Leadership.

The founder of the CSA was James Ellison, who was jailed in federal prison along with his "high priest" Kerry Noble. Robert G. Millar became one of Ellison's spiritual advisers, and was also the founder of Elohim City. Ellison was also mentored by Richard Girnt Butler, founder of the Aryan Nations and Robert E. Miles, founder of the Mountain Church in Cohoctah, Michigan. Both extreme right-wing leaders taught and practiced the theology of Christian Identity, a belief system that the FBI includes on its watch list as an extremist religion. Ellison had close ties to the Ku Klux Klan and the Aryan Nations, based in Hayden Lake, Idaho, and led by Richard Girnt Butler, who was described as "the glue of the Aryan Nations movement in the Northwest, if not the country" by the supervisor of the Inland Northwest Joint Terrorism Task Force. Miles had a prison ministry and newsletter, relating mostly to the violent white Aryan groups, of which there are many, most notably, the Aryan Brotherhood. After Ellison was released from prison, he moved to Elohim City, where he married Millar's granddaughter.  The entire Council of Elders in the CSA community were deeply influenced and mentored by many outside sources. This nine-man council deliberated on both the spiritual meaning and the direction of CSA activities. Jim Ellison, Kerry Noble, and William Wade were the only known members of the council.

Members.

In June 1982, the CSA had an estimated 90 to 120 members, consisting of men, women, and children. In April 1984, the number of members had been reduced to less than 70.  Other known members of The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord include:

Purpose.

The CSA was an organization which believed that doomsday was imminent, and the 224-acre compound that was set up in Elijah became a community for its members. There they trained their members in paramilitary operations. The group believed in white supremacy and was anti-Semitic. Like other prominent anti-Semitic groups that believed in antisemitic canards, they referred to the United States Government as "ZOG", short for Zionist Occupied Government. The military leader, who used the name Randall Rader during his stay at the CSA compound, left the group in a rift with Ellison and joined the newly forming group The Order in Idaho. The CSA initially professed the belief that the United States government would dissolve due to its corruption, whereas The Order advocated revolution. However, in July 1983, The CSA published a manifesto called A.T.T.A.C.K. (Aryan Tactical Treaty for the Advancement of Christ’s Kingdom) which declared a war against the government. This was seen by followers as the Second American Revolution.

Operations.

CSA assassins monitored the homes of their targets, practiced mock assassinations of these targets with scoped rifles, and practiced attacks in a mock residential training facility known as Silhouette City. The perimeter of the CSA compound had 100, 200, and indicator plates nailed to trees to allow the defenders to adjust their sights accordingly to engage attackers. The central rallying point in the event of an attack was a concrete bunkhouse that housed the communications radios next to the tower, which was constructed for defense. The perimeter of the compound had built-in bunkers for one to three men, and each was numbered as a post and assigned to individuals as an area of responsibility.  The line infantryman carried a Ruger Mini-14.223 Remington rifle. As in the early days of the United States Marine Corps, the squads were set up in four-man fire teams. One man in the fire team carried a Heckler and Koch Model 91 rifle in.308 caliber. These had been modified via a technique that the organization sold to "brother groups," converting the rifles to an illegal selective fire weapon (capable of firing either single shots or fully automatic). The Elite "A" Team had black clothing and some fairly sophisticated weapons, such as the.22 caliber Ruger target pistol fitted with an integral silencer, and several MAC-10 submachineguns in both 9 mm and.45 ACP, also with attached suppressors. These men trained in the covert aspects of military action and were to be the core of the defense initiative.  The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) later determined that the CSA had obtained 155 Krugerrands, one live light antitank rocket, 94 long arms, 30 handguns, 35 sawed-off shotguns, and machine guns, one heavy machine gun, and a quantity of C-4 explosives.  Within "Silhouette City", the CSA also ran a boot camp-style program known as the "End Time Overcomer Survival Training School" - which was conducted by Order member, Randall Rader. Here, the group trained an estimated 1,500 of like-minded Christian Identity adherents in combat techniques and paramilitary exercises. Upon completing this training, a newly-trained militant would leave to join or start other similar militia groups.  The CSA and its paramilitary arm taught basic pistol and rifle use as well as personal home defense, rural and urban warfare, weapons proficiency, general military fieldcraft, Christian martial arts, and natural wilderness survival.  In 1983, CSA member William Thomas accompanying Richard Wayne Snell and Steven Scott attempted to dynamite a natural gas pipeline which crossed the Red River on its way from the Gulf of Mexico to Chicago. This event ran as part of the group's A.T.T.A.C.K. operations. According to Kerry Noble, the group predicted this to result in riots (due to it being in winter). However, the trio was unsuccessful in carrying out the act of terror.  The CSA had links with other radical organizations, including the Aryan Brotherhood, the Mountain Church, and The Order, which were all dangerous white supremacist organizations which advocated the violent overthrow of the United States Government. Many of their members were seen traveling in and out of the compound, and after a search of the compound, several stolen vehicles including one belonging to The Order were recovered.  According to a report conducted by the California Department of Justice, The Pagans Motorcycle Club provided the CSA with training in booby trap devices and survival techniques in return for weapons and ammunition.  Things began to go downhill for the organization after Snell, an alleged member, was arrested for killing an African-American police officer. Snell was later tied to the killing of a gun store owner in 1981, obtaining and using the same gun, the serial number of which had been removed by the CSA armorer, Kent Yates. Yates was arrested on Friday, July 13, 1984, on an outstanding warrant out of New Mexico for firearms violations in Farmington. He was later also charged and convicted of weapons manufacture and modification for the CSA.  After the incident with Snell, the FBI began to seek ways to infiltrate the CSA compound and stop the organization which was deemed dangerous. Its agents obtained warrants under Arkansas state law to arrest Ellison, the leader of the CSA, for multiple firearms violations. (The FBI later claimed that at all times it had an "inside man" in the CSA.)

Siege.

On 16 April 1985, the FBI obtained a search warrant for the CSA compound.  Beginning on 19 April 1985, the FBI and the ATF, led by the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team (HRT), positioned around 300 federal agents in Elijah. It was necessary to keep the operation a secret, but this was not easy in the small community. However, the FBI and ATF agents took advantage of Pontiac being a common destination for anglers by pretending to be fishermen and registering at different motels near the various fishing destinations. On the morning of 19 April, they moved in and surrounded the CSA compound, putting some of their agents in fishing boats to seal off the lakeside area of the compound. There they waited, until a few hours later when two guards emerged from the compound. They appeared to be unaware of the presence of the officers and walked towards a sniper hold-out until an officer yelled commands to return to the compound, with which the guards complied. Later, an unnamed individual emerged from the compound and talked with the federal agents and reported to Ellison that the FBI agents were outside and willing to negotiate his surrender and the emptying of the compound. Ellison emerged later. FBI agents had expected that he would not go down without a firefight, but the FBI negotiators convinced him that the CSA would certainly lose if they had one. They convinced him that they wanted peaceful cooperation, and he asked that his spiritual adviser, assumed to be Millar, come to the compound to instruct him. The individual was flown to the area and seemed eager to convince Ellison to stand down. They allowed the individual into the compound, and the FBI instructed him to call in every 30 minutes to report on how negotiations were going.  U.S. Attorney Asa Hutchinson, who later successfully prosecuted Ellison and other leaders of the CSA, put on an FBI flak jacket and entered the compound to join the negotiations, leading to a peaceful conclusion to the armed stand-off. After several calls requesting more time, early on the morning of the fourth day of the siege, Arkansas State Police entered the compound and escorted out the remaining members without further bloodshed. Women and children had earlier been evacuated to nearby motels.

Charges.

Ellison and most of his leadership were charged in federal court with illegal weapons possession and racketeering. In September 1985, Ellison, Kerry Noble, and four other CSA members (Gary Stone, Timothy Russell, Rudy Loewen, and David Giles) were sentenced to lengthy federal prison terms. A seventh CSA member, Stephen Scott, pleaded guilty in an Arkansas federal court to charges he dynamited a natural gas pipeline near Fulton, Arkansas in 1983, and was also sent to prison. Ex-CSA member Kent Yates also pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiring to make and transfer automatic weapons silencers.  Ellison faced the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison after he was convicted on federal racketeering and weapons charges. However, Ellison was released in 1987 after agreeing to testify against the leader and six senior members of the Aryan Nations. All seven men were arrested and indicted on charges of sedition. The jury found all the defendants not guilty on all charges. Upon his release from federal prison, Ellison moved to Elohim City.  Richard Wayne Snell, the man who shot and killed the police officer and a pawn shop owner, was sentenced to death by lethal injection, which was carried out on 19 April 1995, the same day as the Oklahoma City bombing.

Possible ties to the Oklahoma City bombing.

There are several claims that the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was tied to the "New Day" teachings of Elohim City. No proof, however, has been established. Elohim City was assembled to gather "prophets of the New Day". Leader Robert G. Millar envisioned himself to be the "Shepherd of Shepherds" traveling to numerous alternative societies, many of which were and are still communes. His ambition was to unite these underground organizations. He appeared several times at the Padanaram Settlement, in southern Indiana, but contrary to reports, members of the Padanaram Settlement did not concur with the radical callings of either Millar or Ellison, who made two appearances there. "The Valley" was and still is known more for being a cultural hub for artists and philosophers, and until roughly 2003 it operated a sawmill.  Timothy McVeigh, who was convicted and executed for perpetrating the Oklahoma City bombing, had no association with the CSA and had just enlisted in the U.S Army when the CSA compound was besieged and broken up. The Oklahoma City bombing occurred exactly on the 10th anniversary of the start of the siege of the CSA compound in 1985. The most plausible link is the fact that Richard Wayne Snell, who was executed on the day of the Oklahoma City bombing, had planned a similar attack on the Murrah building in 1983 after becoming upset with the Internal Revenue Service. Additionally, Snell was heard taunting jailers that something drastic would happen on the day of his execution. However, McVeigh has stated that he chose the date of 19 April to coincide with the violent end of the Waco siege exactly two years prior. McVeigh had traveled and visited Waco during the 51-day siege and cited it and 1992 Ruby Ridge events as his primary motivation for carrying out the bombing.  The single incident in which the CSA was involved, the robbery of a pawn shop in Springfield, Missouri, was in fact, foiled by a CSA member on the orders of Jim Ellison, unknown to Wayne Snell, who headed up the plan. It was regarding this event in which Ellison saw a "sign from God" which he interpreted to mean that they should not carry out the attempt; not the attack on the Oklahoma City Federal Building.  The death knell of the CSA was its attempt to kill FBI special agent Jack Knox, the lead agent assigned to investigate the group; Asa Hutchinson, the federal prosecutor; and the federal judge who presided over the affair that brought about the eventual action against Gordon Kahl, a tax protester and a member of the Posse Comitatus, by federal agents at CSA member, Leonard Ginter's home (called 'The Bunker', due to its construction from concrete covered with earth). Ellison revered Kahl as a hero. Like McVeigh, Kahl was a decorated American soldier; Kahl earned a Silver Star in the Korean War, and McVeigh earned a Bronze Star in the first Gulf War – Desert Storm.

Media.

In 2013, Kerry Noble appeared on the Investigation Discovery show "Dangerous Persuasions" talking about his time with the group. He was also interviewed for an episode of "Brainwashed" on the Slice Network in Canada and discussed his time with the CSA.  The Discovery Channel crime series "The FBI Files"' sixth season featured an episode whose topic was the CSA. The episode reveals the details of the federal investigation into the group, the 1985 siege, and the aftermath. The episode originally aired 10 December 2002.

The Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord (initialized CSA) was a far right terrorist organization dedicated to Christian Identity and survivalism that was active in the United States during the 1970s and early 1980s. The CSA developed from a Baptist congregation called the Zarephath-Horeb Community Church, founded in 1971 in the small community of Pontiac in southern Missouri. Over time, Zarephath-Horeb evolved into an extremist paramilitary organization and was rechristened CSA. The group operated a large compound in northern Arkansas called "the Farm". In April 1985, law enforcement officers investigating the group for weapons violations and terrorist acts carried out a siege against the compound. After a peaceful resolution, officers arrested and later convicted CSA's top leaders, and the organization dissolved.

The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord (CSA) (englisch für: Der Bund, das Schwert und der Arm des Herrn) war eine radikale US-amerikanische Organisation aus der Christian-Identity-Bewegung.


Plot.

In September 1950, during the Korean War, a U.S. Navy pilot named Neil Smith (Steve Taschler) is caught in a mysterious storm of butterflies and crash-lands his plane in a remote and mountainous part of Korea. He is found by villagers from the nearby mountain village of Dongmakgol, who nurse him back to health. Dongmakgol is cut off from the outside world – its inhabitants have no knowledge of modern technology and are blissfully unaware of the massive conflict raging across Korea. Smith hands a Korean-English primer to Teacher Kim (Jo Deok-hyeon), the village scholar, in an effort to communicate, but Mr Kim effectively gives up when Smith begins a barrage of complaints after being asked in English, "How are you?" as an introductory greeting.  Meanwhile, not far from the village, a platoon of North Korean soldiers is ambushed by a South Korean unit, and the ensuing skirmish leaves most of the North Koreans dead. The surviving North Korean soldiers manage to escape through a mountain passage. The North Korean soldiers, Rhee Soo-hwa (Jung Jae-young), Jang Young-hee (Im Ha-ryong), and Seo Taek-gi (Ryu Deok-hwan) are found by an absent-minded girl from Dongmakgol, named Yeo-il (Kang Hye-jung). She leads them to the village where, to the North Koreans' alarm, they find two South Korean soldiers, Pyo Hyun-chul (Shin Ha-kyun) and Moon Sang-sang (Seo Jae-kyung). The South Korean soldiers, both of whom had deserted their units and escaped into the mountains, had also been led to Dongmakgol by another villager.  The unexpected encounter triggers a Mexican standoff that lasts until the next day. Initially, the villagers are rounded up between the North and South Koreans, but having no idea what the fuss is about they slowly drift away to go about their own business (despite some of the soldiers' efforts to intimidate them into submission). The villagers, who are unfamiliar with the soldiers' weapons, continue to watch on the sidelines and wonder why the two sides are waving "sticks" and "painted potatoes" at each other (which are actually rifles and grenades, respectively). In fact, Yeo-il gleefully pulls out the pin from Taek-gi's grenade (mistaking it for a ring), sending the soldiers into further panic.  The confrontation ends only when Taek-gi, worn by fatigue, accidentally drops his now-armed grenade. While everyone else ducks for cover, Hyun-chul heroically throws himself onto the grenade, but it does not explode. Believing it to be a dud, he throws the grenade behind him in contempt, and it rolls into the village storehouse. It then explodes, incinerating the village's stockpile of corn for the winter. The remnants fall down from the sky, surrealistically, as popcorn.  The two groups of Korean soldiers are now forced to face the fact that their quarrel has condemned the village to starvation in the upcoming winter. They reluctantly agree to a truce and divert their efforts to making up for the damage they have caused. Together, the soldiers undertake work across the village, and help harvest potatoes in the fields.  They even work together to kill one of the wild boars troubling the village. The villagers then bury the boar, much to the annoyance of the soldiers (who wanted to eat it). Both the North and South Korean soldiers and Smith sneak out separately at night to dig up the boar and eat it, leading to an unplanned meal together. The mood is awkward at first, but the tension between the soldiers lessens as they share the meal with each other. However, even afterwards, members of both sides remain haunted by the memories of the terrible things they have experienced during the war.  While this is happening, Allied commanders, having lost several other planes in the area, prepare a rescue team to recover Smith, who they mistakenly believe has been captured by enemy units and is being held at a hidden mountain base. The plan is to secure Smith and evacuate him from the area, with a bomber unit flying in after Smith's extraction to destroy the anti-aircraft guns they presume are located in the base.  The rescue team, led by their commander (David Joseph Anselmo), drops in by parachute at night. They suffer heavy casualties after being swarmed by a torrent of butterflies in the air, with further casualties from the rough terrain. Meanwhile, the villagers and soldiers are holding a harvest feast. The rescue team enter the village, and, assuming it is a cover for an enemy base, begin roughing up toward the villagers. Despite the efforts of the villagers to conceal the Korean soldiers by disguising them as villagers, a firefight breaks out in which all but one of the members of the rescue team are killed, and Yeo-il is fatally wounded in the crossfire. The only survivor of the rescue team, the Korean translator, is hit over the head by Smith and is captured by the villagers.  Through the translator, the people in the village find out about the bombing plan. The North and South Korean soldiers realize that the village is in peril and that there is no time for Smith to make it back to his base to stop the bombing. They decide that the only possible way to save the village is to create a decoy "enemy base" away from the village, using equipment salvaged from another plane that went down nearby. They plan to engage the unit only far as is necessary to divert it and have it bomb the "base" instead of Dongmakgol, with the soldiers fleeing to safety.  Smith is sent back along with the translator so that he can tell the Americans that there is nothing in the village to bomb, in case they decide to send more bombers. Meanwhile, while preparing to engage the planes passing over, Taek-gi encourages the group and quips that they, being a joint North-South troop, are "Allies" too. The decoy is successful, but Young-hee and Sang-sang are killed during the initial engagement. In the end, the remaining Korean soldiers are wiped out by a blanket of bombs – however, they die smiling, knowing that Dongmakgol has been saved.  Smith breaks down in tears on the way to his base upon hearing the bombs in the distance, suspecting that the Korean soldiers have sacrificed themselves. After the bombing, at the site of the destroyed decoy base, butterflies apparate where the Korean soldiers died, which then join the swarm fluttering overhead.

Production.

Having being impressed by Park Kwang-hyun's 2002 short film "My Nike", Film It Suda CEO Jang Jin gave him a new project: to direct an adaptation of one of Jang's successful stage plays called "Welcome to Dongmakgol". The final script was the result of 18 months of brainstorming between Jang, Park, and visual supervisor Kim Joong.  The film was originally budgeted for around, as there were no big stars (mostly actors acquainted with Jang or affiliated with Film It Suda). However, filming and post-production CGI took much longer than expected, and the budget skyrocketed to, putting Jang's company in trouble: for a small production company like Film It Suda failing with this film would have been catastrophic.  Park had been a big fan of Japanese animation director Hayao Miyazaki's work since he watched "Future Boy Conan" as a child. One of Miyazaki's most important collaborators was composer Joe Hisaishi. Park liked Hisaishi's music so much that he wrote the script thinking about his music, visualizing the scenes in his mind while listening to his past work. During pre-production, producer Lee Eun-ha asked Park who the best music director for the project would be; Park immediately answered, "Joe Hisaishi." Lee then wrote a very heartfelt letter to Hisaishi, explaining their situation and translating the script into Japanese for Hisaishi's consideration. Hisaishi accepted the proposal, later stating that he was moved by the enthusiasm and sincerity in the letter, choosing "Welcome to Dongmakgol" as his first ever Korean film.

Welcome to Dongmakgol (), also known as Battle Ground 625 (UK), is a 2005 South Korean film. Based on the same-titled long-running stage play by filmmaker/playwright Jang Jin, Park Kwang-hyun's debut film was a commercial and critical success.

Welcome to Dongmakgol (Originaltitel:, Welkeom tu dongmakgol) ist der Debütfilm des südkoreanischen Regisseurs Park Kwang-hyun aus dem Jahr 2005. Er basiert auf dem gleichnamigen Bühnenwerk des Dramatikers Jang Jin, "Welcome to Dongmakgol" war ein kommerzieller Erfolg und wurde in Südkorea vielfach ausgezeichnet.


Early life and education.

Chountis was born in Langadia, Arcadia. He graduated with a degree in electrical engineering from the National Technical University of Athens and with a degree in political science from the Panteion University.

Political career.

On 15 April 2004, Chountis succeeded Alekos Alavanos in his role as a Member of the European Parliament for Greece. Chountis served until 19 July 2004, following the 2004 European Parliament election. During this period he represented Synaspismos.  Following the 2009 European Parliament election, Chountis was elected as a Syriza Member of European Parliament. He served until 2014 as Syriza's only MEP.  Following the January 2015 Greek legislative election, he was elected a Member of the Hellenic Parliament for the Athens B constituency, representing Syriza. On 27 January 2015, he was appointed by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras as the Alternate Minister of European Affairs in his cabinet.  A member of the Syriza's Left Platform, Hountis was internally opposed to the government's bridge agreement in February. On 13 July 2015, following Tsipras' agreement with the European creditors and well ahead of the parliamentary vote, Hountis resigned from his ministerial office to be replaced by Sia Anagnostopoulou. He also resigned from Parliament and was succeeded by Giorgos Kyritsis.  Succeeding the retired Manolis Glezos on 20 July 2015, he once again became a Member of the European Parliament.  On 26 August 2015, he defected to Popular Unity, alongside 52 other members of Syriza's central committee. He becomes Popular Unity's only MEP.

Personal life.

Chountis is married to Dr Evmorfia Sagkana.

Nikolaos Chountis (; born 17 September 1953 in Langadia, Arcadia) is a Greek politician and former Member of the European Parliament, currently serving as General Secretary of the political party Popular Unity.

Nikolaos Chountis (, * 17. September 1953 in Langadia) ist ein griechischer Politiker. Er gehörte zunächst der Partei Synaspismos an, die später im SYRIZA aufging.


Life and career.

Heuberger grew up in poor circumstances. He completed his training at the Swiss Volksbank in Aarburg in the 1930s. As a bank and insurance buyer, he later worked for the Volksbank as an accountant, credit manager and securities specialist, then as an agency manager for the Bâloise insurance company.  Together with his wife Ruth, born Mötteli (* 1924, † 2016), Heuberger founded Siska Heuberger Holding AG in 1954, with which he implemented a series of major building projects, especially in eastern Switzerland, with the construction of about 1000 apartments in Winterthur. According to the economic magazine's BILANZ, he had assets of approximately CHF300 to 500 million in 2012.  He is the father of the media entrepreneur, Günther Heuberger, and father of Rainer Heuberger, old Cantonal Council of Zürich (SVP) and owner of Siska Verwaltungs AG

Engagement.

Heuberger's public commitment includes funding for the establishment of the Club of Rome in Winterthur, setting up the non-profit «Robert and Ruth Heuberger Foundation», as well as founding an innovation prize for young entrepreneurs. In 2007, the City of Winterthur awarded him the prize of the "Winterthur Lion". In 2013, Heuberger drew attention to the initiative to abolish conscription by means of double-page advertisements. The referendum was clearly rejected.

Honors.

The asteroid 82232 Heuberger, discovered by Markus Griesser at the Swiss Eschenberg Observatory in 2001, has been named in honor of Robert and Ruth Heuberger's commitment to social and cultural institutions. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 13 July 2004 ().

Robert K. Heuberger (12 January 1922 in Olten) is a Swiss real estate entrepreneur, patron and author under the pseudonym Victor Vermont.

Robert K. Heuberger (* 12. Januar 1922 in Olten) ist ein Schweizer Immobilienunternehmer, Mäzen und Autor unter dem Pseudonym Victor Vermont.


Satellite.

GSAT-7, the multi-band communication satellite named "Rukmini" carries the payloads in UHF, C band and. It is the first dedicated military communication satellite (unlike earlier dual use satellites) built by ISRO that will provide services to the Indian defence forces with the main user being the Indian Navy. The GSAT-7 is the last of ISRO's seven fourth-generation satellites. Its foreign launch cost has been put at Rs. 480 crore, with the satellite costing Rs. 185 crore. The multiple-band spacecraft will be used exclusively by the Navy to shore up secure, real-time communications among its warships, submarines, aircraft and land systems. GSAT-7/ INSAT-4F is said to significantly improve the country's naval operations around the world. ISRO is expected to launch the second satellite, GSAT-7A, in the second half of 2018. GSAT 7a will be used by the Indian air force. The state-of-the-art GSAT 7 satellite carrying payloads operating in UHF, S, C and Ku bands, had a lift-off mass of and is based on ISRO's satellite bus with some new technological elements, including the antennae. After a flight of almost 34 minutes, the satellite was injected into a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) of perigee, apogee and an inclination of 3.5 degree with respect to the equator.

Launch.

The satellite was launched early on 30 August 2013 atop an Ariane 5 ECA rocket from Kourou, French Guiana.  India's first dedicated military satellite was put into a geosynchronous orbit, about above Earth, five days after it was launched after three orbit-raising manoeuvres from ISRO's Master Control Facility at Hassan in Karnataka. The 2.5-tonne spacecraft's antennae, including the ultra high frequency Helix antenna were deployed before it was stabilised on its three-axis in the orbit. All of the on-board transponders were switched on successfully on September 18, 2013

Capability.

Rukmini will provide networking capabilities to various Indian Naval assets. During Theater-level Readiness and Operational Exercise (Tropex) in the Bay of Bengal in 2014, Rukmini was able to network about 60 ships and 75 aircraft seamlessly. Rukmini has a nearly 2,000 nautical mile 'footprint' over the Indian Ocean Region.

Replacement.

The Indian Navy placed an order for GSAT-7R on June 11, 2019. GSAT-7R is expected to be launched in 2020 to eventually replace GSAT-7.

GSAT-7 or INSAT-4F is a multi-band military communications satellite developed by ISRO. The Indian Navy is the user of the multi-band communication spacecraft, which has been operational since September 2013. According to defense experts, the satellite will enable the navy to extend its blue water capabilities and stop relying on foreign satellites like Inmarsat, which provide communication services to its ships.

GSAT-7 oder INSAT-4F ist ein indischer militärischer Kommunikationssatellit Er ist der sechste der INSAT-4-Baureihe und wurde von der indischen Weltraumbehörde ISRO entwickelt.


History.

Early years and first EP (2004−2007).

Last Chance to Reason toured throughout 2005,2006 and 2007 supporting their first EP. Shows with Unearth, The Autumn Offering and As I Lay Dying helped their fan base grow. Several DIY tours and show trading helped LCTR become a staple of the central Maine metal scene. During these times the band experienced several lineup changes. It was also during this time that the band released their first music video for their song "SBTBATAC", filmed and edited by award winning director Kevin James Custer.

"Lvl. 1" and lineup changes (2007–2009).

2007 saw the group's first major lineup change with the departure of guitarist Dustin Boudreau, vocalist Mike Levenseller and the arrival of Bob Delaney. Delaney, a staple of the Maine music scene, became the vocalist for the band's first LP release, Lvl. 1, and would stay with the band until 2008. This also marked a change in style for the band, moving from mathcore to a more progressive based sound. Lvl. 1 was recorded, mixed and mastered by Jamie King in North Carolina and released by Tribunal Records in August 2007. Influences from video games to King Crimson saw the band take on new song structures and melodies. Touring for Lvl. 1 was intense and almost non-stop. Tours with Look What I Did and Car Bomb helped the bands fan base grow even larger.

"Level 2" and label signing (2009–2012).

Writing for Level 2 began in late 2007 with drummer Evan Sammons and guitarist A.J. Harvey writing and recording a basic demos of the record. In September 2008 it was announced that Mike Lessard would be taking over vocal duties and Delaney would no longer be in the band, the departure was seen as amicable for both parties involved. With the vocal situation settled the band began to focus on recruiting a second guitarist, this spot would be filled by Evan Haines. However Haines would eventually be replaced by longtime friend Tom Waterhouse in the summer of 2010. After writing for Level 2 was complete, the band recruited friend and original producer of Lvl 1, Jamie King, to record the album in North Carolina. The drums and vocals were recorded entirely with King, while guitar, bass, and keyboards were recorded by the band at their Mother Brain studios in central Maine. The album was edited, mixed and mastered by King and released on April 12, 2011 through Prosthetic Records. Guitarist Thomas Waterhouse and keyboardist Brian Palmer left the band in early August 2011 during a tour of America, reducing the line-up to four again, before recruiting Mike Abdow as a replacement for Waterhouse.

"Level 3" (2013–present).

Last Chance to Reason announced their third album, "Level 3", via their Facebook page on June 20, 2013. The album was released through Prosthetic Records on August 6, 2013. The band had previously said that Level 3 would be a concept album like Level 2. The next day, the band released the first single and music video entitled "The Escapist". They also announced that they be touring from July–August in support of the album, with Evan Brewer supporting them on the tour. As well as this, it was announced that Robby Baca of The Contortionist would be filling on guitars in place of AJ Harvey and Mike Abdow, who left the band shortly after the completion of Level 3.  On June 21, 2013, Mike Lessard announced that he would now be the full-time vocalist for The Contortionist and that Last Chance To Reason would become a side project, as the band had come to a standstill after the completion of Level 3. He stated that discussions had already begun between him and Robby Baca regarding The Contortionist's third album and that he would be flying back to Indianapolis after Last Chance To Reason's North American tour to begin writing the album.  On the future of the band, Evan Sammons said in July 2016, "There's no timeline for it, but it's been no secret that we plan to make another record."

Last Chance to Reason is an American progressive metal band from Augusta, Maine. Their debut album, "Lvl. 1", was released through Tribunal Records in 2007. Their first major label debut, "Level 2", came in 2011 through Prosthetic Records. The band's third studio album, "Level 3", was released on August 6, 2013.

Last Chance to Reason ist eine US-amerikanische Progressive-Metal-Band aus Portland, Maine, die im Jahr 2005 gegründet wurde. Seit ihrer Gründung spielte die Band bereits zusammen mit Gruppen wie Born of Osiris, Genghis Tron, Periphery, Dååth, Through the Eyes of the Dead und Unearth.


History.

São Mateus was one of the first Captaincies of the Azores, and administered by its Captain-Donatorio, Duarte Barreto.  The main centre and parish seat obtained the category, and elevated to the title, of "vila" (or town) during the reign of King John III, by royal charter on 1 April 1546. It operated as the municipal seat until 1867, when its role was superseded by the much larger Santa Cruz da Graciosa. Yet, it still retained the honorific title of "vila". During this time, the settlers of the island formed historical, social and economic contacts with the peoples and economy of Terceira, in addition to those ships travelling between Europe and Brazil.  In the 16th century it had become a rich parish, and competed with Santa Cruz. In 1890, there were over 1783 inhabitants, but it had already begun a slow decline. Part of the population emigrated to the United States or Canada, while the remaining population relied primarily on a subsistence lifestyle for local consumption.

Geography.

Within an area of less than 13 kilometres square, the parish includes various individual rural localities, including Vila da Praia, Fenais, Fonte do Mato, Lagoa, Pedras Brancas and Feteira.  The parish occupies the extreme southeast, along a long valley which separates the Caldeira massif from the rest of the island. To the interior the volcanic crater, simply the "Calderia" (caldera), is the largest volcanic structure on the island. Within its crater, is the "Furna do Enxofre", a large cavern and subterranean lake bio-system popular with tourists. Located directly opposite the village is the Praia Islet, an important natural reserve, classified as a "Zone of Special Protection", due to the abundant marine bird species that use it for nesting and as transitory stop in annual migrations.  The population is aging in this community, and is shifting into a bedroom community of the much larger Santa Cruz.

Economy.

In addition to agriculture, a staple of the fertile lands of the Azores, Praia has been known for being an important fishing community and supplier for the economy of Graciosa. In addition to fish, fisherman have collected and dried algae ("Sargassum") as fertilizer. Similarly, Graciosense were producers of tile, for the regional market, resulting in periods of boom.  Other complementary activities, in addition to the small garages and mechanical shops, the parish is a center of civil construction and bread makers, and has an outpost of the fiscal auditors, customs, post office and bank.

Praia (officially São Mateus) is a Portuguese civil parish in the municipality of Santa Cruz da Graciosa, on the island of Graciosa, in the Azores. It still retains its former name "Praia" locally, owing to the parish having once been the historical municipality of Praia. The population in 2011 was 836, in an area of 12.82 km2.

Praia (São Mateus) ist eine portugiesische Gemeinde (Freguesia) im Kreis Santa Cruz da Graciosa auf der Azoren-Insel Graciosa. In ihr leben Einwohner (Stand ). Der Hafen Praias ist der bedeutendste der gesamten Insel, da hier die Fähren zu den anderen Inseln der Azoren anlegen.


Geography.

Meenon is located near the center of Burnett County. The town surrounds the village of Webster but is separate from it.  According to the United States Census Bureau, the Town of Meenon has a total area of, of which is land and, or 4.12%, is water.

Demographics.

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,172 people, 483 households, and 322 families residing in the town. The population density was 36.7 people per square mile (14.2/km2). There were 836 housing units at an average density of 26.2 per square mile (10.1/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 91.98% White, 1.19% African American, 4.86% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 0.34% from other races, and 1.28% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.11% of the population.  There were 483 households out of which 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.0% were married couples living together, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.3% were non-families. 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.81.  In the town, the population was spread out with 21.9% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 27.5% from 45 to 64, and 18.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 116.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 116.3 males.  The median income for a household in the town was $37,011, and the median income for a family was $43,250. Males had a median income of $32,143 versus $21,625 for females. The per capita income for the town was $18,067. About 4.5% of families and 7.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.5% of those under age 18 and 1.6% of those age 65 or over.

Meenon is a town in Burnett County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 1,163 at the 2010 census. It is the home of the Burnett County Government Center.

Die Town of Meenon ist eine von 21 Towns im Burnett County im US-amerikanischen Bundesstaat Wisconsin. Im Jahr 2010 hatte Meenon 1163 Einwohner.


Early life.

Wallace was born at Colbeck Street, Waterford, Ireland. Both of his parents were Irish; his father, Spencer Wallace of County Mayo, one of four children, who was born in Killala, County Mayo in 1789, became a regimental bandmaster with the North Mayo Militia based in Ballina. William was born while the regiment was stationed for one year in Waterford, one of several successive postings in Ireland and the UK. The family returned to Ballina some four years later, in 1816, and William spent his formative years there, taking an active part in his father's band and already composing pieces by the age of nine for the band recitals.  The band, having a reputation for high standards, apart from regimental duties would have featured at social events in big houses in the area. Under the tuition of his father and uncle, he wrote pieces for the bands and orchestras of his native area. Wallace became accomplished in playing various band instruments before the family left the Army in 1826 (their regiment then being the 29th Foot), moving from Waterford to Dublin, and becoming active in music in the capital. Wallace learned to play several instruments as a boy, including the violin, clarinet, organ, and piano. In 1830, at the age of 18, he became organist of the Roman Catholic Cathedral at Thurles, County Tipperary, and taught music at the Ursuline Convent there. He fell in love with a pupil, Isabella Kelly, whose father consented to their marriage in 1832 on condition that Wallace become a Roman Catholic. The couple soon moved to Dublin, where Wallace was employed as a violinist at the Theatre Royal.

Career and travels.

Economic conditions in Dublin having deteriorated after the Act of Union of 1800, the whole Wallace family decided to emigrate to Australia in 1835. Wallace, together with his wife Isabella and young son, Willy, travelled as free emigrants from Liverpool in July. His father, with his second wife Matilda and one child, travelled with the rest of the family, Elizabeth, a soprano, and Wellington, a flautist, as bounty emigrants from Cork that autumn. The composer's party first landed at Hobart, Tasmania in late October, where they stayed several months, and then moved on to Sydney in January 1836, where, following the arrival of the rest of the family in February, the Wallaces opened the first Australian music academy in April. Wallace had already given many celebrity concerts in Sydney, and, being the first virtuoso to visit the Colony, became known as the "Australian Paganini". His sister Elizabeth, at age 19, in 1839 married an Australian singer John Bushelle, with whom she gave many recitals before his early death in 1843 on a tour of van Diemen's Land. Wallace was also active in the business of importing pianos from London, but his main activity involved many recitals in and around Sydney under the patronage of the Governor, General Sir Richard Bourke. The most significant musical events of this period were two large oratorio concerts at St. Mary's (Roman Catholic) Cathedral in Sydney in 1836 and 1838, on behalf of the organ fund, which were directed by Wallace, and which utilized all the available musical talent of the Colony, including the recently formed Philharmonic [Choral] Society.  In 1838, he separated from his wife, and began a roving career that took him around the globe. Wallace claimed that from Australia he went to New Zealand on a whaling-voyage in the South seas and while there encountered the Maori tribe Te Aupouri, and having crossed the Pacific, he visited Chile, Argentina, Peru, Jamaica, and Cuba, giving concerts in the large cities of those countries. In 1841, he conducted a season of Italian opera in Mexico City. Moving on to the United States, he stayed at New Orleans for some years, where he was feted as a virtuoso on violin and piano, before reaching New York, where he was equally celebrated, and published his first compositions (1843–44). He arrived in London in 1845 and made various appearances as a pianist. In November of that year, his opera "Maritana" was performed at Drury Lane with great success, and was later presented internationally, including Dublin (1846), Vienna, Austria (1848), and in Australia. Wallace's sister, Elisabeth, appeared at Covent Garden in the title role in 1848. "Maritana" was followed by "Matilda of Hungary" (1847), "Lurline" (1847/60), "The Amber Witch" (1861), "Love's Triumph" (1862) and "The Desert Flower" (1863) (based on the libretto of Halévy's "Jaguarita l'Indienne"). He also published numerous compositions for the piano.  Vincent Wallace was a cultivated man and an accomplished musician, whose work as an operatic composer, at a period by no means encouraging to music in England, has a distinct historical value. Like Michael William Balfe, he was born an Irishman, and his reputation as one of the few composers known beyond the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland at that time is naturally coupled with Balfe's.

Later life.

In 1854, Wallace became an American citizen after a (most likely common-law) marriage in New York with the German-born pianist Hélène Stoepel, sister of composer Robert Stoepel. In New York, in 1843–44, he had been associated with the early concert seasons of the New York Philharmonic Society, and in 1853 was elected an Honorary (Life) Member of the Society. In later years, having returned to Europe for the premieres of his later operas, he developed a heart condition, for which he received treatment in Paris in 1864. He died in poor circumstances at the Château de Bagen, Sauveterre de Comminges, in the Haute Garonne (the home of Hélène's sister, Marie-Therese, Baroness de Saintegeme), on 12 October 1865, leaving two widows, a son, Willy, from his first marriage who died in 1909, and two sons by Hélène, Clarence Sutherland and Vincent St. John, the latter of whom, faced with a terminal condition in the French hospital in San Francisco in 1897, committed suicide. Wallace was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery, London; the epitaph on his recently refurbished headstone (from 2007) now reads "Music is an art that knows no locality but heaven – Wm. V. Wallace".

Selected compositions.

Opera  Orchestral music  Songs for voice and piano  Piano music

Recordings.

Opera recordings  Other vocal recordings  Piano recordings

(William) Vincent Wallace (11 March 181212 October 1865) was an Irish composer and musician. In his day, he was famous on three continents as a double virtuoso on violin and piano. Nowadays, he is mainly remembered as an opera composer of note, with key works such as "Maritana" (1845) and "Lurline" (1847/60), but he also wrote a large amount of piano music (including some virtuoso pieces) that was much in vogue in the 19th century. His more modest output of songs and ballads, equally wide-ranging in style and difficulty, was also popular in his day, some numbers being associated with famous singers of the time.

William Vincent Wallace (* 11. März 1812 in Waterford, Irland; † 12. Oktober 1865 in Sauveterre-de-Comminges, Département Haute-Garonne, Frankreich) war ein britischer Komponist und Musiker.


History.

Originally named Wood Lake, the town's name was changed in 1906 to honor Daniel Johnson, who was an early town chairman.

Geography.

Daniels is located in southern Burnett County and is bordered by Polk County to the south. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of, of which is land and, or 5.80%, is water. At least 12 named lakes are fully or partially in the town, the largest of which is Mud Hen Lake, west of the town's geographic center and east of Falun.

Demographics.

As of the census of 2000, there were 665 people, 280 households, and 204 families residing in the town. The population density was 19.7 people per square mile (7.6/km2). There were 429 housing units at an average density of 12.7 per square mile (4.9/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 97.44% White, 0.30% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.15% Pacific Islander, 0.45% from other races, and 1.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.45% of the population.  There were 280 households. Of these, 24.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.6% were married couples living together, 5.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.8% were non-families. 23.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.80.  In the town, the population was spread out with 20.5% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 29.3% from 45 to 64, and 20.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.2 males.  The median income for a household in the town was $36,597, and the median income for a family was $46,917. Males had a median income of $33,681 versus $25,385 for females. The per capita income for the town was $19,081. About 7.0% of families and 8.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.3% of those under age 18 and 15.0% of those age 65 or over.

Daniels is a town in Burnett County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 649 at the 2010 census. The unincorporated community of Falun is located within the town.

Die Town of Daniels ist eine von 21 Towns im Burnett County im US-amerikanischen Bundesstaat Wisconsin. Im Jahr 2010 hatte Daniels 649 Einwohner.


History.

Beginnings.

Founded in 2005 in Perm, Russia by Alexander Agapitov, Xsolla (former 2Pay) is providing payment services via local payment methods (cash kiosks, prepaid cards, money orders and e-wallets). The company was initially targeted at Russian game developers and publishers. Having added PayPal and SMS payment options, 2Pay entered the CIS market and started its global expansion.

Growth.

In 2010, 2Pay headquarters move to Sherman Oaks, CA. The company is renamed Xsolla, with its corporate image being designed by Art. Lebedev Studio, a.

Prospects.

According to Alexander Agapitov, over 50% of Xsolla revenue is to come from European and American game developers and publishers in 2014. Xsolla is pursuing its strategic goal to gain a significant market share in both European, American and Asian regions by providing new services. Xsolla assisted many famous game companies such as Perfect World In November 2013 to self-publish its latest game, Neverwinter, on the Russian market.

Coverage.

Xsolla claims to have global coverage, with 100% presence in Russia and CIS and a strong presence in other regions. For example, in 2011, Xsolla focused in the Ukrainian market as it represents one of the fastest growing markets for the gaming industry in the Eastern European region.  The company expands its business portfolio by adding numerous payment systems (such as Skrill, Boku, paysafecard, Amazon, Qiwi, Stipe, Braintree, Alipay, WeChat, MyCard, etc.) and game developers/publishers (Barbily, S2 Games, Valve, and many more) worldwide.

Xsolla is a paying service company, providing game developers and publishers with payment, billing, distribution, and marketing tools. Xsolla is headquartered in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California. It has offices in Moscow and Perm in Russia, Kiev in Ukraine and Seoul in South Korea. Companies that use the service include Valve, Twitch, Epic Games, Aeria Games, BigPoint Games, Gameforge, Ankama Games, Gaijin Entertainment, Goodgame Studios, Snail Games, Chromatic Games, Digital Extremes, and Roblox Corporation.

Xsolla (bis 2010 2Pay) ist ein Bezahldienstleister, der weltweit individuelle Bezahlungslösungen für Onlinespiele bereitstellt. Als auf die Spieleindustrie spezialisierter Bezahldienstleister bietet Xsolla 500 Zahlungsmethoden in Nord- und Südamerika, Europa, Russland, der MENA-Region, Asien und Ozeanien.


Club career.

Ouakam.

Born in Ouakam, Dakar Department, Niasse began his football career with hometown club US Ouakam in the second tier. He signed his first professional contract with Ouakam in 2008 and in the 2008–09 season helped his team win the Second League title by scoring 21 goals. Playing as a winger, Niasse also played a key role in Ouakam winning the Senegal Premier League title in 2011.  Niasse started a trial with Norwegian club Brann in February 2012, and after impressing signed for the club on a six-month loan. His time in Norway was hampered by poor form and injuries, and he returned to Senegal after playing just three Tippeligaen matches.

Akhisar Belediyespor.

After a trial period with French club Saint-Étienne, Niasse was offered a contract to join the club but refused the offer. He joined the summer camp of Turkish Süper Lig club Akhisar Belediyespor and signed permanently with them in August 2013. Niasse scored on his debut in Turkey and ultimately finished the season with 15 goals.

Lokomotiv Moscow.

Before the 2014–15 season, Niasse signed with Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow in July 2014 for a €5.5 million transfer fee. He scored Lokomotiv's equalising goal in the Russian Cup Final against Kuban Krasnodar on 21 May 2015 as his side went on to win 3–1 after extra time.

Everton.

Niasse joined English Premier League club Everton on 1 February 2016 for a transfer fee of approximately £13.5 million, signing a four-and-a-half year contract. He made his debut for the club against AFC Bournemouth on 20 February 2016, entering as an 80th-minute substitute for striker Romelu Lukaku.  After 152 minutes of football in his first season at the club, Niasse was not given a squad number for the following 2016–17 season. He was informed by then-Everton manager Ronald Koeman he would need to search for a new club during the summer 2016 transfer window, saying, "[I]f Niasse likes to play football he needs to leave Everton."  However, following the close of the transfer deadline for loaning and signing players in England, he was listed as part of the 25-man Everton squad for the 2016–17 season submitted on 1 September 2016 and eventually issued squad number 24.  In October 2016, Niasse was demoted to the under-23 squad and had his personal locker revoked.

Loan to Hull City.

On 13 January 2017, Niasse signed a loan contract with Hull City until the end of the 2016–17 season with an option for a £10 million permanent transfer from Everton. He made his debut the next day as an 83rd-minute substitute for Abel Hernández in a 3–1 home win against AFC Bournemouth. His first goal for Hull and in English football came on 26 January in the EFL Cup semi-final second leg against Manchester United, where he made his first start for the club. Hull won the second leg 2–1 but ultimately lost the tie 3–2 on aggregate.  Niasse scored his first Premier League goal in a 2–0 victory against Liverpool on 4 February. On 11 March, he came on as a substitute against Swansea City and scored both goals in a 2–1 victory. Hull were relegated to the Championship at the end of the season and opted not to exercise its option to outright purchase Niasse.

Return to Everton.

After returning to Everton, Niasse made his first appearance since his return as a substitute in the EFL Cup third round match against Sunderland at Goodison Park on 20 September 2017, scoring Everton's third goal of a 3–0 win. Manager Ronald Koeman named Niasse in Everton's 25-man Premier League squad upon his return from loan and consequently issued him a squad number. However, Koeman omitted Niasse from Everton's UEFA Europa League squad. On 23 September, Niasse scored two goals against AFC Bournemouth in a 2–1 Premier League win, helping Everton to come back from a goal down. On 5 November, Niasse scored Everton's first goal in a 3–2 home win against Watford, having been losing 2–0. Thirteen days later, he scored in a 2–2 draw away to bottom side Crystal Palace. Niasse sparked controversy in the match by appearing to dive to win Everton a penalty, which was converted by Leighton Baines to make the score 1–1 in the first half. He subsequently became the first Premier League player to be charged with "successful deception of a match official" under The Football Association's new regulations. Everton appealed the verdict, but the FA rejected the appeal and Niasse received a two-match suspension.

Loan to Cardiff City.

On 18 January 2019, Niasse joined fellow Premier League team Cardiff City on loan for the remainder of the season.

International career.

Niasse was first selected for the Senegal national team in January 2013 as part of an all domestic-based squad. He made his debut on 15 January, starting in a 2–1 friendly loss to Chile in La Serena.  On 25 May 2015, Niasse scored his first international goals, a brace in a 3–1 win over Kosovo at the Stade de Genève.

Personal life.

His brother Ibrahima Niasse is also a professional footballer.

Honours.

US Ouakam  Lokomotiv Moscow

El Hadji Baye Oumar Niasse (born 18 April 1990) is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Everton and the Senegal national team.

El Hadji Baye Oumar Niasse, kurz Oumar Niasse (* 18. April 1990 in Ouakam) ist ein senegalesischer Fußballspieler. Er steht aktuell beim FC Everton unter Vertrag.


Recruitment and composition.

A "Franc-archer" was recruited in every parish of France. The parish was obligated to choose an archer and supply him with the specified equipment. The archer would train himself on feast-days and holidays. They were free from all taxes (hence the name) and were paid four francs for every month of service. The "Francs-archers" were predominantly older men, with the average age being 32. They often had to be re-equipped after service, breeding resentment among the villagers. They would also misuse their position to oppress the peasantry, while pretending to be simply obeying the king's will.

Organization and equipment.

During the Hundred Years' War the "francs-archers" fought in companies of 200–300 men. The companies were led by nobles and were later put under the command of 4 captains-general. The 1448 "ordonnance" specified the equipment of the archer as a sallet helmet, dagger, sword, a bow, a sheath of arrows, a jerkin and a coat of mail. In 1466 they used the pike for the first time and by the late 1470s some companies were employing Swiss-style pikemen. During the Mad War in 1488, Esquerdes took 12,000 "francs-archers" for his campaign in Flanders.  In 1513, the 22,000-strong "francs-archers" levy was raised for 18 months and was organised into 44 ensigns of 500 men, each led by five "centeniers". In 1510 Machiavelli noted that each "franc-archer" was required to have a horse. The Decree of 17 January 1522 listed the updated equipment of the "franc-archer" as comprising a corselet, a mail gorget, arm-pieces, a mail skirt and a helmet. Two-thirds were to be pikemen and the rest would be armed with halberds, crossbows and arquebuses.

Service.

The "Francs-archers" were primarily used for frontier defense against foreign enemies and against bandits in the interior such as the "aventuriers". They were also used in field battles, though their combat effectiveness against professional troops was low, such as against the Germans at Guinegate. In addition, they were prone to desertion, treason and capitulation.  During the reign of Louis XI the "francs-archers" performed poorly at the battle of Guinegate while under the command of Marshal Joachim Rouault. Lacking any unit training or discipline, they lost 6,000 men killed in action and many of them looted the enemy camp instead of fighting.

Franc-archers in literature.

The franc-archers was a stock figure of fun in literary satire as early as the late 15th century. In these satires the franc-archer is portrayed as vainglorious, cowardly and militarily useless. François Rabelais mocked the "francs-archers" as cowards in his 1542 edition of Pantagruel. The "francs-archers" were nicknamed "francs-taupins", meaning either "free-moles" or "free-beetles".

The North Bay Battalion is a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League based in North Bay, Ontario, Canada. The franchise was founded as the Brampton Battalion on December 3, 1996, and began play in 1998. The team relocated to North Bay prior to the 2013–14 OHL season.

Das North Bay Battalion ist eine kanadische Eishockeymannschaft aus North Bay, Ontario. Das Team wurde 1996 als Brampton Battalion gegründet und spielt seit der Saison 2013/14 unter dem aktuellen Namen in einer der drei höchsten kanadischen Junioren-Eishockeyligen, der Ontario Hockey League (OHL).


Background.

After 1693, Louis XIV assumed a largely defensive posture in Flanders. French victories at Steinkirk and Landen and the capture of Namur, Mons, Huy and Charleroi failed to force the Dutch Republic out of the war. The cost had exhausted the French economy with crop failures in 1693 and 1694 causing widespread famine in France and Northern Italy.  The Dutch Republic remained intact and the Alliance held together under William through four years of war. Their losses were damaging but not critical; in 1694, they had recaptured towns like Huy and Diksmuide, and by 1695 held a numerical advantage for the first time.  However, the Allies had also reached the limit of their resources. The 1690s marked the lowest point of the so-called Little Ice Age, a period of cold and wet weather affecting Europe in the second half of the 17th century. Spain and Scotland in particular experienced famine; the harvest failed in 1695, 1696, 1698 and 1699 and an estimated 5-15% of the population starved to death. While this theatre is commonly referred to as Flanders, most campaigning took place in the Spanish Netherlands, a compact area 160 kilometres wide, the highest point only 100 metres above sea level, and dominated by canals and rivers. In the 17th century, goods and supplies were largely transported by water and the war was fought for control of rivers such as the Lys, Sambre and Meuse.  Retaking Namur became the key objective for 1695 as its location between the Sambre and Meuse made it a vital part of the "Barrier" system. This was a chain of fortresses in the Spanish Netherlands the Dutch viewed as essential for defence against French invasion and possession would be extremely advantageous in any peace negotiations.  The French commander in Flanders, Marshall Luxembourg, died in January 1695 and was replaced by the less talented Villeroi. French strategy for 1695 was to remain on the defensive and Boufflers spent April constructing entrenchments between the rivers Scheldt and Lys, from Coutrai/Kortrijk to Avelgem. William marched on these in June with the bulk of the Allied force but secretly detached Frederick of Prussia to Namur. Once Frederick was in place on 2 July, William joined him; the Allies were now split into a besieging force of 58,000 at Namur and a field army of 102,000 under Prince Vaudémont to cover Villeroi.

Siege.

Namur was divided into the 'City,' with the residential and commercial areas, and the Citadel that controlled access to the Sambre and Meuse rivers. In 1692, the Dutch military engineer Menno van Coehoorn made the Citadel one of the strongest defensive points in Flanders, but the garrison was less than 5,000, many of them poorly-trained Spanish troops with low morale. While the outer City fell relatively quickly, capturing the Citadel took the French over a month and they were nearly forced to withdraw by torrential rain and sickness. This was partly due to the terms negotiated for surrendering the City; van Coehoorn agreed not to fire on the City from the Citadel, in return for the French agreeing not to attack him from that direction, making it almost impregnable.  After its capture, Namur's defences were significantly upgraded by Vauban, while Boufflers had a garrison of 13,000, making it a formidable challenge. During July, the Allies battered their way into the City, both sides incurring heavy casualties; by early August, half the French garrison had been lost. On 3 August, Count Guiscard, Governor of Namur, surrendered the City to Maximilian of Bavaria and asked for a truce to allow the French to withdraw to the Citadel. This was accepted and the siege resumed after six days.  Vaudémont's role was to keep his field army between Villeroi and Namur, while Villeroi tried to tempt him out of position by attacking Allied-held towns like Knokke and Beselare, now Zonnebeke. Vaudémont refused to be drawn since both sides knew the longer the siege went on, the more likely Namur was to fall. Villeroi's attempts to out-manoeuvre Vaudémont were unsuccessful, despite the capture of Diksmuide and Deinze in late July with 6,000 - 7,000 prisoners. The Bombardment of Brussels between 13-15 August also failed to divert the Allies, despite destroying large parts of the commercial centre; Constantijn Huygens, William's Secretary for Dutch affairs, visited Brussels on 11 September and recorded that the 'ruin caused...was horrible...and in many places, the houses reduced to rubble.'  By mid-August, the Citadel was largely intact, Villeroi was making resupply much more difficult, while the besiegers were beginning to lose men to disease, in an age when far more soldiers died from illness than in battle. The Allies were running out of time and Coehoorn and William now agreed a new approach; a battery of 200 guns was established in Namur city and on 21 August began a continuous 24 hour bombardment of the Citadel's lower defences. Boufflers later told Louis it was ‘the most prodigious artillery ever assembled' and by 26 August the Allies were ready to assault the Citadel. At midnight on 27th, Villeroi finally made contact with Vaudémont but his numerical advantage of 120,000 to 102,000 was offset by their strongly entrenched positions. Having failed to outflank the Allied lines, Villeroi retreated and William gave the order for a general assault.  The assaults by the Allies were extremely bloody, that of 30 August alone costing 3,000 men in less than three hours but the defenders were eventually forced back to their final lines of defence. Count Guiscard, now commanding the key outwork of Fort Orange, told Boufflers on 2 September they could not repulse another attack and the garrison surrendered on 4 September, having suffered 8,000 casualties to the Allies 12,000.

Aftermath.

The recapture of Namur was a major achievement for the Allies but Bouffler's energetic defence prevented them taking advantage of French weakness elsewhere, an achievement recognised by Louis promoting him to Field-Marshall. Neither side was capable of mounting an offensive in 1696 and serious fighting came to an end, although Louis made one final demonstration prior to the signing of the Treaty of Ryswick in September 1697. Namur showcased Coehoorn's offensive tactics and also the defensive precepts set out in his 1685 work "New Fortress Construction" or "Nieuwe Vestingbouw op een natte of lage horisont." These can be summarised as follows; (1) passive reliance on fortifications was not enough and (b) in trying to hold an entire town, defenders simply risked losing it very quickly. This meant dividing fortifications into inner (Citadel) and outer (City) and conducting an 'active' defence that used constant counter attacks to keep the besiegers off guard. Bouffler applied these concepts but jeopardised his defence by committing too many troops to the outer City without means of retreat.  He would apply these lessons at the Siege of Lille in 1708. Historian John Lynn summarised his defence of Namur as follows; "(He) demonstrated one could effectively win a campaign by losing a fortress, provided you pinned down and exhausted the besieging force in the process. He conducted a classic active defence, launching attacks by the garrison on the enemy's siege works, contesting every advance as best he could."  Prisoners were normally exchanged as soon as possible, partly because neither side wanted the expense of having to feed them. On this occasions, the French refused William's request for the return of the 6,000 - 7,000 troops captured at Diksmuide and Deinze due to a dispute over the terms of their surrender. By now, shortage of manpower was a problem for all combatants; many of the rank and file were forcibly enlisted into French regiments and sent to fight in Italy or Catalonia. Desertion from one army to another to receive a signing-on bonus was common, particularly as these were paid immediately and wages were often months in arrears. As recruiters were paid for each man they enlisted, several thousand additional soldiers represented significant profits for the French officers involved. In retaliation, despite the garrison of Namur being allowed to surrender on terms, Boufflers was taken prisoner and released only when the remaining Allied prisoners had been returned in September.

Legacy.

While the Bombardment of Brussels failed to distract the Allies, some see it as marking the end of a period where the dominant form of warfare was taking or holding fortifications. By demonstrating fortified towns could no longer resist the massive firepower available in modern warfare, it led to a move away from siege warfare and into the direct confrontations advocated by Marlborough and others in the War of the Spanish Succession.  The assault by 3,000 British troops on the Terra Nova earthwork on 31 August spearheaded by 700 grenadiers is alleged to have been the inspiration for the song 'The British Grenadiers.'  The Siege and its aftermath is the centre of the novel "Mother Ross; an Irish Amazon" by GR Lloyd. This is an update of Daniel Defoe's original that purports to be the story of Christian 'Kit' Cavanagh alias Christian Davies, an Irish woman who enlisted in the British Army in 1693 disguised as a man and was present at the Siege. Defoe claims to have met her in old age when she was a Chelsea Pensioner; it contains a number of factual errors but is an interesting and rare observation of the Siege from the rank and file.  Laurence Sterne's 1760 novel "Tristram Shandy" refers to a number of events from the Nine Years War, including Namur where Tristram's uncle Toby suffered an unspecified 'groin injury.' He and his trusted servant Corporal Trim build a replica of the battle in his garden which he shows to his fiancée Widow Wadman among others. The Widow tries to determine how serious Toby's injury is before committing to marriage but he avoids her questions by providing increasingly elaborate accounts of the siege. This episode and Toby's reconstruction appear in the 2006 film "A Cock and Bull Story."  Fourteen British regiments earned a battle honour for "Namur 1695" including the Grenadier, Coldstream and Scots Guards, the Royal Scots, the King's Own Scottish Borderers, the Royal Irish Regiment, the Royal Welch Fusiliers, the Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers, the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey), the East Yorkshire Regiment and the West Yorkshire Regiment, the King's Own Royal Regiment and the King's Own Royal Border Regiment.

The 1695 Siege of Namur or Second Siege of Namur took place during the Nine Years' War between 2 July and 4 September 1695. Its capture by the French in the 1692 and recapture by the Grand Alliance in 1695 are often viewed as the defining events of the war; the second siege is considered to be William III's most significant military success.

Die Belagerung von Namur fand im Sommer 1695 im Rahmen des Neunjährigen Krieges zwischen französischen Truppen und einer Armee der Alliierten statt. 1692 hatten die Franzosen Namur erobert (Belagerung von Namur (1692)).


Early life.

Her parents are Bernardo Pérez and Irene Murillo. She holds dual citizenship in the United States and Mexico. Perez attended Crystal Springs Uplands School where she played one year of soccer, earning first team, All-League honors. During her Freshman, Sophomore and Junior years she played for PSV Union FC and in her junior and senior years, she played for the club team, Pleasonton Rage, and represented the Far West region Olympic Development (ODP) team at the 2005 U.S. Youth Soccer Adidas Cup.

University of Washington.

Pérez played for the University of Washington Huskies and was twice named to the All-Pac-10 second team. Pérez left the University of Washington ranked in the all-time top-10 in several categories, including third in shots (194) and games played (83), fourth in game-winning goals (8), tied for sixth in goals (21) and eighth in points (53).

Club career.

Perez was selected as the 37th pick overall in the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) draft by the Saint Louis Athletica in 2010. After the WPS folded, Perez began training again with the Mexico women's national football team.  Perez played for the Seattle Sounders Women during the 2009 and 2012 seasons and was a leading scorer.  During the summer of 2012, Pérez and her Sounders teammate and fellow University of Washington alum, Kate Deines, played for Stjarnan in Iceland's top division. The team won the Icelandic Women's Cup after a 1–0 win over Valur.  On 11 January 2013, Perez joined the Western New York Flash as part of the NWSL Player Allocation for the inaugural season of the National Women's Soccer League.  3 March 2014, Western New York Flash traded Perez and a 2015 fourth-round draft pick to the Washington Spirit in exchange for a 2014 and 2015 international roster spot. After she did not receive allocation status for the 2016 seasons, her NWSL rights were acquired by Seattle Reign FC in March 2016.  Pérez joined Swedish top division club KIF Örebro DFF in January 2016.  In 2018, Perez played for OSA FC in the Women's Premier Soccer League. She moved to PacNW Women the next year.

International career.

Perez played for both the Mexico women's national football team and the United States women's national under-23 soccer team during the Summer of 2009. On 5 November 2010, she scored the winning goal for Mexico in the CONCACAF Women's World Cup Qualifying game against the United States. In mid-2011, Pérez represented Mexico in the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany. In October of that year, she led the Mexico to a third-place finish in the 2011 Pan American Games. Perez retired from international duty after the Liga MX Femenil restricted play to only Mexico-born players.

Coaching career.

Perez is an assistant coach for her former club, PSV Union FC.

Verónica Raquel Pérez Murillo (born 18 May 1988) is a US-born Mexican footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Liga MX Femenil club Tijuana. She was a member of the Mexico women's national team. Between 2009 and 2016 she also played in professional leagues in the United States, Europe, and Australia.

Veronica Raquel Perez Murillo (* 18. Mai 1988 in Hayward, Kalifornien) ist eine mexikanisch-US-amerikanische Fußballspielerin, die seit Anfang 2016 bei KIF Örebro unter Vertrag steht.


Early career.

As a young player, Bochoridis was speculated by some as being a possible comparison to fellow Greek player Dimitris Diamantidis in the future.

Professional career.

Bochoridis began his pro career with the Greek League club Aris in 2010. With Aris, he played in the final game of the Greek Cup in 2014. Bochoridis' player rights were then sold to the Greek club Panathinaikos in July 2014, for €350,000 euros.  On 29 July 2014, Panathinaikos announced the signing of Bochoridis to a 5-year deal. The first statement of Bochoridis as a player of Panathinaikos, was that he was playing at the highest European level, and that he would do his best for the team. In his first season with Panathinaikos, he won the 2015 edition of the Greek Cup.  On 23 September 2015, he suffered a fractured fibula in a friendly game against Partizan, and he was subsequently ruled out of game action for at least a period of three months time. On 17 January 2016, he returned to action in a Greek League game, in a home win against his former club, Aris, which his team won by a score of 80–59. During the post-game press conference, Bochoridis stated that he was satisfied because of his return, and that he would do his best to help the team. In his second and third seasons with Panathinaikos, he won the 2016 edition and 2017 edition of the Greek Cup. With Panathinaikos, he also won the Greek League 2016–17 season championship.  He returned to Aris in December 2017. On July 28, 2018, Bochoridis renewed his contract with Aris and was named team captain.

National team career.

Greek junior national team.

Bochoridis played with the junior national teams of Greece, at the 2011 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, and the 2012 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship. He also played at both the 2013 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship, and the 2014 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship.

Greek senior national team.

Bochoridis first became a member of the senior Greek national basketball team in 2018. He played at the 2019 FIBA World Cup qualification.

Eleftherios "Lefteris" Bochoridis (Greek: Ελευθέριος "Λευτέρης" Μποχωρίδης; born April 18, 1994) is a Greek professional basketball player for AEK Athens of the Greek Basket League. Born in Thessaloniki, Greece, he is a left-handed, 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) tall shooting guard.

Eleftherios "Lefteris" Bochoridis (griechische Schreibweise: Ελευθέριος "Λευτέρης" Μποχωρίδης; * 18. April 1994) ist ein professioneller griechischer Basketballspieler. Er ist ein 196 cm grosser Point Guard resp. Shooting Guard.


Plot.

William Stoner is born on a small farm in Mid-Missouri in 1891. After high school, Stoner expects to continue working on the farm, but the county agent advises that he go to agriculture school, instead. Stoner enters the University of Missouri, where all agriculture students must take a survey course in English literature during their sophomore year. The literature he encounters in this introductory course, such as Shakespeare's Sonnet 73, opens a gateway to a new world for Stoner, and he quickly falls in love with literary studies. Without telling his parents, Stoner quits the agriculture program and studies only the humanities. A professor suggests to Stoner that his love of knowledge means that he will be a teacher. When his parents come for his graduation, Stoner tells them he will not be returning to the farm. Stoner completes his MA in English and begins teaching. His teaching is uninspiring, but he still enjoys the classes he takes. In graduate school, he befriends fellow students Gordon Finch and Dave Masters. Masters suggests all three are using graduate school to avoid the real world, that the academic life is in fact the only live available to all three and they would be utter failures outside of it. World War I begins, and Gordon and Dave enlist. After some soul-searching, Stoner decides to remain in school during the war. Masters is killed in France, while Finch sees action and becomes an officer. When Stoner completes his Ph.D work, he is hired by the University, against its usual policy, because the war has reduced the number of faculty. When the armistice is signed, a party is held for the returning veterans, where Stoner meets an attractive young woman named Edith. Stoner begins to call on Edith, who is visiting from out of town. When Stoner calls on her, Edith acts very distant and withdrawn, though agrees to Stoner's repeated visits. Stoner feels they are still strangers, but he has fallen in love with her. Very soon he proposes marriage. When her parents consent to the marriage, Edith insists that they marry soon. Edith tells Stoner she will try to be a good wife to him, and they marry a few weeks later. Finch returns from the war to the University, which gives him an administrative position and a small sinecure because of his war service.  Stoner’s marriage to Edith is bad from the start. It gradually becomes clear that Edith has profound emotional problems. She treats Stoner inconsiderately throughout their marriage. Within a year, Stoner loses all hope the marriage will ever improve. From the start, Edith appears uninterested in sex. She tries sporadically to be a homemaker and hostess, alternating between periods of intense, almost feverish activity and longer periods of indolence, indifference, and bouts of illness which cannot be explained medically. Their first party at home ends in a sudden emotional outburst from Edith; crying, she demands their guests leave and she shuts herself up in her room for days afterwards. For a while, Edith no longer wants to leave the house. Stoner begins to spend more time at work. He sleeps in a different room from Edith and any intimacy between them, physical or social, is nearly nonexistent. After three years of marriage, Edith suddenly informs Stoner she wants a baby. For two months, she is absolutely voracious about sex with Stoner. When she becomes pregnant, she once again become uninterested in him. When their daughter Grace is born, Edith remains inexplicably bed-ridden for nearly a year, and Stoner largely cares for their child alone. By now, Stoner has reworked his dissertation into a published book and he is promoted to associate professor with tenure. Without consulting Stoner, Edith accepts a $6,000 loan from her father to buy a house, a loan which Stoner fears they cannot afford. Despite the additional teaching he takes on to work off the debt, he gradually enters a happy period: he grows close with his young daughter, who spends most of her time with him in his study. Stoner gradually realizes how centrally important Grace is to his life. Because of the larger house, Stoner's study is his retreat, which he decorates, builds furniture for, and cleans himself. Returning from a few months with her mother in St. Louis after Black Friday and the suicide of her father, Edith reveals she has decided to reinvent her manner, dress, and attitude. For short periods, Edith throws herself into outside activities like community theater, though these interests never last very long. She becomes alternately inattentive and oppressive in her relationship with Grace, and Stoner gradually realizes that Edith is waging a campaign to separate him from his daughter emotionally. Edith periodically disrupts Stoner’s study, eventually throwing him out of it so she can take up sculpture, which she never does. He is increasingly forced to spend his free time working at the university instead of at home. For the most part, Stoner accepts this poor treatment from Edith passively. He begins to teach with more enthusiasm, but still, year in and year out, his marriage with Edith remains perpetually unsatisfactory and fraught with problems. Grace becomes an unhappy, secretive child who smiles and laughs often but is emotionally hollow.  At the University, Finch becomes the acting dean of the faculty, a position he enters and maintains mostly through polite jocularity and no substantive policy views. Stoner continues to become a better teacher and wins admiration from students, though his grasp of school politics is meager and his colleagues mostly ignore him. However, midway in his career, a situation arises in which Stoner is forced to offend a formidable colleague, Professor Hollis Lomax. Stoner feels compelled by circumstances and his conscience to fail a student named Charles Walker, who was a close protégé of Lomax. Stoner fails Walker first in a graduate seminar and then soon afterward on Walker’s preliminary orals. Unlike Lomax, Stoner does not think that Walker’s verbal agility sufficiently compensates for his sparse knowledge of the literary canon. In addition, Stoner finds Walker to be lazy and dishonest, thus unsuited to the profession. Stoner does not wish to fail Walker, and Lomax pressures him not to do it, but Stoner believes it is the right thing to do. Thereafter, Lomax takes every opportunity to exact revenge upon Stoner for his intransigence on the Walker matter. Lomax begins only assigning Stoner to teach the least desirable introductory classes, though Stoner is actually by then one of the senior faculty members in the department. Around this time, a collaboration between Stoner and a younger instructor in the department, Katherine Driscoll, develops into a very romantic and passionate love affair. The relationship begins when Stoner agrees to help Katherine with her dissertation on the Roman grammarian Donatus. This romance between Katherine and him is the happiest period of Stoner’s life. Ironically, after the affair begins, Stoner’s relationships with Edith and Grace also improve. Knowledge of the “secret” affair somehow becomes general in the small university town. At some point, Edith finds out about the affair between Stoner and Driscoll, but she does not seem to mind it. When Lomax learns about it, however, he begins to bring pressure on Katherine, who also teaches in the English department. For the vindictive Lomax, this pressure on Driscoll is one more way to exact revenge on Stoner. Stoner and Driscoll agree it is best to end the affair so as not to derail the academic work they both feel called to follow. So, Katherine quietly slips away from town, never to be seen again by him. Katherine’s departure marks the end of the only extended period of unalloyed joy in Stoner’s life.  During the summer after Katherine leaves town, Stoner becomes ill and seems to age rapidly. As world events like the Great Depression and the Spanish Civil War proceed apace, Stoner rededicates himself to his work. Once more, Stoner sees students leaving the university to fight in war. For years, Lomax has assigned Stoner no advanced classes to teach. Finally, Stoner begins presenting advanced material to incoming first-year students. Lomax is limited in his ways to counter this, as general University policy involves each teacher having absolute authority over their coursework. After Finch, who by now has become a full dean and is one of the most powerful people on campus, laughs at his attempts to squabble with Stoner, Lomax finally relents and begins to assign Stoner advanced classes again. Stoner, older now and harder of hearing, though still a better teacher than most of his colleagues, is beginning to become a legendary figure in the English department. Stoner begins to spend more time at home, ignoring Edith's signs of displeasure at his presence. Edith takes out her anger on Grace. Grace gains almost 50 pounds before her 13th birthday, but at 17, as a high school senior, loses weight and begins to socialize more. Stoner has been saving money for Grace to attend an Eastern college, but Edith will not hear of Grace going away, and forces Grace to go to the University of Missouri. The following year, Grace announces she is pregnant. Her mother takes Grace’s pregnancy very badly, but Stoner is supportive. Grace marries the father of her child five days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Grace’s husband enlists in the army, and dies before the baby is born. Grace goes to St. Louis with the baby to live with her husband's parents. She visits Stoner and Edith occasionally, and Stoner realizes that Grace has developed a serious drinking problem. Stoner’s mandatory retirement age is now approaching. Stoner wishes to continue teaching as long as possible, though Lomax offers him a promotion to retire sooner. Stoner soon learns he has cancer and must retire immediately. As Stoner’s life is slipping away, his daughter Grace comes to visit him. Deeply unhappy and addicted to alcohol, Grace half-heartedly tries to reconcile with Stoner, and he sees that his daughter, like her mother, will never be happy. When Grace leaves Stoner feels as though the young child he loved died long ago. Gordon Finch visits Stoner almost daily, but when Stoner brings up Dave Masters, Finch withdraws internally from the dying Stoner. Stoner thinks back over his life. The pain medication he is taking sometimes makes it difficult to think clearly. He thinks about where he failed, and wonders if he could have been more loving to Edith, if he could have been stronger or if he could have helped her more. Later, he thinks he is wrong to think of himself as failing. Then, during an afternoon when he is all alone, he feels his strength returning. He sees various young students passing by on their way to class outside his window, and dies while touching a copy of the one book he published years earlier as a young professor.

Characters.

The novel focuses on William Stoner and the central figures in his life. Those who become his enemies are used as tools against him who separate Stoner from his loves. "New Yorker" contributor Tim Kreider describes their depictions as "evil marked with deformity."

Themes.

In the novel's introduction, John McGahern says "Stoner" is a "novel about work." This includes not only traditional work, such as Stoner's life on the farm and his career as a professor, but also the work one puts into life and relationships.  One of the central themes in the novel is the manifestation of passion. Stoner's passions manifest themselves into failures, as proven by the bleak end of his life. Stoner has two primary passions: knowledge and love. According to Morris Dickstein, "he fails at both."  Love is also a widely recognized theme in "Stoner". The novel's representation of love moves beyond romance; it highlights bliss and suffering that can be qualities of love. Both Stoner and Lomax discovered a love of literature early in their lives, and it is this love that ultimately endures throughout Stoner's life.  Another of the novel's central themes is the social reawakening, which is closely linked to the sexual reawakening of the protagonist. After the loss of his wife and daughter, Stoner seeks fulfillment elsewhere, beginning the affair with Katherine Driscoll.  Edwin Frank, the editor at NYRB Classics responsible for the 2005 reissue of the novel, suggests that "Stoner" contains many existential elements. "I don’t think it’s a mistake to hear Camus behind it," Frank suggests, "this story of a lone man against the world choosing his life, such as it is. I sometimes say the books a bit like an Edward Hopper painting, wooden houses casting stark shadows on blank green lawns."

Style.

John McGahern's Introduction to "Stoner" and Adam Foulds of "The Independent" praise Williams' prose for its cold, factual plainness. Foulds claims that "Stoner" has a "flawless narrative rhythm [that] flows like a river." Williams' prose has also been applauded for its clarity, by both McGahern and Charlotte Heathcote of "The Daily Express". In an interview with the BBC, author Ian McEwan calls Williams' prose "authoritative". Sarah Hampson of "The Globe and Mail" writes that Williams' "description of petty academic politics reads like the work of someone taking surreptitious notes at dreary faculty meetings." Williams' prose has also been lauded for its precision, making the novel's emotions universally relatable.

Background.

John Williams had a similar life to that of his character in "Stoner". He was an English professor at the University of Denver until he retired in 1985. Like Stoner, he experienced coworker frustrations in the academic world and was devoted to this work, making his novel a reflection of parts of his own life, though in the preface to the novel Williams states that it is entirely "a work of fiction" and bears no resemblance to any people or events he experienced in his time at the University of Missouri.  The life of academic poet J. V. Cunningham also seems to have partially inspired the novel.

Reception.

"Stoner" was initially published in 1965 and sold fewer than 2,000 copies. It was out of print a year later, then reissued as a mass-market paperback in 1972 by Pocket Books, reissued again in 1998 by the University of Arkansas Press and then in 2003 in paperback by Vintage and 2006 by New York Review Books Classics. French novelist Anna Gavalda translated "Stoner" in 2011, and it became Waterstones' Book of the Year in Britain in 2012. In 2013, sales to distributors tripled. Although "Stoner" was not a popular novel when it was first published, there were a handful of glowing reviews such as that from "The New Yorker" on June 12, 1965, in which Williams was praised for creating a character who is dedicated to his work but cheated by the world. Those who gave positive feedback pointed to the truthful voice with which Williams wrote about life's conditions, and they often compared "Stoner" to his other work, "Augustus", in characters and plot direction. One piece of negative criticism came from Williams' own publisher in 1963, who questioned "Stoner"'s potential to gain popularity and become a best seller. Irving Howe and C.P. Snow also gave praise to the novel when it was first published, although sales of the novel did not reflect this positive commentary. It was not until several years later during "Stoner"’s republication that the book became more well-known. After being re-published and translated into a number of languages, the novel has "sold hundreds of thousands of copies in 21 countries".  Williams' novel is jointly praised for its narrative and stylistic value. In a 2007 review of the recently reissued work, scholar and book critic Morris Dickstein acclaims the writing technique as remarkable and says the novel "takes your breath away". Bryan Appleyard's review quotes critic D.G. Myers saying that the novel was a good book for beginners in the world of "serious literature". Another critic, author Alex Preston, points out that the novel shows the depressing progression through a person’s life that was written by "the dead hand of realism". In 2010, critic Mel Livatino noted that "[in] nearly fifty years of reading fiction, I have never encountered a more powerful novel—and not a syllable of it sentimental." Writer Steve Almond wrote a review of "Stoner" in "The New York Times Magazine" in 2014. Almond claims "Stoner" focuses on the "capacity to face the truth of who we are in private moments" and questions whether or not any of us are truly able to say we are able to do that. Almond states, "I devoured it in one sitting. I had never encountered a work so ruthless in its devotion to human truths and so tender in its execution." Sarah Hampson of "The Globe and Mail" sees "Stoner" as an "antidote" to a 21st-century culture of entitlement. She says that the novel came back to public attention at a time when people feel entitled to personal fulfillment, at the cost of their own morality, and "Stoner" shows that there can be value even in a life that seems failed. In 2013 it was named Waterstones Book of the Year and "The New Yorker" called it "the greatest American novel you've never heard of." Writing in the Washington Post in 2015, literary critic Elaine Showalter was less enthusiastic, noting that she, "along with other female readers, [is] put off by Williams’s misogyny."

Adaptations.

In 2015, a film adaptation of the novel was reportedly in production by Blumhouse Productions, Cohen Media Group and Film4. Casey Affleck is set to star as Stoner.

Stoner is a 1965 novel by the American writer John Williams. It was reissued in 1972 by Pocket Books, in 2003 by Vintage and in 2006 by New York Review Books Classics with an introduction by John McGahern.

Stoner ist ein Roman des amerikanischen Autors John Williams, der 1965 erstmals gedruckt wurde, lange vergessen war, erst nach seiner Neuausgabe 2006 durch Edwin Frank in den NYRB Classics von der internationalen Kritik wahrgenommen wurde und sich danach auch zu einem Publikumserfolg entwickelte.