Indexed color.

With the relatively low color depth, the stored value is typically a number representing the index into a color map or palette (a form of vector quantization). The colors available in the palette itself may be fixed by the hardware or modifiable by software. Modifiable palettes are sometimes referred to as pseudocolor palettes.  Old graphics chips, particularly those used in home computers and video game consoles, often have the ability to use a different palette per sprites and tiles in order to increase the maximum number of simultaneously displayed colors, while minimizing use of then-expensive memory (and bandwidth). For example, in the ZX Spectrum the picture is stored in a two-color format, but these two colors can be separately defined for each rectangular block of 8×8 pixels.  The palette itself has a color depth (number of bits per entry). While the best VGA systems only offered an 18-bit (262,144 color) palette from which colors could be chosen, all color Macintosh video hardware offered a 24-bit (16 million color) palette. 24-bit palettes are pretty much universal on any recent hardware or file format using them.  If instead the color can be directly figured out from the pixel values, it is "direct color". Palettes were rarely used for depths greater than 12 bits per pixel, as the memory consumed by the palette would exceed the necessary memory for direct color on every pixel.

List of common depths.

1-bit color.

2 colors, often black and white (or whatever color the CRT phosphor was) direct color. Sometimes 1 meant black and 0 meant white, the inverse of modern standards. Most of the first graphics displays were of this type, the X window system was developed for such displays, and this was assumed for a 3M computer. The first Macintoshes, Atari ST high resolution. In the late 80's there were professional displays with resolutions up to 300dpi (the same as a contemporary laser printer) but color proved more popular.

2-bit color.

4 colors, usually from a selection of fixed palettes. The CGA, gray-scale early NeXTstation, color Macintoshes, Atari ST medium resolution.

3-bit color.

8 colors, almost always all combinations of full-intensity red, green, and blue. Many early home computers with TV displays, including the ZX Spectrum and BBC Micro.

4-bit color.

16 colors, usually from a selection of fixed palettes. Used by the EGA and by the least common denominator VGA standard at higher resolution, color Macintoshes, Atari ST low resolution, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC.

5-bit color.

32 colors from a programmable palette, used by the Original Amiga chipset.

8-bit color.

256 colors, usually from a fully-programmable palette. Most early color Unix workstations, VGA at low resolution, Super VGA, color Macintoshes, Atari TT, Amiga AGA chipset, Falcon030, Acorn Archimedes. Both X and Windows provided elaborate systems to try to allow each program to select its own palette, often resulting in incorrect colors in any window other than the one with focus.  Some systems placed a color cube in the palette for a direct-color system (and so all programs would use the same palette). Usually fewer levels of blue were provided than others, as the normal human eye is less sensitive to the blue component than to the red or green (two thirds of the eye's receptors process the longer wavelengths) Popular sizes were:

12-bit color.

4096 colors, usually from a fully-programmable palette (though it was often set to a 16×16×16 color cube). Some Silicon Graphics systems, Color NeXTstation systems, and Amiga systems in HAM mode.

High color (15/16-bit).

In high-color systems, two bytes (16 bits) are stored for each pixel. Most often, each component (R, G, and B) is assigned five bits, plus one unused bit (or used for a mask channel or to switch to indexed color); this allows 32,768 colors to be represented. However, an alternate assignment which reassigns the unused bit to the G channel allows 65,536 colors to be represented, but without transparency. These color depths are sometimes used in small devices with a color display, such as mobile phones, and are sometimes considered sufficient to display photographic images. Occasionally 4 bits per color are used plus 4 bits for alpha, giving 4096 colors.  The term "high color" has recently been used to mean color depths greater than 24 bits.

18-bit.

Almost all of the least expensive LCDs (such as typical twisted nematic types) provide 18-bit color (64×64×64 = 262,144 combinations) to achieve faster color transition times, and use either dithering or frame rate control to approximate 24-bit-per-pixel true color, or throw away 6 bits of color information entirely. More expensive LCDs (typically IPS) can display 24-bit color depth or greater.

True color (24-bit).

24 bits almost always use 8 bits each of R, G, and B. As of 2018, 24-bit color depth is used by virtually every computer and phone display and the vast majority of image storage formats. Almost all cases of 32 bits per pixel assigns 24 bits to the color, and the remaining 8 are the alpha channel or unused.  2 gives 16,777,216 color variations. The human eye can discriminate up to ten million colors and since the gamut of a display is smaller than the range of human vision, this means this should cover that range with more detail than can be perceived. However, displays do not evenly distribute the colors in human perception space, so humans can see the changes between some adjacent colors as color banding. Monochromatic images set all three channels to the same value, resulting in only 256 different colors and thus, potentially, more visible banding, as the average human eye can only distinguish between about 30 shades of gray. Some software attempts to dither the gray level into the color channels to increase this, although in modern software this is more often used for subpixel rendering to increase the space resolution on LCD screens where the colors have slightly different positions.  The DVD-Video and Blu-ray Disc standards support a bit depth of 8 bits per color in YCbCr with 4:2:0 chroma subsampling. YCbCr can be losslessly converted to RGB.  Macintosh systems refer to 24-bit color as "millions of colors". The term "true color" is sometimes used to mean what this article is calling "direct color". It is also often used to refer to all color depths greater or equal to 24.

Deep color (30-bit).

"Deep color" consists of a billion or more colors. 2 is approximately 1.073 billion. Usually this is 10 bits each of red, green, and blue. If an alpha channel of the same size is added then each pixel takes 40 bits.  Some earlier systems placed three 10-bit channels in a 32-bit word, with 2 bits unused (or used as a 4-level alpha channel); the Cineon file format, for example, used this. Some SGI systems had 10- (or more) bit digital-to-analog converters for the video signal and could be set up to interpret data stored this way for display. BMP files define this as one of its formats, and it is called "HiColor" by Microsoft.  Video cards with 10 bits per component started coming to market in the late 1990s. An early example was the Radius ThunderPower card for the Macintosh, which included extensions for QuickDraw and Adobe Photoshop plugins to support editing 30-bit images. Some vendors call their 24-bit color depth with FRC panels 30-bit panels; however, true deep color displays have 10-bit or more color depth without FRC.  The HDMI 1.3 specification defines a bit depth of 30 bits (as well as 36 and 48 bit depths). In that regard, the Nvidia Quadro graphics cards manufactured after 2006 support 30-bit deep color and Pascal or later GeForce and Titan cards when paired with the Studio Driver as do some models of the Radeon HD 5900 series such as the HD 5970. The ATI FireGL V7350 graphics card supports 40- and 64-bit pixels (30 and 48 bit color depth with an alpha channel).  The DisplayPort specification also supports color depths greater than 24 bpp in version 1.3 through "VESA Display Stream Compression, which uses a visually lossless low-latency algorithm based on predictive DPCM and YCoCg-R color space and allows increased resolutions and color depths and reduced power consumption."  At WinHEC 2008, Microsoft announced that color depths of 30 bits and 48 bits would be supported in Windows 7, along with the wide color gamut scRGB.  High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC or H.265) defines the Main 10 profile, which allows for 8 or 10 bits per sample with 4:2:0 chroma subsampling. The Main 10 profile was added at the October 2012 HEVC meeting based on proposal JCTVC-K0109 which proposed that a 10-bit profile be added to HEVC for consumer applications. The proposal stated that this was to allow for improved video quality and to support the Rec. 2020 color space that will be used by UHDTV. The second version of HEVC has five profiles that allow for a bit depth of 8 bits to 16 bits per sample.  A few smartphones use 30-bit color depth, namely the OnePlus 8 Pro, the Oppo Find X2 & Find X2 Pro, the Sony Xperia 1 II and the Sharp Aquos Zero 2.

36-bit.

Using 12 bits per color channel produces 36 bits, approximately 68.71 billion colors. If an alpha channel of the same size is added then there are 48 bits per pixel.

48-bit.

Using 16 bits per color channel produces 48 bits, approximately 281.5 trillion colors. If an alpha channel of the same size is added then there are 64 bits per pixel.  Image editing software such as Photoshop started using 16 bits per channel fairly early in order to reduce the quantization on intermediate results (i.e. if an operation is divided by 4 and then multiplied by 4, it would lose the bottom 2 bits of 8-bit data, but if 16 bits were used it would lose none of the 8-bit data). In addition, digital cameras were able to produce 10 or 12 bits per channel in their raw data; as 16 bits is the smallest addressable unit larger than that, using it would allow the raw data to be manipulated. These systems did not take advantage of 16 bits for high dynamic range, and some assign almost mystical capabilities to 16 bits that are not actually true.

High dynamic range and wide gamut.

Some systems started using those bits for numbers outside the 0–1 range rather than for increasing the resolution. Numbers greater than 1 were for colors brighter than the display could show, as in high-dynamic-range imaging (HDRI). Negative numbers can increase the gamut to cover all possible colors, and for storing the results of filtering operations with negative filter coefficients. The Pixar Image Computer used 12 bits to store numbers in the range [-1.5,2.5), with 2 bits for the integer portion and 10 for the fraction. The Cineon imaging system used 10-bit professional video displays with the video hardware adjusted so that a value of 95 was black and 685 was white. The amplified signal tended to reduce the lifetime of the CRT.

Linear color space and floating point.

More bits also encouraged the storage of light as linear values, where the number directly corresponds to the amount of light emitted. Linear levels makes calculation of light (in the context of computer graphics) much easier. However, linear color results in disproportionately more samples near white and fewer near black, so the quality of 16-bit linear is about equal to 12-bit sRGB.  Floating point numbers can represent linear light levels spacing the samples semi-logarithmically. Floating point representations also allow for drastically larger dynamic ranges as well as negative values. Most systems first supported 32-bit per channel single-precision, which far exceeded the accuracy required for most applications. In 1999, Industrial Light & Magic released the open standard image file format OpenEXR which supported 16-bit-per-channel half-precision floating-point numbers. At values near 1.0, half precision floating point values have only the precision of an 11-bit integer value, leading some graphics professionals to reject half-precision in situations where the extended dynamic range is not needed.

More than three primaries.

Virtually all television displays and computer displays form images by varying the strength of just three primary colors: red, green, and blue. For example, bright yellow is formed by roughly equal red and green contributions, with no blue contribution.  Additional color primaries can widen the color gamut of a display, since it is no longer limited to the shape of a triangle in the CIE 1931 color space. Recent technologies such as Texas Instruments's "BrilliantColor" augment the typical red, green, and blue channels with up to three other primaries: cyan, magenta and yellow. Mitsubishi and Samsung, among others, use this technology in some TV sets to extend the range of displayable colors. The Sharp Aquos line of televisions has introduced Quattron technology, which augments the usual RGB pixel components with a yellow subpixel. However, formats and media supporting these extended color primaries are extremely uncommon.  For storing and working on images, it is possible to use "imaginary" primary colors that are not physically possible so that the triangle does enclose a much larger gamut, so whether more than three primaries results in a difference to the human eye is not yet proven, since humans are primarily trichromats, though tetrachromats exist.

Color depth or colour depth (see spelling differences), also known as bit depth, is either the number of bits used to indicate the color of a single pixel, in a bitmapped image or video framebuffer, or the number of bits used for each color component of a single pixel. For consumer video standards, such as High Efficiency Video Coding (H.265), the bit depth specifies the number of bits used for each color component. When referring to a pixel, the concept can be defined as bits per pixel (bpp), which specifies the number of bits used. When referring to a color component, the concept can be defined as bits per component, bits per channel, bits per color (all three abbreviated bpc), and also bits per pixel component, bits per color channel or bits per sample (bps). Color depth is only one aspect of color representation, expressing the precision with which colors can be expressed; the other aspect is how broad a range of colors can be expressed (the gamut). The definition of both color precision and gamut is accomplished with a color encoding specification which assigns a digital code value to a location in a color space.

La profondeur de couleurs, dont l'unité est le bits par pixel (bpp), est un terme utilisé en informatique décrivant le nombre de bits utilisés pour représenter la couleur d'un pixel dans une image.


Place setting and service order.

For the most correct "service à la russe", in its modern form (significantly different from the original) the following must be observed:  The place setting (called a cover) for each guest includes a service plate, all the necessary cutlery except those required for dessert, and stemmed glasses for water, wines and champagne. Atop the service plate is a rolled napkin, and atop that is the place card. Above the plate is a saltcellar, nut dish, and a menu.  The cutlery to the right of the service plate is, from the outside in, the oyster fork resting in the bowl of the soup spoon, the fish knife, the meat knife and the salad knife (or fruit knife). On the left, from the outside in, are the fish fork, the meat fork and a salad fork (or fruit fork). If both a salad and a fruit course are served, the necessary extra flatware is brought out on a platter, as it is bad form to have more than three knives or forks on the table at once, the oyster fork excepted.  Guests are seated according to their place cards and immediately remove their napkins and place them in their laps. Another view maintains that the napkin is only removed after the host has removed his or hers. (In the same manner, the host is first to begin eating, and guests follow.) The oyster plate is placed atop the service plate. Once that is cleared, the soup plate replaces it. After the soup course is finished, both the soup plate and service plate are removed from the table, and a heated plate is put in their place. The rule is as such: a filled plate is always replaced with an empty one, and no place goes without a plate until just before the dessert course.  The fish and meat courses are now always served from platters because in correct service a filled plate is never placed before a guest, as this would indirectly dictate how much food the guest is to eat. This was not the case historically, nor is it often followed in restaurants.  Directly before dessert, everything is removed from the place settings except the wine and water glasses. Crumbs are cleared. The dessert plate is then brought out with a doily on top of it, a finger bowl on top of that, and a fork and spoon, the former balanced on the left side of the plate and the latter on the right. Guests remove the doily and finger bowls, move them to the left of the plate and place the fork to the left side of the plate and the spoon to its right. Guests do not actually need to use the finger bowl, since they may have not used their fingers to eat with, unless they also had bread with the meal.

A multi-course dinner served "à la russe".

The number of dishes (or courses) served at a meal "à la russe" has changed over time; but an underlying pattern of service—beginning with soup, then moving through various entrées, then to the roast or game, and then to vegetables (including salads), sweets and coffee—persisted from the mid-19th century (when this type of service was introduced to France) until WWII, and continued in a much-reduced form into the 21st century. The order of dishes descends directly from the much older "service à la française". In that style of service, all sorts of dishes were arranged on the table and guests served themselves and each other. As Jean-Louis Flandrin has shown, the order of "consumption"—known to the guests of the time but rarely evident from contemporary menus or descriptions of meals—was essentially the same as the order of "presentation" in "service à la russe".  The most elaborate version of "service à la russe", which reached its pinnacle in the last decades of the Victorian era, was described by Sarah Tyson Rorer in 1886. Rorer was critical of this elaborate service and offered a much simpler alternative, which in fact represents the core principles of this style of service.  The elaborate and conventional dinner, complete at all points, which the dinner-giving of a century and a half has evolved, is beyond any but the very wealthy. Very few of them succeed in giving it, and still fewer of their guests enjoy it. Its triple triplets of oysters, soup, and fish, the relevé, entrées, and roast, a pause of rum punch to stimulate languishing digestion, game with salad, sweets and ice, coffee to close, and a bewildering series of wines, with an alcoholic appetizer to begin and end, have, however, had their effect in making many feel that a formal dinner must only follow this model from afar. So, with only the resources of a simple household, they compass, with infinite labor, oysters, soup, and fish, add some made dish to the meat, and put salad before and ice cream after the pudding or sweets.But success here, with a moderate income, is as rare as success with the long dinner at the complete table. Try to grasp the theory of the elaborate edifice which custom and convention has piled up, and see if your own resources cannot reproduce its purpose with better success. After having carefully analyzed it, you will see at once that the most complex dinner simply aims to begin with something of easy digestion, slide by some transition to the roast, and make sure that through salad, sweets and coffee, the last half of your dinner shall interest the appetite as well as satisfy hunger. You, have, therefore, soup, roast, dessert, which make up the usual dinner of thoroughly civilized people, and below you will see how, with but moderate resources, you may so vary this as to make a “little dinner” complete and satisfying in itself; more, the most elaborate meal at Delmonico’s cannot do.  In Britain and the United States, fish is a distinct course; relevés are large, solid joints of meat or whole fowl, generally baked, braised, or boiled but not roasted; entrées are elaborate "made dishes" of, typically, fillets of beef or other butcher's meat (and sometimes fowl, but—apart from days of religious observance—not fish), served in fine sauces. Roasts are solid joints of meat (and sometimes fowl) other than feathered game, usually spit-roasted but often baked. Game is feathered not furred, spit-roasted whole and served rather simply. (Rorer's "roast" here refers to a roasted entrée, but this terminology is not typical of the period. In her time, the "roast" followed the punch, and it was always game, if available.)  At the time Rorer was writing, Alessandro Filippini, a chef at Delmonico's restaurant on Pine Street in New York, wrote a book of menus for "every family of means in the habit of giving a few dinners to its friends during the year", with a brief discussion of table service and a guide to wines. He recommended the types of menus criticized by Rorer but common among the wealthy. French dinners are generally served in three main courses, viz., Relevés, Entrées, and Rotis; all the rest are considered side courses. It depends entirely on the taste of the host as to how many main courses he desires served. The author would suggest two relevés, three entrées, and one or two rotis; this could be made an elaborate dinner.  About a third of Filippini's book contains menus for breakfast, luncheon, and dinner for every day of the year. The dinner menus begin with the "side courses", as he calls them: oysters or clams, soup, and hors d'œuvre; followed by the three "main courses": several relevés and entrées, and one roti (roast); and finally a few other "side courses": sweet entremets, ices, and coffee.  Hors-d'œuvre are usually small cold items (such as olives, celery, radishes, charcuterie, caviar), but they might also include hot made dishes (such as timbales, croustades, croquettes). In the French style of "service à la russe", used by Filippini for many of his menus, there is no distinct "fish course", as both relevés and entrées may be of meat, fowl, or fish indiscriminately. Punch often precedes the roast. The roast can be meat, fowl, or fish (though fish is generally limited to days of religious observance); when game is served, it always comprises the roast course. Entremets are the vegetables, including salads, served with the relevés and entrées; they not as a separate course, though they are often listed as such. Sweet entremets are cakes, puddings, and such. Ices are frozen sweets, served as a separate course. Fruit, petits fours, coffee, and cordials are offered at the end of the meal.  A few years after Filippini wrote his book, Charles Ranhofer, another chef at Delmonico's restaurant (variously at the 14th Street, 26th Street, and 44th Street locations), in his cookbook "The Epicurean", outlined in great detail the dishes necessary for dinners ranging from six to fourteen courses. The six-course dinner is very much like Rorer's "little dinner": oysters, soup, fish, entrée, roast, salad, and dessert. Longer dinners are arranged by adding side dishes, removes, and various cold dishes, and by serving a greater number of entrées and desserts. The longest of these menus is as follows: Figure 1—36 covers:  "S.D." are "side dishes", i.e. hors d'œuvre. There is a separate fish course, then relevés and entrées. Cold dishes, such as mayonnaise salads and aspics, had become very popular at this time, as is evident in the menu. Roasts could be of butchers' meat, fowl, or game (rarely, if ever, fish). When more than one dish was appointed for a course (e.g. 2 Soups, 2 Fish, 2 roasts, 2 colds), the guest was expected to choose one or the other, not both. A guest might decline one or more of the courses.  Ranhofer also gives elaborate instructions for the service of wine. FIRST SERVICE. "With Oysters."—Sauterne, Barsac, Graves, Mont Rachet, Chablis. "After the Soup."—Madeira, Sherry or Xeres. "With Fish."—(Rhine wines) Johannisberger, Marcobrunner, Hochheimer, Laubenheimer, Liebfraumilch, Steinberger. (Moselle) Brauneberger, Zeltinger, Berncasteler. "With Removes."—Côte St. Jacques, Moulin-à-vent, Macon, Clos de Vougeot, Beaune. "With Entrées."—St. Émilion, Médoc du Bordelais, St. Julien. Dry champagnes for certain countries. Iced Punches and Sherbets, Rum, Madeira.  SECOND SERVICE. "With Roasts."—(Burgundies) Pommard, Nuits, Corton, Chambertin, Romanée Conti. "Cold Roasts."—Vin de Paille, Steinberger. "With Hot Desserts."—(Bordeaux) Château Margaux, Léoville, Laffitte, Château Larose, Pontet-Canet, St. Pierre, Côtes de Rhone, Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie. (Red Champagne) Bouzy, Verzenay, Porto Première.  THIRD SERVICE. "With Dessert."—(Burgundy) Volnay, Mousseux. (Champagnes) Delmonico, Roederer, Rosé Mousseux, Pommery, Cliquot, Perrier-Jouët, Moët, Mumm. "Wine Liquors."—Muscatel, Malaga, Alicante, Malvoisie of Madeira, Lacryma Christi, red and white Cape, Tokay, Constance, Schiraz. "Cordials."—Curaçoa [sic], Kirsch, Cognac, Chartreuse, Maraschino, Prunelle, Anisette, Bénédictine. "Beers."—Bass’ Ales, Porter, Tivoli, Milwaukee.  Several decades later, shorter meals had become the norm and the extravagant dinners of the Victorian period were considered vulgar, as noted by Emily Post in 1922: Under no circumstances would a private dinner, no matter how formal, consist of more than: The menu for an informal dinner would leave out the entrée, and possibly either the hors-d’oeuvre or the soup.  As a matter of fact, the marked shortening of the menu is in informal dinners and at the home table of the well-to-do. Formal dinners have been as short as the above schedule for twenty-five years. [c.1900.] A dinner interlarded with a row of extra entrées, Roman punch, and hot dessert is unknown except at a public dinner, or in the dining-room of a parvenu. About thirty-five years ago [c.1890] such dinners are said to have been in fashion!  At the time Post was writing, hors-d’œuvre meant rather narrowly light cold dishes like oysters, clams, melon, or citrus. Entrées meant elaborate "made dishes" of fillets of beef or other butcher's meat served in a fine sauce, or some sort of pastry dish. Roasts could be of any meat, which was not necessarily roasted. The preferred dish of a truly fine dinner was wild feathered game, spit-roasted and served rather simply. Dessert was molded ice cream only, to the exclusion of all other sweets. Despite Post's complaints about extra entrées, many dinners continued to feature two meat courses between the fish and the roast.  Post's first book was published during Prohibition, and she noted, "A water glass standing alone at each place makes such a meager and untrimmed looking table that most people put on at least two wine glasses, sherry and champagne, or claret and sherry, and pour something pinkish or yellowish into them. [...] Those few who still have cellars, serve wines exactly as they used to, white wine, claret, sherry and Burgundy warm, champagne ice cold; and after dinner, green mint poured over crushed ice in little glasses, and other liqueurs of room temperature."  After World War II, dinners were curtailed even more. As Post writes in the 1950 edition of her book, the shorter "informal" meal of her earlier book had become the norm for formal dinners: It is rare for a modern dinner to consist of more than five courses. However, 'tasting menus' - whereby diners are served numerous courses do exist. These are the exception though, and a formal dinner today would typically include:: After-dinner coffee  In addition to the set courses, little relish dishes of radishes, celery, olives, or almonds could be set on the table as "hors-d'œuvre". Wines, too, were often greatly reduced in number. Amy Vanderbilt noted in her book, "The Complete Book of Etiquette", "At a formal dinner champagne may be the only wine served after the service of sherry with the soup."  This five-course service might be further reduced by serving either soup or fish (or shellfish) as a first course, but not both. Dinners in the French style usually include a cheese course after the roast, generally resulting in a 6-course meal (see, for example, the formal menus in Richard Olney's "The French Menu Cookbook"); alternatively, one or more of the other courses can be omitted (see, for example, the formal menus in Simone Beck's "Simca's Cuisine"). Dinners in the American style often place the salad as a first course instead of soup, an innovation that appeared in the 1950s in California and was noted by Vanderbilt ; in this arrangement, dessert is served immediately after the roast. Wine service may include a separate wine for each course, or simply be champagne throughout; or, most commonly, service may be limited to three wines: a white for the soup and fish, a red for the roast, and a sweet wine or champagne for dessert.  These and similar arrangements of four- and five-course formal dinners were the norm throughout the second half of the 20th century.

The historical form of (; "service in the Russian style") is a manner of dining that involves courses being brought to the table sequentially, and the food being portioned on the plate by servants (usually at a sideboard in the dining room) before being given to the diner. It became the norm in very formal dining in the Western world over the 19th century. It contrasts with the older (; "service in the French style") in which all the food (or at least several courses) is brought out simultaneously, in an impressive display of tureens and serving dishes, and the diners put it on their plates themselves.

Depuis le Moyen Âge, les dîners de l'aristocratie étaient servis « à la française », avec un summum de luxe au. Ce type de service sera remplacé à partir du par le service dit service à la russe : les hôtes, assis autour d'une table, sont servis à la portion et peuvent manger chaud, ce que le service précédent ne permettait pas d'atteindre réellement.


Early life.

Al Akkad was born on July 1, 1930 in Aleppo in the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon. He received his high school degree from the Aleppo American College. His father, then a customs officer, gave him $200 and a copy of the Quran before he left for the United States to study film direction and production at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Akkad spent a further three years studying for a Master's degree at the University of Southern California (USC), where he met the director Sam Peckinpah. Peckinpah became Akkad's mentor in Hollywood and hired him as a consultant for a film about the Algerian War that never made it to the big screen, but he continued to encourage him until he found a job as a producer at CBS.

Career.

In 1976, he produced and directed "Mohammad, Messenger of God" (released as "The Message" in 1977 in the United States), starring Anthony Quinn and Irene Papas. Akkad faced resistance from Hollywood, which forced him to make the film in Morocco.  While creating "Muhammad, Messenger of God", he consulted Islamic clerics and tried to be respectful towards Islam and its views on portraying Muhammad. He got the Approval from Al-Azhar University in Egypt but was rejected by the Muslim World League in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The Governments of Kuwait, Libya and Morocco promised to support the film financially, but when it was rejected by the Muslim World League, Kuwait withdrew its financial support. King Hassan II of Morocco gave his full support for the production of the film. The production took one year, Akkad filmed for 6 months in Morocco, but had to stop when the Saudi Government exerted great pressure on the government of Morocco to stop the production. Akkad went to Muammar Gaddafi of Libya for support in order to complete the project, Gaddafi allowed him to move the filming to Libya for the remaining 6 months until the film was finalized.  Akkad saw the film as a way to bridge the gap between the Western and Muslim worlds, stating in a 1976 interview: In 1978, he helped make low-budget film history when he produced "Halloween". Akkad became best known for his key involvement in the first eight "Halloween" movies, as an executive producer (the only producer to participate in all of these films). The series was highly profitable.  In 1980 he directed "Lion of the Desert", in which Quinn and Irene Papas were joined by Oliver Reed, Rod Steiger, and John Gielgud. It was about the real-life Bedouin leader Omar Mukhtar (Quinn), who fought Benito Mussolini's Italian troops in the deserts of Libya. The movie is now critically acclaimed, after initially receiving negative publicity in the West for being partially funded by Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, who invested $35 million in the movie. This negative publicity may have been the cause of its relatively poor performance at the box office. Clint Morris describes the movie as: "A grand epic adventure that'll stand as a highpoint in the producing career of Moustapha Akkad."  In the United Kingdom, Akkad once tried to buy Pinewood Studios from The Rank Organisation and also had a studio at Twickenham. At the time of his death, he was in the process of producing an $80 million movie featuring Sean Connery about Saladin and the Crusades, for which he already had the script, that would be filmed in Jordan. Speaking of the film, he said:

Death.

Akkad and his 34-year-old daughter, Rima Akkad Monla, were killed in the 2005 Amman bombings. They were both in the lobby at the Grand Hyatt Amman on 9 November when a bomb exploded; his daughter died instantly, and Akkad died of his injuries two days later in a hospital. Akkad survived by his former wife, Patricia Al Akkad and their sons, Taric and Malek, who helped produce most of the "Halloween" movies, as well as his widow, Suha Ascha Akkad, and their son Zaid.

Legacy.

He was honoured by his native city of Aleppo, and the Aleppo City Council has renamed a school and a street after Moustapha Akkad. In 2008, a street in downtown Beirut was renamed after Moustapha Akkad. The 2007 remake of "Halloween" was dedicated to Moustapha Akkad. The 2018 film "Halloween", a direct sequel to the 1978 original film that ignores all other films in the franchise, also features a dedication to Akkad in the end credits.

Moustapha Al Akkad (; July 1, 1930 – November 11, 2005) was a Syrian American film producer and director, best known for producing the original series of "Halloween" films and directing "The Message" and "Lion of the Desert". He was killed along with his daughter Rima Al Akkad Monla in the 2005 Amman bombings.

Moustapha Akkad (en arabe ), né le à Alep et mort le à Amman, est un producteur et réalisateur de film américain d'origine syrienne, rendu célèbre pour avoir produit la série de films d'épouvante "Halloween" et pour avoir réalisé les films "Le Message" et "Le Lion du désert".


Early life.

RuPaul was born in San Diego, California, on November 17, 1960. He was named by his mother, Ernestine "Toni" Charles, a Louisiana native; the "Ru" came from roux, which is the term for the base of gumbo and other creole stews and soups. When his parents divorced in 1967, he and his three sisters lived with their mother. He was raised in the Roman Catholic faith.  At the age of 15, he moved to Atlanta, Georgia, with his sister Renetta to study performing arts. In the ensuing years, RuPaul struggled as a musician and filmmaker during the 1980s, where he worked at Atlanta's famed Plaza Theatre. In 1982, he debuted on an Atlanta public access variety show called "The American Music Show," in which he made frequent appearances over the years. He also participated in underground cinema, helping create the low-budget film "", and an album by the same name. In Atlanta, RuPaul often performed at the Celebrity Club, managed by Larry Tee, as a bar dancer or with his band, Wee Wee Pole. RuPaul also performed as a backup singer to Glen Meadmore along with drag queen Vaginal Davis. RuPaul's first prominent national exposure came in 1989 dancing as an extra in the video for "Love Shack" by The B-52's.  In the early 1990s, RuPaul worked the Georgia club scene and was known by his full birth name. Initially participating in gender bender-style performances, RuPaul performed solo and in collaboration with other bands at several New York City nightclubs, most notably the Pyramid Club. He played opposite New York City drag performer Mona Foote (Nashom Benjamin) in the one-act science-fiction parody "My Pet Homo" written and directed by Jon Michael Johnson for Cooper Square Productions. He appeared for many years at the annual Wigstock drag festival and appeared in the documentary "". In the 1990s, RuPaul was known in the UK for his appearances on the Channel 4 series "Manhattan Cable", a weekly series produced by World of Wonder and presented by American Laurie Pike about New York's wild and wacky public-access television system.

Career.

1993–1997: "Supermodel of the World", "Foxy Lady", and "Ho Ho Ho".

In 1993, RuPaul recorded the dance/house album "Supermodel of the World". It was released through the rap label Tommy Boy, spawning the dance track hit "Supermodel (You Better Work)". The music video was an unexpected success on MTV channels, as grunge and gangsta rap were popular at the time. The song peaked at 45 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. It charted on the UK Singles Chart, peaking on the top 40 at 39. The song found the most success on the "Billboard" Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, where it peaked at 2. Radio airplay, heavy rotation of the music video on MTV and television appearances on popular programs like "The Arsenio Hall Show" popularized the song.  His next two singles/videos, "Back to My Roots" and "A Shade Shady (Now Prance)", both went to the top spot on the "Billboard" Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart and furthered his campy persona. Between them, "House of Love" was released without a video. It failed to place on any U.S. charts, despite rising to 68 on the UK Singles Chart.  RuPaul was signed to a modeling contract for MAC Cosmetics. Various billboards featured him in full drag, often with the text "I am the MAC girl". He also released his autobiography, "Lettin' It All Hang Out". He promoted the book in part with a 1995 guest appearance on ABC's "All My Children", in a storyline that put it on the set of Erica Kane's talk show "The Cutting Edge".  The next year he landed a talk show of his own on VH1, called "The RuPaul Show", interviewing celebrity guests and musical acts. Diana Ross, Nirvana, Duran Duran, Pat Benatar, Mary J. Blige, Bea Arthur, Dionne Warwick, Cyndi Lauper, Olivia Newton-John, Beenie Man, Pete Burns, Bow Wow Wow, and the Backstreet Boys were notable guests. His co-host was Michelle Visage, with whom he also co-hosted on WKTU radio. On one episode, RuPaul featured guests Chi Chi LaRue and Tom Chase speaking about the gay porn industry.  Later in the year he released his second album, "Foxy Lady", this time on the L.A.-based Rhino Records label. Despite his growing celebrity, he failed to chart on the "Billboard" 200. However, the first single "Snapshot" found success in the dance market and went to number four on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. It also enjoyed limited mainstream success, charting at 95 on the "Billboard" Hot 100, which was his second and only other Hot 100 entry to date (1996?). The second single "A Little Bit of Love" only charted at 28 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The album featured covers of a 1981 Diana Ross song "Work That Body", co-written by Paul Jabara and "If You Were a Woman and I Was a Man", originally recorded by Bonnie Tyler. Because of his strong fan base within the gay community, RuPaul has performed at gay pride events and numerous gay clubs. During this time RuPaul helped launch the return of WKTU radio in New York City and would serve as host of the morning show until 1998.  In 1997, he released his third album, a Christmas album entitled "Ho Ho Ho". He has had guest appearances in many films, including both "Brady Bunch" movies, in which he played Jan's female guidance counselor. In 1997 RuPaul teamed with Martha Wash to remake the classic disco anthem, "It's Raining Men". The song was included on the 1998 compilation CD "RuPaul's Go Go Box Classics", which was a collection of some of his favorite dance songs by other artists; this would be his third and final release through Rhino Records and a major record label. It was during this time that he appeared in Webex TV commercials and magazine ads. In 2002 he recorded with Brigitte Nielsen, credited as Gitta, the Eurodance track "You're No Lady".

2004–2007: "Red Hot", "ReWorked", and "Starrbooty".

In 2004, RuPaul released his fourth album, "Red Hot" on his own RuCo Inc. music label. It received some dance radio and club play, but very little press coverage. On his blog, RuPaul discussed how he felt betrayed by the entertainment industry, particularly the gay press. In one incident, it was noted that "Entertainment Weekly" refused to review the album, instead asking him to make a comedic contribution to a fashion article. He likened the experience to "a black person being invited to a party, but only if they'll serve." Despite his apparent dissatisfaction with the release, "Red Hot" showed RuPaul returning to the top of the dance charts in the US with the lead off single "Looking Good, Feeling Gorgeous" hitting number two on the dance chart. The second, "WorkOut", peaked at number five. The third and final single from the album "People Are People" a duet with Tom Trujillo peaked at number 10. The album itself only charted on the Top Electronic Albums chart, where it hit number nine. When asked about this in an interview, RuPaul said, "Well, betrayed might be the wrong word. 'Betrayed' alludes to an idea that there was some kind of a promise made to me, and there never was. More so, I was disappointed. I don't feel like it was a betrayal. Nobody promises anything in show business and you understand that from day one. But, I don't know what happened. It seemed I couldn't get press on my album unless I was willing to play into the role that the mainstream press has assigned to gay people, which is as servants of straight ideals."  On June 13, 2006, RuPaul released "ReWorked", his first remix album and fifth album overall. It features reworked versions of songs from his back catalog, as well as new recordings. The only single released from the album is a re-recording of "Supermodel (You Better Work)", reaching number 21 on the U.S. dance chart. June 20, 2007, saw the release of "" in the United States. The single "Call Me Starrbooty" was digitally released in 2007. The album contains new tracks as well as interludes with dialogue from the movie. The film was released on DVD in October 2007.

2008–2010: "RuPaul's Drag Race" and "Champion".

In mid-2008, RuPaul began producing "RuPaul's Drag Race", a reality television game show which aired on Logo in February 2009. The premise of the program has drag queens compete to be selected by RuPaul and a panel of judges as "America's next drag superstar". The first season's winner was BeBe Zahara Benet, and first runner-up Nina Flowers was chosen by fans as "Miss Congeniality" through voting via the show's official website. In publicity preparation for the new show, RuPaul made appearances as a guest on several other shows in 2008 including as a guest judge on episode 6 of season 5 of "Project Runway" and as a guest "chef" on "Paula's Party".  In March 2009, RuPaul released the album "Champion". The album spawned four singles "Cover Girl", "Jealous of My Boogie", "Devil Made Me Do It" and "Tranny Chaser". The album peaked at number 12 on the "Billboard" Dance/Electronic Albums as well as 26 on the "Billboard" Top Heatseekers chart. Logo's second annual NewNowNext Awards in 2009 were hosted by RuPaul. There he performed "Jealous of My Boogie (Gomi & RasJek Edit)". In March 2010, RuPaul released his second remix album, "Drag Race", the album features remixes of songs from the 2009 album "Champion".

2011–2013: "Glamazon", make-up and perfume line.

In April 2011, coinciding with the finale of season 3 of "RuPaul's Drag Race", RuPaul released his sixth studio album "Glamazon", produced by Revolucian, who previously worked with RuPaul on his album "Champion". The album charted on "Billboard’s" Dance/Electronic Albums and the "Billboard" Top Heatseekers chart at 11 and 8 respectively. In July 2011, RuPaul released another remix EP entitled "SuperGlam DQ", which features remixes of tracks from "Glamazon", remixes of the ""Drag U" Theme Song", and a new song, "Sexy Drag Queen". Starting in June 2011, the second season of "RuPaul's Drag U" aired. In late 2011, promotions for season 4 of "Drag Race" began. RuPaul made appearances on "The Rosie Show" and "The Chew", and also attended a "Drag Race" NY Premiere party at Patricia Field's store in New York. Season 4 of "RuPaul's Drag Race" premiered on Logo on January 30, 2012, with RuPaul returning as the main host and judge. After season 4 ended, TV.com declared it was the best reality TV show on television.  In the fall of 2012, the spin-off "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars" premiered after a large fan demand. The show featured past contestants of the previous four seasons to compete. Season 5 of "RuPaul's Drag Race" premiered on January 28, 2013, with a 90-minute special and RuPaul returning as the main host and judge. On April 30, 2013, RuPaul released a single "Lick It Lollipop" featuring Lady Bunny, who RuPaul previously collaborated with on "Champion". On October 25, 2013 RuPaul reported via Twitter that the new album would be released in January 2014.  In fall of 2013, RuPaul joined forces with cosmetic manufacturers Colorevolution to launch his debut make-up line featuring ultra-rich pigment cosmetics and a beauty collection. Released alongside the line was a unisex perfume entitled "Glamazon". Talking to World of Wonder, RuPaul said: "Glamazon is for women and men of all ages and preferences who share one thing in common: They are not afraid to be fierce. For me, glamour should be accessible to all, and I am committed to helping the world look and smell more beautiful." The line was exclusively sold on the Colorevolution website in various gift sets.

2014: "Born Naked", "What's The Tee?", and "Skin Wars".

RuPaul and Revolucian both confirmed through their Twitter and Instagram accounts that they had been working on an upcoming seventh studio album. "Born Naked" was released on February 24, 2014 to coincide with the premiere of the 6th season of "RuPaul's Drag Race". Prior to the premiere, an album of RuPaul cover songs performed by the Season 6 cast was released on January 28, 2014. The covers album is titled "RuPaul Presents The CoverGurlz" and contains RuPaul songs from 2009–2013. To further promote the "Drag Race" season premiere, RuPaul, representing Logo TV (and parent company Viacom) was chosen to ring the NASDAQ closing bell on February 24, 2014. The week of its release, "Born Naked" reached number one on the iTunes dance album chart. The following week it placed at number 4 on the US "Billboard" dance chart and 85 on the "Billboard" 200 chart. In a profile by "The New York Times" it was revealed that RuPaul is currently working on a porcelain statuette of his likeness. On April 9, 2014 RuPaul and Michelle Visage released the first episode of their podcast, "". In August, he joined the reality competition show "Skin Wars" acting as a judge.

2015: "Realness", "Good Work", and "Slay Belles".

On March 2, 2015, RuPaul released his eighth studio album, "Realness". The release coincided with the premiere of the seventh season of "RuPaul's Drag Race". In April, he launched and began hosting a new show, "Good Work", a plastic surgery-themed talk show for E!. In October he released his second Christmas album, and ninth studio album, "Slay Belles". The album contains ten original Christmas-themed songs and features collaborations with Michelle Visage, Siedah Garrett, Todrick Hall and Big Freedia. The album charted at 21 on the US "Billboard" Dance chart.

2016: "Gay for Play," "Butch Queen," "All Stars 2".

In January 2016, it was announced RuPaul would present a new game show for Logo TV called "Gay for Play Game Show Starring RuPaul" which premiered on April 11, 2016 after "RuPaul's Drag Race". In February 2016, RuPaul announced his tenth album, "Butch Queen". It was released in March 2016, just prior to the premiere of the eighth season of "RuPaul's Drag Race". A song from the album, "U Wear It Well" was featured in the teaser campaigns for the season and was later officially released as the first single on iTunes in February 2016. The album charted at number 3 on the US "Billboard" Dance chart, marking his highest position on this chart to date (2016?). "'Be Someone" featuring American singer Taylor Dayne was released as the album's second and final single. Additionally, "Butch Queen: The Ru-Mixes" was released.  In July 2016, it was announced that RuPaul was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program. He would go on to win the award at the September Creative Arts Emmy Awards Ceremony. 2016 also saw the release of the single "Read U Wrote U" that features rap parts by the "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 2" finalists Roxxxy Andrews, Katya Zamolodchikova, Alaska Thunderfuck, and Detox Icunt with production by Ellis Miah.

2017–2018: "Remember Me", "American", return to VH1, and "Essential, Vol. 2".

On January 27, 2017, RuPaul announced that a new album would be released the week after. The album, named "" was put up for pre-order on February 2 and eventually released the next day. It is a collection of new songs and remakes of classic RuPaul hits that feature new artists. Two singles have been released from the album so far: "Rock It (To The Moon)" which is a new song loosely based on the lyrics and the melody of "Hey Booty" which was released on the "Starrbooty" soundtrack in 2007, and an updated version of RuPaul's 1996 hit single "Snapshot" from the album "Foxy Lady". The album failed to chart on the Dance Albums Chart but managed to debut at number four on the "Billboard" Dance Albums Sales Chart in the United States. It also charted at number eleven on the UK Dance Albums Chart, becoming RuPaul's highest charting album on that chart, after "Realness" managed to debut and peak at number 13.  On March 24, 2017, RuPaul released his eleventh studio album, "American". Later that same day, the ninth regular season of "RuPaul's Drag Race" debuted on basic cable channel VH1, home of RuPaul's talk show in the 1990s. This marked a move from expanded cable channel Logo TV, which aired all previous seasons of the show. The season 9 premiere featured singer Lady Gaga as its guest judge and proved a success, with ratings of nearly 1,000,000 viewers, making it the series' most viewed episode. This figure was double LogoTV's season 8 premiere ratings from the year prior, and triple VH1's usual Friday night viewership in that programming timeslot. When the ratings were released, World of Wonder Productions announced they were casting contestants for a tenth season.  On June 2, 2017, "Essential, Vol. 2" was put up on pre-order on iTunes. It was released on June 9 and preceded by the single "Crying on the Dance Floor" which is a re-recording of the 2010 single "Main Event" from the album "Champion". On June 22, 2017, it was announced that RuPaul will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the television industry. He was awarded the honor on March 16, 2018, making him the first drag queen to be given such an award.  In August 2018, it was announced that RuPaul will be releasing his third Christmas album in October 2018.

2019–present: "Drag Race UK", "AJ and the Queen" and further TV shows.

In June 2019, a daytime talk show titled "RuPaul" premiered, however it was cancelled after a three-week test run, since it was not picked by any Fox TV stations. He also appeared in Taylor Swift's "You Need to Calm Down" music video.  In late 2019, the first season of "RuPaul's Drag Race UK" was released on BBC3. It was well-received, with "The Guardian" stating that the British version had "saved" the franchise. It was renewed for a second season to be released in 2020.  Rupaul also created and starred in the Netflix drama-comedy show "AJ and the Queen" as a drag queen touring the country with an unlikely young sidekick, which was released on January 10, 2020. On March 6, 2020, Netflix announced that the series had been cancelled.  Also in January 2020, it was announced that RuPaul would host "Saturday Night Live" for the first time. He hosted the episode airing on February 8, 2020 with Justin Bieber as a musical guest. On May 4, 2020, it was announced that RuPaul would be on "The Price Is Right at Night" airing May 11.

Impact.

RuPaul is considered to be the most commercially successful drag queen in the United States. He has been credited with creating wider exposure for drag queens from LGBT culture in to mainstream society, thanks to his early-career chart success, and later, the successive climb in viewership of "RuPaul's Drag Race". His talk show "The RuPaul Show" was the first ever national talk show to have a drag queen as a host. Along with his partner Michelle Visage, he welcomed an array of high-profile guests such as Cher, Lil Kim, and Diana Ross over the show's 100-episode span. As well as having a variety of comedy skits, the show was noted for discussing topics such as black empowerment, female empowerment, misogyny, and liberal politics which were otherwise unheard of in 1990s television at the time. In 1999, RuPaul was awarded the Vito Russo Award at the GLAAD Media Awards for work in promoting equality in the LGBT community.  RuPaul has also been noted as having a large part in "RuPaul's Drag Race"'s continuous television success. By pioneering queer representation on television, many believe RuPaul to have essentially revolutionised the portrayal of the LGBTQ+ community on screen. He first won an Emmy for his work on the show in 2016, and one year later the show garnered eight nominations, including Outstanding Reality-Competition Program for the first time in its 11-season run, and a second consecutive win for RuPaul in the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program. In 2017, he was included in the annual "Time" 100 list of the most influential people in the world. In 2019 "Fortune" noted RuPaul as “easily the world's most famous” drag queen.

Relationship with transgender community.

RuPaul has a complex relationship with the transgender community, in part due to differing philosophies: through drag he seeks to mock gender and identity stereotypes, while in his view the trans community takes identity seriously. "RuPaul's Drag Race" has featured a number of contestants who are trans women, some of whom made their identity public while competing on the show, including Sonique, Carmen Carrera, Jiggly Caliente, Monica Beverly Hillz, Kenya Michaels and Gia Gunn. In 2017 Peppermint became the first contestant to compete throughout her season as an openly transgender woman. Other non-conforming gender identities expressed by former contestants include nonbinary (Jinkx Monsoon, Adore Delano, Aja and Valentina), gender fluid (Courtney Act and Kelly Mantle) and genderqueer (Violet Chachki and Sasha Velour).  In 2014 trans activists and former contestants Carmen Carrera and Monica Beverly Hillz criticized the show's use of words such as "tranny" and "shemale," including the main challenge announcement phrase up to season 6, "You've got she-mail", which they described as transphobic. That year's season also included a "Female or She-male" segment which required contestants to guess whether various photographs featured cisgender "biological women" or "psychological women" (drag queens), causing further criticism. RuPaul and the producers issued a statement promising "to help spread love, acceptance and understanding" and Logo TV removed the "You've got she-mail" phrase from subsequent broadcasts. RuPaul criticized those attempting to police his language in bad faith and noted that "tranny" referred to transvestites and drag queens, not just trans women.  In 2018 RuPaul gave an interview to "The Guardian" in which he stated that a post-transition trans woman would "probably not" be accepted onto the show, noting that at the time of competition Peppermint had not yet had breast implants. After facing criticism on social media and from former contestants for his remarks, RuPaul compared trans drag queens who had transitioned to athletes who had taken performance-enhancing drugs. He subsequently expressed regret for the hurt caused by his remarks, and that the only screening criteria for contestants were "charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent".

Personal life.

RuPaul is gay. He has been with his husband, Georges LeBar, since 1994, when they met at the Limelight nightclub in New York City. They married in January 2017. They have an open marriage, with RuPaul stating he would not want to "put restraints" on the person he loves. LeBar is a painter and runs a ranch in Wyoming.  He was criticized by environmentalists after revealing in 2020 that he and his husband lease mineral rights and sell water to oil companies on their ranch and allow fracking, an environmentally harmful practice. There are at least 35 active wells on the LeBar Ranch according to public maps. RuPaul previously held a climate-themed ball on his show to raise environmental awareness, leading to accusations of hypocrisy.  RuPaul publicly endorsed the Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election. He expressed dismay at Clinton's defeat by Republican Party nominee Donald Trump, stating that "The America that we have all fought so hard for, the narrative of love and peace and liberty and equality, it feels like it is dead."  He has described doing drag as a "very, very political" act because it "challenges the status quo" by rejecting fixed identities: "drag says 'I'm a shapeshifter, I do whatever the hell I want at any given time'."  RuPaul has said he has been sober from alcohol and mind-altering substances since 1999, having started smoking marijuana at age 10 or 11.

Other ventures.

Podcasting.

The podcast "" debuted on April 6, 2014. Ru-Paul co-hosts with longtime friend and fellow "RuPaul's Drag Race" judge Michelle Visage. The weekly show features their thoughts on topics including behind-the-scenes of "RuPaul's Drag Race", life advice, beauty tips, and conversations with featured guests from the entertainment world.

Audiobooks.

In 2018, RuPaul was one of the actors who voiced the audiobook "A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo".

Drag conventions.

Launched through production company World of Wonder, RuPaul's DragCon LA is an annual drag-themed convention held in Los Angeles starting in 2015, followed by RuPaul's DragCon NYC as of 2017 in New York City, which allows members of the public to meet with RuPaul, former "RuPaul's Drag Race" contestants and other drag queens. The conventions feature performances, meet-and-greet booths, merchandise sales and panel discussions.

RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960) is an American drag queen, actor, model, singer, songwriter, and television personality. Since 2009, he has produced and hosted the reality competition series "RuPaul's Drag Race", for which he has received six Primetime Emmy Awards, in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019. RuPaul is considered to be the most commercially successful drag queen in the United States. In 2017, he was included in the annual "Time" 100 list of the most influential people in the world. In 2019, "Fortune" noted RuPaul as "easily the world's most famous" drag queen.

RuPaul (né RuPaul Andre Charles le à San Diego) est une "drag queen" américaine, chanteur de dance, acteur et parolier de chansons qui a connu la célébrité dans les années 1990, où il est apparu dans plusieurs émissions de télévision, des films ainsi que des albums musicaux. Bien que connu principalement pour son apparence de drag queen, RuPaul est apparu à plusieurs reprises dans des rôles masculins, généralement sous le nom de RuPaul Charles. Il est le producteur et le présentateur de la compétition de télé réalité "RuPaul's Drag Race" pour laquelle il a reçu quatre Primetime Emmy Award en 2016, 2017, 2018 et 2019.


Etymology.

Karur is mentioned in inscriptions and literature by two names, Karuvoor and Vanji. Additionally, it has been referred to as: Adipuram, Tiruaanilai, Paupatheechuram, Karuvaippatinam, Vanjularanyam, Garbhapuram, Thiru vithuvakkottam, Bhaskarapuram, Mudivazhangu Viracholapuram, Karapuram, Aadaga maadam, Cherama nagar and Shanmangala Kshetram. Among them, the name Adipuram, meaning the first city seems to indicate that it was held as the foremost city by the medieval writers. It was also called Vanci moothur, the ancient city of Vanji. In the foreign notices of Ptolemy, it was called Karoura – an inland capital of the Cheras.

History.

Karur is one of the oldest towns in Tamil Nadu and has played a very significant role in the history and culture of the Tamils. The history dates back to the Sangam period when it was a flourishing trade centre. Karur was built on the banks of river Amaravathi which was called Aanporunai during the Sangam days. According to Hinduism, Brahma began the work of creation here, which is referred to as the "place of the sacred cow."  Epigraphical, archaeological and literary evidence indicate that Karur was the capital of early Chera kings of Sangam age. The names of early Chera kings who ruled from Karur have been found in the rock inscriptions in Aaru Nattar Malai close to Karur. The Tamil epic "Silapathikaram" mentions that the famous Chera King Senguttuvan ruled from Karur. The archaeological excavations undertaken in Karur resulted in the excavation of mat-designed pottery, bricks, mud-toys, Roman coins, Chera coins, Pallava coins, Roman Amphorae, Rasset coated ware and rare rings. Karur might have been the center for old jewellery-making and gem setting (with the gold imported mainly from Rome), as seen from various excavations. In 150 CE, Greek scholar Ptolemy mentioned "Korevora" (Karur) as a very famous inland trading center in South India. It was ruled by the Cheras, Western Gangas, Cholas, the Vijayanagara Nayaks, Tipu Sultan and the British successively.  Karur municipality was constituted in 1874. It was upgraded to a I grade municipality on 24.10.69, upgraded to selection grade municipality on 24.05.1988, and upgraded to a special grade municipality on 07.04.1988. The town is very expanded now, with 48 wards, much like a city corporation.

Geography and climate.

Karur is located at and has an average elevation of 101 metres (331 feet). The town is located in Karur district of the South Indian state, Tamil Nadu, at a distance of from Chennai. Karur is located on the banks of Amaravathi river. The topography is almost plain, with no major geological formation. There are no notable mineral resources available in and around the town. The soil types are black and red that are conducive for common crops in the Cauvery delta. The temperature ranges from a maximum of to a minimum of. Like the rest of the state, April to June are the hottest months and December to January are the coldest. Karur receives an average of annually, which is lesser than the state average of. The South west monsoon, with an onset in June and lasting up to August, brings scant rainfall since Karur being a rainshadow region. The bulk of the rainfall comes during summer months (late April, May) and the North East monsoon in the months of October, November and December.  The prevailing climate in Karur is known as a local steppe climate. According to Köppen and Geiger, this climate is classified as BSh. The average temperature in Karur is 28.7 °C. The average annual rainfall is 590–600 mm. The driest month is March. There is 8 mm of precipitation in March. Most precipitation falls in October, with an average of 166 mm. The precipitation varies 158 mm between the driest month and the wettest month. The average temperatures vary during the year by 5.9 °C. With an average of 31.5 °C, May is the warmest month. In December, the average temperature is 25.6 °C.

Demographics.

Karur urban area is the 15th Populous city in the state of Tamil Nadu. Karur City Area divided into Three Regions Karur, Inam karur and Thanthoni Region which is further divided into 12 divisions. Currently Karur City has population about 234,506, with a sex-ratio of 1,032 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. A total of 6,147 were under the age of six, constituting 3,162 males and 2,985 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 12.11% and.08% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the city was 81.71%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The city had a total of 49344 households. There were a total of 30,216 workers, comprising 125 cultivators, 181 main agricultural labourers, 469 in household industries, 26,660 other workers, 2,781 marginal workers, 24 marginal cultivators, 82 marginal agricultural labourers, 140 marginal workers in household industries and 2,535 other marginal workers. As of 2001, 13 slums were identified in the town. As per the religious census of 2011, Karur (M) had 91.41% Hindus, 5.62% Muslims, 2.88% Christians, 0.01% Sikhs, 0.01% Buddhists, 0.07% following other religions and 0.01% following no religion or did not indicate any religious preference.  The city covers an area of. More than 8% of the total population of the Karur district and 25% of the total urban population in the district resides in the town. The town has a large floating population. Out of the total area, 86.85% of the land is marked developed and 37.63% of the city remains undeveloped. Residential areas make up 39.41% of the town's total area while commercial enterprises and industrial units make up 4.72% and 1.99% respectively.  The population density of the city in the 2001 census was 128 persons per hectare and the average household size was 3.95 as of 2001. Hindus form the majority of the urban population, followed by Muslims and Christians. Tamil is the main language spoken in the city, but the use of English is relatively common; English is the medium of instruction in most educational institutions and offices in the service sector.

Municipal administration and politics.

Karur is the headquarters of the Karur District. The town was constituted as a municipality in 1874, promoted to first-grade during 1969, selected-grade during 1983 and special-grade as of 1988. The Karur municipality has 48 wards and there is an elected councillor for each of those wards. The functions of the municipality are devolved into six departments: general administration/personnel, Engineering, Revenue, Public Health, city planning and Information Technology (IT). All these departments are under the control of a Municipal Commissioner who is the executive head. The legislative powers are vested in a body of 48 members, one each from the 60 wards. The legislative body is headed by an elected Chairperson assisted by a Deputy Chairperson.  Karur is a part of the Karur assembly constituency and it elects a member to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly once every five years. From the 1977 elections, All India Anna Dravid Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) won the assembly seat five times (in 1977, 1980, 1984, 1991, 2006 and 2011 elections) and two times by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK, 1989 and 1996) and Indian National Congress (INC) won once during 2001 elections. The current MLA of Karur constituency is M.R.Vijaya baskar from the ADMK party.  Karur is a part of the Karur (Lok Sabha constituency). From 1957, the Karur parliament seat was held by the Indian National Congress for eight times (during 1957, 1962, 1967, 1971, 1977, 1980, 1984 and 2019 elections), ADMK for six times (during 1989, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2009 and 2014 elections), Tamil Maanila Congress once (during 1996 elections) and Dravid Munnetra Kazhagam once (during the 2004 elections).

Law & Order.

Law and order in the city in maintained by the Karur sub division of the Tamil Nadu Police headed by a Superintendent of Police. There are 4 police stations for law and order, 2 for traffic and 1 all women police station and more than 10 police outpost in the city, There are special units like prohibition enforcement, district crime, social justice and human rights, district crime records and special branch that operate at the district level police division headed by a Superintendent of Police.

Arts, society and culture.

The town formed a part of the traditional Chera and Chola empires and has a number of exquisitely sculpted temples. Karuvurar born in medieval Karur, is one among the nine devotees who sung the divine Music Thiruvichaippa, which is the ninth Thirumurai. He is the single largest composer among the nine authors of Thiruvichaippa. He lived during the reign of the Chola king Raja Raja Chola I. In addition to the Pasupatheeswarar Siva temple, there is a Vishnu temple at Thiruvithuvakkodu suburb of Karur, sung by famous Kulasekaraazhvaar (7th-8th century). The same temple is presumably mentioned in epic Silappadikaram as "Adaha maadam" Ranganathar whose blessings Cheran Senguttuvan sought before his north Indian expedition.  Sadasiva Brahmendra Jeeva Samadhi Temple - Sadasiva Brahmendra was a saint who lived in the eighteenth century in Tamil Nadu. Sadasiva Brahmendra was born to highly religious parents Somasundara Avadhani and Parvati in Madurai. It is said that his mother Parvati was initiated into Rama japa and advised to chant it crores of times so that every cell in her body was charged with the nama. A child born to her in this state would become an exalted mahaan or saint. The couple prayed for a child to Ramanathaswamy in the famous temple in Rameshwaram and the son born named Sivaramakrishnan.  At the age of 17, he was married but left home soon after to pursue his true calling. He went to Tiruvenkadu to meet his guru Paramasivendra Saraswati under whose tutelage he became a brilliant scholar well versed in the Vedas. He authored several Sanskrit works which include commentaries on the Brahma Sutras and Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras.  Sadasiva Brahmendra attained Jeeva Samadhi in 1750 A.D. near Karur. He fulfilled the wish of his ardent disciple Raja Vijaya Raghunatha Thondaiman that he should settle down in land that belonged to the king. Here the river Kaveri flows south (dakshina) which adds to the sanctity of the place. Before he was immersed in Jeeva Samadhi, Sadasiva Brahman had clearly stated that on the ninth day following his Jeeva Samadhi, a holy bilva tree (bael tree) would grow above his head. On the tenth day a Brahmachari would bring a sivalingam from Kasi (Varanasi) which should be consecrated 12 feet in front of the bilva tree. All the incidents came to pass exactly as predicted. The Raja of Pudukottai built a temple in which the lingam was consecrated and arranged for regular pujas to be done at the temple and at the Jeeva Samadhi of the Guru.  The temple is exactly 10 kilometers from Karur.

Economy.

The town has about 19% of its total area under agricultural land use. The major crops are rice, cotton, sugar cane and oil seeds, while the major horticultural crops are coconut, banana, betel and mango. The town is the commercial centre for trading of agricultural commodities from the nearby towns and villages. Karur, being the headquarters of the district, has registered growth in tertiary sectors, with a corresponding decrease in the primary sector. Approximately 80 per cent of the workforce is employed in tertiary sector, 17 per cent in primary sector and 4% in secondary sector activities.  Karur is a major home textile centre and has five major product groups — bed linens, kitchen linens, toilet linens, table linens and wall hangings. The city generates around 10000 crores[More than 1.5 Billion US$ in foreign exchange through direct and indirect exports. Major importers are Wallmart, Sears in the US, IKEA in Sweden and other major retailers in the UK. Allied industries like ginning and spinning mills, dyeing factories and weaving employ around 300,000 people in and around Karur. Hand-loom Exports from Karur began on a modest scale with just 15 exporters in 1975. Karur is also home to an integrated textile park, 190 crore Karur Textile Park Limited (KTPL) a premier facility of its kind in the country for its technical and ancillary facilities.  Karur is a major hub for Bus Body [coach] building in South India, with a major market share of almost 70% of bus coaches being built here locally.. The total business turnover from building bus coaches is estimated to be around 1000 crore per annum.  About 60% of mosquito nets in India are manufactured in Karur. About 2000 units are engaged in making High-density polyethylene (HDPE) mono filament yarn and associated products and employ about 50,000 people.  Bharat Petroleum Corporation formed a joint venture with Petronet CCK and has installed a pipeline facility from Cochin to Karur for transporting petroleum products. The petroleum products received at the BPCL-Karur terminal in Athur is supplied to more than 20 districts of Tamil Nadu through tanker trucks.  TNPL promoted by the Government of Tamil Nadu with loan assistance from the World Bank, located near Karur, is the largest producer of bagasse (sugarcane waste from Sugar mills) based paper in the world and the second-largest paper producer in Asia. The firm produces 230,000 tonnes of printing and writing paper and consumes 1 million tonnes of bagasse every year.  Chettinad group has established a wet process cement plant at Puliyur near Karur with a capacity of 1.7 MTPA.

Banking.

Karur Vysya Bank and Lakshmi Vilas Bank, Leading Old generation private banks started by the trader community to meet their working capital financing needs, have their headquarters in Karur. Other than that, all major government and private banks had set up their branches at Karur.

Road.

The Karur municipality maintains of roads. The city has concrete roads, WBM roads, gravel roads and bituminous road. A total of of state highways is maintained by the State Highways Department and of national highways by the national highways department.  There are 2 national highways namely the NH 44 (new numbering) National Highway 7 (India)(old numbering) (Varanasi - Kanyakumari road (now called NSC North-South corridor road NH 44) and NH 67 Nagapattinam - Gudalur road that pass via Karur. It connects the city with all other parts of the country.  Karur bus stand is a B-grade bus stand located in the center of the town. The State Express Transport Corporation operates long distance buses connecting the city to important cities like Chennai, Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, Thirupathi, Nagercoil, etc. Apart from this, Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation operates city and moffusil busses from Karur to other parts of Tamil Nadu and neighbourhood states. Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation and Kerala State Road Transport Corporation also operates few busses to and from Karur. Karur is situated at the centre of Tamilnadu so you can reach any part of Tamilnadu within seven hours.

Railway.

Karur Junction railway station (station code - KRR) is one of the railway junctions under the Salem division of the Indian Railways network. It is one of the major railway station in Southern Railways and also an A grade junction in salem division. Almost All trains to various part of the country halts here. It has 5 active Platforms and 7 broad gauge electrified tracks, that forms the intersection between Erode-Tiruchirapalli, Erode-Madurai and Salem-Karur. section.

Airport.

The nearest local and international airport is the Tiruchirapalli International Airport, located 78 kms, Coimbatore International Airport, located 121 kms & Salem Airport, located 116 kms away from the city.

Education.

There are 72 government and private schools, 1 government arts college, and number of private arts and science, architecture, engineering, polytechnic, Teacher training, nursing, catering colleges and large number of engineering colleges are in and around Karur. Karur medical college has recently been established at the cost of 115 crores.

Utilities.

Electricity supply to Karur is regulated and distributed by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB). The town along with its suburbs forms the Karur Electricity Distribution Circle. A Chief Distribution engineer is stationed at the regional headquarters. Water supply is provided by the Karur Municipality from the Cauvery river through Chinnandan Kovil head water work and Thirumanilaiyur water pumping station. In the period 2000–2001, a total of 7 million litres of water was supplied everyday for households in the town.  As per the municipal data for 2011, about 45 metric tonnes of solid waste were collected from Karur every day by door-to-door collection and subsequently the source segregation and dumping was carried out by the sanitary department of the Karur municipality. The coverage of solid waste management in the town by the municipality had an efficiency of 100% as of 2001. There is no underground drainage system in the town and the sewerage system for disposal of sullage is through septic tanks, open drains and public conveniences.  The municipality maintained a total of of storm water drains in 2011. As of 2011, there is one government medical college hospital, one municipal dispensary, 19 private dispensaries, one ESI dispensary, one municipal Siddha centre, two Ayurvedic clinics, three private general clinics, one private skin care clinic, nine private ENT clinics and one private tuberclosis clinics that take care of the health care needs of the citizens. As of 2011, the municipality maintained a total of 2,584 street lamps: 706 sodium lamps, 151 mercury vapour lamps, 2,274 tube lights and three high mast beam lamp. The municipality operates three markets, namely the Gandhi Market, Kamaraj Market and Uzhavar Santhai that cater to the needs of the town and the rural areas around it.

Karur is a city in Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Karur is the administrative headquarters of Karur district. It is located on the banks of River Amaravathi in the Kongunadu region of Tamilnadu. Karur is well known for the export of Home Textile products to USA and Europe so well known as Textile export hub. It is situated at about 395 kilometres (245 mi) southwest of the state capital Chennai and 295 kilometres away from Bengaluru.

Karur est une des plus anciennes villes du Tamil Nadu près de Coïmbatore et a joué un rôle significatif de la culture Tamoule depuis plus de ans. Elle a toujours été un centre de commerce important depuis l'époque Sangam. On a trouvé dans la ville des poteries, amphores et pièces... romaines, ainsi que des pièces Chera, pièces Pallava, bagues précieuses, armures, etc.


History.

Foundation.

Bassano Virtus 55 Soccer Team was founded in 1920 as U.S. Bassano ("Unione Sportiva Bassano") and merged with cross-city rivals A.C. Virtus in 1968. In 1996 the club took its current name: the number 55 stands for 1955, owner Renzo Rosso's birthyear. Nowadays, Bassano Virtus is also the only Italian professional football club to use "soccer" instead of "football" in its full name.

Serie C2 and Lega Pro Seconda Divisione.

In the 2005–06 season the club debuted in Serie C2, but after suffering a defeat in Montichiari in the last match, they finished only 12th.  In the 2006–07 Serie C2 season the club reached the playoffs, but was defeated by Calcio Lecco 1912, which was later promoted to Serie C1.  In their third consecutive season in Serie C2 (now renamed Lega Pro Seconda Divisione), Bassano had an excellent start: the club peaked the league after 5 days and kept the position in isolation until the 23rd day, thanks to a series of eight consecutive wins. The attacking tactics of coach Ezio Gelerean led the team a step away from promotion: with only 4 matches left, the club is first, 3 points ahead of runners-up Reggiana. In the end of the season Bassano Virtus was surpassed by Reggiana and later lost the promotion play-off final with Portogruaro (2–3 in Portogruaro and 1–2 in Bassano del Grappa) also due to a penalty not granted to Bassano, that could have changed the outcame of the match. However, the club was able to win Coppa Italia Lega Pro by defeating Benevento Calcio with the overwhelming result of 5–0.

Lega Pro Prima Divisione.

At the end of 2009–10 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione season, the club obtained the repechage in Lega Pro Prima Divisione, given the number of teams in financial difficulty.

Lega Pro Seconda Divisione.

Bassano in the season 2011–12 was relegated from Lega Pro Prima Divisione to Lega Pro Seconda Divisione. In 2013–14 season the club promoted as champions of Group A of Seconda Divisione. At the end of season also saw the merger of the two divisions of Lega Pro, as well as reduction of 69 to 60 teams. In 2013–14 Seconda Divisione season already saw re-admission of 2 teams that originally relegated, as well as 4 additional teams from Serie D.

Serie C.

Bassano was among the original 60 teams in Serie C since its reestablishment in 2014. On 24 May 2018, after the bankruptcy of the main football team of the Province of Vicenza, Vicenza Calcio, Stefano Rosso, the chairman of Bassano Virtus, announced that the first team of Bassano Virtus would started to play in Vicenza in 2018–19 Serie C in the color of Vicenza, as L.R. Vicenza Virtus, while keeping both the youth systems of Bassano and Vicenza.

Phoenix club.

It was reported that another club, Football Club Bassano 1903, was founded in 2018 as a phoenix club, after the original club Bassano Virtus 55 Soccer Team had moved to Vicenza.

Ownership.

The team was owned by Renzo Rosso, the president of OTB Group (the parent company of Diesel, Maison Margiela, Marni, Paula Cademartori, Viktor & Rolf, Staff International and Brave Kid).

Bassano Virtus 55 Soccer Team S.p.A., commonly known as Bassano Virtus or just Bassano is a football club based in Bassano del Grappa, Veneto. The first team of the club was relocated to Vicenza in 2018 as L.R. Vicenza Virtus, while the youth system of Bassano Virtus was retained in Bassano del Grappa along with Vicenza Calcio's was retained in Vicenza.

Le Bassano Virtus 55 Soccer Team est un club italien de football. Il est basé à Bassano del Grappa dans la province de Vicence, en Vénétie. En 2018, le club fusionne pour devenir le L. R. Vicence Virtus basé à Vicence mais qui continue d’avoir une équipe jeunes à Bassano del Grappa.


Bauxite.

The backbone of Suriname's economy is the export of aluminium oxide (alumina) and small amounts of aluminium produced from bauxite mined in the country. In 1999, the aluminium smelter at Paranam was closed and mining at Onverdacht ceased; however, alumina exports accounted for 72% of Suriname's estimated export earnings of US$496.6 million in 2001. Suriname's bauxite deposits have been among the world's richest.  Inexpensive power costs are Suriname's big advantage in the energy-intensive alumina and aluminium business. In the 1960s, the Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa) built the US$150-million Afobaka Dam for the production of hydroelectric energy. This created the Brokopondo Reservoir a 1,560 km2 lake, one of the largest artificial lakes in the world.

West Suriname Plan.

In 1976–1977, a 100 km long single track railway was constructed by Morrison-Knudsen Co. in West Suriname from the bauxite containing Bakhuis Mountains to the town of Apoera on the Corantijn river, to transport bauxite by river to processing plants elsewhere. The construction of this railway was financially funded by the Dutch government's independence/severance payments after November 25, 1975. After completion of this railway and associated facilities, for political and economical reasons it was never actually used and was left to be overgrown by the jungle. Also plans to construct a dam in the Kabalebo River were developed but never fully executed.  In 1984,, a subsidiary of Alcoa, formed a joint venture with the (at that time) Royal Dutch Shell-owned Billiton Company, which did not process the bauxite it mined in Suriname. Under this agreement, both companies share risks and profits.  The major mining sites at Moengo and Lelydorp are maturing, and it is now estimated that their reserves will be depleted by 2006. Other proven reserves exist in the east, west, and north of the country sufficient to last until 2045. However, distance and topography make their immediate development costly. In October 2002, Alcoa and BHP Billiton signed a letter of intent as the basis for new joint ventures between the two companies, in which Alcoa will take part for 55% in all bauxite mining activities in West Suriname. The government and the companies are looking into cost-effective ways to develop the new mines. The preeminence of bauxite and ALCOA's continued presence in Suriname is a key element in the U.S.-Suriname economic relationship.

Gold mining.

There is one large scale gold mine operating in Suriname. This is the Rosebel Gold Mine. Development of a second large scale mine called the Merian Gold Project was approved by the government of Suriname on June 7, 2013. This mining project would be a partnership of Newmont Mining Corporation and Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals. Merian is about south of the town of Moengo on the Marowijne River. The government estimates there are another 20,000 small scale operators. Only 115 of these were registered by the government in 2009. The government calls these people porknokkers. Because of unemployment in Suriname, some local people turn to small, illegal gold mining as their source of incomes. Gold mining has caused environmental damages in the country.

Commission for the Ordering of the Gold Mining Sector.

Commission for the Ordering of the Gold Mining Sector (OGS) was established by the government in 2010. OGS is leading the reform effort to develop sustainable and environmentally responsible gold mining practices and transform informal small-scale gold mining into a viable sub-sector of the mining and national economy of Suriname.  Suriname does not produce chemical mercury and only allows mercury imports with a license. Since the 1990s these licenses were not issued anymore. Moreover, all licenses are used for mercury imports for medical use or research. Therefore, trade and import in mercury is illegal. Mercury is used in the small-scale gold mining because smuggling made mercury available. However people who are caught with mercury in their possession will be judged and/or fined.  On April 13, 2013, the government reached an agreement with multinational IAMGOLD to increase investment in Suriname.  On March 1, 2013, Kaloti Mint House Suriname laid its funding stone and is expected to start its refinery production by the first quarter of 2014. Kaloti Mint House will be instrumental in producing “clean gold” in Suriname. Kaloti Mint House have been awarded the ISO 9001:2000 certification for gold and bullion manufacturing and ISO 14001 Environmental Certification. The company is presently applying for ISO 14025 for the Assaying of Gold and Silver. Kaloti will focus on melting and producing gold bars to international standards (999.9 purity) for local and international markets.  In October 2013, the UN wants to adopt the Minamata Treaty to ban the user of mercury altogether in Suriname.  The Government initiated a training unit within the Ordening Goudsector called the School of Mining. This training unit consists of 14 teachers. The teacher's training started February 2013 and is aimed at preparing them for the fieldwork. The duties of the teachers will be to provide hands-on training on the goldfields to small-scale gold miners. The teachers begin with prospecting and showing the small-scale miners more efficient ways to mine in their areas. Along the way they promote mercury free production methods. The Management of Ordening Goudsector hypothesizes that showing small-scale gold miners the benefits of new production methods will be the incentive itself to start the training programs.  The Ministry of Finance initiated a credit fund in March 2013 for small and medium scale entrepreneurs. Small-scale miners can become formally verified entrepreneurs as the piece of land will be viewed as a formal “title” by financial institutes. This means the miners will be eligible for credits and thus can acquire credit to upscale their production. A first amount of 35 million SRD (US$10.69 million, as of Monday, Apr 08, 2013, 04:15 PM GMT) is available for credit through the Central Bank.  The Mining Law says that one can only mine with a license from the Government. Ordening Goudsector regulates the concessionaires, how many machine owners there are and what the movements of small-scale miners are. New mining areas are still being issued. However it is important to note that data show that the interesting area to mine, especially for the small-scale miners who look for alluvial gold, is the Greenstone belt. The greenstone runs from Guyana, through Suriname, into French Guyana. This greenstone belt, however, only counts for 15% of the Surinamese surface. At the moment almost all areas in this belt are already given out in concessions.

Foreign aid.

After the return to a more or less democratically elected government in 1991, Dutch aid resumed. The Dutch relationship continues to be an important factor in the economy, with the Dutch insisting that Suriname undertake economic reforms and produce specific plans acceptable to the Dutch for projects on which aid funds could be spent. In 2000, however, the Dutch revised the structure of their aid package and signaled to the Surinamese authorities their decision to disburse aid by sectoral priorities as opposed to individual projects. Although the present government is not in favor of this approach, it has identified sectors and is now working on sectoral analyses to present to the Dutch.  After a short respite in 1991–1996, when measures taken in 1993 led to economic stabilization, a relatively stable exchange rate, low inflation, sustainable fiscal policies, and growth, Suriname's economic situation deteriorated from 1996 to the present. This was due in large part to loose fiscal policies of the Wijdenbosch government, which, in the face of lower Dutch development aid, financed its deficit through credit extended by the central bank. As a consequence, the parallel market for foreign exchange soared so that by the end of 1998, the premium of the parallel market rate over the official rate was 85%. Since over 90% of import transactions took place at the parallel rate, inflation took off, with 12-month inflation growing from 0.5% at the end of 1996, to 23% at the end of 1998, and 113% at the end of 1999. The government also instituted a regime of stringent economic controls over prices, the exchange rate, imports, and exports, in an effort to contain the adverse efforts of its economic policies. The cumulative impact of soaring inflation, an unstable exchange rate, and falling real incomes led to a political crisis.  Dutch aid stopped to a large extent after Dési Bouterse was elected president. Aid from China has increased.

Politics.

Suriname elected a new government in May 2000, but until it was replaced, the Wijdenbosch government continued its loose fiscal and monetary policies. By the time it left office, the exchange rate in the parallel market had depreciated further, over 10% of GDP had been borrowed to finance the fiscal deficit, and there was a significant monetary overhang in the country. The new government dealt with these problems by devaluing the official exchange rate by 88%, eliminating all other exchange rates except the parallel market rate set by the banks and cambios, raising tariffs on water and electricity, and eliminating the subsidy on gasoline. The new administration also rationalized the extensive list of price controls to 12 basic food items. More important, the government ceased all financing from the central bank. It is attempting to broaden its economic base, establish better contacts with other nations and international financial institutions, and reduce its dependence on Dutch assistance. However, to date the government has yet to implement an investment law or to begin privatization of any of the 110 parastatal, nor has it given much indication that it has developed a comprehensive plan to develop the economy.

Oil.

Oil is a promising sector. Staatsolie, the state-owned oil company, produced a day in 2012. Staatsolie currently refines a day at Tout Lui Faut in the District of Wanica and is building more capacity to go to a day.

Hardwood.

Some big companies are getting the hardwood out of the jungle. However, proposals for exploitation of the country's tropical forests and undeveloped regions of the interior traditionally inhabited by indigenous and Maroon communities have raised the concerns of environmentalists and human rights activists both in Suriname and abroad. These opposing parties are not yet strong in Suriname.

Banana.

State-owned banana producer Surland closed its doors on April 5, 2002, after its inability to meet payroll expenses for the second month in a row; it is still unclear if Surland will survive this crisis.  It was remodeled as Stichting Behoud Bananen Sector Suriname (SBBS). The rumour was that because of political differences Surland was manipulated in shutting down. The SBBS has made banana profitable for the first time in 20 years.

Other exports.

A member of CARICOM, Suriname also exports in small numbers rice, shrimp, timber, bananas, fruits, and vegetables.

Currency.

Moreover, in January 2002, the government renegotiated civil servant wages (a significant part of the work force and a significant portion of government expenditure), agreeing to raises as high as 100%. Pending implementation of these wage increases and concerned that the government may be unable to meet these increased expenses, the local currency weakened from Sf 2200 in January 2002 to nearly Sf 2500 in April 2002. On March 26, 2003, the Central Bank of Suriname (CBvS) adjusted the exchange rate of the U.S. dollar. This action resulted in further devaluation of the Surinamese guilder. The official exchange rate of the US$ was SF 2,650 for selling and SF 2,600 for purchasing. With the official exchange rate, the CBvS came closer to the exchange rate on the parallel market which sold the U.S. dollar for SF 3,250.  From 2011: Surinamese dollar (SRD) = 100 cent; USD 1.00 is ca. SRD 3.20 (May 2011)  From 2004 to 2011: Surinamese dollar (SRD) = 100 cent; USD 1.00 is ca. SRD 2.74 (July 2007)  Before 2004: Surinamese gulden (SRG) = 100 cent, SRD 1 = SRG 1000; coins had extremely low official value and a much higher collector's value; their official value has now been multiplied by 1000: the value in SRD cent is equal to the former value in SRG cent. The same applies for "currency notes" (SRG 1 and 2.50).  Surinamese guilders per US dollar - 2,346.75 (2002), 2,178.5 (2001), 1,322.47 (2000), 859.44 (1999), 401 (1998) <br> Note: during 1998, the exchange rate splintered into four distinct rates; in January 1999 the government floated the guilder, but subsequently fixed it when the black-market rate plunged; the government then allowed trading within a band of SRG 500 around the official rate

Statistics.

The following table shows the main economic indicators in 1990–2017.

The economy of Suriname was largely dependent upon the exports of aluminium oxide and small amounts of aluminium produced from bauxite mined in the country. However after the departure of Alcoa, the economy depended on the exports of Crude oil and gold. Suriname was ranked the 124th safest investment destination in the world in the March 2011 Euromoney Country Risk rankings.

L'économie du Suriname est dominée par l'industrie minière qui représente plus d'un tiers du PIB et des revenus du gouvernement. C’est un secteur d'activité sujet à une grande volatilité des prix. Les perspectives économiques de courtes durées dépendent de la capacité du gouvernement à contrôler l'inflation et du développement de projets dans les secteurs miniers comme la bauxite et l'or.


Birth.

Luisa Maria Amalia Teresa was born at the Royal Palace in Naples. Her father was the future King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and her mother, born Maria Carolina of Austria, was a sister of Marie Antoinette. Her paternal grandparents were Charles III of Spain and his Saxon wife Maria Amalia; her maternal grandparents were Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa of Austria. She was one of eighteen children, seven of whom survived into adulthood.

Marriage.

On 15 August 1790, she married her double first cousin, Archduke Ferdinand of Austria. The wedding ceremony took place in Florence, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany which her husband had ruled since the beginning of the year. Her husband ruled the Grand Duchy till 1801, when in the Treaty of Aranjuez, he was forced by Napoleon to make way for the Kingdom of Etruria.  The couple went into exile and lived in Vienna, the capital of the Austrian Empire which was ruled by Archduke Ferdinand's older brother, Emperor Francis II; later on Ferdinand was compensated by being given the secularized lands of the Archbishop of Salzburg as "Grand-Duke of Salzburg".  Luisa died in childbirth the next year at the Hofburg Imperial Palace in Vienna; the princess is buried in the Imperial Crypt with her stillborn son in her arms. Her husband outlived her by 23 years, and in 1814 had his Tuscan title revived after the title was held by Elisa Bonaparte; he also married again on 6 May 1821 to Princess Maria Ferdinanda of Saxony; there was no issue from this marriage.

Luisa of Naples and Sicily (Luisa Maria Amalia Teresa; 27 July 1773 – 19 September 1802), was a Neapolitan and Sicilian princess and the wife of the third Habsburg Grand Duke of Tuscany.

Louise Marie Amélie de Bourbon-Siciles, princesse des Deux-Siciles, grande-duchesse de Toscane, est née le et est morte le. Elle est la fille du roi Ferdinand des Deux-Siciles et de la reine Marie-Caroline d'Autriche.