History.

The first example of molecular imprinting is attributed to M. V. Polyakov in 1931 with his studies in the polymerization of sodium silicate with ammonium carbonate. When the polymerization process was accompanied by an additive such as benzene, the resulting silica showed a higher uptake of this additive. By 1949, the concept of instructional theory molecular imprinting was used by Dickey; his research precipitated silica gels in the presence of organic dyes and showed imprinted silica had high selectivity towards the template dye.  Following Dickey’s observations, Patrikeev published a paper of his ‘imprinted’ silica with the method of incubating bacteria with gel silica. The process of drying and heating the silica promoted growth of bacteria better than other reference silicas and exhibited enantioselectivity. He later used this imprinted silica method in further applications such as thin layer chromatography (TLC) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In 1972, Wulff and Klotz introduced molecular imprinting to organic polymers. They found that molecular recognition was possible by covalently introducing functional groups within the imprinted cavity of polymers. The Mosbach group then proved it was possible to introduce functional groups into imprinted cavities through non-covalent interactions, thus leading to non-covalent imprinting. Many approaches regarding molecular imprinting have since been extended to different purposes.

Type of Molecular Imprinting.

Covalent.

In covalent imprinting, the template molecule is covalently bonded to the functional monomers that are then polymerized together. After polymerization, the polymer matrix is cleaved from the template molecule, leaving a cavity shaped as the template. Upon rebinding with the original molecule, the binding sites will interact with the target molecule, reestablishing the covalent bonds. During this reestablishment, kinetics associated with bond binding and bond breakage are obtained back. The imprinted molecule is then released from the template, in which it would then rebind with the target molecule, forming the same covalent bonds that were formed before polymerization. Advantages through utilizing this approach include the functional group being solely associated with the binding sites, avoiding any non-specific binding. The imprinted molecule also displays a homogenous distribution of binding sites, increasing the stability of the template-polymer complex. However, there are a few number of compounds that can be use to imprint with template molecules via covalent bonding, such as alcohols, aldehydes and ketones, all of which have high formation kinetics. In some cases, the rebinding of the polymer matrix with the template can be very slow, making this approach time inefficient for applications that require fast kinetics, such as chromatography.

Non-covalent.

With non-covalent imprinting, interaction forces between template molecule and functional monomer are the same as the interaction forces between the polymer matrix and analyte. The forces involved in this procedure can include hydrogen bonds, dipole dipole interactions, and induced dipole forces. This method is the most widely used approach to create MIPs due to easy preparation and the wide variety of functional monomers that can be bound to the template molecule. Among the functional groups, methacrylic acid is the most commonly used compound due to its ability to interact with other functional groups. Another way to alternate the non-covalent interaction between the template molecule and polymer is through the technique ‘bait and switch’. In this process, functional groups first non-covalently bond with the binding site, but during the rebinding step, the polymer matrix forms irreversible covalent bonds with the target molecule.

Ionic/Metallic.

Ionic imprinting, which involves metal ions, serves as an approach to enhance template molecule and functional monomer interaction in water. Typically, metal ions serve as a mediator during the imprinting process. Cross-linking polymers that are in the presence of a metal ion will form a matrix that is capable of metal binding. Metal ions can also mediate molecular imprinting by binding to a range of functional monomers, where ligands donate electrons to the outermost orbital of the metal ion. In addition to mediating imprinting, metal ions can be utilized in the direct imprinting. For example, a metal ion can serve as the template for the imprinting process.

Applications.

One application of molecular imprinting technology is in affinity-based separations for biomedical, environmental, and food analysis. Sample preconcentration and treatment can be carried out by removing targeted trace amounts of analytes in samples using MIPs. The feasibility of MIPs in solid-phase extraction, solid-phase microextraction, and stir bar sorption extraction has been studied in several publications. Moreover, chromatography techniques such as HPLC and TLC can make use of MIPs as packing materials and stationary phases for the separation of template analytes. The kinetics of noncovalently imprinted materials were observed to be faster than materials prepared by the covalent approach, so noncovalent MIPs are more commonly used in chromatography.  Another application is the use of molecularly imprinted materials as chemical and biological sensors. They have been developed to target herbicides, sugars, drugs, toxins, and vapors. MIP-based sensors not only have high selectivity and high sensitivity, but they can also generate output signals (electrochemical, optical, or piezoelectric) for detection. This allows them to be utilized in fluorescence sensing, electrochemical sensing, chemiluminescence sensing, and UV-Vis sensing. Forensic applications that delve into detections of illicit drugs, banned sport drugs, toxins, and chemical warfare agents are also an area of growing interest.  Molecular imprinting has steadily been emerging in fields like drug delivery and biotechnology. The selective interaction between template and polymer matrix can be utilized in preparation of artificial antibodies. In the biopharmaceutical market, separation of amino acids, chiral compounds, hemoglobin, and hormones can be achieved with MIP adsorbents. Methods to utilize molecular imprinting techniques for mimicking linear and polyanionic molecules, such as DNA, proteins, and carbohydrates have been researched. An area of challenges is protein imprinting. Large, water-soluble biological macromolecules have posed a difficulty for molecular imprinting because their conformational integrity cannot be ensured in synthetic environments. Current methods to navigate this include immobilizing template molecules at the surface of solid substrates, thereby minimizing aggregation and controlling the template molecules to locate at the surface of imprinted materials. However, a critical review of molecular imprinting of proteins by scientists from Utrecht University found that further testing is required.  Pharmaceutical applications include selective drug delivery and control drug release systems, which make use of MIPs’ stable conformations, fast equilibrium release, and resistance to enzymatic and chemical stress. Intelligent drug release, the release of a therapeutic agent as a result of a specific stimuli, has also been explored. Molecularly imprinted materials of insulin and other drugs at the nanoscale were shown to exhibit high adsorption capacity for their respective targets, showing huge potential for newfound drug delivery systems. In comparison with natural receptors, MIPs also have higher chemical and physical stability, easier availability, and lower cost. MIPs could especially be used for stabilization of proteins, particularly selective protection of proteins against denaturation from heat.

Molecular imprinting is a technique to create template-shaped cavities in polymer matrices with predetermined selectivity and high affinity. This technique is based on the system used by enzymes for substrate recognition, which is called the "lock and key" model. The active binding site of an enzyme has a shape specific to a substrate. Substrates with a complementary shape to the binding site selectively bind to the enzyme; alternative shapes that do not fit the binding site are not recognized.

Durch Molecular Imprinting bzw. molekulares Prägen von Polymernanopartikeln können technisch angepasste, vollsynthetische Affinitätsrezeptoren produziert werden, die neue Produktionsmöglichkeiten für biotechnologische, biomedizinische und chemische Verfahren bieten.


Names.

It is known as laku ita in the Naueti language of East Timor.

Habitat.

The northern common cuscus normally inhabits disturbed habitats. These would include secondary forest, plantations, and gardens. This species is also found in primary tropical forest. While living in the arboreal environments, hunters in the area believe that the tree hollows are the preferred den site of the cuscus.  The Northern common cuscus inhabits the islands of Timor, specifically Indonesia and Timor Leste, Wetar and Leti (both to Indonesia) through the Kai Islands and a number of the Moluccan Islands of Indonesia (including: Ambon, Buru, and Seram); it is also found on the islands of Misool, Waigeo, Batanta, and Salawati (all Indonesia), and ranges over much of the northern part of the island of New Guinea (Indonesia and Papua New Guinea), including a number of offshore islands. It ranges as far east as the Bismarck Archipelago, Papua New Guinea, where it is present on many islands including the islands of New Britain and New Ireland. It also occurs on many of the Solomon Islands. It is believed that many of the insular island populations are the result of prehistorical introductions, possibly including: Timor, Seram, Buru, Sanana, the Kai Islands, the Bismarck Archipelago, and the Solomon Island chain. Local villagers in the above-mentioned countries and regions reported that the northern common cuscus can be found in any substantially forested areas from coastal monsoon rainforest and gallery forest to remnant montane rainforest.  The northern common cuscus was introduced into New Ireland between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago, and into the Solomon Islands after 6,000 years ago; in Biak Island and Supiori Island, it is also an introduced species.

Niche.

Generally, its niche is thought to be that of a nocturnal arboreal folivore with frugivorous tendencies.

The northern common cuscus ("Phalanger orientalis"), also known as the grey cuscus, is a species of marsupial in the family Phalangeridae native to northern New Guinea and adjacent smaller islands, but is now also found in the Bismarck Archipelago, southeast and central Moluccas, the Solomons, and Timor, where it is believed to have been introduced in prehistoric times from New Guinea. It was formerly considered conspecific with the allopatric "P. intercastellanus" and "P. mimicus".

Der Graue Kuskus ("Phalanger orientalis"), auch als Nördlicher Grauer Kuskus oder Wollkuskus bezeichnet, ist ein Kletterbeutler aus der Gattung der Kuskus ("Phalanger"), dessen Verbreitungsgebiet sich von Timor und den Molukken über das nördliche Neuguinea und nahegelegene Inseln bis zum Bismarck-Archipel und den Salomonen erstreckt.


Route.

The line runs mainly over the tracks of three railway lines: The trains of the Rhein-Wupper-Bahn (RB 48) stop at all stations on the line. They run daily from 5 am to 20 pm at hourly intervals between Wuppertal Hauptbahnhof and Bonn-Mehlem. Additional services run from Wuppertal to Cologne every hour, so on this section there is a service approximately 30-minutes.  Until December 2007, the service ran to Wuppertal-Oberbarmen, but was shortened due to a reduction in federal funding and operated only in the off-peak. The service to Wuppertal-Oberbarmen was restored in December 2015. The section of the line in Rhineland-Palatinate that was formerly served regularly, was served from 2003 to 2015 by only one service operated to Remagen in the evening and returning next morning. Since December 2015, the service south of Bonn-Mehlem has been abandoned entirely.

Rolling stock.

Since December 2015, Bombardier Talent 2 EMUs have been operated by National Express. They run regularly as a five car set coupled to a three car set. National Express also holds two spare sets of coaches and locomotives of class 182 (EuroSprinter) for the operation on the RB 48.  Until the timetable change in December 2007, the Rhein-Wupper-Bahn was operated mostly using locomotive-hauled push–pull trains. This were usually made up of five “n-carriages” (Silberling), hauled by class 111 electric locomotives. Trains were often hauled by class 110 locomotives and occasionally class 425 electric multiple units in coupled sets were operated. After December 2007, RB 48 were at first operated only with class 425 in coupled sets. The ET 425 sets became available when Abellio Rail NRW won some tenders for operating services in North Rhine-Westphalia. Between the minor change of timetable in June 2009 and the regular timetable change in December 2009, some services were again operated with class 110 locomotives with five to six n-carriages, as not enough carriages were available due to the need for software modifications to the ET 425 vehicles.

History.

In December 2002, the Rhein-Wupper-Bahn replaced the North Rhine-Westphalian section of the former "Rhein-Wupper-Express" (RE 6), which ran between Koblenz and Wuppertal. The current RB 48 serves all stations served by Rhein-Wupper-Bahn on this section, with the exception of Hurth-Kalscheuren. The Rhein-Wupper-Express originally consisted of six n-carriages without a control car, pulled by class 110 locomotives. From 2001, following a three-part electric multiple units, consisting of two class 425 sets and one class 426 set.  The Rhein-Wupper-Bahn originally ran between Remagen and Wuppertal-Oberbarmen and was operated using coupled class 425 sets. In December 2003 it was shortened to terminate at Bonn-Mehlem because Rhineland-Palatinate would not provide sufficient funds for operations in its section.  After the motor coaches of the class 425 sets suffered massive brake problems in the autumn of 2003, in early September 2004 operations of the Rhein-Wupper-Bahn were changed as a precaution under the "H'04" program to push-pull trains of five n-carriages hauled by class 110 locomotives. Modifications to the class 425 sets were completed three years later, in late 2007. Since then class 425 EMUs have run in double sets.  In December 2007, the Rhein-Wupper-Bahn was cut back from Wuppertal-Oberbarmen to Wuppertal Hauptbahnhof. This enabled the service to be run as Bonn–Wuppertal and Köln–Wuppertal cycles, saving a train set. One train runs late in the evening to Wuppertal-Oberbarmen, where it is parked overnight before returning early in the morning to Bonn.  In February 2013, a tender for operation of the Rhein-Wupper-Bahn from 2015 to 2030 was won by National Express. Service to Wuppertal-Oberbarmen were resumed in December 2015. During peak times, half-hourly services have been extended to Bonn.

Prospects.

There are plans to convert the Rhein-Wupper-Bahn service into an S-Bahn service. This would run at 20-minute intervals. This might run on a modified route between Opladen and Köln-Mülheim on the current freight line through Leverkusen-Morsbroich. This would provide better services to the suburbs of Dünnwald and Höhenhaus. It would be possible to run the service as line S 16 to Bonn, however, parts of the Left Rhine line would have to be increased to four tracks (the Cologne S-Bahn western ring). It is also possible that the new line S 16 would end in Cologne and line S 6 from Essen would be extended to Bonn.

The Rhein-Wupper-Bahn is a Regionalbahn service in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It connects the cities of Wuppertal, Solingen, Leverkusen, Cologne and Bonn and it is operated by National Express.

Die Rhein-Wupper-Bahn ist eine Regionalbahn-Linie (RB 48) im Schienenpersonennahverkehr des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen. Sie verbindet die Großstädte Wuppertal, Solingen, Leverkusen, Köln und Bonn und wird seit Dezember 2015 von National Express betrieben.


Plot.

PC Nicholas Angel is a high-achieving officer of the London Metropolitan Police Service. He is promoted to Sergeant, but his jealous colleagues arrange for him to be reassigned to the small rural town of Sandford, Gloucestershire, a regular "Village of the Year" winner. Angel is soon frustrated by his lazy and incompetent colleagues. His partner, PC Danny Butterman, is a fan of buddy cop films and son of Inspector Frank Butterman, Angel's superior.  The two lead actors of a poorly acted "homage to "Romeo and Juliet"", whom Angel had pulled over earlier for speeding, are murdered by a cloaked figure, who disguises it as a car accident. Angel is the only officer who suspects foul play. Sent to resolve a dispute, Angel discovers a stash of illegal weapons, including an old naval mine, and locks them in the police station. Angel warms to Danny, and they binge-watch action movies at Danny's home. That night, wealthy land developer George Merchant is killed in an apparent gas explosion caused by his stove, and his body is launched out of a window by the explosion.  Angel suspects that the killings are connected to a recent property deal. A local journalist, Tim Messenger, approaches Angel at a church, claiming to have information, but is killed by falling masonry. Leslie Tiller, the village florist, tells Angel about her plans to sell her house to Merchant's business partners. While Angel is distracted, she is stabbed in the neck with her garden shears; Angel gives chase but loses the killer. Angel suspects Simon Skinner, the sinister manager of the local supermarket, as the property deal would have built a rival supermarket, but Skinner has an alibi.  Angel is attacked in his hotel room by one of Skinner's employees. Angel knocks him out and learns of a secret Neighbourhood Watch Alliance (NWA) meeting at Sandford Castle. Angel confronts the NWA, led by Frank, who reveal that they carried out the murders for various petty reasons, as each victim supposedly threatened Sandford's chances of winning Village of the Year and staging the murders as accidents. Frank's motive is his late wife had put everything into helping Sandford win the first "Village of the Year", but travellers ruined their chances the night before the judges arrived, driving her to suicide. Angel flees and falls into the castle's catacombs, where he finds the bodies of the NWA's other victims. Danny appears and fakes killing Angel. Pretending to dispose of the body, Danny drives Angel away and urges him to return to London for his own safety.  The next day, Angel returns to Sandford and arms himself with the confiscated guns. He and Danny engage in a shootout with the NWA. When Frank sends the other officers to arrest them, Angel and Danny convince them that Frank is the culprit. Frank flees and the officers besiege the supermarket, with Skinner fleeing in a car with Frank. After a car chase, Angel corners Skinner at a model version of the village, and Skinner is impaled through the jaw by a miniature church steeple, while Frank is caught after being attacked by a swan that Angel and Danny had in their car earlier.  Angel's former superiors ask him to return to London, as the crime rate has risen heavily in his absence, but Angel decides to remain in Sandford. While the Sandford Police are going over the paperwork of the arrests, the elderly Tom Weaver, the last NWA member, bursts into the station wielding a blunderbuss. He shoots at Angel, but Danny jumps in front. In the resulting struggle, Weaver accidentally activates the naval mine, killing himself and destroying the station.  One year later, Angel has been promoted to Inspector and head of the Sandford police. Danny has survived and is now Sergeant. After visiting Danny's mother's grave, the two drive off to their next crime scene.

Production.

Writing.

Director Edgar Wright wanted to write and direct a cop film because "there isn't really any tradition of cop films in the UK... We felt that every other country in the world had its own tradition of great cop action films and we had none." Wright and Pegg spent eighteen months writing the script. The first draft took eight months to develop, and after watching 138 cop-related films for dialogue and plot ideas and conducting over fifty interviews with police officers for research, the script was completed after another nine months. The title was based on the various two-word titles of action films in the 1980s and 1990s. In one interview Wright declared that he "wanted to make a title that really had very little meaning... like "Lethal Weapon" and "Point Break" and "Executive Decision"." In the same interview, Pegg joked that many action films' titles "seem to be generated from two hats filled with adjectives and nouns and you just, 'Okay, that'll do.'" While writing the script, the film's director and writer, Edgar Wright, as well as Pegg, intended to include Frost as the partner for Pegg's character. Frost revealed that he would do the film only if he could name his character, and he chose "Danny Butterman".

Preparation and filming.

During the latter half of 2005, Working Title Films approached several towns in South West England looking for an appropriate filming location. Pegg commented, "We're both [Pegg and Wright] from the West Country so it just seemed like it was the perfect and logical thing to drag those kind of ideas and those genres and those clichés back to our beginnings to where we grew up, so you could see high-octane balls-to-the-wall action in Frome". Stow-on-the-Wold was considered amongst others, but after being turned away, the company settled upon Wells in Somerset, Wright's hometown, of which he has said "I love it but I also want to trash it". Wells Cathedral was digitally painted out of every shot of the cathedral city, as Wright wanted the Church of St Cuthbert to be the centre building for the fictional town of Sandford; however, the Bishop's Palace is identifiable in some shots (and was itself used as the setting for some scenes). While shooting scenes in their uniforms, Pegg and Frost were often mistaken for genuine police officers and asked for directions by passers-by. Filming also took place at the Hendon Police College, including the driving school skid pan and athletic track. Next to Hendon is Mill Hill where Finchley Nurseries is located which is where the flower shop scene was filmed. Filming commenced on 19 March 2006 and lasted for eleven weeks. After editing, Wright ended up cutting half an hour of footage from the film.

Outside references.

Self-references.

Wright has said that "Hot Fuzz" takes elements from his final amateur film, "Dead Right", which he described as both ""Lethal Weapon" set in Somerset" and "a "Dirty Harry" film in Somerset". He uses some of the same locations in both films, including the Somerfield supermarket, where he used to work as a shelf-stacker.  References to "Shaun of the Dead" are also present in the film. In one scene, Nicholas wants to chase a shoplifter by jumping over garden fences; however, Danny is reluctant. Nicholas says, "What's the matter, Danny? You never taken a shortcut before?" He smiles assuredly before jumping over three in a row (according to the DVD commentary, Pegg vaulted over three fences, and a stunt man did a back flip over the fourth). When Danny attempts it, he trips and falls through the fence. This is almost identical to a scene in "Shaun of the Dead", including the fall-through-fence gag, albeit with the pratfalling role reverse: in "Shaun of the Dead" it happens to Pegg's character rather than Frost's, and he falls over the fence rather than through it. The DVD commentary says that Frost purposely looked back at the camera after crashing through the fence, to show that he had done the stunt rather than someone else.  Frost's characters (Danny in "Hot Fuzz", Ed in "Shaun of the Dead") have a liking for Cornetto ice cream. Pegg and Wright have referred to "Hot Fuzz" as being the second film in "Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy" with "Shaun of the Dead" as the first and "The World's End" as the third.

Other films.

Various scenes in "Hot Fuzz" feature a variety of action film DVDs such as "" and scenes from "Point Break" and "Bad Boys II". Wright revealed that he had to get permission from every actor in each video clip, including stunt men, to use the clips and for the use of the DVD covers had to pay for the rights from the respective studios. The film parodies clichés used in other action movies. On the topic of perceived gun fetishes in these movies, Pegg has said, "Men can't do that thing, which is the greatest achievement of humankind, which is to make another human, so we make metal versions of our own penises and fire more bits of metal out of the end into people's heads... It's our turn to grab the gun by the hilt and fire it into your face." Despite this, Pegg maintains that the film is not a spoof, in that "They lack the sneer that a lot of parodies have that look down on their source material. Because we're looking up to it." The film also includes various references to "The Wicker Man", in which Edward Woodward had played a policeman tough on law and order.

Effects.

To illustrate the destruction of the mansion as a result of the gas explosion, gas mortars were placed in front of the building to create large-scale fireballs. The wave of fire engulfs the camera, and to achieve that effect, gas mortars were used again but were fired upwards into a black ceiling piece that sloped up towards the camera. When the sequence was shot at a high speed, the flames appeared to surge across the ground. For one of the final scenes of the film, the Sandford police station is destroyed by an explosion. Part of the explosion was created by using a set model that showed its windows being blown out, while the building remained intact. The actual destruction of the building was depicted by exploding a miniature model of the station.  Similar to the work in "Shaun of the Dead", blood and gore was prevalent throughout the film. Visual effects supervisor Richard Briscoe revealed the rationale for using the large amounts of blood: "In many ways, the more extreme you make it, the more people know it is stylised and enjoy the humour inherent in how ridiculous it is. It's rather like the (eventually) limbless Black Knight in ["Monty Python and the Holy Grail"]." The most time-consuming gore sequence involved a character's head being crushed by a section of a church. A dummy was used against a green screen and the head was detonated at the point when the object was about to impact the body. Throughout the film, over seventy gunfight shots were digitally augmented; Briscoe's rationale for adding the additional effects was that "The town square shootout, for example, is full of extra little hits scattered throughout, so that it feels like our hero characters really do have it all going off, all around them. It was a great demonstration of [how] seemingly very trivial enhancements can make a difference when combined across a sequence."

Promotion.

The first two teaser trailers were released on 16 October 2006. Wright, Pegg, and Frost maintained several video blogs, which were released at various times throughout the production of the film. Wright and Frost held a panel at the 2006 Comic-Con convention in San Diego, California to promote "Hot Fuzz", which included preliminary footage and a question and answer session. The two returned to the convention again in 2007 to promote the US DVD release. Advance screenings of the film took place on 14 February 2007 in the UK and the world premiere was on 16 February 2007. The premiere included escorts from motorcycle police officers and the use of blue carpet instead of the traditional red carpet.

Release.

Critical reception.

"Hot Fuzz" received critical acclaim. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 91% approval rating with an average rating of 7.65/10 based on 203 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "The brilliant minds behind "Shaun of the Dead" successfully take a shot at the buddy cop genre with "Hot Fuzz". The result is a bitingly satiric and hugely entertaining parody." It has a Metacritic score of 81 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Olly Richards of "Empire" praised the chemistry between Pegg and Frost, saying: "After almost a decade together, they're clearly so comfortable in each other's presence that they feel no need to fight for the punchline, making them terrific company for two hours". Philip French of "The Observer", who did not care for "Shaun of the Dead", warmed to the comedy team in this film. The film also received positive reviews in the United States. Derek Elley of "Variety" praised Broadbent and Dalton as "especially good as Angel's hail-fellow-well-met superior and oily No. 1 suspect". As an homage to the genre, the film was well received by screenwriter Shane Black.  Despite being mostly praised, not all reviews were positive. "The Daily Mirror" gave "Hot Fuzz" only 2/5, stating that "many of the jokes miss their target" as the film becomes more action-based. Anthony Quinn of "The Independent" said, "The same impish spirit [as in "Spaced"] is uncorked here, but it has been fatally indulged".  In 2016, "Empire" magazine ranked "Hot Fuzz" 50th on their list of the 100 best British films, with their entry stating, “the second in their planned trilogy again nails the genre clichés, with everything from "Point Break" to "Bad Boys II" (both openly referenced) humorously homaged. Pegg’s natural chemistry with long-time real-life pal Frost remains endearing as ever. Elsewhere, the "Scooby-Doo"-meets-"Scream" mystery is peppered with Britain's finest talent, playing up the English small-town clichés to great effect in a brilliantly incongruous meeting of sleepy rural life and stabby violent action.”

Box office.

The film generated £7.1 million in its first weekend of release in the United Kingdom on 14 February 2007. In 20 April US opening weekend, the film grossed $5.8 million from only 825 cinemas, making it the highest per-cinema average of any film in the top ten that week. Its opening weekend take beat the $3.3 million opening weekend gross of Pegg and Wright's previous film, "Shaun of the Dead". In its second weekend of release, Rogue Pictures expanded the film's cinema count from 825 to 1,272 and it grossed $4.9 million, representing a 17% dip in the gross. Altogether, "Hot Fuzz" grossed $80,573,774 worldwide. In nine weeks, the film earned nearly twice what "Shaun of the Dead" made in the US, and more than three times its gross in other countries.

Home media.

The DVD was released on 11 June 2007 in the UK. Over one million DVDs were sold in the UK in the first four weeks of its release. The two-disc set contains the feature film with commentaries, outtakes, storyboards, deleted scenes, a making-of documentary, video blogs, featurettes, galleries, and some hidden easter eggs. The DVD also features Wright's last amateur film, "Dead Right", which he described as ""Hot Fuzz" without the budget". Due to the above release date, the film arrived on region 2 DVD earlier than the theatrical release date in Germany on 14 June 2007. In the commentary with director Wright and fellow filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, they discuss nearly 200 films.  The US DVD and HD DVD release was on 31 July 2007. It opened at #2 at the American DVD sales chart, selling 853,000 units for over $14m in revenue. 1,923,000 units have been sold, acquiring revenue of $33.3 million. The HD DVD edition has more special features than the standard DVD release. A three-disc collector's edition was released on 27 November 2007 and a Blu-ray edition on 22 September 2009.

Soundtrack.

The soundtrack album, "Hot Fuzz: Music from the Motion Picture", was released on 19 February 2007 in the United Kingdom, and on 17 April 2007 in the United States and Canada. The UK release contains 22 tracks, and the North American release has 14. The film's score is by British composer David Arnold, who scored the James Bond film series from 1997 to 2008. The soundtrack album's "Hot Fuzz Suite" is a compilation of excerpts from Arnold's score. According to the DVD commentary, the scenes where Nicholas Angel is at a convenience store, while leaving Sandford, and his return to the police station while arming for the final shootout (found in the track "Avenging Angel"), were scored by Robert Rodríguez, who did not see the rest of the film while writing the music.  Other music from the film is a mix of 1960s and 1970s British rock (The Kinks, T. Rex, The Move, Sweet, The Troggs, Arthur Brown, Cozy Powell, Dire Straits), new wave (Adam Ant, XTC) and a Glaswegian indie band (The Fratellis). The soundtrack album features dialogue extracts by Pegg, Frost, and other cast members, mostly embedded in the music tracks. The song selection also includes some police-themed titles, including Supergrass' "Caught by the Fuzz" as well as "Here Come the Fuzz", which was specially composed for the film by Jon Spencer's Blues Explosion.

Hot Fuzz is a 2007 action comedy film directed by Edgar Wright who co-wrote the script with Simon Pegg. Pegg and Nick Frost play police officers investigating a series of mysterious deaths in a West Country village. It is the second film in the "Three Flavours Cornetto" trilogy by Wright, Pegg, Frost and producer Nira Park.

Hot Fuzz – Zwei abgewichste Profis (Originaltitel: "Hot Fuzz", engl. für „Heiße Bullen“) ist eine britisch-französische Action-Komödie aus dem Jahr 2007. Sie ist der zweite Teil der Blood-and-Ice-Cream-Trilogie. Wie bei den anderen beiden Filmen der Reihe führte Edgar Wright Regie, Simon Pegg übernahm die Hauptrolle, und beide zusammen schrieben das Drehbuch.


History.

Beginning.

The 1888–1889 New Zealand Native football team organised by Joseph Warbrick was the first overseas team to tour the Home Nations, where the team became the first New Zealand side to perform a haka during its match v Surrey, and also the first to wear an all black uniform. It was however a wholly private endeavour.  The first New Zealand Māori team given official status was selected in 1910. That year the team toured New Zealand and Australia, playing a range of combined New Zealand provinces and Australian state teams. An American Universities squad was touring Australia at the same time and two fixtures were against the New Zealand Māoris. Both were played at Sydney and were won by the New Zealanders 14-11 and 21-3 respectively. In their 19 total matches played they won 12, drew 3 and lost 4 games. The New Zealand Māoris had not played a match outside of New Zealand or Australia until 1926, when they undertook a European tour of France, England and Wales. They also played two games in New Zealand before they left, two more in Australia on the way, and also stopped in Sri Lanka for one game before travelling to France to start the European fixtures. On the return to New Zealand they stopped in Victoria, Australia for a final game in which they won 41-3. In all there were 40 games played. The New Zealand Māoris won 30 of those, drew 2 and lost 8. Full-back George Nepia remains as the most notable player of that period.  The team was renamed the Maori All Blacks in 2012, having been previously called the New Zealand Maori and New Zealand Maoris.  The team is a selection of the best of New Zealand's Māori rugby players and boasts a proud history of defeating national sides. In matches in New Zealand in 2010 to mark one hundred years of Māori All Blacks rugby, the team defeated Ireland and England, having beaten the British and Irish Lions in 2005. Many members have gone on to play for the All Blacks.

Māori All Blacks and apartheid.

New Zealand has a long history of sporting contact with South Africa, especially through rugby union. Until the 1970s this resulted in discrimination against Māori players, since the apartheid political system in South Africa for most of the twentieth century did not allow people of different races to play sport together, and therefore South African officials requested that Māori players not be included in sides which toured their country. Despite some of New Zealand's best players being Māori, this was agreed to, and Māori were excluded from tours of South Africa, including the Māori All Blacks.  Nonetheless in the early period, South Africa did play the Māori All Blacks. In April 2010 it was revealed by Muru Walters that in 1956 Ernest Corbett, Minister of Māori Affairs, had told the team to deliberately lose to the Springboks "for the future of rugby". The Māori team lost 37-0. This was followed by Walters calling for the New Zealand government to apologise for the way it treated Māori rugby players.

Professional era.

The professional era in Māori rugby union began in 1994, marked the team lost only four of its 26 games played between 1994 and 2004, including beating England, Argentina, Scotland and Fiji. The Māori continued their winning form in 2004 beating the England Saxons in extra time in the final of the Churchill Cup in Canada.  One of their two annual tournaments is a competition involving the Pacific top national teams, the Pacific Nations Cup. From 2008 they replaced the Junior All Blacks, where they were undefeated champions, narrowly beating Australia A in the final game of the tournament. The Churchill Cup was another, winning in 2004 and in 2006, defeating Ireland A and the USA in pool play in Santa Clara, California and Scotland A in the final in Edmonton, Alberta.  In 2005 the Māori beat the British and Irish Lions for the first time in an official match. Their preparations for this match forced them to withdraw from the 2005 Churchill Cup. In August 2012, NZRU announced the Māori All Blacks would play three matches in the United Kingdom, including an international fixture against Canada. Jamie Joseph was coach with assistance from Daryl Gibson.

Haka.

One of the New Zealand Natives' legacies was the haka, a traditional Māori posture dance with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet, to the accompaniment of rhythmically shouted words; this was first performed during a match on 3 October 1888 against Surrey in England, United Kingdom. The haka was later adopted by the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks.  In 2001, the Māori first performed the "Timatanga" haka, which describes the evolution of life and the creation of New Zealand from the four winds. This was written especially for the New Zealand Maori team by team "kaumātua" (elder) Whetu Tipiwai. It tells the Maori story of the creation from the void, the nothingness, the darkness to what we have today. It also tells of a gathering of young warriors, young chiefs, young rugby players who are making a statement and setting aims, objectives and strategies to achieve "matauranga" (knowledge), "whanaunatanga" (unity) and "taumatatanga" (excellence).

Matches against international sides.

New Zealand Māori matches against international sides, including the New Zealand Natives 1888 and 1889 tour. These results are only against full international sides, including the British and Irish Lions, but not against second national teams.

Players.

Current squad.

On 3 July 2019, Clayton McMillan named a 26-man squad for a two-match series against Fiji in July.  On 10 July 2019, it was confirmed three new players joined the squad. Billy Harmon, Haereiti Hetet, and Pouri Rakete-Stones replaced Elliot Dixon who withdrew from the squad and Ben May who was ruled out with injury.

The Māori All Blacks, previously called the New Zealand Māori, are a rugby union team from New Zealand. A representative team of the New Zealand Rugby Union, a prerequisite for playing in the team is that the player has Māori whakapapa (genealogy). In the past this rule was not strictly applied; non–Māori players who looked Māori were often selected in the team. These included a few Pacific island players and a couple of African descent. Today all players have their ancestry verified before selection in the team.

New Zealand Māori ist eine neuseeländische Rugby-Union-Mannschaft, die traditionellerweise gegen Nationalmannschaften spielt, die in Neuseeland zu Besuch sind. Im Ausland nahm die Mannschaft bis 2007 nur am Churchill Cup teil, um nicht mit der eigenen Nationalmannschaft (den All Blacks) zu konkurrieren. Dieses Turnier konnten die New Zealand Māori bisher zweimal gewinnen (2004, 2006). Seit 2008 nehmen die NZ Māori nicht mehr am Churchill Cup teil, da sie die Junior All blacks im Pacific Nations Cup ersetzten, den sie dann auch sofort bei der ersten Teilnahme gewannen.


History.

Early years.

The band has its origins as a five-piece band called "Groundswell", formed in Norwood, Ontario, in 1992. Groundswell released one full-length album, "Wave of Popular Feeling". The band's line-up consisted of lead vocalist Adam Gontier, drummer Neil Sanderson, bassist Brad Walst, lead guitarist Phil Crowe, and rhythm guitarist Joe Grant. Most of the members were attending high school when the band formed. By the end of 1995, the band had broken up.  In 1997, Gontier, Sanderson, and Walst regrouped as "Three Days Grace". According to Gontier, the name refers to a sense of urgency, with the question being whether someone could change something in their life if they had only three days to make a change. Once in Toronto, the band became acquainted with local producer Gavin Brown. They gave him several years' worth of material which they had created, and he "...picked out what he called 'the golden nuggets'", according to Gontier. Brown and the band polished the songs and created a demo album, which they gave to EMI Music Publishing Canada. The record label wanted to hear more material, and with Brown producing, the band created the song, "I Hate Everything About You", which attracted the interest of several record labels. TDG were soon signed to Jive Records after being sought out by the company's president.  They moved to Long View Farm, a studio in North Brookfield, Massachusetts, to record their debut album. The self-titled album was finished in Woodstock, New York and released on July 22, 2003.  "Three Days Grace" was met with mixed-to-favourable reviews. Dave Doray of IGN said of the album, "Mistakes? There's not many." AllMusic reviewer Heather Phares said that on "Three Days Grace", "the band's focus and adherence to alt-metal's formulas – coupled with tight songwriting and some unexpectedly pretty choruses – results in a strong tracks that are more memorable than the work of many of their peers". She did criticize the album for its simplicity, concluding, "Three Days Grace are definitely one of the most accessible alt-metal bands of the 2000s; they just need to add some more distinctiveness to their sound."  To support the eponymous album, the band released their first single, "I Hate Everything About You" (the song whose demo had gotten the band a record deal) in 2003. The song received heavy airplay and rapidly became widely recognizable, and was labelled as the band's "breakout hit". After Barry Stock joined as lead guitarist in late 2003, the band toured continuously and extensively for nearly two years in support of their major label debut. The album peaked at No. 9 on the Canadian Albums Chart and No. 69 on the "Billboard" 200, and was certified platinum in the U.S. by the RIAA in December 2004 and double platinum in Canada by the CRIA.  The band appeared as themselves in the 2004 film "Raise Your Voice" performing the songs "Are You Ready" and "Home".

"One-X" and Stock's arrival (2006–2008).

The release of "I Hate Everything About You" was followed by two more single releases, "Just Like You" and "Home". About this time, Gontier developed an addiction to the prescription drug OxyContin. After finishing the tour for their first album, the band knew they could not continue with the condition he was in, so in 2005, with the support of his family, friends, and band members, Gontier checked himself into the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto. While in treatment, Gontier began writing lyrics for songs regarding how he felt and what he was going through in rehabilitation. Gontier successfully completed treatment at CAMH. The band found a place suitable for further songwriting in Northern Ontario, in a cottage where they experimented on, tested, and practiced new songs. After three months at the cottage, they had about finished what would be their second album. Gontier contributed lyrics about his experiences in rehab; the first single from "One-X", titled "Animal I Have Become", features lyrics Gontier had written while getting sober. The second album contained at least four more such songs, including "Over and Over", "Gone Forever", and the hit songs "Pain" and "Never Too Late". In a 2006 interview, Gontier said that the album's material was more personal to him than the band's previous work because the inspiration had come out of his experiences with despondence, drug abuse, and rehab, which had constituted the past two years of his life.  "One-X" was released on June 13, 2006 and marked Barry Stock's first effort with the band. Gontier also performed live by himself at various rehabilitation centres as a "thank you" to the people who had helped him get through his addiction, and as an inspiration to others who were also dealing with addiction issues. In these performances, he would play songs such as "Pain", "Animal I Have Become", and "Never Too Late", to encourage and motivate people under treatment to overcome their addiction. Most, if not all, of these solo acoustic performances, called the "Three Days to Change" tour, took place simultaneously as Three Days Grace toured promoting "One-X". In November 2006, Gontier performed with the band at a special show at the CAMH in Toronto, where he had gone for his own rehab. The audience of about 250 people included patients, radio contest winners, family and friends of the band, and representatives from the band's label. Following the performance, Gontier did a 50-minute Q&A session which was filmed as part of the "Behind the Pain" documentary.  "One-X" was met with mostly positive reviews. The "Toronto Star" complimented the album with a review title of "One CD Worth Buying..." and focused on its lyrics, saying: "The lyrics really speak out to you, especially if you're going through a tough time in your life." Allmusic reviewer Corey Apar praised the music, saying it "remains catchy despite its lyrical darkness", but pointed out that Three Days Grace is "hardly innovative" in their approach to writing music and that "further distinctive qualities" would help the band separate itself "...from their alt-metal peers".  "One-X" peaked at No. 2 on the Canadian album chart and at No. 5 on the "Billboard" 200, selling 78,000 copies in the U.S. in its first week of release. "Animal I Have Become" was Three Days Grace's most successful single, becoming 2006's most played rock song in Canada. The album helped Three Days Grace become the No. 1 rock artist by airplay in the U.S. and Canada in 2007, with "Billboard" ranking them as the No. 1 rock artist of 2007. "One-X" was certified triple platinum by the RIAA in the U.S. on March 4, 2016, and double platinum by the CRIA in Canada in July 2007. Three Days Grace toured the U.S. and Canada throughout the second half of 2006 and all of 2007 in support of "One-X". In early 2008, they toured across the U.S. alongside Seether and Breaking Benjamin.

"Life Starts Now" (2009–2011).

From March to August 2008, and from January to April 2009, the band recorded their third album at The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, British Columbia, and in Los Angeles, again with producer Howard Benson who had worked with them on their previous releases. The album, entitled "Life Starts Now", was released on September 22, 2009. Critics as well as band members have noted the album's departure from the angry tone of the band's previous releases into a lyrical style that is perceived as more optimistic. This album reflects the maturity of the band members as they overcome problems such as sickness and death within their families; in a published statement they were quoted as saying: "We had to be inspired by it, but the outcome is this: It’s a new beginning. It’s life starting over.” According to guitarist Barry Stock, the album's theme centres around "a new sense of freshness" and the idea that "you don't have to be stuck in whatever it is you're dealing with. Whether it's good or bad, it's your choice to make a change".  "Life Starts Now" debuted at No. 3 on the "Billboard" 200, the band's highest chart position to date, and sold 79,000 copies in its first week. The album was met with mostly positive reviews. Ben Rayner of the "Toronto Star" gave the album a negative review, saying it possesses "no sound of its own, just a shallow range between Linkin Park and Nickelback". According to Allmusic reviewer James Christopher Monger, who gave the album three out of five stars, "Life Starts Now" "...continues the theme of "One-X", Gontier's personal demons, but with a 'hint of sunlight'." He complimented the album, however, saying it "...treats the well-worn metal themes of anger, isolation, heartache, and redemption with the kind of begrudging respect they deserve, pumping out a competent flurry of fist-bump anthems and world-weary, mid-tempo rockers".  The first single release from the album, "Break", was released on September 1, 2009. In support of the record, the band embarked on the Life Starts Now Tour, with 20 Canadian shows lasting through November and December 2009 and U.S. shows in January–February 2010. They were joined by Breaking Benjamin and Flyleaf during the U.S. shows.  "Life Starts Now" was nominated for "Best Rock Album" at the 2010 Juno Awards, but lost to "Billy Talent III". They went on tour with Nickelback and Buckcherry on the "Dark Horse Fall 2010 Tour" and they later toured with My Darkest Days starting in March 2011.

"Transit of Venus" and Gontier's departure (2012–2013).

On October 7, 2011, the RCA Music Group announced it was disbanding Jive Records along with Arista and J Records, and moving all the artists signed to the three labels to its RCA Records brand, which included Three Days Grace.  On June 5, 2012, the same day as Venus' visible transit across the sun, the band announced that their fourth studio album would be called "Transit of Venus" and released on October 2, 2012. They created an early promotional video on their website featuring clips of them in the studio as well as footage of the physical transit of Venus. Due to the rarity of this occurrence, they created the slogan, "Some things will never happen again in your lifetime", reflecting both this uncommon occurrence as well as the mood that the lyrics and music would most likely take on. The first single from the album, "Chalk Outline", was released on August 14.  On January 9, 2013, the band announced that Gontier had left the band. They described Gontier's departure as being abrupt and unexplained. The departure came just weeks before a co-headlining tour. Gontier explained that he was simply ready to start a new chapter in his life, stating, "After twenty years of being part of an ever evolving band, I have been inspired by life, to move on and to continue to evolve on my own terms." Brad Walst's brother, Matt (of My Darkest Days), became the band's new lead singer. They commenced their 2013 tour in Moline, Illinois. Shinedown and P.O.D. accompanied the band throughout the tour. Dani Rosenoer, the band's touring keyboardist and backing vocalist since 2012, also joined the band for the tour.

"Human" (2014–2017).

During an interview on July 19, 2013 with 99.9 KISW in Seattle, Neil Sanderson confirmed the band was currently working on a new album and they had already recorded half of it. He stated, "We're really amped-up about it, it's got a new energy. It's a little heavier, and it's just more aggressive and it's just got this fresh vibe." A new track entitled "Painkiller" was released to US Rock radio stations on April 8, 2014. On June 6, 2014, "Painkiller" reached No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock Charts, which made it the eleventh No. 1 single the band has released. In an August 2014 interview, the band revealed the title of their next single, "I Am Machine", which was released September 30, 2014, On January 26, 2015, it was revealed that the new album would be titled "Human". On March 23, 2015, "Human Race" was released as the third single. "Human" was released on March 31. In early 2015, the band toured Europe, followed by touring predominantly throughout the United States and later in Canada, starting in November 2015. Halestorm supported most of the Canadian dates. The band toured Europe and Russia in early 2016. On November 18, 2016, Three Days Grace released a cover of the Phantogram song "You Don't Get Me High Anymore".

"Outsider" (2017–present).

The band began recording their sixth studio album, "Outsider", in July 2017, releasing "The Mountain" as the first single on January 25, 2018 with an accompanying music video. The song peaked at No. 1 on the "Billboard" Mainstream Rock chart in March 2018 and became their 13th No. 1 on the chart while tying the record with Van Halen. The album was released on March 9, 2018. On June 12, "Infra-Red" was released as the band's second single from the album. "Infra-Red" peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard's Mainstream Rock Songs chart and it is their 14th No. 1 single. With this latest achievement, the band broke Van Halen's two-decade record of topping the chart. On November 13, 2018 "Right Left Wrong" was released as the band's third single from the album. It peaked at No. 1 on the "Billboard"'s Mainstream Rock Songs chart and it is their 15th No. 1 single. On March 14, 2019 the band won Rock Artist of the Year on 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards.

Awards and records.

The band have been recognized for their musical efforts through several awards and nominations. In 2007, the band was ranked by Mediabase as the top artist in airplay across all rock formats in the U.S. and Canada, and "Billboard" named them Rock Artist of the Year. They have been nominated for six Juno awards but only won four, including "New Group of the Year" for 2004. "I Hate Everything About You" won for "Best Rock Video" and "People's Choice: Favourite Canadian Group" at Much Music Awards. In 2007, they won for "Best Group of the Year", and their album "One-X" for "Album of the Year". The band's first single from "One-X", "Animal I Have Become", was Canada's most-played rock song in 2006 and won that year's Mediabase award for the most-played rock song on radio. "Never Too Late" was nominated for "Best Video" and "Best Rock Video", and "Pain" won for "Best International Video by a Canadian" and "People's Choice: Favorite Canadian Group" at Much Music Awards.  In 2010, "Life Starts Now" was nominated for "Best Rock Album" at the Juno awards, but lost to "Billy Talent III". In 2010, "Break" was nominated for "Best Post Production Video" and "Best Rock Video of the Year" at the Much Music Awards on Fuse.tv. "Break" was nominated for "Best Single" and "Life Starts Now" won for "Best Album" at the Casby Awards.  They were nominated for the 2016 Juno Award for Group of the Year.  The band has a record 15 No. 1 songs on the "Billboard" Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.  On March 14, 2019 the band won Rock Artist of the Year on 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards.  They won the Rock Songwriters of the Year award for "The Mountain" in the 30th anniversary of the SOCAN Awards.

Musical style.

Their music has been described as post-grunge, hard rock, alternative metal, alternative rock, and nu metal. Their self-titled album mostly features the sounds of alternative metal and post-grunge. However, on their second album, "One-X", the band had more guitar solos and a more melodic sound. Their fourth album, "Transit of Venus", included a few electronic influences.

Members.

Current Former  Former touring musicians

Discography.

Studio albums

Three Days Grace is a Canadian rock band formed in Norwood, Ontario in 1997. Based in Toronto, the band's original line-up consisted of guitarist and lead vocalist Adam Gontier, drummer and backing vocalist Neil Sanderson, and bassist Brad Walst. In 2003, Barry Stock was recruited as the band's lead guitarist, making them a four-member band. In 2013, Gontier left the band and was replaced by My Darkest Days' vocalist Matt Walst, who is also the younger brother of bassist Brad Walst.

Three Days Grace ist eine kanadische Alternative-Rock- bzw. Post-Grunge-Band. Sie besteht aus den Gründungsmitgliedern Schlagzeuger und Background-Sänger Neil Sanderson, E-Bassist und Background-Sänger Brad Walst, seit 2003, Lead-Gitarrist Barry Stock und seit 2013 dem Lead-Sänger Matt Walst.


Overview.

The tournament was first held in 2003 with only Canada, England and the USA taking part. The tournament was set up to improve the calibre and profile of rugby in North America, and also to help develop English players not yet part of the full national team. Because of the gap in skill levels, the England A side (second level, despite the 'A' moniker), rebranded in 2006 as England Saxons, took part instead of the full England men's side; however, the full England women's side participated.  In 2004, New Zealand were invited, being represented by the New Zealand Māori men's team and the women's representative team, the Black Ferns. In 2005, Argentina sent its A side to the men's competition. Originally, New Zealand Māori had been invited, but they declined because it would clash with their fixture with the British and Irish Lions. There was no women's competition in either 2005 or 2006, largely because of Canada's preparations to host the Women's Rugby World Cup in 2006.  Originally, the competition was scheduled only to 2007, as the original contract between Rugby Canada, the Rugby Football Union (England) and USA Rugby was a five-year deal. Under the agreement, Canada would host the first three events, while the USA had an option to host in 2006 and 2007. However, because USA Rugby became involved in hosting the USA Sevens tournament in the IRB Sevens World Series, it allowed Canada to be the principal host in 2006, although that competition saw matches in the US for the first time, in San Jose (more precisely, in the Silicon Valley city of Santa Clara), and three Canadian cities hosted matches: Edmonton, Toronto, and Ottawa.  The organizers increased the number of men's teams competing from four to six, effective with the 2006 competition. South Africa and Wales had expressed an interest, but Ireland and Scotland accepted invitations for 2006. Both sent A sides to the competition, and the New Zealand Māori returned that year as well.  In 2007, the Churchill Cup was held in England for the first time. Both Rugby Canada and USA Rugby agreed to the one-time move largely because both countries' national teams would be competing in the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France.  The 2008 tournament returned to North America, according to tournament organizers. The participants were Canada, USA Eagles, England Saxons, Ireland A, Scotland A, and an Argentina XV (essentially a 'B', or third string team) replacing the New Zealand Maori, who as of 2008 participate in the Pacific Nations Cup.  Pool matches were held in Ottawa on June 7, Kingston on June 11, and Toronto on June 14. The finals were held at Toyota Park in Chicago on June 21.  The 2009 competition, the first to be held entirely in the US, was held in the Denver area. In addition to the three permanent competitors of Canada, the US, and England Saxons, Ireland A returned. The Argentina side was a new national selection known as the "Jaguars", initially a major component in the development of a professional player pool for the national team which soon absorbed the country's previous "A" national side. Scotland A was replaced by newcomers Georgia. The winners of the 2009 Churchill Cup was Ireland A.

Results.

For detailed results from a given year's competition (including the current year's), please see the relevant year's tournament's article.

Early history.

The Churchill Cup event, named after former British prime minister Winston Churchill, "Britain's Man of the Century", sees a five-year agreement amongst England, Canada and the US with each forming part of the new company, "Churchill Cup Inc.". Former Prime Minister Churchill shared close ties with the United States - his mother was American - and obviously with Canada during the Second World War, so it is fitting that this tournament bears his name.

Concept.

Born of an English tour of North America in 2001, the Churchill Cup of Rugby came to fruition in 2003, in Vancouver. The tournament arises out of a 5-year agreement between Rugby Canada, Rugby USA and the Rugby Football Union (England) to hold an annual rugby tournament in North America originally intended to be played between the nations Senior Men's and Women's sides. Canada will host the event from 2003 to 2005, in 2003 and 2004 the event was held in Edmonton, Alberta. While the US will have the option of picking up hosting the last two years of the tournament in 2006 and 2007, with the advent of the USA Sevens in San Diego and the reality of moving such an event, it is entirely likely that the event will remain in Canada, specifically Edmonton, through 2007. With respect to the Women's component, with Canada being awarded the 2006 Women's World Cup of Rugby, to be played in Edmonton and the Ottawa/Montreal region, it was felt that for 2005 and 2006 the Women's component should be removed, with the Women playing in the Canada Cup of Women's Rugby in Ottawa/Montreal in July 2005 and the Women's World Cup itself in September 2006 in Edmonton and Ottawa/Montreal.  In addition to the changes with respect to the Women's component, in 2004 the decision was made to expand the competition to four Nations with the inclusion of an invitational side, which in 2004 was the New Zealand Maori, who won the title in a spectacular overtime match with England. In 2005 Argentina were invited and sent their A side, which provided great entertainment for the fans and a true test of rugby for the founding Nations in the Churchill Cup. Beyond 2005 there was talk of further expanding the event to perhaps six Nations, with three invitational sides participating. This expansion indeed occurred in 2006.

Purpose.

North American rugby has often despaired in the lack of high quality competition in the continent. As other countries participate in the annual Tri-Nations or Six Nations tournaments, Canada and the US are left to schedule one off invitational games with other Nations, subject to other nations being able to accommodate such games in their schedules. In the Men's competition, the middle-power Canadian and American sides were able to test their mettle against some of the best players England and Ireland had to offer, and later New Zealand and Argentina with the inclusion of an invitational side. The competition also allowed England and Ireland to develop players who did not regularly participate in the national squad.

Logistics.

The 2003 inaugural tournament was played in Vancouver at Thunderbird Stadium. The 2004 Churchill Cup traveled east across the Canadian Rockies to Alberta where games were played in Calgary on the opening weekend and Edmonton for the finals. For 2005 the Churchill Cup was played entirely at Edmonton's 60,000 seat Commonwealth Stadium. The same was initially contemplated for 2006 and 2007, but that plan changed due to the expansion of the tournament in 2006 and logistical issues related to the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

Teams.

The three founding members (Rugby Canada, USA Rugby and England Saxons) were permanently placed in the Churchill Cup with three additional teams selected for each tournament year.  The other teams:

Locations.

Commonwealth Stadium - Edmonton, Alberta, Canada  Located in Edmonton, the capital city of Alberta, Commonwealth Stadium is the venue for the Barclays Churchill Cup finals. Commonwealth is also the home of the Canadian Football League's Edmonton Eskimos.  Buck Shaw Stadium - Santa Clara, California (San Francisco Bay Area)  Named after former Santa Clara football coach, Lawrence T. "Buck" Shaw. The stadium has seen many of that university sporting's achievements. Serving as the home for the Bronco soccer team, the 6,800-seat facility also housed Santa Clara baseball and football historically. Since 2008, it has also been home to the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer.  Twin Elm Rugby Park - Ottawa  With five rugby fields, 12 changing rooms, two lounges, a bar and spectator seating for hundreds of people Twin Elm Rugby Park is situated in South Nepean, in the City of Ottawa. The facility is home to several local clubs, including the Ottawa Harlequins, the representative side for Eastern Ontario.  York Stadium - Toronto  Toyota Park - Bridgeview, Illinois (Chicago area)  Home of the Chicago Fire Soccer Club. Hosted the final of the Churchill Cup in 2008  Infinity Park - Glendale, Colorado (Denver area)  A multi-use facility including a 5,000-seat rugby stadium currently used by the Glendale Raptors. Used for all pool matches in 2009 and 2010.  Dick's Sporting Goods Park - Commerce City, Colorado (Denver area)  Home of the Colorado Rapids soccer team. Hosted all the finals of the 2009 Churchill Cup.  Red Bull Arena - Harrison, New Jersey (New York City area)  Home of the New York Red Bulls soccer team. Hosted all finals in the 2010 Churchill Cup.

Media coverage.

In Australia the Churchill Cup is broadcast on Setanta Sports. In recent years with the tournament in Glendale, CO many games have been broadcast on delay on Fox Sports Rocky Mountain. In 2010 NBC covered the Cup and Plate finals live on NBC Universal.

The Churchill Cup was an annual rugby union tournament, held in June, contested by representative men's (and formerly women's) teams from Canada, England, the United States, and other invited teams (originally one and later three) from a wide array of countries.

Der Churchill Cup (aus Sponsoringgründen auch "Barclays Churchill Cup" genannt) war ein jährlich stattfindendes Rugby-Union-Turnier, das von Männer- und Frauen-Nationalmannschaften aus England, Kanada und den USA ausgetragen wurde. Außerdem wurden jeweils drei weitere Mannschaften eingeladen. Benannt war das Turnier nach dem ehemaligen britischen Premierminister Winston Churchill.


Biography.

RABaD's maternal grandfather, Rabbi Yitzhak b. Yaakov Ibn Baruch of Mérida (1035–1094), who had compiled astronomical tables for the son of Shemuel ha-Nagid, was one of five rabbis in Spain renowned for their learning. Concerning the oral history of his maternal grandfather's family and how they came to Spain, the RABaD wrote: "When Titus prevailed over Jerusalem, his officer who was appointed over Hispania appeased him, requesting that he send to him captives made-up of the nobles of Jerusalem, and so he sent a few of them to him, and there were amongst them those who made curtains and who were knowledgeable in the work of silk, and [one] whose name was Baruch, and they remained in Mérida."  RABaD was born in Provence, France, and died at Posquières. He was the son-in-law of Abraham ben Isaac of Narbonne "Av Beth Din" (known as the "RABaD II"). He was the father of R' Isaac the Blind, a Neoplatonist and important Jewish mystical thinker. The teachers under whose guidance he acquired most of his Talmudic learning were R' Moses ben Joseph and R' Meshullam ben Jacob of Lunel.  RABaD remained in Lunel after completing his studies, and subsequently became one of the city's rabbinical authorities. He went to Montpellier, where he remained for a short time, and then moved to Nîmes, where he lived for a considerable period. R' Moses ben Judah refers to the rabbinical school of Nîmes, then under RABaD's direction, as the chief seat of Talmudic learning in Provence.  The center of the RABaD's activity was Posquières, after which place he is often called. The town is known as Vauvert today. It is difficult to determine when he moved to Posquières; but about 1165 Benjamin of Tudela, at the outset of his travels, called upon him there. He spoke of the "Ravad's" wealth and benevolence. Not only did he erect and keep in repair a large school-building, but he cared for the material welfare of the poor students as well. To this date in Vauvert a street exists with the name "Rue Ravad." His great wealth brought him into peril of his life because, to obtain some of it, Elzéar, the lord of Posquières, had him cast into prison, where, like Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg, he might have died, had not Count Roger II Trencavel, who was friendly to the Jews, intervened, and by virtue of his sovereignty banished the lord of Posquières to Carcassonne. Thereupon the "Ravad" returned to Posquières, where he remained until his death.  Among the many learned Talmudists who were his disciples in Posquières were Rabbis Isaac ha-Kohen of Narbonne, the first commentator upon the Jerusalem Talmud; Abraham ben Nathan of Lunel, author of "HaManhig"; Meir ben Isaac of Carcassonne, author of "Sefer haEzer"; and Asher ben Meshullam of Lunel, author of several rabbinical works. Raavad's influence on Jonathan of Lunel also is evident, though the latter did not attend his lectures.

Literary works.

The "Raavad" was a prolific author. He not only wrote answers to hundreds of learned questions—which responsa are still partially preserved in the collections "Temim De'im", "Orot Hayyim", and Shibbolei haLeket – but he also wrote a commentary on the whole Talmud and compiled several compendiums of halakha, and also a chronicle entitled ""Sefer HaKabbalah le-Ravad"." In 1991, Rabbi Yosef Qafih published a compendium of his responsa which he gleaned from various sources, forty-two of which derived from handwritten manuscripts in his own possession.  Most of his works are lost, but some survive, such as the ""Sefer Ba'alei ha-Nefesh"" (The Book of the Conscientious), a treatise on the laws relating to women, published in 1602, and his commentary on "Torath Kohanim", published in 1862 at Vienna.  While Rashi's commentary furnished a well-paved road to the Talmud; Raavad, by his acute criticism, pointed out the way intelligently and with discrimination. This critical tendency is characteristic of all of Raavad's writings. Thus, in his commentary upon "Torath Kohanim" (pp. 41a, 71b), we find the caustic observation that many obscure passages in rabbinical literature owe their obscurity to the fact that occasional explanatory or marginal notes not tending to elucidate the text have been incorporated.  The title of ""Ba'al Hasagot"" (Critic), given to Raavad frequently by the rabbis, shows that they viewed the direction in which his ability lay. Indeed, critical annotations display his powers at their best, and justify his being ranked with the Rif, Rashi, and Maimonides. The tone he employs is also characteristic of his attitude toward the persons under criticism. He treats the Rif with the utmost respect, almost with humility, and refers to him as "the sun by whose brilliant rays our eyes are dazzled". His language toward R' Zerachiah ha-Levi of Girona ("Baal Hamaor") is harsh, almost hostile. Though only eighteen years old, Zerachia possessed the courage and the ability to write a sharp criticism upon the Rif, and Raavad refers to him as an immature youth who has the audacity to criticize his teacher.  According to Louis Ginzberg, Raavad's "hasagot" are notable for having prevented the replacement of Talmud study with exclusive study of the codes of Isaac Alfasi and Maimonides. While Jews in Muslim countries had a wide variety of serious intellectual outlets besides the Talmud (such as the sciences, philosophy, literature, and the Hebrew language), Ginzberg asserted, Ashkenazi Jews had no such outlets apart for Talmud study. Without the intricacies of the study of the Talmud and its commentaries, Ashkenazi Jews would have been left with no serious intellectual outlets.

Hasagot to Mishneh Torah.

Raavad's criticism of Maimonides' code of Jewish law, Mishneh Torah, is very harsh. This was not due to personal feeling, but to radical differences of view in matters of faith between the two greatest Talmudists of the twelfth century.  Maimonides' aim was to bring order into the vast labyrinth of Halakha by presenting final results in a definite, systematic, and methodical manner. But to Raavad, this very aim was the main defect of the work. A legal code that did not state the sources and authorities from which its decisions were derived, and offered no proofs of the correctness of its statements, was (in Raavad's opinion) entirely unreliable, even for practical rulings, for which purpose Maimonides designed it. Such a code (Raavad thought) could be justified only if written by a man claiming infallibility - by one who could demand that his assertions be accepted without question. If Maimonides had intended to stem the further development of Talmud study by reducing it to the form of a code, Raavad felt it his duty to oppose such an attempt, as contrary to the free spirit of rabbinical Judaism, which refuses to surrender blindly to authority.  Raavad was thus an opponent to the codification of the Halakha; but he was even more strongly opposed to the construction of a system of dogmas in Judaism, particularly according to the method followed by Maimonides, who often set up the concepts of the Aristotelian philosophy as Jewish theology. For example: Maimonides (in accordance with his philosophical conviction) declared God's incorporeality to be a principle of faith, or, as he formulates it, "whosoever conceives God to be a corporeal being is an apostate". In Raavad's circles a certain mystical anthropomorphistic conception of the Deity was common, and naturally Raavad resented a statement which practically declared his friends to be apostates. He, therefore, appended to Maimonides' formula this brief but emphatic criticism: "Why does he call such persons apostates? Men better and worthier than he have held this view, for which they believe they have found authority in the Scriptures and in a confusing view of the aggadah." While the phrase concerning the aggadah shows that Raavad himself was not a corporealist, he nevertheless opposed Maimonides' elevating incorporeality into a dogma. When Raavad conversely found Maimonides' opinions on the World to Come and the eternity of the world to be heretical, he has no word of vituperation for Maimonides, but merely contented himself with recording his difference of opinion. Thus, the ultra-conservative Talmudist showed himself to be more theologically tolerant than the greatest of the medieval Jewish philosophers.  RABaD was particularly severe on Maimonides' attempts to smuggle in his philosophic views under cover of Talmudic passages. For example: Talmudic opinions on the definition of forbidden divination differ widely, perhaps because it was impractical to view every superstitious practise, many common among Jews at the time, as forbidden. Maimonides (who, from the point of view of his philosophy, viewed divination as a pure absurdity) ruled that even the innocent actions of Eliezer () and Jonathan () were forbidden divination. Here RABaD was not content with ruling Eliezer's and Jonathan's actions to have been permitted, but he declares that Maimonides deserved to be stricken with the Pulsa diNura#Sources, similar to a junior rabbi who had misrepresented the opinion of Levi ben Sisi. Such philosophical differences suffice to explain the intensity of RABaD's opposition to Maimonides, and particularly to "Mishneh Torah", a work which RABaD himself describes as a great achievement.  Abraham Zacuto recorded an anecdote whereby he claims that "Rambam", during his lifetime, eventually conceded to the correctness of his disputant, the "Ravad", saying of him, "In all my life, no one has ever beaten me, except a certain artisan."

Kabbalist and philosopher.

Many Kabbalists view the "Ravad" as one of the fathers of their system, and this is true to the extent that he was inclined to mysticism, which led him to follow an ascetic mode of life and gained for him the title of "the pious." He wrote that "the holy spirit has appeared in our "beit midrash"" and taught them specific halachic rulings, and attributed rulings to "The Lord's counsel to those who fear Him".  The "Ravad" is widely considered to be the source of the commonly used diagram of the Sephirot of the Tree of Life that was ultimately written down by his son Isaac the Blind.  The "Ravad" was not an enemy to science, as many deem him. His works show that he was a close student of Hebrew philology; and the fact that he encouraged the translation of R' Bahya ibn Paquda's Chovot HaLevavot shows that he was not hostile to philosophy. This philosophic work argues strongly against the anthropomorphistic conception of the Deity; and the favor with which Raavad looked upon it is sufficient grounds to acquit him of the charge of having held anthropomorphistic views.  Some of his works show acquaintance with philosophy; for instance, his remark on ""Hilchot Teshuvah"", 5, end, is a literal quotation from Honein ben Isaac's "Musre ha-Philosophim," pp. 11, 12—or Loewenthal, p. 39, below—which is extant only in Al-Charizi's translation.

Descendants.

The "Ravad" had many descendants, several hundred of whom today are named Raivid, Rayvid, Ravid, and Ravad. Family records indicate they made their way to Spain, where they appeared in Toledo and Barcelona and were reputedly advisers in the court of Ferdinand and Isabella. After the Inquisition, they were exiled to Italy, from whence they made their way to northern, and then later eastern, Europe, where they served as rabbis in Telšiai, Lithuania, and teachers in its Telshe yeshiva. Before the First World War, they emigrated to countries throughout the world, and today they live on every inhabited continent.

Abraham ben David ( – 27 November 1198), also known by the abbreviation RABaD (for "Rabbeinu" Abraham ben David) Ravad or RABaD III, was a Provençal rabbi, a great commentator on the Talmud, "Sefer Halachot" of Rabbi Yitzhak Alfasi and "Mishne Torah" of Maimonides, and is regarded as a father of Kabbalah and one of the key and important links in the chain of Jewish mystics.

Abraham ben David von Posquières, auch bekannt unter dem Akronym Rabad (III), (geboren ca. 1125 in Narbonne; gestorben am 27. November 1198 in Posquières) war ein talmudischer Gelehrter in der Provence. Er ist vor allem durch seine Kritik der Werke von Maimonides bekannt geworden.


History.

The edict of the Emperor Ashoka (273 to 136 BC) was found in Saurashtra and Sopara near Bombay. Satrya Kshatrapas under the Kushana emperor seemed to have ruled over Daman District during the 1st century, AD. The coins of Bhumaka and Nahapan, the kshaharata rulers were discovered in the surrounding areas of Surat District. Ushavadatta, son-in-law of Nahapan, is said to have provided ferries on rivers Dhanuha Dhamana, Parada and Tapi.  This is the earliest reference of these rivers and the names of the places, i.e. Dahanu, Daman and Pardi, remained unchanged for the last 2000 years. The District seems to have been subjected to the rule of Gautamaputra Satakarnin, about 125 AD, who drove away the Kshaharatas. But Satavahana's rule was short lived.  Rudraman I, grandson of Chastan of Kadamaka branch of Kshatrapas reconquered a large part of Western India including the seaboard from the river Mahi in Gujarat to Ratnagiri by about 150 AD from Satavahana ruler, Satakarni, and Daman district again passed under the rule of Kshatrapa Vijayasen (234-239 AD) who seems to have ruled over the district till 249 AD. Abhir king Ishwarasena of Nasik, who conquered the western part of the Deccan from the Satavahanas seems to have been laid by Gautamaputra Yajnashri, campaigns the Kshatrapas from 180 to 200 AD.  The District seems to have been subjected to the rule of traikutakas during the 5th century, AD. The Lata Country was ruled by Rashtrakutas of Malkhed in the Deccan directly till 808 by the successors, Govinda II (575- 795 AD), Druvaraja - I (795-800) and Govinda III (800-808).  Govinda III handed over the Lata kingdom to his brother Indra about 808 and was given the title Lateswaramandalasya or the protector of Latamandala. Indra was succeeded by his son Karka who seems to have ruled Latamandala with his brother, Govinda jointly till 826. Druva II, son of Karka came to the throne about 835 and was succeeded by Akalavarsha in 867. The District was passed to Tailappa II of the Chalupas of Kalyani in 973. Tailappa II placed Lata Country in the hands of his relative and general Barrpa alias Dvarappa Chalukya. By the middle of the 13th century, a Rajput prince Ramsingh alias Ramashah seems to have defeated the koli chief Nathorat and established himself in the hilly tract at Asheri of Asserseta near Daman about 1262. Ramsingh was succeeded by his son Somanath in 1295. The newly founded Ramnagar at the foot of the ghats flourished under Somnath (1335-1360) and Daram shah (1360-1391). Jagatshah succeeded Gopushah and ruled during 1432 to 1470. The Portuguese from Shah of Gujarat acquired Daman. They noticed the port of Daman for the first time in 1523. A Portuguese enclave for four centuries and a half till the close of the colonial rule in 1961; Daman has been a coveted prize for which princes, monarchs and alien powers waged wars. Muted memories of history lie vaulted in the monuments of Daman. It had been a melting pot, where races and cultures met and mixed to bring forth a multi-coloured identity.  Daman was occupied by the Portuguese in 1531, and was formally ceded to Portugal in 1539 by the Sultan of Gujarat.  Mirroring the system of administrative division in European Portugal, Daman district ("Distrito de Damão") was established as an administrative division of the Portuguese State of India ("Estado da Índia") in the first half of the 19th century. The District was made up of the Portuguese territories of Daman, Dadra and Nagar Haveli. It was headed by a district governor, subordinate to the governor-general of Portuguese India in Goa. The district was divided in the two municipalities of Daman and Nagar Haveli, which were further subdivided into civil parishes.  The Dadra and Nagar Haveli landlocked parts of the Daman district were occupied by pro-Indian Union forces in 1954. In 1961, Dadra and Nagar Haveli was officially annexed by India, forming a union territory separated from Daman.  The rest of the District remained under Portuguese rule until it was annexed by Indian forces on 19 December 1961. From 1961-87, it was a part of the union territory of Goa, Daman and Diu. In 1987, it became a part of the newly formed union territory of Daman and Diu.

Divisions.

Daman district has only one tehsil - Daman. The territory of the whole district is part of Daman and Diu Lok Sabha constituency.

Demographics.

The district is infamous for having the least balanced sex ratio in the country. According to the 2011 census Daman District, India has a population of 191,173, roughly equal to the nation of Samoa. This gives it a ranking of 592nd in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of. Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 69.256%. Daman has a sex ratio of 533 females for every 1,000 males, and a literacy rate of 88.06%.

Transport.

Daman is connected by roads and is 12 km from Vapi, 125 km from Surat, and 195 km from Mumbai. Vapi railway station on the Western Railway is the station nearest to Daman, and connects to all major cities. Daman Airport has a Coast Guard air base.  A bridge over the Daman Ganga between Moti Daman and Nani Daman collapsed during a monsoon on 28 August 2003, killing 27 school children and one teacher when their vehicles plunged into the river. A new bridge was constructed at a cost of about 90 million rupees, but that partially collapsed in August 2004. No casualties occurred. The collapse was attributed to heavy flooding on river Damanganga. Now the new bridge, known as Rajeev Gandhi Setu for Heavy Vehicles, has been completed, and the old bridges are to be kept closed forever.

Education.

In Daman, the most popular schools are Institute of Our Lady of Fátima located in Moti Daman, Coast Guard Public School in Nani Daman, Sarvajanik Vidyalaya in Nani Daman, Shri Macchi Mahajan High School in Nani Daman, and other government institutions. There is also a college named Government College, Daman which has most of the educational facilities.

Sister cities.

Daman is a twin town of the city of Coimbra, Portugal.

Daman district is one of the three districts of the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu on the western coast of India, surrounded by Valsad district of Gujarat state on the north, east and south and the Arabian Sea to the west. The district has an area of, and a population of 191,173 at the 2011 census, an increase of 69.256% from the preceding 2001 Census. The district headquarters is Daman.

Daman ist einer der drei Distrikte des indischen Unionsterritoriums Dadra und Nagar Haveli und Daman und Diu. Er hat etwa 114.000 Einwohner (Zensus 2001) auf 72 km2. Sitz der Distriktsverwaltung ist der Ort Daman.


Site.

The Minaret of Jam is probably located at the site of the Ghurid Dynasty's capital, Firozkoh.  The circular minaret rests on an octagonal base; it had 2 wooden balconies and was topped by a lantern. Its formal presentation has a striking similarity to the Ghazni minarets built by Masud III. It is thought to have been a direct inspiration for the Qutub Minar in Delhi, India.  The Minaret of Jam belongs to a group of around 60 minarets and towers built between the 11th and the 13th centuries in Central Asia, Iran and Afghanistan, including the Kutlug Timur Minaret in Old Urgench (long considered the tallest of these still in existence). The minarets are thought to have been built as symbols of Islam's victory, while other towers were simply landmarks or watchtowers.  The archaeological landscape around Jam includes the ruins of a 'palace', fortifications, a pottery kiln and a Jewish cemetery, and has been suggested to be the remains of the lost city of Turquoise Mountain. Analysis of the "robber holes" around the site, high-resolution satellite images and data from Google Maps has led to an estimate that the Ghūrid summer capital around the minaret was about 19.5 hectares in size.  The archaeological site of Jam was successfully nominated as Afghanistan's first World Heritage site in 2002. It was also inscribed in UNESCO's list of World Heritage in Danger, due to the precarious state of preservation of the minaret, and the results of looting at the site.

History.

During the 12th and 13th century, the Ghurids controlled what is now Afghanistan, but also parts of eastern Iran, Central Asia, Northern India and parts of Pakistan.  The Arabic inscription dating the minaret is unclear – it could read 1193/4 or 1174/5. It could thus commemorate the victory of the Ghurid sultan Ghiyas ud-Din over the Ghaznevids in 1186 in Lahore. However, Dr. Ralph Pinder-Wilson, a British Archeologist and Director of the British Institute of Afghan Studies in the 1970s, wrote a major study of the Minarets of Jam and Ghazni in which he expressed his belief that the minaret was built to commemorate the victory of Mu'izz ad-Din, Ghiyath ud-Din's brother, over Prithviraj Chauhan. This victory allowed Islam to spread into the northern Indian subcontinent. Pinder-Wilson believed that the minaret was built in the style of the time, which included a tradition of early Islamic victory towers proclaiming the conquering power of Islam.  It is assumed that the Minaret was attached to the Friday Mosque of Firozkoh, which the Ghurid chronicler Abu 'Ubayd al-Juzjani states was washed away in a flash flood, some time before the Mongol sieges in the early 13th century. Work at Jam by the Minaret of Jam Archaeological Project has found evidence of a large courtyard building beside the minaret, and evidence of river sediments on top of the baked-brick paving.  The Ghurid Empire's glory waned after the death of Ghiyath ud-Din in 1202, as it was forced to cede territory to the Khwarezm Empire. Juzjani states that Firuzkuh was destroyed by the Mongols in 1222.  The Minaret was little known outside of Afghanistan until Sir Thomas Holdich reported it in 1886 while working for the Afghan Boundary Commission. It did not come to world attention, however, until 1957 through the work of the French archaeologists André Maricq and Gaston Wiet. Later, Werner Herberg conducted limited surveys around the site in the 1970s, and Ralph Pinder-Wilson completed his major study of the site in the same decade, before the Soviet invasion of 1979 once again cut off outside access.

Threats.

The Minaret of Jam is threatened by erosion, water infiltration and floods, due to its proximity to the Hari and Jam rivers. Another threat is the earthquakes that happen frequently in the region. The tower has been tilting, and stabilisation work has been carried out at various times.  Following his 2002 visit, British explorer and future Member of Parliament Rory Stewart reported that looters and illegal excavations have also damaged the archaeological site surrounding the minaret.  On 21 July 2018 Pajhwok News reported Taliban clashes with local forces at checkpoints near the Minaret of Jam in a 6-hour long skirmish. The militants set the forests surrounding the historic district on fire, subsequently damaging a mosque in the process.  Ghor Director of Culture and Information Fakhruddin Ariapoor expressed concern at the instability in the area, stating that some parts of the green area were damaged; and although the minaret remained intact, warned that if the central government did not pay due attention to the security of the site, the militants would destroy it.

Conservation.

The minaret was largely rediscovered in 1958 by French explorers. From its finding to the early 1970s, there were active restoration efforts and scientific studies conducted in order to slow the decay process. However, after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, no efforts were made.  UNESCO has tried to launch assessment programs. In 2012 UNESCO outlined plans for 3D scanning, hydraulic measurements, and strengthening of support beams and walls to maintain the Minaret, and photos of the external structure have been taken to provide models for future reconstruction. Although the 3D modelling of the minaret was finally carried out for UNESCO by Iconem, political instability has led to a lack of funding and no maintenance efforts have been conducted. Furthermore, the surrounding terrain has made it difficult to make any progress of the structure as it impedes access. However, these assessments have provided a strong basis for future maintenance. While fieldwork remains difficult, archaeologists have analyzed satellite images and data from Google Maps to make new discoveries about the minaret and the surrounding site.  Much can be and needs to be done to aid in the conservation of the Minaret. Security should be one of the primary focuses as looting is a commonplace of the archeological site. Likewise, it is important that the people of Afghanistan get involved in that their interest and engagement in the site will hopefully fund future efforts for preservation.

The Minaret of Jam is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in western Afghanistan. It is located in a remote and nearly inaccessible region of the Shahrak District, Ghor Province, next to the Hari River. The or high minaret was built around 1190 entirely of baked bricks and is famous for its intricate brick, stucco and glazed tile decoration, which consists of alternating bands of kufic and naskhi calligraphy, geometric patterns, and verses from the Qur'an. Since 2002, the minaret has remained on the list of World Heritage in Danger, under serious threat of erosion, and has not been actively preserved. In 2014, the BBC reported that the tower was in imminent danger of collapse.

Das Minarett von Dschām (ausgesprochen: "dscham"; ), erbaut im 12. Jahrhundert, ist mit einer Höhe von 65 Metern nach dem Qutb Minar das zweithöchste Backstein-Minarett der Welt. Es steht in der zentralafghanischen Provinz Ghor am Fluss Hari Rud bei der Einmündung des linken Nebenflusses Dschām Rud und etwa fünf Kilometer nördlich des Ortes Dschām. Das Minarett und die umliegenden archäologischen Fundstätten wurden 2002 von der UNESCO zum Weltkulturerbe erklärt und gleichzeitig auf der Roten Liste des gefährdeten Welterbes eingetragen.


Construction.

The fort is on a man-made island situated on what was the Pampus shallows or sandbank in the then Zuiderzee. There is a well-known Dutch expression "laying for Pampus" used to describe people that are lying down knocked out. It stems from the time ships had to wait for high tide at Pampus before they could enter the harbour of Amsterdam.  Work commenced in 1887 and creating the island and fort required the sinking of 3,800 piles and the importation of 45 thousand cubic metres of sand. It took the Dutch eight years and ƒ 800,000 (€ 8,559,172) to construct the fort.  The fort is built of bricks and concrete. The fort has an oval shape and the main building has three floors. On the ground floor were the troops' quarters, kitchen, laundry, two coal-fired steam engines of 20 hp, two dynamos, telegraph, first aid station, and magazines. Most classrooms were located on the south side of the fort. An eight-metre dry moat surrounds the building. Tunnels on the north and south connect the ground floor of the building to the counterscarp. The counterscarp is made of concrete and contained a gaol, the forge, and several supply rooms. On top of the counterscarp there is a parapet to provide close-in defence. A large glacis surrounds the whole fort.

History.

The fort was commissioned in 1895. It was armed with four Krupp L35 (35 calibers long) guns deployed in two hydraulically operated cupolas of two guns each. Electric lifts brought shells and cartridges up from the magazines on the ground floor. These guns fired a shell of for a range of up to. Each gun had a crew of an NCO and six gunners, who could get off one shot every six minutes. (For a picture of a similar and still extant cupola with twin Krupp guns see Fort Copacabana.)  Pampus was one of only four forts in the Defence Line armed with large caliber guns. (The other three forts were the forts near IJmuiden, Velsen, and Spijkerboor.) Pampus also had two positions for 57mm (2.2") quick-firing guns for close-in defence. The counterscarp held four M90 Gardner machine guns on garrison mounts for the defence of the moat.  Pampus had facilities for a permanent garrison of 200 men, but the only time it achieved that strength was during the First World War. In 1926 the fort received emplacements for three anti-aircraft guns. The fort never saw action and the completion in 1932 of the Afsluitdijk cut the IJsselmeer off from the open sea. At this point Pampus lost its strategic role and on 15 July 1933 the military abandoned it, after having removed the anti-aircraft guns.  During World War II, the German occupation forces removed the Krupp guns, cupolas, and other metal to use for scrap steel. Between 1941 and 1943 they used the fort for target practice, before installing some 88mm (3.5") anti-aircraft guns. The German dive bombers used concrete bombs for their practice. These contained a glass tube filled with chemicals. The tube broke on impact, releasing coloured smoke to mark the impact point.  In the bitter winter of 1944, the people of Amsterdam walked across the ice to salvage the wood in the fort to burn for warmth. After the German surrender, the authorities used the island for the disposal of unexploded ordnance. Ammunition that no longer could be defused was detonated.  There were some plans in 1951 to site an anti-aircraft battery there, but on 9 October 1952 the fort was declared surplus and was transferred to the civilian authorities for disposal. Then in June 1985, the government scouted the fort with an eye to restoring the island and make it accessible to the public. Plans were drafted in the next year and the Pampus Foundation (Stichting Pampus) was established to bring these plans to fruition. The Foundation bought the fort in 1990, and in 1992 the fort received a caretaker. Since then the fort has been occupied continuously.  There is still one gun at Pampus, an from a German minesweeper that was wrecked during storm in 1917 north of the island of Terschelling. Many years after the vessel's loss, dredging fortuitously recovered the gun, which ended up being donated to the Pampus Foundation. The gun was installed at the harbour of Pampus on 4 February 2003.

Current status.

In 2007, the fortress was partially restored. It is open to the public from April to October, Tuesday to Sunday; €17.50 admission includes both fort and round-trip ferry from Muiden. The island is roughly three kilometres from the coast and the Muiden ferry takes around 20 minutes to get there. There are also direct ferries from Amsterdam, and one can reach the fort by private vessel.

Pampus () is an artificial island and late 19th-century sea fort located in the IJmeer near Amsterdam. Pampus now belongs to the municipality of Gooise Meren and is open to visitors.

Pampus ist heute eine künstliche Insel im IJmeer im Osten von Amsterdam und nördlich von Muiden (Gemeinde Gooise Meren). Seit dem Ausgang des Mittelalters war mit "Pampus" eine Untiefe zwischen dem "Muider Zand" und Westfriesland gemeint. Die Insel, die für das darauf befindliche Fort der Stellung von Amsterdam angelegt wurde, kann besichtigt werden. Das für die Flugnavigation in Bereich der Niederlande bedeutende und gleichnamige Drehfunkfeuer Pampus / PAM liegt nicht auf der Insel, sondern befindet sich ca. 2 km südlich bei Muiden.