Biography.

Haji Asadullah Khalid was born in the Ghazni Province of Afghanistan on 10 June 1970 into a Taraki Ghilzai Pashtun family. His father served as an MP during the reign of the king Zaher Shah while in later days his uncle became a known Ittihad-i Islami commander. Asadullah Khalid himself became affiliated with the Ittihad party and its leader Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf.  During the rule of the Taliban (1996-2001), Khalid served with the anti-Taliban resistance as part of the Ittihad faction. The Afghanistan Analyst Network writes that Khalid may have recovered "Stinger missiles on behalf of Ittihad’s boss, Sayyaf", which may have brought him into first direct contacts with the CIA. Khalid's personal account of that time is that he studied law in Tajikistan.  After the fall of the Taliban regime, Khalid worked with the National Directorate of Security, Department 5, but shortly afterwards became Governor of his home Ghazni province, a post he held until 2005. After a re-shuffle in 2005 by President Hamid Karzai, Khalid was shifted from Ghazni province to become the new governor of Kandahar province. As governor, he said that he believed in the coordination of international and national efforts in bringing stability to Afghanistan.  In early 2007, Asadullah Khalid escaped an assassination attempt. He was targeted by a Taliban suicide bomber. His motorcade was destroyed but he survived with only minor injuries.  Mr. Khalid was appointed as Minister of Borders, ethnics and tribal Affairs in 2008. In 2011, besides being in-charge of the Ministry, he was appointed as special representative of the President to Loy Kandahar provinces (i.e. Kandahar, Helmand, Zabul, and Urozgan). As a trusted envoy of the president ( Hamid Karzai ) and security expert, he brought stability and peace to South Western provinces in short while.  In October 2011 Khalid survived another attempt on his life. A year later, in September 2012, the National Assembly of Afghanistan approved him as head of the National Directorate of Security (NDS), which is the Afghan intelligence service. It is very similar to that of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from which it receives training and support.  To eradicate Taliban and confront them in the gross-roots he implemented many concepts, beside his other attempts he created and supported the anti-Taliban uprisings in insurgent-held areas of eastern Afghanistan, and often accused the Pakistani intelligence services of fomenting the insurgency.  A few months later, on 6 December 2012, Khalid became injured during a failed Taliban assassination attempt in Kabul. The incident happened in the Taymeni area of the city, inside one of the many guesthouses that NDS uses in Kabul to reduce the risk of an attack. Afghan officials said that Khalid needed blood transfusions, but President Hamid Karzai said Khalid "is doing well" and described the attack as "a cowardly act of terrorism". The attacker posed as a "peace messenger" arrived from Quetta, Pakistan, and was used by the Taliban's Quetta Shura, which is guided by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The death of Burhanuddin Rabbani in Kabul occurred the same exact way and that attack was tied to Taliban's Quetta Shura. Zabiullah Mujahid, who is based in Pakistan, confirmed that the Taliban were behind the attack. Politicians in Afghanistan, including the President and members of the Parliament, accused elements in Pakistan of organizing Khalid's assassination attempt.  On June 2013, Khalid returned to US for further medical treatment after his conditions deteriorated for wounds from the Taliban assassination attempted in December 2012. Rahmatullah Nabil resumed the role as acting Director of the NDS from 31 August 2013 whilst Khalid was recovering. Nabil was officially reappointed as Director on 28 January 2015.

Human right violations.

Asadullah Khalid has been accused of being involved in numerous human right violations, assassinations and torture of detainees. In 2009, Richard Colvin, a former Canadian deputy ambassador to Afghanistan who worked closely with Khalid, testified before the Canadian parliament that Khalid was directly involved in torture. He further stated that Khalid was controlling a criminal gang. He had people killed who got in his way.  In April 2010, CBC News revealed the existence of top-level Canadian government documents reporting the personal involvement of Khalid in serious human rights abuses in his own private dungeon. Multiple sources report that the private detention centre was located under Khalid's guest house while governor of Kandahar. The documents also said that Christopher Alexander, a top Canadian official working with the United Nations, alleged that Asadullah Khalid had ordered the killing of five United Nations workers by bombing, presumably to protect his narcotics interests.  Graeme Smith from The Globe and Mail conducted an investigation on Brigade 888 (a unit under the direct command of Asadullah Khalid) and found that Asadullah Khalid's governor palace contained private detention centres. Graeme Smith further states that the Canadian Generals knew about the brutal technique employed to torture the detainees in those cells. A source from Afghanistan ssaid that the palace hired a labourer every few weeks to apply fresh paint to the interrogation room. This was done to conceal blood on the walls. Moreover, the source said Asadullah Khalid also had other informal cells in the city.  Apart from the above allegations, Asadullah Khalid was also accused being involved in act of sexual violence against the women and the girls. Human Right Watch claims that there is a'strong evidence' which suggests that Khalid was involved in act of sexual violence against women and girls, when he was governor of Ghazni and Kandahar. Khalid allegedly threatened the victims with consequences if they told anyone about what happened.

Drug smuggling.

Asadullah Khalid was also accused of being involved in drug trafficking. Kabul Press in 2009, cited sources from the presidential palace which claimed that Khalid was "the most crucial member of a narcotics producing and smuggling syndicate". Khaled Monawar, during his tenure as Afghanistan's permanent representative to the United Nations in Vienna in 2007, claimed that Asadullah Khalid had no plan to eradicate opium from the province and neither was he interested to follow the existing plan.

Asadullah Khalid is a politician in Afghanistan. He served as head of the National Directorate of Security (NDS), which is the domestic intelligence agency of Afghanistan. Before his appointment as the head of the NDS in September 2012, Khalid served as the Minister of Tribal and Border Affairs. Between 2005 and 2008, he was the Governor of Kandahar Province and prior to that as Governor of Ghazni Province (2002-2005). Khalid is said to be affiliated with the Islamic Dawah Organisation of Afghanistan (Ittihad-i Islami) and has been noted as one of many loyalists of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Asadullah Chalid ist ein afghanischer Politiker. Er war von 2001 bis 2005 Gouverneur der Provinz Kandahar und von 2005 bis 2008 Gouverneur der Provinz Ghazni. Anschließend wurde er Minister für Stammesfragen und Sondergesandter für Südafghanistan in der Regierung von Hamid Karsai. Am 23. Dezember 2018 nominierte ihn Staatspräsident Ghani als Verteidigungsminister.


Early life.

Croft was born Douglas Malcom Wheatcroft on August 12, 1926, in Seattle, Washington, in the United States. His mother, Beatrice Hayden, married the silent film actor Stanhope Nelson Wheatcroft. They divorced in 1922, and his mother relocated to San Francisco. His parents' divorce was a bitter one, and about the time he was born in August 1926, Stanhope Wheatcroft attempted to have Beatrice declared dead so that he could stop paying alimony. The name of Douglas Croft's biological father is not known.

Acting career.

Croft was living with his mother in Los Angeles, California, in 1941. Fascinated by movie stars, a talent agent spotted him loitering near a studio and signed him up. About September 1941, he began using the stage name "Douglas Croft". He also shaved several years off his age, claiming in July 1941 and again in March 1942 that he was 11 years old. A December 1941 newspaper report listed his age as 12, when he was by then actually 15.  His first role was a bit part in "Remember The Day". His second role was a small part in the 1942 film "Kings Row", with his first major part and notable performance coming the same year in "Not A Ladies Man".  His breakout role was that of the young George M. Cohan in 1942's Oscar-winning "Yankee Doodle Dandy". The year 1942 also saw Croft in a substantial role as the young Lou Gehrig in "The Pride of the Yankees" and as Raymond in "George Washington Slept Here".  Croft was the first actor to play the comic book character Robin in a motion picture, doing so in the 1943 15-chapter movie serial "Batman". As of 2013, Croft remains the youngest person (aged 16) to portray Robin, who at that time was depicted in comic books as being a young teenager. The producers made one change to the character, and that was to give Croft a wig of untamed curly hair.

Later life.

Croft served in the United States armed forces during World War II.  In February 1947, he was critically injured in a motorcycle accident which killed 19-year-old driver John J. Masterson.  His final motion picture role, a bit part in 1947's "Killer McCoy", was filmed in June or July 1947. Croft's mother died of an intestinal blockage in June 1950.

Death.

Douglas Croft died at the age 37 on October 24, 1963, at the Palomar Hotel in Los Angeles, California, near the intersection of Santa Monica Blvd. and Western Ave. just down the street from 20th Century Fox' Hollywood studios. He died from acute alcohol intoxication and liver disease. He was buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery near San Diego, California.

Douglas Croft (August 12, 1926 – October 24, 1963), born Douglas Malcom Wheatcroft, was an American child actor who is best remembered for being the first person to portray the DC Comics character Robin, the Boy Wonder, as well as his secret identity Dick Grayson, in the 1943 serial "Batman" when he was 16 years old.

Douglas Croft (eigentlich "Douglas Malcolm Wheatcroft"; * 12. August 1926 in Seattle; † 24. Oktober 1963 in Los Angeles) war ein US-amerikanischer Schauspieler.


History.

K-tel was founded by Philip Kives, a demonstration salesman from Oungre, Saskatchewan, Canada. Kives had worked at a number of jobs as a young man, including selling cookware door-to-door and in a department store, and as a pitch-man on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City.  Back in Canada, in 1962 he used his own money and his fast-talking demonstration style to create a new kind of television advertisement. His first product was a Teflon-coated frying pan. He made a deal with the Eaton's department store to carry the product and with a local television station to air the commercials on a per-inquiry basis with a guaranteed minimum.  Kives bought and marketed a number of products from Seymour Popeil, father of Ronco founder Ron Popeil, including the Dial-O-Matic and Veg-O-Matic food slicers and the Feather Touch knife. In August 1965, he began selling the Feather Touch Knife in Australia and by Christmas had sold 1 million knives. Kives later began sourcing his own products, including the Miracle Brush, which sold 28 million units.  K-tel was formally incorporated in 1968, with Kives as CEO. The company operated profitably during the 1970s, and expanded both through acquisitions in its core area of business and diversification into other areas. Kives' cousin Raymond Kives worked as president of the K-tel US division from 1967 to 1977, and the K-tel Europe division from 1977 to 1984.  In the five years prior to 1981, K-tel sold more than $150 million in LPs in 34 countries. Its sales increased from $23 million in 1971 to $178 million in 1981. The company diversified, forming subsidiaries in areas such as real estate and oil exploration and also acquired rival Candlelite Records in 1980. K-tel lost $15.9 million when Candlelite’s customers refused to pay for their shipments.  The failure of this and several other high-risk ventures forced the publicly traded U.S. entity, K-tel International, to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1984. In 1986, the Bank of Montreal foreclosed on the K-tel Canadian subsidiary, at the same time as the US Chapter 11 filing.Advised by Minneapolis-based Sullivan Associates, K-tel negotiated settlements with banks and other preferred and unsecured creditors. Six years later, after all the legal battles, a settlement was reached with the Bank of Montreal, and in 1991, Kives got his Canadian company back.  In 1993, K-Tel earned a $2.7 million profit on sales of $56 million, and in 1994, ranked #7 on "BusinessWeek"’s annual Hot Growth List. Mickey Elfenbein, Kives' nephew, was appointed CEO of the K-Tel International division in 1993 until the late 1990s. K-tel increased its worldwide sales, primarily of music-related products, and had a successful NASDAQ IPO trading under the symbol KTEL.

Music business.

In 1966, Philip Kives released the company's first compilation album, a collection of 25 country songs entitled "25 Country Hits." Every copy was sold. The idea of compilation albums was new, and the venture's unexpected success led to further releases. K-Tel's second release, "25 Polka Greats", sold 1.5 million copies in the United States  K-tel recruited Australian Don Reedman (twin brother of Peter Reedman, who was already working in the Australian office) to set up the UK-based division of K-tel Records in the early 1970s. Ian Howard was the Managing Director of operations.  The company built the business of releasing compilation albums that combined material from a number of popular artists onto a single theme album using the tag line "20 Original Hits! 20 Original Stars!". The company negotiated directly with artists and labels for the rights to reproduce their original recordings, in the process also securing a long-term asset through adding those recordings to their catalog.  While most of the compilation albums relied on the pop charts of the day, there were some that focused on hits from a specific genre. Examples include:  The company also created original records, including the Grammy-nominated "Hooked on Classics" series of classical recordings with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Films.

In 1970 the company briefly began distributing foreign films in the U.S., beginning with "Mr. Superinvisible". They produced their own "Pardon My Blooper" film, based on one of their records.

Dot-com bubble's effects on K-tel.

In mid-April 1998, during the dot-com bubble, news that the company was expanding its business to the Internet sent the thinly traded stock shooting from about $3 to over $7 in one day (3:1 split adjusted). The short interest of the stock swelled. The price of the stock peaked at about $34 in early May, and began to decline, reaching $12 in November and eventually pennies. The sudden upswing was fueled mainly by a large short squeeze. Traders with short positions either "bought in" or were forced to cover positions at very high prices because of the great losses.  In 2007, Philip Kives took K-tel private again. The company completed a 1-for-5000 reverse split on July 18, 2007, reducing the number of public shareholders to under 300 and allowing the company to delist. It changed its symbol to KTLI and moved from the NASDAQ to the over-the-counter market.

K-tel today.

The company now earns profits from its catalog of "Billboard"-charting hits, by the original artists, particularly songs from the 1950s through the 1980s. Tracks include "The Twist" by Chubby Checker, "What I Like About You" by The Romantics, "Tutti Frutti" by Little Richard, "Surfin’ Bird" by The Trashmen, and "Help Me Make It Through The Night" by Sammi Smith.  K-tel distributes more than 200,000 songs worldwide per year on digital platforms, including Amazon, Spotify and iTunes, and licenses songs from its catalog for use in commercials (e.g., Nike, Fiat, Coke and KFC), films (e.g., "Spider-Man", "The Dallas Buyers Club" and "Hotel Transylvania 2") and television programs (e.g., "Ray Donovan", "Breaking Bad", "Californication", "Mad Men" and "Transparent").  K-tel has also produced "Mini Pop Kids", a series of recordings in which a group of children aged 9 to 13 sing current, family-friendly pop hits. The series sold millions of copies when it was originally distributed in the 1980s. K-tel brought the series back in 2004, and has continued to produce recordings. The latest album, "Mini Pop Kids 15", reached #1 on the iTunes Kids Chart. The series is promoted by a touring group that performs shows across Canada.  Company founder Phillip Kives died in Winnipeg on April 27, 2016.

Effect on popular culture.

K-tel helped define the way people purchased music in the 1960s and 1970s. In 2013, Forbes wrote a piece on K-tel, entitled "K-Tel Records: The Spotify of the 70s", pointing out that the way people discovered new music in the 70s was through K-tel compilations, in the same way that Spotify playlists are now used to find related artists.  In 2013, Dave Grohl, the front man of The Foo Fighters, gave a keynote speech at SXSW, praising K-tel for exposing him to music early in his life, specifically "Frankenstein" by The Edgar Winter Group: "Grohl told the crowd earnestly that the song's inclusion on a 1975 K-tel Records "Blockbuster" compilation – the first album that he ever owned – was "the record that changed my life."  K-tel infomercials were spoofed on late night television, leading to skits such as Dave Thomas's character Harvey K-Tel pitching "Stairways to Heaven" and "50 Psalms by 50 Stars" on SCTV, Dan Aykroyd’s "Bass-o-Matic" "Saturday Night Live" performance, and "The Simpsons" cartoon series, where the fictional B-movie actor Troy McClure promotes widgets on a show called "I Can’t Believe They Invented It!".

K-tel International is a company which specialized in selling consumer products through infomercials and live demonstration. Its products include compilation music albums, including "The Super Hits" series, "The Dynamic Hits" series and "The Number One Hits" series and consumer products, including the Record Selector, the Veg-O-Matic, the Miracle Brush, and the Feather Touch Knife. The company has sold more than half a billion units worldwide.

K-tel International ist ein kanadisches Unternehmen, das vor allen Dingen durch seine zusammengesetzten Musikalben („Sampler“) bekannt geworden ist. K-tel wurde 1968 gegründet und hat seinen Firmensitz in Winnipeg.


Treaty compliance.

The Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe was ratified by the Armenian parliament in July 1992. The treaty establishes comprehensive limits on key categories of military equipment, such as tanks, artillery, armored combat vehicles, combat aircraft, and combat helicopters, and provides for the destruction of weaponry in excess of those limits. Armenian officials have consistently expressed determination to comply with its provisions and thus Armenia has provided data on armaments as required under the CFE Treaty. Despite this, Azerbaijan accuses Armenia of diverting a large part of its military forces to Nagorno-Karabakh and thus circumventing these international regulations. Armenia is not a significant exporter of conventional weapons, but it has provided support, including material, to the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh during the Nagorno-Karabakh War.  In March 1993, Armenia signed the multilateral Chemical Weapons Convention, which calls for the eventual elimination of chemical weapons. Armenia acceded to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as a non-nuclear weapons state in July 1993. The U.S. and other Western governments have discussed efforts to establish effective nuclear export control systems with Armenia and expressed satisfaction with Armenia's full cooperation.

Organization.

General staff.

The Armenian Armed Forces are Headquartered in Yerevan, where most of the general staff is based. Headed by Chief of Staff Onnik Gasparyan, the general staff is responsible for operational command of the Armenian Military and its two major branches. In addition to the services listed above, Armenia established its own Internal Troops from the former Soviet Interior Troops after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Up until December 2002, Armenia maintained a Ministry of Internal Affairs, but along with the Ministry of National Security, it was reorganised as a non-ministerial institution. The two organisations became the Police of Armenia and the National Security Service. In February 1999 the Deputy Minister of the Interior and Commander of the Internal Troops, Major General Artsrun Makarian, was found shot dead. In 2013 the International Institute for Strategic Studies attributed the force with four paramilitary battalions, 55 AIFV including 44 BMP-1, and 24 wheeled armoured personnel carriers.

Service branches.

Army.

According to IISS 2010, Armenia has 20 T-80 tanks, 137 T-72 tanks, 8 T-54/55 tanks and 80 BMP-1's, 7 BMP-1K, 55 BMP-2 and 12 BRM-1K. Wheeled APCs reported included 11 BTR-60s, 21 BTR-70s, 4 BTR-80s, 145 MT-LBs, 5 BMD-1S, and 120 BRDM-2 scout vehicles.  Although the Russians have supplied newer equipment to Armenia over the years, the numbers have never been sufficient to upgrade all ground force formations and many of the lower readiness units still have older, Soviet-legacy systems that have not been upgraded or in many cases effectively maintained. These older systems are placing great demands on the logistics system for service, maintenance, replacement parts and necessary upgrades, costing the army both financially and in overall readiness. The ground force is engaged in an effort of reassessment, reorganisation and restructuring, as the future of Armenia's defence needs a revised force structure and unit mix. The army sees the need to maintain much of its traditional mechanised formations, but is looking to lighten and make more mobile and self-sustainable a small number of other formations. It must develop these newer formations to support its international requirements and effectively operate in mountainous and other rugged terrain, but it must do this without affecting the mechanised capability that is needed to confront Azerbaijan's conventional forces.  Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Armenia has followed a policy of developing its armed forces into a professional, well trained, and mobile military. In 2000, the Centre for International Studies and Research reported that at that time the Armenian Army had the strongest combat capability of the three South Caucasus countries' armies (the other two being Georgia and Azerbaijan). CSTO Secretary, Nikolay Bordyuzha, came to a similar conclusion after collective military drills in 2007 when he stated that, ""the Armenian Army is the most efficient one in the post-Soviet space"". This was echoed more recently by Igor Korotchenko, a member of the Public Council, Russian Ministry of Defense, in a March 2011 interview with Voice of Russia radio.  The Army is functionally divided into "Active" and "Reserve Forces". Their main functions include deterrence, defense, peace support and crisis management, humanitarian and rescue missions, as well as social functions within Armenian society.  The Active Forces mainly have peacekeeping and defensive duties, and are further divided into Deployment Forces, Immediate Reaction, and Main Defense Forces. The Reserve Forces consists of Enhancement Forces, Territorial Defense Forces, and Training Grounds. They deal with planning and reservist preparation, armaments and equipment storage, training of formations for active forces rotation or increase in personnel.  During peacetime the Army maintains permanent combat and mobilization readiness. They become part of multinational military formations in compliance with international treaties Armenia is a signatory to, participate in the preparation of the population, the national economy and the maintenance of wartime reserves and the infrastructure of the country for defense.  In times of crisis the Army's main tasks relate to participation in operations countering terrorist activities and defense of strategic facilities (such as nuclear power plants and major industrial facilities), assisting the security forces in proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, illegal armaments traffic and international terrorism.  In case of low- and medium-intensity military conflict the Active Forces that are part of the Army participate in carrying out the initial tasks for the defense of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country. In case of a high intensity conflict the Land Forces, together with the Air Force, Air Defense and Border Guards, form the defense group of the Armenian Armed Forces aiming at countering aggression and protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country.  Experiments in developing small arms have been undertaken in Armenia, producing the K-3 assault rifle, but Jane's Infantry Weapons estimates that the program has ceased, and the rifle is not in widespread service with the army. The AK-74 is the standard issue rifle of the Armenian Army with older AKMs in reserve use. Beside AK rifles Armenian forces use mostly Russian small arms like the Makarov pistol, SVD sniper rifle, and the PKM General Purpose machine Gun.

Air Force.

The Armenian Air Force consists of 15 Su-25 ground attack planes, 18 Su-30 jet fighter, 1 Migoyan Mig 25 16 Mil Mi-24 helicopter gunships, 6 L-39 trainer and attack aircraft, 16 Yak-52 trainer aircraft, 3 Il-76 cargo planes, 18 Mil Mi-8 transport helicopters, and 10 Mil Mi-2 light utility helicopters. There are an additional 18 MiG-29 fighter jets of the Russian 102nd Military Base stationed in Gyumri.

Air Defense.

The Armenian Air Defense is the anti-aircraft branch of the Armed Forces of Armenia. It was equipped and organized as part of the military reform program of Lieutenant-General Norat Ter-Grigoryants. It consists of an anti-aircraft missile brigade and two regiments armed with 100 anti-aircraft complexes of various models and modifications, including the SA-8, Krug, S-75, S-125, SA-7, SA-10, SA-13, SA-16 and SA-18. Russia has SA-6 and S-300 long range surface-to-air missiles at the Russian 102nd Military Base. There are also 24 Scud ballistic missiles with eight launchers. Numerical strength is estimated at about 3,000 servicemen, with plans for further expansion.  In late December 2010, the Armenian Defense Minister, Seyran Ohanyan, officially acknowledged that the army are equipped with the Russian-made S-300 surface-to-air missiles. The statement was made while the Minister was inspecting a new air-defense command point that maintains "state-of-the-art equipment" built specifically for the operation of the S-300's. Russian specialist started to train Armenian teams on sophisticated Missiles and Defensive Systems. The S-300 was paraded for the first time in the 2011 Parade and the only S-300 missile system (SA10 Grumble) which likes mobility. The S-300 is the main Air Defensive system that protects Armenia's air security. In the 2016 Armenian Parade celebrating the Armenian Independence BUK-M2 Air Defense Systems were shown. These systems were not part of the 200 million dollar contract agreement between Yerevan and Moscow but an agreement between CSTO partners. Other devices such as stem of electronic warfare (EW) "Infauna" and P-325U consist in the Armenian Armed Forces.

Military of Karabakh.

In addition to forces mentioned above, there are around 20,000 active soldiers (80% of them are originated from Armenia) defending Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory which seceded from Azerbaijan in 1991 and is now a de facto independent state. They are well trained and well equipped with the latest in military software and hardware. The Karabakh army's heavy military hardware includes: 316 tanks, 324 armored vehicles, 322 artillery pieces of calibers over 122 mm, 44 multiple rocket launchers, and a new anti-aircraft defense system. In addition, the NKR Defence Army maintains a small air-force of 2 Su-25s, 5 Mi-24s and 5 other helicopters.

Personnel.

The Armed Forces of Armenia is constitutionally a conscript force, but there is also a growing number of professional officers. There were roughly 19,000 conscripts and 23,000 professionals serving in 2017. Enlistment, which is performed twice a year, is handled by military commissariats. Male draftees between the ages of 18-27 are obliged to present themselves in the commissariats for registration. People who have changed their citizenship or have dual citizenship are also subject to conscription, unless they have already served in the armed forces of another country. Since 2003, conscientious objectors can apply for alternative service. Draft evaders can not be appointed to public service positions. Citizens who have completed military service are registered in the reserve and are divided into rank and file, non-commissioned and commissioned staff of the reserve. Reservists can be called up to training musters and exercises in peacetime. Reserve obligation lasts up to the age of 50.

Educational institutions.

Higher military education is provided by the National Defense Research University in Yerevan. It was established in 2016, on the basis of the Institute for National Strategic Studies.

Personnel Branches.

Department of the Engineer Troops.

7 September is defined as the Day of the Engineering Troops of the Armed Forces. It was founded by the order of the Minister of Defense in 1992. Since 8 September 2009, the Engineering Service has been reorganized as the Department of Engineering Troops in the Ministry of Defense. The following have served as heads of the department:  Extensive work is underway in the defense zones of military units, unions and military units by the engineering troops to install large-scale equipment. In addition, the units of the Engineering Troops carry out humanitarian demining operations in the regions of Armenia, Artsakh, as well as in the framework of cooperation with NATO. The department's engineers have taken part in competitions of CIS member-states Armed Forces’ engineer corps, took the third place, whereas in driving contests of some engineer vehicles they took the first place.

Department of Signal Troops.

The Signal Troops of the Armed Forces were formed during the Artsakh War. The main development of the military communication system began in 1992. In 1992, the Communication Department was formed within the General Staff of the Armed Forces. The educational base of liaison officers is located at the Khanperyants Military Aviation Institute, with the first batch graduating in 2006. The Communication Department has been headed by:

Equipment.

The Armenian Army operates a wide variety of older equipment, mostly of Soviet origin. There is also some newer equipment from Russia. In 2015, a US$200m loan was ratified by Russia for the purchase of modern weapons between 2015 and 2017. Armenia produces its own combat helmets and body armors thought the works of a joint Armenian-Polish company. Some personal equipment used by special units (Ops-Core Future Assault Shell Technology (FAST) Helmets, plate carriers and special pouches) is imported, mostly from the United States. Armenia also produces most of its small arms, with only specialised units being imported.  Following the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh clashes, the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly released a report, which detailed the circumstances of death of Armenian servicemen. Among the contributing factors were stated to be malfunctioning equipment and lack of necessary materiel, especially ammunition. This was followed by plans to increase Armenian defense spending to purchase more weapons and ammunition.

International military cooperation.

Russia.

Russia is Armenia's closest ally. The Russian 102nd Military Base, the former 127th Motor Rifle Division, is stationed in Gyumri. The military alliance of the two nations and, in particular, the presence of Russian troops on Armenian soil has been a key element of Armenia's national security doctrine since Armenia gained independence in 1991. Russia stations an estimated 5,000 soldiers of all types in Armenia, including 3,000 officially reported to be based at the 102nd Military Base. In 1997, the two countries signed a far-reaching friendship treaty, which calls for mutual assistance in the event of a military threat to either party and allows Russian border guards to patrol Armenia's frontiers with Turkey and Iran. In early 2005, the 102nd Military Base had 74 tanks, 17 battle infantry vehicles, 148 armored personnel carriers, 84 artillery pieces, 18 MiG-29 fighters, one battery of SA-6 and two batteries of S-300 anti-aircraft missiles. However, in 2005–2007, following an agreement on the withdrawal of two Russian military bases from Georgia, a great deal of military hardware was moved to the 102nd Base from the Russian 12th Military Base in Batumi and the 62nd Military Base at Akhalkalaki, Georgia. Russia also supplies weapons at the relatively lower prices of the Russian domestic market as part of a collective security agreement since January 2004.  According to unconfirmed reports by the Azeri media, Russia has supplied $1 billion worth of arms and ammunitions to Armenia in 1996; and handed over an additional $800 million worth of arms to Armenia in 2008–2009. According to AzerNews, the weapons in this latest transfer include 21 tanks, 12 armored vehicles, five other battle machines, a great number of rocket launchers, over 1,050 cases of grenades, nearly 7,900 types of ammunition, 120 grenade launchers, over 4,000 sub-machine guns, TNT fuses, mines of various types, 14 mine-launchers, 9 Grad launchers, five cannons, and other weapons.  Officer training is another sphere of Russian-Armenian military cooperation. In the first years of sovereignty when Armenia lacked a military educational establishment of its own, officers of its army were trained in Russia. Even now when Armenia has a military college on its own territory, the Armenian officer corps honors the tradition and is trained at Russian military educational establishments. In 1997, 600 Armenian servicemen were being trained at Russian Military Academies: the training was conducted by the Marshal Bagramyan Training Brigade.  At the first meeting of the joint Russian-Armenian government panel for military-technical cooperation that took place during autumn 2005, Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov reported that, Russian factories will participate in the Armenian program of military modernization, and that Russia is prepared to supply the necessary spare parts and equipment. In accordance with this agreement, Armenia and Russia agreed to work together in exporting weapons and other military equipment to third countries in December 2009. The export agreement was signed by Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan and a visiting senior Russian official, Konstantin Biryulin, during a meeting of a Russian-Armenian inter-governmental commission on bilateral military-technical cooperation. The agreement envisages the two countries' interaction in exporting military production to third countries, which will help to strengthen the armed forces of the two states, and further cement the already close Russian-Armenian military cooperation.  A Russian-Armenian defense agreement signed in August 2010 extends Russia's military presence in Armenia till 2044 and commits Russia to supplying Armenia with modern and compatible weaponry and special military hardware at reduced prices.  At the beginning of 2009, Azerbaijani media published allegations that Russia had made extensive weapons transfers to Armenia throughout 2008 costing about $800 million. On January 12, 2009, the Russian ambassador was invited to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs and asked about this information. On January 21, 2009, Russian ministry of foreign relations officially denied the transfers. According to the materials published by WikiLeaks in December 2010, Azerbaijani defence minister Safar Abiyev claimed that in January 2009 during his visit to Moscow, his Russian counterpart Anatoly Serdyukov unofficially had admitted to weapons transfers "after the second bottle of vodka" that evening, although officially it was denied.  In June 2013 it was revealed that Russia has deployed in Armenia several Iskander-M ballistic missiles systems, which are stationed at undisclosed locations in the country.

Collective Security Treaty Organisation.

On October 7, 2002, the Presidents of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan, signed a charter in Tashkent, founding the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) (Russian: Организация Договора о Коллективной Безопасности (ОДКБ~ODKB)) or simply Ташкентский договор (The Tashkent Treaty). Nikolai Bordyuzha was appointed secretary general of the new organisation. On 23 June 2006, Uzbekistan became a full participant in the CSTO and its membership was formally ratified by its parliament on 28 March 2008. Furthermore, the CSTO is an observer organisation at the United Nations General Assembly.  The charter reaffirmed the desire of all participating states to abstain from the use or threat of force. Signatories would not be able to join other military alliances or other groups of states, while aggression against one signatory would be perceived as an aggression against all. To this end, the CSTO holds yearly military command exercises for the CSTO nations to have an opportunity to improve inter-organisation cooperation. The largest-scale CSTO military exercise held, to date, were the "Rubezh 2008" exercises hosted in Armenia where a combined total of 4,000 troops from all 7 constituent CSTO member countries conducted operative, strategic, and tactical training with an emphasis towards furthering the efficiency of the collective security element of the CSTO partnership.  The Ministry of Defense of Armenia has repeatedly stated that it would expect direct military assistance from the CSTO in case war with Azerbaijan resumes, as recently as December 2009, Defense Minister Ohanyan made the same statement. In August 2009, Nikolay Bordyuzha, the CSTO's secretary-general, confirmed that official Yerevan can count on such support.  On February 4, 2009, an agreement to create the Collective Rapid Reaction Force (KSOR) was reached by five of the seven CSTO members, with plans finalized on June 14, 2009. Armenia is one of the five member states. The force is intended to be used to repulse military aggression, conduct anti-terrorist operations, fight transnational crime and drug trafficking, and neutralize the effects of natural disasters.

NATO.

Armenia participates in NATO's Partnership for Peace (PiP) program and it is in a NATO organization called Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC). Armenia is in the process of implementation of Individual Partnership Action Plans (IPAPs), which is a program for those countries that have the political will and ability to deepen their relationship with NATO. Cooperative Best Effort exercise (the first where Russia was represented) was run on Armenian territory in 2003.

Greece.

Greece is Armenia's closest ally in NATO and the two cooperate on multiple issues. A number of Armenian officers are trained in Greece every year, and military aid/material assistance has been provided to Armenia. In 2003, the two countries signed a military cooperation accord, under which Greece will increase the number of Armenian servicemen trained at the military and military-medical academies in Athens.  In February 2003, Armenia sent 34 peace keepers to Kosovo where they became part of the Greek contingent. Officials in Yerevan have said the Armenian military plans to substantially increase the size of its peace-keeping detachment and counts on Greek assistance to the effort. In June 2008, Armenia sent 72 peacekeepers to Kosovo for a total of 106 peacekeepers.

Baltic States.

Lithuania has been sharing experience and providing consultations to the Armenian Defense Ministry in the field of democratic control of armed forces, military and defense concepts and public relations since 2002. Started in 2004, Armenian officers have been invited to study at the Lithuanian War Academy and the Baltic Defence College in Tartu, Estonia. Lithuania covers all study expenditures. In early 2007, two Armenian officers for the first time took part in a Baltic lead international exercise, Amber Hope, which was held in Lithuania.

United States.

The United States has been steadily upping its military clout in the region. In early 2003, United States Department of Defense announced several major military programs in the Caucasus. Washington's military aid to Armenia in 2005 amounted to $5 million, and in April 2004, the two sides signed a military-technical cooperation accord. In late 2004, Armenia deployed a unit of 46 soldiers, which included bomb-disposal experts, doctors, and transport specialists, to Iraq as part of the American-led Multi-National Force Iraq. In 2005, the United States allocated $7 million to modernize the military communications of the Armenian Armed Forces.  Since 2003, Armenia and the Kansas National Guard have exchanged military delegations as part of a National Guard Bureau program to promote better relations between the United States and developing nations. The program has largely consisted of mutual visits to each other's countries in an effort to share "ideas and [the] best practices for military and emergency management."

Peacekeeping operations.

As of 2020, Armenia is involved in peacekeeping operations in Kosovo, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Mali.

Kosovo.

There are 70 Armenian soldiers serving in Kosovo as peacekeepers.  Armenia joined the Kosovo Force in Kosovo in 2004. Armenian "blue helmets" serve within the Greek Army battalion. The relevant memorandum was signed on September 3, 2003, in Yerevan and ratified by the Armenian Parliament on December 13, 2003. The sixth deployment of Armenian peacekeepers departed for Kosovo on November 14, 2006. In 2008, the Armenian National Assembly voted unanimously to double the peacekeeping force in Kosovo by sending an extra 34 peacekeepers to the region, increasing the total number of peacekeepers in the region to 68. Armenia temporarily withdrew its peacekeepers from Kosovo in February 2012 as a result of the reduction of the Greek sundivisions. Armenia redeployed them in July to serve alongside American soldiers in Kosovo.

Iraq.

After the end of the invasion of Iraq, Armenia deployed a unit of 46 peacekeepers under Polish command. Armenian peacekeepers were based in Al-Kut, from the capital of Baghdad. On July 23, 2006, the fourth shift of Armenian peacekeepers departed for Iraq. The shift included 3 staff commanders, 2 medical officers, 10 combat engineers and 31 drivers. Throughout the length of the deployment, there was one Armenian wounded and no deaths. The Armenian government extended the small troop presence in Iraq by one year at the end of 2005 and 2006. On October 7, 2008, Armenia withdrew its contingent of 46 peacekeepers. This coincided with the withdrawal of the Polish contingent in Iraq.

Afghanistan.

Armenia deploys 130 soldiers in Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). They are serving under German command protecting an airport in Konduz.

Lebanon.

In 2014, Armenia deployed 33 peacekeepers to Lebanon as part of UNIFIL. They currently serve under the Italian contingent and fulfill headquarter security functions.

Mali.

In 2015, one peacekeeper was dispatched to Mali on a monitoring-peacekeeping mission.

The Armed Forces of Armenia () comprise two services: the Army, and the Air Force and Air Defense (a unified branch). Though it was partially formed out of the former Soviet Army forces stationed in the Armenian SSR (mostly units of the 7th Guards Army of the Transcaucasian Military District), the military of Armenia can be traced back to the founding of the First Republic of Armenia in 1918. Being a landlocked country, Armenia has no navy.

Die Streitkräfte Armeniens (armenisch:Հայկական Բանակ) ist das Militär der Republik Armenien. Die armenischen Streitkräfte gliedern sich in Heer (arm.: Հայկական Բանակ), Luftstreitkräfte (arm.: Հայաստանի Ռազմաօդային Ուժեր), Luftverteidigung (arm.: Հայաստանի Ռազմաօդային Ուժեր) und Grenzschutz (arm.:Հայաստանի Սահմանի Պահակություն). Armenien hat keine Marine, da es ein Binnenstaat ist. Der Oberbefehlshaber der Streitkräfte ist zurzeit der armenische Präsident Armen Sarkissjan. Die Streitkräfte wurden kurz nach der Unabhängigkeit Armeniens am 28. Januar 1992 aufgestellt. Heute besteht eine enge Kooperation mit den russischen Streitkräften. Armenien ist Mitglied der Partnerschaft für den Frieden und der Organisation des Vertrags über kollektive Sicherheit.


Geography.

Bolzaneto was once a hamlet located outside of the city limits in the Polcevera valley, but in the recent centuries it became an industrial area. Today it is a suburb of Genoa, surrounded by many small industries and business firms, but offering excellent views of the city and harbor. The Bolzaneto district includes the hamlets of Morego, San Biagio, Brasile, Cremeno, Geminiano and Murta. The district has a population of 15,239 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2006).  On the mountains behind Bolzaneto, at the left side of Polcevera valley, are two fortresses, which are part of the external fortresses of Genoa: the “Fort Diamante” and the fort named “Fratello Minore”. At the right side of valley, on Mount Figogna (804 m), is the Shrine of N.S. della Guardia, from where you have a wide view of the valley. The Shrine, located in the municipality of Ceranesi can be reached by the provincial road No 52.

History.

Until the mid-19th century Bolzaneto was a small village on the left side of the river Polcevera, near a wide bend of this. At the beginning of the second millennium the village was a simple group of houses around the church of N.S. della Neve (Our Lady of Snow). The town had been subject to the civil and religious authority of Brasile until 1854, when the municipal headquarters and the parish were transferred to Bolzaneto.  Brasile is now a little hamlet on the hill behind Bolzaneto, but in the Middle Ages people lived there who had important roles in the government of the Republic of Genoa. Near Bolzaneto, then on the right side of Polcevera stream, was located the monastery of San Francesco alla Chiappetta, built at the end of the 13th century.  In the 18th century, the Republic of Genoa, allied to France, was involved in War of Austrian Succession. In 1746 the valley, Valpolcevera, was occupied by an Austrian-Piedmontese army, led by the General Botta Adorno, which came up to Genoa, from where he was expelled after the popular revolt of December 5, 1746, set up with the legendary episode of Balilla.  Starting on April 11, 1747 another Austrian army Siege of Genoa (1747) unsuccessfully besieged Genoa. The Austrians, coming from the North through the Apennine, again occupied the whole Valpolcevera. The prolonged occupation led to looting and destruction of the homes and villages in the region. In the weeks that followed, an army of volunteers of Valpolcevera, supported by regular troops of the Republic of Genoa began a counter-offensive, forcing the evacuation on July 9, 1747 from the Valpocevera of the Austrian army, leaving behind much of the area in a state of devastation.  The topography of the place had a great change in the mid-19th century, when the Genoa-Turin railway was built. It was necessary to correct and dam the frequently-flooding Polcevera river, eliminating the existing bend. A new path for the torrent bed was dug for about 500 m, by cutting the base of the Murta hill upstream the monastery of San Francesco (that so passed from right to left bank of the stream) and an embankment on the left side was built, on which the railway runs. Gradually many houses were built up in the old stream-bed, thus forming the present town of Bolzaneto.  In the second half of the 19th century, the area, formerly agricultural, became industrial, with the establishment of several companies (the most important were the Foundries Bruzzo and the soap factory Lo Faro). In 1926, together with other 18 municipalities, Bolzaneto joined the municipality of Genoa, to form the so-called Great Genoa.  After the Second World War, the steel crisis led to the closure of Foundries Bruzzo (1957) and in a portion of these areas, near S. Biagio, was built the ERG refinery (then closed in 1988, also as a result of the growing attention of people to environmental aspects). In this area where there is now a large shopping center and a new residential district. Like this, other areas, abandoned since 1960, due to the closure of factories, many small industries and businesses firms have now replaced them.  Close to Bolzaneto there is a police barracks that in 2001 was in the international headlines, when there many protesters (arrested during the disturbances occurred at the G8 meeting in the city of Genoa) were imprisoned. Some police officers were accused and convicted of organised brutality on a large scale.  Since 2005, the quarter of Morego is home to the headquarters of the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT).

Main sights.

Castle of Bolzaneto.

The castle was a fortress built by the noble Genoese family of Adorno. It was destroyed in the 14th century by the mercenary troops of the Visconti, being rebuilt by the Republic of Genoa in 1380. The castle was also involved in the fighting of 1746-1747 during the War of Austrian Succession, and also became the headquarters of the Podestà (major) of Polcevera Valley. At the beginning of the 20th century it was abandoned as military stronghold and transformed into a residential villa, then into a hospital, until 1990. Currently it is used as a home for the elderly and hospice.

Fortresses.

The Fortresses called "I Due Fratelli" (The Two Brothers) were two fortresses said, referring to their position, "Major Brother" and "Minor Brother". They were built by the Savoy in the first half of nineteenth century, after the annexation of the Republic of Genoa to Kingdom of Sardinia, established by Congress of Vienna in 1814. The first fortress, shaped as a simple tower, was demolished in 1932 to create an antiaircraft position, the second one ("Minor Brother") is still intact and overlooks the valley from the top of Mount Spino (622 m). The "Fort Diamante", on the top of mount bearing the same name, has been built in the 18th century, then completed and modified in the first half of the 19th century.

Villas and palaces.

In Bolzaneto and on Murta hill there were, in the past centuries, many villas and palaces used as summer residences by the noble and rich Genoese families. Some of these survived today, although now surrounded by factories and sheds. These buildings, restructured, are used as schools, offices or private houses.  Among these Villa Carrega (17th century) and Villa Garibaldi (now both used as nursery schools) and, on the right bank of Polcevera the Palaces Rivarola and Pareto. Near the hamlet of Cremeno is the Villa Cambiaso, which was the summer residence of Giovanni Battista Cambiaso, who was Doge of the Republic of Genoa (from 1771 to 1773).

Places of worship.

Church of N.S. della Neve.

The first Church of N.S. della Neve was built in the 14th century as a chapel depending by the parish of San Felice of Brasile, restored in seventeenth century and completely rebuilt in 1855 when it became the seat of the parish.  In 1956 a new modern church, consecrated by Cardinal Giuseppe Siri in 1960, was built in another site nearby and the old church was demolished.  In this new church has been placed the Baroque altars and statues of the old church. In the church there are also two paintings by Paolo Gerolamo Piola ("Conversion of Saint Paul" and "Abraham receives three angels") and a "Dead Jesus" by Giulio Cesare Procaccini.

Church and monastery of San Francesco alla Chiappetta.

According to tradition, the site of the church and monastery of San Francesco was given by the noble family Lercari to St. Francis of Assisi, who was in Genoa in 1213 during a trip to France, but there are no documents that attest that.  The donation of the land is documented by a Convention act for the building of the monastery and the church of Chiappetta, stipulated in the 1280 between the family Lercari and the Franciscan Order, implemented in 1291.  In the following years the monastery and the church were built, in primitive Gothic style.  In the second half of the 17th century the cloister was built on and at the beginning of eighteenth century the church and the monastery had been completely restructured.  The inside of the church was remade in Baroque (style) by the Lombard architect Francesco Muttoni (1668–1747).  Inside the church, which has a single nave, there are some remarkable paintings from the 17th century: "Stigmata of St. Francis" by Giovanni Battista Carlone, "Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary" by Pietro Paolo Raggi (1649-1724), "St. Catherine Fieschi's Ecstasy" and "Immaculate Conception" by Domenico Piola and "St. Anthony's Miracle"” by Giuseppe Galeotti.  There is also a wooden Madonna by Anton Maria Maragliano (1664–1741).  In 1798, due to Napoleon's suppression of religious orders, the Franciscan friars had to leave the monastery and the church was entrusted to the diocesan clergy until 1896, when they could return.  As mentioned above, the monastery and the church, due to the work to embank the torrent Polcevera (middle of the 19th century), passed from the right to the left bank of the stream.

Transport.

Roads.

Bolzaneto is crossed by the National Road 35 “dei Giovi”, and the Highway A7 Genoa - Milan, of which there is an important toll exit.  From Bolzaneto begin several provincial roads that leads to towns in the hinterland (Ceranesi, Sant'Olcese and Serra Riccò).

Railways.

Bolzaneto has a railway station on the line of Giovi (Genoa-Sampierdarena, Bolzaneto, Pontedecimo, Busalla, Ronco Scrivia). This line is covered only by regional trains from Genoa to Busalla, Arquata Scrivia, Novi Ligure, Alessandria, and vice versa.  Intercity trains to and from Milan and Turin, are routed on the Giovi branch line, which crosses longitudinally Bolzaneto, parallel to the line of Giovi.

Bolzaneto is a quarter of the city of Genoa, in northwest Italy, and is part of the Municipality Valpolcevera of Genoa.

Bolzaneto (Im Ligurischen: Borsanæo o Bösanæo []) ist ein Stadtviertel der norditalienischen Hafenstadt Genua. Das im Val Polcevera angesiedelte Viertel wird im Norden vom Stadtteil Pontedecimo und im Süden von dem Stadtteil Rivarolo begrenzt. Benachbarte autonome Gemeinden sind im Norden Ceranesi, im Nordwesten Serra Riccò und im Nordosten Sant’Olcese.


Early life.

Winter was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He and his parents – of Jewish background – survived different German concentration camps, and were reunited in 1945 at the war's end in the Netherlands.

Career.

From 1966 to 1968 Winter was the lead singer for The Hague-based band "Daddy's Act". One of his first recordings was a cover of the Beatles hit "Eight Days A Week". Under the name Johnny van Dooren, he was a DJ at Dutch pirate station Radio Veronica and later at Radio 227, an English pirate radio station in the North Sea. During 1967–68, he also recorded two singles in Dutch for the Philips label. In early 1968 while living in London he represented England at the Innsbruck Song Festival in Austria, where he obtained first price and the coveted ‘'prix de press'’.  He left England where he resided at the time to go to Paris, and was discovered by Leo Missir from Riviera Records (an affiliate of the Barclay group). In January 1969, his debut single, "Oh Lady Mary", was released; and by April 1969 it had sold 750,000, and one million sales were achieved by August in France, where it was number one for 36 weeks and in the Top 10 for nine months. Total sales for the first single resulted in 2,6 million copies sold. It was also a hit in Italy (#4), Spain (#5), Germany (#2), Netherlands (# 5), Belgium (#1). In total it sold over 4.5. million copies throughout Europe. The song was written by Patricia Carli and Turkish composer Metin Bükey, and also became a hit in 1970 for Austria's Peter Alexander (number one for four weeks). Winter went on to record 10 albums and 42 singles & E.P.'s, of which 9 titles became No. 1 hits in France, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy and Germany. Songs like: "Vole s’envole" (#1 1.650.000 sold )/"Je suis tombé du ciel" (# 3. 850,000 sold, Luxemburg's entry for the 1970 Eurovision Song Contest in Amsterdam, finishing last).  He also recorded in all those languages, and scored two number 1 hits in Germany: "Schau Schau Hinter Den Dunen" and "Ohne Dich war es Halb So Schoen" In total David-Alexandre Winter sold well over 26 million records over his 10-year career in France and the rest of Europe, and performed on the most prestigious stages in all of Europe: The Bolchoi Theater in Moscow, the Royal Command Performance for Queen Elizabeth of England at the Royal Albert Hall in London, as well as the Gala of the Red Cross for Prince Raineer and Grace Kelly in Monte Carlo.  In 1980, Winter moved to the United States. He recorded and produced an album with the Canadian independent company Isba Records and released a single entitled "L'Étoile du Berger".  In 2010, Winter returned to the stage in France for a revival tour with "Age Tendre & Têtes de Bois", which tour played for 55 sold-out venues with over 550,000 people seeing him in concert. In 2014, Winter recorded a studio album "Winter Country" in Nashville, Tennessee.

Private life.

Winter was married to French fashion model Catherine Fefeu in the early 1970s. They had two children, Ophélie Winter (born 1974) and Michael Winter. Ophélie became a model, actress and pop singer in her own right, producing four albums between 1996 and 2009. David and Catherine's marriage ended in divorce in 1976.

David Alexandre Winter (born Leon Kleerekoper; 4 April 1943) is a Dutch-born, international pop singer. Winter found fame in Luxembourg and France.

David Alexandre Winter (* 4. April 1943 in Amsterdam als "Leon Kleerekoper") ist ein niederländischer Schlagersänger. In den 1960er Jahren war er DJ bei Radio Veronica und sang zu dieser Zeit schon erste Singles ein. Er zog 1969 nach Paris, wo er erfolgreich beim "Festival de la Chanson d'Antibes" teilnahm. Er erhielt einen Plattenvertrag beim Label "Riviera Records" und seine erste Single, "Oh Lady Mary", wurde direkt ein Nummer-eins-Hit in den französischen Charts. Auch das dazugehörige Album gleichen Titels landete auf Platz eins.


History.

Hobbs' Angel of Death was formed in January 1987 in Melbourne, initially as a solo project for ex-Tyrus guitarist Peter Hobbs. With the help of ex-Nothing Sacred members, Karl Lean (bass guitar), Sham Littleman (drums) and Mark Woolley (guitar), the band recorded two demos, "Angel of Death" and "Virgin Metal Invasion from Down Under", that attracted interest from overseas labels. They are one of the first Australian groups to perform European style thrash metal.  Although playing traditional style thrash metal, Hobbs described his band's sound as "virgin metal" – a pure form of metal music.  In February and March 1988, they were at Musiclab studios in Berlin to record their debut self-titled album, "Hobbs' Angel of Death". Produced by Harris Johns, it was released in July on German label Steamhammer Records, and "became a best-seller in Europe". The line-up for the album was Hobbs and Woolley with Philip Gresik on bass guitar and Darren McMaster-Smith on drums. In 1989, Hobbs and Woolley with Bruno Canziani (drums) and Dave Frew (bass guitar) began touring. Frew and Canziani were two thirds of the band Rampage, who disbanded in 1988 due to singer-guitarist George Mitrov having converted to Christianity and denouncing metal music as "demonic".  A second album, "Inheritance" was released in 1995, but failed to repeat the success of its predecessor and was an Australia-only release. It was difficult to obtain outside Australia and the band had "emerged from the darkness with a poorly produced second" album. Hobbs' Angel of Death broke up soon after its release.  In 2002, Hobbs reformed the band and released a compilation album of two early demos. The band played a European tour including an appearance at Wacken Festival, and shows with German thrash group Destruction and black metallers Mayhem. In July 2003, keyboardist Talie Helene, despite never having recorded nor played live with Hobbs' Angel of Death, left to form her own band, Stone Maiden. Remaining members were Hobbs, Canziani and Frew.  In 2011, Hobbs' Angel of Death returned to the live scene supporting Forbidden in Sydney on their Australian tour, and playing a small number of live shows before embarking on several European tours throughout 2012 and 2013. In August 2014, Peter Hobbs made an appearance in the Australian metal documentary "Metal Down Under". Hobbs Angel of Death toured the US later in the year.  Hobbs' Angel of Death released their third album "Heaven Bled" in 2016, and continued to tour Europe. However, in 2018 further touring was cancelled due to Peter Hobbs' health issues. The band did not play again until 2019, performing at Heathen Fest in Southern New South Wales. This show would be Peter Hobbs' final live appearance.  On 21 October 2019, Peter Hobbs died at the age of 58. A tribute concert in Hobbs' memory was organised in Melbourne on November 29. The concert consisted of a live performance of Hobbs' material from both Tyrus and Angel of Death by former bandmates and friends.

Members.

Final lineup  Past  Track listing  Track listing  Track listing

Hobbs' Angel of Death were an Australian thrash metal band that began in 1987 in Melbourne, and are one of the first Australian groups to perform in that genre. They released two studio albums, "Hobbs' Angel of Death" (1988) and "Inheritance" (1995) before disbanding in 1996. They reformed in 2002 and released a compilation album, "Hobbs' Satan's Crusade" (2003), and a third album "Heaven Bled" (2016).

Hobbs’ Angel of Death ist eine australische Thrash-Metal-Band aus Melbourne, die im Jahr 1986 gegründet, 1996 aufgelöst und 2002 neu gegründet wurde. Sie ist eine der ersten australischen Bands des Genres. Bisher veröffentlichte die Band die beiden Alben "Hobbs’ Angel of Death" (1988) und "Inheritance" (1995) sowie die Kompilation "Hobbs’ Satan’s Crusade" (2003).


Overview.

The site consists of multiple elements covering a broad range of time. There are remains of houses and potential cloth and iron processing sites. There are multiple stone chambers currently believed to be root cellars, two of which are completely intact. Says Connecticut State Archaeologist Nicholas Bellantoni, "The thing that's unique at Gungywamp is that there are so many of them."  One of these "root cellars", also known as the "calendar chamber", has an astronomical feature where an inner alcove is illuminated during the equinoxes by the alignment of a hole in the west wall, through which the sun shines upon a lighter stone on the opposite side, radiating illumination within the smaller, beehive shaped chamber.  Somewhat removed from the structures, there is a stone circle, actually consisting of two circles of stones, one within the other, over ten feet in diameter. The outermost ring is made up of twelve stones worked to be curved. Archaeologists who have studied it consider it to have been a mill. The archaeologist Ken Feder notes that unlike European stone circles the stones are recumbent and not upright and identifies it as a bark mill used to extract tannin for leather making. Walking in a circle animals would pull the mill wheel between the double circle of stones." Other researchers have hypothesized it is a Native American built structure.  Even farther away there is a row of low standing stones, lined up in a north-south facing, one of which features an etched image of a bird with outstretched wings.

Etymology.

The origin and meaning of the name is uncertain. According to The Hartford Courant, researchers have "associated the name, 'Gungywamp' with ancient Gaelic, Mohegan, Pequot, and Algonquin" and could mean anything from "church of the people", "place of ledges", "swampy place"; or "all powerful" and "white," respectively.

Artifacts.

Native American artifacts include arrowheads, stone flakes and pottery fragments. Colonial artifacts include pottery, china, buttons, coins, bottle and window glass, utensils, tobacco pipes, bricks and animal bones. There have been no artifacts found associated with the stone chambers to give any indication of their purpose.

Stone chambers.

The specific function and temporal origin of the stone chambers have yet to be definitively established. Colonial era root cellars constructed by Euro-Americans is currently considered to be the strongest possibility. Other possibilities include construction by slaves in colonial times, or by Native Americans such as the Pequot or Mohegan tribes. It has been suggested that the site could be one of the ceremonial stone landscapes described by USET, United South and Eastern Tribes, Inc., in their resolution on sacred ceremonial stone landscapes. However, the site is most known among the general public due to the suggestion, originally made in the 1960s, that the stone chambers share similarities with structures from Medieval Ireland. This has been taken by some to indicate that Irish monks, or Culdees, were involved, and that therefore the site contains evidence of pre-Columbian European settlement of the Americas.

North complex.

This area lacks stone chambers but it contains some interesting structures. One is a low earthen berm with a rectangular shape. When James Whittall, Jr. excavated the berm, he found stumps of posts on three sides indicating a Native American lodge built of saplings. Associated with the lodge were two hearths. Nearby is an elongated cairn in the shape of a boat (narrow at the tips and wide in the middle). On top of this cairn were three short standing stones. In the same general area there is a group of nineteen cairns built on the ground. More cairns were built on top of boulders scattered about the area. There were also three standing stones in the area.

Virtual tour.

An online virtual tour can be viewed at the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center web site.

Secrets of the Underground.

The television show "Secrets of the Underground" explores the Irish connection with biologist Rob Nelson. He uses Polynomial texture mapping to look at the rock carvings.

Recent events.

In 2018 the deed to 270 acres of the original 400-acre parcel was transferred to the State of Connecticut. Discussions are in progress on how to allow legal access to the property while preserving the archaeological sites.

Gungywamp is an archaeological site in Groton, Connecticut, United States, consisting of artifacts dating from 2000-770 BC, a stone circle, and the remains of both Native American and colonial structures. Among multiple structural remains, of note is a stone chamber featuring an astronomical alignment during the equinoxes. Besides containing beehive chambers and petroglyphs, the Gungywamp site has a double circle of stones near its center, just north of two stone chambers. Two concentric circles of large quarried stones - 21 large slabs laid end to end are at the center of the site.

Gungywamp ist eine 4 ha umfassende archäologische Fundstätte, die sich etwa 2 km entfernt von Groton im US-Bundesstaat Connecticut befindet. Dort wurden einerseits Artefakte der dort lebenden Indianer auf die Zeit zwischen 2000 und 770 v. Chr. datiert, andererseits fanden sich dort Überreste der Kolonialzeit.


History.

Opened in 1925, Stateville was built to accommodate 1,506 inmates. Parts of the prison were designed according to the panopticon concept proposed by the British philosopher and prison reformer, Jeremy Bentham. Stateville's "F-House" cellhouse, commonly known as a "roundhouse", has a panopticon layout which features an armed tower in the center of an open area surrounded by several tiers of cells. F-House was the only remaining "roundhouse" still in use in the United States in the 1990s. It was closed in late 2016 but the structure will remain standing due to its historical significance. A duplicate of the prison, the Presidio Modelo, opened in Cuba in 1936, but has since been abandoned.  In 2009 a 40-year-old man from Chicago, Richard Conner, murdered a 37-year-old Will County man named Jameson Leezer, who had originated from Lisle and Bolingbrook. Both were inmates placed in the same solitary confinement cell together. The killing made the state of Illinois change its rules in housing two prisoners together during solitary confinement; the prison authorities now must take into account both inmates' histories of violence.

Execution site.

Stateville Correctional Center was one of three sites in which executions were carried out by electrocution in Illinois. Between 1928 and 1962, the electric chair was used 13 times at Stateville, including the state's first electrocutions on December 15, 1928 of three convicted murderers.  The state's other electrocutions were carried out at the Menard Correctional Center in Chester and at the Cook County Jail in Chicago.  Stateville Correctional Center conducted 11 executions by lethal injection between 1990 when executions resumed in Illinois and 1998 when the state's execution chamber was relocated southwest to the Tamms Correctional Center in Tamms, Illinois.  On March 9, 2011, Governor Pat Quinn signed into law legislation ending the death penalty in the state of Illinois.

Current use.

Today the prison holds an average of over 3,500, at an annual cost of over $32,000 per prisoner.  Stateville's 1,300 employees make it a Level 1 facility; the highest of eight security level designations. There is also a minimum security unit commonly referred to as the Stateville Farm, which is a Level 7 facility, located within the new Northern Reception Center, located just south of the main facility. The Northern Reception Center (NRC), accepts incoming prisoners from the county jails in the northern two-thirds of the state.  Stateville is located two miles (3 km) north of Joliet, Illinois (16830 IL Route 53 Crest Hill, IL 60403; (815) 727-3607), on a site of over, of which are surrounded by a concrete perimeter with 10 wall towers. Stateville is often confused with the former Joliet Correctional Center, which closed in 2002. Located in the nearby city of Joliet, the former Joliet Prison is much older and smaller. It is located about southeast of Stateville on the corner of Woodruff Rd. and Collins St., across the Illinois and Michigan Canal.

Stateville Correctional Center (SCC) is a maximum security state prison for men in Crest Hill, Illinois, United States, near Chicago. It is a part of the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Das Stateville Correctional Center ist ein Staatsgefängnis des US-amerikanischen Bundesstaates Illinois. Es hält den höchsten Sicherheitsstandard und liegt in Crest Hill.


Personal life.

Ballard was born in Leeds, England on 27 June 1971. During his childhood he lived in Punjab, India (1973–1975) and Islamabad, Pakistan (1984–1985). He married Heather Stacey on 28 September 2002 and has two children, Adam and Lucas. He attends the Portobello and Musselburgh Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends.

Education.

He attended Lawnswood Comprehensive school in Leeds before going on to the University of Edinburgh, where he graduated with an MA (Hons) in Economic and Social History. He is a life member of the Edinburgh University Union, part of the Edinburgh University Students Association (EUSA). In February 2006 he was elected Rector of the University of Edinburgh.

Career outside politics.

Between 1994 and 1998 he worked for European Youth Forest Action (now European Youth For Action) in Edinburgh and Amsterdam. After this until 2001 he worked as editor of the journal Reforesting Scotland before setting up an environmental communications consultancy company that ran until 2003. After the 2007 election, Ballard became head of communications at the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, before moving to become Assistant Director of Barnardo's in Scotland, then Director of Strategy at Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland and then Head of Save the Children in Scotland. He currently works for the children's charity Children 1st.

Political career.

He joined the youth wing of the Labour Party when he was 15 and remained a member until 1991. At this point he became involved in the Scottish Green Party's student movement. He ran as a candidate for this party in the 1995 council elections, the 1999 Scottish Parliamentary election and a 2001 council by-election. He was first elected in the 2003 Holyrood election, as the second Green MSP in the Lothians.  He was a member of the Scottish Parliament "Finance Committee" and was also substitute member of the Enterprise and Culture Committee. He committed substantial time to promoting social enterprises and co-operatives, as a Green alternative to the current system. He also used the position to call for sustainable procurement guidelines, support ethical investment campaigns, and make the case for Scottish utilities being in public ownership.  As the Green speaker on Transport, Mark Ballard supported campaigns against the Dalkeith by-pass and the M74, for the trams in Edinburgh and for a better and cheaper public transport system. As a Lothians MSP he helped raise awareness of community initiatives such as the campaign to resist a huge superstore development in Portobello, supporting the calls for congestion charging in Edinburgh, assisting universities wanting to make the switch to Fairtrade and opposing tuition fees for students. The latter in particular helped him win support amongst Edinburgh's student community.

Campaigning work.

He has also been involved in direct action campaigning, most notably against British nuclear weapons on the River Clyde at Faslane, against the release of Genetically modified organisms and motorway construction through the group Earth First!. He has been arrested at Faslane several times, as part of the CND 'Big Blockade', most recently in August 2004. He was involved in a long-running court case over the destruction of a field of rapeseed at the Roslin Institute near Dalkeith in 1999. [Although initially found guilty of "wilfully and recklessly" destroying plants belonging to Monsanto Company, all charges were quashed due to a delay in the hearing of the appeal, which Mr Ballard claimed was because the Crown was unable to provide relevant evidence.  He holds membership of a large number of organisations listed in his Register of Interest as Friends of the Earth, Sustrans, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Democratic Left Scotland, Reforesting Scotland, Water of Leith Conservation Trust, Friends of Inverleith Park, SSPCA, Advocates for Animals and Scottish Education and Action for Development. Until 2005 he was also an unpaid director of UK charity Seeds for Change, treasurer of the Scottish Environmental Festivals association and is on the editorial board of the Scottish Left Review, a bi-monthly cross-party journal of the Scottish left.

Rector of the University of Edinburgh.

In February 2006 he stood for election as Rector the University of Edinburgh standing against MP Boris Johnson, pro-Palestine journalist John Pilger and former "Scotsman" editor Magnus Linklater. The election received a high level of publicity mostly due to Boris Johnson's candidature.  The election took place on the 15/16 February 2006, with a turn out of almost 8000. A system of Single Transferable Vote was used. In the final round Mark Ballard received 3,597 votes against Magnus Linklater's 3,052 and was elected.  He was formally installed on 9 June 2006 in a ceremony in the University's Old College. Present at this ceremony were the Chancellor of the University, HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the University Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Timothy O'Shea, and Mark Ballard's predecessor as Rector, Labour MP Tam Dalyell. In this capacity he continues to work on issues of concern to students and university staff, including playing a prominent role in the movement which led to the complete abolishing of student tuition fees in Scotland in 2008.  He was succeeded as Rector in 2009 by journalist Iain Macwhirter, whose campaign drew on many of Ballard's supporters.

Mark Ballard (born 27 June 1971) is a former Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Lothians region between 2003 and 2007 representing the Scottish Green Party, was Lord Rector of the University of Edinburgh between 2006 and 2009, and co-convener of the Edinburgh Green Party from 2007–10. He now works for the children's charity Children 1st.

Mark Ballard (* 27. Juni 1971 in Leeds) ist ein schottischer Politiker und Mitglied der Scottish Green Party. In seiner Kindheit und Jugend verbrachte Ballard mehrere Jahre in Indien und Pakistan. Er besuchte die "Lawnswood Comprehensive School" in Leeds und ging dann an die Universität Edinburgh, wo er Wirtschaftslehre und Geschichte studierte. Er war dann für die "European Youth Forest Action" in Edinburgh und Amsterdam tätig. Zwischen 1998 und 2001 war Ballard Redakteur der Zeitschrift "Reforesting Scotland". 2006 wurde er zum 49. Rektor der Universität Edinburgh gewählt und behielt diese Position bis 2009.


History.

UFBA was created on April 8, 1946, through Decree-Law 9155. Earlier, the Federal University of Bahia was formed by the School of Medicine and their associated schools, Dentistry and Pharmacy, and the schools of Philosophy, Economics, Law beyond the Polytechnic School. The actual installation of the university took place on July 2, 1946, the oldest center of higher education in the country, the School of Medicine at the Shrine of Jesus.  Four years later, the Federal University of Bahia was federalized. On December 4, 1950, the government enacted the 2234 law setting the Federal System of Higher Education. Since then, the university has been called the Federal University of Bahia. The history of higher education in the state dates back to 1808 when, for determination of the Portuguese court, the first school of medical education in the country was established: the Medical School of Bahia.  This was followed by the Faculty of Pharmacy (1832), School of Fine Arts (1877), School of Law (1891), Polytechnique School (1897), School of Economics (1905), School of Philosophy, Sciences and Letters (1943), School of Librarianship (1942) that formed part of others since 1946.  From that date onwards, new courses were created to meet the scientific and cultural needs of society. The work was coordinated by Edgard Santos, dean of the university from 1946 to 1961.  During this period of activity, the following installations were added: the Central Teaching Hospital, the Schools of Architecture and Education, the School of Music and Scenic art, the School of Geology, the Institutes of Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Health Sciences, the Center for Afro-Oriental Studies and the Museum of Sacred art.

Student life.

The university has 57 undergraduate courses, 82 post-graduate courses and more than 100 postgraduate courses. UFBA is one of the first universities in Brazil, having locations throughout the capital of Bahia and one inside, in Vitória da Conquista (south-west).  In 2008, there were three campuses. The candidates per vacancy average was 6.2. The UFBA's Cooperation Agreements has 32 countries (such as the United States, Sweden, Argentina, South Africa, New Zealand, and others).

The Federal University of Bahia (, UFBA) is a public university located mainly in the city of Salvador. It is the largest university in the state of Bahia and one of Brazil's most prestigious educational institutions.

Die Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA) (deutsch: "Bundesuniversität von Bahia") ist eine brasilianische staatliche Universität in Salvador da Bahia. Sie wurde am 8. April 1946 gegründet. Die Universität, die fünftgrößte des Landes und die größte des Bundesstaates Bahia, gilt als eine der prestigeträchtigsten ganz Brasiliens sowie als beste Universität von Bahia. Angeboten werden 33 Master- und elf Doktoratsprogramme.


Name.

In Serbian, the town is known as Crvenka (Црвенка), in Hungarian as "Cservenka", and in German as "Tscherwenka" or "Rotweil". The name of the town is derived from the Serbian word "crveno"'red'.

History.

In prehistoric times, the region around Crvenka was covered by water because between the Danube River and Telečka Plateau there was a large lake, which was described by Roman historians as "Sweet Lake." At that time it was possible to travel by boat to the Fruška Gora mountains. In the city remains of prehistoric animals have been found, such as the mammoth. The region was most likely inhabited during the early Neolithic, when the region belonged to the Starčevo culture. Later the Celts settled in the area around Crvenka.  In the immediate vicinity, archaeological excavations have found objects from Celtic and Roman times, including urns and pottery, as well as Celtic and Roman coins. The Roman coins, known as Follis, depict Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, and some others originated from the Republic of Venice. From the middle of the 1st century to the 4th century, the region belonged to the dominion of the Iazyges, a nomadic tribe that belonged to the Sarmatians. Starting in the 5th century, Slavs settled in the region, and from the 9th century onward also Finno-Ugric people.  Crvenka was firstly mentioned in historical sources in the 16th century, during Ottoman administration. It was populated by ethnic Serbs and was part of the Sanjak of Segedin and of the Budin Eyalet. In the second half of the 17th century, this area was not populated.  At the end of the 17th century, the Bačka region was captured by the Habsburg Monarchy, and in the second half of the 18th century Crvenka was mentioned as a small settlement. It was colonized by Serbs, Hungarians, and Germans. Until the middle of the 19th century, the town was part of Bács-Bodrog County within the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary. In 1848–1849 it was part of the autonomous Serbian Vojvodina, and from 1849 to 1860 it was part of the Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar, a separate Habsburg crownland. After the abolition of the voivodeship in 1860, the town was again included in Bács-Bodrog County. According to 1910 census, most of the inhabitants of the town spoke German.  After 1918, the town was part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later renamed Yugoslavia). In 1918–1919, it was part of the Banat, Bačka and Baranja region, and also (from 1918 to 1922) part of Novi Sad County. From 1922 to 1929, it was part of the Bačka Oblast, and from 1929 to 1941 part of the Danube Banovina.  From 1941 to 1944, Crvenka was under Axis occupation and was attached to the Horthy's Hungary. In 1944, the Soviet Red Army and Yugoslav Partisans liberated Crvenka and it was included in the autonomous province of Vojvodina within the new communist Yugoslavia. After 1945, Vojvodina was part of the People's Republic of Serbia within Yugoslavia. At the end of World War II, the ethnic German population was expelled from Crvenka, which was then populated by 4,383 people, mostly Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. In 1948, these people comprised 63.7% of the population.

Demographics.

Ethnic groups.

In 2002 the population of Crvenka was 10,163 people, including:

Economy.

Crvenka is a small town with a very strong economy, especially industry and agriculture.  The most important companies in Crvenka include:

Sport.

Crvenka has a handball club named RK Crvenka. There is also a football team, FK Crvenka, with a long tradition. Crvenka has a chess club named "ŠK Miljo Vujović" and a karate club.

Crvenka () is a small town located in the municipality of Kula in the West Bačka District, Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town has a Serbian ethnic majority, and it had a population of 9,001 in 2011.

Crvenka (, deutsch Tscherwenka / Rotweil, ungarisch Cservenka) ist eine serbische Kleinstadt in der Opština Kula im Okrug Zapadna Bačka in der Provinz Vojvodina. Der Ort wurde 1978 zur Stadt erhoben und hatte 2011 etwa 9.000 Einwohner. Die Stadt liegt am Großen Batschka-Kanal.


Personal life.

Robert was born in Kristiania to engineer Ole Christian Olstad and Helene Elisabet Svensson. He was married to actress Randi Brænne, and a brother-in-law of Berit Brænne. Originally born Olstad, his second name Robert was upgraded to surname after an initiative from Chat Noir manager Johan Henrik Wiers-Jenssen.

Career.

Robert made his stage debut at Carl Johan Teatret in 1939. From 1941 he performed at the revue stage Chat Noir, and then at Centralteatret from 1944 to 1958. He was assigned with the Nationaltheatret from 1958 yo 1962, and after a period at Oslo Nye Teater, again at Nationaltheatret from 1968 to 1988. At Nationaltheatret he played in comedies by Ludvig Holberg, Molière and Noël Coward. Among his Ibsen characters were "Krogstad" in "A Doll's House", "Manders" in "Ghosts", and "Begriffenfeldt" and "the button-molder" in "Peer Gynt". He was awarded the Norwegian Theatre Critics Award in 1974 for the character "Gustav" in Strindberg's "Creditors". He participated in thirteen films, including "Trine" from 1952, "På solsiden" from 1956, "Fjols til fjells" from 1957, "Freske fraspark" from 1963, and several of the "Olsenbanden" movies. He played the title role in the Norwegian version of the audio play series "Dickie Dick Dickens", aired by Radioteatret. He voiced the pupped character "Reodor Felgen" in "The Pinchcliffe Grand Prix" from 1975. Among his song recordings are "På sykkeltur" from 1954, Thorbjørn Egner's children song "Bamsens Fødselsdag" from 1952, and Finn Bø's revue song "Gutten som har vaska seg".

Frank Robert (né Frank Robert Olstad; 12 October 1918 – 13 July 2007) was a Norwegian singer, dancer and actor. He is particularly remembered for playing the title character in the popular audio play "Dickie Dick Dickens".

Frank-Robert Olstad, hauptsächlich bekannt unter seinen Künstlernamen Frank Robert, (* 12. Oktober 1918 in Kristiania; † 13. Juli 2007 in Oslo) war ein norwegischer Schauspieler, Sänger und Tänzer.


Synthesis.

Classically, periodate was most commonly produced in the form of sodium hydrogen periodate (NaHIO). This is commercially available, but can also be produced by the oxidation of iodates with chlorine and sodium hydroxide. Or, similarly, from iodides by oxidation with bromine and sodium hydroxide:  Modern industrial scale production involves the electrochemical oxidation of iodates, on a PbO anode, with the following standard electrode potential:  Metaperiodates are typically prepared by the dehydration of sodium hydrogen periodate with nitric acid, or by dehydrating orthoperiodic acid by heating it to 100 °C under vacuum.  They can also be generated directly from iodates by treatment with other strong oxidizing agents such as hypochlorites:

Forms and interconversion.

Periodate can exist in a variety of forms in aqueous media, with pH being a controlling factor. Orthoperiodate has a number of acid dissociation constants.  The ortho- and metaperiodate forms also exist in equilibrium.  For this reason orthoperiodate is sometimes referred to as the dihydrate of metaperiodate, written ; however, this description is not strictly accurate as X-ray crystallography of HIO shows 5 equivalent I–OH groups.  At extremes of pH additional species can form. Under basic conditions a dehydration reaction can take place to form the diperiodate (sometimes referred to as mesoperiodate).  Under strongly acid conditions periodic acid can be protonated to give the "orthoperiodonium" cation.

Structure and bonding.

In both the ortho- and metaperiodate the iodine is hypervalent, as it forms more bonds than would classically be allowed. This has been explained in terms of dative bonds, confirming the absence of double bonding in these molecules.  Exact structures vary depending on counter ions, however on average orthoperiodates adopt a slightly deformed octahedral geometry with X-ray diffraction showing I–O bond lengths of 1.89 Å. Metaperiodates adopt a distorted tetrahedral geometry with an average I–O distance of 1.78 Å.

Reactions.

Cleavage reactions.

Periodates can cleave carbon–carbon bonds on a variety of 1,2-difunctionalised alkanes. The most common example of this is diol cleavage, which was also the first to be discovered (Malaprade reaction). In addition to diols, periodates can cleave 1,2-hydroxy ketones, 1,2-diketones, α-keto acids, α-hydroxy acids, amino acids, 1,2-amino alcohols, 1,2-diamines, and epoxides to give aldehydes, ketones, and carboxylic acids.  Alkenes can also be oxidised and cleaved in the Lemieux–Johnson oxidation. This uses a catalytic loading of osmium tetroxide which is regenerated in situ by the periodate. The overall process is equivalent to that of ozonolysis.  Cleavage reactions proceed via a cyclic intermediate called a periodate ester. The formation of this may be affected by pH and temperature but is most strongly effected by the geometry of the substrate, with "cis"-diols reacting significantly faster than "trans"-diols. The reactions are exothermic and are typically performed at 0 °C. As periodate salts are only readily soluble in water reactions are generally performed in aqueous media. Where solubility is an issue periodic acid may be used, as this is soluble in alcohols; phase transfer catalysts are also effective in biphasic reaction mixtures. In extreme cases the periodate may be exchanged for lead tetraacetate which reacts in a similar manner and is soluble in organic solvents (Criegee oxidation).  Periodate cleavage is often utilized in molecular biochemistry for the purposes of modifying saccharide rings, as many five- and six-membered sugars have vicinal diols. Historically it was also used to determine the structure of monosaccharides.  Periodate cleavage may be performed on an industrial scale to form dialdehyde starch which has uses in paper production.

Oxidation reactions.

Periodates are powerful oxidising agents. They can oxidise catechol to 1,2-benzoquinone and hydroquinone to 1,4-benzoquinone. Sulfides can be effectively oxidised to sulfoxides. Periodates are sufficiently powerful to generate other strong inorganic oxidisers such as permanganate, osmium tetroxide and ruthenium tetroxide.

Niche uses.

Periodates are highly selective etchants for certain ruthenium-based oxides.  Several staining agents use in microscopy are based around periodate (e.g. periodic acid–Schiff stain and Jones' stain)  Periodates have also been used as oxidising agents for use in pyrotechnics. In 2013 the US Army announced that it would replace the environmentally harmful chemicals barium nitrate and potassium perchlorate with sodium metaperiodate for use in their tracer ammunition.

Other oxyanions.

Periodate is part of a series of oxyanions in which iodine can assume oxidation states of −1, +1, +3, +5, or +7. A number of neutral iodine oxides are also known.

Periodate is an anion composed of iodine and oxygen. It is one of a number of oxyanions of iodine and is the highest in the series, with iodine existing in oxidation state +7. Unlike other perhalogenates, such as perchlorate, it can exist in two forms: metaperiodate and orthoperiodate. In this regard it is comparable to the tellurate ion from the adjacent group. It can combine with a number of counter ions to form periodates, which may also be regarded as the salts of periodic acid.

Periodate sind die Salze verschiedener Periodsäuren; je nach Säure wird zwischen Orthoperiodaten (IO), Metaperiodaten (IO), Dimesoperiodaten (IO) und Mesoperiodaten (IO) unterschieden.


History.

Russian Empire.

On, the Decree on the Opening of the Imperial University in Kharkov came into force. The university became the second university in the south of the Russian Empire. It was founded on the initiative of the local community with Vasily Karazin at the fore, whose idea was supported by the nobility and the local authorities. Count Seweryn Potocki was appointed the first supervisor of the university, the first rector being the philologist and philosopher Ivan Rizhsky.  In 1811, the Philotechnical Society was founded, while the Mathematical Society of Kharkiv, the Historical and Philological Society of Kharkiv, the Naturalists Society, Societies of Physics, Chemistry, Law, among others, were established in the second half of the 19th century. The first periodicals in Slobozhanshchyna appear in the university around this time, including "Kharkovski Ezhenedelnik" (1812), "Ukrainski Vestnik" (1816–1819), "Ukrainski Zhurnal" (1824–1825), etc.  In 1839, a veterinary school, which in 1851 became an independent institute, was established at the university. By this time, the campus included laboratories, clinics, an astronomical observatory, a botanical garden and a library.  Previously, the university was autonomous with rectors being elected. However, from 1820 to 1850, all its activity was strictly controlled. Rectors were appointed by the Minister of Education, while scientific publications and academic processes were censored.  In 1863, under a new Statute, the university became partly autonomous.  The university has been publishing "Scientific Notes" since 1874.  From the 19th century up to the early 20th century, the University of Kharkiv had four schools: School of Physics and Mathematics, School of History and Philology, School of Medicine, School of Law.  The university exerted great influence on school-life in Slobozhanshchyna in the first period of its existence, largely from 1805 to 1835.

USSR.

From 1917 to 1920, there was a struggle between advocates of the Ukrainian statehood and Russian course. Some of the professors who opposed new political realities left. Most of the Ukrainian professors remained in Kharkiv. They continued working in the institutions founded by the Soviet government: the Academy of Theoretical Knowledge (1920–1921), Kharkiv Institute of Public Education (KhIPE, 1921–1930), Kharkiv Institute of National Economy, Institute of Physics and Chemistry, and Institute of Law. Kharkiv State University, consisting of seven schools — School of Physics and Mathematics, School of Chemistry, School of Biology, School of Geology and Geography, School of Literature and Linguistics (with Department of Philosophy), and School of Economy (with Department of Economic Geography) — was restored on their basis in 1932–1933.  In 1921, Kharkiv Medical Institute was founded based on the School of Medicine of the University of Kharkiv.  In 1936, the university was named after the late Russian writer Maxim Gorky (though he was not related to the university during his life). During the German-Soviet war, it was evacuated to the city of Kizilord in Kazakhstan, where it merged with the to form the United Ukrainian State University. In 1943/44, the university returned to Kharkiv (the first academic year after the liberation of the city on November 1, 1943). In 1951, 800 university students suffered from persecution after they refused to pass exams in Russian. Court trials were held behind closed doors.  In 1977, the following schools were operating in the university: School of Mechanics and Mathematics, School of Physics, School of Geology and Geography, School of Economy, School of History, School of Philology, School of Foreign Languages, School of General Sciences, School of Correspondence Learning, and Night School.

Independent Ukraine.

On 11 October 1999, Leonid Kuchma, the President of Ukraine issued a decree, in which he, "taking into consideration considerable contribution that Kharkiv State University made to training qualified specialists and to development of science" granted the status of a national university and named it after its founder, Vasyl Karazin.  In 2004, the university was given a twin building (the former Govorov Academy), opposite Svobody Square.

Ranking.

Under the Soviet Union, the University of Kharkiv was decorated the Order of the Red Banner of Labour, the Order of the October Revolution and the Order of Peoples' Friendship.  Kharkiv National University holds the second place in Ukraine in volume of publications and citations in scientific database Scopus and the Hirsch index, with the best academic results in the School of Medicine and School of Biology.  In 2019, according to QS World University Rankings, it is the best university in Ukraine and 410th university in the world.

The Karazin University () or officially V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University () is one of the major universities in Ukraine, and earlier in the Russian Empire and Soviet Union. It was founded in 1804 through the efforts of Vasily Karazin becoming the second oldest university in modern-day Ukraine after the University of Lviv.

Die Nationale W.-N.-Karasin-Universität Charkiw () in Charkiw ist mit etwa 12.000 Studenten und rund 1.300 Mitarbeitern eine der wichtigsten Universitäten in der Ukraine. Sie wurde 1804 auf Initiative von Wassyl Karasin gegründet und 1805 eröffnet. Sie ist die zweitälteste Universität in der Ukraine nach der Universität Lemberg.