History.

Early years (1977–1987).

Their 1983 follow-up, "Cool Kids", showcased a more commercial side of the band and included three cover songs. Spearheaded by the single "Body Talk", a cover of a 1981 Nick Gilder song, rumors circulated that the song was covered to appease the band's label, who eager to capture radio airplay. Other songs like "Restless Blood" and "Mighty Mouth" fared a little better. This album was also the only Kix record to feature guitarist Brad Divens, who replaced Younkins for what would ultimately be a brief departure.  Eager to recapture the harder rock vibe of their earlier work, and with Younkins having returned to the lineup, Kix partnered with then Ratt and future Warrant producer Beau Hill and hit songwriter Bob Halligan Jr. (KISS, Judas Priest, Icon), releasing "Midnite Dynamite" in 1985. The album spawned two singles: "Midnite Dynamite" reached #18, followed by "Cold Shower," which reached #23, both on the Hot Mainstream Rock chart. Other notable tracks receiving airplay included "Sex" and "Bang Bang (Balls of Fire)".

Commercial success (1988–1995).

After "Midnite Dynamite", Kix went back into the studio to record their follow-up. In 1988, they released "Blow My Fuse", which went platinum. The Bob Halligan Jr. co-written power ballad "Don't Close Your Eyes" peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album also featured the singles "Cold Blood" (the first of Purnell's many co-writes with Taylor Rhodes) and the title track, "Blow My Fuse", along with videos showing the band in concert at Hammerjack's. In 1989, the band released "Blow My Fuse: The Videos", featuring their official video releases and behind-the-scenes footage. The success of "Blow My Fuse" enabled the band to begin performing in arenas.  The album "Hot Wire" arrived in 1991, with the single "Girl Money". In 1992, guitarist Jimi K. Bones replaced Brian "Damage" Forsythe. While on tour in 1992, they made a live album, titled "Live", showcasing a recent performance at the University of Maryland, College Park. This album, internally referred to as "Contractual Obligation Live", was released in 1993. In 1994, Atlantic dropped the band from the label. In 1995, the band released their next album, "$how Bu$ine$$", on CMC International.

Side projects.

In 1996, Whiteman formed a band called Funny Money. In 1998, Brian "Damage" Forsythe teamed up with ex-White Sister and Tattoo Rodeo drummer Rich Wright, and erstwhile Rhino Bucket members rhythm guitarist/lead vocalist Georg Dolivo (George Dolivo) and bassist Reeve Downes to forge Deep Six Holiday. In 2001, Forsythe himself would join Rhino Bucket, later performing lead guitar on the group's 2005 release "And Then It Got Ugly"..  Meanwhile, Ronnie "10/10" Younkins relocated to Baltimore City, and would be part of the rock 'n' roll act Jeremy and the Suicides. Younkins later moved to L.A., then wrote, recorded, and released the album "The Slimmer Twins: Lack of Luxury", as a collaboration with vocalist Jeremy L. White in 2000. Back on the East Coast, he founded the Blues Vultures in 2002, maturing into the lead vocalist and primary songwriter, and in 2005, released the album "The Blues Vultures: Cheap Guitars & Honky Tonk Bars".  Jimmy "Chocolate" Chalfant joined Whiteman in Funny Money as their drummer in 2003, ultimately sowing the seeds for a Kix reunion.

Reunion (2003–present).

Kix reformed in late 2003 without songwriter and band leader Donnie Purnell. Kix then lined-up shows for September 2004, the lineup consisting of Whiteman (lead vocals), Younkins (guitars), Brian "Damage" Forsythe (guitars), Jimmy "Chocolate" Chalfant (drums, backing vocals), and Funny Money bassist/vocalist/songwriter Mark Schenker in place of Donnie Purnell.  On August 7, 2012, Frontiers Records announced that it had signed Kix; the band subsequently released a live CD/DVD, titled "Live in Baltimore", in September, with a new studio album to follow in 2013.  On April 16, 2014, it was announced that the band had signed with Loud & Proud Records to release the band's first studio album in 19 years. On June 18, 2014, it was announced that the band would release this album - their seventh studio album - titled "Rock Your Face Off", on August 5. Upon release, it debuted at #49 on the Billboard Top 200 (the band's second highest-charting record after 1988's "Blow My Fuse"), while debuting at #1 on Amazon Hard Rock, remaining there for more than three weeks. It was well-received by fans and critics alike. The hard rock webzine "Sleaze Roxx" published that "Rock Your Face Off" was awarded #1 in the Top Ten Albums of 2014 by editors and staff as well as #1 in Top Ten Albums of 2014 in the "Sleaze Roxx" Reader's Poll. The first time in the web site's history that an album has taken the top spot in both categories. "Stereogum.com" chose "Rock Your Face Off" as Album of the Week with high praise saying "...all of it is delirious and catchy, and it proudly flaunts its out-of-fashion party-hard spirit. It’s glittering trash, made by guys in their fifties who probably hold down day jobs these days and who have no business making this vigorous and fun anymore. Its mere existence is an inspirational thing, and it’s a reminder that sometimes exploring new musical space isn’t the most important thing. Sometimes, songs are the most important thing."  In February 2017 it was announced that Kix would headline the first night at Rockingham Festival 2017, which was held at Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom.  Original Shooze drummer Donnie Spence died at the age of 64 on January 19, 2018 in Hagerstown, Maryland.  On September 21, 2018, exactly 30 years after the original "Blow My Fuse" album was released, Kix re-issued a 2 CD anniversary edition set: "Fuse 30 Reblown – 30th Anniversary Special Edition". Current bassist Mark Schenker tapped legendary producer Beau Hill (Alice Cooper, Ratt, Europe, Warrant) to remix Blow My Fuse from the original 24 track recordings. Hill had previously worked with Kix on their 1985 album, "Midnite Dynamite". "Fuse 30 Reblown" is the brainchild and original concept of Schenker, who with help from veteran record executive Madelyn Scarpulla, was able to obtain digital transfers from the original analog master recording reels and put them in the expert hands and ears of Beau Hill. Schenker was also instrumental in rescuing the original 8-track demo reels from the trash heap when guitarist Ronnie Younkins found them in some old plastic storage bins in his barn. He offered them to Schenker for safe-keeping over ten years before the inception of "Fuse 30 Reblown". While Hill worked his legendary magic on remixing the original recordings, Schenker was able to digitally enhance and rescue the original 2-track demos to show the true greatness of the original recordings and insisted on their inclusion in the "Fuse 30 Reblown" package. The website "Metalnation.com" reported "Hill does a masterful job on Fuse 30, bringing the album into the new millennium without taking away from eclectic elements and raucous energy that made the original so memorable. Jay Frigoletto (Alice in Chains, Tesla) came in to master the album, adding the perfect finishing touch. It is a difficult proposition messing with an album of near perfection, but three decades later "Blow My Fuse" is reignited and more powerful than ever. For die-hard fans, the band even added a second disc of the 10 demo recordings for each track on the album."

More recent side projects.

In 2018, bassist Mark Schenker formed the Rush tribute band Sun Dogs handling lead vocals, bass, keyboards and bass pedals. True to the Rush format as a trio, rounded out by drummer Vince Tricarico and guitarist Andy Rabin. The band has emerged from the jam-packed "RUSH tribute world" as a premiere show band featuring video walls, overhead drum camera, synchronized videos and red jump suited actors as "Picture Movers" as part of their live show.

Kix (sometimes stylized as KIX) is an American hard rock band that achieved popularity during the 1980s. Led by frontman Steve Whiteman and bassist Donnie Purnell, the band's classic lineup was rounded out by drummer Jimmy "Chocolate" Chalfant and guitarists Ronnie "10/10" Younkins and Brian "Damage" Forsythe. Kix covered AC/DC, Aerosmith, April Wine, Led Zeppelin and others, prior to signing with Atlantic Records in 1981. Since peaking in the late-1980s, band members have continued to intermittently record and tour, including the Rocklahoma festival in 2008 in Oklahoma and are a consistent presence at the annual M3 Rock Festival in the band's home state of Maryland.

Kix est un groupe de hard rock et glam metal américain, originaire de Hagerstown, dans le Maryland. Le groupe a souvent changé de nom ; ils l'ont d'abord nommé Shooze ; ensuite changé en Generators, et quelque temps après, avec une formation légèrement modifiée en Kix. Ils entament leur carrière qu'avec des reprises, jusqu'au jour où ils signent avec Atlantic Records et sortent leur premier album studio, "", qui porte le même nom que le groupe.


Test.

The main part of Acid3 is written in ECMAScript (JavaScript) and consists of 100 subtests in six groups called "buckets", including four special subtests (0, 97, 98, and 99). The compliance criteria require that the test be run with a browser's default settings. The final rendering must have a 100/100 score and must be pixel-identical with the reference rendering. On browsers designed for personal computers, the animation has to be smooth (taking no more than 33 ms for each subtest on reference hardware equivalent to a top-of-the-line Apple laptop) as well, though slower performance on a slow device does not imply non-conformance. To pass the test the browser must also display a generic favicon in the browser toolbar, not the favicon image from the Acid3 web server. The Acid3 server when asked for codice_1 gives a 404 response code, but with image data in the body. This tests that the web browser correctly handles the 404 error code when fetching the favicon, by treating this as a failure and displaying the generic icon instead.  When the test is running, the rectangles will be added to the rendered image; the number of subtests passed in the bucket will determine the color of the rectangles.  Note that Acid3 does not display exactly how many subtests passed in a bucket. For example, 3 subtests passing and 4 subtests passing in bucket 2 would both render a black rectangle.

Detailed results.

After the Acid3 test page is completely rendered, the word Acid3 can be clicked to see an alert (or shift-click for a new window) explaining exactly which subtests have failed and what the error message was. In case one of the 100 tests passed but took too much time, the report includes timing results for that single test. The alert reports the total time of the whole Acid3 test.  In order to render the test correctly, user agents need to implement the CSS 3 Text Shadows and the CSS 2.x Downloadable Fonts specifications, which are currently under consideration by W3C to be standardized. This is required as the test uses a custom TrueType font, called "AcidAhemTest", to cover up a 20x20 red square. Supporting Truetype fonts however is not required by the CSS specification. A browser supporting only OpenType fonts with CFF outlines or Embedded OpenType fonts could support the CSS standard, but fail the test in the Acid3 test. The glyph, when rendered by the downloaded font, is just a square, made white with CSS, and thus invisible.  In addition, the test also uses Base64 encoded images, some more advanced selectors, CSS 3 color values (HSLA) as well as bogus selectors and values that should be ignored.

Development and impact.

Google employee Ian Hickson started working on the test in April 2007, but development progressed slowly. In December 2007, work restarted and the project received public attention on 10 January 2008, when it was mentioned in blogs by Anne van Kesteren. At the time the project resided at a URL clearly showing its experimental nature: "<nowiki>http://www.hixie.ch/tests/evil/acid/003/NOT_READY_PLEASE_DO_NOT_USE.html</nowiki>" Despite the notice in the URL, the test received widespread attention in the web-development community. At that time only 84 subtests had been done, and on 14 January Ian Hickson announced a competition to fill in the missing 16.  The following developers contributed to the final test through this competition:  Even before its official release, Acid3's impact on browser development was dramatic. In particular, WebKit's score rose from 60 to 87 in less than a month.  The test was officially released on 3 March 2008. A guide and commentary was expected to follow within a few months, but, as of March 2011, only the commentary had been released. The announcement that the test is complete means only that it is to be considered "stable enough" for actual use. A few problems and bugs were found with the test, and it was modified to fix them. On 26 March 2008—the day both Opera and WebKit teams announced a 100/100 score—developers of WebKit contacted Hickson about a critical bug in Acid3 that presumably allowed a violation of the SVG 1.1 standard to pass. Hickson fixed the bug with the help of Cameron McCormack, a member of W3C's SVG Working Group.

Chrome, Presto and WebKit based browsers.

In 2008, development versions of the Presto and WebKit layout engines (used by Opera and Safari respectively) scored 100/100 on the test and rendered the test page correctly. At the time, no browser using the Presto or WebKit layout engines passed the performance aspect of the test.  Google Chrome and Opera Mobiledisplayed a score of 100/100. Security concerns over downloadable fonts delayed Chrome from passing.  Version 68 and later of Chrome gets a score of 97/100.

Firefox.

At the time of Acid3's release, Mozilla Firefox developers had been preparing for the imminent release of Firefox 3, focusing more on stability than Acid3 success. Consequently, Firefox 3 had a score of 71. Firefox 3.5 scored 93/100, and Firefox 3.6 scored 94/100. Initially, Firefox 4 scored 97/100, because it did not support SVG fonts. Later, Firefox 4 scored 100/100, because the SVG font tests were removed from Acid3.  According to Mozilla employee Robert O'Callahan, Firefox did not support SVG fonts because Mozilla considered WOFF a superior alternative to SVG fonts. Another Mozilla engineer, Boris Zbarsky, claimed that the subset of the specification implemented in Webkit and Opera gives no benefits to web authors or users over WOFF, and he asserted that implementing SVG Fonts fully in a web browser is hard because it was "not designed with integration with HTML in mind".  On 2 April 2010, Ian Hickson made minor changes to the test after Mozilla, due to privacy concerns, altered the way Gecko handles the codice_2 pseudo-class.  Firefox 51.0a1 made a regression from 100 to 99 on 14 September 2016; Firefox 55.0a1 further regressed to 97 on 1 May 2017. In Firefox Quantum versions, 63.0 received 97/100; 64.0 got 96/100, 68.1.0esr got 97/100.

Internet Explorer.

Microsoft said that Acid3 did not agree with the goal of Internet Explorer 8 and that IE8 would improve only some of the standards being tested by Acid3. IE8 scored 20/100, which is much worse than all relevant competitors at the time of Acid3's release, and had some problems with rendering the Acid3 test page. On 18 November 2009, the Internet Explorer team posted a blog entry about the early development of Internet Explorer 9 from the PDC presentation, showing that an internal build of the browser could score 32/100.  Throughout 2010, several public Developer Previews improved Internet Explorer 9's test scores from 55/100 (on 16 March) to 95/100 (as of 4 August). Dean Hachamovich, general manager of the IE team, argued that striving for 100/100 on the Acid3 test is neither necessary, nor desirable. He claimed that the two Acid3 failures related to features (SVG fonts and SMIL animation) that were "in transition".  Internet Explorer 11 and Edge both display a score of 100/100.

Criticism.

Early iterations of the test were criticized for being a cherry-picked collection of features that were rarely used, as well as those that were still in a W3C working draft. Eric A. Meyer, a notable web standards advocate, wrote, "The real point here is that the Acid3 test isn't a broad-spectrum standards-support test. It's a showpiece, and something of a Potemkin village at that. Which is a shame, because what's really needed right now is exhaustive test suites for specifications—XHTML, CSS, DOM, SVG."  "Implementing just enough of the standard to pass a test is disingenuous, and has nothing to do with standards compliance," argued Mozilla UX lead Alex Limi, in his article "Mythbusting: Why Firefox 4 won't score 100 on Acid3." Limi argued that some of the tests, particularly those for SVG fonts, have no relation to real usage, and implementations in some browsers have been created solely for the point of raising scores.

September 2011 test changes.

On 17 September 2011, Ian Hickson announced an update to Acid3. In Hickson's words, Håkon Wium Lie from Opera Software and he commented out "the parts of the test that might get changed in the specs." They hoped that this change would "allow the specs to change in whatever way is best for the Web, rather than constraining the changes to only be things that happened to fit what Acid3 tested!"  As a result, Firefox 4 and Internet Explorer 9 achieved a score of 100/100 on Acid3, but Internet Explorer didn't render the test properly because it did not support text-shadow until Internet Explorer 10.

Standards tested.

Parts of the following standards are tested by Acid3:

Passing conditions.

A passing score is only considered valid if the browser's default settings were used.  The following browser settings and user actions may invalidate the test:

The Acid3 test is a web test page from the Web Standards Project that checks a web browser's compliance with elements of various web standards, particularly the Document Object Model (DOM) and JavaScript.

Acid3 désigne un test pour navigateur web mis en place par le groupe Web Standards Project et écrit par Ian Hickson en 2008. Il est destiné à soumettre les moteurs de rendu à une série de tests vérifiant leur capacité à supporter un choix de fonctionnalités relevant de différents standards du Web. Il est ainsi nommé à l'image des tests Acid2 (2005) et Acid1 (1998).


History.

The region around Estremoz has been inhabited since pre-historic times. There are also vestiges of Roman, Visigoth and Muslim occupation.  During the Reconquista, Estremoz was captured in the 12th century by the army of knight Geraldo Sem Pavor ("Gerald the Fearless"), who had also conquered neighbouring Évora. However, Estremoz was soon retaken by the Moors and only in the mid-13th century was it reconquered by the Portuguese King Sancho II.  An important strategic site between the Kingdoms of Portugal and Castile, Estremoz received a charter (fuero) in 1258 from Afonso III after the Moors were driven out a second time, which promoted Christian colonization in the area. King Dinis rebuilt the castle as a royal palace, further promoting the area. His widow, Dowager Queen Elizabeth of Portugal, died in Estremoz castle on July 4, 1336, shortly after mediating a peace treaty between her son Alfonso IV of Portugal and grandson Alfonso XI of Castile. Her grandson Pedro I of Portugal died in the Franciscan monastery at Estremoz in 1367. During the 1383–1385 Crisis, Nuno Álvares Pereira established his headquarters in Estremoz, then defeated the Castilian forces at the Battle of Atoleiros.  During the Portuguese Restoration War (1640–1668), Portuguese forces (including from Estremoz) defeated the Castilians in the nearby and decisive Battles of Ameixial (1663) and Montes Claros (1665).

Geography.

Administratively, the municipality is divided into 9 civil parishes ("freguesias"):

Economy.

Together with the two other marble towns, Borba and Vila Viçosa, Estremoz is internationally known for its fine to medium marble that occurs in several colours: white, cream, pink, grey or black and streaks with any combination of these colours. Especially the pink marble (Rosa Aurora and Estremoz Pink) is in high demand.  This marble has been used since Antiquity as a material for sculpture and architecture. The first exports in Roman times were probably for the construction of the Circus Maximus of Emerita Augusta, in modern-day Spain. The Portuguese navigators exported this marble to Africa, India and Brazil. The marble from this region was used in famed locations such as the Monastery of Jerónimos, the Monastery of Batalha, the Monastery of Alcobaça and the Tower of Belém.  There is so much marble around Estremoz that it is used everywhere; even the doorsteps, pavements and the cobble stones are made out of marble. This marble is even converted into whitewash for painting the houses.  Portugal is the second largest exporter of marble in the world, surpassed only by Italy (Carrara marble). About 85% of this marble (over 370,000 tons) is produced around Estremoz.  In the quarries marble blocks are cut from the rock with a diamond wire saw, a durable steel cable with a series of circular diamond beads. The initial conduit for the wire is made by drilling a horizontal hole and a vertical hole of which the ends meet exactly inside the rock. The wire saw may need a day to cut through the marble. The Estremoz marble has been designated by the International Union of Geological Sciences as a Global Heritage Stone Resource.

Estremoz () is a municipality in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 14,318, in an area of 513.80 km2. The city Estremoz itself had a population of 7,682 in 2001. It is located in the Alentejo region.

Estremoz est une municipalité (en portugais : "concelho" ou "município") du Portugal, située dans le district d'Évora et la région de l'Alentejo.


History.

Background.

In the run-up to the 2006 general election there was talk among the House of Freedoms coalition's member parties on merging into a "united party of moderates and reformers". Forza Italia (FI), National Alliance (AN) and the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats (UDC) all seemed interested in the project. Soon after the election, however, UDC leader Pier Ferdinando Casini, who had been a reluctant coalition partner, started to distance from its historical allies. Another party of the coalition, Lega Nord (LN), showed no interest in the idea, because of its character as a regionalist party.  On 2 December 2006, during a big rally of the centre-right in Rome against Romano Prodi's government, Silvio Berlusconi proposed the foundation of a "freedom party", stressing that centre-right voters were all part of a single "people of freedom". On 21 August 2007 Michela Brambilla, president of the Clubs of Freedom (a grassroot group), registered the name and the symbol of the "Freedom Party" ("Partito della Libertà") on Berlusconi's behalf, but none of Berlusconi's allies seemed interested in joining such a party and some leading FI dignitaries looked disappointed.

The "running board revolution".

On 18 November 2007, Berlusconi claimed that his supporters had collected over 7 million signatures on an appeal demanding the President of the Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, to call a fresh general election. Shortly afterwards, from the running board of a car in a crowded Piazza San Babila in Milan, he announced that FI would soon merge or transform into a new "party of the Italian people". The new course was thus called the "running board revolution" ("rivoluzione del predellino") and this expression soon became very popular both among Berlusconi's supporters and his adversaries.  At the beginning, the fate of FI remained unclear. Later, it was explained that the new party's core would consist of FI, the Clubs of Freedom and other grassroots groups, and that some minor parties of the House of Freedoms would join too. AN leader Gianfranco Fini made very critical statements in the days after Berlusconi's announcement, declaring the end of his support for Berlusconi as candidate for Prime Minister and that his party would not join the new party. Also UDC leader Casini criticized the idea from the start and seemed interested in an alternative coalition with Fini.

Foundation and early years.

On 24 January 2008, the Prodi II Cabinet fell as a result of the political crisis, paving the way for a new general election.  The day after Berlusconi hinted that FI would probably contest its last election, and postponed the foundation of the new party until after the election. In an atmosphere of reconciliation with Fini, Berlusconi also stated that the new party could involve the participation of other parties. On 8 February, Berlusconi and Fini agreed to form a joint list under the banner of The People of Freedom (PdL), in alliance with LN.  Several parties and groups chose to join the PdL: FI, AN, the Circles of Freedom, the Clubs of Good Government, the Liberal Populars (a splinter group from the UDC), Christian Democracy for the Autonomies, the Pensioners' Party, Liberal Reformers, the Italian Republican Party, the New Italian Socialist Party, the Liberal Democrats, Decide!, Italians in the World, Social Action, the Libertarian Right and the Reformist Socialists.  In the 2008 general election, the PdL won 37.4% of the vote, getting elected 276 deputies and 146 senators and becoming the Italian largest party. The PdL was also the first party since Christian Democracy in the 1979 general election to get more than 35% of the popular vote.  On 27–29 March 2009, the new party held its first congress in Rome and was officially founded. Berlusconi was elected president, while Sandro Bondi, Ignazio La Russa and Denis Verdini were appointed national coordinators, Maurizio Lupi organizational secretary and Daniele Capezzone spokesperson.  In the 2009 European Parliament election, the party won 35.2% of the national vote, returning 29 MEPs.  In the big round of regional elections of 2010, the PdL retained Lombardy with Roberto Formigoni (in coalition with LN), gained Lazio with Renata Polverini (a former leader of the General Labour Union), Campania with Stefano Caldoro (a leading Socialist) and Calabria with Giuseppe Scopelliti (a former AN member). The PdL was also instrumental in the centre-right victories in Veneto and Piedmont, where two Presidents of LN, Luca Zaia and Roberto Cota respectively, were elected.

Berlusconi vs. Fini.

Between 2009 and 2010 Gianfranco Fini, former leader of the conservative AN and President of the Chamber of Deputies, became a vocal critic of the leadership of Berlusconi. Fini departed from party's majority line on stem cell research, end of life issues, advance health care directive and immigration, but, most of all, he was a proponent of a more structured party organisation. His criticism was aimed at the leadership style of Berlusconi, who tended to rely on his personal charisma to lead the party from the centre and supported a lighter form of party, which in his mind was to be a movement-party active only at election times (as the original FI and, on some respects, parties in the United States).  Although some "Finiani", such as Italo Bocchino, Carmelo Briguglio and Fabio Granata, shared Fini's views on moral issues and immigration, many others, including Andrea Ronchi and Adolfo Urso, were traditionalist. In fact most "Finiani" were Southern conservatives who opposed Berlusconi's firm alliance with LN, federal reform and Giulio Tremonti's economic policy. Fini made inroads among the liberal and centrist ranks of the former FI, but he lost the support of most leading members of the former AN, notably including Ignazio La Russa, Maurizio Gasparri and Altero Matteoli, who became close allies of Berlusconi. Others, including Gianni Alemanno and Alfredo Mantovano, found common ground with the party's Christian democrats.  On 15 April 2010 Bocchino launched an association named Generation Italy in order to better represent Fini's views within the party. Five days later 52 MPs (39 deputies and 13 senators) signed a document in support of Fini and his theses, while other 74 MPs former members of AN, including La Russa, Gasparri, Matteoli and Giorgia Meloni, plus Alemanno, mayor of Rome, signed an alternative document in which they reasserted their loyalty to the party and Berlusconi. On 22 April 2010 the national council of the PdL convened in Rome for the first time in a year. The conflict between Fini and Berlusconi was covered live on television. At the end of the day a resolution proposed by Berlusconi's loyalists was put before the assembly and approved almost unanimously.  Following then, clashes between Fini and Berlusconi became even more frequent and reached their height in late July, when Fini questioned the morality of some party bigwigs under investigation. On 29 July 2010 the executive committee released a document (voted by 33 members out of 37) in which Fini was described as "incompatible" with the political line of the PdL and unable to perform his job of President of the Chamber of Deputies in a neutral way. Berlusconi asked Fini to step down and the executive proposed the suspension from party membership of Bocchino, Briguglio and Granata, who had harshly criticized Berlusconi and accused some party members of criminal offences. As response, Fini and his followers formed their own groups in both chambers under the name of Future and Freedom (FLI).  It was soon clear that FLI would leave the PdL and become an independent party. On 7 November, during a convention in Bastia Umbra, Fini asked Berlusconi to step down as Prime Minister and proposed a new government including the Union of the Centre (UdC). A few days later, the four FLI members in the government resigned. On 14 December FLI voted against Berlusconi in a vote of confidence in the Chamber of Deputies, a vote won by Berlusconi by 314 to 311.

Re-organisation and discontents.

In May 2011 the party suffered a big blow in local elections. Particularly painful was the loss of Milan, Berlusconi's hometown and party stronghold, where the outgoing PdL mayor Letizia Moratti was defeated by Giuliano Pisapia, a left-wing independent close to Nichi Vendola's Left Ecology Freedom party.  In response to this and to crescent fibrillation within party ranks (especially among "Scajoliani" and ex-AN members), Angelino Alfano, then minister of Justice, was chosen as national secretary in charge of re-organising and renewing the party. The appointment of 40-year-old Alfano, a former Christian Democrat who had later been leader of FI in Sicily, was unanimously approved by the party executive. However, economy minister Giulio Tremonti expressed his concerns that the nominee would "make us lose votes in the North". On 1 July the national council modified the party's constitution and Alfano was elected secretary with little opposition.  Alfano led the party through a huge membership drive and, on 1 November, announced that more than one million individuals had joined the party. He also drove the party in a Christian-democratic direction. The factions which benefited most from the effort were those of Roberto Formigoni (Network Italy), Ignazio La Russa (Protagonist Italy) and Franco Frattini ("Liberamente"). The Christian-democratization of the party and the perceived marginalization of liberals and social democrats led some to leave the party. One of these, Carlo Vizzini, declared: "It seems to me that the PdL is set to become the Italian section of the European People's Party [which already was]. I come from another tradition: I have been secretary of the PSDI and I was one of the founders of the Party of European Socialists. When I joined Forza Italia there were Liberals, Socialists, Radicals. Now everything has changed."  In the midst of the European sovereign debt crisis, on 14 October, following calls by Claudio Scajola and Giuseppe Pisanu for a new government, two deputies close to Scajola, Giustina Destro and Fabio Gava, voted against Berlusconi during a vote of confidence and left the party altogether. On 2 November, Destro and Gava, along with Roberto Antonione, Giorgio Stracquadanio, Isabella Bertolini and Giancarlo Pittelli (who had left the party along with Santo Versace in September), promoted an open letter in which they asked Berlusconi to step down. Contextually, Antonione announced that he was leaving the party. In the following days three more deputies, Alessio Bonciani, Ida D'Ippolito and Gabriella Carlucci, left to join the UdC. In three months, the PdL had lost 15 deputies and 4 senators, including the 7 deputies and 3 senators who launched Force of the South under Gianfranco Micciché.

Berlusconi's resignation.

On 7 November 2011 Lega Nord's then-leader Umberto Bossi proposed Angelino Alfano as Berlusconi's successor. On 8 November, during a key vote on a financial statement in the Chamber was approved thanks to the abstention of opposition parties, but Berlusconi got just 308 votes, 8 short of an absolute majority. Subsequently, Berlusconi announced that he intended to step down after the passage of the budget bill. Days of turmoil followed. Not only the party was highly divided, but its numerous factions and groups were divided too. As the appointment of Mario Monti, an independent economist and former European Commissioner, looked very likely, some in the party wanted to support the new possible government (and some even wanted to join it), while others were resolutely against and preferred an early election instead. Alfano, in his capacity of secretary, had to mediate.  Among the party's Christian democrats, Roberto Formigoni, Maurizio Lupi and Raffaele Fitto (Network Italy), Claudio Scajola (Christopher Columbus Foundation), and Giuseppe Pisanu (hence "Pisaniani") supported Monti, while Gianfranco Rotondi (Christian Democracy for the Autonomies) and Carlo Giovanardi (Liberal Populars) did not. Within "Liberamente" and among the party's Socialists, Franco Frattini (who threatened to leave the party) and Fabrizio Cicchitto were in favour, while Mariastella Gelmini, Paolo Romani, Maurizio Sacconi, Renato Brunetta and, covertly, Giulio Tremonti were against. The vast majority of ex-AN members (Ignazio La Russa, Maurizio Gasparri, Altero Matteoli, Giorgia Meloni, etc.) was against, while a minority (mainly Gianni Alemanno) was in favour.  On 12 November Berlusconi finally tendered his resignation to President Giorgio Napolitano. The executive of the PdL decided to support a government led by Monti under some conditions, the first being that it should not include politicians but only technocrats. The Monti Cabinet took office on 16 November. In the subsequent votes of confidence in the two houses of Parliament, the PdL voted largely for Monti. However, some party members, including Antonio Martino, Gianfranco Rotondi and Alessandra Mussolini, deserted the party. Subsequently, LN broke its ties with the PdL at the national level.

2013 general election.

After long deliberation, on 24 October 2012, Berlusconi finally announced that he would not run again for Prime Minister in the 2013 general election. In a written press release, the PdL leader also hinted that the party would select his successor through an open primary on 16 December.  Berlusconi, who praised Monti, seemed to aim at a new centre-right led by Monti and a PdL led by Alfano. On 25 November eight candidates filed the required number of signature in support of their bid: Angelino Alfano, Giorgia Meloni, Giancarlo Galan (who renounced right after), Guido Crosetto, Daniela Santanchè, Michaela Biancofiore, Giampiero Samorì and Alessandro Cattaneo. However, on 28 November, after Berlusconi had expressed doubts on its success, the primary was cancelled altogether. On 6 December Alfano announced that Berlusconi would run again for Prime Minister. As soon as 12 December Berlusconi backtracked and stated that if Monti were to run for Prime Minister as the leader of a united centre-right (including also Luca Cordero di Montezemolo's Future Italy) he would stand aside and support him. The move appeased the pro-Monti majority of the party, while disappointing other party wings.  On 16 December the centrist majority of the party, consisting of several leading factions ("Liberamente", Network Italy, Reformism and Freedom, Liberal Populars, New Italy, "FareItalia", etc.), rallied in Rome under the "Popular Italy" banner: in presence of Alfano, the bulk of the party expressed its support for Monti and Berlusconi. On the very same day, a group of anti-Monti reformers, led by Crosetto and Meloni, organized a separate rally and espoused opposite views. On 17 December Ignazio La Russa announced he was leaving the PdL in order to form "National Centre-Right", aiming at representing not just anti-Monti right-wingers, but also the liberals and Christian democrats around Crosetto. On 21 December La Russa's National Centre-Right and the groups around Crosetto and Meloni joined forces and formed Brothers of Italy. To complete the picture of a highly fragmented centre-right, in the previous months there had already been two minor but significant splits from the PdL: on 3 October Giulio Tremonti left to form the Labour and Freedom List, while on 22 November a group of MPs, led by Isabella Bertolini, formed Free Italy.  In early January 2013, after Berlusconi had announced his return as party leader and Monti had refused to join forces with the PdL, the bulk of the party rallied again behind Berlusconi and just a few leading members, notably including Mario Mauro, left to join Monti's Civic Choice party. Most of the centre-right was regrouped around the PdL, which took part to the February general election in coalition with Lega Nord (including the Labour and Freedom List), Brothers of Italy, The Right, Great South (including the Movement for the Autonomies), the Pensioners' Party, the Moderates in Revolution and Popular Agreement.  In the election the PdL obtained 21.6% of the vote (–15.8% from 2008) and the coalition came just 0.3% short of the centre-left. After some inconclusive attempts by Pier Luigi Bersani, leader of the Democratic Party, to form a government, the PdL joined Enrico Letta's government of grand coalition, providing five ministers, including Angelino Alfano who was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, two deputy ministers and several under-secretaries.

Revival of Forza Italia.

On 28 June 2013 Berlusconi announced the revival of the defunct Forza Italia and the transformation of PdL into a centre-right coalition.  On 1 August 2013 Berlusconi was convicted for tax evasion and sentenced to four years of imprisonment, the last three being automatically pardoned. On 18 September, when discussing the enactment of a related six-year public office ban, as required by the "Severino law", the Senate committee in charge of elections refused to endorse a PdL resolution relinquishing Berlusconi's ban, as both the PD and the M5S disagreed. On the same day Berlusconi launched the new Forza Italia (FI) and pledged to stay on as its leader in any case. The would-be PdL coalition might include the new FI, Lega Nord and other parties. In fact, in disagreement with the new FI's liberalism, some members led by former mayor of Rome Gianni Alemanno, who left the PdL in October 2013, might form a conservative party modelled on the late National Alliance (AN), along with Brothers of Italy and other minor right-wing parties, and eventually join the coalition.  After months of bickering within the party between "doves", supporting Letta's government, and "hawks", very critical of it, on 28 September Berlusconi asked to the five ministers of the party (Angelino Alfano, Maurizio Lupi, Gaetano Quagliariello, Beatrice Lorenzin and Nunzia De Girolamo) to resign from the government over a tax hike. The ministers obeyed, but made clear that they dissented from the decision; Quagliariello and Lorenzin announced that they might not join the new FI, while Alfano described himself "differently "berlusconiano"". The party's moderates, mainly Christian democrats as Alfano and Lupi (Roberto Formigoni, Carlo Giovanardi, etc.) and social democrats (Fabrizio Cicchitto, Maurizio Sacconi, etc.), sided with the ministers, while the hawks led by Daniela Santanchè, most of whom liberals (Antonio Martino, Denis Verdini, Giancarlo Galan, Renato Brunetta, Sandro Bondi, Niccolò Ghedini, Daniele Capezzone, etc.), supported the exit from the government.  On 2 October a confidence vote, called by Prime Minister Letta, revealed the division within party ranks, to the extent that around 70 PdL lawmakers were ready to split in order to support the government, in case Berlusconi and the party had decided not to do the same. Faced by this ultimatum, Berlusconi made a U-turn few minutes ahead of the vote and subsequently tried a reconciliation process within the party to avoid the split. The outcome was a clear victory for the doves and the "ministerial faction" of the PdL, who continued to serve in the government. Raffaele Fitto, Christian democrat and leader of the self-proclaimed "loyalists" (the party's mainstream, including Mariastella Gelmini, Mara Carfagna, etc.), supported by Galan and Bondi, announced his disagreement with Alfano's political line and proposed a congress to decide the party's positionment, while the floor leaders, Maurizio Gasparri, Altero Matteoli, Paolo Romani and others came out as "mediators".  On 25 October the PdL's executive committee voted to suspend all the party's activities and proposed the transformation of the current party into the new FI. Consequently, all the leadership roles in the PdL were temporarily revoked and a national council was summoned for 16 November.<ref name="national council 16/11"></ref> In order to approve the executive's proposal over the party's future, a 2/3 majority among voting delegates at the national council was required.  On 16 November 2013 PdL was formally dissolved and replaced by the new FI, while a day earlier a group of dissidents, led by Alfano and including all five PdL ministers, had announced the formation of separate parliamentary groups, called New Centre-Right (NCD).

Ideology and factions.

The PdL aimed at combining together the traditions of its two main predecessors, Forza Italia (FI) and National Alliance (AN), as well as their smaller partners (Liberal Populars, Christian Democracy for the Autonomies, New Italian Socialist Party, Liberal Reformers, Social Action, etc.).  FI, launched in 1994 by Silvio Berlusconi, was joined mainly by former Christian Democrats, Socialists and Liberals who had seen their parties disappear amid the "Tangentopoli" scandals. AN, successor of the post-fascist Italian Social Movement (MSI), had become a respectable conservative party under the leadership of Gianfranco Fini. FI and AN started to cooperate and were the pillars of the centre-right Pole of Good Government, Pole of Freedoms and House of Freedoms coalitions.  The "Charter of Values" of the PdL underlined the "Christian" and "liberal" character of the party, presenting it as a defender of traditional values as well as of individual responsibility and self-determination. The document stressed the adherence of the party to the values and the platform of the European People's Party (EPP), its support for European integration and the transformation of Italy into a federal state.  The PdL was a classic example of catch-all party. The party's main cultural strains were Christian democracy and liberal conservatism, but it is not to underestimate the weight of those coming from the right-wing AN and the relevant role played by former Socialists, who were disproportionately represented in Berlusconi IV Cabinet. Four leading ministers (Giulio Tremonti, Franco Frattini, Maurizio Sacconi and Renato Brunetta) hailed from the old PSI, while another Socialist, Fabrizio Cicchitto, was the party leader in the Chamber of Deputies. This is not to say that all former Socialists were actually social democrats: for instance, while Tremonti was an outspoken critic of globalization and is not enthusiastic about labour market flexibility, Brunetta was a free-market liberal and frequently clashed with Tremonti over economic and fiscal policy. Moreover, internal alliances were often not consistent with the previous affiliation of party members. On issues such as end of life, Sacconi, a former Socialist who still claimed to be a social democrat, sided with the party's Christian democrats and the social-conservative wing of the former AN, while several members hailing from the MSI found themselves in alliance with the liberal wing of the former FI. This is no surprise as the late MSI also had a strong secular tradition, while FI was home to both social conservatives and uncompromising social liberals. On the economy, ex-FI Tremonti was often at odds with ex-FI liberals like Antonio Martino and Benedetto Della Vedova, and, lately, was attacked by Giancarlo Galan for being a "socialist".  Traditional values and the social market economy grew of importance in the rhetoric of the new party, partly replacing the small government and libertarian ideals expressed by FI. In this respect, Sacconi summarised the economic propositions of the PdL with the slogan "less state, more society". However, in the PdL there was still some room for Reaganomics, with Berlusconi often making the case for lower taxes and Tremonti for deregulation and against red tape.

Factions (as of November 2011).

The party was home to a wide range of factions, groups and associate parties, whose ideology ranged from social democracy to national conservatism. As of November 2011, the factions, listed by political ideology, were as follows:

Factions (as of October 2013).

A part from the above-mention factions, from 2013 four broad groupings were distinguishable:  On 15 November, the day before the PdL's dissolution in the new FI, the "doves" left the party to form the New Centre-Right party.

Associate parties.

The PdL granted financial support to several minor parties of the centre-right. They contributed one million Euros to the Liberal Democrats whose deputies were elected on the PdL list in 2008, and left the government camp after some months but returned in April 2011. Other parties who received payments from PdL were the Force of the South (€300,000), Christian Democracy for Campania (€144,000), Social Action (€100,000), Christian Democracy for the Autonomies (€96,000), the Alliance of the Centre (€80,000), the Movement of National Responsibility (€49,000) and the Federation of Christian Populars (€40,000).

Popular support.

The PdL had its strongholds in Southern Italy, especially in Campania, Apulia and Sicily, but its power base included also two regions of the North, Lombardy and Veneto, where the party however suffered the competition of Lega Nord, which controlled the governorships of Piedmont, Lombardy and Veneto. The regions governed by a PdL governor in 2013 were just four – Campania, Calabria, Abruzzo and Sardinia – far less than the Democratic Party and its allies, which controlled twelve.  In the 2008 general election the party scored over 40% in Campania (49.1%), in Sicily (46.6%), Apulia (45.6%), Lazio (43.5%) and Calabria (41.2%). In the 2013 general election, in which the PdL suffered a dramatic loss of votes, the party ran stronger in Campania (29.0%), Apulia (28.9%) and Sicily (26.5%).  The electoral results of the PdL in the regions of Italy are shown in the table below. As the party was launched in 2007, the electoral results from 1994 to 2006 refer to the combined result of the two main percursor parties, Forza Italia and National Alliance.

The People of Freedom (, PdL) was a centre-right political party in Italy. The PdL, launched by Silvio Berlusconi on 18 November 2007, was initially a federation of political parties, notably including Forza Italia and National Alliance, which participated as a joint election list in the 2008 general election. The federation was later transformed into a party during a party congress on 27–29 March 2009.

Le Peuple de la liberté (en italien : ', PdL) est une coalition politique italienne de centre droit devenu un parti politique. Lancée par Silvio Berlusconi sous le nom de Parti du peuple de la liberté en vue des élections générales de 2008, la coalition réunit son parti, Forza Italia, et l'Alliance nationale. Ces deux partis fusionnent en 2009 pour former une seule formation. En 2013, Berlusconi décide de dissoudre le PdL dans Forza Italia, fraîchement reconstitué, et toutes les charges du Peuple de la liberté sont supprimées afin de permettre la renaissance du parti sous l'ancien nom, ce qui est officiel lors du conseil national du où une cinquantaine de parlementaires quittent l'ancien PdL.


Career.

Film.

Karvan began screen acting in 1983 when she appeared in the film "Molly". In 1987, she went on to appear in Phillip Noyce's "Echoes of Paradise" and appeared alongside Judy Davis in Gillian Armstrong's "High Tide" that same year.  When she was 17 years old Karvan secured a leading role in the Australian comedy/caper film "The Big Steal".  In 1993, Karvan won an FCCA (Film Critics Circle of Australia) Award for Best Actress for her role in "The Heartbreak Kid". She has starred alongside fellow Australian actors such as Guy Pearce in "Flynn" (1991) (playing the young fiancee of Errol Flynn) and "Dating the Enemy" (1996), Ben Mendelsohn in "The Big Steal" (1990) and Hugh Jackman in "Paperback Hero" (1999). She was nominated for an AFI Award for Best Supporting Actress in the 1999 film "Passion".  In 2006, she had a role in "Footy Legends", a film about rugby league. She also played the role of Hailey's (Joanna Levesque) mother in the American film "Aquamarine". That year, Karvan appeared in "" as Sola Naberrie, the older sister of Padmé Amidala. She also filmed scenes for "", but her scenes were cut and appear only on the DVD release.  She also co-starred with Jim Caviezel in "Nature's Grave", directed by Jamie Blanks in 2008. In 2009, she voiced in the film "$9.99". She appeared in the 2009 film "Daybreakers", a vampire thriller co-starring Ethan Hawke and Sam Neill and filmed on the Gold Coast. She also starred in "33 Postcards", released in 2011 and Long Weekend.

Television.

In 1996, Karvan was awarded her first Australian Film Institute award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Television Drama for the "GP" episode titled "Sing Me a Lullaby". She won the award again in 2005 and 2007 for her role as Frankie Paige in the television series "Love My Way". As a producer of "Love My Way", Karvan received further AFI awards in 2005, 2006 and 2007 for Best Television Drama Series.  Karvan has won Logie Award for Most Outstanding Actress three times. First in 2003 for "The Secret Life of Us", then in 2006 for "Love My Way", and again in 2010 for "Saved".  In August 2010, Karvan co-created, produced and starred in the series "Spirited". She plays a Sydney dentist, Suzy Darling, who has left her husband and moved into a penthouse in a building which she discovers is haunted by the ghost of a 1980s British rock musician, Henry (Matt King).  Karvan was cast in the first eight-part season of "Puberty Blues", a television series shown on Channel Ten in Australia in 2012. It is an updated version of the 1981 film "Puberty Blues". In 2014, she returned to season two of the show. In 2013, Karvan starred in the ABC miniseries "The Time Of Our Lives" as Caroline.  In 2016 Karvan starred opposite Guy Pearce in "Jack Irish", for ABC TV, as character Sarah Longmore, while in 2017 she starred as lead character Josephine Newton in "Newton's Law", once again for ABC TV.

Stage.

Karvan has also appeared on stage in a production of "Summer of the Seventeenth Doll".

Personal life.

Her surname comes from her stepfather, who was a Greek immigrant and whose surname was originally Karvouniares before anglicizing it to Karvan. When she was 8 she lived in Bali for a year with her mother and brothers. After returning from Bali, Karvan's family moved to King's Cross where her father owned the nightspot Arthur's.  Karvan lives with Jeremy Sparks. They have two children, a daughter Audrey (born in 2001), and a son Albie (born on 18 May 2006). She is also stepmother to singer Holiday Sidewinder, Sparks' daughter from a previous relationship with Australian actress Loene Carmen.

Claudia Karvan (born 1972) is an Australian actress, best known for her roles in the television series "The Secret Life of Us", "Newton's Law" and "Love My Way". She was also a producer and writer on "Love My Way".

Claudia Karvan est une actrice et productrice australienne, née le à Sydney. En 2020 elle termine finaliste de la saison de la version australienne de "Dancing with the Stars".


Music.

T-Pain, who laced the first single, is only one of the many featured guests throughout the album. Timbaland, who produced the second single "Elevator", is also featured on the track. Rick Ross, and Trey Songz made appearances as well. Lil Wayne has also been added to the list with assistance by young Memphian, Jamil Smith, while Sean Kingston appears on the J. R. Rotem-produced "Roll" the concept was created, and co-written by Compton rapper Spitfiya, from The Bullets Production Team, Various other guests include Birdman, Brisco. The third single is "In the Ayer" featuring will.i.am. The fourth single was scheduled to be "Money Right" featuring Brisco, and Rick Ross, but was canceled due to the release of his upcoming second studio album R.O.O.T.S. His second collaboration with T-Pain, "I Bet", his collaboration with Trina, named "Bout It" and as well as his second collaboration with Sean Kingston named "OG", all three didn't make the final track list, but were recorded. As for production, J. R. Rotem, DJ Montay, and Timbaland all provided tracks for "Mail on Sunday", among others.

Critical reception.

"Mail on Sunday" garnered mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 54, based on 12 reviews.  Steve 'Flash' Juon of "RapReviews" praised the album for containing great production and tracks that are potential singles but found the artist on said album lacking in identity, concluding with, "When you try to come up with positive comparisons to other artists, you realize just how derivative Flo Rida is. He's a little bit Twista, a little bit Trick Daddy, and a whole lot Nelly. None of those things are negative, but the fact he can't distinguish himself from any of them isn't a positive. I'd like to see Flo Rida convince me why he's special with his next album - until then he's just another MC with a well produced album who came out of a cookie cutter hitmaking mold." Joseph Barracato of "Entertainment Weekly" also praised the production for having "ferocious beats" and "infectious hooks" but gave credit to Flo Rida for delivering female anatomy metaphors in a creative way. "Billboard" writer Jeff Vrabel said that, "Flo Rida's flow is an engaging/ringy-dingy/he-sounds-like-Nelly thing. But his hooks can be rock-solid ("Ack Like You Know") and his interest in gleaming synthesizerism (opener "American Superstar" comes into "Tubular Bells" territory, really) helps set him off from the legions of rappers clawing over each other to break out of the South."  AllMusic's Andy Kellman said that, "Though Flo Rida has his own identity – for all the tough talk and the automotives fixation, he does come off as big-hearted, and he could just as easily make an R&B album – and covers more bases than what is typical from other mainstream-yet-street rap albums of 2007 and 2008, he's not nearly as distinctive as any of his predecessors." Robert Christgau graded the album as a "dud", indicating "a bad record whose details rarely merit further thought." "Rolling Stone"s Christian Hoard found the album trying hard to replicate the success of "Low" but found the tracks to be "generic pop rap" and both the production and vocal delivery "standard-issue." Wilson McBee of Slant Magazine criticized the record's tired use of party tracks, phoned in contributions, and misogynistic lyrical content, concluding that "unless he can once again catch the coattails of T-Pain or some other hit-magnet, odds are that he’ll be beginning his descent back into anonymity very soon."

Sales.

"Mail on Sunday" debuted at number four on the US "Billboard" 200 chart, selling 86,000 copies in its first week. As of May, 2009, the album has sold 390,000 copies in the US. It has been certified silver for sales in the UK.

Mail on Sunday is the debut studio album by American hip hop recording artist Flo Rida, and was released on March 18, 2008 under Atlantic, and Poe Boy Entertainment. It spawned three singles; the first, "Low" was number one on the U.S. "Billboard" Hot 100 for 10 weeks. The second, and third singles, "Elevator", and "In the Ayer", were successful as well, being top 20 hits. "Roll" featuring Sean Kingston was not an official single, but it managed to peak at number 59 on the US "Billboard" Hot 100, and number 43 on the Canadian Hot 100 due to digital sales in both countries.

Mail on Sunday est le premier album studio de Flo Rida, sorti le. On retrouve de nombreux invités dans ce premier album de Flo Rida, notamment T-Pain qui pose sur le refrain du premier single "Low". Timbaland produit et pose sur le deuxième single, "Elevator". Le troisième single, "In the Ayer", est produit par will.i.am. On retrouve également Lil Wayne sur le titre "American Superstar", Sean Kingston qui apparaît sur le titre "Roll" produit par J.R. Rotem. Pour le reste des invités on retrouve de nombreux rappeur sudistes comme Brisco, Rick Ross, Birdman et Yung Joc.


Life.

Born in Valencia, Asencio began his musical training as a boy with his father. After studying violin in Castellón de la Plana with Emilio Bou, he moved to Barcelona to pursue studies at the "Academia Frank Marshall" with Frank Marshall and Enric Morera i Viura. He also studied privately in that city with Joaquín Turina and Ernesto Halffter. He also studied conducting in Paris and Milan.  Asencio began composing in the early 1920s, and his first major success was the ballet " Fuego de Fiesta" (1926). His earlier music displays an evident influence of the composer Manuel de Falla. In 1932 he founded the Conservatorio de Música de Castellón de la Plana with violinist Abel Mus. In 1934 he helped formed the "Grupo de los Jóvenes", a group of talented young musicians in Valencia whose members also included Vicente Garcés and Ricardo Olmos among others.  In 1943 Asencio married one of his pupils, the composer and painter Matilde Salvador. They became one of the most influential artistic couples in the Valencia music scene. Asencio, who was technically better prepared than his wife, worked with her in orchestrating many of her works, including her opera "Vinatea" which premiered at the Liceu in 1974.  In 1953 Asencio joined the music faculty at the Valencia Conservatory where he taught for many years. Among his notable pupils was composer José Evangelista. He died in Valencia after a long illness.

Music.

Asencio's best-known works for the guitar are "Elegía a Manuel de Falla" (1946), "Sonatina" (1949), "Collectici Íntim" (1965), and "Dipso" (1973). He also wrote music for several successful ballets, most notably "La casada infiel" (1949) which is considered his best work in that genre. A number of the songs from that ballet were later transcribed by the composer for the guitar. He also wrote a considerable amount of orchestral music, including "Preludio a la Dama de Elche" (1949); "Sonada alegre" (1954); "Llanto a Manuel de Falla" (1955), and "Danzas Valencianas" (1963).

Vicente Asencio y Ruano (29 October 1908 – 4 April 1979) was a Spanish composer. He is perhaps best known for his works for guitar of which guitarists Andrés Segovia and Narciso Yepes were notable exponents.

Vicente Asencio y Ruano (né le à Valence, et mort le dans la même ville) est un compositeur espagnol. Il a notamment écrit pour guitare, dont l'œuvre "Collectici Íntim" (datant de 1965) l'une des plus belles pièces pour cet instrument, mais aussi pour violon, piano et orchestre.


History.

Crossroads opened on February 17, 1974 with anchor stores John A. Brown, Dillard's, Montgomery Ward, and JC Penney. The name Crossroads Mall was chosen because it lies at the major intersection of I-35 and I-240, a major crossroads of the city. At the time of its opening, it was one of the largest construction projects to have ever taken place in the state of Oklahoma, and also was among the ten largest shopping malls in the United States. A 1974 a Daily Oklahoman newspaper article heralded the shopping mall as "the most magnificent enclosed and air-conditioned shopping mall in the Southwest." Before the mall's closure, the mall contained approximately 36 stores and services. It also has a very large trade zone outside of the mall building itself with numerous retailers, and restaurants, including two hotels and a movie theater. Crossroads Mall had been one of the more popular shopping establishments in the city for well over twenty years. It is noted as one of the primary reasons for the suburban flight of retail shoppes from Downtown Oklahoma City, which is now beginning to show an increase of retail shops following the Metropolitan Area Projects Plan.

Decline.

In 2001 Montgomery Ward closed its doors due to bankruptcy. Even with its popularity, in its over 30-year history Crossroads lacks any substantial renovations or retail growth. The expansion of shopping centers in Moore and along I-240 west of the mall has also contributed to a dramatic decline in the number of shoppers. Crossroads Mall is situated in an area of increased gang activity, leading to an increase in crime and safety issues. Teen loitering had increasingly become a problem to the point that on October 26, 2006, the mall imposed a weekend curfew prohibiting teens younger than 18 years of age from shopping after 6 PM on Fridays and Saturdays unless they were accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. It was anticipated that by imposing the curfew, the mall would become more family friendly.  Throughout the late 2000s, all four anchor stores, among with other small stores, eventually vacated the mall, as a result of the 2008 economic downturn and increased gang activity. A few years later, on October 10, 2011, YouTube user miah022 uploaded a video taking a tour of the soon-to-become dead mall, passing the vacant anchor stores Dillard's, JCPenney, Macy's and Steve & Barry's, as well as some stores and restaurants that are still opened at the time the video was uploaded. This included Eyemasters (a trade name of Visionworks), Finish Line, Inc., Journeys, Champs Sports, Victoria's Secret, Frederick's of Hollywood, Zales Jewelers, Regis, The Laughing Fish, Eastern Treasures, L'Patricia, Hat World, Claire's, Touchtell Wireless, 5-7-9, GameStop, Chinex, Hot Spot Pizza (formally a Sbarro Pizza location), Sam's Optical, an unknown Samsung/T-Mobile US booth, Bath & Body Works and rue21. A lot of stores are relocated to Oklahoma City's other shopping malls, and this had become a serious problem, because this was probably a failed attempt to bring back everything the mall had from the start. A lot of the aforementioned stores and restaurants were closed prior to the mall's 2017 closing.  The property was foreclosed upon in April 2009 and it fell under the ownership of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York due to the Bear Stearns bailout. The mall was part of a portfolio of Bear Stearns assets, including $5.5 billion in commercial loans, that the Fed used to secure $29 billion to lend to JPMorgan Chase to buy Bear Stearns. According to Price Edwards & Co.’s 2010 Oklahoma City Mid-Year Retail Market Summary report, Crossroads Mall was 75 percent vacant. On September 14, 2011, the mall was purchased by Raptor Properties, LLC for $3.5 million, far below the $24 million asking price. Although the sale only included, as several other parts of the property were previously sold to other investors.

Incidents.

A young man opened fire on May 27, 2006, injuring a teen before the man was shot and killed by an off-duty sheriff's deputy.  On November 26, 2008, following reports that individuals in a vehicle travelling on Interstate 240 had pulled a gun on the driver of another vehicle, a police helicopter followed the vehicle of the suspected gunmen as it drove into the mall parking lot where one suspect, or suspects, exited the vehicle and ran into the entrance of Dillard's. Police surrounded the mall's entrances and exits and were also able to surround the suspects' vehicle. Two suspects were subsequently arrested, including the alleged gunman Brandon Gunn. A third suspect was detained, but not arrested. The mall was not evacuated and there were no reports of injuries.

Re-branding & future renovations.

In April 2013, Raptor Properties announced plans to re-brand Crossroads Mall in a similar fashion to the revitalized La Gran Plaza in Fort Worth, Texas by attracting businesses that serve the local Hispanic community. On April 24, 2013, Raptor announced that the new name of the mall would be Plaza Mayor at the Crossroads. They also announced future renovations that would have included space for a grocery store, a nightclub and a rodeo arena seating 3,500 spectators. The mall's entrances and bathrooms would have also been remodeled and the carousel moved to make way for a new stage and entertainment area, complete with $100,000 worth of new sound and lighting equipment. Before the mall closed, these plans were never fully realized. As of June 2017, Plaza Mayor's website is occupied only by a banner telling visitors the site has been suspended, and directing the "customer" to check their email, possibly indicating another abandonment of work in the area. On September 29, 2017, CRM Properties announced that they had abandoned plans to rehabilitate the mall, and would close it permanently on 31 October 2017.

Crossroads Mall (also known as Plaza Mayor) was a super regional shopping mall and trade area located in south Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States.

Le Crossroads Mall est un centre commercial situé dans le sud d'Oklahoma City en Oklahoma. Le nom du centre a été choisi ainsi parce qu'il se trouve à l'intersection de l'Interstate 35 et de l'Interstate 240, l'un des principaux carrefours de la ville.


Biography.

Born to a Jewish family in New York City, Weinberg served in the US 6th Army Group as an infantryman during World War II. He was severely wounded in combat in France and spent over a year recovering in a US military hospital. He attended Cornell University, the University of Arizona, and the University of California at Los Angeles. In 1948, Weinberg founded the Larwin Company serving as its CEO until he retired. By the late 1960s, Larwin Company became one of the largest privately owned housing companies in the United States until merging it into CNA Financial Corporation where it became one of the three largest housing producers with annual development of 8,000 residential units. He went on to serve as a Member of the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors of CNA from 1969 to 1980. In 1950, Weinberg founded Com-Air Products, Inc. which designed, manufactured, and assembled the hydraulics, pneumatics and fuel assemblies used in jet engines and aircraft.  In 1970, Weinberg, Herman Sarkowsky, and Robert Schmertz paid $3.7 million to secure an NBA expansion team for Portland. Weinberg became president of the Trail Blazers in 1975, replacing Sarkowsky, who turned his attention to the NFL's Seattle Seahawks. Two years later, the Trail Blazers won an NBA championship. Weinberg served as team president until 1988, when he sold the team to Paul Allen. The Trail Blazers honored Weinberg in 1992 by retiring a #1 jersey with his name. Five players have since received permission from Weinberg to wear #1: Rod Strickland, Derek Anderson, Jarrett Jack, Armon Johnson and Ike Diogu.  In addition to his work in basketball and real estate, Weinberg has served as president of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. He was awarded the Brotherhood Award of the National Conference of Christians and Jews.  Weinberg's wife Barbi was a founder of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Weinberg died on January 1, 2019 at age 92.

External links.

Larry Weinberg (January 23, 1926 – January 1, 2019) was an American real estate developer who was one of the founders of the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers.

Lawrence Jay Weinberg, dit Larry Weinberg, né le à New York et mort le à Los Angeles, est un promoteur immobilier américain qui fut l'un des fondateurs de la franchise NBA des Trail Blazers de Portland.


Skyscreamer.

The ride consists of two telescopic gantry towers mounted on a platform, feeding two elastic ropes down to a two-person passenger car constructed from an open sphere of tubular steel. The passenger car is secured to the platform with an electro-magnetic latch as the elastic ropes are stretched. When the electromagnet is turned off, the passenger car is catapulted vertically with a g-force of 3–5, reaching an altitude of between and.  The passenger sphere is free to rotate between the two ropes, giving the riders a chaotic and disorienting ride. After several bounces, the ropes are relaxed and the passengers are lowered back to the launch position.

Slingshot.

The Slingshot manufactured by "Funtime" uses steel cables and a patented spring propulsion device rather than elastic ropes. It can use up to 720 specially designed springs, enabling the ride to propel passengers up to high at speeds up to 160 km per hour.

Safety and possible injury.

In August 1998, Jérôme Charron died in a reverse bungee ride accident at the Ottawa Exhibition in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada when he was hurled 40 m into the air before plummeting to his death as his harness had detached. In February 2000, the firm responsible for the ride, Anderson Ventures, was fined $145,000 for this incident.  Ordinarily, the bungee cord is changed to adjust the body weight of different riders. The operator in Ottawa instead used a lead between the carabiner and the bungee cord for this purpose. Using a lead is faster than changing the cord, so more rides can be offered; however, using a lead is less safe than switching bungee cords. The problem occurs when the lead cord wraps around the carabiner, tightens and through friction undoes the twisting safety mechanism that keeps the carabiner locked. In this case, the operator was using dual carabiners. On the bounce back up, the lead cord tightened, causing both carabiners to open. This fact was discovered by the Ottawa Police who investigated the death. A video of the incident depicts it. Provincial inspectors had inspected the ride just 4 days before the incident and approved it, but did not see the lead because it was in a nearby box.

The reverse bungee (also known as catapult bungee, slingshot, or ejection seat) is a modern type of fairground ride that was invented by Troy Griffin in c. 1978. The ride grew a following and is now one of the best known rides. Many installations also utilize a reverse-mounted camera that records passengers during their experience, typically available for purchase after completing the attraction.

Reverse bungee (ou catapult, ou Power Shot) est un type d'attraction sous forme de, développé par S&D Leisure depuis 1999. Plus populairement dénommée « La Boule » (YouTube), présente principalement dans les fêtes foraines, c’est une variante inversée du saut à l'élastique. En effet, vous etes catapultez de 0 à en moins de 2 secondes à plus de de hauteur.


Club career.

Early years.

Having started playing on the streets of his hometown of Jerez de la Frontera in Cádiz, Güiza used to hide behind trees in an attempt to avoid the running, despite being then coached by boyhood idol Kiko, who begun his professional career with local Cádiz CF. He eventually made it into his local club Xerez CD and, after one season there, first showed his eye for goal at Segunda División B side Dos Hermanas CF, loaned immediately after RCD Mallorca bought him. Such performances saw him make his debut in La Liga for the latter at the age of 19, but he would fail to perform, being relegated to the reserves.  Güiza was then loaned out to Recreativo de Huelva, but could not find a secure place in the team, and moved soon after to FC Barcelona B, also on loan. Subsequently, he joined Ciudad de Murcia in Segunda División, where his career saw a turning point with two consecutive top-five finishes in the top scorers' list (runner-up in the 2004–05 season).

Getafe.

This impressed Bernd Schuster enough to sign Güiza for Getafe CF in the summer of 2005. He was an instant first-choice at his new team and became recognised as a top flight striker, scoring 27 goals in 70 competitive games – seven in nine Copa del Rey appearances – while the team from the Madrid outskirts achieved back-to-back ninth-league places.  The club's president, Ángel Torres, described him as "the best finisher in the first division after Ronaldo". On 10 May 2007, he was one of three players on target in a 4–0 home defeat of FC Barcelona for the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey, which meant qualification for the decisive match for the first time ever after a 6–5 aggregate win.

Mallorca.

After four years, Güiza returned to Mallorca in a €5 million move, brokered by his wife and agent Nuria Bermúdez, experiencing a breakthrough season. On 20 April 2008 he scored a hat-trick against Real Murcia, and finished the campaign as the league's top scorer by scoring 27 goals in 37 matches, a feat achieved without a single penalty kick.  Club coach Gregorio Manzano said: "In 24 years of coaching I've never had the winner of the "Pichichi" in my team. Dani is the top goalscorer in our league, and deserves extra credit for doing it without taking penalties, and he is also worthy of selection to Euro 2008".

Fenerbahçe.

On 8 July 2008, Güiza signed for Turkish club Fenerbahçe SK for €14 million. He managed to score twice in the Süper Lig in his first month, adding another two in the team's run in the UEFA Champions League.  Güiza ended a long scoring drought on 22 March 2009 with an early goal against Bursaspor, as Fenerbahçe lost 1–2 in the dying minutes of the game. Prior to the beginning of 2009–10 he put three past Budapest Honvéd FC in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League, in a 5–1 home win (6–2 on aggregate), netting his first in the domestic competition in matchday one against Denizlispor, in the first minute of the game.  During his first two seasons in Istanbul, Güiza helped the team to consecutive Turkish Cup finals, netting in the 2008–09 edition in a 2–4 loss against Beşiktaş JK.

Return to Getafe.

On 18 August 2011, one day after his 31st birthday, Güiza signed with former club Getafe for €6 million, agreeing to a three-year contract shortly after. He was regularly played in the first season in his second spell, starting in 15 of his appearances, but failed to reproduce his previous form and scored just three goals.  On 6 November 2012, Güiza signed for Malaysia Super League side Johor Darul Ta'zim F.C. on a season-long loan. His move, along with the acquisition of former S.S. Lazio winger Simone Del Nero and seven Malaysian internationals, was part of the club's major restructuring plans upon the appointment of Tunku Ismail Idris, the Crown Prince of Johor, as president; based on past achievements and honours the player, at the time of his signing, was arguably the most prolific footballer to have competed in the league.  Güiza made his first competitive appearance and league debut for his new team on 8 January 2013, in an opening day away game against Pahang FA: despite a 2–3 defeat, he provided the assists for both of his side's goals. He scored his first competitive goal on 15 January in an away game against treble-winners Kelantan FA, with an expertly curled free-kick from 25 yards out as the game ended 1–1; three days later he netted from open play in a home game against 2012 Malaysia Cup runners-up ATM FA, with a volleyed lob from the edge of the penalty area in an eventual 2–2 draw.  Güiza played his last match for Darul Takzim on 6 April 2013 in a 1–2 loss against Selangor FA in the FA Cup, after his loan was ended prematurely. Both he and Del Nero left the club.

Cerro Porteño.

In 2013, Güiza joined Cerro Porteño. He made his debut on 14 September of that year, as a 69th-minute substitute against Sportivo Carapeguá, scoring four minutes later in an eventual 4–0 home win as the team went on to win its 30th Paraguayan Primera División title. He also featured in the following year's Copa Libertadores, netting three times to help to progress from the group stage and leading to interest from other clubs, to which he responded: "My heart is here, from day one they have shown me affection, my heart is what drives me, so I'm staying here"; however, new manager Leonardo Astrada did not have the player in his plans, which led to his release in March 2015.

Cádiz.

In August 2015, Güiza returned to his native Andalusia, signing for Cádiz. His arrival drew the ire of fans, due to disparaging remarks he had made about the club a decade ago while playing for local rivals Xerez.  On 26 June 2016, Güiza scored the only goal at Hércules CF in the second leg of the play-off finals (2–0 on aggregate), helping the team return to the second division after six years. On 4 July of the following year, after appearing sparingly during the season, he left.

Atlético Sanluqueño.

On 10 July 2017, the 37-year-old Güiza signed a two-year contract for Atlético Sanluqueño CF, recently relegated to Tercera División.

International career.

Güiza was a late bloomer on the international stage, having been first called up by Spain on 8 November 2007 (aged 27) for UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers against Sweden and Northern Ireland, as the national team was already qualified for the finals in Austria and Switzerland. He made his international debut against the latter on 21 November, in a 1–0 home win in Las Palmas.  Güiza was subsequently selected to the final squad of 23 but, despite being the league's top scorer in that year, still doubted his chances of being picked: "I was really scared I'd miss out, because being the league's top scorer doesn't guarantee you a place". On 18 June 2008 he made his debut in the tournament, and scored Spain's winning goal against Greece during the dying moments of the last match group stage match. In the quarter-finals he came on as a substitute against Italy, missing the team's fourth attempt in an eventual penalty shootout win.  In the semi-final match against Russia, Güiza netted his second international goal, in a 3–0 win: after receiving a pass from Cesc Fàbregas, he quickly side-flicked it over the goalkeeper. He played 15 minutes in the final against Germany after replacing Fernando Torres (who scored the game's only goal), and came very close to assisting Marcos Senna.  On 15 October 2008, Güiza came on as a late substitute against Belgium, and soon after assisted David Villa who scored the winning goal in a close 2–1 contest for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.  After an article circulated in January 2009 involving details about personal life and behaviour in training, Güiza's international career future was questioned. Such reports on his behaviour became debatable due to the unreliable sources and any rumours of him being dropped from the Spain team were put to rest when Vicente del Bosque called him up for his services for the 2010 World Cup qualification matches against Turkey, where he solidified his superb performance against Belgium, once again coming on in the dying minutes and assisting a last-minute winner during the match held in Istanbul.  On 1 June 2009, Güiza was selected to the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. On the 28th he came from the bench as the national team trailed hosts South Africa (0–1) in the third-place match, and responded with a spectacular brace in the last two minutes as Spain eventually won the game in extra-time (3–2).  Güiza also played for the Andalusia autonomous team on 27 December 2006, scoring twice in a 3–1 win over a combined Israel–Palestine side at the Estadio de La Cartuja in Seville.

Personal life.

Güiza is of Romani (Gypsy) origin. He was introduced as "the greatest promise in Spain", but also "the greatest party-goer" when he first joined Ciudad de Murcia, with club coach Juan Manuel Lillo stating that he had "too many birds flying round in his head".  Güiza suffered a divorce from his first wife Rocío with whom he had his first child, which gained a lot of publicity in the Spanish press. Furthermore, he admitted that "the night confuses me" and, after joining Getafe, he started to take advantage of the night life in Madrid, suffering a stomach infection as a result and subsequently being forced to go on a diet consisting of liquids alone.  During his time at Getafe, Güiza met Nuria Bermúdez. She sat for the qualifications to become an official FIFA football agent, which she passed scoring 29 points, just five below the top and went on to become Güiza's agent. She also obtained the highest score for a female football agent in Spain.  Speaking of his relationship with the model, Getafe coach Schuster said: "Ever since Dani's been with Nuria, he turns up to training and it doesn't look like he's slept under a bridge". On 1 December 2007, Bermúdez gave birth to Güiza's second son, also named Daniel, at "Policlínica Miramar" in Palma, Majorca.  Before Euro 2008, Güiza promised the media that if he were to win the competition, he would then propose to Bermúdez. In January 2009, the Spanish media began to publicise problems between his family and Bermúdez, with his mother apparently threatening to slit Bermúdez's throat for being a "thief". Bermúdez then left Turkey with son Daniel, amongst claims the latter was ignored by the father.  Güiza's ex-wife, Rocío Aranda, revealed that the two had met up just hours before the start of the match between England and Spain on 11 February 2009. According to Aranda, they met up in the hotel bar and went on to have sexual intercourse in one of the bedrooms. Subsequently, it was rumoured that Spain coach Del Bosque would drop him from the team. Güiza spoke against this in an interview with "Marca" saying: "The truth is, I hadn't seen my son in a while so I went to see him in the hotel, I have to take advantage of such opportunities to see my children. To make money, she [his ex-wife] makes up stories. I spoke with Hierro and I explained the situation. I told him that I had to see my son and I wanted to be with him. I explained everything. I tried my best to be with my son and the truth is the whole story has not come out well in the press."

Honours.

Club.

Fenerbahçe  Cerro Porteño

International.

Spain

Daniel González Güiza (; born 17 August 1980) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Atlético Sanluqueño CF.

Daniel González Güiza, né le à Jerez de la Frontera (Espagne), est un footballeur espagnol évoluant au poste d'attaquant au Cadix CF.


Career.

College.

Laventure played college soccer at Seton Hall University, where in four seasons he scored 14 goals and assisted on 12. He was named to the Big East first team after recording eight goals and six assists in 2004. After his senior season he was invited to the 2005 MLS Player Combine which led to him joining the MetroStars reserve team.

Professional.

Laventure signed a developmental contract with the New York Red Bulls on April 12, 2006. He made his MLS debut July 8, 2006 as a substitute in a game against FC Dallas, and scored his first professional goal on July 19, 2006 - a spectacular 30-yard chip over Columbus Crew goalkeeper Noah Palmer which won him the Goal of the Week Award. Laventure started his first game for the Red Bulls against the Wilmington Hammerheads of the USL Second Division in the U.S. Open Cup.  Laventure was released by the Red Bulls on March 17, 2008, and subsequently joined Newark Ironbound Express in the USL Premier Development League for the 2008 PDL season. Laventure scored 9 goals in 13 games in his first season for Ironbound, helping the team reach the post-season playoffs at the first attempt.

International.

In 2007, Laventure was called up to the Haitian national team, but did not play for the country. In 2008, he was called up again, and started two matches against El Salvador in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Personal.

In November 2006 he, along with his then-New York Red Bulls team mates Seth Stammler and Jozy Altidore, accompanied Haitian-born Grammy Award winning musician Wyclef Jean on a six-day service trip to Haiti for Jean's charitable organization, Yéle Haiti.

Jerrod Laventure (born January 15, 1983 in Middle Island, New York) is an American-born Haitian footballer currently playing for Jersey Express in the USL Premier Development League.

Jerrod Laventure est un footballeur américano-haïtien, né le à Middle Island dans l'État de New York. Il a évolué entre 2006 et 2008 avec le club américain des Red Bull New York.