Life cycle.

"Fasciola hepatica" occurs in the liver of a definitive host and its lifecycle is indirect. Definitive hosts of the fluke are cattle, sheep, and buffaloes. Wild ruminants and other mammals, including humans, can act as definitive hosts as well. The life cycle of "F. hepatica" goes through the intermediate host and several environmental larval stages. Intermediate hosts of "F. hepatica" are air-breathing freshwater snails from the family Lymnaeidae. Although several lymnaeid species susceptible to "F. hepatica" have been described, the parasite develops only in one or two major species on each continent. "Galba truncatula" is the main snail host in Europe, partly in Asia, Africa, and South America. "Lymnaea viator", "L. neotropica", "Pseudosuccinea columella", and "L. cubensis" are most common intermediate hosts in Central and South America. Several other lymnaeid snails may be naturally or experimentally infected with "F. hepatica", but their role in transmission of the fluke is low. The list of lymnaeid snails that may serve as natural or experimental intermediate hosts of "F. hepatica" include:  The metacercariae are released from the freshwater snail as cercariae, and form cysts on various surfaces including aquatic vegetation. The mammalian host then eats this vegetation and can become infected. Humans can often acquire these infections through drinking contaminated water and eating freshwater plants such as watercress. Inside the duodenum of the mammalian host, the metacercariae are released from within their cysts. From the duodenum, they burrow through the lining of the intestine and into the peritoneal cavity. They then migrate through the intestines and liver, and into the bile ducts. Inside the bile ducts, they develop into an adult fluke. In humans, the time taken for "F. hepatica" to mature from metacercariae into an adult fluke is roughly 3 to 4 months. The adult flukes can then produce up to 25,000 eggs per fluke per day. These eggs are passed out via stools and into freshwater. Once in freshwater, the eggs become embryonated, allowing them to hatch as miracidia, which then find a suitable intermediate snail host of the Lymnaeidae family. Inside this snail, the miracidia develop into sporocysts, then to rediae, then to cercariae. The cercariae are released from the snail to form metacercariae and the life cycle begins again.

Morphology and anatomy.

"Fasciola hepatica" is one of the largest flukes of the world, reaching a length of 30 mm and a width of 13 mm ("Fasciola gigantica", though, is even bigger and can reach up to 75 mm). It is leaf-shaped, pointed at the back (posteriorly), and wide in the front (anteriorly). The oral sucker is small but powerful and is located at the end of a cone-shape projection at the anterior end. The acetabulum is a larger sucker than the oral sucker and is located at the anterior end.

Tegument.

The outer surface of the fluke is called the tegument. This is composed of scleroprotein, and its primary function is to protect the fluke from the destructive digestive system of the host. Its also used for renewal of the surface plasma membrane and the active uptake of nutrients, and the uptake of some compounds (e.g. taurine) make flukes even more resistant to be killed by the digestive system of host. On the surface of the tegument are also small spines. Initially, these spines are single-pointed, then, just prior to the fluke entering the bile ducts, they become multipointed. At the anterior end of the fluke, the spines have between 10 and 15 points, whereas at the posterior end, they have up to 30 points. The tegument is a syncytial epithelium. This means it is made from the fusion of many cells, each containing one nucleus, to produce a multinucleated cell membrane. In the case of "F. hepatica", no nuclei are in the outer cytoplasm between the basal and apical membranes. Thus, this region is referred to as anucleate. Instead, the nuclei are found in the cell bodies, also known as tegumental cells, these connect to the outer cytoplasm via thin cytoplasmic strands. The tegumental cells contain the usual cytoplasmic organelles (mitochondria, Golgi bodies, and endoplasmic reticulum). The tegument plays a key role in the fluke's infection of the host. Studies have shown that certain parts of the tegument (in this case, the antigen named Teg) can actually suppress the immune response of the mammalian host. This means that the fluke is able to weaken the immune response, and increase its chances of a successful infection. A successful infection is needed for the fluke to have enough time to develop into an adult and continue its lifecycle.

Digestive system.

The alimentary canal of "F. hepatica" has a single mouth which leads into the blind gut; it has no anus. The mouth is located within the anterior sucker on the ventral side of the fluke. This mouth leads to the pharynx, which is then followed by a narrow oesophagus. The oesophagus, which is lined with a thin layer of epithelial cells, then opens up into the large intestine. As no anus is present, the intestine branches, with each branch ending blindly near the posterior end of the body. Flukes migrate into smaller capillaries and bile ducts when feeding within the host. They use their mouth suckers to pull off and suck up food, bile, lymph, and tissue pieces from the walls of the bile ducts. "F. hepatica" relies on extracellular digestion which occurs within the intestine of the host. The waste materials are egested through the mouth. The nonwaste matter is adsorbed back in through the tegument and the general surface of the fluke. The tegument facilitates this adsorption by containing many small folds to increase the surface area.

Respiratory system.

"F. hepatica" has no respiratory organs: the adult flukes respire anaerobically (without oxygen). Glycogen taken from within the host is broken down by glycolysis to produce carbon dioxide and fatty acids. This process provides the fluke with energy. In contrast, the free-living miracidia stages of the parasite generally develop within oxygen-rich environments. The free-living stages of the parasite are thought to respire aerobically, to gain the most energy from their environment.

Excretory system.

"F. hepatica's" excretory system contains a network of tubules surrounding one main excretory canal. This canal leads to the excretory pore at the posterior end of the fluke. This main canal branches into four sections within the dorsal and ventral regions of the body. The role of "F. hepatica's" excretory system is excretion and osmoregulation. Each tubule within the excretory system is connected to a flame cell, otherwise known as protonephridia. These cells are modified parenchyme cells. In "F. hepatica", their role is to perform excretion, but more importantly, osmoregulatory functions. Flame cells are therefore primarily used to remove excess water.

Nervous system and sensory organs.

The nerve system of "F. hepatica" consists of a pair of nerve ganglia, each one is located on either side of the oesophagus. Around the oesophagus is a nerve ring, which connects the two nerve ganglia together. The nerves stem from this ring, reaching the posterior end of the body. At the posterior end, one pair of nerves becomes thicker than the others; these are known as the lateral nerve cords. From these lateral nerve cords, the other nerves branch. Sensory organs are absent from "F. hepatica".

Reproductive system.

"F. hepatica" adult flukes are hermaphrodite; each contains both male and female reproductive organs. The male and female reproductive organs open up into the same chamber within the body, which is called the genital atrium. The genital atrium is an ectodermal sac which opens up to the outside of the fluke via a genital pore. The testes are formed of two branched tubules, these are located in the middle and posterior regions of the body. From the epithelium lining of the tubules, sperm is produced. The sperm then passes into the vas deferens and then into the seminal vesicle. From the seminal vesicle projects the ejaculatory duct, and this opens into the genital atrium, and many prostate glands surround this opening. The right side of the anterior testis has a branched, tubular ovary. From here, a short oviduct passes to the vitelline duct. This duct connects, via a junction, the ovaries, the uterus, and the yolk reservoir. From this junction, the uterus opens into the genital atrium; this opening is surrounded by Mehlis glands. In some flukes, the terminal end of the uterus is strengthened with muscles and spines.  "F. hepatica" reproduces both sexually, via the hermaphrodite adult flukes, and asexually. The miracidia can reproduce asexually within the intermediate snail host.

Genome.

With its draft genome sequence published in 2015, "F. hepatica" is known to have the largest nuclear genome size among trematodes so far sequenced. It is about 1.3 Gb, which is two times that of "Opisthorchis Viverrini" with 634.5 Mb, the second largest genome among trematodes. The genome is contained in 10 pairs of chromosomes. The protein-coding sequence covers about 21.8 Mb and repetitive DNA sequence about 32% of the total genome. The number of genes predicted is 14,642. The mitochondrial genome consists of 14462 bp, containing 12 protein-encoding, 2 ribosomal and 22 transfer RNA genes.

Prevalence.

Currently, "F. hepatica" has one of the widest geographical spread of any parasitic and vector-borne disease. Originating in Europe, it has expanded to colonize over 50 countries, covering all continents except Antarctica. In contrast, "F. gigantica" is generally considered more geographically restricted to the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, with some overlap between the two species.  Climate affects both "F. hepatica" and its intermediate host, the snail. For example, the development of "F. hepatica" miracidia and larvae, and the reproduction of "Galba truncatula", require a temperature range of 10 to 25 °C. In addition, they both require high levels of moisture in the air, as both are at risk of desiccation. Due to this, the prevalence, along with the intensity of infection, of "F. hepatica" is primarily dependent on rainfall levels and temperature.

Parasitic adaptations.

"F. hepatica's" tegument protects it from the enzymes of the host's digestive system, whilst still allowing water to pass through. Free-swimming larvae have cilia and the cercariae have a flagellum-like tail to help them swim through the aquatic environment and also allow them to reach the plants on which they form a cyst. To attach within the host, "F. hepatica" has oral suckers and body spines. Their pharynges also help them to suck onto the tissues within the body, particularly within the bile ducts. The adult fluke's respiration is anaerobic; this is ideal, as no oxygen is available in the liver. "F. hepatica" is adapted to produce a large number of eggs, which increases its chances of survival, as many eggs are destroyed on release into the environment. Also, "F. hepatica" is hermaphrodite, thus all flukes can produce eggs, increasing the number of offspring produced by the population.  The genome for "F. hepatica" was published in 2015. At 1.3 Gb, its genome is one of the largest known pathogen genomes. The genome contains many polymorphisms, and this represents the potential for the fluke to evolve and rapidly adapt to changes in the environment, such as host availability and drug or vaccine interventions.

Epidemiology.

"For more information on the epidemiology – see the disease page, fasciolosis"  Infection begins when cyst-covered aquatic vegetation is eaten or when water containing metacercariae is drunk. In the United Kingdom, "F. hepatica" frequently causes disease in ruminants, most commonly between March and December.  Humans become infected by eating watercress or by drinking 'Emoliente', a Peruvian drink that uses drops of watercress juice. Cattle and sheep are infected when they consume the infectious stage of the parasite from low-lying, marshy pasture.  Human infections have been reported from more than 75 countries around the world. In Asia and Africa, people are infected both by "F. hepatica" and "F. gigantica" whereas human fasciolosis is caused only by "F. hepatica" in South and Central America and Europe.  The presence of "F. hepatica" can interfere with the detection of bovine tuberculosis in cattle. Cattle co-infected with "F. hepatica", compared to those infected with "M. bovis" alone, react weakly to the single intradermal comparative cervical tuberculin (SICCT) test. Therefore, an infection from "F. hepatica" can make it difficult to detect bovine tuberculosis; this is, of course, a major problem in the farming industry.

Fasciolosis.

Both "F. hepatica" and "F. gigantica" can cause fasciolosis. Human symptoms vary depending on whether the disease is chronic or acute. During the acute phase, the immature worms begin penetrating the gut, causing symptoms of fever, nausea, swollen liver, skin rashes, and extreme abdominal pain. The chronic phase occurs when the worms mature in the bile duct, and can cause symptoms of intermittent pain, jaundice, and anemia. In cattle and sheep, classic signs of fasciolosis include persistent diarrhea, chronic weight loss, anemia, and reduced milk production. Some remain asymptomatic. "F. hepatica" can cause sudden death in both sheep and cattle, due to internal hemorrhaging and liver damage.  Fasciolosis is an important cause of both production and economic losses in the dairy and meat industries. Over the years, the prevalence has increased and it is likely to continue increasing in the future. Livestock are often treated with flukicides, chemicals toxic to flukes, including bromofenofos, triclabendazole, and bithionol. Ivermectin, which is widely used for many helminthic parasites, has low effectivity against "F. hepatica", as does praziquantel. For humans, the type of control depends on the setting. One important method is through the strict control over the growth and sales of edible water plants such as watercress. This is particularly important in highly endemic areas. Some farms are irrigated with polluted water, hence, vegetables farmed from such land should be thoroughly washed and cooked before being eaten.  The best way to prevent fasciolosis is by reducing the lymnaeid snail population or separating livestock from areas with these snails. These two methods are not always the most practical, so control by treating the herd before they are potentially infected is commonly practiced.

Diagnosis.

A diagnosis may be made by finding yellow-brown eggs in the stool. They are indistinguishable from the eggs of "Fascioloides magna", although the eggs of "F. magna" are very rarely passed in sheep, goats, or cattle. If a patient has eaten infected liver, and the eggs pass through the body and out via the faeces, a false positive result to the test can occur. Daily examination during a liver-free diet will unmask this false diagnosis.  An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test is the diagnostic test of choice. ELISA is available commercially and can detect antihepatica antibodies in serum and milk; new tests intended for use on faecal samples are being developed. Using ELISA is more specific than using a Western blot or Arc2 immunodiffusion. Proteases secreted by "F. hepatica" have been used experimentally in immunizing antigens.

Fasciola hepatica, also known as the common liver fluke or sheep liver fluke, is a parasitic trematode (fluke or flatworm, a type of helminth) of the class Trematoda, phylum Platyhelminthes. It infects the livers of various mammals, including humans. The disease caused by the fluke is called fasciolosis or fascioliasis, which is a type of helminthiasis and has been classified as a neglected tropical disease. Fasciolosis is currently classified as a plant/food-borne trematode infection, often acquired through eating the parasite's metacercariae encysted on plants. "F. hepatica", which is distributed worldwide, has been known as an important parasite of sheep and cattle for decades and causes significant economic losses in these livestock species, up to £23 million in the UK alone. Because of its relatively large size and economic importance, it has been the subject of many scientific investigations and may be the best-known of any trematode species. "F. hepatica's" closest relative is "Fasciola gigantica". These two flukes are sister species; they share many morphological features and can mate with each other.

La grande douve du foie (Fasciola hepatica) est un trématode de grande taille. C'est un ver plat parasite infectant le foie et les voies biliaires des herbivores ruminants, particulièrement les ovins, souvent les bovins. L'homme est un hôte le plus souvent accidentel, en tant que mauvais hôte définitif.


Description.

Although the plant can appear acaulescent, stems often reach 50 to 150 cm (20–60 in) in length, and old leaves fall off, leaving the stems visible. The leaves are ovate-acuminate, 50–70 cm (20–28 in) long and 12–16 cm (5–6 in) wide, pale in color, ranging from a light gray to a light yellowish green. There are no teeth, nor terminal spines, although the leaves taper to soft points that fray with age. The numerous, egg-shaped and tapered leaves are slightly softer than most Agave species, they are bright glaucous-gray to light yellowish green and stingless.  The inflorescence is a dense raceme 2.5 to 3 meters (8 to 10 ft) high (usually curved), with greenish-yellow flowers, growing after many years.

Range.

Specimens were sent to Kew by the explorer Galeotti in 1834, from an unspecified location in central Mexico. More recent study has reported it from Jalisco east to Mexico, in small colonies at elevations of, but there have been few sightings, suggesting this agave is rare in the wild. In Mexico, it is distributed in the states of Jalisco, Michoacán and México at altitudes of 1900 to 2500 meters on rocks in pine forests. They can also find them in the Mediterranean, in the Canary Islands and Madeira. It is reportedly naturalized in Libya.

Cultivation.

In cultivation, "Agave attenuata" is said to prefer relatively moist loamy soil, although it can cope with poor soil and dry conditions. It should be protected from direct sunlight in summer and from long periods of frost.

Agave attenuata is a species of agave sometimes known as the lion's tail, swan's neck, or foxtail for its development of a curved inflorescence, unusual among agaves. Native to the plateau of the State of Jalisco in central Mexico, as one of the unarmed agaves, it is popular as an ornamental plant in gardens in many other places with subtropical and warm climates.

L'agave à cou de cygne, aussi appelée agave à queue de renard ("Agave attenuata") est une espèce de la famille des Agavaceae.


Geography.

The Laccadive subgroup includes the island of Agatti, with Agatti Aerodrome, the only airport in Lakshadweep, as well as Bangaram Atoll which has a tourist resort in Bangaram, its largest island.  The Laccadive group forms two talukas or subdivisions: Androth, with a population of 15,048 and Kavaratti with 17,193. The islands of Agatti, Androth, Kavaratti and Kalpeni are inhabited. Islam is the main religion of the islanders.  The Laccadive Islands subgroup consists mostly of atolls with islands, as well as part of one submerged bank. The Amindivi and the Laccadive subgroups have a submarine connection between them through Pitti Bank, a largely sunken atoll.

History.

In the same manner as the Amindivi Islands further north, the islands of the Laccadive subgroup were settled from ancient times by people of nearby Kerala to which were added later people of Arab descent. Vasco da Gama visited these islands around 1498. In the mid 16th century all the inhabited islands of the Lakshadweep put themselves under the rule of the Arakkal kingdom in order to obtain protection from the Portuguese.  In 1697, the notorious pirate Captain Kidd and his crew brought their ship, the "Adventure Galley", to the Laccadive Islands. The undisciplined crew chopped up the local boats for firewood, and raped the local women. When the men retaliated by killing the ship's cooper, the pirates attacked the village and beat up the people who lived there.  Almost 100 years later—in 1784—the Amindivi group of islands rejected the protection of Cannanore and became a vassal state of the Kingdom of Mysore. The southern group, however, remained loyal to the rule of Cannanore.  Following the defeat of Tippu Sultan and the 1792 treaty of Srirangapatam, the southern subgroup was permitted by the East India Company to remain under the rule of the Cannanore Kingdom in exchange for a yearly tribute of 15,000 Rs. Since the tributary payments were often in arrears, the islands were put under direct rule of the British Government, first between 1855 and 1860, and then finally were annexed in 1877 by virtue of the doctrine of lapse, becoming attached to the Malabar District.

The Laccadive Islands or Cannanore Islands are one of the three island subgroups in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, India. It is the central subgroup of the Lakshadweep, separated from the Amindivi Islands subgroup roughly by the 11th parallel north and from the atoll of Minicoy (Maliku)—far to the south—by the 9 Degree or Mamala Channel.

Les îles Laquedives, en anglais "", est un archipel d'Inde situé dans la mer des Laquedives, la façade occidentale des îles baignant toutefois la mer d'Arabie. Il forme avec les îles Amindivi et Minicoy le territoire de Lakshadweep.


Gameplay.

"Chrono Trigger" features standard role-playing video game gameplay. The player controls the protagonist and his companions in the game's two-dimensional world, consisting of various forests, cities, and dungeons. Navigation occurs via an overworld map, depicting the landscape from a scaled-down overhead view. Areas such as forests, cities, and similar places are depicted as more realistic scaled-down maps, in which players can converse with locals to procure items and services, solve puzzles and challenges, or encounter enemies. "Chrono Trigger" gameplay deviates from that of traditional Japanese RPGs in that, rather than appearing in random encounters, many enemies are openly visible on field maps or lie in wait to ambush the party. Contact with enemies on a field map initiates a battle that occurs directly on the map rather than on a separate battle screen.  Players and enemies may use physical or magical attacks to wound targets during battle, and players may use items to heal or protect themselves. Each character and enemy has a certain number of hit points; successful attacks reduce that character's hit points, which can be restored with potions and spells. When a playable character loses all hit points, they faint; if all the player's characters fall in battle, the game ends and must be restored from a previously saved chapter, except in specific storyline-related battles that allow or force the player to lose. Between battles, a player can equip their characters with weapons, armor, helmets, and accessories that provide special effects (such as increased attack power or defense against magic), and various consumable items can be used both in and out of battles. Items and equipment

Plot.

Setting.

"Chrono Trigger" takes place in a world similar to Earth, with eras such as the prehistoric age, in which primitive humans and dinosaurs share the earth; the Middle Ages, replete with knights, monsters, and magic; and the post-apocalyptic future, where destitute humans and sentient robots struggle to survive. The characters frequently travel

Characters.

"Chrono Trigger"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s six playable characters (plus one optional character) come from different eras of history. "Chrono Trigger" begins in AD 1000 with Crono, Marle, and Lucca. Crono is the silent protagonist, characterized as a fearless young man who wields a katana in battle. Marle, revealed to be Princess Nadia, lives in Guardia Castle; though sheltered, at heart, she's a princess who seeks independence from her royal identity. Lucca is a childhood friend of Crono's and a mechanical genius; her home is filled with laboratory equipment and machinery. From the era of AD 2300 comes Robo, or Prometheus (designation R-66Y), a robot with a near-human personality created to assist humans. Lying dormant in the future, Robo is found and repaired by Lucca, and joins the group out of gratitude. The fiercely confident Ayla dwells in 65,000,000 BC. Unmatched in

Story.

In AD 1000, Crono and Marle watch Lucca and her father demonstrate her new teleporter at the Millennial Fair in the Kingdom of Guardia. When Marle volunteers to be teleported, her pendant interferes with the device and creates a time portal into which she is drawn. After Crono and Lucca separately recreate the portal and find themselves in AD 600, they find Marle only to see her vanish before their eyes. Lucca realizes that this time period's kingdom has mistaken Marle— actually Princess Nadia of Guardia— for Queen Leene, an ancestor of hers who had been kidnapped, thus putting off the recovery effort for her ancestor and creating a grandfather paradox. Crono and Lucca, with the help of Frog, restore history to normal by rescuing Leene. After the three part ways with Frog and return to the present, Crono is arrested on charges of kidnapping Marle and sentenced to death by the current chancellor of Guardia. Lucca and Marle help Crono to flee, haphazardly using another time portal to escape their pursuers. This portal lands them in AD 2300, where they learn that an advanced civilization has been wiped out by a giant creature known as Lavos that appeared in 1999. The three vow to find a way to prevent the future

Development.

"Chrono Trigger" was conceived in 1992 by Hironobu Sakaguchi, producer and creator of the "Final Fantasy" series; Yuji Horii, writer, game designer and creator of the "Dragon Quest" series; and Akira Toriyama, character designer of "Dragon Quest" and creator of the "Dragon Ball" manga series. Traveling to the United States to research computer graphics, the three decided to create something that "no one had done before". After spending over a year considering the difficulties of developing a new game, they received a call from Kazuhiko Aoki, who offered to produce. The four met and spent four days brainstorming ideas for the game. Square convened 50–60 developers, including scenario writer Masato Kato, whom Square designated story planner. Development started in early 1993. An uncredited Square employee suggested that the team develop a time travel-themed game, which Kato initially opposed, fearing repetitive, dull gameplay. Kato and Horii then met several hours per day during the first year of development to write the game's plot. Square intended to license the work under the "Seiken Densetsu" franchise and gave it the working title "Maru Island"; Hiromichi Tanaka (the future producer of "Chrono Cross") monitored Toriyama's early designs. The team hoped to release it on Nintendo's planned Super Famicom Disk Drive; when Nintendo canceled the project, Square reoriented the game for release on a Super Famicom cartridge and rebranded it as "Chrono Trigger". Tanaka credited the ROM cartridge platform for enabling seamless transition to battles on the field map.  Aoki ultimately produced "Chrono Trigger", while director credits were attributed to Akihiko Matsui, Yoshinori Kitase and Takashi Tokita. Toriyama designed the game's aesthetic, including characters, monsters, vehicles, and the look of each era. Masato Kato also contributed character ideas and designs. Kato planned to feature Gaspar as a playable character and Toriyama sketched him, but he was cut early in development. The development staff studied the drawings of Toriyama to approximate his style. Sakaguchi and Horii supervised; Sakaguchi was responsible for the game's overall system and contributed several monster ideas. Other notable designers include Tetsuya Takahashi, the graphic director, and Yasuyuki Honne, Tetsuya Nomura, and Yusuke Naora, who worked as field graphic artists. Yasuhiko Kamata programmed graphics, and cited Ridley Scott's visual work in the film "Alien" as an inspiration for the game's lighting. Kamata made the game's luminosity and color choice lay between that of "Secret of Mana" and the "Final Fantasy" series. Features originally intended to be used in "Secret of Mana" or "Final Fantasy IV", also under development at the same time, were appropriated by the "Chrono Trigger" team. According to Tanaka, "Secret of Mana" (which itself was originally intended to be "Final Fantasy IV") was codenamed ""Chrono Trigger"" during development before being called "Seiken Densetsu 2" ("Secret of Mana"), and then the name "Chrono Trigger" was adopted for a new project.  Yuji Horii, a fan of time travel fiction (such as the TV series "The Time Tunnel"), fostered a theme of time travel in his general story outline of "Chrono Trigger" with input from Akira Toriyama. Horii liked the scenario of the grandfather paradox surrounding Marle. Concerning story planning, Horii commented, "If there's a fairground, I just write that there's a fairground; I don't write down any of the details. Then the staff brainstorm and come up with a variety of attractions to put in." Sakaguchi contributed some minor elements, including the character Gato; he liked Marle's drama and reconciliation with her father. Masato Kato subsequently edited and completed the outline by writing the majority of the game's story, including all the events of the 12,000 BC era. He took pains to avoid what he described as "a long string of errands... [such as] 'do this', 'take this', 'defeat these monsters', or 'plant this flag'." Kato and other developers held a series of meetings to ensure continuity, usually attended by around 30 personnel. Kato and Horii initially proposed Crono's death, though they intended he stay dead; the party would have retrieved an earlier, living version of him to complete the quest. Square deemed the scenario too depressing and asked that Crono be brought back to life later in the story. Kato also devised the system of multiple endings because he could not branch the story out to different paths. Yoshinori Kitase and Takashi Tokita then wrote various subplots. They also devised an "Active Time Event Logic" system, "where you can move your character around during scenes, even when an NPC is talking to you", and with players "talking to different people and steering the conversation in different directions", allowing each scene to "have many permutations." Kato became friends with composer Yasunori Mitsuda during development, and they would collaborate on several future projects. Katsuhisa Higuchi programmed the battle system, which hosted combat on the map without transition to a special battleground as most previous Square games had done. Higuchi noted extreme difficulty in loading battles properly without slow-downs or a brief, black loading screen. The game's use of animated monster sprites consumed much more memory than previous "Final Fantasy" games, which used static enemy graphics.  Hironobu Sakaguchi likened the development of "Chrono Trigger" to "play[ing] around with Toriyama's universe," citing the inclusion of humorous sequences in the game that would have been "impossible with something like "Final Fantasy"." When Square Co. suggested a non-human player character, developers created Frog by adapting one of Toriyama's sketches. The team created the End of Time to help players with hints, worrying that they might become stuck and need to consult a walkthrough. The game's testers had previously complained that "Chrono Trigger" was too difficult; as Horii explained, "It's because we know too much. The developers think the game's just right; that they're being too soft. They're thinking from their own experience. The puzzles were the same. Lots of players didn't figure out things we thought they'd get easily." Sakaguchi later cited the unusual desire of beta testers to play the game a second time or "travel through time again" as an affirmation of the New Game + feature: "Wherever we could, we tried to make it so that a slight change in your behavior caused subtle differences in people's reactions, even down to the smallest details... I think the second playthrough will hold a whole new interest." The game's reuse of locations due to time traveling made bug-fixing difficult, as corrections would cause unintended consequences in other eras.

Release.

The team planned to release "Chrono Trigger" in late 1994, but release was pushed back to the following year. Early alpha versions of "Chrono Trigger" were demonstrated at the 1994 and 1995 V-Jump festivals in Japan. A few months prior to the game's release, Square shipped a beta version to magazine reviewers and game stores for review. An unfinished build of the game dated November 17, 1994, it contains unused music tracks, locations, and other features changed or removed from the final release—such as a dungeon named "Singing Mountain" and its eponymous tune. Some names also differed; the character Soysaw (Slash in the US version) was known as Wiener, while Mayonnay (Flea in the US version) was named Ketchappa. The ROM image for this early version was eventually uploaded to the internet, prompting fans to explore and document the game's differences, including two unused world map NPC character sprites and presumed additional sprites for certain non-player characters. Around the game's release, Yuji Horii commented that "Chrono Trigger" "went beyond [the development team's] expectations", and Hironobu Sakaguchi congratulated the game's graphic artists and field designers. Sakaguchi intended to perfect the "sense of dancing you get from exploring Toriyama's worlds" in the event that they would make a sequel.  "Chrono Trigger" used a 32-megabit ROM cartridge with battery-backed RAM for saved games, lacking special on-cartridge coprocessors. The Japanese release of "Chrono Trigger" included art for the game's ending and running counts of items in the player's status menu. Developers created the North American version before adding these features to the original build, inadvertently leaving in vestiges of "Chrono Trigger"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s early development (such as the piece "Singing Mountain"). Hironobu Sakaguchi asked translator Ted Woolsey to localize "Chrono Trigger" for English audiences and gave him roughly thirty days to work. Lacking the help of a modern translation team, he memorized scenarios and looked at drafts of commercial player's guides to put dialogue in context. Woolsey later reflected that he would have preferred two-and-a-half months, and blames his rushed schedule on the prevailing attitude in Japan that games were children's toys rather than serious works. Some of his work was cut due to space constraints, though he still considered "Trigger" "one of the most satisfying games [he] ever worked on or played". Nintendo of America censored certain dialogue, including references to breastfeeding, consumption of alcohol, and religion.  The original SNES edition of "Chrono Trigger" was released on the Wii download service Virtual Console in Japan on April 26, 2011, in the US on May 16, 2011, and in Europe on May 20, 2011. Previously in April 2008, a "Nintendo Power" reader poll had identified "Chrono Trigger" as the third-most wanted game for the Virtual Console. It went on to receive a perfect score of 10 out 10 on IGN.

Reception.

The game was a bestseller in Japan. The game's SNES and PS1 iterations have shipped more than 2.36 million copies in Japan and 290,000 abroad. The first two million copies sold in Japan were delivered in only two months, and the game ended 1995 as the third best-selling game of the year behind "" and "". The game was met with substantial success upon release in North America, and its rerelease on the PlayStation as part of the "Final Fantasy Chronicles" package topped the NPD TRSTS PlayStation sales charts for over six weeks. This version was later re-released again in 2003 as part of Sony's Greatest Hits line. "Chrono Trigger DS" has sold 490,000 copies in Japan, 240,000 in North America and 60,000 in Europe as of March 2009.  "Chrono Trigger" garnered much critical praise in addition to its brisk sales. "Famicom Tsūshin" gave "Chrono Trigger" first an 8 out of 10 and later a 9 out of 10 in their Reader Cross Review. "Nintendo Power" compared it favorably with "Secret of Mana", "Final Fantasy", and "", citing improved graphics, sound, story and gameplay. "GamePro" praised the varied gameplay, the humor, the ability to replay the game with previously built-up characters, and the graphics, which they said far exceed even those of "Final Fantasy VI". They commented that combat is easier and more simplistic than in most RPGs, but argued that "Most players would choose an easier RPG of this caliber over a hundred more complicated, but less developed, fantasy role-playing adventures." They gave the game a perfect 5 out of 5 in all four categories: graphics, sound, control, and funfactor. "Electronic Gaming Monthly" gave it their "Game of the Month" award, with their four reviewers praising the graphics, story, and music. "Chrono Trigger" won multiple awards from "Electronic Gaming Monthly" 1995 video game awards, including Best Role-Playing Game, Best Music in a Cartridge-Based Game, and Best Super NES Game. "Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine" described "Trigger" as "original and extremely captivating", singling out its graphics, sound and story as particularly impressive. IGN commented that "it may be filled with every imaginable console RPG cliché, but "Chrono Trigger" manages to stand out among the pack" with "a [captivating] story that doesn't take itself too serious " and "one of the best videogame soundtracks ever produced". Other reviewers (such as the staff of RPGFan and RPGamer) have criticized the game's short length

Legacy.

Add-ons.

"Chrono Trigger" inspired several related releases; the first were three games released for the Satellaview on July 31, 1995. They included "Chrono Trigger: Jet Bike Special", a racing video game based on a minigame from the original; "Chrono Trigger: Character Library",

Fangames.

There have been two notable attempts by "Chrono Trigger" fans to unofficially remake parts of the game for PC with a 3D graphics engine. "Chrono Resurrection", an attempt at remaking ten small interactive cut scenes from "Chrono Trigger", and "Chrono Trigger Remake Project", which sought to remake the entire game, were forcibly terminated by Square Enix by way of a cease and desist order. Another group of fans created

Sequels.

Square released a fourth Satellaview game in 1996, named "". Having thought that "Trigger" ended with "unfinished business", scenarist Masato Kato wrote and directed the game. "Dreamers" functioned as a side story to "Chrono Trigger", resolving a loose subplot from its predecessor. A short, text-based game relying on minimal graphics and atmospheric music, the game never received an official release outside Japan—though it was translated by fans to English in April 2003. Square planned to release "Radical Dreamers" as an easter egg in the PlayStation edition of "Chrono Trigger", but Kato was unhappy with his work and halted its inclusion.  Square released "Chrono Cross" for the Sony PlayStation in 1999. "Cross" is a sequel to "Chrono Trigger" featuring a new setting and cast of characters. Presenting a theme of parallel worlds, the story followed the protagonist Serge—a teenage boy thrust into an alternate reality in which he died years earlier. With the help of a thief named Kid, Serge endeavors to discover the truth behind his apparent death and obtain the Frozen Flame, a mythical artifact. Regarded by writer and director Masato Kato as an effort to "redo "Radical Dreamers" properly", "Chrono Cross" borrowed certain themes, scenarios, characters, and settings from "Dreamers". Yasunori Mitsuda also adapted certain songs from "Radical Dreamers" while scoring "Cross". "Radical Dreamers" was consequently removed from the series' main continuity, considered an alternate dimension. "Chrono Cross" shipped 1.5 million copies and was almost universally praised by critics.  There are no plans as of for a new title, despite a statement from Hironobu

"Chrono Trigger" was a critical and commercial success upon release, and is frequently cited as one of the greatest video games of all time. "Nintendo Power" magazine described aspects of "Chrono Trigger" as revolutionary, including its multiple endings, plot-related side-quests focusing on character development, unique battle system, and detailed graphics. "Chrono Trigger" was the third best-selling game of 1995 in Japan, and shipped 2.65 million copies worldwide by March 2003.

Le jeu est développé par une équipe composée de Yūji Horii, créateur de la série ', Hironobu Sakaguchi, celui de ', et Akira Toriyama, créateur de '. Yasunori Mitsuda compose la bande-son et est remplacé sur la fin du processus par Nobuo Uematsu, le compositeur de ', qui l'achève. Le jeu intègre plusieurs innovations, telles que son système de combat, abandonnant les rencontres aléatoires. Les combats se déroulent dans l'aire de jeu plutôt que dans une fenêtre de combat dédiée et l'usage du système " rajoute également du dynamisme au système au tour par tour. En outre, le joueur peut combiner les magies des personnages, et les attaques peuvent être choisies en fonction de leur effet dans l'espace et du placement des personnages. Enfin, le jeu propose un panel de plus d'une dizaine de fins différentes.


Early life, education, and early political career.

Pryor was born in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to the former state First Lady Barbara Jean (Lunsford) and former Governor and U.S. Senator David Hampton Pryor. He attended Little Rock Central High School and Walt Whitman High School in Maryland, graduating in 1981. He graduated from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville in 1985 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and went on to receive his Juris Doctor from the university's law school in 1988. During college, he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.  Prior to entering politics, Pryor worked as a private practice attorney. He was a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1991 to 1995. In 1994, he ran for Arkansas Attorney General, challenging incumbent Winston Bryant in the Democratic primary. Pryor lost 58%-42%. In 1998, he ran for the same position again and became the Democratic Party nominee. He defeated Republican nominee Betty Dicky, the Redfield City Attorney, 59%-41%. He won all but four counties in the state: Benton, Boone, Marion, and Baxter. He was also delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 2000.

U.S. Senate.

Pryor was recognized for providing a high level of constituent service, and he helped to secure millions of dollars in highway funds for the state. Pryor was also a committed advocate of the state’s military families; he guided the SACRIFICE Act to passage, thus providing families of those injured in combat more timely and reliable medical care.

Elections.

In late 2001, Pryor announced his candidacy for the Senate seat held by Tim Hutchinson, who six years earlier had become the first Arkansas Republican to serve in that body since Reconstruction. The seat had been held by his father David Pryor (also a former Arkansas governor), who actively campaigned for his son. Pryor defeated Hutchinson 54% to 46% and was the only Democratic candidate for the Senate to defeat a Republican incumbent in that election cycle.  Pryor won reelection in 2008 without a Republican opponent. There had been speculation that former Governor Mike Huckabee would run against Pryor if his presidential bid was unsuccessful, but on March 8, Huckabee said he would not contest the race. The only Republican to express interest in the race, health care executive Tom Formicola, decided not to run. Pryor's only announced opponent was Green Party candidate Rebekah Kennedy, whom he defeated 80% to 20%.  Pryor ran for reelection to a third term in 2014, against Republican U.S. House Rep. Tom Cotton.  In March 2014, during an MSNBC news segment regarding the Senate race, Pryor said that Cotton gave off a "sense of entitlement" to a seat in the Senate due to his service in the military. After receiving much criticism for the remark, Pryor later said he was not attacking Cotton’s military service, but his perceived lack of accomplishments in the House: "But the point remains that he's been in the House now for a little over a year, he hasn't passed any legislation. There's not one thing he's done for Arkansas."  FactCheck.org called two ads aired by Pryor's 2014 Senate campaign misleading in their criticisms of Paul Ryan's Medicare plan, supported by his opponent.  Pryor lost to Cotton by a 57% to 39% margin.

Tenure.

Somewhat atypically, he was, for 19 days in January 2009, the Baby of the Senate, despite not having previously held that distinction during his first term, because of the defeat of the younger John E. Sununu. Pryor was the oldest Senator (at age 45) to become "Baby of the Senate."  In June 2007, before the annual Arkansas Democratic Party Jefferson-Jackson dinner, Pryor announced his endorsement of his colleague Sen. Hillary Clinton for the President of the United States.  In 2013, Pryor voted with President Obama 90% of the time.  Since 2009, Pryor's top three donors have been lawyers ($1,131,431), leadership PACs ($429,149), and lobbyists ($323,769).

Fiscal policy.

On February 13, 2009, Pryor voted to pass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.  On April 16, 2012, Pryor was the only Democratic Senator to vote against the "Buffett Rule," which was defeated 51 voting in favor to 45 voting against cloture of the Filibuster.  In April 2014, the United States Senate debated the Minimum Wage Fairness Act (S. 1737; 113th Congress). The bill would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to increase the federal minimum wage for employees to $10.10 per hour over the course of a two-year period. The bill was strongly supported by President Barack Obama and many of the Democratic Senators, but strongly opposed by Republicans in the Senate and House. Pryor opposed the bill. Pryor was up for election in 2014 and was at that time considered "the Senate's most vulnerable incumbent."

Estate tax.

In June 2006, Pryor voted against repeal of the federal estate tax. In 2013, Pryor and Senator John Boozman (R-AR) were credited by Arkansas Farm Bureau president Randy Veach for their opposition to President Obama's plan to raise the estate tax. Pryor co-sponsored a bill that would implement a one-year extension on current estate tax rates. The bill did not pass. In 2008 Pryor voted against expanding the pool of people exempt from the estate tax.

Health care.

Pryor voted for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (usually called "Obamacare") in December 2009, and later voted against the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.  Pryor has said that he would vote for Obamacare again.

Foreign policy.

Pryor opposes bringing Guantanamo Bay prisoners to the United States for trial.  On September 28, 2006, Pryor was one of 12 Senate Democrats who voted to adopt S.3930, the Military Commissions Act of 2006. He voted against the flag burning amendment in June 2006.  On March 15, 2007, Pryor was one of two Democratic Senators to vote against a resolution aimed at withdrawing most American combat troops from Iraq in 2008. The vote, requiring 60 votes to pass, was 50 to 48 against.

Social policy.

In 2003, Pryor voted for a federal ban on partial-birth abortion. He has voted in favor of the expansion of embryonic stem cell research. He voted against restricting UN funding for population control policies, prohibiting minors crossing state lines for abortion, and barring Health and Human Services grants to organizations that perform abortions.  On December 18, 2010, Pryor voted in favor of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010.

Gun policy.

In 2004, Pryor voted to extend the "Assault Weapons Ban".  In 2013, Pryor voted against a measure that would have required background checks for all firearms purchases.  In March 2013, Pryor cosponsored a bill that would flag individuals attempting to buy guns who have used an insanity defense, were ruled dangerous by a court, or had been committed by a court to mental health treatment. It did not address the gun show loophole. The bill has not been passed into law.

Judicial nominees.

On May 23, 2005, Pryor was one of the fourteen senators who forged a compromise on the Democrats' use of the judicial filibuster. This effectively ended any threat of a Democratic filibuster (and thus also avoided the Republican leadership's threatened implementation of the so-called nuclear option). Under the agreement, the Democrats would exercise the power to filibuster a Bush judicial nominee only in an "extraordinary circumstance." The threat of a filibuster removed, Republicans were able to force cloture on the three most conservative Bush appellate court nominees (Janice Rogers Brown, Priscilla Owen and William Pryor-no close relation), who subsequently passed a vote by the full Republican-controlled Senate. He did, however, vote against the nomination of Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court.  On November 21, 2013, Pryor was one of only three Democratic senators to dissent from Harry Reid's leadership to vote against the which switched the Senate away from operating on a supermajority basis, to requiring only a simple majority for certain decisions. In his speech on the Senate floor that day, he said that the Senate was, "a place for debate...where Members...can reach across the aisle and find solutions...Part of that is to allow the minority to speak, even if it is a minority of one. We need to protect that right, and we need to protect every Senator's right to debate and to amend legislation." He said that the Senate was, in a sense, "the only place where the minority is guaranteed a voice. They sometimes get outvoted, but they are guaranteed at least to be heard," and said that he was, "disappointed in the use of the nuclear option. I opposed that. I think it could do permanent damage to this institution and could have some very negative ramifications for our country and for the American people.".

Legislation sponsored.

Pryor introduced the Drought Information Act of 2013 (S. 376; 113th Congress) on February 25, 2013. The bill that would authorize funding for the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) through 2018. The NIDIS is "charged with providing timely information to prevent drought and extreme weather damage." The bill passed the United States Senate on February 3, 2014.  Pryor introduced the bill "To repeal section 403 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013" on January 27, 2014. The bill would repeal the provision of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 that would reduce the amount of the annual cost of living increase to non-disabled military veterans under age 62. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that enacting Pryor's bill would stop the reduction of $6.813 billion from the amount paid to veterans annually.

Post-Senate career.

In March 2015, Pryor became a partner at the law and lobbying firm, Venable.

Personal life.

Pryor lives in Little Rock and has a son and a daughter, Adams and Porter. He is married to Joi Pryor, his high school sweetheart. They are members of the First Assembly of God in North Little Rock.  In 1996, Pryor was diagnosed with clear-cell sarcoma, a rare form of cancer, in his left leg. His treatment and rehabilitation took 15 months, and he was told by one doctor that he might have to have his leg amputated, but it was discovered early enough and the cancer was successfully removed.

Mark Lunsford Pryor (born January 10, 1963) is an American attorney and politician who served as a United States Senator from Arkansas from 2003 to 2015. While he ran for office as a Democrat and affiliates with the Democratic party, he registered to vote with no party affiliation. Prior to becoming senator, he was Attorney General of Arkansas from 1999 to 2003.

Mark Lunsford Pryor, né le à Little Rock, est un homme politique américain, sénateur démocrate de l’Arkansas au Sénat des États-Unis de 2003 à 2015.


Early life.

Lartigue was born to a noted Montreal family, the only son of Jacques Larthigue, a surgeon, and Marie-Charlotte Cherrier. He attended the Collège Saint-Raphaël (later the Petit Séminaire de Montréal), followed by two years at an English school run by the Sulpicians, receiving a solid education. He then clerked for three years with a Montreal law firm where he developed a lifelong interest in the politics of Lower Canada. In this he followed the example of his three uncles who were members of the Canadian legislature, including Joseph Papineau and Denis Viger.  In 1797, Lartigue gave up a promising career in the legal profession and turned toward the Catholic priesthood. He soon received minor orders and later the diaconate from Bishop Pierre Denaut of Quebec and taught at his Saint-Raphaël, while he studied for the priesthood under the Sulpicians. He was ordained a deacon on 28 October 1799, and Bishop Denaut appointed him as his secretary.

Priesthood.

On 21 September 1800, Lartigue was ordained a priest by Bishop Denaut at the Church of Saint-Denis on the banks of the Richelieu River, where another uncle, François Cherrier, was curé. Lartigue helped not only in the administrative affairs of the diocese, but in the pastoral duties at Longueuil, where the bishop resided as curé. Despite his poor health, he accompanied the bishop on pastoral visits; in 1803 to the Maritimes, part of the diocese, where no bishop had visited since the late 17th century.  Denault's death in 1806 gave Lartigue the freedom to become a member of the Society of Saint-Sulpice, into which he was received in February of that year, seeking a more contemplative and intellectual life. He joined the Sulpician community of the Seminary, the first native Canadian to enter the Society. He was assigned to help in the Parish of Notre-Dame which was attached to the Seminary. That same year, Denault's successor, Joseph-Octave Plessis, called upon his legal knowledge to challenge an effort by Attorney General Jonathan Sewell to challenge the legal standing of Catholic parishes created since the British conquest of New France.  In 1819 the Seminary faced a legal challenge from the British governor of the province to its holding of various seigneuries in Quebec, which were its primary means of support. Lartigue was entrusted with the superior of the Seminary with a mission to London to present their case directly to the government in England. The superior chose Lartigue as being particularly qualified for the mission because of his knowledge of the law and his mastery of English. For this he was to accompany Bishop Plessis, who was traveling there to secure letters patent for the establishment of a new seminary and for permission to divide the Diocese of Quebec, which was proving unmanageable. They sailed for London on 3 July 1819 on the "George Symes", arriving on 14 August.  Lartigue spent the following two months meeting with various officials of the British government, even the Vicar Apostolic in London, who was the chief authority for the Catholic Church in the United Kingdom. He seemed to be making no progress in his cause, so in late October he traveled to Paris where he spent a month trying to find some way of securing the support of the French government to intercede for them. He returned to Canada, believing his mission a failure. Nothing, however, came of the Canadian governor's efforts to seize the Seminary's holdings.

Bishop.

Plessis failed to obtain the permission of the Crown to divide his diocese. A compromise was struck, though, by which he would be allowed to be given four auxiliary bishops to help govern the far-flung diocese. He already had Lartigue in mind for one of these positions. Becoming aware of this, Lartigue was reluctant to accept, which would have meant leaving the life of the Sulpician community. The Superior General of the Society in Paris left the decision to the Superior of the Seminary, who eventually granted Plessis' request.  In February 1820 Lartigue was named an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Quebec and appointed vicar general for Montreal, for which position he was consecrated as a bishop on 21 January 1821 in the Church of Notre-Dame. He was given the major responsibility for administering the various and many Catholic institutions of the city and region.  The Sulpicians were at first pleased with his appointment, until they realized that he was still under the authority of the Bishop of Quebec. Lartigue found himself at odds with his former Sulpician colleagues. Even apart from the division over the role of the papacy, the Superior of the Seminary apparently feared the loss of power by their community to a prelate of the Church, even one who had been one of their own. He was even refused hospitality at the Seminary. They began to be concerned that the hierarchy in Quebec was seeking to undermine Sulpician influence in Montreal. Notre-Dame was a Sulpician parish. In June 1821, while Lartigue was away visiting rural parishes, the warders removed his episcopal chair from the church. Upon his return, Lartigue was forced to relocate to the chapel of the Hotel-Dieu.  His cousin, Denis-Benjamin Viger donated land for a church. The cornerstone of Saint-Jacques Cathedral was laid in May 1823. Lartigue placed his secretary Ignace Bourget in charge of the building project. Bishop Plessis consecrated the cathedral in September 1825.  One of his first actions was to establish a major seminary in the new bishop's palace, called the Séminaire Saint-Jacques, which he established in 1825. He placed a trusted associate, Ignace Bourget, in charge of the new facility. Its goal was to provide a well-trained clergy for the diocese. Lartigue and Bourget shared a strong belief in that supreme authority of the papacy in the life of the Catholic Church. Lartigue had been influenced in this by the writings of the French Abbé Hugues Felicité Robert de Lamennais, whose "Essai sur l’indifférence en matière de religion" (Paris, 1817) he had read at the time of his trip to Europe. Thus the school became a center of ultramontanism decades before this position was proclaimed an essential element of Catholic belief at the First Vatican Council. In this, he came into conflict with his own Sulpician community, as well as various sectors of the Catholic population. He was shaken by the condemnation of Pope Gregory XVI of Lamennais' teachings in the 1830s.  Lartigue also focused on the primary education of the young, which he felt to be a responsibility of the Church, rather than the state. In 1824, the Canadian government had passed legislation authorizing "fabrique" schools. He urged the pastors to take advantage of this law and to set up schools as part of their parishes. In this way, he hoped to form the mind of the next generation in a stronger commitment to the Catholic faith. He set up a school for this purpose, also in his official residence. Within a year, it was educating some 80 children. He founded a second school at a separate location.  The Catholic Church in Quebec had long felt that it was the victim of the hostility of the British government. This was typified by London's refusal to allow the Diocese of Quebec to be divided. Pope Gregory took matters into hand himself, issued a papal bull on 13 May 1836, establishing Montreal as an independent diocese. Faced with this, the British authorities acquiesced.

Death.

Latirgue served as bishop until his death in 1840, at which point he was succeeded by his associate, Ignace Bourget.

Jean-Jacques Lartigue, S.S., (June 20, 1777 – April 19, 1840) was a Canadian Sulpician, who served as the first Catholic Bishop of Montreal.

Jean-Jacques Lartigue ( à Montréal- à Montréal) était un ecclésiastique canadien qui joua un grand rôle politique lors de la rébellion des Patriotes.


Early life.

Williamson was born in Buckinghamshire, England, the middle son of a Marks and Spencers buyer and his wealthy American wife. Williamson attended Winchester College before going on to study at Clare College, Cambridge, where he received a degree in English literature. Upon graduating, he taught at a college in Ghana for a brief period. In September 1965 he returned to England and from 1965 to 1970 taught at St Paul's School in London.  Williamson, originally an Anglican, was received into the Catholic Church in 1971. After a few months as a postulant at the Brompton Oratory, he left. He became a member of the Society of Saint Pius X, a traditionalist Catholic faction founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in protest against what Lefebvre saw as the liberalism of the Second Vatican Council. Williamson entered the International Seminary of Saint Pius X at Écône, Switzerland, and in 1976 he was ordained a priest by Lefebvre.  Williamson subsequently moved to the United States, where he served as the rector of St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Ridgefield, Connecticut from 1983, and continued in the position when the seminary moved to Winona, Minnesota in 1988.  Williamson is fluent in English, French, German and Spanish. Currently Bishop Williamson writes comments on St. Michael Initiative, part of BRN ASSOCIATES INC, non-profit corporation registered in Virginia and doing business in St. Louis.

Consecration and excommunication.

In June 1988 Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre announced his intention to consecrate Williamson and three other priests (Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, and Alfonso de Galarreta) as bishops. Lefebvre did not have a pontifical mandate for these consecrations (i.e. permission from the pope), normally required by Canon 1382 of the Code of Canon Law. On 17 June 1988 Cardinal Bernardin Gantin, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops sent the four priests a formal canonical warning that they would automatically incur the penalty of excommunication if they were to be consecrated by Lefebvre without papal permission.  On 30 June 1988 Williamson and the three other priests were consecrated bishop by Archbishop Lefebvre and Bishop Antônio de Castro Mayer. On 1 July 1988 Cardinal Gantin issued a declaration stating that Lefebvre, de Castro Mayer, Williamson, and the three other newly ordained bishops "have incurred "ipso facto" the excommunication "latae sententiae" reserved to the Apostolic See".  On 2 July 1988, Pope John Paul II issued the "motu proprio" "Ecclesia Dei", in which he reaffirmed the excommunication, and described the consecration as an act of "disobedience to the Roman pontiff in a very grave matter and of supreme importance for the unity of the Church", and that "such disobedience – which implies in practice the rejection of the Roman primacy — constitutes a schismatic act". Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos, head of the commission responsible for implementing "Ecclesia Dei", has said this resulted in a "situation of separation, even if it was not a formal schism."  The SSPX denied the validity of the excommunications, saying that the consecrations were necessary due to a moral and theological crisis in the Catholic Church.  His excommunication, along with that of Archbishop Lefebvre and the other bishops consecrated the Écône consecrations were lifted in 2009 by Benedict XVI.

Episcopal duties.

After his episcopal consecration Williamson remained rector of St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Winona, Minnesota. He performed various episcopal functions, including confirmations and ordinations. In 1991, he assisted in the consecration of Licínio Rangel as bishop for the Priestly Society of St. John Mary Vianney after the death of its founder, Bishop Antônio de Castro Mayer. In 2006, he ordained two priests and seven deacons in Warsaw, Poland for the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Priestly Society of Saint Josaphat ().  In 2003 Williamson was appointed rector of the Seminary of Our Lady Co-Redemptrix in La Reja, Argentina.

Views.

Catholicism.

In common with other traditionalists, Williamson opposes the changes in the Catholic Church brought about by the Second Vatican Council. He sees such changes as being unacceptably liberal and modernistic, and as being destructive to the Church. Among the changes he opposes are the Church's increased openness to other Christian denominations and other religions, and changes in the forms of Catholic worship such as the general replacement of the Tridentine Mass with the Mass of Paul VI. Williamson has criticised Pope John Paul II, to whom he attributed a "weak grasp of Catholicism". Williamson holds that the SSPX is not schismatic, but rather is composed of true Catholics who are keeping the "complete Roman Catholic apostolic faith".  Williamson is viewed as being located towards the hardline end of the traditionalist spectrum, though he does not go quite so far as to espouse sedevacantism. In the past, he opposed compromise between the SSPX and the Church leadership in Rome, accusing the latter of deceit and of being under "the power of Satan". He has been reported as viewing reconciliation between the SSPX and the Holy See as being impossible, and he has noted that some SSPX members might refuse to follow the Society in such a direction even if an agreement were reached.

Society.

Williamson holds strong views regarding gender roles. He opposes women wearing trousers or shorts, women attending college or university, and women having careers. He has urged greater "manliness" in men.  Regarding parenting style, he denounced the film "The Sound of Music" as "soul-rotting slush" and says that, by putting "friendliness and fun in the place of authority and rules, it invites disorder between parents and children."  Williamson supports conspiracy theories regarding the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and the World Trade Center controlled demolition conspiracy theory, denying that the September 11 attacks were foreign terrorist attacks and claiming they were instead staged by the U.S. government. He has also said that the 7 July 2005 London bombings were an "inside job" and propagated rumours about the likelihood of a nuclear attack on the London Olympics in 2012.

Jews and Holocaust denial.

Williamson condemns the Jewish religion. He has called Jews the "enemies of Christ" and urges their conversion to Catholicism. He says that Jews and Freemasons have contributed to the "changes and corruption" in the Catholic Church. He has also stated that Jews aim at world dominion and believes "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" to be authentic. Williamson has denied that he is promoting hatred, identifying the contemporary enemies of the faith as "Jews, Communists and Freemasons". He argues that "Anti-Semitism means many things today, for instance, when one criticizes the Israeli actions in the Gaza Strip. The Church has always understood the definition of anti-Semitism to be the rejection of Jews because of their Jewish roots. This is condemned by the Church."  Since the late 1980s, Williamson has been accused of Holocaust denial. Citing the Leuchter report, Williamson has denied that millions of Jews were murdered in Nazi concentration camps and the existence of Nazi gas chambers and praised Holocaust denier Ernst Zündel. During an interview on Swedish television recorded in November 2008, he stated: "I believe that the historical evidence is strongly against, is hugely against six million Jews having been deliberately gassed in gas chambers as a deliberate policy of Adolf Hitler", and "I think that 200,000 to 300,000 Jews perished in Nazi concentration camps, but none of them in gas chambers."  On the occasion of the death of Robert Faurisson he summarised: "[T]he people who hold world-wide power today over politics and the media are people who want the godless New World Order, and" "they have fabricated a hugely false version of World War Two history to go with a complete fabricated religion to replace Christianity."

Lifting of the excommunication.

Wishing to heal the rift with the SSPX, Pope Benedict XVI lifted the declared automatic excommunications of the four bishops Marcel Lefebvre had consecrated, as they had requested. The decree was signed on 21 January 2009, the same day that the interview on Swedish television was broadcast. The decision stirred widespread outrage, particularly in Germany, where the interview was conducted and where Holocaust denial is illegal and punishable by imprisonment of up to five years. Reaction from the State of Israel and much of the worldwide Jewish community was strongly negative, and Abraham Foxman, president of the Anti-Defamation League, wrote to Cardinal Walter Kasper in order to express his opposition to any ecclesiastic re-integration of Williamson. In January 2009, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel suspended contacts with the Vatican. The Chief Rabbi of Haifa told "The Jerusalem Post" that he expected Williamson to retract publicly his statements before any dialogue could resume.  Pope Benedict XVI stated that he deplored all forms of antisemitism and that all Catholics must do the same. The Pope expressed his "unquestionable solidarity" with the Jewish people, and stated his hope that "the memory of the Shoah will induce humanity to reflect on the unpredictable power of hate when it conquers the heart of man", and condemned the denial of the Holocaust. Vatican officials stated that they had not been aware of Williamson's views prior to the lifting of the excommunication; as a result, in a July 2009 Vatican reorganisation, the Pope tightened control and supervision over reconciliation efforts with SSPX.  Williamson sent the Pope a letter expressing his regret about the problems that he had caused, but did not retract his statements. On 4 February 2009 the Vatican Secretariat of State issued a note stating that Williamson would have to distance himself unequivocally and publicly from the opinions that he had expressed before he would be permitted to act as a bishop within the Church. Williamson responded that he would do so only after looking at the historical evidence for himself. On 26 February, he formally apologised for the offence that had been caused by his comments, but did not indicate that he had changed his views. The Vatican rejected his apology, stating that he needed to "unequivocally and publicly" withdraw his comments. Some Jewish groups have expressed disappointment at the ambiguity of his apology, because he failed to address the consensus about the Holocaust. He subsequently repeated the denial to followers, stating that "The fact is that the 6 million people who were supposedly gassed represent a huge lie."  Bishop Fellay of the SSPX initially denied responsibility, stating that Williamson's statements were his alone and that the affair did not concern the SSPX as a whole. However, he subsequently forbade Williamson from speaking out publicly about historical or political matters, and asked Pope Benedict for forgiveness for the damage done by Williamson's statements. In a subsequent interview he likened Williamson to uranium, asserting that "It's dangerous when you have it," but you can't "simply leave it by the side of the road."  The Vatican declared that "in order to be admitted to episcopal functions within the Church, (Williamson) will have to take his distance, in an absolutely unequivocal and public fashion, from his position on the Shoah, which the Holy Father (i.e., the Pope) was not aware of when the excommunication was lifted."

In Argentina.

Williamson was removed as the head of the seminary in La Reja, Argentina and Bishop Fellay stated that if Williamson again denied the Holocaust, he would be excluded from the society.  In February 2009, the government of Argentina asked Williamson to leave the country over irregularities with his visa, and stated that his recent statements about Jews "profoundly offend Argentinian society, the Jewish people and all of humanity". On 24 February 2009, Williamson flew from Argentina to London, where he was met by Michele Renouf, a former model known for her antisemitic views, with whom he had been put in touch by holocaust denier David Irving.

Criminal conviction in Germany.

On 4 February 2009, German prosecutors announced the launch of a criminal investigation into the statements. In October 2009, a German court, using an "order of punishment" fined Williamson €12,000 after finding him guilty of Holocaust denial. Williamson denied the charges and appealed, paving the way for a full hearing that Williamson need not attend. He did not attend the trial, on orders from his society, on charges of inciting racial hatred in Regensburg, Germany on 16 April 2010, and was found guilty. The court reduced the fine to. The fine was appealed by lawyers from both sides; the lawyer Williamson hired was the former leader of the Wiking-Jugend, an outlawed Neo-Nazi group. The Society of St. Pius X ordered Williamson to find a new lawyer under threat of expulsion. His appeal was held on 11 July 2011. At appeal the lower court's decision was upheld but the fine was reduced to €6,500, reportedly due to Williamson's financial circumstances. On 22 February 2012 the higher court dismissed this conviction, finding that the initial charges against Williamson had been inadequately drawn, having failed to specify the nature of his offence, or at what point his filmed comments came under German jurisdiction, or in what sense he could be held liable for failing to prevent their publication in Germany. On 16 January 2013, he was prosecuted and condemned again, but this time with a much reduced fine of €1,600, because of his "unemployed state". He refused to pay the fine and appealed again, but his appeal was dismissed. On 31 January 2019 the European Court of Human Rights ruled against Williams' attempt to overturn a conviction for Holocaust denial on the grounds of free speech.

Expulsion from SSPX.

In August 2012, Williamson administered the sacrament of confirmation to about 100 laypeople at the Benedictine Monastery of the Holy Cross in Nova Friburgo, Brazil, during an unauthorised visit to the State of Rio de Janeiro. The society's South American district superior, Father Christian Bouchacourt, protested against his action on the SSPX website, saying that it was "a serious act against the virtue of obedience." In early October, the leadership of the SSPX gave Williamson a deadline to declare his submission, instead of which he published an "open letter" asking for the resignation of the Superior General. On 4 October 2012, the Society expelled Williamson in a "painful decision" citing the failures "to show respect and obedience deserved by his legitimate superiors".

SSPX resistance.

In the first issue of his weekly blog after his expulsion, Williamson wrote: "Hang tight, everybody. We are in for one 'helluva' ride. Let's just make that a ride to Heaven!" And later he wrote: "For myself, I shall attempt to follow [God's] Providence in the ordaining of priests – or in the consecrating of bishops. God's will be done." He called for the establishment of a loose network of what he called "Catholic Resistance" to any proposal by the SSPX to drop its opposition to Rome. A fund-raising initiative "for all purposes of the Catholic Resistance patronized by His Excellency Bishop Richard Williamson" was set up under the title "The St. Marcel Initiative". The network of SSPX splinter groups is now collectively known as SSPX Resistance.  On 19 March 2015, Williamson ordained Frenchman Jean-Michel Faure, a former member of the SSPX, as a bishop in a ceremony in Nova Friburgo, Brazil. Faure had, like Williamson, opposed reconciliation discussions between the society and the Vatican. As this was without papal mandate, both Faure and Williamson (again) have incurred a "latae sententiae" excommunication. The SSPX condemned the consecration as "not at all comparable to the consecrations of 1988" and as proof that Williamson and Faure "no longer recognize the Roman authorities, except in a purely rhetorical manner".  Exactly one year later, Williamson consecrated Tomás de Aquino Ferreira da Costa as a bishop in Brazil. This consecration also took place without papal approval. The following year, it was announced that Williamson intended to consecrate a third bishop, Mexican-American prelate Gerardo Zendejas, on 11 May 2017. The consecration was held at St. Athanasius Church in Vienna, Virginia.

Richard Nelson Williamson (born 8 March 1940) is an English traditionalist bishop formerly in communion with the Catholic Church who opposes the changes in the Church brought about by the Second Vatican Council. He was originally a member of the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX). He was subsequently excommunicated; this was lifted in 2009, but Williamson was convicted in German courts of denying the Holocaust and incitement related to those views, and the excommunication was reimposed by the Pope. Due to other actions, Williamson was expelled from the society in 2012 and once again excommunicated in 2015.

Richard Nelson Williamson, né le dans le Buckinghamshire au Royaume-Uni, est un évêque catholique traditionaliste. Qualifié d'intégriste, il est connu pour ses propos négationnistes.


Early life and family.

Dole was born Mary Elizabeth Alexander Hanford in Salisbury, North Carolina, to Mary Ella ("née" Cathey; 1901–2004) and John Van Hanford (1893–1978).  Dole first met her future husband, Bob Dole, in the spring of 1972 at a meeting arranged by her boss and mentor, Virginia Knauer. The couple dated, and she became his second wife on December 6, 1975, in the Washington National Cathedral. They have no children, though she is stepmother to Bob's adult daughter Robin from his first marriage of 24 years, which ended in divorce in 1972.  She attended individually, and later with her husband, the Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C., before joining the National Presbyterian Church in 1996. Articles at the time reported that the Doles stopped attending Foundry in 1995, finding the pastor at the time, J. Philip Wogaman, too liberal.

Education.

Dole attended Duke University and graduated with distinction in Political Science, on June 2, 1958. She was a finalist for an Angier B. Duke scholarship, a full-tuition award given to outstanding applicants who matriculate at Duke. She was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and was a recipient of the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award, a national prize given to those exemplifying the ideal of service to others.  Among her activities at Duke were the chapel choir, "Chanticleer" (yearbook) business staff, freshman advisory council, The Order of the White Duchy (a local honorary society for outstanding women student leaders, a female counterpart of The Order of The Red Friars), Phi Kappa Delta (a local leadership honorary for senior women), and Pi Sigma Alpha (a national political-science honorary society). Dole is a sister of Delta Delta Delta. She was also elected president of the woman's student government association, 1958 May queen, and "leader of the year" by the student newspaper, The Chronicle. Dole has remained involved with Duke University, serving at various points in time as president of the Duke University alumnae association, and a member of the board of trustees and board of visitors. She has spoken formally at Duke several times.  Following her graduation from Duke, she did her post-graduate work at Oxford in 1959. After Oxford, she took a job as a student teacher at Melrose High School in Melrose, Massachusetts, for the 1959–1960 school year. While teaching, she also pursued her master's degree in education from Harvard University, which she earned in 1960, followed by a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1965. At graduation, she was one of 24 women in a class of 550 students. She is an alumna of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society.

White House years.

Johnson Administration.

Dole, who had campaigned for the Kennedy–Johnson presidential ticket in 1960, worked in the White House in the later years of the administration of Lyndon B. Johnson.

Nixon and Ford Administrations.

When many Democrats left the White House following Richard Nixon's replacement of Johnson, Dole did not. From 1969 to 1973, she served as deputy assistant to President Nixon for consumer affairs. In 1973, Nixon appointed her to a seven-year term on the Federal Trade Commission. In 1975, she became a Republican. She took a leave from her post as a Federal Trade Commissioner for several months in 1976 to campaign for her husband for vice president of the United States, when he ran on the Republican ticket with Gerald Ford. She later resigned from the FTC in 1979, to campaign for her husband's 1980 presidential run. During the 1970s, Dole was a self-described member of the Women's Liberation Movement and helped reform laws to ensure equal credit for women. She was also a supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Reagan Administration and Secretary of Transportation.

She served as director of the White House Office of Public Liaison, from 1981 to 1983 and as United States Secretary of Transportation from 1983 to 1987 under Ronald Reagan. She was also appointed by Reagan to chair task forces that sought to reform federal and state laws to ensure equal rights for women. She was the first woman appointed Secretary of Transportation. In this role, she was the first woman to have served as the head of a branch of the United States Military, as the United States Coast Guard was under the Department of Transportation at the time. Dole's appointment was "particularly irritating" to conservative activists, since "though at least nominally opposed to abortion, [she was] viewed by the right as [an] aggressive feminist."  During her tenure, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, mandated the installation of a center high-mounted stop lamp on new cars; these are sometimes called "Liddy Lights" in her recognition. She worked with MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) to pass laws withholding federal highway funding from any state that had a drinking age below twenty-one. The state government of South Dakota opposed the drinking age law and sued Dole in the case "South Dakota v. Dole", but the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Dole. She oversaw the privatization of the national freight railroad, CONRAIL. She initiated random drug testing within the Department of Transportation.

Bush Administration and Secretary of Labor.

Dole served as United States Secretary of Labor from 1989 to 1990 under George H. W. Bush; she is the first woman to serve in two different Cabinet positions in the administrations of two presidents. Her tenure as both U.S. Transportation Secretary and U.S. Labor Secretary focused heavily on improving public safety and workplace safety and health. In 1990, Dole tapped former Ronald Reagan Administration official and long-time public safety and health advocate, Roy Clason Jr. as Director of Policy of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration to help her spearhead a number of OSHA reforms to better protect America's 91 million workers from workplace injuries and illnesses.

American Red Cross presidency.

In 1991, Dole became the president of the American Red Cross. She served until 1999.

1996 Republican National Convention.

Dole's husband Bob Dole was the Republican nominee in the US presidential election of 1996. Elizabeth Dole, who would have become First Lady had her husband won the election, or the Second Lady of the United States, had Gerald Ford won the 1976 election, received recognition for her speech at the 1996 Republican National Convention, during which she walked out into the audience while talking conversationally about her husband's qualities.

2000 United States Presidential candidacy.

Elizabeth Dole ran for the Republican nomination in the US presidential election of 2000, but pulled out of the race in October 1999 before any of the primaries, largely due to inadequate fundraising even though a Gallup poll had her in second place in the presidential race at 11% behind George W. Bush at 60% as late as October 1999. Dole placed third—behind George W. Bush and Steve Forbes—in a large field in the Iowa Straw Poll (the first, non-binding, test of electability for the Republican Party nomination). The Iowa Straw Poll differed from the national polls where she was second only to Bush; Senator John McCain was in third place.  Shortly before the 2000 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, Bush campaign sources said Elizabeth Dole was on the short list to be named the vice-presidential nominee, along with Michigan Governor John Engler, New York Governor George Pataki, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge, and former Missouri Senator John Danforth. Many pundits believed that Dole was the frontrunner for the vice presidential nomination. Bush then surprised most pundits by selecting former U.S. Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney, who was actually in charge of leading Bush's search for a vice presidential nominee.

United States Senate career.

Campaigns.

In late December 2001, Dole shifted her official residency from the Doles' condominium in the Watergate complex to her mother's home in Salisbury to seek election to the U.S. Senate. The seat was made available by the retirement of Republican Jesse Helms. Although Dole had not lived regularly in North Carolina since 1959 and had been a resident of the Washington area for most of the time since the mid-1960s, the state and national Republican establishment quickly cleared the field for her. She handily won the Republican primary with 80 percent of the vote over a lesser-known candidate, Dr. Ada Fisher. In the November general election, she defeated her Democratic opponent Erskine Bowles, a former chief of staff to former President Bill Clinton, by an eight-point margin.  Her election to the Senate marked the first time a spouse of a former Senator was elected to the Senate from a different state from that of her spouse (although Kansas Senator Nancy Landon Kassebaum married former Tennessee Senator Howard Baker, the marriage occurred after Kassebaum and Baker both had finished their service in the Senate). Dole was criticized by Democrats during her first Senate campaign over the fact that for over 40 years prior to her nomination, she had not lived in North Carolina.  In November 2004, following Republican gains in the United States Senate, Dole narrowly edged out Senator Norm Coleman of Minnesota for the post of chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. She is the first woman to become chair of the NRSC. During her election cycle as chairperson, her Democratic Party counterpart, Senator Chuck Schumer raised significantly more money, and experienced more success in recruiting candidates. In the November election, Dole's party lost six U.S. Senate seats to the Democrats, thus losing control of the U.S. Senate. Dole was replaced as NRSC chair by Senator John Ensign of Nevada following the 2006 midterms.

2008 Senate re-election campaign.

Dole was initially a heavy favorite for re-election, especially after several potential top-tier challengers such as Congressman Brad Miller, Governor Mike Easley and former Governor Jim Hunt all declined to compete against Dole. Ultimately, Kay Hagan, a state senator from Greensboro, won the Democratic primary election against Jim Neal and became Dole's general election opponent. Reports late in the campaign suggested that Dole suffered from Barack Obama's decision to aggressively contest North Carolina in the presidential election, while Hagan received substantial support from independent 527 groups lobbying/advertising against Dole, as well as the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, which spent more money in North Carolina than in any other state during the 2008 election season. Dole undertook an eight-day "ElizaBus" tour of the state in the days leading up to election day.  In late October, Dole released a controversial television ad attacking Hagan for reportedly taking donations from individuals involved in the Godless Americans PAC, a group that advocates for the rights of people who do not believe in God. The ad also included a female voice saying, "There is no god." Hagan's campaign said the ad sought to put inflammatory words in their candidate's mouth. Hagan, who was a member of the Presbyterian Church and a former Sunday school teacher, condemned the ad as "fabricated and pathetic," and, according to Hagan's campaign website, a cease-and-desist letter was "hand-delivered to Dole's Raleigh office and to her home at the Watergate in Washington, DC." Hagan also filed a lawsuit in Wake County Superior Court accusing Dole of defamation and libel. The ad met significant criticism from some members of the public as well as national media outlets. After the first ad Hagan received over 3,600 contributions, including major donors as well as individual support from a range of persons who believed in the right to participate in civil government free of religious orthodoxy requirements. Following the second ad Hagan's lead doubled according to some polls.  In the 2008 election, Dole lost by a wider-than-expected margin, taking 44 percent of the vote to Hagan's 53 percent – the largest margin of defeat for an incumbent Senator in the 2008 cycle. It has been speculated that the outcry over the "Godless" ad contributed to Dole's loss. Hagan trounced Dole in the state's five largest counties – Mecklenburg, Wake, Guilford, Forsyth and Durham. Hagan also dominated most of the eastern portion of the state, which had been the backbone of Helms' past Senate victories. While Dole dominated the Charlotte suburbs and most of the heavily Republican Foothills region, it was not enough to save her seat.

Political positions.

Dole's voting record was somewhat more conservative than that of her husband, though slightly less conservative than that of Helms. She has a lifetime rating of 92 from the American Conservative Union.  Dole worked with other senators such as Chuck Hagel to draft and attempt to pass legislation reforming housing financing regulation; the bill did not go up for a vote.  In September 2008, Dole joined the Gang of 20, a bipartisan group working towards comprehensive energy reform. The group is pushing for a bill that would encourage state-by-state decisions on offshore drilling and authorize billions of dollars for conservation and alternative energy.  As a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services, Dole is credited with helping to prevent any closures of North Carolina military bases despite threats from the Department of Defense. In 2007, she sponsored legislation which would have granted federal recognition of a North Carolina Native American tribe, the Lumbee based in Robeson County.

Committee assignments.

Dole was a member of the following U.S. Senate committees:

After politics: Elizabeth Dole Foundation.

In 2012, Dole established the Elizabeth Dole Foundation, dedicated to helping caregivers of "wounded warriors".  Dole commissioned the RAND Corporation to develop the first nationwide comprehensive, evidence-based report on the needs of military and veteran caregivers. The two-year study includes an environmental scan of available services, a gap analysis, and recommendations for meeting the enormous challenges of America's hidden heroes – the young spouses, mothers, fathers and other loved ones caring for those who cared for us. The study was generously supported by the Wounded Warrior Project, the Lilly Endowment, and the Cannon Foundation.  The Foundation selects military and veteran caregivers from each state to serve a two-year Fellowship with the Foundation. The Dole Fellows represent a vast array of military caregivers: spouses, parents, siblings and friends, and use their voice to help bring awareness on a national scale. The Foundation also has a National Coalition Program to bring together private and public entities to create substantial change.  Actor Tom Hanks joined the Foundation's Hidden Heroes Campaign to bring awareness to the over 5.5 million military caregivers across America who are facing enormous challenges every day caring for members of the military and gravely injured veterans.

Charity work.

Dole accepted no salary from the Red Cross during her first year as president of the organization.  Dole is an Honorary Board Member of the humanitarian organization Wings of Hope.

Awards.

In 1995, Dole was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.  In 1999, Dole received the S. Roger Horchow Award for Greatest Public Service by a Private Citizen, an award given out annually by Jefferson Awards.  In 2014, Dole was inducted into Indiana Wesleyan University's Society of World Changers for her humanitarian public service efforts.

Mary Elizabeth "Liddy" Alexander Hanford Dole (born July 29, 1936) is an American politician and author who served in the Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush presidential administrations. She also served in the United States Senate from 2003 to 2009.

Elizabeth Hanford « Liddy » Dole, née le à Salisbury (Caroline du Nord), est une femme politique américaine. Membre du Parti républicain, elle est secrétaire aux Transports entre 1983 à 1987 dans l'administration du président Ronald Reagan, secrétaire au Travail entre 1989 et 1990 sous celle de son successeur, George H. W. Bush puis sénatrice de Caroline du Nord au Congrès des États-Unis de 2003 à 2009. Elle est l'épouse en secondes noces de Bob Dole, ancien candidat républicain à la présidence des États-Unis.


History.

Early years.

Born c. 1572, Okuni grew up in the vicinity of the Izumo shrine, where her father, Nakamura Sanemon, worked as a blacksmith, and where several other family members served. Eventually Okuni joined as a "miko" (ceremonial dancer), where she was known for her skill in dancing and acting, as well as her beauty. As it was a custom of the time to send priests, "miko" and others to solicit contributions for the shrine, she was sent to Kyoto to perform sacred dances and songs.  It was during her performances in Kyoto that she also became known for her performances of "nembutsu odori" (or "nembutsu" dance) in honor of the Amida Buddha. Though this dance traces its origins to Kūya, a tenth-century evangelist of Pure Land Buddhism, by Okuni's time it had become a largely secular folk dance, and her particular adaptation tended to be known for its sultriness and sexual innuendo. Other popular themes for Okuni's acts included humorous skits about lover's trysts at various public establishments and meetings between men and prostitutes. Between these and other dances and acts, she garnered much attention and began to draw large crowds wherever she performed. Eventually she was summoned to return to the shrine, a call she ignored, though she continued to send money back.

Founding of kabuki.

Around 1603, Okuni began performing on the dry riverbed of the Shijōgawara (Fourth Street Dry Riverbed) of the Kamo River and at Kitano Shrine. Okuni also performed for the ladies of the imperial court. Gathering up the female outcasts and misfits of the region, particularly those involved in prostitution, Okuni gave them direction, teaching them acting, dancing and singing skills in order to form her troupe. Several theories exist as to the etymology of the word "kabuki," one being that it is derived from those who, oddly dressed and swaggering on the street, had been dubbed "kabukimono" (from "kabuku" "to lean in a certain direction", and "mono", "people"). Another possible origin is "katamuki," which means "slanted" or "strongly-inclined." In either case, others labeled Okuni's troupe's performances kabuki due to their eccentricity and social daring. The earliest performances of kabuki were dancing and song with no significant plot, often disdained as overly sexual and cacophonous, but equally lauded as colorful and beautiful.  Okuni's troupe was exclusively female. Thus, she required her actresses to play both male and female roles. As her troupe gained fame, she was emulated by many others, particularly brothels, which offered such shows to amuse wealthy clients, as well as to gain prostitutes who had marketable acting and singing skills. This new style of exclusively female troupes became known by the alternative names of "shibai, onnakabuki," (from "onna," the Japanese word for "woman" or "girl") and "Okuni kabuki."

Later years.

Eventually, with the aid of Nagoya Sansaburō, who supported Okuni financially as well as artistically, kabuki evolved into a more dramatic style. On a more personal level, Sansaburō was also said to be Okuni's lover, though they never married. After his death she continued without him, continuing to merge the drama with the music and dance. Eventually, her fame and that of her kabuki troupe spread throughout Japan.  Okuni retired around 1610, and after that time she disappeared. In 1629, due to outcry for moral reform and concern about fights breaking out between men trying to win the attention of the actresses, shōgun Tokugawa Iemitsu forbade women from performing in kabuki. They were quickly replaced by young men as actors/"actresses," though this was soon banned as well due to some of the same issues of prostitution and corruption of morals, restricting the performances to those by older men, which is a standing practice in the official theaters even today.  There are several conflicting theories of Okuni's year of death; some say in 1610, others in 1613, or in 1640.

Cultural impact.

In addition to her founding of kabuki, Okuni contributed to Japanese theatre in general. She is said to have introduced the forerunner of the "hanamichi" (path of flowers), a runway leading from the rear of the theatre and crossing between the audience to the stage. This has been incorporated in several Japanese theatre arts beyond that of kabuki. In addition, she has also influenced modern musical theatre.  In November 2002 a statue was erected in her honor and to commemorate 400 years of kabuki. The statue stands at the east end of the Shijō Ōhashi bridge crossing the Kamo River diagonally across from the Minami-za, the last remaining kabuki theater in Kyoto.

Few concrete details are known about her life. Born around 1572 near Izumo, Okuni worked as a miko for years at the Grand Shrine of Izumo, until she began gaining popularity for her invention of a dramatized style of dance, which onlookers named "kabuki". Okuni continued to perform kabuki with her troupe until her retirement and disappearance sometime around 1610. She is believed to have died sometime around 1613.

Elle inventa un nouveau style de danse à Kyōto où elle acquit le statut d'une véritable vedette. Elle était réputée pour ses interprétations de l'un et de l'autre sexe, en particulier ses rôles de samouraï et de prêtres chrétiens.