title: Finite strain theory

text: The deformation gradient F {\displaystyle \mathbf {F} \,\!} , like any invertible second-order tensor, can be decomposed, using the polar decomposition theorem, into a product of two second-order tensors : an orthogonal tensor and a positive definite symmetric tensor, i.e., F = R U = V R {\displaystyle \mathbf {F} =\mathbf {R} \mathbf {U} =\mathbf {V} \mathbf {R} } where the tensor R {\displaystyle \mathbf {R} } is a proper orthogonal tensor, i.e., R − 1 = R T {\displaystyle \mathbf {R} ^{-1}=\mathbf {R} ^{T}} and det R = + 1 {\displaystyle \det \mathbf {R} =+1\,\!} , representing a rotation; the tensor U {\displaystyle \mathbf {U} } is the right stretch tensor; and V {\displaystyle \mathbf {V} } the left stretch tensor. The terms right and left means that they are to the right and left of the rotation tensor R {\displaystyle \mathbf {R} \,\!} , respectively. U {\displaystyle \mathbf {U} } and V {\displaystyle \mathbf {V} } are both positive definite, i.e. x ⋅ U ⋅ x > 0 {\displaystyle \mathbf {x} \cdot \mathbf {U} \cdot \mathbf {x} >0} and x ⋅ V ⋅ x > 0 {\displaystyle \mathbf {x} \cdot \mathbf {V} \cdot \mathbf {x} >0} for all non-zero x ∈ R 3 {\displaystyle \mathbf {x} \in \mathbb {R} ^{3}} , and symmetric tensors, i.e. U = U T {\displaystyle \mathbf {U} =\mathbf {U} ^{T}} and V = V T {\displaystyle \mathbf {V} =\mathbf {V} ^{T}\,\!} , of second order.


title: Finite strain theory

text: Invariants of C {\displaystyle \mathbf {C} } are often used in the expressions for strain energy density functions. The most commonly used invariants are I 1 C := tr ( C ) = C I I = λ 1 2 + λ 2 2 + λ 3 2 I 2 C := 1 2 [ ( tr C ) 2 − tr ( C 2 ) ] = 1 2 [ ( C J J ) 2 − C I K C K I ] = λ 1 2 λ 2 2 + λ 2 2 λ 3 2 + λ 3 2 λ 1 2 I 3 C := det ( C ) = J 2 = λ 1 2 λ 2 2 λ 3 2 . {\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}I_{1}^{C}&:={\text{tr}}(\mathbf {C} )=C_{II}=\lambda _{1}^{2}+\lambda _{2}^{2}+\lambda _{3}^{2}\\I_{2}^{C}&:={\tfrac {1}{2}}\left={\tfrac {1}{2}}\left=\lambda _{1}^{2}\lambda _{2}^{2}+\lambda _{2}^{2}\lambda _{3}^{2}+\lambda _{3}^{2}\lambda _{1}^{2}\\I_{3}^{C}&:=\det(\mathbf {C} )=J^{2}=\lambda _{1}^{2}\lambda _{2}^{2}\lambda _{3}^{2}.\end{aligned}}} where J := det F {\displaystyle J:=\det \mathbf {F} } is the determinant of the deformation gradient F {\displaystyle \mathbf {F} } and λ i {\displaystyle \lambda _{i}} are stretch ratios for the unit fibers that are initially oriented along the eigenvector directions of the right (reference) stretch tensor (these are not generally aligned with the three axis of the coordinate systems).


title: Finite strain theory

text: The undeformed length of the curve is given by l X = ∫ 0 1 | d X d s | d s = ∫ 0 1 d X d s ⋅ d X d s d s = ∫ 0 1 d X d s ⋅ I ⋅ d X d s d s {\displaystyle l_{X}=\int _{0}^{1}\left|{\cfrac {d\mathbf {X} }{ds}}\right|~ds=\int _{0}^{1}{\sqrt {{\cfrac {d\mathbf {X} }{ds}}\cdot {\cfrac {d\mathbf {X} }{ds}}}}~ds=\int _{0}^{1}{\sqrt {{\cfrac {d\mathbf {X} }{ds}}\cdot {\boldsymbol {I}}\cdot {\cfrac {d\mathbf {X} }{ds}}}}~ds} After deformation, the length becomes l x = ∫ 0 1 | d x d s | d s = ∫ 0 1 d x d s ⋅ d x d s d s = ∫ 0 1 ( d x d X ⋅ d X d s ) ⋅ ( d x d X ⋅ d X d s ) d s = ∫ 0 1 d X d s ⋅ [ ( d x d X ) T ⋅ d x d X ] ⋅ d X d s d s {\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}l_{x}&=\int _{0}^{1}\left|{\cfrac {d\mathbf {x} }{ds}}\right|~ds=\int _{0}^{1}{\sqrt {{\cfrac {d\mathbf {x} }{ds}}\cdot {\cfrac {d\mathbf {x} }{ds}}}}~ds=\int _{0}^{1}{\sqrt {\left({\cfrac {d\mathbf {x} }{d\mathbf {X} }}\cdot {\cfrac {d\mathbf {X} }{ds}}\right)\cdot \left({\cfrac {d\mathbf {x} }{d\mathbf {X} }}\cdot {\cfrac {d\mathbf {X} }{ds}}\right)}}~ds\\&=\int _{0}^{1}{\sqrt {{\cfrac {d\mathbf {X} }{ds}}\cdot \left\cdot {\cfrac {d\mathbf {X} }{ds}}}}~ds\end{aligned}}} Note that the right Cauchy–Green deformation tensor is defined as C := F T ⋅ F = ( d x d X ) T ⋅ d x d X {\displaystyle {\boldsymbol {C}}:={\boldsymbol {F}}^{T}\cdot {\boldsymbol {F}}=\left({\cfrac {d\mathbf {x} }{d\mathbf {X} }}\right)^{T}\cdot {\cfrac {d\mathbf {x} }{d\mathbf {X} }}} Hence, l x = ∫ 0 1 d X d s ⋅ C ⋅ d X d s d s {\displaystyle l_{x}=\int _{0}^{1}{\sqrt {{\cfrac {d\mathbf {X} }{ds}}\cdot {\boldsymbol {C}}\cdot {\cfrac {d\mathbf {X} }{ds}}}}~ds} which indicates that changes in length are characterized by C {\displaystyle {\boldsymbol {C}}} .


title: Finite strain theory

text: d x 2 − d X 2 = d X ⋅ C ⋅ d X − d X ⋅ d X = d X ⋅ ( C − I ) ⋅ d X = d X ⋅ 2 E ⋅ d X {\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}d\mathbf {x} ^{2}-d\mathbf {X} ^{2}&=d\mathbf {X} \cdot \mathbf {C} \cdot d\mathbf {X} -d\mathbf {X} \cdot d\mathbf {X} \\&=d\mathbf {X} \cdot (\mathbf {C} -\mathbf {I} )\cdot d\mathbf {X} \\&=d\mathbf {X} \cdot 2\mathbf {E} \cdot d\mathbf {X} \\\end{aligned}}} or ( d x ) 2 − ( d X ) 2 = ∂ x j ∂ X K ∂ x j ∂ X L d X K d X L − d X M d X M = ( ∂ x j ∂ X K ∂ x j ∂ X L − δ K L ) d X K d X L = 2 E K L d X K d X L {\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}(dx)^{2}-(dX)^{2}&={\frac {\partial x_{j}}{\partial X_{K}}}{\frac {\partial x_{j}}{\partial X_{L}}}\,dX_{K}\,dX_{L}-dX_{M}\,dX_{M}\\&=\left({\frac {\partial x_{j}}{\partial X_{K}}}{\frac {\partial x_{j}}{\partial X_{L}}}-\delta _{KL}\right)\,dX_{K}\,dX_{L}\\&=2E_{KL}\,dX_{K}\,dX_{L}\end{aligned}}} where E K L {\displaystyle E_{KL}\,\!} , are the components of a second-order tensor called the Green – St-Venant strain tensor or the Lagrangian finite strain tensor, E = 1 2 ( C − I ) or E K L = 1 2 ( ∂ x j ∂ X K ∂ x j ∂ X L − δ K L ) {\displaystyle \mathbf {E} ={\frac {1}{2}}(\mathbf {C} -\mathbf {I} )\qquad {\text{or}}\qquad E_{KL}={\frac {1}{2}}\left({\frac {\partial x_{j}}{\partial X_{K}}}{\frac {\partial x_{j}}{\partial X_{L}}}-\delta _{KL}\right)}


title: Finite strain theory

text: Replacing this equation into the expression for the Lagrangian finite strain tensor we have E = 1 2 ( F T F − I ) = 1 2 [ { ( ∇ X u ) T + I } ( ∇ X u + I ) − I ] = 1 2 [ ( ∇ X u ) T + ∇ X u + ( ∇ X u ) T ⋅ ∇ X u ] {\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}\mathbf {E} &={\frac {1}{2}}\left(\mathbf {F} ^{T}\mathbf {F} -\mathbf {I} \right)\\&={\frac {1}{2}}\left\\&={\frac {1}{2}}\left\\\end{aligned}}} or E K L = 1 2 ( ∂ x j ∂ X K ∂ x j ∂ X L − δ K L ) = 1 2 [ δ j M ( ∂ U M ∂ X K + δ M K ) δ j N ( ∂ U N ∂ X L + δ N L ) − δ K L ] = 1 2 [ δ M N ( ∂ U M ∂ X K + δ M K ) ( ∂ U N ∂ X L + δ N L ) − δ K L ] = 1 2 [ ( ∂ U M ∂ X K + δ M K ) ( ∂ U M ∂ X L + δ M L ) − δ K L ] = 1 2 ( ∂ U K ∂ X L + ∂ U L ∂ X K + ∂ U M ∂ X K ∂ U M ∂ X L ) {\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}E_{KL}&={\frac {1}{2}}\left({\frac {\partial x_{j}}{\partial X_{K}}}{\frac {\partial x_{j}}{\partial X_{L}}}-\delta _{KL}\right)\\&={\frac {1}{2}}\left\\&={\frac {1}{2}}\left\\&={\frac {1}{2}}\left\\&={\frac {1}{2}}\left({\frac {\partial U_{K}}{\partial X_{L}}}+{\frac {\partial U_{L}}{\partial X_{K}}}+{\frac {\partial U_{M}}{\partial X_{K}}}{\frac {\partial U_{M}}{\partial X_{L}}}\right)\end{aligned}}}


title: Finite strain theory

text: d x 1 ⋅ d x 2 = d x 1 d x 2 cos  θ 12 F ⋅ d X 1 ⋅ F ⋅ d X 2 = d X 1 ⋅ F T ⋅ F ⋅ d X 1 ⋅ d X 2 ⋅ F T ⋅ F ⋅ d X 2 cos  θ 12 d X 1 ⋅ F T ⋅ F ⋅ d X 2 d X 1 d X 2 = d X 1 ⋅ F T ⋅ F ⋅ d X 1 ⋅ d X 2 ⋅ F T ⋅ F ⋅ d X 2 d X 1 d X 2 cos  θ 12 I 1 ⋅ C ⋅ I 2 = Λ I 1 Λ I 2 cos  θ 12 {\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}d\mathbf {x} _{1}\cdot d\mathbf {x} _{2}&=dx_{1}dx_{2}\cos \theta _{12}\\\mathbf {F} \cdot d\mathbf {X} _{1}\cdot \mathbf {F} \cdot d\mathbf {X} _{2}&={\sqrt {d\mathbf {X} _{1}\cdot \mathbf {F} ^{T}\cdot \mathbf {F} \cdot d\mathbf {X} _{1}}}\cdot {\sqrt {d\mathbf {X} _{2}\cdot \mathbf {F} ^{T}\cdot \mathbf {F} \cdot d\mathbf {X} _{2}}}\cos \theta _{12}\\{\frac {d\mathbf {X} _{1}\cdot \mathbf {F} ^{T}\cdot \mathbf {F} \cdot d\mathbf {X} _{2}}{dX_{1}dX_{2}}}&={\frac {{\sqrt {d\mathbf {X} _{1}\cdot \mathbf {F} ^{T}\cdot \mathbf {F} \cdot d\mathbf {X} _{1}}}\cdot {\sqrt {d\mathbf {X} _{2}\cdot \mathbf {F} ^{T}\cdot \mathbf {F} \cdot d\mathbf {X} _{2}}}}{dX_{1}dX_{2}}}\cos \theta _{12}\\\mathbf {I} _{1}\cdot \mathbf {C} \cdot \mathbf {I} _{2}&=\Lambda _{\mathbf {I} _{1}}\Lambda _{\mathbf {I} _{2}}\cos \theta _{12}\end{aligned}}}


title: Unconscious State

text: Unconscious State was met with critical acclaim from music critics. Shad of AllHipHop stated, "Overall, this is a great addition to Jon Connor's already impressive catalogue of previous material. It's only a matter of time before Unconscious State propels Jon Connor further into the Hip-Hop audience's consciousness than he has ever been before." XXL said, "By this point, Connor was known as one of the most lyrical MCs in the game, but Unconscious State—with its features from Royce, Kweli, Freddie Gibbs, Danny Brown and Smoke DZA, to name just a few—proved that he could stand his ground amongst his peers in the game. Connor may have made his name through his mixtapes—calling himself The People's Rapper, he's been known to cater to his fanbase but consistently delivering top-notch music for free—but Unconscious State established him as a rapper with more than just technical ability on his side." Jesse Fairfax of HipHopDX said, "Unconscious State is a change of pace from Jon Connor, reflecting both growth and regression. At times he sacrifices artistry in the chase for recognition."


title: India–Seychelles relations

text: Diplomatic ties between India and Seychelles have existed since Seychelles gained independence in 1976. A resident high commissioner of India has been in Victoria since 1987 while Seychelles opened its resident mission in New Delhi in 2008. Relations between the two countries have been warm and cordial with regular high level exchange visits between the countries. From India, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Presidents R Venkataraman and Pratibha Patil have visited the Seychelles, while Presidents France Albert Rene, James Alix Michel and Danny Faure of Seychelles have paid state visits to India. India and Seychelles have broad based relations that cover a host of sectors including defence, culture, trade and technical cooperation. According to the Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India, relations between India and Seychelles have been characterised by "close friendship, understanding and cooperation", while Seychelles has described itself as a "rock of dependability for India in the Indian Ocean region".


title: Daron Hagen

text: Daron Hagen was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and grew up in New Berlin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Hagen was the youngest of the three sons of Gwen Hagen, a visual artist, writer and advertising executive who studied creative writing with Mari Sandoz and enjoyed a successful advertising career as creative director of Exclusively Yours Magazine and Earl Hagen (an attorney). Hagen began composing prolifically in 1974, when his older brother Kevin gave him a recording and score of Benjamin Britten's Billy Budd. Two years later, at the age of fifteen, he conducted the premiere of his first orchestral work, a recording and score of which came to the attention of Leonard Bernstein, who enthusiastically urged Hagen to attend Juilliard to study with David Diamond. He studied piano with Adam Klescewski, and studied composition, piano, and conducting at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music (where his teachers included Duane Dishaw and Judy Kramer) while attending Brookfield Central High School.


title: Daron Hagen

text: After two years at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where his teachers included Catherine Comet (conducting), Jeanette Ross (piano), and Les Thimmig and Homer Lambrecht (composition), he was invited to attend the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia by Ned Rorem (with whom he developed a lifelong friendship). While a student of Rorem's at Curtis, he studied piano with Marion Zarzeczna and also studied privately with Lukas Foss. Hagen moved to New York City in 1984 to complete his formal education as a student at Juilliard, studying first for two years with Diamond, then for a semester each with Joseph Schwantner and Bernard Rands. After graduating, Hagen was a Tanglewood composition fellow before briefly living abroad, first at the Camargo Foundation in Cassis, France, and then at the Rockefeller Foundation's Villa Serbelloni in Bellagio, Italy, where he has twice been a guest. Between 1985 and 1998 Hagen was also a frequent guest at the MacDowell Colony. When he returned to the United States, Hagen studied privately with Bernstein, whose guidance during the composition of Hagen's Shining Brow — the opera that launched Hagen's career internationally — prompted him to dedicate the score to Bernstein's memory.


title: Daron Hagen

text: As artistic director of the Perpetuum Mobile Concerts he premiered compositions by over a hundred American composers on concerts produced in Philadelphia and New York. Hagen served as president of the Lotte Lehmann Foundation in New York City, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to encouraging the performance and creation of opera and art song; from 2000 to 2018 he served as a trustee of the Douglas Moore Fund for American Opera and was elected a lifetime member of the Corporation of Yaddo in 2006. He is the founding artistic director of the New Mercury Collective, "a laboratory for artistic exploration, creative risk-taking, and performance in which its members can collaborate on the creation and performance of post-genre works combining theater, music, and emerging technology for audiences of all types." Hagen has been a featured composer at the Tanglewood, Mostly Modern, Ravinia, Wintergreen, and Aspen music festivals, and has served as artistic director and head of faculty for the Seasons Fall Music Festival in Yakima, Washington . He has served as co-chair of Composition for the Wintergreen Summer Music Academy in Virginia since 2015.


title: Daron Hagen

text: Faculty appointments include a stint as composer in residence at the Music Conservatory of the Chicago College of Performing Arts that led to an invitation to join the artist faculty there "in a multi-disciplinary position created for him that enable him to share his skills as a stage director, dramaturge, composer, and social activist with students from throughout the Roosevelt University community as they shadowed him and collaborate in the development of a new Hagen opera each year." He has also served as the Franz Lehár Composer in Residence at the University of Pittsburgh , twice as composer in residence for the Princeton University Atelier ; as artist in residence at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas ; Sigma Chi-William P. Huffman Composer in Residence at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio ; artist in residence at Baylor University, Waco, Texas ; on the musical studies faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music ; as an associate professor at Bard College ; as a visiting professor at the City College of New York ; and as a lecturer in music at New York University .


title: Daron Hagen

text: Hagen's music is essentially tonal, though serial, pitch class, and octatonic procedures are customarily used for psychologically and emotionally fraught passages. It is "notable for its warm lyricism, but his style defies easy categorization. While his works demonstrate fluency with a range of twentieth-century compositional techniques, those procedures are secondary to his exploitation and expansion of the possibilities of tonal harmony, giving his music an immediacy that makes it appealing to a wide spectrum of audiences. His music is broadly eclectic, drawing on a variety of styles as diverse as jazz, Broadway, Latin music, Italian verismo, and soft rock." According to Hagen, "Polytonality figures prominently in the major operas as a mechanism for manifesting the interaction between characters." Hagen, asked at one point by Bernstein to complete Marc Blitzstein's opera Sacco and Vanzetti, acknowledges a debt to Blitzstein's music: "I find the musical DNA of which it is composed indispensable. Strands of that DNA — strict adherence to economy of means, a passion for combining words and music, the belief that music can promote social justice, an abhorrence of pretension — are woven contrapuntally, inextricably, into the music that I compose, and have been, nearly from the start."


title: Daron Hagen

text: His operas embrace a particularly broad stylistic spectrum, and often "straddle the divide between the opera and musical theater worlds." In Shining Brow "Hagen's baseline idiom," writes Tom Strini, "seems to be modernist-expressionist, tonal but freely dissonant. He sets all sorts of influences, from barbershop to ticky-tick dance music against that idiom, to underscore character and crystallize the period ." In Vera of Las Vegas, Hagen, writes Robert Thicknesse, "blends idioms – neo-Gershwin, jazz, soft rock, Broadway – with soaring melodies that send the characters looping off in arias of self-revelation." "Bandanna is neither fish nor fowl – as fierce as verismo but wrought with infinite care; a melding of church and cantina and Oxonian declamation," writes Tim Page. Catherine Parsonage expands upon this assessment: " is wholly convincing as a modern opera, ranging stylistically from the music theatre of Gershwin, Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, to traditional mariachi music and contemporary opera of Benjamin Britten. Hagen, who served his apprenticeship on Broadway, acknowledges that holistically the piece falls between opera and musical theatre. Hagen's style encourages audiences to be actively involved in constructing their own meanings from the richness of the textual and musical cross-references in his work." Hagen's effective fusing of many styles into a coherent personal vision is recognized by a 2014 American Academy of Arts and Letters Academy Award that acknowledges the "outstanding artistic achievement a composer who has arrived at his or her own voice."


title: Daron Hagen

text: His first composition to attract wide attention was Prayer for Peace, premiered by the Philadelphia Orchestra , garnering him the distinction of being the youngest composer since Samuel Barber to be premiered by that orchestra; the New York Philharmonic commissioned Philharmonia for its 150th anniversary ; the University of Wisconsin Madison School of Music commissioned Concerto for Brass Quintet for its 100th anniversary ; the Curtis Institute commissioned Much Ado for its 75th anniversary . Hagen's commissions from major orchestras and performers between 1981 and 2008 included orchestral works, five symphonies (for the orchestras of Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Oakland, Albany, and Phoenix), seven concertos (for Gary Graffman, Jaime Laredo, Sharon Robinson, Jeffrey Khaner, and Sara Sant'Ambrogio, among others), several massive works for chorus and orchestra, two dozen choral works (including one for the Kings Singers), ballet scores, concert overtures, showpieces, two brass quintets, six piano trios, three string quartets, an oboe quintet, a duo for violin and cello, solo works for piano (His Suite for Piano was a featured new work for the Thirteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition), organ, violin, viola, and cello, and seventeen published cycles of art songs. (Hagen has over 300 art songs in print.) Material from Shining Brow was used in Hagen's piano piece "Built Up Dark", written for Bruce Brubaker in 1994.


title: Bob Hooper

text: Although he was originally signed by the New York Giants, Hooper came to the majors with the 1950 Philadelphia Athletics and promptly won 15 games while losing only 10 for a last-place outfit that won only 52 games all year — Hooper thus accounting for 28.8 percent of all wins for the 1950 A's. In 1951, he won 12 of 22 decisions for a Philadelphia club that improved to 70 victories. Continuing his "against the grain" career, in 1952, with the A's putting up what would be their final over-.500 season in their Philadelphia history, Hooper won only eight games, losing 15. He was traded to the pennant-contending Cleveland Indians that December 19, and became strictly a relief pitcher, appearing in 43 games in 1953 and only 17 contests in 1954. Hooper did not appear in the 1954 World Series, which Cleveland lost to the Giants in a four-game sweep. In his final season, Hooper appeared briefly with the 1955 Cincinnati Redlegs and lost his only two decisions. He finished his career with 40 victories, 41 defeats, 25 saves and an earned run average of 4.80. In 6202⁄3 innings pitched, he allowed 640 hits and 240 bases on balls, with 196 strikeouts.


title: Louis Walsh

text: In July 2011, he raced the "Reasonably Priced Car", a Kia Cee'd, during series 17 of Top Gear On 1 September 2014, Walsh appeared on an episode of Who's Doing the Dishes? In January 2016, ITV announced that Walsh would appear in Drive, a new show which pitted eight celebrities against each other in a series of races in different vehicles. Hosted by Vernon Kay, the show began airing on 5 April 2016 In 2023 he was a guest on Channel 5's Eurovision: 30 Unforgettable Moments a chart countdown based on the song contest which also featured contributions from David and Carrie Grant, The Fizz and Johnny Logan, with footage from the 1980s' contest showing Walsh cheering on Logan included in the run time. In March 2024, Walsh entered the Celebrity Big Brother house as a housemate on the twenty-third series. During his stint in Celebrity Big Brother, Walsh revealed that he had survived a diagnosis of Waldenström macroglobulinemia, a rare form of blood cancer, in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. He reached the final and finished in fourth place.


title: Louis Walsh

text: Walsh sought access to documents which allegedly showed that The Sun UK tabloid paid €700 to a man who made a false sexual assault accusation against him. The man was later imprisoned for the false accusation. The senior counsel for Walsh told Ireland's High Court on 14 May 2012, "The Sun directed the operation to take out Louis Walsh as a public person." On 10 August 2012, the High Court ordered The Sun to give all documents and information to Walsh relating to the preparation of an article in The Sun entitled "Louis Probed Over 'Sex Attack' on Man in Loo". The article was published both in The Sun and their website on 23 June 2011. Walsh sued for defamation of character resulting from the false and malicious allegations and the case was settled out of court. Walsh was awarded damages of €500,000 and €180,000 costs on 28 November 2012. Despite winning the legal case, the false accusations had a "lasting effect" on Walsh who was, as of 2015, suffering from paranoid thoughts and panic attacks as a result of the ordeal.


title: Louis Walsh

text: During an interview conducted by Sarah-Jane Crawford on The Xtra Factor during the semi-final results show in 2014, Walsh groped Mel B by her buttocks. Visibly irritated, she scolded and moved away from Walsh, who said he was only "looking after her". Crawford and the other judges, Cowell and Cheryl, tried to reassure her that she was "safe" while laughing off the gesture. After resurfacing on social media in July 2018, a few months after the Me Too movement began, the clip amassed millions of views on social media; it prompted discussion on the treatment of women by men and drew condemnation of Walsh and the responses of Crawford, Cowell and Cheryl. Some viewers defended Walsh based on his alleged homosexuality and the justification that he was unaware of what he was doing, while others pointed out that, if it can happen so openly in a public setting, there is a correlation to how frequently it may happen behind closed doors. Walsh stated on 21 July 2018 that he grabbed Mel B's buttocks as a joke, but conceded that the gesture was no longer "politically correct" due to social media reaction.


title: Jones Bar-B-Q (Kansas City)

text: Deborah "Little" and Mary "Shorty" Jones are the daughters of Leavy and Juanita Jones, two of eight siblings raised in Kansas City.: 120 Leavy Jones quit school after the 7th grade, worked as an electrician, and moonlighted as a pitmaster at an African-American owned barbecue restaurant, Hezekiah's, on 10th Street in Kansas City.: 120 The sisters helped out part-time making their family's sausage recipe "since they were old enough to stand on a milk crate and help crank out links." The sisters and their siblings worked at Hezekiah's on weekends growing up, and their brother Daniel eventually purchased it. Deborah continued to work with her brother as an adult while also working full-time for the US Postal service. When Daniel died in the 1980s, Mary, then working full-time as a nurse, joined her, and they ran the business together. They stayed on 10th Street until 2003, moved to 6th Street and stayed there until 2009, then downsized to a food cart on 12th Street so they could focus on caregiving for their father, who had been injured in an automobile accident.


title: Occupy Eugene

text: Occupy Eugene was a collaboration that occurred in Eugene, Oregon based on the Occupy Wall Street movement which began in New York City on September 17, 2011. Occupy Eugene included peaceful protests and demonstrations. Protesters were concerned about inequities in the distribution of wealth, banking regulation, housing issues and corporate greed. The first protest march was held on October 15, 2011. The march started at the Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza and continued downtown before marching over Ferry Street Bridge. It was reported that close to 2000 people were in attendance from all over the state of Oregon. Occupy Eugene continued to hold regular protests and actions until it left the encampment in December 2011. Protesters have stated that they do not have a set group of leaders. Occupy Eugene General Assemblies have met from as frequently as twice a day at times during active occupations, and as infrequently as weekly. Many committees have met since at least the third General Assembly, typically weekly. Decisions are made through a process known as consensus. Occupy Eugene's consensus process operates in a similar fashion to how consensus is being handled in New York City by protesters involved in Occupy Wall Street. Although the exact method varies from Occupation to Occupation. As of October 18, 2011, The Eugene police department was allowing protesters to camp in downtown Eugene, although city law prohibits it. Eugene police also stated that downtown camping won't be permanently allowed.


title: James Henry Mills

text: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. Pvt. Mills, undergoing his baptism of fire, preceded his platoon down a draw to reach a position from which an attack could be launched against a heavily fortified strongpoint. After advancing about 300 yards, Pvt. Mills was fired on by a machinegun only 5 yards distant. He killed the gunner with 1 shot and forced the surrender of the assistant gunner. Continuing his advance, he saw a German soldier in a camouflaged position behind a large bush pulling the pin of a potato-masher grenade. Covering the German with his rifle, Pvt. Mills forced him to drop the grenade and captured him. When another enemy soldier attempted to throw a hand grenade into the draw, Pvt. Mills killed him with 1 shot. Brought under fire by a machinegun, 2 machine pistols, and 3 rifles at a range of only 50 feet, he charged headlong into the furious chain of automatic fire shooting his M 1 from the hip. The enemy was completely demoralized by Pvt. Mills' daring charge, and when he reached a point within 10 feet of their position, all 6 surrendered. As he neared the end of the draw, Pvt. Mills was brought under fire by a machinegunner 20 yards distant. Despite the fact that he had absolutely no cover, Pvt. Mills killed the gunner with 1 shot. Two enemy soldiers near the machinegunner fired wildly at Pvt. Mills and then fled. Pvt. Mills fired twice, killing 1 of the enemy. Continuing on to the position, he captured a fourth soldier. When it became apparent that an assault on the strongpoint would in all probability cause heavy casualties on the platoon, Pvt. Mills volunteered to cover the advance down a shallow ditch to a point within 50 yards of the objective. Standing on the bank in full view of the enemy less than 100 yards away, he shouted and fired his rifle directly into the position. His ruse worked exactly as planned. The enemy centered his fire on Pvt. Mills. Tracers passed within inches of his body, rifle and machine pistol bullets ricocheted off the rocks at his feet. Yet he stood there firing until his rifle was empty. Intent on covering the movement of his platoon, Pvt. Mills jumped into the draw, reloaded his weapon, climbed out again, and continued to lay down a base of fire. Repeating this action 4 times, he enabled his platoon to reach the designated spot undiscovered, from which position it assaulted and overwhelmed the enemy, capturing 22 Germans and taking the objective without casualties.


title: Unión Obrera Democrática Filipina

text: In June 1901, the printers at the then-American-owned newspaper The Manila Times formed an industrial union: the Union de Impresores (UI), which was considered the first labor union in the Philippines. Similar unions were soon formed at other printing places in Manila, and on either December 30, 1901 or in January 1902, a conference was held that united them in a single organization. The organization was then called the Union de Impresores de Filipinas (UIF, "Printers' Union of the Philippines") which was later renamed to Union de Litografos y Impresores de Filipinas (ULIF). Its first president was Hermenegildo Cruz. Shortly after, ULIF was later renamed again to Unión Democrática de Litógrafos, Impresores, Encuadernadores y Otros Obreros ("Democratic Union of Lithographers, Printers, Bookbinders and Other Workers") after Cruz and some of its members approached Isabelo de los Reyes to seek advice in forming a workers' movement and cooperative store based on memberships' savings or contributions.


title: Unión Obrera Democrática Filipina

text: Soon after its founding, and realizing to include other workers outside the printing business, the members of the then-ULIF, spearheaded by de los Reyes, reorganized themselves as a trade union federation and thus, the Unión Obrera Democrática (UOD, "Democratic Workers Union") was formally established on February 2, 1902, at a congress of "approximately 140 printers and lithographers and representatives from other guilds including those of tobacco workers, carpenters, cooks, tailors, shoeworkers, mariners, and laborers" gathered at Variedades Theater in Sampaloc, Manila. Isabelo de los Reyes was elected president of the organization, whilst Hermenegildo Cruz was elected secretary. Except for Cruz, all the elected founding officers were "rich manufacturers and employers in Manila." The founding congress adopted the principles of two books, Vida e Obras de Carlos Marx ("Life and Works of Karl Marx") by Friedrich Engels, and Between Peasants by Errico Malatesta, as the political foundation of the movement.


title: Unión Obrera Democrática Filipina

text: The organization called for a national general strike campaign on August 2, 1902, a day before the proclamation of the Philippine Independent Church, in protest of the refusal of the government to comply with the demands for increased wages for the workers. In culmination of the general strike campaign, the following day despite heavy rain, in a meeting of about 42 prominent members at the Centro de Bellas Artes in Quiapo, Manila, the organization, led by its president Isabelo de los Reyes, launched and proclaimed the establishment of the Philippine Independent Church, a schismatic church from the authority of the state-sponsored Roman Catholic Church. The first strike action then occurred on August 9, 1902, as workers at the Malabon Commercial Tobacco Factory went on strike. The Union Obrera Democratica organized various walk-outs in factories in Manila and adjacent cities in support of the strike. As a result of the strike, wages were increased in some factories. Working hours were, however, unaffected. The state authorities responded to the general strike by arresting four union leaders and Isabelo de los Reyes on August 15 and August 17, 1902, respectively. De los Reyes was sentenced to four months in jail.


title: Proxy war

text: During classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, many non-state proxies were external parties that were introduced into an internal conflict and aligned themselves with a belligerent to gain influence and to further their own interests in the region. Proxies could be introduced by an external or local power and most commonly took the form of irregular armies which were used to achieve their sponsor's goals in a contested region. Some medieval states like the Byzantine Empire used proxy warfare as a foreign-policy tool by deliberately cultivating intrigue among hostile rivals and then backing them when they went to war with each other. Other states regarded proxy wars as merely a useful extension of a pre-existing conflict, such as France and England during the Hundred Years' War, both of which initiated a longstanding practice of supporting privateers, which targeted the other's merchant shipping. France used England's turmoil of the Wars of the Roses from their victory as a proxy, siding with the Lancastrians against the Yorkists who were backed by the Burgundian State. The Ottoman Empire likewise used the Barbary pirates as proxies to harass Western European powers in the Mediterranean Sea.


title: Proxy war

text: Frequent application of the term "proxy war" indicates its prominent place in academic research on international relations. Distinct implementations of soft power and hard power have proved to be unsuccessful in recent years. Accordingly, great failures in classic wars increased the tendency to use proxy wars. Since the early twentieth century, proxy wars have most commonly taken the form of states assuming the role of sponsors to non-state proxies and essentially using them as fifth columns to undermine adversarial powers. That type of proxy warfare includes external support for a faction engaged in a civil war, terrorists, national-liberation movements, and insurgent groups, or assistance to a national revolt against foreign occupation. For example, the British government partially organized and instigated the Arab Revolt to undermine the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. Many proxy wars began assuming a distinctive ideological dimension after the Spanish Civil War, which pitted the fascist political ideology of Italy and Nazi Germany against the communist ideology of the Soviet Union without involving these states in open warfare with each other. Sponsors of both sides also used the Spanish conflict as a proving ground for their own weapons and battlefield tactics.


title: Proxy war

text: Another common motivating factor is the existence of a security dilemma. A nation may use military intervention to install a more favorable government in a third-party state. Rival nations may perceive the intervention as a weakened position to their own security and may respond by attempting to undermine such efforts, often by backing parties favorable to their own interests (such as those directly or indirectly under their control, sympathetic to their cause, or ideologically aligned). In that case, if one or both rivals come to believe that their favored faction is at a disadvantage, they will often respond by escalating military and/or financial support. If their counterpart(s), perceiving a material threat or desiring to avoid the appearance of weakness or defeat, follow suit, a proxy war ensues between the two powers. That was a major factor in many of the proxy wars during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, as well as in the ongoing series of conflicts between Saudi Arabia and Iran, especially in Yemen and Syria.


title: Kilve

text: South of the village is Kilve Court Residential and Outdoor Learning Centre, which runs a wide range of courses for young people including Adventurous Activity Courses set in the centre's extensive grounds and Academic Enrichment Courses, designed to help gifted and talented children to develop their skills in subjects such as Art, Drama, English and Maths. Kilve Court is one of the few centres in the country to run instructive Creative Writing for ages up to and including 16, with published authors, such as Beth Webb, directing courses. The main part of the building was constructed between 1702 and 1705, in the reign of Queen Anne, by Henry Sweating, and incorporating an earlier dwelling, although alterations were made in the 1920s by Clough Williams-Ellis. Somerset County Council acquired the house in 1964 and it was opened in 1965 with residential places for 26 children and four members of staff. Since that date there have been a number of extensions and the house, together with a hutted camp site on the hill above, can now accommodate a total of 166. Kilve Court is a major employer in the village.


title: 2023 Czech presidential election

text: Pavel confirmed his intention to run on 29 June 2022, saying that he would launch his campaign officially in August 2022. Pavel stated that he wanted to win the election so that the Czech Republic would not have to feel ashamed by its president. In July 2022 Zima launched his campaign and started gathering signatures. He used an old ambulance for his campaign to represent his relationship to the health system. Pavel officially announced his candidacy on 6 September 2022 when he launched his campaign, with the slogan "Let's bring order and peace back to the Czech Republic". Karel Janeček launched his campaign on 7 September 2022 at the VR Play Park. He appeared in front of journalists in a VR suit to say that anybody could visit his Metaverse platform to submit their signature. Janeček was reported to be the first political candidate to use the Metaverse in his campaign. He said he would appear in the Metaverse on scheduled occasions to answer questions. On 10 September 2022, SPD announced it would nominate Bašta for the presidency.


title: 2023 Czech presidential election

text: On 10 October 2022 Fischer announced that he had gathered 10 signatures from Senators, allowing him to run. Karel Janeček admitted on 11 October 2022 that he had failed to gather 50,000 signatures, so he was seeking nominations from senators. On 12 October 2022 it was reported that Cyril Svoboda, former leader of KDU-ČSL, had started gathering signatures in the Senate to allow him to run. Svoboda initially refused to comment, but on 13 October confirmed he would not be running as he had failed to gather enough signatures. Nerudová announced on the same day she had gathered enough signatures to submit her candidacy. On 14 October 2022 Hilšer confirmed he had gathered the signatures of 14 Senators allowing him to run. Tomáš Zima also announced on 18 October 2022 that he had collected signatures from 13 senators allowing him to run. Zima said he had collected 37,000 from citizens so far, and could have over 50,000 by November, but had decided to insure himself with senators' signatures. Pavel Fischer launched his campaign on 18 October 2022, with the slogan "The Czech Republic in First Place". He said his priorities were respect for tradition, democracy and human rights, society's resistance to hostile influences, economic development, and the economic independence of the Czech Republic.


title: 2023 Czech presidential election

text: Babiš conceded defeat in a speech at his headquarters, and congratulated Pavel, expressing hope that Pavel would be "everyone's president". Former Minister of Finance Alena Schillerová called Babiš's result a "historic result for ANO" which the party would try to replicate in the next parliamentary election. Prime Minister Petr Fiala also sent a congratulatory message, and criticised Babiš's campaign during the election, calling it "the most abhorrent in our new era" and hailed "the end of Babiš's era in our country". Outgoing president Miloš Zeman expressed surprise at the scale of Pavel's victory, and stated that Babiš "should not be written off prematurely". Pavel was also congratulated by Senate leader Miloš Vystrčil, Chamber of Deputies speaker Markéta Pekarová Adamová, and Deputy Prime Minister Marian Jurečka. Ivan Bartoš, the leader of the Czech Pirate Party, called upon Babiš to apologise for what he described as his "dishonest" campaign. On 3 February 2023 Karel Janeček submitted a complaint to the Supreme Administrative Court over the presidential election process.


title: 8th Vermont Infantry Regiment

text: Unlike the 7th Vermont (which also was sent to Butler), the regiment's officers and men knew that they were bound for the Gulf of Mexico. The 8th was raised by the state legislature's authority, and were recruited, armed, and equipped by Col. Thomas, under direct instructions from federal government through Butler. Due to this genesis, the regiment had a different relationship to the state than the other volunteer units. Other volunteer regiments enlisted by the state received care and supplies from state officials, but the troops raised by Thomas could not look to Vermont for any aid, and the responsibility and labor of providing for them devolved wholly upon him and his staff. In a sense they belonged to the federal government, and not to the state where they enlisted. They were not entitled to share in the state aid provided other Vermont troops. Being thus thrown on their own resources to obtain supplies as best they could, members of the 8th developed learned to become self-reliant and make do to meet and endure the hard life in store for them.


title: 8th Vermont Infantry Regiment

text: The regiment debarked from the Hovey on Monday evening and after the regiment formed in the street, orders were given to load the muskets in readiness for any emergency that might arise. Marching to "Yankee Doodle", which drowned the secession songs of the taunting mobs, the men moved to temporary quarters at the Union Cotton Press, and a strong guard was detailed for the neighborhood, and both officers and men slept on their arms. To further insure their safety, Col. Thomas issued very strict orders against leaving the quarters for any purpose. That first night in the city was memorable for the men. The colonel was vigilant,the men quiet and determined, the sentinels alert, and every precaution taken against surprise attack by an armed force or a city mob. The enforcement of strict military discipline was deadly serious. No one could be trusted, and the Vermont soldiers were liable at any moment to have to fight for their lives. The men knew they were in a hostile city and little temptation to leave quarters. The men got little sleep the first night, and, though no disturbance was attempted, they were relieved to see daylight on Tuesday morning.


title: 8th Vermont Infantry Regiment

text: Soon, U.S. forces found large numbers of escaped slaves emancipating themselves by crossing into their lines. Standing War Department orders then in force, required troops to return fugitives. Many of his forces were seeing the results of slavery first-hand for the first time and felt strongly the policy was wrong. The men of the 8th were caught up in this conundrum. Many members saw slavery as evil, and others were turning against it, after seeing enough of its horrors up close to make them "an Abolitionist forever," yet forced to comply by the orders. Natural sympathy won out, and the men, not finding it in their hearts to comply, ignored it. One incident changed many of the men to turn completely against the institution when a slave owner appeared and began to beat the escapee when he refused to return. Every time he hit the black man, men of the 8th kicked him; the slaveowner, finding himself likely to get badly beaten stopped and left without the man. Men of the 8th hid him and pledged never to return him.


title: 8th Vermont Infantry Regiment

text: The proverbial first baptism of blood came to part a patrol on Sunday, June 22. On Friday, Company H, which had been at the extreme end of the operable line, had fallen back from La Fourche Crossing to Bayou des Allemands, when reports of Rebels tearing up track to the west caused Capt. Dutton to send a 30-man detachment under Lieutenants Franklin and Holton in a passenger car, pushed ahead of a locomotive, to investigate. No enemy was seen they saw a mounted man ride across the track as they approached at Raceland Station, seven miles out from their post. Franklin halted and sent forward an advance squad of six men on foot, following them slowly with the train. The advance guard was surprised by a volley from the lush vegetation beside the track. Franklin and Holton were severely wounded at the first fire, and the advance guard sprang back on the train. Despite his wounds, Franklin kept his wits, ordering his men in the car to kneel and fire from the windows, he jumped from the car and ran to the engine where the fireman lay dead and the engineer crouched in the iron-clad cab. Franklin told the engineer him to put on steam, and the man quickly reversed his engine running backwards with all possible speed.


title: 8th Vermont Infantry Regiment

text: Upon their return to Des Allemands, Dutton sent the wounded to the hospital at Algiers and reported the action. Thomas immediately sent Companies A, C, and I, to relieve Company H at Des Allemands, but the Rebels did attack nor return to destroy the rail line. The days turned into summer and the regiment continued its patrols and work details, but made no contact with the enemy. During July and August, the regiment picketed the right bank of the Mississippi for 13 miles from the "Cut-off road" below Algiers to the canal above, guarded the NOO&GW for 32 miles, to Bayou des Allemands, maintained order in the town, and arrested many citizens who attempted to pass out of the lines. Serious illness prevailed in the command, and three line officers died between July 22-24, causing the commissioning of NCOs from within the regiment to fill the vacancies. The 8th, as part of Phelps' brigade moved north to support Brig Gen. Thomas R. Williams attack at the Battle of Baton Rouge on Tuesday, August 5, but made no contact with the enemy and returned to Algiers.


title: 8th Vermont Infantry Regiment

text: As a result, no Vermonter was executed by Taylor for any alleged robbery. However, after the Union captured New Orleans, a number of German-Americans who become U.S. citizens enlisted in the 8th to make up for losses. Having opposed secession, they felt they were exercising rightful privilege as citizens of the U.S. by joining the regiment. Seven of them were the POWs from September 4. They were recognized by members of the Confederate guard who had formerly known them. As soon as this information reached Rebel headquarters, they decided that their names had been on the New Orleans conscription list and the Confederacy had a claim on them for military service despite them never having served. On this flimsy pretext the Germans were arrested as deserters, and denied POW status. Without allowing the Germans to communicate with their friends or prepare their defence, a quick court martial returned a guilty verdict condemning them to be publicly shot as deserters. The men of the 8th saw the act simply as a murder indicitave of the malignacy the "barbarism of slavery " that had infected Southern society. On Thusrday, October 23, a 70-man firing squad executed them along a shallow trench under some trees beside the railroad track and hastily buried.They were forced to dig their own graves, then were shot.


title: 8th Vermont Infantry Regiment

text: Butler, decided to launch a three-pronged expedition into the Bayou Lafourche region. Commander McKean Buchanan took four light-draft gunboats from New Orleans to Berwick Bay via the Gulf of Mexico. Thomas would take the 8th, the 1st, and 2nd Native Guards, which Butler had recently organized, and up the railroad dislodging Confederates from Des Allemands, and meet Weitzel at La Fourche Crossing. Butler tasked Weitzel's mhe main column of 5,000 soldiers to attack Taylor at Donaldsonville and Thibodeaux, occupy the La Fourche district, cut off the Rebels' cattle supplies from Texas permanently, and open the NOO&GW so loyal planters could send their sugar and cotton to the New Orleans market. Once done, he was to move into Bayou Teche, and, if practicable, make an incursion into Texas. The Navy would take Weitzel's main body upriver aboard 7 river transports to Donaldsonville. There he would drive out the Rebels, and then move by the country roads down the Bayou La Fourche to meet Thomas at La Fourche Crossing.. The two columns, uniting there, were to proceed to Brashear City, the western terminus of the NOO&GW, on Berwick Bay. A fleet of four gunboats was meanwhile to pass up the bay to Brashear and cut off the retreat of the enemy.


title: 8th Vermont Infantry Regiment

text: Meanwhile, Thomas' movement was slow as he was under orders to put the line in running condition as he progressed. Despite the two regiments covering seven miles before bivouacking for the night, the opening of the remaining 20 miles would take great effort. A heavy growth of the long grass of the region had covered the rails with a matted troublesome mass of grass which blocked the wheels of the construction train. There was one way of effectually doing this, to pull it up with immense toil by their hands, as the men in the 8th had often weeded their gardens in Vermont. Initially reluctant considering it rather undignified work for soldiers, the 8th soon fell to work with a will, and the 1st joined them. The two regiments also discovered they needed to rebuild culverts that had been destroyed, and replace rails that had been torn up. Bent rails were straightened and re-laid, missing rails and sleepers replaced. The 8th's experience with the telegraph system helped as the two regiments also had to rebuild fifteen miles of telegraph line and poles. Thomas' column took two days to reach Boutee station, where they halted for the night on Monday, October 27.


title: 8th Vermont Infantry Regiment

text: Weitzel's troops on the right bank, the 8th New Hampshire Infantry Regiment and two sections of the 1st Maine Light Artillery Battery moved faster than those on the left. On Monday, October 27, at 9:00 am near a settlement named Texas, these men met a battery and were briefly held up. The 1st Maine's counterbattery fire was very effective, and after losing their commander and running out of ammunition, the Rebel battery made a hasty retreat. Accordingly, the Rebel commander, Brig. Gen. Alfred Mouton withdrew his forces farther to the south. At 11:00 am, the Union force reached a position about 2 mi (3.2 km) north of Labadieville. Getting a report that Confederates were in considerable force ahead with six artillery pieces, Weitzel formed 75th New York, 13th Connecticut, and the 4th Massachusetts Battery, in battle order on the left (east) bank, and sent them forward through a sugarcane field. He also ordered the remaining two sections of the 1st Maine to the front for additional support.


title: 8th Vermont Infantry Regiment

text: On the right bank, the 8th New Hampshire met stiff resistance so Weitzel put the 12th Connecticut on the 8th New Hampshire's right flank and ordered both to attack. Their lines of advance diverged, and Weitzel had the 13th Connecticut plug the gap opening in the center. While the 8th New Hampshire stood firing, the other two regiments slowly advanced through ditches and briars almost unmolested since the Confederate gunners mostly fired too high. The Federals, some in battle for the first time, reached an open field where the opposing fire became more heavy. The Federals fired at will as they advanced, cursing at the top of their lungs, while Weitzel sat on his horse smoking a cigar. The Terrebonne militia appeared on the western flank, fired a volley at the Union troops, then fled. Finally, the Federals reached a point about 100 yd (91 m) from the 18th and 24th Louisiana Infantry, who defended a drainage ditch behind a fence near a plantation road at Georgia Landing. Suddenly, the Confederates panicked and fled, swarming out of the ditch and into the woods behind them. The Union soldiers rushed forward, cheering.


title: 8th Vermont Infantry Regiment

text: At the time of the battle, the 2nd Brigade was composed of four under-strength units, the 47th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, the 12th Connecticut Infantry, the 160th New York Infantry, and the 8th Vermont Infantry. The brigade was commanded by Colonel Stephen Thomas, who had previously commanded the 8th Vermont. As ordered, the brigade advanced several hundred yards beyond the Federal lines and engaged the vastly superior Confederate forces in brutal hand-to-hand combat. Their stubborn fight held up the Confederate attack for thirty minutes, allowing the rest of the XIX Corps to withdraw and join forces with the VI Corps about a mile to their rear near Belle Grove Plantation. The 47th Pennsylvania Infantry, on the Brigade's extreme right flank, was almost immediately overrun, hindered by a dense fog and Union 8th Corps men fleeing through its line. They were pinned down in a ravine and systematically decimated as their black knapsacks stood out in the swirling fog. As mounting casualties reduced the 2nd Brigade's combat effectiveness, Col. Thomas successfully withdrew his brigade, the 8th Vermont Infantry being the last unit to withdraw.


title: The Saga Continues (Wu-Tang Clan album)

text: Upon its release, The Saga Continues received mixed to positive reviews from most music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 64, based on 16 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". AllMusic's reviewer, who gave the album 3 out of 5 stars, stated that "Mathematics fills The Saga Continues with dark, moody beats, atmospheric keyboard patches, snatches of classic soul sides, and samples from vintage kung-fu movies. If this isn't quite a brother to Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)". Alex McLevy of The A.V. Club rated the album a "B−" calling it more "cobbled-together" than A Better Tomorrow, but also stated that "it turns out to be the best Wu-related effort since 2010's thin yet enjoyable Wu-Massacre". He also praised Mathematics' production saying that he "has been intricately involved with the Wu since its inception and he turns out to do a better RZA than the RZA these days, stitching together more than an hour of trilling violins, head-snap drums, and mawkish hooks". Will Rosebury of Clash Music, rated The Saga Continues a 6 out of 10 stating that "at its best, 'The Saga Continues' captures some of the old Wu magic but unfortunately these moments are few and far between".


title: Fort Monckton

text: Despite several previous plans which noted the exposed nature of Portsmouth harbour to attack, it was not until the American War of Independence that construction of a defensive fort was started on the site in 1779. The Governor of Portsmouth Lt. General Sir Robert Monckton told his Commanding Engineer, Lt. Col. John Archer to draw up plans for the defence of Stokes Bay. In 1779 the Gilkicker Sea Mark was demolished to provide clear ground for a new temporary fort, which consisted of a 6 feet (1.8 m) thick earth bank, supported by brushwood fascines. So poor was the structure that the tents of the billeted soldiers blew away in 1780, while the site was so exposed that it was used as a sighting point by ships entering Portsmouth harbour. Archer proposed a new permanent structure, which was accepted in July 1780. Known as The Fort at Gilkicker, construction started in September 1780. However, using civilian and often supplemented by conscript labour, construction speed was slow and the design came under criticism from Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond, who in 1782 was appointed as Master-General of the Ordnance. After Archer was removed from his post in 1783 construction was taken over by engineer officer James Glenie, who himself was removed in 1784. Construction again slowed, and after much more controversy in its design and naming, it was renamed Fort Monckton after the now deceased Robert Monckton, and completed in 1789 or 1790, just before the French Revolution of 1793.


title: Tenpō Tsūhō

text: The Tenpō Tsūhō (Japanese: 天保通宝; kyūjitai: 天保通寳 or 天保通寶) was an Edo period coin with a face value of 100 mon, originally cast in the 6th year of the Tenpō era . The obverse of the coin reads "Tenpō" (天保) a reference to the era this coin was designed in, and "Tsūhō" (通寳) which means "circulating treasure" or currency. The Kaō is that of Gotō San'emon, a member of the Kinza mint's Gotō family (後藤家), descendants of Gotō Shozaburo Mitsutsugu, a metalworker and engraver from Kyoto appointed by shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1600 to oversee the Edo mint of his shogunate and oversee its coinage. All mother coins were produced in Edo (present day Tokyo) before they were sent to other mints where they would place the individual mint's mark (shirushi, 印) on the edge of the coin. The coin circulated for 40 years, and stopped being produced during the Meiji Restoration after the introduction of the Japanese yen. Today these coins are now sold as "lucky charms" as well as being collected by numismatists.


title: Tenpō Tsūhō

text: The Tokugawa government started issuing the 100 mon coin in 1835 as a way to combat its fiscal deficit, but due to the debasement of the copper in the 100 mon denomination (5½ times a 1 mon Kan'ei Tsūhō coin) which lead to chronic inflation in commodity prices, this has been compared by economic historians to the inflation caused by the introduction of the 100 wén minted by the Qing dynasty due to the Taiping rebellion in 1853, or the 100 mun coin issued by the Kingdom of Joseon in 1866, both of which were also cast to combat government deficits. Unlike the Chinese 100 wén whose production stopped after a single year, and the Korean 100 mun which was only produced for 172 days, the Tenpō Tsūhō continued to be produced for the duration of the Edo period. Despite this the actual market value of the Tenpō Tsūhō was significantly lower than its face value and was estimated only at 80 mon during the end of the Bakumatsu in 1869, while the coin had become the most commonly circulated mon denomination; accounting for 65% of all mons circulating at the time.


title: Min Chung Sik

text: Photography requires two fundamental elements in order to understand the deeper process of its unique history: to define the internal principle of the medium with which the art genre has grown and developed, and to discover relationships between the medium and other surrounding art perspectives. Photography has created its foundation through the process of its historical unfolding, and has close relationships with other art genres, intellectual, and cultural contexts. Koreans have traditionally used the word "Sajin" to refer to photographs. However, today's concept and dynamic connotation of Sajin has been developed in the Western world and Europe. Examining and studying how photography was introduced in Korea, the East Asian belief system, and how photography captures cultural conflicts, has helped to being Korean-ness and a national identity to light. Also, discovering the identity and media-driven culture of Korea has directly dominated the life of modern Korea, when the principles of a camera were first introduced.


title: Min Chung Sik

text: Min Ch'ung-Sik's was a part of a generation of pioneers who played with art forms. These original black and white photographs filled a chasm not only in the visual archive of modern Korean photography, but also in the visual vernacular of this particular period. The captivating imagery in Min's collection showcases a pivotal role in the development of photography. Through his influence and later as a teacher, Min revealed everyday life through visual diversity as important aspects of Korea's nearly forgotten past. The photographs offer a counter-narrative of ordinary lives during this turbulent period of Korean colonialism. These photographs are documentary, but at the same time aesthetically charged, illustrating and illuminating the traces and trails of Korean life as seen through Korean eyes. Min Ch'ung-Sik moved away from art photography to advocating realism and documentary photography, thus becoming a founder and leader in the realist movement during the era of portrait photography.


title: Hridayam (soundtrack)

text: On 25 October 2021, the first single "Darshana" was launched coinciding with the re-opening of theatres in Kerala. The song is picturised on Pranav Mohanlal and Darshana Rajendran during their college days. On 6 December 2021, the second track "Arike Ninna" was released, which depicted the "pain and frustration" of the lead character. A celebratory song, titled "Onakka Mundhiri" was released as the third single on 17 December. On 31 December 2021, coinciding with the New Year's Eve, Vineeth Sreenivasan announced that the A-side of Hridayam's soundtrack will be launched on the same day. The remaining tracks were released as the B-side of the soundtrack online on 7 January 2022. The same day, a promotional event held in Kochi, with the presence of Mohanlal and film producer Antony Perumbavoor, in order to release the physical copies of the album – through cassettes and CDs. Mohanlal praised Vineeth Sreenivasan and the crew for bringing the true essence of music, adding that it reminded of his films: His Highness Abdullah , Bharatham and Kamaladalam , which had a strong emphasis on Malayalam film music and particularly the former, set the record for highest sales in music cassettes in Kerala. He further added "It makes me glad to know that Hridayam is bringing the emphasis of music with a whole new dimension".


title: Hridayam (soundtrack)

text: Upon releases, the tracks "Darshana" and "Onakka Munthiri" were positively received by music critics, cinephiles and netizens. In an interview with The Times of India, Nithya Mammen, who won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Singer for the track "Vathikkalu Vellaripravu" featured in Sufiyum Sujatayum , listed "Darshana" as one of her favourite picks of the "Top 10 Malayalam Songs of 2021". Mammen had stated it as "a very refreshing song, which also has a positive energy". Celebrities such as Dulquer Salmaan too praised the track. "Darshana" crossed more than 3.5 million views within 48 hours. In its critical review for The Indian Express, VS Gowtham stated that "the songs blend well with the film". Anand Kochukudy of The Quint had stated "Hesham Abdul Wahab's music is also fresh and adds to the film. The "Onakka Munthiri" number (with just vocals) sung by debutante Divya, spouse of Vineeth Sreenivasan, stands out for its peppiness." A critical review from Manorama Online praised Hesham's songs as "the heart and soul of the film" that are "seamlessly blended into the narrative". Critic Vipin Nair stated the album as "a labour of love from the composer (Hesham Abdul Wahab)" and a "multilingual" and "multi-genre treat". He further wrote: "At a time when most Malayalam soundtracks do not last more than 15 minutes, a soundtrack of this length and diversity is a welcome change to a music lovers. Adding to that the way this album has been packaged and marketed, feels nice to see this level of care compared to how a lot of movies do not even have their songs come out on time."


title: East Mediterranean Gas Forum

text: On 15 June 2022 it was announced at the EGMF that the EU, Egypt and Israel had reached an accord that would see the supply of gas to the EU, in order that the latter could reduce its dependence on Russia, which in 2021 supplied the EU with roughly 40 percent of its gas. According to the deal, gas from Israel will be brought via a pipeline to the LNG terminal on the Egypt's Mediterranean coast before being transported on tankers to the European shores. Reports were afoot that Russia cut its exports to Europe on the same day "as a sign of displeasure at the deal signed in Cairo." As a deal sweetener Ursula von der Leyen pledged food relief worth $104 million for Egypt, which has been reeling from grain shortages as a result of the Ukraine war, as well as 3 billion euros in "agriculture, nutrition, water and sanitation programmes over the next years here in the region". The EU's new policy is to be fully independent of Russian fossil fuels before 2030. The subject of the agreement, white gas, is found in underground deposits and created through fracking.


title: 2023 Serbian protests

text: At a press conference inside the House of the National Assembly of Serbia, opposition parties People's Party, Do not let Belgrade drown, Together, Democratic Party, and the Party of Freedom and Justice-led Ujedinjeni parliamentary group announced that they would organise a "Serbia Against Violence" protest in front of the National Assembly on 8 May. The parties announced the demands at the conference, which included halting and cancelling the broadcast of reality programs and shows that promote violence on television with a national frequency, banning print media whose content promotes violence, publishes fake news, and violates the Journalistic Code, confiscating the national frequency of Pink and Happy television channels, demanding the resignation of the board members of the Regulatory Body for Electronic Media (REM) and Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) and ministers Ružić and Bratislav Gašić, and the head of the Security Intelligence Agency, Aleksandar Vulin, and holding a session in the National Assembly with only one item on the agenda where the government's responsibility and the security of the country would be discussed.


title: 2023 Serbian protests

text: Zdravko Ponoš, a 2022 presidential election candidate, and his Serbia Centre organisation stated their support for the protests. Former SNS member of parliament Dragan Šormaz expressed his support for the protest, including former president of Serbia, Boris Tadić. Members of the National Assembly such as Aleksandar Olenik, Miloš Parandilović, and Vladeta Janković attended the protests, including actors Seka Sablić, Dragan Bjelogrlić, and Filip Karađorđević, a member of House of Karađorđević. Actors Nikola Kojo and Rade Šerbedžija, singers Seka Aleksić and Breskvica, and Bishop Grigorije Durić voiced their support for the protests. Basketball coach Duško Vujošević also attended the protests. Over 50 environmental organisations expressed their support for the Serbia Against Violence protests. A group of European Parliament members from the European Greens voiced their support for the protests, including European Parliament members, members of national parliaments, and public figures affiliated with the Progressive International. In July 2023, the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats group in the European Parliament expressed their support for the protests.


title: 2023 Serbian protests

text: Vučić described the demonstrators as "hyenas and vultures", and has accused the opposition of attempting to kill him or to stage a coup d'état. Darija Kisić, the minister of family welfare and demography, characterised the organisers of the protests as "parties that are the opposition to Serbia", while Brnabić accused them of "politicising" the shootings. Vladimir Orlić, the president of the National Assembly, accused them of "self-promotion", while Ivica Dačić, the first deputy prime minister, accused them of "abusing the shootings". Following the 12 May protest, Vučić uploaded a photo on Instagram in which he said that "I tried, but failed, to make the three of us nine" and "there are no forgeries and photoshopping" in the photo, while Brnabić uploaded a photoshopped photo of Vučić, minister Siniša Mali, and her on Twitter, ridiculing the protest by claiming that less demonstrators were actually present at the protest. These reactions received criticism. On the other hand, Rade Basta, the minister of economy, said that "I believe that other members of the government should also be on the streets with the citizens because of the tragedy that befell us all".


title: Ballast tractor

text: The ballast box is a metal box installed on the rear chassis of the tractor instead of the fifth wheel coupling. Earlier heavy haulers unmounted the fifth wheel and used merely a piece or two of heavy rocks, stones or concrete blocks which weighted enough to avoid wheel spin, later builders and heavy haulers developed metal boxes of different designs to match the tractor layout. These boxes were filled with concrete or steel to increase the weight of the tractor. The problem with ballast tractors was the weight of ballast itself weighted over 10, 20 or even 40 tons in some scenarios. Other designs also included sleeping cabins in the ballast for the drivers and the crew for longer journeys and harsh weather conditions, This made the height of the tractors increase significantly, these units are still used today in the gulf area due to extreme heat. Some units have factory fitted ballast box with appropriate weight to meet with the regional guidelines, these tractors units do not have fifth wheel and drive out from the factory with a ballast box. Heavy haul operators convert heavy-duty tractors to ballast tractors with an aftermarket ballast box built by a builder or by themselves.


title: Prelude to the Russian invasion of Ukraine

text: The crisis was related to the War in Donbas, itself part of the Russo-Ukrainian War, ongoing since February 2014. Intercepted phone conversations of Sergey Glazyev, a top advisor to Russian President Vladimir Putin, disclosed the specifics of the project Novorossiya to take over not just Crimea, but also the Donbas, Kharkiv, Odesa, and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine, which Russia apparently aimed to annex following Crimea. The plan involved fomenting widespread unrest using pro-Russian agents on the ground, and then orchestrating uprisings that would announce rigged referendums about joining Russia, similar to the one that took place in Crimea on 16 March 2014. In December 2021, Russia advanced two draft treaties that contained requests for what it referred to as "security guarantees", including a legally binding promise that Ukraine would not join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and a reduction in NATO troops and materiel stationed in Eastern Europe, threatening unspecified military response if those demands were not met in full. NATO rejected these requests, and the United States warned Russia of "swift and severe" economic sanctions should it further invade Ukraine. The crisis was described by many commentators as one of the most intense in Europe since the Cold War.


text: Following months of Euromaidan protests, on 21 February 2014, pro-Russian Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and parliamentary opposition leaders signed an agreement calling for an early election. The following day, Yanukovych fled Kyiv ahead of an impeachment vote that stripped him of his presidential authority. Leaders of the Russian-speaking eastern regions of Ukraine declared continued loyalty to Yanukovych, causing the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in the country. This unrest was fomented by Russia as part of a coordinated political and military campaign against Ukraine. This was followed by Russia's invasion and subsequent annexation of Crimea in March 2014 and the beginning of the Donbas war in April, with the creation of the Russia-backed quasi-states of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics. The Minsk agreements allowed the fighting to subside in Donbas, leaving separatists in control of about a third of the region. This stalemate led to the war being labelled a "frozen conflict".


text: Beginning in 2019, Russia issued over 650,000 internal Russian passports to Donbas residents, which the Ukrainian government viewed as a step towards the annexation of the region. On 14 September 2020, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy approved a new national security strategy for the country, signaling Ukraine's intent to foster a stronger relationship with NATO "with the aim of membership in ." On 24 March 2021, Zelenskyy signed Decree No. 117/2021 approving the government's strategy for the "de-occupation and reintegration" of Crimea, including Sevastapol. The decree complemented the activities of the already existing Crimean Platform while also mentioning other means for regaining control of the region, including through potential military force. The next day, Zelenskyy enacted the National Security and Defence Council's decision on Ukraine's military security strategy, protecting the country from external threats through deterrence, internal stability in times of crisis, and cooperation, particularly with the EU and NATO. The decree additionally described Russia as a "military adversary" which "carries out armed aggression against Ukraine... uses military, political, economic, informational and psychological, space, cyber and other means that threaten independence, state sovereignty and territorial integrity" of the country.


text: Russian and pro-Kremlin media alleged on 3 April 2021 that a Ukrainian drone attack had caused the death of a child in separatist-controlled Donbas; however, no further details were given surrounding the incident. Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the Russian State Duma, believed that Ukrainian leaders should be "held responsible for the death", while proposing to exclude Ukraine from the Council of Europe. On 5 April, Ukrainian representatives of the Joint Centre of Control and Coordination (JCCC) sent a note to the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine regarding pro-Russian intentions to falsify the accusations. The next day, the mission confirmed the death of a child in Russian-occupied Donbas but failed to establish a link between the purported "Ukrainian drone strike" and the child's death. On 6 April 2021, two Ukrainian servicemen were killed in Donetsk Oblast: one by shelling at a Ukrainian army position near the town of Nevelske and another near the village of Stepne by an unknown explosive device. Following the deaths, Zelenskyy declared that Ukraine would not respond to "provocations" by separatists forces. Due to the shelling, the water pumping station in the "gray-zone" between the villages of Vasylivka and Kruta Balka in South Donbas was de-energized, cutting off the water supply to over 50 settlements.


text: Russia moved ships between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea, with the transfer including several landing craft and artillery boats. Interfax reported on 8 April that the crews and ships of the Caspian Flotilla would perform the final naval exercises in cooperation with the Black Sea Fleet. On 10 April 2021, Ukraine invoked Paragraph 16 of the Vienna Document and initiated a meeting in the OSCE on the surge of Russian troops near the Russo-Ukrainian border and Russian-occupied Crimea. Ukraine's initiative was supported by several countries but the Russian delegation failed to appear at the meeting and refused to provide explanations. On 13 April 2021, Ukrainian consul Oleksandr Sosoniuk was detained in Saint Petersburg and later expelled by the FSB for allegedly "receiving confidential information" during a meeting with a Russian citizen. In response, on 19 April, Yevhen Chernikov, a senior Russian diplomat of the Russian embassy in Kyiv, was declared by Ukraine a persona non grata and ordered to leave the country within 72 hours. On 14 April 2021, in a meeting in Crimea, Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of the Security Council of Russia accused Ukrainian special services of trying to organise "terrorist attacks and sabotage" on the peninsula.


text: On the night of 14 to 15 April 2021, a naval confrontation took place in the Sea of Azov, 40 kilometres (25 mi) from the Kerch Strait, between three Ukrainian Gyurza-M-class artillery boats and six vessels from the Coast Guard of the Border Service of the FSB. The Ukrainian artillery boats were escorting civilian ships when the incident occurred. It was reported that Ukrainian ships threatened to use airborne weapons to deter provocations from FSB vessels. The incident ended without any casualties. The following day, Russia announced the closure of parts of the Black Sea to warships and vessels of other countries until October, under the pretext of military exercises. The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the decision as a "gross violation of the right of navigational freedoms" guaranteed by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. According to the convention, Russia must not "obstruct maritime passages of the International strait to ports" in the Sea of Azov. According to John Kirby, Pentagon Press Secretary, Russia had concentrated more troops near the Russo-Ukrainian border than in 2014. Additionally, temporary restrictions by Russia on flights over parts of Crimea and the Black Sea were reportedly imposed from 20 to 24 April 2021.


text: On 3 December 2021 Ukrainian Minister of Defence Oleksii Reznikov, spoke of the possibility of a "large-scale escalation" by Russia during the end of January 2022, during a session at the country's national parliament, the Verkhovna Rada. Reznikov estimated that the Russian military buildup consisted of 94,300 troops. In early December 2021, an analysis conducted by Janes concluded that major elements of the Russian 41st Army (headquartered at Novosibirsk) and the 1st Guards Tank Army (normally deployed around Moscow) had been re-positioned to the west, reinforcing the Russian 20th and 8th Guards armies that were already positioned closer to the Russo-Ukrainian border. Additional Russian forces were reported to have moved to Crimea, reinforcing Russian naval and ground units that were previously deployed there. U.S. intelligence officials warned that Russia was planning an upcoming major military offensive into Ukraine scheduled to take place in January 2022. A report released in November 2023 by the international NGO Global Rights found that Russia's defense contractor began buying trucks and three 170-meter bulk carriers to transport grain in December 2021, suggesting earlier Russian planning to loot Ukraine's food supplies.


text: Russia began a slow evacuation of its embassy staff at Kyiv in January 2022. The motives for the evacuation were, at the time, unknown and subjected to multiple speculations. By mid-January, an intelligence assessment produced by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence estimated that Russia was in its final stages of completing a military buildup at the Russo-Ukrainian border, amassing 127,000 troops in the region. Among the troops, 106,000 were land forces, with the remainder comprising naval and air forces. In addition, 35,000 Russian-backed separatist forces and another 3,000 Russian forces were reported to be present in rebel-held eastern Ukraine. The assessment estimated that Russia had deployed 36 Iskander short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) systems near the border, many stationed within striking distance of Kyiv. The assessment also noted intensified Russian intelligence activity. An analysis conducted by the Atlantic Council on 20 January concluded that Russia had deployed additional critical combat capabilities to the region.


text: While the U.S. had rejected Russia's demand to keep Ukraine out of NATO in January, by early February, the Biden administration had reportedly shifted its position, offering to prevent Ukraine's NATO accession if Russia backed away from the imminent invasion. Referring to unspecified intelligence, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan stated an attack could begin at any moment prior to 20 February, the conclusion of the 2022 Winter Olympics at Beijing. Separately, the media published several reports based on acquired U.S. intelligence that had been briefed to several allies with specific references to 16 February as a potential starting date for a ground invasion. Following these announcements, the U.S. ordered most of its diplomatic staff and all military instructors in Ukraine to evacuate. Numerous countries, including Japan, Germany, Australia, and Israel also urged their citizens to leave Ukraine immediately. The next day, KLM suspended its flights to Ukraine, while other airlines shifted their flight schedules to limit exposure across the country. By 11 February, Biden had issued a public warning to Americans to leave Ukraine as soon as possible.


text: On 10 February, the Baltic states invoked provisions of the Vienna Document requesting an explanation from Belarus regarding the unusual military activities. The move was followed by Ukraine a day after, where it too invoked Chapter III (risk reduction) of the Vienna Document, requesting Russia to provide "detailed explanations on military activities in the areas adjacent to the territory of Ukraine and in the temporarily occupied Crimea". The request was refused, with Russia asserting that it had no obligation to share the information, although it allowed a Swiss inspection team to enter the territories of Voronezh and Belgorod. On 12 February, the Russian cruise missile submarine Rostov-on-Don (B-237) transited the Dardanelles on its way back to the Black Sea. The Russian Black Sea Fleet conducted live missile and gun firing exercises from 13 to 19 February 2022. In response to Russian military activities, Ukraine requested on 13 February that an emergency meeting within the OSCE be held within the following 48 hours, at which Russia was expected to provide a response.


text: According to a detained agent who was set to participate in the coup, Russia was to send an appeal to Ukrainian authorities asking them to surrender; if the appeal was declined, pro-Russian agents would stage a coup. The coup would begin by creating false-flag incidents in Kyiv and along Ukraine's border with Transnistria to create a pretext for invasion. After the invasion started, agents would seize the administrative buildings of multiple cities, install pro-Russian officials, and ultimately surrender and transfer them to Russian troops. To further destabilise the situation, mass riots with the use of fake blood, clashing with law enforcement officers, terrorist attacks, and the assassination of President Zelenskyy were also planned. After the coup, the Verkhovna Rada would be dissolved and replaced by a pro-Russian "People's Rada", playing the role of a puppet government on Russian-occupied territory and newly created "people's republics" in Western Ukraine. The agent also claimed a pro-Russian president was planned to be installed in Ukraine.


text: In addition, multiple EU members individually gave support to Ukraine, with the Danish government announcing on 16 January 2022 that they would provide Ukraine with a €22 million (US$24.8 million) defence package. This was followed by a public statement on 21 January by the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Wopke Hoekstra who said that the Netherlands was ready to deliver "defensive military support" and explained that Ukraine request to the country for arms assistance the previous day was supported by majority in parliament. On 31 January, Poland announced its decision to supply Ukraine with lethal weapons. It intended to provide significant quantities of light ammunition, artillery shells, light mortar systems, reconnaissance drones, and Polish-made Piorun MANPADS. A trilateral pact was launched between Poland, Ukraine and the United Kingdom on 17 February 2022 with the aim of responding to European security threats and deepening bilateral relationships in matters of cyber security, energy independence and countering disinformation.


text: On 21 February, Russia's FSB said that Ukrainian shelling had destroyed an FSB border facility 150 m from the Russia–Ukraine border in Rostov Oblast. Separately, the press service of the Southern Military District said that Russian forces had killed a group of five saboteurs that morning near the village of Mityakinskaya, Rostov Oblast. The press release alleged that the saboteurs had penetrated the border from Ukraine in two infantry fighting vehicles, which were destroyed in the act. Ukraine denied being involved in both incidents and called them a false flag. Additionally, two Ukrainian soldiers and a civilian were reported killed by shelling in the village of Zaitseve, 30 km north of Donetsk. The Ukrainian News Agency reported that the Luhansk Thermal Power Plant, located close to the contact line, was forced to shut down on 21 February after being shelled by unknown forces. Several analysts, including the investigative website Bellingcat, published evidence that many of the claimed attacks, explosions, and evacuations in Donbas were staged by Russia.


text: The Geneva meeting was followed by a meeting of the NATO–Russia Council in Brussels on 12 January that involved delegations from all thirty NATO countries and one from Russia to discuss (according to the official statement issued by NATO), "the situation in and around Ukraine, and the implications for European security". The Russian MoD statement following the meeting stated that Russia "brought Russian assessments of the current state in the field of Euro-security, and also gave explanations on the military aspects of the Russian draft agreement on security guarantees." The talks were judged by Russia to be unsuccessful. Following the meeting, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that, with respect to Ukraine's potential accession to NATO, all NATO Allies were "united on the core principle that each and every nation has the right to choose his own path" and "Russia doesn't have a veto on whether Ukraine can become a NATO member. at the end of the day, it has to be NATO Allies and Ukraine that decides on membership."


title: Ed Tuttle

text: In 1986, Adrian Zecha hired Tuttle to design a resort on a coconut grove on Phuket's Pansea beach in Thailand. He studied Thai traditional architecture and classical teak houses before designing the hotel; this pattern of local cultural sensitivity continued with his ensuing projects. The project's design claimed to capture the essence of Thai design and prioritised a design that was liveable; markedly an antithesis to other luxury hotels of the day. Tuttle attributed his approach to prioritise the location's cultural context and the structure's impact to the surrounding environment; it was reported that Tuttle elected to built around the coconut trees on the site's grove instead of cutting them down. The 30-room resort opened in 1988 as Amanpuri, receiving significant media coverage on the hotel's radical form and original style; it became frequently credited as a template for future luxury hotels worldwide despite not advertising. Following the completion of Amanpuri, Tuttle developed a persisting friendship with Zecha, which led to his long term cooperation with the hotel chain.


title: Fife (instrument)

text: A convention specific to some fife music and contradictory to the standard is for fife music to be written in the key of D regardless of the key in which the fife in question sounds. The general effect is to define sounded notes in terms of scale degree, as with a movable-do system, and then to express any pitch having a given scale degree in the context of a given musical piece, regardless of that pitch's absolute value, in terms of a staff position defined as corresponding to that scale degree. The more specific effect is to treat fife subtypes sounding in different keys as comparable to transposing-instrument subtypes (e.g., of clarinet) sounding in those keys except that the tonic of the key in which a given fife sounds is set as corresponding to D rather than C, such that the written key signature for fife music played in a given concert key would have two fewer sharps or two more flats than would the written key signature used in music written for other transposing-instrument subtypes sounding in the same key.


title: Fife (instrument)

text: During the 17th and 18th centuries, the protocols of the fifes and drums became intricately associated with infantry regiments only. They were not used as signaling instruments by the cavalry or artillery, which used trumpets, kettle drums or both. Each company in an infantry regiment was assigned two fifers and two drummers. When the battalion (5 companies) or regiment (10 companies) was formed up on parade or for movement en masse, these musicians would be detached from the companies to form a "band". This is how the term band first came to refer to a group of musicians. In their individual companies, the signaling duties included orders to fire, retreat, advance, and so forth. By the 18th century, the military use of the fife was regulated by armies throughout Europe and its colonies. The rank of Fife Major was introduced, a noncommissioned officer responsible for the regiment's fifers, just as a Drum Major was responsible for the drummers. Books of military regulations included standard fife calls to be used in battle or at camp. During the American Revolutionary War, the British and Americans used the so-called Scotch and English Duties, specified melodies associated with various military duties. American martial music was influenced by that of the British military throughout the late 18th and early 19th centuries.


title: Fife (instrument)

text: By the early 19th century, warfare was changing and fifes were no longer practical as combat signaling devices, being gradually replaced by the infantry bugle. They were still used as signaling (as opposed to musical) instruments by American units during the Civil War, but were gradually phased out by the 1880s (the same case in France). A similar evolution occurred in the British Army. The US Marines were the last American units to drop fifers from their rolls. However, the British have an unbroken tradition of using fife and drum corps attached to their infantry regiments, with whom they still parade regularly. Germany also continued an unbroken tradition of fife and drum corps until the end of World War II. They were integral to the regular German Army, Air Force and Navy, and not merely part of the Hitler Youth and the Nazi Party organizations. Bands of fifes and drums were regularly at the head of regimental parades and ceremonies of the infantry regiments, military schools and naval and air bases. The tradition of fifes and drums, though, even carried on in the Cold War, as both the West German Bundeswehr and the East German National People's Army formed dedicated sections.


title: Fife (instrument)

text: In 1958, a new model fife designed by fifer John McDonagh was manufactured in Germany. This model was used by the three corps affiliated with him: the New York Regimentals Fife and Drum Band, St. Benedict's Jr. Fife and Drum Corps, and St. Anselm's Jr. Fife and Drum Corps. All were located in the Bronx, New York. These fifes were not otherwise available to the public. In 1960, a second generation of model evolved, specifically labeled the McDonagh Model and made by Roy Seaman, a music repairman whom John met in Manhattan. This model quickly came into popularity. These fifes were mass-produced for sale to the entire fife and drum community. They were two-piece instruments with a dual conical bore – the foot joint tapered down from the joint to about an inch before terminus, where the bore cone reversed itself and opened up again slightly. They used the popular flute and piccolo designs of the 1830s, where "cone" flutes were popular and most common. The cone flutes had fallen out of favor to the cylindrical flutes designed by Boehm, though fifes and piccolos remained popular among folk music performers.


title: Fife (instrument)

text: As would be expected, these fifes were notably more internally in tune than most previous fifes, since the designs of the 1830s fell from favor, and had the added value of being tunable with each other (by sliding the joint or the head cork). In addition, they gave the player greater dynamic control and could be played even louder than traditional fifes, the result of the lower cone in the bore. At first, only six hole (Model J) fifes were made, but by 1962, McDonagh designed and Seaman manufactured a 10-hole (Model L). Two of the holes were used by the right hand middle finger – covering only one of the two produced F♮. Some players found this quite difficult, so eventually , an 11-hole model was introduced, the Model M, with both the original double right hand middle finger holes and a right hand thumb hole to choose from for the F♮. These were actually ideas derived from several makers of the days of the 19th century, including Giorgi, even though there was no need for F♮ in traditional fife music.


title: Ricky Leutele

text: On 25 June 2013, Leutele extended his contract with the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks for two years till the end of the 2015 season. Leutele played in 3 matches for the season. In February 2014, Leutele was selected for the Sharks inaugural 2014 Auckland Nines squad. Leutele finished off the season with him playing in 23 matches and scoring 2 tries as Cronulla finished last on the table and claimed the wooden spoon. On 31 January and 1 February, Leutele played for the Sharks 2015 NRL Auckland Nines. On 18 August, he extended his contract with Cronulla for a further three years to the end of the 2018 season. He finished off the 2015 season having played in 23 matches and scoring 7 tries for the Sharks. On 28 January 2016, Leutele was named in the Sharks 2016 Auckland Nines squad. On 2 October he played in the club's first ever premiership victory, famously making the final tackle on Storm winger Marika Koroibete after the siren had sounded. Cronulla-Sutherland won the game 14–12 at ANZ Stadium. Leutele was part of the Cronulla side which finished 5th on the ladder at the end of the regular season. The following week, Cronulla suffered a shock finals defeat by North Queensland losing the match 15–14 at the Sydney Football Stadium. On 24 May 2018, Leutele signed a three-year deal to join the Toronto Wolfpack starting in 2019. Leutele played 25 games for Cronulla in 2018 as the club finished in the top four and reached the finals. Leutele's final game for Cronulla was the preliminary final defeat against Melbourne at AAMI Park.


title: Matthew Sands

text: By this time, Sands had extensive experience with electronics and was immediately thrust into the electronics group, which was tasked with making instruments for the whole laboratory, and whose head was Darol Froman. Within this group, his close collaborators were William Elmore, William Higinbotham, and Ernest Titterton. Anybody who had an instrumentation problem would come to the group for help. As a result, Sands worked with Luis Alvarez, Robert Bacher, Hans Bethe, Richard Feynman, Otto Frisch, Bruno Rossi, Emilio Segrè, Robert Walker and Robert Wilson; many of these famous physicists played important roles in his later career. In particular, he formed a close relationship with Rossi, with whom he later decided to work on his post-war Ph.D. degree. Rossi was most interested in the group's nuclear electronics equipment: pulse counters and amplifiers, discriminators, and scalers. In this area, Sands designed and patented a pulse height analyzer, and with Otto Frisch and Elmore, a pulse amplifier. He also created electronics for more general purposes, such as precise temperature regulation, and control of electroplating operations.


title: Ground crew

text: For those aircraft that do not possess any controls for changing the direction course of the aircraft, commonly known as hot-air balloons, these require particularly unique ground crew. Their roles include preparing the passenger basket (or gondola) with the correct amount of pressurized gas for the burners, testing of the burners, calculating the total mass of the balloon pilot and all passengers, calculating and applying appropriate ballast weight (fixed internal and releasable external). Then the assembly of the passenger basket to its lift balloon envelope, laying out the balloon envelope fabric in a manner that facilitates efficient inflation. Prior to launch, it will require personnel to 'waft' the balloon envelope during horizontal burner operation to ensure an efficient fill. When the balloon envelope it itself airborne (but still not able to lift the basket with its pilot and any passengers), the ground crew will be required to hold ground tug ropes, to maintain the correct position of the balloon over the now vertically firing burner, and to prevent the basket from being uncontrollably dragged along the ground, until the balloon is totally full and capable of launch.


title: Ground crew

text: Other typical airport ground crew include personnel who are responsible for regular routine sweeping of all operational runways, runway exits and hold points, taxiways, hardstanding (parking) areas, and passenger terminal areas (including sky-bridges or 'gates'); for clearing of any general and typical debris or garbage (most commonly collected on runways is tyre debris, and wind-blown dirt, sand, earth, grass, etc.; not only from ambient winds, but also from the vortices generated by the aerodynamic elements of an aircraft at speed, along with engine induction and jet exhaust thrust). This is absolutely critical to safe airport operations, as it the major process used to prevent foreign object damage (FOD), whereby a foreign object could sucked into an aircraft engine, or cut and puncture aircraft tyres. On military facilities, ground crew members are tasked with daily FOD walks, or 'FOD plods', whereby a team of people will fan out in a line across the entire width of the runway, and walk the length of the entire active runway, to visually inspect the runway surface, and its immediate environs, to look for and removes any items or 'foreign objects' found; this is typically done in the morning, prior to the first despatch of an aircraft for that day.


title: River Darent

text: TQ 489 556 This was a paper mill. In December 1822 Nicholas Tapsfield, papermaker of Sundridge was claiming relief for himself and his wife Mary. He had been apprenticed at a paper mill at East Malling. In December 1831, Thomas Green, papermaker of Sundridge was claiming relief for himself, his wife and five children. He had been apprenticed in 1804 to William Dacie at a paper mill in Bermondsey, then to a Mr Hall in St. Mary Cray when Dacie retired. In March 1832, Henry Sparks, papermaker of Sundridge was claiming relief for himself, wife Susanna and five children. He had been apprenticed to Messrs. Smith & Knight at Godalming in 1796, serving only four years. In May 1839, Henry Thomas, papermaker of Sundridge was claiming relief for himself. He had been a papermaker all his working life. The internal overshot waterwheel was 12 feet 6 inches (3.81 m) by 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m), carried on an oak axle. Sundridge Mill produced paper for the Bank of England until its closure in 1901, business being transferred to Eynsford Paper Mill. The mill buildings were converted to a laundry, and the waterwheel was removed c. 1914 to be replaced by steam power. The mill was demolished in October 1969.