Biography.

Early life and marriage plans.

Helena, possibly named after her great-grandmother Empress Helena Dragaš, was the eldest surviving child of Ivan III, Grand Prince of Moscow, and his second wife Sophia Palaiologina, niece of the last Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos. Helena was an older sister of Grand Prince of Moscow Vasili III of Russia. Little is known about Helena's childhood in Moscow, but it is known that she was literate and very attractive.  When Helena was eight, Jan Zabrzeziński and Ivan Yuryevich Patrikeyev discussed a marriage between Helena and one of the sons of the Polish King Casimir IV Jagiellon. At the time Poland was looking for allies in the Polish–Ottoman War (1484–1504), which broke out after the Ottomans captured Kiliya and Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, two major ports on the Black Sea. In 1489, Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, was looking for a Russian alliance in the Austrian–Hungarian War and against Polish claims to the Kingdom of Hungary, which were based on inheritance of Polish queen Elizabeth of Austria. The Emperor proposed to have Helena and her younger sister Theodosia marry into his family, but Ivan III refused and instead suggested the Emperor's widowed son Maximilian I. The Emperor entertained the proposal, but did not take it too seriously. At the same time Sophia's brother Andreas Palaiologos in consultation with Filippo Buonaccorsi advised her to seek an alliance with Poland. Nevertheless, an alliance between the Emperor and Moscow without a marriage agreement was concluded in August 1490. The alliance lost its relevance after the Peace of Pressburg (1491) and further proposals to marry Helena off to Maximilian or his son Philip did not gain much support.  In August 1492, shortly after the death of Polish King Casimir IV Jagiellon, Ivan III of Russia attacked the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, launching what would become a series of Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars. John I Albert became King of Poland while Alexander Jagiellon became Grand Duke of Lithuania. The Muscovite army was successful and a peace with Moscow, guaranteed by a marriage between Alexander and Helena, became a priority for Lithuania. An "eternal" peace treaty was concluded on February 5, 1494. The agreement marked the first Lithuanian territorial losses to Moscow: the Principality of Vyazma and a sizable region in the upper reaches of the Oka River – the lost area was estimated to be approximately. A day after the official confirmation of the treaty, Alexander Jagiellon was betrothed to Helena (the role of the groom was performed by Stanislovas Kęsgaila).

Uncrowned Grand Duchess of Lithuania.

Helena's Orthodox faith created a number of complications. Alexander had to receive a special permission from Pope Alexander VI to marry a non-Catholic and sign a formal agreement with Ivan III in October 1494 that Helena would not be forced to convert. Alexander wanted to add that if she wished so herself, Helena could convert, but Ivan III adamantly rejected the amendment. Ivan III left Helena with detailed instructions on how to behave, whom to invite for lunch, where to pray (she was prohibited from visiting Catholic churches). Ivan III also requested that Alexander would build an Orthodox church in Vilnius Castle Complex. In January 1495, Helena, accompanied by eighty nobles and servants, departed Moscow towards Vilnius. She reached Vilnius on February 15, 1495, and the same day the couple was married. The marriage ceremony was a complex combination of Catholic and Orthodox traditions. Helena prayed and prepared in the Cathedral of the Theotokos before moving to Vilnius Cathedral. She was dressed in a traditional Russian wedding dress. The wedding ceremony was officiated by Catholic Wojciech Tabor, Bishop of Vilnius, and Orthodox Foma, priest who accompanied Helena from Moscow. Reportedly Helena did not bring much dowry (jewelry, three icons, silver and gilded dishes, expensive fabrics, furs, a carriage with horses) and Alexander did not gift her with lands after the wedding (he did so only in August 1501).  In Vilnius, Helena faced a delicate political situation. For example, it seems that Queen Elisabeth of Habsburg was purposefully late to her son's wedding and kept pressuring her schismatic daughter-in-law to convert. Helena refused and Elisabeth left insulted and angry not only with Helena but with Alexander as well. On one hand, Helena wanted to avoid a conflict with Catholic nobility and clergy, on the other she had to obey her father. Ivan III sent her secret letters with political instructions, but she did not get involved in her father's political intrigues and was loyal and obedient to her husband. She made donations to Orthodox Holy Spirit Church and Monastery in Vilnius, a church in Minsk, and Supraśl Lavra, but did not make any grand gestures in support of Orthodoxy. She did not protest when in May 1495 her Russian servants were sent back to Moscow on suspicion that they might be Russian agents and spies. Even in daily life the couple faced struggles. For example, when they traveled, Alexander would enter a city alone as it was customary to go to a church after the official reception; Helena would enter the city few hours later. Despite political and religious tensions, the marriage was a loving one and the royal couple remained close. It seems that Helena was pregnant twice (in 1497 and 1499), but both pregnancies ended in miscarriages. Some historians see Helena's influence in Alexander's 1497 donation to the St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kiev, 1499 economic and judiciary privilege to Orthodox clergy, and 1504 religious freedom guarantee to Orthodox peasants, however that is doubtful as Helena was passive in politics and tried to avoid conflicts.  Around 1498, Joseph Bolharynovich, Metropolitan of Kiev, and Wojciech Tabor, Bishop of Vilnius, attempted to persuade Helena to support a church union as it was envisioned at the Council of Florence – the Orthodoxs would retain their traditions, but would accept the pope as their spiritual sovereign. Helena refused, but Ivan III used it as one of "casus belli" when he renewed the war with Lithuania in May 1500. At the time Poland, Lithuania's ally, was engaged in the Polish–Ottoman War (1484–1504) and could not offer assistance. The Muscovite army scored victories in the Battles of Vedrosha and Mstislavl and captured several Lithuanian fortresses.

Uncrowned Queen of Poland.

Helena's situation became further complicated when John I Albert died in June 1501 and Alexander was elected as the new King of Poland in October 1501. The Polish nobility did not want an Orthodox queen and pressured her to convert. Polish nobles, including Bishop Erazm Ciołek and Cardinal Fryderyk Jagiellończyk, discussed the issue of royal divorce. From Pope Alexander VI they obtained Alexander's absolution from his marital oath and duties to Helena as well as from the promise to Ivan III not to force Helena to convert. The pope went further and ordered Alexander to put effort in convincing Helena to convert. Despite their efforts, Helena did not convert and the royal couple remained close. When Kraków priests insulted Helena when she had an Orthodox service in one of the chapels of the Wawel Cathedral, Alexander wrote to his brother Fryderyk Jagiellończyk asking to discipline the priests. Alexander even gifted land near Minsk and Mogilev to Helena to assure her financial independence. Alexander was crowned as King of Poland in December 1501; as an adherent to the Eastern Orthodox beliefs, Helena was ineligible to become Queen of Poland and was never crowned. Officially she was only "wife of Grand Duke of Lithuania" but she referred to herself as queen. Alexander obtained a rescission of Pope Alexander's orders to convert her to Catholicism from Pope Julius II in August 1505.  Peace negotiations between Lithuania and Moscow began in mid-1502. Helena was not directly involved in the negotiations. In March 1503, Lithuanian envoys brought her letters to various family members to Moscow. Her passionate plea to Ivan III to end the war and bring peace is often cited as proof of her intelligence and devotion to her Lithuanian subjects, but the letter could be a product of Lithuanian diplomats. Ivan III replied scolding his daughter. Nevertheless, a six-year truce was concluded; the Grand Duchy of Lithuania lost about or a third of its territory.  In June 1505, Alexander suffered a stroke which paralyzed his left side. During summer his health improved enough to allow him to ride a horse. In October 1505, Helena's father Ivan III died leaving her brother Vasili III on the Russian throne. The tension between Lithuania and Moscow lessened as the new Grand Prince wanted to consolidate his power without starting another war. In spring 1506, Alexander's health deteriorated after an exhausting journey from Lublin to Vilnius and an inappropriate medical treatments. Despite his worsening condition, Alexander called Seimas in Lida so that he could transfer the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to his brother Sigismund I the Old. In Lida, Alexander wrote his last will asking Sigismund to take good care of Helena. The Seimas was interrupted by the news of an invasion by the Crimean Khanate. The King was hastily evacuated to Vilnius, further weakening his health, while Michael Glinski organized defense and won the Battle of Kletsk.

Widow.

Alexander died on August 19, 1506. Helena was thirty and without children. She wanted to return to Moscow, but marshal Wojciech Kłoczko and other nobles forced her to stay in Vilnius. Helena's brother Vasili III attempted to use her influence in an unsuccessful bid to become King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, but Helena refused to interfere. The relationship between Helena and her brother-in-law Sigismund I the Old seems to have been cold but polite. She continued to live in Vilnius Castle Complex and was granted further lands in Brańsk and Suraż in January 1507. The Muscovite–Lithuanian War resumed in April 1507. Helena and her treatment once again was at the center of political intrigues. Vasili III, just like his father, claimed that Helena was being forced to convert and even claimed that Sigismund attempted to poison Helena. Rumors circulated that Helena aided rebellious Michael Glinski who defected to Moscow, but the charge lacks proof. However, the war ended in October 1508.  In 1511, Helena expressed her wishes to return to Moscow, but Sigismund would not allow it. The relationship between Lithuania and Moscow remained tense. Sigismund and his advisers were afraid that Helena could provide valuable intelligence to Vasili III. Also, Helena led a rather frugal lifestyle and amassed substantial wealth. Sigismund wanted that money to remain in Lithuania rather than be taken to Moscow where it could be used to finance the Muscovite army. He also did not want additional complications of Helena transferring her Lithuanian landholdings to a Russian prince. Helena decided to return to Moscow in secret. She left her money – fourteen large boxes of gold, silver and jewels – to a Franciscan monastery in Vilnius. The plan was for her to meet Vasili's men in Braslaw, which belonged to her and was located on the Lithuania–Russia border. The plan was divulged by a servant and the Franciscans refused to ship the boxes. Helena was arrested and held in Trakai and later Birštonas.  Such treatment of the widow angered her brother Vasili III. Sigismund replied that Helena was not arrested, but simply warned that living near the unstable border was unsafe. The situation became a pretext for another war between Lithuania and Moscow. In 1513, Helena reached Braslaw and died there suddenly. According to a rumor, she was poisoned by Mikołaj Radziwiłł. It is unknown what happened to Helena's money she left with the Franciscans as there is no record that Sigismund, who was relieved to hear about her death, inherited it. Historians proposed a theory that Helena was murdered by Radziwiłł to steal the money, but it cannot be proven. Vasili III demanded Helena's assets, both money and land, from Sigismund and investigated her death.  She was buried in the Cathedral of the Theotokos in Vilnius.

Helena Ivanovna of Moscow (; ; ; 19 May 1476 – 20 January 1513) was daughter of Ivan III the Great, Grand Prince of Moscow, and an uncrowned Grand Duchess of Lithuania and Queen of Poland as she would not convert from Eastern Orthodoxy to Catholicism. Her childless marriage to Grand Duke of Lithuania and later King of Poland Alexander Jagiellon was a constant source of tension between the Grand Duchy of Moscow and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Instead of guaranteeing peace, Helena's marriage gave her father Ivan III an excuse to interfere in Lithuanian affairs accusing Alexander of mistreating Helena and repressing Orthodox believers. This became the pretext to renew the Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars in 1500. The war ended with a six-year truce in 1503; the Grand Duchy of Lithuania lost about a third of its territory. Despite political tensions and religious differences, the marriage was a loving one and the royal couple was close. After her husband's death in 1506, Helena wanted to return to Moscow but was not allowed. When she planned to run away, she was arrested and reportedly poisoned.

Helena von Moskau (polnisch "Helena Iwanowna Moskiewska", ; * 19. Mai 1476 in Moskau; † 20. Januar 1513 in Vilnius) war ab 1495 durch Heirat Großfürstin von Litauen und ab 1501 Titularkönigin von Polen aus der Dynastie der Rurikiden. Da sie nicht zum katholischen Glauben konvertierte, durfte sie nach dem polnischen Recht nicht zur Königin gekrönt werden.


Career.

Born in Quebec City, Klineberg was raised in Montreal. He obtained a Bachelor's degree from McGill University in 1919, a Master's degree in philosophy from Harvard University in 1920, a medical degree from McGill in 1925 and a Ph.D. in psychology from Columbia University in 1927. He remained at Columbia as chairman of the newly created department of social psychology. There, he was influenced by Franz Boas, a German anthropologist who created the cultural anthropology doctoral program at Columbia.  In 1929, he began research about the psychological differences between African Americans and Native Americans, which, though controversial at the time, helped to correct prior beliefs of race-based inferiority. Klineberg's research focused greatly on race problems, minorities, immigrants, nationality, and other topics related to culture and personality. In 1931, his views that there was no scientific basis for racial superiority was controversial.  He married Selma Gintzler in 1933, with whom he had a daughter and two sons. Klineberg was a polyglot and spoke English, German, Chinese in addition to the major Romance Languages.  In the 1950s and early 1960s, Klineberg held a senior post in the social sciences in UNESCO. He helped found the International Social Science Council and the International Union of Psychological Science, on which he served on the executive committee (1951–1969), as secretary-general (1955–1960) and as president (1960–1963).  From 1961 to 1982 he was professor at the University of Paris, where he directed the International Center for Intergroup Relations until 1982.  In 1963 Klineberg was president of the 17th International Congress of Psychology, held in Washington DC. He was also president of the World Federation for Mental Health, the Inter-America Society of Psychology, the Eastern Psychological Association of the United States and the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues.  On his retirement to Manhattan in 1982, he taught part-time at the City University of New York until 1990. He died following a brief period of Parkinson's disease.

Otto Klineberg (2 November 1899, in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada – 6 March 1992, in Bethesda, Maryland) was a Canadian born psychologist. He held professorships in social psychology at Columbia University and the University of Paris. His pioneering work in the 1930s on the intelligence of white and black students in the United States and his evidence as an expert witness in Delaware were instrumental in winning the Supreme Court school segregation case "Brown v. Board of Education" in 1954. Through his work in UNESCO and elsewhere, he helped to promote psychology internationally.

Otto Klineberg (* 2. November 1899 in Québec; † 6. März 1992 in Bethesda, Maryland) war ein kanadischer Sozialpsychologe, der sich mit Rassenfragen und Fragen des Nationalcharakters beschäftigte. Er führte Cross-cultural-Studien zum menschlichen Verhalten durch und gilt als einer der Gründerväter der modernen Sozialpsychologie.


Premise.

Joyce Hazeldine and her policeman husband Jeremy move to what seems to be an idyllic home counties town of Little Stempington from London. She soon discovers there are two rival gangs of housewives, one headed by Camilla Diamond and one by Barbara Du Prez.  Once very good friends, Camilla and Barbara originally turned to weaponry and intimidation as a way of dealing with crime and antisocial behaviour, and gathered a small group of local women to help further their cause, but the group splintered into two smaller gangs when Camilla grew greedy and used their increased clout for her own personal gain, dealing in extortion, racketeering, coercion and threats to local businesses and residents of the town.  Barbara's gang continues to take extreme action against perceived 'threats to Little Stempington life' (planned low-cost housing, teenagers wearing hoodies, etc.), while also working tirelessly against Camilla's gang. Timid Joyce, unfortunately, becomes a pawn in both gangs, enlisted by Barbara to work undercover as a way of getting closer to Camilla.  The plot later thickens with Camilla racketeering the local recreational drugs market with 8 times strength HRT patches from their contacts in Marseille (hence the twinning with Marseille in the town sign).

American remakes.

In 2008, HBO commissioned a pilot episode of a U.S. version of "Suburban Shootout". The script was written by Michelle Ashford, the episode directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and filmed in the Hamptons, Long Island, NY in September 2008. The cast included Kelly Preston as Camilla Diamond, Judy Greer, Mary Birdsong, Kerri Kenney-Silver, and Rachael Harris The pilot was not picked up to series and never aired.  ABC have commissioned a separate pilot script, also an adaptation of the UK series, this time written by Byron Balasco in the format of a one-hour comedy-drama series. It remains to be seen if the script will be sent to pilot.

Suburban Shootout is a British satirical black comedy television series produced for Channel 5 and Paramount Comedy by Feelgood Fiction in association with Oxygen. The first series aired in the UK on Channel 5 from 27 April 2006. It began airing in the United States on 22 March 2006 on Oxygen and in Germany on Comedy Central in 2007. The second series began on Channel 5 on 6 September 2007.

Suburban Shootout – Die Waffen der Frauen ist eine satirische Comedyserie aus England. Die Serie wird von Feelgood Productions in Zusammenarbeit mit Oxygen und Paramount Comedy produziert. Es wurden zwei Staffeln produziert und zuerst im britischen Sender Channel Five ausgestrahlt. Die erste Staffel besteht aus acht Episoden à 30 Minuten und wurde 2006 gesendet, die zweite Staffel hat sechs Folgen mit jeweils 30 Minuten Laufzeit, die aber auf Five 2007 in drei Folgen à 60 Minuten gezeigt wurde.


Career.

Ware taught himself to play banjo and bass. In the 1940s, he worked with Stuff Smith, Sonny Stitt, and Roy Eldridge. He recorded with Sun Ra in the early 1950s. Later in the 1950s, settling in New York City, Ware played with Eddie Vinson, Art Blakey, and Buddy DeFranco. His only album recorded as a leader during his lifetime was "The Chicago Sound", from 1957 when he worked for Riverside. He made jazz instructional albums for Music Minus One. In 1958, Ware was one of 57 jazz musicians to appear in the photograph A Great Day in Harlem.  Ware was a member of the Thelonious Monk quartet from 1957 to 1958. He also performed with the Sonny Rollins Trio live at the Village Vanguard.  Narcotics addiction resulted in his return to Chicago in 1963 and a period of incarceration. He was inactive musically for about six years. In 1969, Ware played with Clifford Jordan, Elvin Jones and Sonny Rollins. He died from emphysema in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1979.

Discography.

As sideman.

With Art Blakey  With Tina Brooks  With Sonny Clark  With Walt Dickerson  With Kenny Dorham  With Kenny Drew  With Matthew Gee  With Grant Green  With Johnny Griffin  With Ernie Henry  With Clifford Jordan  With Herbie Mann  With Blue Mitchell  With Thelonious Monk  With J. R. Monterose  With Lee Morgan  With Cecil Payne  With Rita Reys  With Sonny Rollins  With Zoot Sims  With Toots Thielemans

Wilbur Bernard Ware (September 8, 1923 – September 9, 1979) was an American jazz double bassist. He was a staff bassist at Riverside in the 1950s, recording with J.R. Monterose, Toots Thielemans, Tina Brooks, Zoot Sims, and Grant Green.

Wilbur Bernard Ware (* 8. September 1923 in Chicago; † 9. September 1979 in Philadelphia) war ein amerikanischer Jazz-Bassist. Wilbur Ware gehört zu den wichtigen Erneuerern des Bass-Spiels der 1950er Jahre. Seine Vorbilder waren Jimmy Blanton und Israel Crosby. Er begleitete unter anderem Thelonious Monk und Sonny Rollins.


History.

Kiva was founded in October 2005 by Matt Flannery and Jessica Jackley. The couple's initial interest in microfinance was inspired by a 2003 lecture given by Grameen Bank's Muhammad Yunus at Stanford Business School. Jessica Jackley worked at the school and invited Matt Flannery to attend the presentation; this was the first time Flannery had heard of microfinance, but it served as a "call to action" for Jackley. Soon after, Jackley began working as a consultant for the nonprofit Village Enterprise, which worked to help start small businesses in East Africa. While Flannery was visiting Jackley in Africa, the two spent time interviewing entrepreneurs about the problems they faced in starting ventures and found the lack of access to start-up capital was a common theme. After returning from Africa, the two began developing their plan for a microfinance project that would grow into Kiva, which means "unity" in Swahili.  In April 2005, Kiva's first seven loans were funded, totaling $3,500, and the original entrepreneurs were subsequently deemed the "Dream Team." By September 2005, the entrepreneurs repaid the entirety of their original loans, and the founders realized they had developed a sustainable microcredit concept. After the success of Kiva's initial stage, Flannery and Jackley founded Kiva as a non-profit. In 2006, notable entrepreneurs and businessmen joined Kiva's staff, including Premal Shah from PayPal and Reid Hoffman, CEO and founder of LinkedIn. Shortly after its first anniversary in October 2006, Kiva reached $1 million in facilitated loans and acquired its twentieth field partner. To the present day, Kiva has continued to grow and expand its field partners while acquiring support from the media and the public.

Lending process.

Kiva works with more than 300 microfinance institutions, social impact businesses, schools and non-profit organizations around the world, called "Field Partners," that post profiles of qualified local entrepreneurs on the Kiva website. Lenders browse borrower profiles on kiva.org and choose an entrepreneur they wish to fund. The lenders transfer their funds to Kiva through credit card processing or PayPal, which waives its transaction fee in these cases. Lenders can loan money in increments of $25.  After receiving lenders' money, Kiva aggregates loan capital from the individual lenders and transfers it to the appropriate Field Partners, which disburse the loan to the borrower. Kiva does not charge interest on the capital sent to Field Partners, but often Field Partners do charge some level of interest to borrowers to cover administration costs. Interest is typically higher on loans from microfinance institutions in developing countries than interest rates on larger loans in developed countries because of the administrative costs of overseeing many tiny loans, and the increased risk. As the entrepreneurs repay their loans with interest, the Field Partners remit funds back to Kiva. As the loan is repaid, the Kiva lenders can withdraw their principal or re-lend it to another entrepreneur.

Finances.

As of March 15, 2016, Kiva had distributed $827,356,850 in loans from 1,394,336 lenders to 1,928,760 borrowers, and a total of 1,036,558 loans had been funded through Kiva. The average loan size is $411.26, and the average Kiva user has made 10.17 loans. Kiva's current repayment rate for all its partners is 97.1%. According to Alexa: The Web Information Company, Kiva's website ranks in the top 15,000 of all websites worldwide and ranks in the top 5,000 for the United States.  For the fiscal year 2012, Kiva made $15,632,786 in total revenue and had $12,482,528 in total expenses, leaving $3,150,258 to invest. The organization's net assets in 2012 totaled $16,248,638. Kiva itself does not charge interest on its loans; they supply capital to microfinancing institutions for free. These microfinancing institutions then lend out money with high interest compared to bank finance in mature markets, averaging a portfolio yield of over 30%. The organization's main sources of funding are grants, financial backing, and discounted services from many major national corporations and institutions. Chevron Corporation, Visa Inc., and Skoll Foundation awarded Kiva a two-year $1 million grant, $1.5 million grant, and $1 million grant respectively. Kiva also won a $1 million grant in Sam's Club's "Giving Made Simple" campaign and $500,000 in American Express's "Take Part" competition. Additionally, Omidyar Network awarded Kiva a $5 million grant over 5 years to help Kiva expand its field partners and support due diligence.

Management.

In 2015, the non-profit employed seventeen persons with salaries totaling more than $100,000. The average salary at Kiva is $80,768.

Areas of work and loan use.

Female-owned businesses.

As of October 2017, 81% of Kiva's loans have been made to women. Kiva emphasizes supporting women because women can gain the most from microcredit. Patriarchy and a strict division of labor still dominate the societies of many developing countries, and women often suffer the most from poverty because scarce resources are often allocated to a family's males, rather than its females.  In their non-fiction book "Half the Sky", Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn highlight Kiva's work along with that of some field partner organizations, such as the Kashf Foundation in Pakistan. With microloans, women gain spending power and spend less on instant gratification vices like alcohol and drugs. With extra income, they are able to educate their children, renovate their residences, or buy modern technologies and medicines. Along with economic power, a woman with a microloan often gains more independence and respect from her husband. Kristof and WuDunn note that microfinance can be a risky path out of poverty. "[Paying back the loan with interest] is fine when the money is pumped into a profitable new business, but if the money isn't invested soundly, then the borrowers become trapped in mounting debts." Nonetheless, the authors endorse Kiva and similar microfinance efforts, writing that "microfinance has done more to bolster the status of women, and to protect them from abuse, than any laws could accomplish."

Green loans.

In 2011, Kiva added a new category of loans to help borrowers move to cleaner and safer forms of energy, green agriculture, transport and recycling. Green Kiva loans help fund solar panels, organic fertilizers, high-efficiency stoves, drip irrigation systems, and biofuels. As of December 2013, Kiva lenders had crowd-funded 4,600 green loans.

Support for higher education.

Getting access to university and graduate level education is extremely difficult for poor students in developing countries. Outside of the United States and a few other wealthy industrialized countries, student loans are rare, leaving families without substantial savings, and with few options. As of 2007, in low income countries only 7% of the population received university or graduate level education.  Higher education has been shown to play a significant role in developing a country, and UNESCO reports that "higher education makes a significant contribution to reduction in absolute as well as relative poverty,"  In 2010, Kiva began a Student Microloans program that allowed lenders to help support students seeking access to higher education. Student loans are funded with the same crowd-funding approach, and typically students have 1–3 years to pay back their loans.  In 2014, the education offerings on Kiva expanded greatly when the organization began a deeper partnership with Vittana. Vittana works on the ground in countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, developing loan alternatives for low-income students. Through the partnership, all loans sourced by Vittana now appear on Kiva for funding.

Medical loans.

Some Kiva field partners, such as Alivio Capital, specialize in funding medical loans. Others may fund medical loans as well as other loans. A development scholar in Ghana has suggested that microfinance medical loans can be an effective way to close the gap in medical care access in developing countries.

Support for refugees.

In July 2017, Kiva launched a World Refugee Fund, a $250,000 matching fund to provide support to refugees and host communities in countries including Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey. As refugees repay the loans, they build a track record in their new locations. The fund is to be followed by a rotating fund of up to $9M in loan capital.

Other Kiva programs.

Kiva U.S..

In 2011, Kiva launched Kiva U.S., a 0% interest peer-to-peer lending pilot program for entrepreneurs in the United States, as part of efforts to "cut lending costs through technology." The loans posted to Kiva U.S. are often from borrowers who have been rejected for loans by traditional banking institutions, but on Kiva U.S. they don't need to be able to produce high credit scores or collateral. Kiva U.S. uses a system of trustees, who vouch for the borrowers. Kiva U.S. trustees can be local non-profits, service organizations, businesses, faith organizations or community leaders.  The average loan size for US borrowers is $5,000. US borrowers average about two years to repay loans.

Kiva Labs.

Google awarded a $3 million Global Impact Award to Kiva in 2013 to fund the Kiva Labs project, which looks for ways to increase the flexibility and impact of microfinance. Labs initiatives include lowering interest rates, providing more flexible repayment terms that accommodate issues like seasonal profits in farming, and offering longer-term loans for investments like education. Labs also focuses on providing access to clean energy technology and using mobile technology in ways that will bridge the knowledge gap. At the time of the lab's launch, Kiva lenders had crowdfunded "132,000 agricultural loans; 4,600 green loans, and 670 mobile tech loans."

Kiva City.

Kiva City provides local business owners and entrepreneurs in U.S. cities with the opportunity to crowdsource loans. It was launched by Kiva and former US President Bill Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative America conference in Chicago in 2011. Kiva City locations include: Detroit, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Newark, Richmond, Little Rock, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Louisville, San Francisco, New York City, and Oakland.  In less than a year, the Kiva City programs in Richmond, Virginia, helped fund more than $100,000 in loans to local businesses.

Issues.

Interest rates.

As of November 2018, a total of 1,530,180 loans had been funded on Kiva. The following table shows these loans sorted according to interest rate. Some people, including microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus, argue that the interest rates of many microcredit institutions are unreasonably high. In his 2007 book he argues that microfinance institutions that charge more than 15% above their long-term operating costs should face penalties.  According to its web site, Kiva quotes interest rates as the "self reported average rate charged by the Field Partner to the entrepreneur." Kiva does not publish the interest rates charged for the individual loans funded through its website. However, it does publish the average "Portfolio Yield" of each of its field partners, as a way for prospective lenders to estimate the cost to the borrower of the loans they consider funding. The "Portfolio Yield" measures the average income earned from the field partner's outstanding loan portfolio. Some observers have pointed out that the "Portfolio Yield" measure is unreliable, and does not directly reflect the actual price that borrowers are paying for the loans.  Kiva defends the interest rates of its field partners, however, saying its field partners provide much better rates than local alternatives, but must charge what they do because "the costs of making a micro-loan in the developing world are higher versus larger loans in the West." Kiva itself does not keep any of the interest collected, but operates instead exclusively on donations.  For example, in 2009, micro-loans from Kiva partners in Guatemala averaged 23.16% for the equivalent of US$430 lent on average, comparable to the commercial BanRural rate of 24.5% for a loan of US$635. (For reference, the inflation rate for Guatemala typically varies between 5 and 10% and was just 0.62% in 2009).  The high interest rates inherent in the Kiva model have inspired several other online microlending services which aim to reduce the cost to borrowers. One example, United Prosperity, uses lender funds as security to leverage matching loan amounts from local banks, at lower interest rates than would otherwise be available to the borrowers. United Prosperity works with field partners in India and Sri Lanka.  Kiva itself launched a more direct peer-to-peer microlending platform, called Kiva Zip, in 2012. Kiva Zip transfers funds directly to borrowers without outsourcing disbursements and repayment collection to field partners. Instead, Kiva Zip partners with local institutions called Trustees, who vet loan applicants, provide mentorship, and may post profiles and updates on their behalf. Currently, Kiva Zip borrowers do not pay any interest or fees. Lenders are protected from currency risk but do not earn interest. Kiva Zip is considered an experimental platform, and offers loans in the United States and in Kenya. In the future, it hopes to expand to other locations. Kiva Zip's repayment rate is 89.4%.

Interest rates by field partner.

As of November 2018, there are a total of 332 field partners listed on the Kiva website and their status is as follows: 173 Active, 41 Inactive, 14 Paused, and 104 Experimental. In addition, 178 former field partners are listed as Closed.  The following table shows the "portfolio yield" of a sampling of field partners. "Portfolio yield" figures are calculated by dividing all interest and fees paid by borrowers to the field partner by the average loan portfolio of the field partner that given year. The figure provides a more accurate insight into the costs of borrowing because it includes fees associated with borrowing.

Pre-disbursement of funds.

When Kiva began, borrowers had to wait until their loans were funded on the Kiva website to receive the funds. Since then, the system has changed, so that loans are disbursed to borrowers before their stories are posted to Kiva's website. Disbursing loans sooner has a positive impact on the borrowers, who no longer need to wait weeks to receive their funding and can thus take advantage of time-sensitive business opportunities. This is disclosed on Kiva's site; each loan proposal states whether funds were pre-disbursed. Thus, lenders' loan funds are likely to go to borrowers other than those chosen by the lenders. However, since the pay-back behaviour of the specific borrower chosen by the lender "does" influence whether or not the lender gets their funds back (except when an MFI has chosen to cover for borrower defaults), there is at least some connection between the lender and the specific borrower. Whether lenders' preferences are used for lender preference trend analysis by any field partners or Kiva is not stated. Kiva's response has been to keep pre-disbursing but be clearer about the process.

Full-repayment frequency uncertainty.

Whether defaults are extremely low has been questioned on the ground that a field partner may pay Kiva for loans defaulted to the field partner in order to maintain the field partner's good credit with Kiva. Whether interest rates collected by field partners are enough to pay for significant defaults depends on local economic conditions for each field partner.

Controversial loans.

In 2008, Kiva featured the borrowing profile of a Peruvian woman asking for a loan to buy equipment for her cockfighting business. This sparked debate among the Kiva lending community about the principles of the organization, and many complained that the organization was promoting cruelty to animals. Matt Flannery responded to the debate by providing an overview of the legal issues surrounding the debate, and took a more relativist stance. Flannery wrote on Socialedge.org — a blog site designed to connect entrepreneurs for social benefit —  This position has caused some lenders to pull their funds (often moving them to other microfinance sites such as United Prosperity, Zidisha.org, Wokai, Energy in Common, etc.). Others who wanted to continue to lend through Kiva created "Kivans Against Cockfighting Loans" in May 2009, and, as of June 8, 2012, it has lent $15,625 to borrowers pursuing projects that do not involve the harming of animals.

Controversy regarding Strathmore University and Opus Dei.

In Spring 2013, one of Kiva's field partners, Strathmore University, posted many large loans to cover full tuitions for students from low-income regions in Kenya who could not otherwise afford higher education. Kiva also established a field office on the Strathmore campus. Shortly after, many lenders raised concerns because Strathmore University is a corporate undertaking of Opus Dei. This spawned a debate in the Kiva forums, leading to an open letter from Kiva's CEO Matt Flannery addressing the issue.

Promotions and marketing strategies.

In March 2012, Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn's co-founder, lent Kiva $1 million. Kiva then allowed 40,000 people to lend $25 for "free." Lenders still choose a borrower, but the borrower will pay back Hoffman instead of the lender who chose them. Kiva hopes that the "free" users will lend to more of their projects, and thus increase their overall user base.  In his 2007 book "", Bill Clinton covers Kiva.org and the work the organization is currently doing and has done in the past.

External reviews.

The following independent entities have reviewed Kiva.

Kiva (commonly known by its domain name, Kiva.org) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that allows people to lend money via the Internet to low-income entrepreneurs and students in 77 countries. Kiva's mission is "to expand financial access to help underserved communities thrive."

Kiva ist eine US-amerikanische Non-Profit-Organisation, die es Individuen ermöglicht, über Mikrofinanz-Institutionen Mikrokredite über das Internet an Kleinbetriebe und Einzelpersonen vor allem in Entwicklungsländern zu verleihen. Die gemeinnützige Organisation mit Sitz in San Francisco wird von Spenden ihrer Benutzer sowie unter anderem von PayPal, YouTube, Google, MySpace und Microsoft unterstützt.


History.

CES was founded on January 18, 1991, and launched its visitors program shortly thereafter. Its first guests included Gary Becker, David Bradford, Richard Musgrave, and David Wildasin, who laid the foundation for visits from other renowned economists in the future. In 1994 CES launched its Munich Lectures in Economics, which are jointly organized by the Ifo Institute for Economic Research and supported by MIT Press. Every year the Scientific Advisory Council of CES nominates an outstanding international economist as the Distinguished CES Fellow. The award is presented in November, when the laureate gives the Munich Lectures in Economics on a topical issue to a broad audience.  In 1998, CES became one of the first institutions worldwide to make its discussion of economic issues accessible on the internet. In the same year the Center also substantially enlarged its own in-house research group.  Since 1999 CES has worked closely with the Ifo Institute for Economic Research, one of Germany’s largest economic research institutes. Both organizations are now part of an umbrella organization, the CESifo Group, and a driving force in building bridges between economic theory and empirical research. The CESifo Group promotes contacts between researchers from all over the world with the aim of making Munich a center of international economic research.

Distinguished CES Fellows.

CES hosts a large number of regular seminars and lectures. Many of them are available as video on demand in CESifo's media library.  The most famous academic event is the “Munich Lectures in Economics”. The Distinguished CES Fellow award has been made on an annual basis since 1994. The prize winners are:

The Center for Economic Studies (CES) is an independent institute within the Faculty of Economics of the University of Munich (LMU).

Das Center for Economic Studies (CES) ist ein eigenständiges Institut an der Volkswirtschaftlichen Fakultät der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. Es fördert den internationalen Austausch in Finanzwissenschaften und anderen ökonomischen Gebieten. Dazu organisiert das Institut Gastaufenthalte und unterstützt Gastwissenschaftler, die in München ihre Forschungsvorhaben verfolgen und im Gegenzug kurze Vorlesungsreihen halten.


Etymology.

"Santo Tomas" was so named after Saint Thomas, the patron saint of Danao which is the hometown of then Governor of undivided Davao Province Vicente Duterte, father of the 16th Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte.

History.

What is now Santo Tomas, initially called Tibal-og, was once part of the jurisdiction of nearby town of Kapalong. Before the 1950s. the place used to be a lush forest inhabited by the indigenous Ata-Manobo people.  According to the town's pioneering residents, the area of what is now Kapalong (in which what is now Santo Tomas was still part of) and Panabo City were planted for abaca during the pre-war years.  After the founding of Santo Tomas as a municipality, it continued to grow and prosper, even as it went several successions of mayoralty governance throughout its history.

Geography.

Santo Tomas is located on the island of Mindanao, and it is in the province's second political district. It is bounded in the north by the Municipalities of Kapalong and Talaingod, in the east by the Municipality of Asuncion, in the west by Davao City, and in the south by the Municipality of Braulio E. Dujali.

Barangays.

Santo Tomas is politically subdivided into 19 barangays.

Climate.

Rainfall in Santo Tomas is evenly distributed throughout the year. Being a nearly typhoon-free municipality, the production of high-value crops is favorable all year round and makes a profitable investment.

Demographics.

Santo Tomas is home to a diverse culture inter-mingling with Mandaya and Ata-Manobo. The people are predominantly Cebuano.

Economy.

Significant to the economic development of Santo Tomas is a number of multi-national corporations and cooperatives engaged in banana based commercial production successfully operating in the municipality. Rice production also contributes to the economic development of the municipality. SantoTomas was part of the lists for the top 15 richest municipality in Davao Region which was listed as the second place.

Transportation.

Santo Tomas sits astride the Davao del Norte Provincial Circumferential Road. It is more or less or about an hour ride from Tagum City by any land vehicle, and the town offers a wide choice of public utility jeepneys via Kinamayan route or bus liners via Carmen route. Davao City is approximately or an hour and a half ride by bus or private car.  Santo Tomas is accessible by land through any type of vehicle. There are tricycle units serving the different routes within the municipality. Most tricycles are color-coded red, with a capacity of 6 passengers per tricycle.

Education.

Santo Tomas have several public and private institutions.  Elementary schools:  High schools:  Tertiary education:  Technical/vocational schools:

Celebrations.

"Araw ng Santo Tomas" (lit. Day of Santo Tomas) is a celebration held every 14th of August annually. Events include drum and lyre competitions; parades, fireworks display, and many more.  Recently Winners (by ranking secondary level)

', officially the ', is a in the province of,. According to the, it has a population of people.

Santo Tomas ist eine philippinische Stadtgemeinde in der Provinz Davao del Norte. Sie hat Einwohner (Zensus ). In der Gemeinde liegt ein External Study Center der Bukidnon State University.


History.

Metsatöll started playing together on 24 February 1999 as a three-piece (Markus – vocals and guitar, Factor – drums, Andrus – bass), playing epic heavy metal with small influences from ancient Estonian folklore. The debut album called "Terast mis hangund me hinge" ("Steel frozen in our souls") was released at that time.  In the end of 1999, a good friend Varulven joined the band. So far he had observed the activities of the band and had from time to time joined them on stage. Varulven had self-taught himself a number of ancient Estonian folk instruments and together it was realized that metal and old Estonian folk fit together perfectly. Since then, the music of Metsatöll has intertwined more and more with old Estonian runo-singing and traditional melodies.  2001 was a difficult year for the band, since their bass player Andrus left the band, deciding to attend more to his personal affairs, and considering the band too much of a burden. A new bass player, KuriRaivo, was found after a couple of months.  In 2002 Metsatöll released the single "Hundi loomine" ('The Creation of the Wolf'), for which a video was also shot (directed by Liina Paakspuu). Hundi loomine received numerous exceptionally positive reviews and commentaries in the local media, there was talk of the true mind of the Estonians, the destruction of the negative effects of the English language and the rebirth of folklore through contemporary means and people.  In the beginning of 2004 drummer Factor dedicated himself completely to science and he was replaced by Atso.  In late 2004, Metsatöll released their second album, called "Hiiekoda" (My Home, My Sacred Grove), which was critically acclaimed by both metal and non-metal fans from all over Estonia. It is a heavy metal album strongly combined with old Estonian traditional instruments.  In 2005, Metsatöll released a remake of their old album "Terast mis hangund me hinge" called "Terast mis hangunud me hinge 10218". The number stands for the world's age according to Estonian chronology. It is much more influenced by folk music and done in a much more professional way in general. They have also released a live album called "Lahinguväljal näeme, raisk!" (See you on the battlefield, sod/bastard!).  In 2009, Metsatöll signed the Finnish record label Spinefarm Records. A new album, titled Äio was released on 3 March in Estonia and Finland. An Internet single, along with the video to a song from the album, called "Vaid Vaprust" was released on 13 January. The video used fragments of the 1980 animated film "Suur Tõll" by Jüri Arrak.  In 2011, Metsatöll released another album called Ulg. The first song released was Kivine Maa and a video was made for Küü. The album was nominated for the Estonian Music Awards in the "Metal Album of the Year" category.  In 2012, Metsatöll played on the main stage of the Tuska Open Air Metal Festival in Helsinki. They later released a concert album called "Tuska" from the same performance.

Discography.

Studio albums.

Metsatöll's titling and lyrics make heavy use of archaic Estonian language and imagery, which often do not have clear English translations. For example, a "Hiiekoda" is a type of (usually wooden) sacral building constructed near or in a forest considered holy in the pre-Christianisation customs of Estonians. While the word "Sutekskäija" does mean Werewolf, the Estonian werewolf legends are considerably different from those known in Anglophone countries, and this particular word has an emphasis on the human aspect of the person involved, so a better (although not as catchy) translation might be "One who regularly engages in werewolf business".  The name "Raua needmine" is a reference to a work of the same name by Veljo Tormis. The latter's name is sometimes translated as "Curse Upon Iron" in English.

Metsatöll (from – 'forest' and "töll" – 'four-legged being', used in Western Estonia as an euphemism for "wolf" or "werewolf") is an Estonian heavy metal band formed in 1999. The band has been influenced by many musical groups along with folk units Garmarna, Stille Volk and Estonian folk/classical music composer Veljo Tormis. Much of their material, featuring flutes and other traditional Estonian instruments, is based on the wars for independence of the 13th and 14th centuries.

Metsatöll ist eine estnische Folk-Metal-Band. Der Begriff „Metsatöll“ ist ein alter estnischer Euphemismus für Wolf, der sich in den rauen Songtexten wiederfinden lässt. Ein großer Teil des traditionell angehauchten Liedguts der Band handelt von den Unabhängigkeitskriegen des 13. und 14. Jahrhunderts.


Location.

Bidding phase and host selection.

On 27 May 2007, the Eurovision Steering Group decided to award CyBC of Cyprus the rights to host the 2008 contest, over bids from TV4 of Sweden and NTU of Ukraine, the latter of which would later host the 2009 edition.

Venue.

The Spyros Kyprianou Athletic Center (Greek: Αθλητικό Κέντρο "Σπύρος Κυπριανού"), also known as Palais des sports, is the biggest and the most imposing multi dynamic indoor athletic arena in Cyprus. It is named after the late president of Cyprus Spyros Kyprianou. This project was conducted by the Cyprus Sports Organisation and was constructed north of the city of Limassol near Kato Polemidia and by the side of Limassol - Troodos road. Construction of the project began in late 2002 and was completed at the end of 2005 at a total cost of approximately CY£8.5 million.

Format.

On 10 September 2008, the hosts were announced as Alex Michael and Sophia Paraskeva; both presenters with Cypriot backgrounds.  On 13 October 2008, the draw of the running order took place live on CyBC 1. This involved drawing the first and last countries and performers, and then drawing countries into various 'pots' to decide when they would perform. The full running order was announced on 14 October 2008. The stage was constructed between 30 October 2008 and 14 November 2008.

Voting.

As in all previous Eurovision Song Contests each country gave their top 10 countries songs points from 1 point for their 10th favourite song up until 8 points for their 3rd favourite song. Then 10 and 12 points were given for the second favorite and favorite respectively. But, the difference between this contest and other past contests is this is the first Eurovision Song Contest that implements a jury vote that counts for half of each countries vote.

Participating countries.

Fifteen countries took part in the 2008 Junior Eurovision Song Contest: Armenia, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Macedonia, Georgia, Greece, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Serbia, and Ukraine., which had taken part twice since 2006 announced that it was no longer interested in the contest and withdrew along with, a founding country in 2003, which left because of other broadcasting plans during the time of the event. Portugal would return in after winning the adult contest for the first time that same year.  On the other hand, Israel and Bosnia and Herzegovina announced their intention to participate, but decided both to withdraw before the contest. Welsh language broadcaster S4C considered the possibility of participation, but in the end it was decided they would not to participate in the competition, because their debut was rejected because Wales isn't a sovereign state. Only the BBC has the exclusive right to represent the United Kingdom. Wales later debuted in the contest.  Azerbaijan announced its intention to take part also, but withdrew from the contest in early October. According to İctimai Televiziya və Radio Yayımları Şirkəti, the network was unable to select and prepare children for such a high scale event without proper help from other governmental structures and bodies. The broadcaster also confirmed payment of a fine to the EBU due to its late withdrawal. Poland had also considered participation but decided that it would not take part this year. The 2008 contest was the first Junior Eurovision Song Contest to have no debuting countries.

Final.

For the first time, each country decided their votes through a 50% jury and 50% televoting system which decided their top ten songs. The only country that did not use this system was Ukraine who calculated their vote using a jury. Ukrainian broadcaster NTU opted not to broadcast the contest live, but to air it deferred on Sunday 23 November as Saturday 22 November was Holodomor Remembrance Day in the country.

International broadcasts and voting.

Commentators.

Non-participating countries.

A live broadcast of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest was available worldwide via satellite through European streams such as TVRi, ERT World, ARMTV, RTS Sat and MKTV Sat. The official Eurovision Song Contest website also provided a live stream without commentary via the peer to peer medium Octoshape.

Score sheet.

12 points.

Below is a summary of all 12 points received:

Official album.

Junior Eurovision Song Contest: Lemesos 2008, is a compilation album put together by the European Broadcasting Union, and was released by Universal Music Group on 10 October 2008. The album features all the songs from the 2008 contest, along with karaoke versions.

The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2008 was the sixth edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest, which is the world's largest song contest for children. It was held at the "Spyros Kyprianou" Athletic Centre in Lemesos, Cyprus and hosted by Alex Michael and Sophia Paraskeva. It was won by the Georgian trio Bzikebi, with the song "Bzz..". This is the first song to win any Eurovision Song Contest in an imaginary language. Ukraine took 2nd place and Lithuania finished 3rd. Bzikebi also became the first group act to win Junior Eurovision.

Der 6. Junior Eurovision Song Contest, der Juniorenwettbewerbs des Eurovision Song Contests, wurde am 22. November 2008 ausgetragen. Veranstaltungsland war Zypern, Veranstaltungsort das „Spyros Kipiranou Sports Centre“, welche auch „Palais des Sports“ genannt wird, in Limassol. Die Leitung übernahm die CyBC. Sie konnten sich bei den Veranstaltungsrechten gegen Portugal, Schweden und die Ukraine durchsetzen. Nach dem letztjährigen Debüt gewann Georgien den Wettbewerb erstmals mit der Gruppe Bzikebi und dem Titel "Bzzz".


Personal life and studies.

Philippe Maystadt was born in Verviers (Belgium) in 1948. He obtained a PhD in Law at the Catholic University of Louvain and gained a Master of Arts in public administration at Claremont Graduate School, Los Angeles, USA. He was a part-time professor at the Law Faculty of the Catholic University of Louvain. Maystadt died on 7 December 2017 aged 69 years.

Career.

Maystadt started his career as assistant professor at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium. In 1977, he became a Member of the House of Representatives and was appointed Secretary of State for the Walloon Region in 1979. Between 1980 and 1988 he was successively Minister for the Civil Service and Scientific Policy, Minister for Budgetary Affairs, Scientific Policy and Planning and Minister for Economic Affairs. From 1988 to 1998, he served as Minister of Finance and was awarded, in 1990, the title "Finance Minister of the Year" by Euromoney magazine. Philippe Maystadt served twice as Deputy Prime Minister (1986–1988 and 1995–1998). Maystadt has chaired meetings of the G-10 Ministers of Finance, the EU Council of Ministers for Economic and Financial Affairs, the Board of Governors of the EBRD and, for an exceptionally long term of five years, the Interim Committee of the International Monetary Fund. Maystadt's mandate as President of the EIB was renewed in 2006 for a period of six years.  His other past and present appointments include:  He supervised the entrance of Belgium in the Euro zone.  Seeking election as the President of the Christian Social Party, Maystadt's resignation as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Minister of Foreign Trade was announced on 19 June 1998.  During his last term as Minister of Finance, Maystadt came under heavy criticism after it was revealed that under his responsibility the Belgian State had lost up to 571 million euros in high-risk speculative investments. This affair marked the end of his political career in Belgium. Maystadt unexpectedly died on 7 December 2017 from a respiratory disease.

Philippe M.P.J. Maystadt (14 March 1948 – 7 December 2017) was a Belgian politician who served as Minister for Economic Affairs, Minister of Finance, and Deputy Prime Minister. He was President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) from 2000 to 2011.

Philippe M.P.J. Maystadt (* 14. März 1948 in Petit-Rechain; † 7. Dezember 2017) war ein belgischer Politiker der Centre Démocrate Humaniste (cdH) und Professor an der Université catholique de Louvain (Louvain-la-Neuve). Vom 1. Januar 2000 bis 31. Dezember 2011 war er Präsident der Europäischen Investitionsbank (EIB).


Early life.

Little is known about Pablo Fanque's early life. Church records suggest that he was born in Norwich in 1810 and was one of at least five children, born to John and Mary Darby ( Stamp). They were believed to have resided in Ber Street. When Fanque married in 1848, he said his late father's occupation was "butler" on his marriage certificate.  Dr. John M. Turner speculates in his 2003 biography of Fanque that "his father was Indian-born and had been brought to the port of Norwich and trained as a house servant." Fanque was reportedly orphaned at a young age. Another account has Fanque born in a workhouse to a family with seven children.  Since shortly after Fanque's death in 1871, biographers have disputed his date of birth. Since 2003 biographer Turner has popularized the belief Fanque was born in 1796. The newspaper "Era" records on 14 May 1871 that Fanque's coffin bore the inscription; "AGED 75 YEARS." Fanque's gravestone, located at the base of his late wife Susannah Darby's grave in Woodhouse Cemetery, Leeds (now St George's Field, part of the University of Leeds), reads; ""Also the above named William Darby Pablo Fanque who died May 4th 1871 Aged 75 Years"."  But Fanque's age was recorded in the 1841, 1851 and 1871 censuses of England as indicating he was born in 1810. A birth register at St. Andrews Workhouse in Norwich reports the birth of a William Darby to John Darby and Mary Stamp at the workhouse on 1 April 1810. This is the birth year on a blue plaque commemorating Fanque's birth, which was installed by the city of Norwich near the purported location of his childhood residence.  Genealogists have noted a marriage record of John Darby and Mary Stamp on 27 March 1791 at St. Stephen's, Norwich. Records of children born to Darby and Stamp include John Richard on 4 Jul 1792, Robert on 27 Jul 1794, William on 28 Feb 1796, Mary Elizabeth on 18 Mar 1798, and William on 30 March 1810. The family has two burial records, William on 30 Apr 1797 and Mary Elizabeth on 10 Feb 1801. These indicate that the subject William was born in 1810, the second boy to have been given that name after his late brother died in 1797.

Career.

Based on the 1810 birth year, the young William Darby was apprenticed at age 11 to circus proprietor William Batty and made his first known appearance in a sawdust ring in Norwich on 26 December 1821, as "Young Darby." His acts included equestrian stunts and rope walking. Thomas Frost, in "Circus Life and Circus Celebrities," wrote, "We find Batty in 1836 at Nottingham, with a company which included Pablo Fanque, a negro rope-dancer, whose real name was William Darby..." Once established as a young adult, William Darby changed his professional name to Pablo Fanque. It appears that Fanque or his contemporaries often considered "Pablo" to be his surname.  Fanque made a highly successful London debut in 1847. Describing Fanque and his performance, "The Illustrated London News" wrote:  "The Illustrated London News" reporting on perhaps an earlier performance during Fanque's 1847 run at London's Astley's Amphitheatre, fills in many biographical details regarding Fanque:  This same edition of "The Illustrated London News" provides an example of how contemporaries regarded his performance:  Sounding almost as grand as the boasts of Fanque's own broadside posters, the paper said, "Mr. Pablo has trained [his black mare] to do the most extraordinary feats of the'manège' [note, related to dressage], an art hitherto considered to belong only to the French and German professors of equitation, and her style certainly far exceeds anything that has ever yet been brought from the Continent."  An illustration closely resembling the one appearing in the 20 March 1847 edition of "The Illustrated London News" appears on an 1850s poster advertising Fanque's appearance in Leeds, with the headline, "M. Pablo Fanque, as he performed, by royal command, at Astley's Amphitheatre, before her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen." The Hampshire Advertiser documents one instance when Fanque performed before the royal family in Brighton, as part of William Batty's troupe on 3 January 1834.  While Turner cites Fanque's 1847 performance at Astley's as his London debut, the historical record documents an 1834 performance at The Lawns in Croydon, a borough of metropolitan London. A history of The Lawns records an advertisement that read, "16th September 1834 – A Grand Scottish Fete with a tightrope performance by Pablo Fanque, gymnastics, a leopardess with dogs, military bands, illuminations and fireworks." Also, newspapers from London and Ryde in 1839 and 1840 describe him as already a fixture at Astley's, as part of William Batty's Circus.  In the 30 years that Fanque operated his own circus (sometimes in partnership with others), he toured England, Scotland, and Ireland, but he performed mostly in the Midlands and the Northern England counties of Yorkshire, Lancashire, and what is now Greater Manchester. Among the many cities he visited were Birmingham, Bolton, Bradford, Bristol, Cambridge, Chester, Chesterfield, Hull, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Norwich, Oldham, Preston, Rochdale, Rotherdam, Ryde, Sheffield, Shrewsbury, Wakefield, Wigan, Wolverhampton, and Worcester. In Scotland, his circus visited Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Paisley. In Edinburgh, in 1853, there was a Pablo Fanque's Amphitheatre on Nicolson Street at the current site of Edinburgh Festival Theatre. In Ireland, Fanque's circus performed at Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Galway, Ballinasloe, Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford, and Clonmel, among other places. In Cork, in 1850, Fanque built an amphitheatre on the site of the former Theatre Royal, where the current General Post Office stands (built in 1877). His circus also performed at the Donnybrook Fair in 1850, five years before the centuries' old fair was discontinued.  "Fanque's children joined his circus. One of his sons performed under the name Ted Pablo..." They performed with the most popular acts of the business, including Young Hernandez (1832–1861), the great American rider, and the clown Henry Brown (1814–1902)." In the autumn of 1861, famous English prizefighter Jem Mace toured with Fanque's circus.  In 1869, the front cover of "Illustrated London News" reported on a near-tragedy at a performance of Pablo Fanque's Circus in Bolton. Tightrope walker Madame Caroline stumbled on the rope, and hung suspended by her hands in the air. The rope was lowered a few feet and, at the exhortation of men who had amassed below, Madame Caroline let go to fall safely into the hands of the crowd.  While some contemporary reports did not refer to Fanque's African ancestry, other reports noted that he was "a man of colour," or "a coloured gentleman," or "an artiste of colour." (These suggest he was of mixed race, with partial European ancestry as well.) In 1905, many years after Fanque's death, the chaplain of the Showmen's Guild wrote, "In the great brotherhood of the equestrian world there is no colour-line." He was commenting on Fanque's success in Victorian England despite being of mixed race.

Beatles fame.

In the mid 20th century, John Lennon, in composing The Beatles' "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!," borrowed liberally from an 1843 playbill for Pablo Fanque's Circus Royal. Lennon bought the poster from an antique shop in Sevenoaks, Kent, while shooting a promotional film for the song, "Strawberry Fields Forever", in Knole Park. Tony Bramwell, a former Apple Records employee, recalled, "There was an antique shop close to the hotel we were using in Sevenoaks. John and I wandered in and John spotted this Victorian circus poster and bought it." The poster advertises a performance in Rochdale and announces the appearance of "Mr. J. Henderson, the celebrated somerset thrower" and "Mr. Kite" who is described as "late of Wells's Circus." Lennon modifies the language, singing instead, "The Hendersons will all be there/Late of Pablo Fanque's Fair/What a scene!"  The title "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" is taken verbatim from the poster. The Mr. Kite referenced in the poster was William Kite, who is believed to have performed in Fanque's circus from 1843 to 1845. The full text of the original poster is:  "Mr. J. Henderson" was John Henderson, a wire-walker, equestrian, trampoline artist, and clown. While the poster made no mention of "Hendersons" plural, as Lennon sings, John Henderson did perform with his wife Agnes, the daughter of circus owner Henry Hengler. The Hendersons performed throughout Europe and Russia during the 1840s and 1850s.

Other popular references.

Pablo Fanque is also referenced in the lyrics of the Cockney Rebel song "Ritz" on the album Psychomodo "Come to Pablo Fanque is in Indigo".

Beneficence.

The "Benefit for Mr. Kite" was one of many benefits that Pablo Fanque held for performers in his circus, for others in the profession (who had no regular retirement or health benefits), and for community organizations. Fanque was a member of the Order of Ancient Shepherds, a fraternal organization affiliated with the Freemasons. It assisted families in times of illness or death with burial costs and other expenses. For example, an 1845 show in Blackburn benefitted the Blackburn Mechanics Institution and the Independent Order of Odd-fellows, offering a bonus to the Widows and Orphans Fund. Fanque held a similar benefit in Bury the following year. Writing in 2003, Turner could find nothing in the historical record regarding Fanque's circus activities in 1857 and 1858.  But Fanque was active during those years, holding at least two benefits among other performances. In 1857, in Bradford, he held a benefit for the family of the late Tom Barry, a clown. Brenda Assael, in "The Circus and Victorian Society," writes that in March 1857, "Pablo Fanque extended the hand of friendship to Barry's widow and held a benefit in her husband's name at his Allied Circus in Bradford. Using the "Era" offices to transmit the money he earned from this event, Fanque enclosed 10 pounds worth of 'post office orders...being the profits of the benefit. I should have been better pleased had it been more, but this was the close of a very dull season.'" On 24 October 1858, "The Herald" of Scotland reported: "IN GLASGOW, 'Pablo Fanque's Cirrque Nationale' offered 'A Masonic Benefit.'"  Britain had abolished slavery in 1834 but it was still a legal institution in the United States when Britons made Fanque such a popular figure. The minutes of Edinburgh's Celtic Lodge No. 291 read, "28th February 1853. Deputation to Brother Pablo Fanque’s Amphitheatre. [A] few of the brethren met this evening in accordance with the resolution of the committee meeting of 23rd inst and accompanied the Right Worshipful Master to Brother Pablo’s Fanque’s Amphitheatre to patronage Luin on this occasion of his benefit[.] [T]he Celtic brethren met with several Sister Lodges and had much pleasure to attend."  In 1843, when clergy in Burnley were criticized in the "Blackburn Mercury" for attending performances of Fanque's circus, a reader responded:  An 1846 Bolton newspaper story epitomized the public's high regard for Fanque in the communities he visited on account of his beneficence:

Partnership with W. F. Wallett.

During the 1840s and 1850s, Fanque was close friends with the clown W. F. Wallett, who performed in his circus. Wallett also managed Fanque's circus for a time. Wallett frequently promoted himself as "the Queen's Jester," having performed once before Queen Victoria in 1844 at Windsor Castle. He appeared with Fanque's circus in Leeds, Wakefield, Oxford, and Glasgow. A benefit was being held for Wallett in Leeds. The amphitheatre balcony when the amphitheatre collapsed, killing Fanque's wife. Wallett's wife was sitting with her but escaped serious injury.  Throughout his 1870 autobiography, Wallett shares several amusing anecdotes about his work and friendship with Fanque, including the following about their 1859 engagement in Glasgow:

Marriages and family.

Fanque married Susannah Marlaw, the daughter of a Birmingham buttonmaker. They had two sons, one of whom was named Lionel. On 18 March 1848, his wife died in Leeds at an accident in the building where the circus was performing. Their son was performing a tightrope act before a large crowd at the Amphitheatre at King Charles Croft. The 600 people seated in the gallery fell with its collapse, but Susannah Darby was the only fatality. Heavy planks hit her on the back of the head. Reportedly, Fanque sought medical attention for his wife at the King Charles Hotel, but a surgeon pronounced her dead.  Years later a 4 March 1854 edition of the "Leeds Intelligencer" recalled the incident, while announcing the return of Pablo Fanque's Circus to Leeds:  "His last visit, preceding the present one, was unfortunately attended by a very melancholy accident. On that occasion he occupied a circus in King Charles's Croft and part of the building gave way during the time it was occupied by a crowded audience. Several persons were more or less injured by the fall of the timbers composing the part that proved too weak, and Mrs Darby, the wife of the proprietor, was killed. This event, which occurred on Saturday the 18th March 1848, excited much sympathy throughout the borough. A neat monument with an impressive inscription is placed above the grave of Mrs Darby, in the Woodhouse Lane Cemetery."  In June 1848, widower Fanque married Elizabeth Corker, a circus rider and daughter of George Corker of Bradford. Corker was 22 years old. With Corker, Fanque had two more sons, George (1854–1881) and Edward Charles "Ted" (1855–1937). Both joined the circus. Ted, known as Ted Pablo, also achieved acclaim as a boxer. A daughter, Caroline Susannah, died aged 1 year and 4 months and is buried in the same plot as Susannah and William, as recorded on the gravestone.  The 1861 census records Fanque as living with a woman named Sarah, 25, who is described as his wife. In 1871, just before he died, census records show him living again with his wife Elizabeth and his two sons, in Stockport.  In Warriston Cemetery in Edinburgh stands a tombstone dedicated to the memory of two of Fanque's children with Elizabeth Corker—William Batty Patrick Darby (13 months) and Elizabeth Darby (3 years). Both died in 1852, Elizabeth in Tuam, Ireland. Fanque performed in Edinburgh in the early 1850s.

Death.

Pablo Fanque died of bronchitis at the Britannia Inn at 22 Churchgate in Stockport, England on 4 May 1871. In the funeral procession to Woodhouse Lane Cemetery, Leeds, a band marched ahead of Fanque's hearse playing the "Dead March". Fanque's favourite horse followed, along with four coaches and mourners. Fanque is buried next to his first wife Susannah Darby.  Woodhouse Lane Cemetery is now St. George's Field and part of the University of Leeds campus. While the remains of many of the 100,000 graves and monuments have been relocated, the monument that Fanque erected in his wife's memory, and a smaller modest monument in his memory still stand. Susannah Darby's monument reads:  Fanque's monument reads:  On 8 October 2010, as part of Light Night ceremony, the Leeds University Union unveiled a blue plaque commemorating Pablo Fanque's final resting place.

Others by the same name.

On 2 November 1865, New Zealand's "The West Coast Times" reported on the arrival in Hokitika the previous evening from Melbourne, Australia of the ship "Gothenburg." The paper stated, "She brings to our shores Mr Stevens; English Troupe of acrobats consisting of Mr and Mrs Stevens, the masters Stevens (two), Pablo Fanque and son, Messrs Hatton, Briggs, Rayner, Wilkins, Charles, Wildt, and Master Poono..." This was not the Pablo Fanque of British fame, but Fanque's nephew, William "Billy" Banham, who used his famous uncle's name as a pseudonym during his time in New Zealand and Australia in the 1850s and 1860s.  Fanque's son, Ted Pablo, may have also fought under the name Pablo Fanque in his Australian boxing matches.

Pablo Fanque (born William Darby 30 March 1810 in Norwich, England; died 4 May 1871 in Stockport, England) was a British equestrian performer and circus proprietor, the first recorded non-white British circus owner in Britain. His circus was popular in Victorian Britain for 30 years, a period that is regarded as the golden age of the circus.

Pablo Fanque (eigentlich "William Darby"; * 1796 in Norwich; † 4. Mai 1871 in Stockport) war der erste schwarze Zirkusdirektor in Großbritannien.


Biography.

Vaikule was born on 31 March 1954, in Cēsis, Latvia. Her parents moved to Riga when she was three. Young Laima was fond of music and dancing. In 1966, at the age of 12, she took part in a competition of young singers and was noticed. Between 1970 and 1973, she studied nursing at the Vilnius Medical College, while also continuing to sing with a band. Eventually, she became a lead singer with a local band in Riga, Latvia and worked night gigs at local clubs and restaurants for several years. In the 1980s she studied acting and directing at Moscow State Institute for Theatrical Arts (GITIS), graduating as actress and director.  In 1985, Laima Vaikule made her first hit in the Soviet Union. Since 1986, Vaikule has been enjoying a fruitful collaboration with popular Latvian composer, Raimonds Pauls, and Russian poet Ilya Reznik, who wrote such hits as "Vernisage", "Charlie" and "Skripach na kryshe" ("Fiddler on the roof"). She is among the original organizers of the Jurmala Festival of popular music, along with Raimonds Pauls. During the 1980s and 1990s Laima Vaikule was a regular participant at international music competitions and festivals across Europe. Vaikule was awarded the Golden Lyra at "Bratislavská Lýra, 87", was a guest singer and a host at "Jurmala 92" festival, and also took part at "AU music world" in Monaco, among other festivals and competitions. She was awarded the title National Actress of Latvia and was awarded the Grand Prix (1996) for her special contribution to the music and culture of Latvia.  In a 2018 interview to the Ukrainian press, when asked about performing in the Russian-annexed Crimea, Vaikule responded "I won't go there, whatever royalties they offer me" and explained "I'm a citizen of the European Union, I don't have the right to travel there", receiving criticism from Russian Senator Aleksey Pushkov and several cultural figures. She later went on Russian national television, where she said her answer had been misinterpreted and what she meant was that the law forbids her from going to Crimea, not that she would not want to perform there. After asked by the anchor, whether she would perform in Crimea if no Latvian law forbade it, Vaikule answered positively.  Laima Vaikule is currently living and working in Riga, Latvia and owns a second home in Moscow, Russia.  Laima Vaikule is an animal rights activist and a vegetarian.

Awards.

! colspan="3" style="background: cyan;" | World Music Awards

Laima Vaikule (born 31 March 1954) is a Latvian actress, singer, director, and choreographer, best known in Europe and in the former USSR for such popular hits as "Vernisage" and "Charlie," among other songs.

Laima Vaikule (* 31. März 1954 in Cēsis, Lettische SSR, Sowjetunion) ist eine auf dem Gebiet der ehemaligen UdSSR populäre lettische Pop- und Estrada-Sängerin sowie Schauspielerin. Ihre bekanntesten Lieder sind "Vernissage", "Charlie" und "Jeschtscho ne wetscher" (dt. "Noch ist nicht Abend").


Biography.

McKiernan was born in Moberly, Missouri, where he lived until he served the U.S. Air Force for four years, stationed within US territory during the Korean War. After military service, he attended the University of Missouri and received a BS in electrical engineering in 1958 and an MS in the same field from Duke University in 1964. He worked as an engineer at AT&T, initially at Western Electric but soon at Bell Laboratories, from 1958 until 1989. In 1989, after early retirement from engineering, McKiernan began writing on a full-time basis.  In 1977, while riding his motorcycle, McKiernan was hit by a car that had crossed the center-line, and he was confined to a bed, first in traction and then in a hip spica cast, for many months. During his recuperation, he began a sequel to J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings". The publisher Doubleday showed an interest in his work and tried to obtain authorization from Tolkien's estate but was denied. Doubleday then asked McKiernan to rewrite his story, placing the characters in a different fictitious world, and also to write a prequel supporting it. The prequel, of necessity, resembles "The Lord of the Rings"; the decision of Doubleday to issue the work as a trilogy increased that resemblance; and some critics have seen McKiernan as simply imitating Tolkien's epic work. McKiernan has subsequently developed stories in the series that followed along a story line different from those that plausibly could have been taken by Tolkien.  McKiernan's Faery Series expands tales drawn from Andrew Lang's Fairy Books, additionally tying the selected tales together with a larger plot.  McKiernan currently lives in Tucson, Arizona.

Dennis Lester McKiernan (born April 4, 1932) is an American writer best known for his high fantasy "The Iron Tower". His genres include high fantasy (set in various fictitious worlds), science fiction, horror fiction, and crime fiction. His primary setting, Mithgar, was originally meant to host Middle-Earth stories that were sequels to Tolkien's work. It has since grown to reflect a much broader variety of influences, including "fairy tales and Oz books and folk tales and other such stories".

Dennis Lester McKiernan (* 4. April 1932 in Moberly, Missouri) ist ein US-amerikanischer Autor, der sich vor allem in den Genres High Fantasy, Horror fiction und Krimi betätigt.


Early years.

Newton attended Jones High School where he played football, basketball, wrestling and shot put. In football he played as a fullback until his junior year, when he outgrew the position and was moved to the defensive line.  Although he had Division I colleges recruiting him, he chose to remain close to home and signed with Florida A&M University. As a sophomore, he played in both the offensive and defensive line. At the start of his junior season he was moved to the offense full-time, where he would earn All-MEAC honors playing right tackle as a senior.

Professional career.

Washington Redskins.

Although he was selected by the Tampa Bay Bandits in the 1983 USFL Territorial Draft, he opted to sign as an undrafted free agent with the Washington Redskins. He was waived during training camp and was injured in a serious car accident on the same night he was cut.

Tampa Bay Bandits.

After his release, he signed with the Tampa Bay Bandits of the now defunct United States Football League, who drafted him in 1983, in what the USFL called a Territorial Draft. He played there for two years (1984 and 1985) as an offensive tackle.

Dallas Cowboys.

When the USFL folded, Newton signed as a free agent with the Dallas Cowboys in 1986.  He started out as a reserve offensive lineman, and was nicknamed "the Kitchen" because he was bigger than William "The Refrigerator" Perry, of Chicago Bears fame. Even though he became a starter at left guard in 1987, his struggles to maintain his playing weight almost cost him being waived. His breakout came with the arrival of Jimmy Johnson as the Cowboys coach in 1989, who eventually moved him to the starting right tackle position and forced him to get into better shape after Johnson beat him in a running race.  In 1992, because of the improved play of Erik Williams, he was moved back to left guard, in order for the team to have the best player combination possible in the offensive line. From 1992 to 1995, together with Erik Williams, Mark Tuinei, Mark Stepnoski, John Gesek and Kevin Gogan, he was part of some of the best offensive lines to play in NFL history.  Newton was a six-time Pro Bowler, attending the game from 1992 through 1996 and once again in 1998. Only Larry Allen (10) has been to more Pro Bowls with the Cowboys on the offensive line. He is tied with Rayfield Wright and John Niland for six appearances each. His ability to protect quarterback Troy Aikman and to run-block for running back Emmitt Smith helped the Cowboys win 3 Super Bowls in 1992, 1993, and 1995.  He was one of the best guards in the NFL for over a decade. He was a very powerful player and was known from some great confrontations against Reggie White among other great players. Despite playing in the trenches, Newton was one of the more colorful players in Cowboys history.  On March 21, 1991, he was arrested at an illegal dog fight which he was a major contributor to. He himself owned 14 pit bulls.

Carolina Panthers.

His last NFL season was in 1999 with the Carolina Panthers, he played in seven games as a backup guard, before being placed on the injured reserve list with a torn right triceps tendon.

Life after football.

On November 4, 2001 police in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, arrested Newton after he was found to have 213 pounds of marijuana during a traffic stop of Newton's white van. Five weeks later, on December 12, 2001, Newton was again stopped in Texas and was arrested after a search of his vehicle revealed he possessed 175 pounds of marijuana. He was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for drug trafficking, and has since reportedly gone straight, renouncing his past and turning his life around and he now speaks to children involved in athletics about his past. He is now a member of the North Dallas Community of God.  In April 2010, Newton, who once weighed as much as 411 pounds, underwent "vertical gastrectomy," a surgical operation, by Dr. David Kim, that removes up to 75 percent of a patient's stomach and staples the remainder. He has lost 175 pounds and as of November 2010 weighed 220—his lightest weight since high school.  Newton's son, Nate III (nicknamed Tré), was a running back at Carroll High School in Southlake, Texas and was a key contributor for the Dragons' two consecutive 5A football state championship teams in 2005 and 2006. On November 15, 2010, the AP reported Tré Newton would no longer play running back for the University of Texas due to re-occurring injuries. His second son, King, plays defensive end for the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Football Family.

He is the older brother of Tim Newton, who also played in the NFL as a defensive tackle for nine seasons.

Nathaniel Newton (born December 20, 1961) is a former American football guard in the National Football League who played for the Dallas Cowboys (1986–1998) and the Carolina Panthers (1999). He also played for the Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League in 1984 and 1985. Newton played college football at Florida A&M University.

Nathaniel Newton (* 20. Dezember 1961 in Orlando, Florida, USA) ist ein ehemaliger US-amerikanischer American Football Spieler. Er spielte als Offensive Guard u. a. bei den Dallas Cowboys in der NFL.


Design.

In most markets, the M52 switched from the M50's cast iron engine block to a lightweight aluminium engine block. However, in the United States and Canada, some cars (not including the Z3) retained the M50's cast iron engine block, while other cars used the new aluminum M52 block with iron sleeves.  The largest version of the M52 is 2.8 litres, compared with 2.5 litres for the M50. As per the later versions of the M50, the M52 uses variable valve timing on the intake camshaft (called "single-VANOS"). The redline remained at 6,500 rpm.

Technical Update versions.

In 1998, the "M52TU" ("Technical Update") was released, adding variable valve timing to the exhaust camshaft (called "double VANOS"). Other upgrades included electronic throttle control (which uses a throttle cable as backup), a dual length intake manifold (called "DISA") and revised cylinder liners.

Models.

M52B20.

A version was introduced in 1994. Bore is and stroke is. The compression ratio is 11.0:1.  Applications:

M52TUB20.

The "technical update" in 1998 included double VANOS, which improved low rpm torque.  Applications:

M52TUB24.

2.4 L. For Thai market only. The bore is and the stroke is.

M52B25.

A version introduced in 1995. It produces. Bore is and stroke. The compression ratio is 10.5:1.  Applications:

M52TUB25.

M52B28.

The version of the M52 debuted in 1995. It has a bore of, a stroke of and produces. The compression ratio is 10.2:1.  Applications:

M52TUB28.

Nikasil problems with high sulfur fuels.

The aluminum M52 engine received criticism in some markets with high levels of sulfur in the petrol during the late 1990s. Sulfur has a corrosive effect on Nikasil and led to many early M52 and M60 engines having premature bore-liner wear. Countries with high sulfur fuel (such as the United States) received an iron block version of the M52 (except for the M52B28 in the Z3 which was an aluminium block), so the Nikasil problem does not apply to most M52 engines in these countries.  Once the Nikasil coating was determined to be the cause of the problem, steel cylinder liners were used instead of the Nikasil coating. Therefore, the M52TU engine was not affected by the Nikasil problem.

S52.

The S52 is a higher performance version of the M52, which replaced the S50B30US in the post-facelift (1996-1999) North American E36 M3.  Compared to the European-spec S50, the S52 is less powerful. The S52 also shares more in common with the regular M52 engine than the S50 did with the M50, for example sharing the engine block (cast iron, as per North American M52 engines), cylinder head and single VANOS. Unique to the S52 is a bore of and stroke of for a total displacement of 3,152 cc. Compression ratio is 10.5:1. Other upgrades over the M52 include lighter camshafts (with increased lift and duration), valve springs and the exhaust system.  The S52 produces at 6,000 rpm and of torque at 3,800 rpm. The S52 has a redline of 7,000 rpm while the M52 has a 6,500 rpm redline.  Applications:

The BMW M52 is a straight-6 DOHC petrol engine which was produced from 1994–2000. It was released in the E36 320i, to replace the M50. The BMW S52 engine is a high performance variant of the M52 which powered the American and Canadian market E36 M3 from 1996–1999.

Der BMW M52 ist ein Reihensechszylinder-Ottomotor des Automobilherstellers BMW und wurde im September 1994 als Nachfolger des M50-Motors vorgestellt. Er kam erstmals im BMW E36 als 320i/323i/328i zum Einsatz.


Geography.

Shkodër is one of 12 counties of Albania, located in the west of the Northern Region. It lies between latitudes 42° N, and longitudes 20° E. The county area is and the second largest county by area in Albania and the largest in the Northern Region. It is limited to the counties of Kukës to the northeast and east, Lezhë to the southeast and south, the country of Montenegro in the north and the Adriatic Sea in the southwest.  The county has a wide variety of topographical sets and natural landscapes. The Albanian Alps, which extends in the north of the county toward Montenegro, is a primarily mountainous region with a high terrain. The alps delineated several sedimentary basins such as the Mbishkodra basin in the center. The highest point in the county is Maja Jezercë at above the Adriatic in the northeast shared with Kukës County. The lowest spot is above the Adriatic, located in the southwest of the county.  Due to the considerable variation in altitude, it makes for a wide range of climate types. The Adriatic Sea in the west and Albanian Alps in the north have a great influence to the climate of the county. Most of the county has a usually rainy and hot mediterranean climate as defined by the Köppen climate classification. Mean monthly temperature ranges between in January and in August. The mean annual precipitation ranges between and depending on longitude and latitude and prevailing climate type.  Phytogeographically, the county falls within the Dinaric Mountains mixed forests and Illyrian deciduous forests terrestrial ecoregions of the Palearctic Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest and Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub. Inside the county, there are a national park, a nature park and a protected landscape, which include the Theth National Park, Nikaj-Mërtur Regional Nature Park and the Buna River-Velipoja Protected Landscape. The northern bound of the county forms a part of the European Green Belt, which serves as a retreat for endangered mammal and plant species.

References.

Shkodër County (; ) is a county in northwestern Albania, with the capital in Shkodër. The county spans and had a total population of 200,007 people as of 2020. The county borders on the counties of Lezhë, Kukës and the country of Montenegro. The county consists of five municipalities, including Fushë-Arrëz, Malësi e Madhe, Pukë, Shkodër and Vau i Dejës.

Der Qark Shkodra () ist einer der zwölf Qarks in Albanien. Er liegt in Nordalbanien und hat eine Fläche von 3562 Quadratkilometer, auf der 215.347 Einwohner leben (2011). Die Hauptstadt ist Shkodra.


Specifications.

The cartridge overall length is 72.6 mm, cartridge case is 53.34 mm in length and the bullet diameter is.308 in (7.62 mm), which is common to all U.S..30 caliber cartridges. The principle at work in the short magnum cartridge is the advantage of fitting larger volumes of powder in closer proximity to the primer's flash hole, resulting in more uniform, consistent ignition..300 WSM has 80 grains H2O case capacity. The 30-06 Springfield has 69 grains of H2O, 308 Winchester 56 grains of H2O, and the 30-30 Winchester at 45 grains of H2O case capacity. The 300 Winchester Magnum has Case a H2O case capacity of 93.8 grains. With this aspect of near identical performance of the 300 Winchester Magnum, the.300 WSM does this with about 14 grains less of powder behind its bullet. This demonstrates a clear superior engineered design behind the.300 WSM. The.300 WSM also head spaces off its case shoulder versus the older 300 Winchester Magnum's belted head space engineered design.  The advantage to this round is the ballistics are nearly identical to the.300 Winchester Magnum, but in a lighter rifle with a shorter action burning 8 - 10% less gun powder. A disadvantage of cartridge case designs with relatively large case head diameters lies in relatively high bolt thrust levels exerted on the locking mechanism of the employed firearm. Also in small ring actions the larger chamber diameter removes more steel from the barrel tenon making it weaker radially.

Use.

The.300 WSM is adequate for hunting moose, black bear, brown bear, elk, mule deer, and white-tailed deer in forests and plains where long range, flat shots are necessary. The.300 WSM is also used in benchrest shooting.  The.300 WSM has a standard bullet diameter of.308 or 7.62mm and takes advantage of the numerous bullet options available in that caliber.

Warnings.

The.300 WSM is a Delta L problem cartridge, meaning it can present unexpected chambering and/or feeding problems. The Delta L problem article explains this problem in more detail. The.300 Remington Short Action Ultra Magnum has very similar cartridge dimensions but is not interchangeable.

.300 Winchester Short Magnum (also known as.300 WSM) is a.30 caliber rebated rim bottlenecked centerfire short magnum cartridge that was introduced in 2001 by Winchester.

.300 Winchester Short Magnum (.300 WSM) ist eine Magnum-Patrone, die 2001 von Winchester eingeführt wurde. Die.300 WSM ist wie ihre Schwestern, die.270 WSM und die 7 mm WSM, eine Patrone, deren Hülse auf dem Reißbrett entworfen wurde. Sie kommt ohne den typischen Gürtel der amerikanischen Magnum-Patronen aus, welche noch auf der Grundhülse der englischen.375 Holland & Holland basieren. Die WSM-Reihe folgt der Idee moderner Patronenkreationen, die sich durch kurze, voluminöse Hülsen mit einer geringen Verjüngung und einer steilen Schulter auszeichnen. Die Patronen der WSM-Reihe können in Kurzsystemen verwendet werden, was eine geringere Gesamtlänge der Waffe ermöglicht. Durch den größeren Durchmesser der Hülse passen jedoch weniger Patronen ins Magazin. Die dicke Hülse und die steile Schulter sind außerdem nachteilig für die Zufuhr aus dem Magazin. Das Abbrandverhalten des Pulvers ist wegen der kompakteren Hülsengeometrie günstiger als bei der längeren.300 Winchester Magnum, was die Voraussetzung für eine optimale Präzision ist. Der hohe Maximalgasdruck von 4.400 Bar ermöglicht eine optimale Energieausbeute des eingesetzten Treibladungspulvers.


Career.

Metrano's first film role was as a truck driver in the 1961 Cold War thriller "Rocket Attack U.S.A.". Among Metrano's TV appearances were a 1968 episode of "Ironside", a 1968 episode of "Bewitched", a 1976 episode of "The Practice", and "The Streets of San Francisco". In 1977, he was a regular in the cast of the short-lived CBS situation comedy "Loves Me, Loves Me Not". He also made frequent appearances on talk and variety shows in the early 1970s, especially "The Tonight Show", as a "magician" performing absurd tricks, such as making his fingers "jump" from one hand to another, while constantly humming an inane theme song – "Fine and Dandy", an early 1930s composition by Kay Swift. Art worked with Dick Towers, a singer and entertainer, as his straight man early in his career.  Metranos' perhaps best remembered role came in 1985 as Lt./Capt./Cmdt. Mauser in "" and its 1986 sequel "".  After his 1989 fall accident, Metranos' on-screen appearances became limited during his rehabilitation. He did, however, return to television a year later and continued making guest appearances and small roles until his retirement from acting in 2001. Between 1993 and 2001, Metrano infrequently toured a one-man show titled "Jews Don't Belong on Ladders...An Accidental Comedy", which has raised more than $75,000 for Project Support for Spinal Cord Injury, to help buy crutches, wheelchairs, and supplies for disabled people. After a final limited set of shows in 2008, Metrano retired.  In December 2007, Metrano filed a lawsuit against Seth MacFarlane, the producers and studio behind the television show "Family Guy", asserting copyright infringement, and asking for damages in excess of two million dollars. The case was settled out of court in 2010 with undisclosed terms.

Personal life.

Metrano is originally from Brooklyn, New York City, but currently lives in Hollywood, Florida with his wife Rebecca, whom he married in 1972. They have four children together. Since his retirement from acting, Metrano has also owned a yogurt shop.  In September 1989, Metrano broke his neck and seriously injured his spinal cord after falling off a ladder while working on his house. While he was initially a quadriplegic, he has since regained the use of his arms and legs, and is able to walk short distances with the help of crutches, although he regularly uses a motorized wheelchair.

Arthur "Art" Metrano (born September 22, 1936) is an American actor and comedian, best known for his role as Lt./Capt./Cmdt. Mauser in "" and "".

Art Metrano (* 22. September 1936 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York) ist ein US-amerikanischer Schauspieler. Besonders bekannt wurde er durch seine Rolle des "Captain Mauser" in den Filmen "Police Academy 2" und "Police Academy 3". Bekannt ist Metrano auch durch seine Mischung aus Magie und Comedy, womit er seit den frühen 1970er Jahren große Erfolge feiert.