove laws banning same-sex sexual activity in at least two US states as great evidence of apostasy, rejecting God, and society placing itself in the role of anti-Christ. 1969 – Mark E. Petersen cites how homosexuality "was made a capital crime in the Bible" as evidence of the seriousness of same-sex sexual activity. He stated "immorality is next to murder" and "the wage of sin is death" and that a rejection of morality "may bring about [this nation's] fall" as with "Greece and Rome" unless there was repentance. 1970s 1970 – Victor L. Brown of the Presiding Bishopric gave a General Conference address in which he called recent media reporting on a same-sex marriage "filth on our newsstands". 1971 – In a conference address apostle Kimball called the decriminalization of consensual same-sex sexual activity a damnable heresy, and the voices speaking in favor of churches accepting homosexuals as ugly and loud. 1972 – Idaho laws which barred same-sex sexual activity between consenting adults were reinstated under heavy pressure from the LDS church after being repealed for three months. Mormon state senator Wayne Loveless who spearheaded the effort stated that the previous law would "encourage immorality and draw sexual deviates to the state." The reinstated law restored the old wording that "every person who is guilty of the infamous crime against nature committed with mankind ... is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than five years." 1974 – BYU president Oaks delivered a speech on campus in which he spoke in favor of keeping criminal punishment for "deviate sexual behavior" such as private, consensual, same-sex sexual activity. The speech was later printed by the university's press. 1975 – LDS member Sergeant Leonard Matlovich was featured on the September 8 cover of Time magazine with the caption "I Am a Homosexual" for his challenging of the U.S. military ban against gay men and lesbian women. He was subsequently discharged from the military for openly stating his sexual orientation and excommunicated from the Church two months after the article was released. 1976 – BYU music professor Carlyle D. Marsden took his own life two days after being outed by an arrest during a series of police sting operations at an Orem rest stop. 1977 – The largely LDS Utah House of Representatives passed a bill outlawing same-sex marriages in the state by 71 votes to 3 without floor debate. 1977 – The Relief Society general president sent a telegram to Anita Bryant for her "Save Our Children" campaign which stated, "On behalf of the one million members of the Relief Society ... we commend you, for your courageous and effective efforts in combatting [sic] homosexuality and laws which would legitimize this insidious life style [sic]." 1977 – Under the name Affirmation: Gay Mormons United, the first Affirmation group was organized in Salt Lake City by a group of other Mormon and former-Mormon lesbian and gay people at the conference for the Salt Lake Coalition for Human Rights. 1977 – Apostle Mark Petersen wrote in the Church News that every right-thinking should sustain Anita Bryant and should look at their own neighborhoods to determine how "infiltrated" they had become with gay people. He also wrote that "homosexual offenses" were next to murder in the hierarchy of sins. 1977 – With an invitation from LDS church leaders, Anita Bryant performed at the Utah State Fair on the 18th. Her presence prompted the first public demonstration from Utah's queer community, organized by gay, former-Mormon pastor Bob Waldrop, in what gay, former Mormon, and historian Seth Anderson referred to as "Utah's Stonewall." 1977 – At a backstage press conference Church president Kimball praised Anita Bryant's anti-gay "Save Our Children" crusade which sought to bar the passing of nondiscrimination laws which would protect sexual minorities from being kicked out of their homes, fired from their jobs, and banned from restaurants solely for their sexual orientation. He stated that she was "doing a great service." He continued stating that "the homosexual program is not a natural, normal way of life" and that church bishops and college-educated church counselors can aid those with "homosexual problems." 1978 – The First Presidency released a statement on August 24 outlining reasons for their opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment including "unnatural consequences" like an "increase in the practice of homosexual and lesbian activities". 1979 – Gay former Mormon Bob Waldrop who had served an LDS mission in Australia became a leader in the gay-inclusive Salt Lake Metropolitan Community Church. In February 1977 his congregation had had its permission rescinded by Utah state Lieutenant Governor David Monson (a Mormon) to hold a queer-inclusive church dance in the public Utah Capitol building. 1979 – Gay Mormons from Affirmation marched with 75,000 people in the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. 1980s 1980 – The Ensign published an article stating that a passing of the Equal Rights Amendment would lead to legalizing same-sex marriage and children being raised in a homosexual home. 1981 – Church leaders sent every bishop and stake president a copy of a book on human sexuality and families by Church Welfare Services director Victor Brown Jr. The book stated that equating same-sex relationships with opposite-sex marriage was fallacious and inconsistent, and that homosexual people were less disciplined and orderly in their relationships. October – A march of about 15 gay post-Mormons calling themselves "Ethyl and Friends for Gay Rights" was given city permission to protest on public property around Temple Square during the church's general conference with signs like "We are God’s Children." The leader Randy Smith (whose drag performance name was Ethel) had previously undergone electroshock aversion therapy at BYU. 1984 – Apostle Oaks wrote a church memo that informed church action on LGBT legistlation for more than three decades. In it he recommended the church make a public statement to "oppose job discrimination laws protecting homosexuals" unless there were exceptions for allowing employers to "exclude homosexuals from employment that involves teaching ... young people". He also noted "the irony [that] would arise if the Church used [Reynolds v. United States]," the principal 1878 ruling stating that marriage is between a man and a woman, "as an argument for the illegality of homosexual marriages [since it was] formerly used against the Church to establish the illegality of polygamous marriages." Oaks also clarified that the word homosexuality is used in two senses: as a "condition" or "tendency", and as a "practice" or "activity". 1986 – Twenty-six-year-old Clair Harward who was dying from complications due to AIDS was banned from church meetings for fear of spreading the disease. His story made national headlines and prompted a statement from a church spokesperson. 1987 – Gordon Hinckley of the First Presidency gave a conference address in which he stated, "marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God .... Marriage should not be viewed as a therapeutic step to solve problems such as homosexual inclinations ...." 1988 – On November 22 a 20-year-old man from a prominent Mormon family in Delta, Utah and another Utah man raped, tortured, and brutally murdered Gordon Church—a 28-year-old, gay, Mormon, student—near Cedar City, Utah in an anti-gay hate crime before US hate crime laws existed. 1990s 1990 – Church spokesperson John Lyons stated, "Since there is no marriage between homosexuals, then sexual activity between them is not acceptable under our principles." 1991 – During a case hearing Young Men's president and church Seventy Jack H. Goaslind gave a testimonial and stated on record that "[the church] would withdraw" from the Boy Scouts of America if homosexual youth were allowed to join, implying a current church policy banning youth based on sexual orientation. In March 1910 the church's Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Association had adopted the Boy Scouts of America program as the church-wide program for young men in the US. 1992 – Seventy Vaughn Featherstone decried the attempts at legalizing homosexuality during his lifetime as among compromising, drifting philosophies in his general conference speech. 1992 – Then apostle Russell Nelson stated in general conference that the AIDS epidemic was a plague fueled by a vocal few concerned with civil rights and abetted by immoral people. 1993 – Packer gave a speech in which he identified social and political unrest from gay-lesbian movements as major invasions into the membership of the Church that leads them away. 1993 – Apostle Oaks gave a conference address stating that "there are many political, legal, and social pressures for changes that confuse gender and homogenize the differences between men and women". 1994 – The First Presidency issued a statement encouraging members to contact their legislators in an effort to reject same-sex marriage. 1994 – Apostle Boyd K. Packer gave a conference address mentioning that changes in the laws around marriage and gender threaten the family. 1994 – Apostle James E. Faust gave a speech at BYU in which he stated that same-sex marriage would unravel families, the fabric of human society. 1995 – The LDS Church began actions opposing same-sex marriage laws including recruiting members to work with and donate to Hawaii's Future Today in opposition to efforts to legalize same-sex marriage in Hawaii. Pamphlets were spread in church meetings and church facilities were used to fax statements to legislative committees. The campaign spanned years and the church reported giving $600,000 in 1998 to the Hawaiian political-action group Save Traditional Marriage '98. 1995 – James E. Faust gave a First Presidency message that stated same-sex relationships would help "unravel the fabric of human society" and if practiced by everyone would "mean the end of the human family". 1995 – Church president Gordon B. Hinckley read "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" in the Fall General Conference which states that marriage between a man and a woman is essential and ordained of God. It also teaches that gender is an essential part of one's eternal identity and purpose. The document has been submitted by the church in several amicus briefs as evidence against legalizing same-sex marriages. 1995 – Gordon B. Hinckley gave an October General Conference talk in which he stated that "same-sex marriage" is an "immoral practic[e]". 1995 – Church Seventy Durrel A. Woolsey stated in general conference that Satan makes powerful and ungodly proclamations like "same-gender intimate associations and even marriages are acceptable." 1996 – In California a letter was read to all congregations from the North American West Area Presidency encouraging members to contact their legislators in support of a California assembly bill (AB 1982) against the recognition of any same-sex marriages. 1996 – Salt Lake City became the only US city to have its Board of Education ban all students clubs after Mormon students Erin Wiser and Kelli Peterson formed an East High School club called the "Gay/Straight Alliance" in September 1995. The club had cited a federal law sponsored by LDS Utah Senator Orrin Hatch which forbade school boards from discriminating against clubs, although, Hatch stated that the law was never meant to promote "immoral speech or activity". Four-hundred of Salt Lake's high school students protested the ban. One Mormon senior at East High was quoted stating that he would rather all clubs be banned than allow the gay-straight alliance. Additionally, Mormon state representative Grant Protzman stated “I think that many legislators have serious concerns about the group’s moving into recruitment of fresh meat for the gay population." Club founder Peterson responded that recruitment was not at all what the club is about, stating that it was founded to help her and her LGBT friends deal with a hostile school atmosphere where she faced physical and verbal assault as an out lesbian. In response to the gay-straight alliance group, some students at West High formed the Student Against Faggots Everywhere (SAFE) group. 1996 – BYU Spanish professor Thomas Matthews was reported to a top LDS authority for previously stating that he was gay in private conversations. He stated that BYU did not like that he was out of the closet despite being celibate and keeping BYU codes of conduct, and eventually left the university a few months later. BYU president Lee had stated that it was "simply not comfortable for the university" for him to continue teaching there. 1997 – A poll of over 400 BYU students found that 42% of students believed that even if a same-sex attracted person kept the honor code they should not be allowed to attend BYU. The poll's stated 5 percent margin of error was criticized as being too low an estimate because of the cluster sampling in classes, however. 1997 – Church president Hinckley stated at the World Forum of Silicon Valley that the church would "do all it can to stop the recognition of same-sex marriage in the United States." 1997 – Church seventy Bruce C. Hafen presented at the World Congress of Families in the Czech Republic. He stated that one thing that will unbridle societal principles and harm us was legalizing same-sex marriage and that, "if the law endorses everything it tolerates, we will eventually tolerate everything and endorse nothing—except tolerance." 1997 – Church president Hinckley gave an interview in which he reaffirmed the stance that God made marriage for one man and one woman and that essentially gay people must live a "celibate life". 1997 – General authorities Marlin Jensen, Loren Dunn, and Richard Wirthlin gave recommendations to the church Public Affairs Committee that the church's priesthood structure could be used to gather 70% of the required 700,000 signatures and raise up to $2 million to place an anti-same-sex-marriage ballot on California's June 1998 primary election. 1998 – The Church Handbook was updated encouraging members to appeal to government officials to reject same-sex marriage. 1998 – The church donated a half million dollars to oppose efforts to legalize same-sex marriage in Alaska. 1998 – Church president Hinckley stated again that the church could not support "so-called same-sex marriage". 1999 – The Area Presidency of the North America West Area sent a May 11 letter to all area leaders directing members to donate their means and time to pass the Knight Initiative against same-sex marriage in California. A second letter invited church members to donate money, and a third letter (sent a month and a half before the proposition would pass) asked members to redouble their efforts in contacting neighbors and to place provided yard signs. 1999 – Prop 22 fundraising quotas were given for some stakes and wards (e.g. one stake had a goal of $37,500 and one ward's goal was $4,000). Some local leaders wrote letter to members soliciting specific amounts. In some instances lawn signs were passed out in the church building after church meetings. An estimated half of pro-Prop 22 money raised came from LDS members. This direct involvement around same-sex marriage laws led certain groups to request the IRS reconsider the LDS Church's tax-exempt status. 1999 – Church president Hinckley stated in general conference that, "so-called same-sex marriage ... is not a matter of civil rights; it is a matter of morality. ... There is no justification to redefine what marriage is." 1999 – Some members of Affirmation staged a protest in Salt Lake City over the church's lobbying and funding of anti-same-sex-marriage initiatives in California and other states. 1999 – Director of BYU's World Family Policy Center Kathryn Balmforth addressed the World Congress of Families in Geneva. In her speech she stated that gay rights activists are part of an anti-family movement that is hijacking human rights by legal force to gain power and "curtail the freedom of most of humanity." 2000s 2002 – With heavy influence from the LDS Church, Nevada state's Question 2 on amending the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage passed on the 5th after also winning a majority vote in the general elections two-years prior. A Nevada Mormon newspaper Beehive first reported the Coalition for the Protection of Marriage's intent to file an initiative petition in December 1999. The coalition raised over $800,000 by October 2000 from mostly Mormon-owned businesses and LDS individuals. Mormon leaders had strongly encouraged members through letters with church letterhead to do campaign work and post yard signs distributed at church buildings. 2004 – In May the church spokesperson stated the church had no position on Utah's proposed anti-same-sex-marriage ammendment. Polls showed 68% of Utah Latter-day Saints supported the amendment. Then the First Presidency issued a July 7th statement saying the church favors a constitutional amendment barring the legal status of any marriage outside one between one man and one woman, but did not mention any amendment by name. A few months later on October 19 they expounded this stance to reference a national amendment. The letter states that the church reaches out with understanding and respect for homosexual persons and realizes there may be great loneliness in their lives, but defend their stance. 2004 – Church president Gordon Hinckley gave an interview in which he did not support same-sex civil unions and spoke against same-sex marriage. He also stated that gay people have a problem that the church wants to help them solve, though, he said he did not know if they were born with this problem. 2005 – The church published an article tying the term gender confusion to homosexuality stating, "If governments were to alter the moral climate by legitimizing same-sex marriages, gender confusion would increase, particularly among children, and this would further blur the line between good and evil." 2005 – Shortly after Provo High School students started the first gay-straight alliance in the nearly 90% Mormon Utah County, LDS state Senator Chris Buttars announced a controversial bill to ban gay-straight alliances in Utah public schools. 2006 – The church published an extensive April interview with Oaks and Lance B. Wickman to clarify the church’s stance on homosexuality. In the interview, Wickman states that giving even same-sex civil unions and domestic partnerships the same government rights given to opposite-sex marriage would not be appropriate. 2006 – In April Apostle Russell M. Nelson signed a letter with other religious leaders urging the US government to pass an amendment banning same-sex marriage. On May 25 the First Presidency released another statement supporting the amendment and urging members to contact their senators. 2006 – BYU fired adjunct professor Jeffrey Nielsen for writing an opinion piece in support of same-sex marriage. 2007 – Seventy Bruce C. Hafen addressed the 4th World Congress of Families in Poland on same-sex marriage. Additionally, BYU Law professor Lynn D. Wardle presented and compared his warnings "tragic consequences" and "dangers of legalizing same-sex marriage" as the warnings of a Hungarian man warning Elie Wiesel's town about the dangers the incoming Nazis posed to the Jewish population there. He also stated that if same-sex marriages were legalized there would be no basis to deny polygamous or incestuous marriages, and a decreased ability to "protect their children from exposure to gay propaganda." 2008 – The First Presidency again urged California members to do all they can by giving effort and time to help pass a state amendment banning same-sex marriage in a June 29 letter. A few months later Apostles Ballard and Cook and L. Whitney Clayton gave an October 8 satellite broadcast to all California members titled "The Divine Institution of Marriage Broadcast." In the broadcast they asked members to donate four hours per week and to set aside Saturdays morning to calling people and other efforts supporting the passage of Prop 8. They clarified that tolerance does not mean tolerating transgression, and noted the existence of temple-worthy members attracted to the same sex. Additionally, a video of Apostle Bednar answering youth's questions was shown from the church's official website PreservingMarriage.org. Members were directed to register on the coalition website ProtectMarriage.com. November – The Courage Campaign produced a controversial California-aired television ad depicting Mormon missionaries invading a lesbian couple's house and taking their rings and marriage license. The ad elicited a statement from a church spokesperson. The group also created a petition asking the LDS church to stop funding and advocating for Prop 8 which gained over 16,000 signatures. 2008 – After the 4 November 2008 close passing of California's Prop 8 banning same-sex marriage in which the LDS church was heavily involved, over two thousand protesters gathered at the Los Angeles LDS temple on November 6. The next day nearly five thousand protesters gathered at the Salt Lake Temple. That evening a candlelight vigil by about 600 mothers of LGBT children was also held at the Salt Lake Temple. 2008 – Seventy L. Whitney Clayton stated that the church does not oppose benefits like health insurance and property rights for same-sex civil unions or domestic partnerships. 2008 – A chapter of an activist group called for vandalizing LDS meetinghouses in response to their political involvement with Prop 8. Some Bash Back! members spray painted slogans chapels and put glue in the locks. More moderate gay rights groups condemned the actions of the Bash Back! group. 2009 – After anti-gay comments he made in a documentary interview became public, LDS bishop and state senator Chris Buttars was removed from a Senate committee for breaking an agreement with Senate leaders not to publicly speak on LGBT topics. He stated gay marriage was a "combination of abominations" that would never come to Utah because of his power and influence, and that he had consulted with other states on using Utah as a model for blocking "protection for the gays". 2009 – Then apostle Russell M. Nelson spoke against same-sex marriage at the World Congress of Families held in Amsterdam. 2009 – Church PR director Michael Otterson gave a statement at a Salt Lake City Council hearing in support of a proposed city anti-discrimination ordinance which would protect LGBT individuals. 2010s 2010 – The documentary 8: The Mormon Proposition on LDS involvement with California's 2008 Prop 8 debuts at Utah's Sundance Film Festival. 2010 – In a special meeting for some Oakland, California members it was reported that church Seventy and historian Marlin K. Jensen apologized to straight and gay members for their pain from the California Prop 8 campaign and some other church actions around homosexuality. 2010 – Boyd K. Packer delivered an October conference address stating that The Family: A Proclamation to the World "qualifies according to the definition as a revelation", and described same-sex marriage as one of "Satan's many substitutes or counterfeits for marriage". 2010 – Apostle Packer delivered an October conference address stating that The Family: A Proclamation to the World qualified as a revelation. 2011 – A BYU law student published the book Homosexuality: A Straight BYU Student’s Perspective containing arguments in favor of same-sex marriage for which he stated he was threatened with expulsion. 2011 – Celibate gay Mormon Drew Call was denied his temple recommend renewal and fired from his LDS church printing office job for refusing to give up his gay friends. 2011 – BYU fired a gay broadcasting department faculty member. The employee stated that BYU had become an increasingly hostile work environment and that being gay played into his being fired. 2012 – The apostle Oaks stated that members should assume that children of same-sex couples face the same disadvantages of single and unmarried parents. 2012 – LDS public affairs leader Bill Evans met with several high profile LGBT activists in Salt Lake City at the Alta Club including the national Human Rights Campaign director, Dustin Lance Black, Bruce Bastian, the Utah Pride Center director, and the director of Mormons Building Bridges. 2013 – Apostle Russell Nelson gave a speech discussing the controversy around same-sex marriage and church teachings. He admonished members to gain understanding of the church's position through prayer, pondering, and listening to conference. 2013 – On the 20th same-sex marriages became legally recognized in Utah and within two hours the first same-sex couple was married. They were two former Mormons, medical researcher Michael Ferguson and historian Seth Anderson. 2013 – On Christmas Eve Leisha and Amanda LaCrone became the first same-sex couple married in San Pete County, Utah, after being illegally denied the day before. They came from LDS backgrounds, and later reported being harassed by LDS leaders over a disciplinary council in 2016. 2013 – Apostle Russell M. Nelson gave a CES devotional discussing the debate around same-sex marriage. 2013 – On the 20th of December same-sex marriages became legally recognized in Utah and within two hours the first same-sex couple was married. They were two former Mormons, medical researcher Michael Ferguson and historian Seth Anderson. 2014 – A letter on same-sex marriage was sent to all congregational leaders to be shared with members. The letter reiterated church stances and urged members to review the Family Proclamation and called for "kindness and civility" for supporters of same-sex marriage. 2014 – An amicus brief was filed by the church with the US Tenth Circuit Court in defense of Utah's recently overturned Amendment 3 banning same-sex marriage in the state. The brief summarized the church's stance on marriage while stating that the church held no "anti-homosexual animus". 2014 – A former bishop Kevin Kloosterman, who had received media attention for speaking out for LGBT Mormons while a current bishop, received further coverage for being denied entrance to the temple by his bishop as directed by a church seventy in part because of his support of same-sex marriage. 2014 – Another amicus brief on a same-sex marriage case was filed on by the church, this time encouraging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear Utah's Kitchen v. Herbert. 2014 – BYU student Curtis Penfold who had been at the university for over two years was kicked out of his apartment, fired from his job, and expulsed from BYU after disagreeing with LDS teachings on LGBT rights. 2014 – The apostle Eyring stated at an international colloquium on marriage in the Vatican that "We want our voice to be heard against all of the counterfeit and alternative lifestyles that try to replace the family organization". His statement was quoted in the April 2015 general conference by Apostle Tom Perry. 2015 – Church leaders held a "Fairness for All" news conference on January 27 supporting LGBT non-discrimination laws for housing and employment that would also protect religious individuals. Apostle Christofferson called for a balance between religious freedom and LGBT rights. Apostle Oaks followed stating that the church rejects persecution based on gender or sexual orientation and called for legislation protecting religious freedoms and LGBT citizens in housing, employment, and public accommodations. Apostle Holland closed outlining the church's stance on religious freedom. 2015 – In early March the church released a public statement and employed its lobbyists to garner support for a proposed nondiscrimination and religious rights bill which would grant housing and employment protection for LGBT persons in Utah. Though similar bills had failed 6 times before, SB 296 was passed on March 11 and another statement of church approval was released. the new law (nicknamed the "Utah Compromise") passed and was praised by many. 2015 – Prominent gay member Josh Weed (who received media attention when he came out in 2012) and his wife stated their support for same-sex marriage when quotes from them were used without permission in an amicus brief opposing it ahead of the oral arguments in the Supreme Court Obergefell v. Hodges case. 2015 – After a disciplinary council on February 10, John Dehlin was excommunicated from the LDS church in part because of his visible advocacy for same-sex marriage, and his stake president had previously stated that, "if you come out openly in support of [same-sex marriage] that is a problem." An appeal was denied by the church's highest authority. 2015 – The apostle Christofferson gave an interview in which he acknowledged the diversity of sociopolitical views among church members and stated that advocating for same-sex marriage on social media or holding political beliefs differring from official church stances would not threaten a member's standing in the church, though, he said the church would never accept same-sex marriage. 2015 – The church filed an amicus brief with the Sixth Circuit Court on a pending consolidated same-sex case stating that allowing same-sex marriage would "impede the ability of religious people to participate fully as equal citizens". 2015 – Three days after the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage the First Presidency sent a letter to be read to every US congregation affirming changing US law would not change God's moral law. The letter clarified that leaders should not perform same-sex marriages, and that any church property cannot be used for activities related to same-sex marriages. 2015 – D. Todd Christofferson stated that members who openly supported LGBT marriage would not be excommunicated. 2015 – Top church leaders sent out another letter to be read in all US congregations reaffirming the church's position on marriage and calling for civility. 2015 – A church statement is released saying leaders are "deeply troubled" and re-evaluating its scouting program, as a Boy Scouts of America (BSA) policy change permits openly gay scout leaders. A later announcement said the church will stay in the BSA program, the change. 2015 – Presidency of the Seventy member Rasband gave a BYU address (later reprinted in the Ensign) in which he addressed concerns about the church's involvement in politics. He shared hypothetical stories of a man fired for being gay and a woman marginalized at work for being Mormon and bemoaned that it is less politically correct to empathize with the religious woman. He invited listeners to discuss LGBT rights and religious freedom and to write comments on his Facebook post. 2015 – Apostle Dallin H. Oaks publicly disagreed with refusing gay marriages in violation of the recent supreme court ruling. Days later at the World Congress of Families, apostle Russell Ballard urged tolerance for the opposition. 2015 – An update letter to leaders for the Church Handbook was leaked banning a "child of a parent living in a same-gender relationship" from several ordinances. The policy update also added that entering a same-sex marriage as a type of "apostasy", mandating a disciplinary council. A few days later around 1,500 members gathered across from the Church Office Building to submit their resignation letters in response to the policy change with thousands more resigning online in the weeks after 2015 – Utah married couple April Hoagland and Beckie Peirce were denied guardian rights over their foster child because of their sexual orientation by BYU graduate, former stake presidency counselor, and Mormon bishop judge Scott Johansen, leading to calls for his impeachment and resulting in his retirement. 2016 – BYU and church policies on LGBT persons got the spotlight as these served as a deterrent in their football team being considered as a Fall addition to the Big 12 Conference, a consideration which was ultimately denied. 2016 – Church spokesperson Dale Jones spoke against passing any LGBT-related laws which could affect the balance of religious liberty and gay rights. The statement was in reference to proposed Utah hate crime bill SB107 which would add sexual orientation to the current list of characteristics protected from hate crimes in Utah. The bill failed as it had in past years and its Mormon Republican sponsor criticized his church for its opposition to the bill citing the church's press release as the reason for its failure. 2016 – In June the Mexican area authority presidency had a letter read in congregations around the country urging members to oppose the national legalization of same-sex marriage and pointed them to the political organization Conciencia Nacional por la Libertad Religiosa. 2016 – After a court ruling, the parent company over one of the largest LDS dating sites, LDSsingles.com, was required to allow same-sex dating as an option. 2016 – Young Women's General President Bonnie L. Oscarson gave a conference speech in which she stated that Mormons shouldn't avoid speaking boldly against Satan's lies like same-sex marriage out of fear of offending gay people. 2017 – The Boy Scouts of America announced in January that transgender boys can join their troops prompting a wait-and-see response from the church. The church withdrew its support of the program for older teens four months later, though it denied any link to the policy changes around LGBT people. 2017 – The church filed an amicus brief with the US Supreme Court over the transgender bathroom case (G. G. v. Gloucester County School Board) in which it opposed the interpretation of sex in Title IX as gender identity. 2017 – SB 196 was signed into law which overturned the "no promo homo" laws which had banned "advocacy of homosexuality" while allowing for negative discussions in public schools. Former Mormon Troy Williams of Equality Utah was a driving force behind the change, and he stated that they had worked together with the LDS Church and the majority Mormon legislature to change the laws. One paper stated that the LDS Church was largely behind the reasoning for the laws and anti-gay culture of Utah. Similar laws were still enforced in seven conservative states mostly in the Southern US as of 2017. 2017 – An Ensign article by Seventy Larry Lawrence stated that "same-sex marriage is only a counterfeit" and quoted a canonized LDS scripture where Jesus warns that a counterfeit "is not of God, and is darkness". 2017 – A Fourth of July parade in the over 75% LDS town of Provo, Utah, reportedly gave permission then denied entry the day before the parade to the new Provo LGBT Mormon resource center Encircle garnering national attention. 2017 – An instructor at the church's BYU-Idaho reported being fired after refusing to take down a post on her private Facebook page in support of LGBT rights. 2017 – Minutes from a February 2014 Layton, Utah meeting for stake leaders were released without authorization in which the apostle L. Tom Perry stated that supporting same-sex marriage would "incriminate" members seeking to renew their temple recommend. The importance of opposite-sex marriage was stressed with the statement that Jesus and the prophets believed in it and that allowing evil like same-sex marriage to grow would destroy the basic family unit and bring calamities. 2017 – The Pacific area presidency sent a letter to be read in September in all Australian congregations which reemphasized the church's position against same-sex marriage and parenting and urged members to "vote their conscience" in the upcoming national referendum on the issue. 2017 – The LDS Church signs an amicus brief supporting wedding cake bakers discriminating against same-sex couples in a Colorado court case. 2017 – The apostle Oaks lamented the increase in public acceptance of same-sex marriage and acknowledged the conflicts with friends and family that opposing this acceptance could cause. He further stated that despite the conflict church members should choose God and the LDS Church's plan and way. 2017 – Apostle Dallin H. Oaks speaks in General Conference about "The Plan and the Proclamation". He states that "Converted Latter-day Saints believe that the family proclamation is the Lord's reemphasis of the gospel truths we need to sustain us through current challenges to the family like same-sex marriage and cohabitation without marriage. 2017 – In response to a question about LGBT young single adults in the church, apostle Ballard tells BYU students in a campus-wide event that church leaders believe "core rights of citizenship should be protected for all people — for LGBT people, for people of all faiths," and that "reasonable compromises" should be found "in other areas when rights conflict." 2018 – BYU Student Life hosted the first church-university-hosted LGBT campus event. It featured a panel of four students answering student-submitted questions. 2018 – After a controversy over BYU's policies around LGBT people, a conference for the US Society for Political Methodology was moved off of campus citing a "long-strained relations between the LGBTQ community and BYU" and concerns over the university's ban on homosexual behavior which the Society repudiated along with "the intolerance it represents." 2018 – The LDS Church released a statement in favor of the US Supreme Court ruling on the Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission case over a business owner who refused to serve a gay couple. 2018 – Hours after agreeing to a non-discrimination clause in order to receive local tax funds the Provo Freedom Festival board denied LGBTQ groups a spot in the parade for the second year in a row sparking public outcry and criticism from Provo's mayor and Utah County Commissioner. One of these groups included a float of local Mormon LGBTQ veterans representing Mormons Building Bridges. After negotiations, the festival leaders decided to allow the groups to march. However, the day before the parade one LGBT group was almost forced out of the grand parade, and the groups were told they could not have rainbow flags. 2018 – Church leaders' continued denial of BYU LGBT students' years of requests to form a club on campus received national coverage. 2018 – The documentary Church and State—which highlighted the events surrounding the battle for same-sex marriage in Utah—debuted at the Broadway Theatre in Utah. 2019 – The November 2015 policy was changed to say same-gender marriage by a church member will no longer be considered "apostasy" for purposes of church discipline, although it would still be considered "a serious transgression". 2019 – Church president Nelson acknowledged that many countries, including the United States, had legalized same-sex marriage, but stated that God has not changed His definition of marriage. 2019 – The apostle Oaks stated the teachings of the Family Proclamation would not change, and that it's reference to gender meant "biological sex at birth" and that marriage can only be between a man and a woman. A few days later he stated, "our knowledge of God's revealed plan of salvation requires us to oppose current social and legal pressures to retreat from traditional marriage and to make changes that confuse or alter gender or homogenize the differences between men and women." and that leaders of the Church must always teach the unique importance of marriage between a man and a woman. 2020s 2021 – In an address to faculty and staff at BYU, Apostle Holland called for "a little more musket fire from this temple of learning" in "defending marriage as the union of a man and a woman." 2021 – Businessman Jeff Green publicly announced he was leaving the LDS Church and donating $600,000 to the LGBT rights organization Equality Utah. Writing to the president of the Church, Green said, "I believe the Mormon church has hindered global progress in women's rights, civil rights and racial equality, and LGBTQ+ rights." 2021 – The U.S. Department of Education began a civil rights investigation of BYU to determine if the university's discipline of LGBTQ students violated the scope of the university's Title IX exemptions. 2022 - The U.S. Department of Education dismisses the civil rights investigation of BYU regarding the university's discipline of LGBTQ students, determining that the university was acting within its rights under its approved Title IX exemptions and that the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights lacked jurisdiction to investigate further. References LGBT and Mormonism The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints History of LGBT civil rights in the United States Latter Day Saint movement and society

70015137

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006%20Broward%20County%20spree%20murders

2006 Broward County spree murders

The 2006 Broward County spree murders took place in Broward County, Florida during a three-week span in February 2006. During this time, three men; Angel Pedro Medina, 41, Albert Avenaim, 63, and Frederick Gunther, 76, were killed. The murders were perpetrated by Brian Ricardo Bethell (April 1965 – June 15, 2010), with the sole purpose of robbery, according to the investigators, as Bethell would steal the victim's credit cards and later use them while shopping with his girlfriend, Natasha Rashone Edwards (born July 30, 1985). Edwards would later be arrested and charged for assisting Bethell in the murders Background on Brian Bethell Hailing from Nassau, Bahamas, Bethell was arrested in March 1983, a month prior to his 18th-birthday, on charges of sexual assault and battery with a deadly weopon, for which he was sentenced to four years in prison. Upon getting out, Bethell was arrested two more times for marijuana possession and loitering. In 1990, he was again arrested in Tallahassee, Florida for larceny and cocaine possession, for which he served a year in jail. In 1994, Bethell was under arrest again, this time in Leon County, for marijuana possession, and was given a year of probation. In 1997, Bethell was detained by Hollywood police on charges of assaulting a police officer, as well as other drug offences. He was not given time in prison, and instead was given probation. In 2001, Bethell was once again arrested for cocaine and marjiana possession. In 2005, he rented a place at the 400th block of Southwest 65th avenue with 20-year-old Natasha Rashone Edwards and her two young children. 2006 crime spree On January 20, 2006, Bethell robbed two vacationing doctors at gunpoint, telling them both to hand over their wallets, cell phones, and car keys. Both men obliged and netted Bethell $600, and he left both men unharmed. On February 3, Bethell spotted Angel Pedro Medina a 41-year-old accountant at a convenient store in Fort Lauderdale, and proceeded to follow him in his car to a spot where Medina was known to bring food to feed local homeless people. Once both confronted one another, Bethell attempted to rob Medina, during which he shot and killed Medina, and fled the scene. On February 10, Bethell spotted 63-year-old retired businessman Albert Avenaim outside a restaurant in Hallandale. Bethell approached Avenaim in the parking lot and robbed him, not long after shooting and killing him. Within hours after Avenaim's murder, Bethell, Edwards, and her two children, were spotted on surveillance cameras with Avenaim's credit card in multiple shops in Plantation, Sunrise, Margate, and finally in Carol Springs. On February 24, Bethell approached a condo at around 7.pm. As he walked, he noticed 76-year-old Frederick Gunther, and promptly shot and killed him. Investigation and arrest A test of the gun that killed Avenaim, which was a 38-caliber revolver, was compared to the gun used to kill Medina, and it was a match. Investigators got a tip when workers from a store in Fort Lauderdale spotted a couple using Gunther's credit card, and they gave the police the tag number on their vehicle. The couple was tracked down, and their identity was proved to be Bethell and Edwards, and both were promptly arrested. Bethell was charged with two counts of murder and was later indicted on a third charge. Edwards on the other hand was indicted of charges of grand theft. Edwards was convicted in June on the theft charges and was sentenced to 10-years imprisonment. Bethell didn't shift responsibility away and admitted to each of the killings, but claimed the first murder, that of Angel Medina, was in self-defense, something Medina's family denied. Aftermath On June 15, 2010, Bethell died at age 45 before his trial could begin. On May 1, 2015, Edwards was released from prison after serving nine years. Her current whereabouts are unknown. References External links Murder suspect has long record Florida officials arrest man in death of former resident Alert store workers get money for suspect's catch 2006 murders in the United States 2006 in Florida Attacks in the United States in 2006 Burglary February 2006 crimes February 2006 events in the United States Robberies in the United States

70015439

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spana%20Prosecution

Spana Prosecution

The Spana Prosecution was a major criminal case which took place in Rome in the Papal States between January 1659 and March 1660. The Papal authorities under the leadership of lieutenant governor Stefano Bracchi investigated a case involving a criminal net of poisoners, mainly women, for selling the famous poison Aqua Tofana to clients who wished to commit murder, in particular women who wished to become widows. The process involved over forty people, including professional poisoners and clients, some of them members of the aristocracy, and resulted in punishment ranging from exile and lifetime house arrest to the execution of five main figures, among them the central figure Gironima Spana. Background In 1624, a woman by the name Giulia Mangiardi (1581-1651) arrived to Rome from Palermo in Sicily. Her proper name was Giulia Mangiardi, but she has traditionally become known in history under the invented name "Giulia Tofana", because she was the inventor of the poison Aqua Tofana, which she sold commercially in Palermo. Traditionally, she is said to have named the poison her alleged mother Thofania d'Adamo, but there is nothing to indicate that d'Adamo was the mother of Giulia Mangiardi, though she may have been her disciple. Since her second husband Ranchetti Cesare (1564-1654) wasted the family money, she started to manufacture and sell the poison in Rome to support the family. Historians point to her dying in her sleep in 1651 with no one aware of her poisoning activities. Her business was taken over by stepdaughter from her first marriage with Niccolo Spano Lorestino, Gironima Spana, who was established as an astrologer, but had been initiated by her stepmother in how to manufacture and sell the poison. Gironima Spana appear to have expanded the business inherited from her stepmother. She manufactured the poison and sold it personally, but she also employed women associates to sell the poison for her: in at least some cases, these associates were former clients. Normally her associates only sold the poison, but in some cases, notably in the case of Giovanna De Grandis, she also taught them to manufacture it. Since the apothecaries did not sell arsenic to women, Spana and Giovanna De Grandis employed the service of the male priest Padre Don Girolamo as a go-between. The poison was mainly sold to women clients, often women in unhappy marriages, with the intent to murder their husbands. Gironima Spana, in her career as an astrologer, had access to wealthy clients among the Roman aristocracy. It appears that the business was successful enough to expand outside of the then city borders of Rome, as the Spana organization employed at least one seller, Maddalena Ciampella, in Palestrina. Investigation On 31 January 1659, the poison dealer Giovanna De Grandis was arrested in flagrante in Rome, charged with trafficking a lethal poison and imprisoned at the Tor di Nona for questioning. The investigation was handled by the Papal authorities under the leadership of lieutenant governor Stefano Bracchi. The investigation was to result in the major Spana Prosecution, which was to last until March 1660. Giovanna de Grandis confessed her guilt on 1 February. After her confession she started to name names of her business associates and clients. Her testimony was essential to the development of the Spana Prosecution. She pointed out Gironima Spana herself, who was arrested on 2 February, followed by a number of arrests and interrogations of accused poison dealers and clients. Between 10–11 February, Elena Gabrielli Cassana, Angela Armellina, Elena Ferri and Teresa Verzellina were all arrested. Gironima Spana herself resisted the interrogation for months until she finally made her confession. The arrested people were imprisoned in the Papal prison of Tor di Nona for questioning. Torture was sometimes used during the interrogations, but only in individual cases and not routinely. When used, it was normally in the form of the strappado. The prisoners were also confronted with each other. Each person was interrogated to make their own confession and name accomplices and clients. With this method, the investigation grew in number. Eventually, over 40 people were involved in the investigation. Some of the clients named for having bought and used poison were not arrested. Many of them, particularly those belonging to the upper classes, were left out of the formal investigation in consideration of their social status. In the case when they were interrogated, the interrogation did not take place at the Tor di Nona but in their private residence after they had been granted Papal immunity in exchange for a confession, which ensured that they would be given no formal sentence. One such incident was the case of the noblewoman Anna Maria Conti, who was interrogated in her own home; she confessed herself guilty after having been granted Papal immunity, and was thus not punished. The Papal authorities viewed the women who manufactured and sold poison as more guilty than the women who bought and actually used the lethal poison. In the end, only seven women were executed. On 5 July 1659, the central figure Gironima Spana and her five associates Giovanna De Grandis, Maria Spinola, Graziosa Farina and Laura Crispoldi were all executed by hanging on Campo de' Fiori. These executions were followed by the hanging of Cecili Verzellina 6 March 1660; on the same day, Teresa Verzellina, Benedetta Merlini and Cecilia Gentili were flogged through the streets and banished. Many others were sentenced to house arrest or banishment, while a large part of those accused had been given Papal immunity in exchange for their confession. The Spana Prosecution ended with the find of a bottle with a liquid in the garden of Spana on 17 March 1660. The liquid was given to a dog at Tor di Nona, who died in 22 March. With this, the investigation was finnally closed. The Pope gave the order that the documents regarding the trial should be sealed at the Castel Sant'Angelo, since he wished to avoid spreading knowledge about the poison and the bad example of the women. The archives were not discovered again until the 1880s in the Archivo di Stato. Aftermath The Spana Prosecution was a major scandal which became infamous already when it occurred. Francesco Sforza Pallavicino used the Spara Prosecution in the 1660s as his paradigm for "pontifical commitment to law and order", and the case was often commented by Italian jurists during the 18th-century. During the 17th-and 18th-centuries the trial was often the subject of crime chronicles and described in various sensationalist literature, becoming heavily influenced by myths and legends with time. A typical early description was: "Account of the most Grievous Crime of Making the Poisonous Beverage Acquetta or Acqua Toffanica, Concocted and Put to Use in Rome by Gironima Spara and Four Other Companions, all Widows, who Poisoned their Husbands and Many Other Men, and Were All Hanged". Popular myth described an organization of female serial killers who murdered hundreds of husbands until they were caught in a trap by a Papal governor. The name of Gironima Spana was spelled in various different ways. Gironima Spana has been confused with her stepmother Giulia Mangiardi, who has been popularly referred to by the name Giulia Tofana because she invented the poison Aqua Tofana. Giulia Mangiardi has been claimed to be the daughter of the poisoner Tofania d'Adamo (executed in 1633), and sometimes claimed to be one of those executed in 1659, despite in fact having been dead for eight years by then. The poison Aqua Tofana and consequently its inventor "Giulia Tofana" (Giulia Mangiardi) and the Spana Prosecution became famous and heavily mythologized during the 19th-century, and many incorrect statements about the subject became repeated as facts long into the 20th-century. People implicated This is a list of people who were formally charged, accused, interrogated or otherwise implicated in the Spana organization of processional poisoners which were put on trial during the Spana Prosecution. They are mentioned by name (sorted by first name, which was the custom during the case), form of involvement, and the legal action taking place against them, or absence thereof. Amadei, Monsignor, client of Gironima Spana; never arrested or interrogated. Angela Armellina Ferri Cencietti (born 1629), poison seller, accused of having poisoned her husband the barber Giuseppe Cencietti (d. 1655); tortured, refused to confess. Banished in January 1660. Anna Crevellaro, client of Giulia Tofana, accused of having poisoned her husband, a sieve maker, in 1649; never formally charged. Anna Maria Caterina Aldobrandini (1630-1703), client of Gironima Spana; accused of having poisoned her husband, Francesco Maria, the Duke of Cesi (d. 1657); never charged. Anna Maria Conti (born 1639), painter's wife, accused of having poisoned her husband, Simon Imbert (d. 1658); given Papal immunity and confessed. Antonio, Count Leonardi (or Lunardi), accused of being the accomplice of Teresa Verzellina in her murder of her husband; never charged. Antonio Lipperi, husband of Maria Spinola, accused of being to collaborator of his wife; released. Benedetta Merlini, servant of Anna Maria Conti, accused of having introduced Conti to the poisoner Laura Crispoldi; flogged and banished in March 1660. Camilla Capella, client of Laura Crispoldi, accused of having poisoned her husband, the innkeeper Andrea Borelli (d. 1657); claimed to have used the poison only to reform his behaviour. Exiled in March 1660. Caterina Gianotti, wife of the painter Filippo Gagliardi, accused of having poisoned her first husband the gilder Francesco Baldeschi (d. 1649); interrogated but released. Caterina Luisati, accused of having poisoned her abusive husband Marc'Antonio Ranieri (d. 1658); given Papal immunity and confessed. Caterina Nucci (born 1622), accused of having poisoned her first husband the butcher Antonio Romieri (d. 1654) and her second husband the cloth cutter Giuseppe Rosati (d. 1655); given Papal immunity and confessed. Sentenced to house arrest for life in July 1659. Cecilia Gentili (Ceciliaccia, La Sorda), poison seller; flogged and exiled in March 1660. Cecilia Verzellina, confessed to have tricked her daughter Teresa Verzellina to poison her son-in-law the dyer Giovanni Pietro Beltrammi (d. 1658); hanged in 6 March 1660. Elena Ferri Contarini (born 1634), accused of having poisoned her husband the linen draper Antonio Contarini (d 1655) and for selling poison; tortured but did not confess. Exiled in January 1660. Elena Gabrielli Cassana (born 1627), aunt of Angela Armellina and Elena Ferri, accused of having poisoned her husband Francesco Ladi (d. 1655), butler of cardinal Francesco Barberini, and of selling poison; tortured but did not confess. Exiled in January 1660, remitted in 1671. Elisabetta (Betta) Gentili (died 1656/57), accused of having poisoned her nephew, son of Cecilia Gentili. Francesca Fabbri, client of Cecilia Gentili, accused of having poisoned her husband the tailor Paolo Palazzi; eventually released. Francesca Fiori, poisoner; exiled in March 1660. Francesca "Cecca" Flore (b. 1595), personal servant of Gironima Spana and an important wittness toward her. Francesca Laurenti Giuli, accused of having poisoned her husband the mattress maker Antonio Giuli (d. 1658); sentenced to house arrest for life in March 1660. Giovanna De Grandis (la Cavamacchie), laundress and poisoner, associate of Gironima Spana; confessed to have manufactured and sold poison, hanged on 5 July 1659. Gironima Spana (1615-1659), poisoner and astrologer, manufactured and sold poison and was the head of the poison network; hanged on 5 July 1659. Giulia Mangiardi (in history traditionally called "Giulia Tofana" ) (1581-1651), poisoner, stepmother of Gironima Spana; taught her stepdaughter to manufacture the Aqua Tofana poison and left her business to her when she died. Graziosa Farina, poisoner; confessed, hanged on 5 July 1659. Laura Crispoldi, poisoner; confessed to have sold poison to Anna Maria Conti and Camilla Capella, hanged on 5 July 1659. Lucia Bettona (died 1656), client of Elena Ferri Contarini, accused of having poisoned her brother Giovanni Battista Bettoni. Lucia Bonafide Vantucci, accused of having poisoned her daughters abusive husband Castore Sartorio (d. 1655), cavaliere of the Quirinal Palace; interrogated but released. Maddalena, signora, wife of cardincal vicar's chief of police, bought poison from Cecilia Gentili; never arrested. Maddalena Ciampella (or Trampella), the organization's poison dealer in Palestrina; exiled in December 1659. Margherita Carosi; claimed that Cecilia Gentili attempted to sell her poison. Maria Spinola (also called Maria Palermitana and Maria Siciliana; born 1600), poisoner, associate of Gironima Spana since 1650; confessed, hanged on 5 July 1659. Padre Don Girolamo (died 1658), renegade exorcist priest; bought arsenic from apothecaries for the female poison manufacturers (apothecaries refused to sell arsenic to women), acted as a go-between and provided the Duchess of Cesi with poison from Gironima Spana. Sulpizia Vitelleschi, noblewomen heiress, client of Gironima Spana, accused of having poisoned her husband Antonio de Taxis (d. 1656). Teresa Verzellina, daughter of Cecilia Verzellina, accused of having poisoned her husband, the dyer Giovanni Pietro Beltrammi (d. 1658); flogged and banished in March 1660. See also References 1659 crimes 1659 in Italy Poisoners Scandals in Italy 17th century in Rome

70015998

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The%20White%20Storm%20%28film%20series%29

The White Storm (film series)

The White Storm is a Hong Kong action film series of three films. The films are unrelated to one another in storyline but feature common central themes involving drug trafficking, brotherhood and the Narcotics Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force. The first film, The White Storm, written and directed by Benny Chan and starring Sean Lau, Louis Koo and Nick Cheung was released in 2013. The second film, The White Storm 2: Drug Lords, written and directed by Herman Yau and starring Andy Lau and Koo was released in 2019. An upcoming third film, The White Storm 3 also written and directed by Yau and starring Koo, Sean Lau and Aaron Kwok is currently in post-production. Films The White Storm (2013) The White Storm is the first film in the series, which tells the story of three childhood friends Ma Ho-tin, So Kin-chow and Cheung Chi-wai who are police officers of the Narcotics Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force, with Kin-chow going undercover to infiltrate drug dealers while Ho-tin and Chi-wai back him up. The trio has solved numerous cases over the years. After of years of investigation, they finally have the chance to crack down Thai drug lord Eight-Faced Buddha's den. During their face-off, the trio were ambushed by the Eight-Faced Buddha, who captures Kin-chow and Chi-wai while Ho-tin holds Eight-Faced Buddha's daughter, Mina, hostage and Ho-tin is forced to choose only one of his friends to leave with him alive. The White Storm 2: Drug Lords (2019) The White Storm 2: Drug Lords is a thematic sequel in-title-only to The White Storm. In the quadripartite drug market in Hong Kong, drug dealer Jizo (Louis Koo) gradually expands in collaboration with some Mexican drug lords across the border, followed by a chain of dog-eat-dog events which shock and bring the whole trade on high alert. On the other hand, Yu Shun-tin (Andy Lau), a former triad member who is now a financial tycoon, is offering a bounty to eliminate the number one drug dealer in Hong Kong, which causes a stir in society. Police officer Fung (Michael Miu) intends to arrest Jizo, but is now responsible for protecting Jizo instead due to the bounty. A final battle has broken out between the two tycoons who were once lesser-known brothers from the same triad. The White Storm 3 (TBD) The White Storm 3 is a thematic sequel in-title-only to The White Storm 2: Drug Lords. During a drug raid operation led by Narcotics Bureau officer Au Chi-yuen, undercover officer Cheung Kin-hang was wounded in a gunfight and was rescued by drug Hong So-chai. While rehabilitating from his wound in Thailand, Cheung meets a girl named Noon, and plans to bring her back to Hong Kong, however, at this time, Hong discovers Cheung's undercover identity. Cast and crew Cast Additional crew Music The score for The White Storm was composed, orchestrated, conducted and produced by Nicolas Errèra while the theme song, Tacit for Life (心照一生) was composed, arranged and performed by RubberBand, who also co-produced the song it with Benny Chan and co-wrote the lyrics with Tim Lui. The film's insert theme is a cover of the 1978 song, Swear to Enter the Blade Mountain (誓要入刀山), composed by Joseph Koo, with lyrics written by James Wong and performed by Adam Cheng. The cover version was re-arranged and performed by RubberBand. The score for The White Storm 2: Drug Lords was composed by Mak Chun Hung while the theme song, Brotherhood (兄弟不懷疑) was composed and arranged by Jacky Cai with lyrics written by Andy Lau, who also co-performed the song with Louis Koo, while Jacky Chan produced the song. The film's insert theme song, Wayward One was composed and performed by Jillian Rae, who also wrote the lyrics. Reception The first two films were box office successes while receiving mixed reviews. The first film received seven nominations at the 33rd Hong Kong Film Awards while the second film received four nominations at the 39th Hong Kong Film Awards and won the Best Visual Effects award. The second film was also selected as the Hong Kong entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards, but did not make it to the final nomination. Box office performance Critical response Notes References Hong Kong films Hong Kong film series Action film series Film series introduced in 2013 Hong Kong action thriller films Police detective films Cantonese-language films Films set in Hong Kong Films shot in Hong Kong

70016795

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9%20Mar%C3%ADa%20Cunill%20Postius

José María Cunill Postius

José María Cunill Postius (1896-1949), , was a Spanish Catalan entrepreneur. Politically active within Carlism, he is known mostly as commander of the regional branch of the Carlist paramilitary organization, Requeté; he was also among key civilians engaged in the anti-Republican conspiracy and the 1936 coup in Catalonia. He vehemently opposed unification into the state party Falange Española Tradicionalista and after the civil war he remained engaged in conspiracy against the Franco regime. Family and youth The family of Conill/Cunill is among the oldest ones in Catalonia, noted since the medieval times. Over time it got moderately branched, mostly in the provinces of Barcelona, Girona and in the Baleares. It is not clear which branch the ancestors of Cunill Postius were related to. The most distant of his forefathers identified is a paternal grandfather, José Cunill Traserra; in the 1870s he was referred to as “conocido industrial” in the city of Berga, already at the Pyrenean foothills. His son Victoriano Cunill Pujol (1860-1925) was also an entrepreneur. In the late 19th century he operated a mid-size textile plant Lluis Nè, and then purchased another one, called cal Patata; in the 1920s the integrated business consisted of some 38 machines. Cunill Pujol was also president of Sindicato Patronal de Sastrería de Berga and Sociedad de Maestros Sastres. In 1883 Cunill Pujol married Rosa Postius Sala (1864-1929); she was daughter to Jaime Postius Vilardaga, a merchant from Berga. The couple had 3 children, born between 1886 and 1899; José María was born as the younger son and second oldest child. There is nothing known about his early childhood, except that the family was very pious; the brother of Rosa, Juan Postius Sala, entered the Claretian order, served on overseas missions, and was personal friend to Federico Tedeschini and Eugenio Pacelli. In the 1910s the young José María frequented Escuela Superior de Comercio in Barcelona and obtained the title of contador mercantil; it is not clear whether he pursued an academic career afterwards. He engaged in the family business and following military service at the turn of the decades, in the early 1920s he remained busy upgrading the Berga textile plant. At unspecified time but in 1928 latest Cunill Postius married Mercedes Solá Brujas (1907-1993); she descended from an established family from Matadepera near Terrassa, which since medieval times owned large plots in the area. The couple settled at the bride's estate and since 1928 Cunill is noted as related to agricultural business in Terrassa, propietario and l’industrial terrasenc. They had 8 children. The oldest one, José María Cunill Solá, became a Catholic priest and served on apostolic missions overseas; he propagated liberation theology, embraced socialism and was co-founder of Comité Oscar Romero and Asociación de Amics del Bisbe Casaldàliga. Another son, Antonio Cunill Solá, as a deacon remained active in Bandera Roja and served in the Terrassa council as the representative of PSUC. Cunill Postius’ grandson Francesc Dalmases Cunill was a well-known mountain climber. Towards Catalan requeté command In the 1920s Cunill remained engaged in his agricultural Terrassa business, which at some point involved even international trading in grain. By the end of the decade he suffered a series of accidents: in 1928 his Granja de Productos Agrícolas warehouse in Terrassa was consumed by fire, in 1929 his warehouse at Rambla de Egara was robbed, and in 1930 there was another robbery and minor damage recorded. It is not clear whether these were accidental misfortunes or rather the mark of growing social tension. Cunill animated Sindicato Agrícola de Terrassa and in 1930 as its representative he entered junta directiva of Unión de Sindicatos y Agricultores de Cataluña, where he became the vice-president. Except for agricultural syndicates, there is no information either on his public activity at the time or on political stand adopted during dictadura and dictablanda. Following declaration of the Republic in 1931 Cunill was involved in Peña Ibérica, a Barcelona association which originated as a sports group and which gradually assumed a right-wing political flavor. Its members - Carlists, Alfonsists, supporters of PNE – might have been involved in loose conspiracy against the regime. What political current Cunill was associated with at the time is unclear; there is neither any information on political preferences in his family. However, in 1932 he was for the first time recorded as related to Carlism. During elections to the newly established Catalan parliament he appeared as Traditionalist on the list of Dreta de Catalunya in the Barcelona province district. The alliance performed badly, trailing behind Esquerra (65,300), Lliga (36,980), Partit Catalanista Republicá (21,654) and Partit Republicá Radical (19,025); with 5,903 votes Dreta failed to win a single mandate. In the early 1930s Cunill was engaged in buildup of the local Terrassa branch of the Carlist paramilitary organization, Requeté. Uniformed members of the unit took part in public religious events, held guard in front of churches or convents, engaged in leafleting and assembled own rallies. Though the organization was short of massive, Cunill-led detachments amounting up to 50 members commenced trainings and drills in the countryside. Until 1933 the Terrassa branch emerged as the best-organized local requeté section in Catalonia. Cunill himself was recognized as supporter of firm anti-Republican measures, “partidario de pasar a la acción”. As such, he opposed the moderate line advocated by the Catalan Carlist leader, Miguel Junyent. In mid-1933 the Catalan Carlist hardliners, including Cunill, Conde de Valdellano and the Marcet brothers, mounted an offensive against Junyent; they travelled to Saint-Jean-de-Luz to speak with the claimant Alfonso Carlos and met the nationwide requeté leader, José Luis Zamanillo. Some scholars claim the coup was animated by local Integrists. Eventually Junyent decided to step down, replaced by Lorenzo Alier Cassi. Cunill was nominated head of requeté in the entire Catalonia. Conspiracy As head of Catalan requeté Cunill embarked on major shake-up of the paramilitary, carried out in line with general re-organisation enforced centrally. Already in 1933 representatives of the Catalan branch took part in national rally in the Cantabrian Potes; throughout 1934 Cunill implemented new hierarchical structure and command chain, introduced strict discipline, issued ID cards and commenced regular tactical drills in the countryside. In 1934 some 15 Catalan requetés attended a training in Fascist Italy. Cunill was eager to maintain some separate identity of the Catalan branch, be it in terms of organisation or uniforms, though this did not lead to major problems. His role in buildup of the Catalan requeté is compared to this of Antonio Lizarza in Navarre. During the 1933 elections the detachments were deployed guarding sites of right-wing parties or newspapers and at one opportunity engaged in shootout with the Escamots. During the October 1934 unrest Cunill remained in touch with the local UME; he pledged 500 men ready to confront the revolution, though it is not clear whether there were indeed any requetés engaged in action along the military. At the time he was already member of the Terrassa ayuntamiento, elected back in January, and co-owner of a local Terrassa daily Crónica Social, which he co-purchased one year earlier. Though one of key men of Catalan Carlism he was barely engaged in nationwide politics, and his taking part in consultations with Fal Conde on would-be entry into the National Bloc was rather an exceptional episode. In 1935 Cunill represented the requeté organization in España Club, an informal Barcelona extreme-right inter-party platform related to UME. Its leaders tried to form own shock units, named Voluntariado Español; each unit was supposed to retain its political identity and the Carlists seemed the largest and the best-equipped group. It is not clear whether the nationwide requeté command was aware and approved of this scheme. Resolved to confront a forthcoming revolution, they were prepared to practice urban combat by staging assaults on a masonic centre in Terrassa and an Anarchist one in Figueres. The Voluntariado scheme was abandoned following the elections of February 1936; military conspirators decided to talk to each political grouping separately. Since the triumph of Frente Popular Cunill was determined to mount a pre-emptive strike against the Republic. Initially he devised a local plan of action based on provocation; requetés were supposed to stage a series of sabotages disguised as revolutionary work, and pre-agreed army crackdown on Left-wing organizations was to follow. Though local Falange opted out, the date has been tentatively agreed with UME and requetés were put on highest alert awaiting a command from the military; eventually it did not come. Despite this setback Cunill remained fully committed to action and kept maintaining close links with the conspirators from UME. It is not clear what his relation with the new Carlist Catalan leader Tomás Cayla was; the latter remained rather skeptical about a violent anti-republican coup. Civil war Cunill was among key civilians engaged in Catalan anti-Republican conspiracy of the spring of 1936; he was also closely in touch with the nationwide Carlist command. He offered to the Barcelona military some 3,000 action-ready requetés and further 15,000 as auxiliaries; in return he received general instructions. How many volunteers indeed reported to the barracks on July 19 is unclear. Cunill led a group of some 200 men who appeared at the San Andrés quarters; some scholars claim the campaign was poorly organized. Following a chaotic day which involved some shootout, San Andrés was seized by the loyalists and Cunill was apprehended. Either the next or the following day he and other captured requetés were led to the Montcada y Reixac cemetery and shot. Cunill managed to fake death; lightly wounded, he survived also coup de grâce. Treated later by friends, he left Barcelona and in August 1936 in unclear circumstances he made it to the rebel zone. Cunill was among the very first requetés who reached the Nationalist lines following the failed coup in Catalonia. Once he was joined by some other Carlist survivors, especially the political second-in-command, Mauricio de Sivatte, the two commenced labors to group incoming refugees into a Catalan-only Carlist combat battalion. It materialized in late 1936 as Tercio de Nuestra Señora de Montserrat, and took part in combat until the end of the war. Cunill did not join frontline units and remained engaged in the rear. In December 1936 he entered Comisión Carlista de Asuntos para Cataluña; the internal Carlist 6-member body was busy mostly with logistics and organization of Catalan Carlists. At later stages Comisión was re-organized and replaced with Jefatura Regional. However, Cunill tried to thwart similar designs on part of competing organizations. In early 1937 he and others protested to military authorities against formation of Jefatura Territorial de Cataluña de F.E. de las J.O.N.S. Cunill was not among the Carlist heavyweights and he did not participate in key party meetings about the threat of forthcoming amalgamation into a state party. However, it is known that he remained among the most staunch opponents of the project, and that following the Unification Decree of April 1937 he refused to engage in structures of the emerging Falange Española Tradicionalista. His fate throughout 1938 is not known. In January 1939 he and other leading Catalan Carlists – like Sivatte or Vives – accompanied the Nationalist troops entering Barcelona. They immediately engaged in organization work and kept re-opening Carlist círculos in the city; the plan was to ignore unified FET structures and return to status quo ante. However, the strategy failed; within few days the Francoist military governor of Catalonia ordered all círculos to close. Francoism Despite the ban on non-licensed political activity Cunill engaged in buildup of semi-clandestine Carlist structures and attempted to use religious and official events as cover when advancing Traditionalist propaganda. During preparations to anniversary of the July 1936 rising in Barcelona, in July 1939 he was detained by security and placed in home arrest for 2 weeks. A later police report claimed that he organized a requeté unit named “Tercio de Nuestra Señora de Tecla”; reportedly it was busy with anti-Franco street graffiti and geared up to violent action. In 1940 an informant of security services agonized about “dangerous freedom of action” enjoyed by Sivatte and Cunill, who “promueven disturbios, editan hojas clandestinas, etc”. The same year Sivatte and Cunill organized a separate, non-official Martires de la Tradición rally; security report noted uniformed requeté detachments seen on the streets, all co-ordinated by “cabecillas antiunionistas Sivatte, Cunill y Gassio”. In 1941 strict orders were issued by the administration to prevent any such cases. In the early 1940s Cunill and Sivatte tried to mount some local political schemes and get Traditionalists installed in municipal authorities, e.g. in Badalona. In Terrassa with moderate success and together with the Marcet Cabassa brothers Cunill attempted to build sort of a political and cultural bulwark against Francoism. It was partially disguised as a club named – again - Peña Ibérica; the FET report claimed it was “un gran estorbo para la unificación” and that local rank-and-file Traditionalists were “víctimas de la actuación de sus directivos”. Among other charges, the Falangists claimed that Cunill was co-responsible for intimidation of Barcelona bookstore owners, told to remove books of Primo de Rivera and Franco. Potentially the most explosive incident took place in 1943, following Carlist-Falangist skirmishes during the Montserrat rally. Cunill and Francisco Vivés Suriá – pistols in hand - stormed Falangist premises to free captured Carlists; as there were none, no shootout followed. Since the mid-1940s the Navarrese Carlists tried to lure Cunill into their schemes, intended against what was perceived as appeasement policy of Fal Conde towards the Franco regime; his stand is not clear. It is known that later Cunill was getting increasingly frustrated by Fal and in a personal letter to Don Javier of early 1948 he complained about lack of bold, anti-Francoist, Traditionalist course. The claimant asked him to have full trust in the Carlist command, but also dismissed him from the post of Catalan requeté leader, the move immediately protested by Sivatte. In 1949 Cunill was already at the verge of loyalty to Don Javier: in February he asked a local Valencian leader Sara Peris to re-format party propaganda and focus on loyalty to the defunct Alfonso Carlos, in April he openly voiced against Fal and his Junta Regional, and in November he signed the last letter to Don Javier, pressing him to terminate regency and declare himself the king. At the time Cunill was at the terminal stage of cancer and he passed away some two weeks later. See also Carlism Traditionalism (Spain) Maurici de Sivatte i de Bobadilla Footnotes Further reading César Alcalá, D. Mauricio de Sivatte. Una biografía política (1901-1980), Barcelona 2001, ISBN 8493109797 José Fernando Mota Muñoz, ¡Viva Cataluña española!: Historia de la extrema derecha en la Barcelona republicana (1931-1936), Valencia 2020, ISBN 9788491345909 Robert Vallverdú i Martí, El carlisme català durant la Segona República Espanyola 1931-1936, Barcelona 2008, ISBN 9788478260805 Robert Vallverdú i Martí, La metamorfosi del carlisme català: del "Déu, Pàtria i Rei" a l'Assamblea de Catalunya (1936-1975), Barcelona 2014, ISBN 9788498837261 External links Tercio de Montserrat homage page Por Dios y por España; contemporary Carlist propaganda 20th-century Catalan people 20th-century Spanish businesspeople Anti-Francoism Carlists Catalan prisoners and detainees Deaths from colorectal cancer Execution survivors Far-right politicians in Spain Military personnel from Catalonia People from Berguedà People from Terrassa Politicians from Catalonia Spanish anti-communists Spanish monarchists Spanish people of the Spanish Civil War (National faction) Spanish prisoners and detainees Spanish rebels Spanish Roman Catholics Trade unionists from Catalonia

70016943

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borhanuddin%20%28judge%29

Borhanuddin (judge)

Borhanuddin is a judge on the Appellate Division of the Bangladesh Supreme Court. Early life Borhanuddin was born on 28 February 1957. He completed his law degree from the University of Chittagong. Career Borhanuddin started working as a lawyer of the district courts on 3 March 1985. On 16 June 1988, Borhanuddin became a lawyer in the High Court Division. On 27 November 2002, Borhanuddin became a lawyer in the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. Borhanuddin was made an additional judge of the High Court Division on 16 November 2008 and became a permanent judge on 11 November 2010. On 18 July 2012, Borhanuddin and Justice Mahmudul Hoque dismissed corruption charges against ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury, former Awami League Mayor of Chittagong. Borhanuddin and Justice K. M. Kamrul Kader granted bail to Abul Asad, editor of The Daily Sangram, on 17 April 2013 on charges of illegally printing Amar Desh. In November 2013, Borhanuddin and Justice KM Kamrul Kader, placed five senior leaders of Bangladesh Nationalist Party in police custody. On 23 April 2014, Borhanuddin and Justice K. M. Kamrul Kader rejected a petition filed by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia challenging her appeal against her indictment in the Zia Charitable Trust corruption case. Borhanuddin and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman refused to hear a petition filed by Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, Bangladesh Nationalist Party politician, challenging summons issued by the Anti-Corruption Commission. On 9 January 2022, Borhanuddin was promoted to the Appellate Division of the Bangladesh Supreme Court. References Living people 1957 births University of Chittagong alumni Bangladeshi lawyers Supreme Court of Bangladesh justices

70017195

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kagami%20J%C5%ABr%C5%8D

Kagami Jūrō

was a Japanese samurai retainer of the Hosokawa clan and student of kokugaku. Early surviving sources record the spelling of his surname in man'yō style as . Biography Little record has been preserved of Kagami's early life, but he is known to have been born in the vicinity of the Kumamoto Domain. At some point, he became a subordinate of the domainal vassal . Before 1867, he entered into the tutelage of the kokugaku scholar Hayashi Ōen and became a devout disciple of Ōen's Shinto theology. Subjects of his studies included gagaku as well as kagura, and he is said to have excelled in the performance of traditional music. Following Ōen's death in 1870, his followers reorganized into a secret society which they named the . Kagami was an early member of this organization. Angered by the new central government's reversal on its nativist promises in the aftermath of the Boshin War, the Keishintō formulated a plan to seize the local garrison at Kumamoto in preparation for a march on the capital while the majority of the government forces stationed there were occupied by the Saga Rebellion. On the night of October 24, 1876, Kagami participated in the Keishintō's assault on Kumamoto Castle, and led the attack against the campsite of the regimental artillerymen. The uprising was repelled, and Kagami retreated with a small unit into the nearby mountains. Among the survivors, he was a particularly vocal advocate for a renewed offensive and suggested acquiring funds for escape and rearmament from his former master Mibuchi Eijirō. When this proved impossible due to a widespread police crackdown, Kagami joined several other survivors near the summit of Omigatake mountain, overlooking the castle, in preparation for seppuku. Thinking it a pity that the 26-year-old kaishakunin would be left to die alone, Kagami waited until the others had been decapitated and committed suicide alongside Tashiro. His jisei was recovered from the site of his death, and was collected in a 1944 anthology by . References 1836 births 1876 deaths Samurai Kokugaku scholars Suicides by sharp instrument in Japan Japanese Shintoists Japanese nationalists People from Kumamoto Prefecture

70017387

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathias%20Kindlinger

Mathias Kindlinger

Mathias Kindlinger (1892 – July 30, 1964), known as The Bluebeard of Schrems (German: Der Blaubart von Schrems), was an Austrian murderer and suspected serial killer who was convicted of killing his first and fifth wives in 1927 and 1961, respectively, but is alleged to have been responsible for the deaths of three other women as well. He was never charged in the other murders and was instead sentenced to life imprisonment for the final murder, dying behind bars in 1964. Early life and first murder Mathias Kindlinger was born in 1892. Little is known about his early life, but as an adult, he served in the Austro-Hungarian Army during the First World War. After the war ended, he found a job as a postal clerk, and due to his diligence and efficiency, Kindlinger would later be promoted to manager at the post office in Weiler. A married man with two children, he was considered a decent citizen and respected by the locals. On July 7, 1927, however, his first wife, Viktoria, was found shot to death in the family's apartment and suspicions immediately fell on Kindlinger. He was immediately charged, convicted and sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for her murder. Release and new crimes Kindlinger did not serve the entirety of his sentence, as he was paroled in 1934. Soon after his release, he started a romantic relationship with Maria Wegschneider, a florist from Linz. They lived together for two years until July 10, 1936, when Kindlinger called the police to inform them that his girlfriend had committed suicide. Upon arrival, authorities found that Wegschneider had apparently choked herself to death by tying a rope to a door handle. Due to the strange circumstances around her death, they suspected that Kindlinger could be responsible, but he convinced them that he was innocent and her death was written off as a suicide. Not long after, he found himself another girlfriend, a rich 40-year-old named Anna Fleischer. The pair often went to trips around the French Riviera and had savings in roulettes in Monte Carlo. On February 2, 1938, Fleischer's body was found hanging from a stove knob at her house in Aschach an der Donau. Due to the similarities with the previous death, Kindlinger was again suspected. Fleischer's relatives even had her body exhumed, but an official autopsy again wrote off her death as a suicide. The final unconfirmed death occurred on August 5, 1953, when Kindlinger's second wife, Friederike Radler, died from a suspected brain tumor. Due to her death, her husband inherited a large sum of money, leading the authorities to believe that he might be involved with her death somehow. However, no evidence indicated that this was the case, and Radler's death was written off as natural causes. Murder of Margarete Mautner Using the inheritance from his deceased wives, Kindlinger frequently posted marriage proposals in lonely hearts ads, where he presented himself as a "retired civil servant in need of love". One such advertisement attracted the attention of Margarete Mautner, owner of the first enamelling factory in the Waldviertel region, whom answered his proposal. The couple married in Schrems in 1955, and through his marriage with Mautner, Kindlinger became the factory's manager. The marriage proved to be troubled, as Kindlinger continued to correspond with a variety of women from around the country, sending them love letters. At one point, it was also claimed that he had bragged about a molesting a teenage girl, but this was never conclusively proven. Tragedy struck on April 29, 1961, when Hans Verhunc, Mautner's brother, decided to visit the spouses at their home in Schrems, only to find both of them tied up their beds. Kindlinger appeared to be still alive, but his sister had evidently been strangled to death. In the subsequent police investigation, Kindlinger claimed that they had been robbed and in the process, the robbers had tied them to the bed, accidentally causing his wife to suffocate to death. This explanation proved inconsistent, as an analysis of the crime scene indicated that there had no apparent struggle and Margarete had been tied up willingly. Due to this, Kindlinger was arrested on charges of murder and remanded to the local prison to await trial. Trial, sentence and death On March 4, 1963, Kindlinger's murder trial began at the regional court in Krems an der Donau. Throughout the duration of the process, Kindlinger, using a dictation machine due to his advanced age, repeatedly claimed that he was innocent and his wife had died during a supposed robbery. This claim was supported by his defense attorney, Dr. Peter Stern, who pointed out that his client made no confession to the murder and that most of the prosecution's evidence is circumstantial at best. On the other hand, prosecutors presented testimony from several medical professionals that concluded that the robbery scenario would be impossible, as they had examined Kindlinger and found no defensive wounds, indicating that he had been tied up by his own volition. This proved to be crucial to their case, as even Kindlinger's own defense attorney admitted that he could not give any other reasonable explanation in his client's defense. Due to this, coupled with hearsay regarding the deaths of Kindlinger's love interests and his supposed molestation of the teenage girl, he was found unanimously guilty by the jury. As a result, he was convicted of the murder and given a life term. Upon hearing the verdict, Kindlinger simply shrugged it off, and when asked if he accepted it, he replied that he would leave it to his defense attorney. After his conviction, Kindlinger was transferred to the Stein Prison in Krems an der Donau. Not long after his conviction, he filed an appeal to have his sentence overturned, but it was rejected by the Supreme Court of Justice, which found upheld the decision of the lower courts. The following year, Kindlinger suffered a heart attack, for which he had to undergo medical treatment at a hospital in Krems an der Donau. While he survived, he suffered from another heart attack on July 30, 1964, which proved to be fatal this time. See also Bluebeard References 1892 births 1964 deaths 20th-century criminals Austrian murderers Suspected serial killers Austrian people convicted of murder People convicted of murder by Austria Uxoricides Austrian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Austria Prisoners who died in Austrian detention Child sexual abuse in Austria