title: Charles Henry Allan Bennett

text: Biographer Elizabeth J. Harris states Bennett "was a man of his time, born when the British Empire was at the height of its power and the wish to probe new religious pathways was gripping many young minds." Bennett searching for the height of Ultimate Truth, sought to find spiritual realization through the doors of religious and mystical practices and teachings available to him. One notable experience that occurred, also at the age of eighteen, where all at once Bennett spontaneously attained to the cosmic yogic state of annihilation Shivadarshana, literally meaning "to have sight of Siva." Even though he was immediately thrown out, Crowley comments it was "a marvel that Allan survived". Even after years of hard practice the effect on him was transformative, he said to himself referring to that lofty state: "This is the only thing worthwhile, I will do nothing else in all my life but find out how to get back to it." Crowley further noted "It is a marvel that Allan survived and kept his reason," as this extraordinarily high state of yogic attainment can be dangerous, a potential cause for madness. Crowley further explained the cross reference that Shivadarshana is the same experience as one of the formless arupa jhana's in Buddhism.


title: Charles Henry Allan Bennett

text: Bennett at the age of twenty-three was already working on his own occult formula, which was seen as quite astonishing, one such popularised account was the esoteric ceremony he wrote for Golden Dawn associate and actress Florence Farr. The ceremony was rather difficult and detailed, drawing on antiquity, involved things like the Egyptian symbol of immortality, and harmonising the forces of Mercury with Mercury's intelligence Tiriel, while working in the hour of Tafrac under the domain of the Great Angel of Mercury. Its purpose is stated to learn the hidden mysteries of art and science. With the second order of the Golden Dawn having over thirty members, in a period that was exceedingly orthodox, it is no wonder that his association with the occult haunted Bennett in later life. During this period Bennett was fascinated with the arithmetical subtleties of the literal Qabalah, and via his essay Liber Israfel we can note his poetic musing incorporating Egyptian symbology specifically on the 20th Major Arcana of Tarot, Judgement. Crowley recounts a humorous magical tale before their first encounter, where Bennett had created a consecrated talisman of the Moon to cause rain. To make it work it needed to be immersed in water. Bennett had somehow dropped it and "it worked its way into the sewer, London proceeded to have the wettest summer in the memory of man!"


title: Charles Henry Allan Bennett

text: Crowley had been in the same order as Bennett for over a year, however their first encounter was in early 1899 on the initiation of a new member into the order. During the ceremony Crowley became aware of a "tremendous spiritual and magical force" coming from the east; he knew it must be Frater Iehi Aour. After the ceremony Crowley was "led trembling before the great man" though he could not bring himself to say a word. In the anteroom an hour after the ceremony, Bennett came directly to Crowley startling him by announcing "Little brother, you have been meddling with the Goetia!" Crowley withholding the truth in shock denied this, Bennett replied: "then Goetia has been meddling with you." Bennett it seems could sense that Crowley had been "dabbling in malignant forces beyond his control". Crowley went home somewhat reprimanded and determined to call on Bennett the next day. Crowley later recounted "He had spotted me as a promising colt, and when, using my opportunity, I made myself even as his familiar spirit, he consented to take me as a pupil. Before long we were working together day and night, and a devil of a time we had!"


title: Charles Henry Allan Bennett

text: Soon after the meeting, Crowley was shocked to find that Bennett was living in a dilapidated apartment in the slums south of the Thames with another Brother of the Order. Crowley, deeply impressed with the man also pitying his situation, invited Bennett to come stay with him, now enabling the two light seekers to work together more fluently. Crowley organised a room for him in his Chancery Lane flat, "and settled down to pick his brains", for he knew his reputation "as the one magician who could really do big-time stuff". For days, weeks and months, Bennett trained Crowley in the basics of magic and tried to instill a devotion to white magic. Bennett was generally ascetic and reputedly sexually chaste, a marked contrast to Crowley's libertine attitude. In a fictional work Crowley depicts Bennett's disposition towards chastity stating "He had an aversion to all such matters amounting to horror." Even though all early sources point to Bennett's chastity, unfounded rumours seem to of circulated in later years in an attempt to smear Crowley. Israel Regardie, who was a personal secretary of Crowley's for a time, agrees the rumours seem to be baseless, that he never heard anything from Crowley or any substantiated claim to suggest otherwise. Crowley had said of him "We called him the White Knight", that there "never walked a whiter man on earth" that he was a harmless, lovable "terribly frustrated genius".


title: Charles Henry Allan Bennett

text: Crowley notes years later "Allan, strangely enough it seems to me, lost interest rather than gained it as we acquired proficiency in the White Art... He didn't really care for Magic at all; he thought that it led nowhere. He only cared for yoga." Also while Bennett was a strong influence on Crowley's early life and later thought, Bennett one day responded to Crowley "No Buddhist would consider it worthwhile to pass from the crystalline clearness of his own religion to this involved obscurity." Years later Crowley's reprinted Bennett's essay "On the Culture of Mind", likely without his knowledge, with the new name "Training of the Mind" in the Equinox series. Here it can be seen that their understanding of ultimate reality had taken separate roads, Crowley seemed to think the two paths compatible, while Bennett was unwavering in his religious zeal. On a sombre note, Kaczynski quotes what Crowley wrote down upon his friends' departure, now aware of Bennett's change in path: "O Man of Sorrows: brother unto Grief!"... "In the white shrine of thy white spirit's reign, Thou man of Sorrows: O, beyond belief!".


title: Charles Henry Allan Bennett

text: In Colombo he studied Hatha Yoga under the yogi Ponnambalam Ramanathan (Shri Parananda) who was said to be a man of "profound religious knowledge". As Bennett's health improved, he served as tutor to the younger sons of the Shri Parananda, who was a high-caste Tamil and the Solicitor General of Ceylon. Florence Farr a prior Golden Dawn associate, was also to move over to Ceylon years later, and became the principal lady of Shri Parananda's College for Girls. Bennett joined the Sangha under the yogi and took the name Swami Maitrananda, which was already of Buddhist significance. The psychic potency of the man become more pronounced as he mastered the breathing techniques, mantras, asana postures and concentration practices in an amazingly short time period. Crowley visited Bennett in Kandy, and personally attended on him during a yogic meditation retreat. Crowley supported his retreat by quietly bringing food into the room nextdoor to where Bennett was practising. Having missed two meals in a row, Crowley out of concern checked on Bennett finding him not seated on the central mat, but at the end of the room still in the Padmasana yoga posture "in his knotted position, resting on his head and right shoulder, exactly like an image overturned." Crowley set him a right, and he came out of the trance quite unaware that anything unusual had happened.


title: Charles Henry Allan Bennett

text: With his health improving in the warm weather, he was now free from the chronic cycle of drugs he had needed in England. Also, he had relinquished his experimentation into psychic and esoteric power. Bennett's quest for spiritual meaning had finally been quenched as he began to commit to the practice and Teachings of Theravada Buddhism. Crowley noted Bennett was "the noblest and gentlest soul I have ever known", and in spite of his teacher & friend's prior experimentation that "Allan was already at heart a Buddhist". Egil Asprem states "Following Bennett's example Crowley also engaged in a more intimate relation with Buddhism during his visit and would subsequently consider himself a Buddhist for many years". Bennett later recounts "The native, and correct, designation of the pure form of Buddhism now prevalent in Burma, Ceylon, and Siam is Theravādha, 'The Tradition of the Elders' or, as we might justly render it, the Traditional, Original, or Orthodox School." His intellect, spiritual endeavour and faith sees this school as the "pure and simple" ... "practically unchanged after twenty-five centuries", that its inheritance is not mythical but rather "the actual words" the Buddha employed on his "religious mission" that are still rolling down to the present.


title: Charles Henry Allan Bennett

text: Bennett travelled to the coastal city of Akyab at took up residence at the Buddhist monastery, the Lamma Sayadaw Kyoung. Bennett was accepted into the Order by Lamrna Saradaw as a Samanera (novice monk) on 8 December 1901. During this time he spent his time learning and improving further his knowledge of Pali, learning the duties of a Buddhist Monk and writing Buddhist papers for a publication Ceylon. Half a year later, on Vesak Day the Full Moon May 1902, a long line of seventy-four Buddhist monks proceed from Kyarook Kyoung towards the wharf edge for the new Samanera's Higher Ordination. The ceremony was taken place on the water, presided by Sheve Bya Sayadaw, and it is here that he moved from the ten precepts of a novice to the 227 precepts of a Buddhist Bhikkhu. Still unacquainted with the Burmese tongue, Shwe Zedi Saradaw translated each sentence into English, likely the first occurrence of this happening in history. His ordination name was Ananda Maitreya, a Sanskrit name, soon to be changed to the Pali rendition Ananda Metteyya to be inline with the Theravada roots, which means "Bliss of loving kindness". Ananda was also the name of Gautama Buddha's attendant, and the Sanskrit Maitreya and the Pali Metteyya are the name of the coming Buddha stated in the suttas. With fresh vigour he addressed the Sangha at this auspicious ceremony, outlining how he intended to help spread Buddhism to the West. He spoke of the conflicts that were forming due to the clash of science and religion, and spoke of a vision of bringing to the West that shining faith and Path of the Buddha that he had first truly experienced in Ceylon. Crow quotes him as stating "Herein, then, lies the work that is before me", that his purpose is to "carry to the Lands of the West the Law of Love and Truth" declared by the Buddha, to establish a Sangha of Bhikkhus in his name. Metteyya filled with zeal closes the speech with: "bringing from the East even unto the West, the splendour of a Dawn beyond our deepest conception; bringing joy from sorrow, and out of Darkness, LIGHT."


title: Charles Henry Allan Bennett

text: Metteyya was the second known Englishman to be ordained as a Bhikkhu, after Gordon Douglas who was ordained in Ceylon 1899. During Metteyya's ordination speech he made an earnest call to "countrymen ... who will come to the East, and receive the requisite Ordination, and acquire a thorough knowledge of the Dharma" to help teach the West, "this work I have already commenced on a small scale." Harris states Metteyya made a "call for five men from four countries to come to Burma to be trained for higher ordination." One such German man, who may have heard this call, travelled to find Metteyya and soon ordained as a novice, staying on with Metteyya for a month. The sāmaṇera then went to Kyundaw monastery, which was nearby boarding the forest, and in February 1904 was accepted into the Sangha as Ñāṇatiloka Bhikkhu, the first known continental European to receive higher ordination. He was later grateful for meeting the supporters of Metteyya and made use at one point of the hut that had been built for Metteyya. Harris holds a letter from 10 February 1905, were Metteyya is commending Ñāṇatiloka asking Cassius Perera if he would help him further stating "he is an easily-contented mortal, with a very gentle and considerate nature". Ñāṇatiloka went on to become the father of western monks in Ceylon.


title: Charles Henry Allan Bennett

text: In Rangoon 1903, Metteyya and Ernest Reinhold Rost co-founded the International Buddhist Society known as Buddhasāsana Samāgama. It was an "international Buddhist society that aimed at the global networking of Buddhists." Its motto was "Sabbadānaṁ dhammadānaṁ jināti" meaning "The Gift of Truth Excels All Gifts" taken from the Dhammapada v. 354. Metteyya was Secretary General and made Edwin Arnold, the man who was the first to illuminate the Buddhas Path to him with the Light of Asia, the first honorary member of the Society. Harris goes on to state that "Buddhasāsana Samāgama gained official representatives in Austria, Burma, Ceylon, China, Germany, Italy, America, and England." Enthusiasm and greetings began to pour in from all around the world. His friend Cassius Pereira referring to this period recalls that Metteyya gave several "inspiring addresses from the Maitriya Hall". Pereira's Father built Maitriya Hall at Lauries Road, Bambalapitiya in honour of Ānanda Metteyya, its related group 'Servants of the Buddha' has been active down to the 21st century.


title: Charles Henry Allan Bennett

text: During this time Albert Edmunds helped to promote the journal, he too openly hoped for a synthesis between the east and the west. Edmunds acceptance of the position of America representative to the Society, was more humanitarian "I have taken this Rangoon representativeship so as to be useful and justify my existence." Further explaining "I am not a Buddhist, but a philosopher who believes that a knowledge of Buddhism will liberalize Christianity ..." Tweed further explaining Edmund's rationale "it seemed to be capable of broadening Christianity and fusing cultures." So Edmunds became the person of note in North America and at the same time Anagarika Dharmapala and one J. F. McKechnie became inspired after reading Metteyya's article 'Nibbana'. McKechnie stated "It seemed to me couched in a fine style of English and moderate, rational, clear and convincing in its argument", he was inspired and moved, saying "It hit me where I lived". McKechnie soon answered and appeal and became sub-editor of the journal, and within some years had himself left to Burma to become Bhikkhu Sīlācāra.


title: Charles Henry Allan Bennett

text: Metteyya had highlighted the spiritual poverty of the West through his dedicated writing, with Theravada Buddhism presented as the force that could rescue it. Metteyya would give a range of teachings during this time encouraging others to see the benefit of virtue in precepts, with its opposing suffering, establishing faith in the Buddha as a foundation and even to develop the ability to recall past lives. The purpose for his teachings was to inspire but also to use these things to see into the suffering of existence and understand the Four Noble Truths as to personally attaint to the far shore, the goal of the Theravada Buddhist Teachings. With a simile of the force of required in by high-pressure steam in a steam locomotive, Metteyya encourages the aspirant to use the right skillful means of meditation to allow the mind not to flow out into the world, but to intensify the power of the mind in one spot, based on purity. He makes statements like "Aspiration, Speech, Action, and so forth stand for consecutive stages in the path of spiritual progress" inclining his audience towards the higher fruitions. He found light in the teaching that "whatsoever phenomenon arises, it is invariably an effect produced by an antecedent cause" giving rise to a profound understanding of the three characteristics. Metteyya goes on to use a comparative simile of what enlightenment is, then states it is the destruction of the illusion of self, the unbinding of the five Khanda's of existence. That when that truth of liberation is reached it is "Illimitable, the Element of Nirvana" reigns supreme.


title: Charles Henry Allan Bennett

text: On the 89th anniversary of the 'United Kingdom Buddhist Day' on 16 July 1997, Tilak S. Fernando related the life, successes and struggles of Metteyya. He states that after returning to Rangoon, Metteyya was highly satisfied with the spiritual success of the mission though his health had steadily declined and the financial support for the mission was exhausted. While the Metteyya had found the Teachings were not broadly accepted with great enthusiasm, he was once again determined to push on to further the transmission of this Light. In December 1908 Metteyya wrote an "Open Letter to the Buddhists of England" earnestly appealing those interested in the Teachings to support the prosperity of the Society. At this time the Society had already swollen to one hundred and fifty members, and with all the graceful eloquence and inspiration he could muster, he posed the glory of the Buddha's message as the answer to the immediate needs of the West. Fernando goes on to state Metteyya's "iron will to return to England was still alive, though the effort necessary to carry on with even routine work was terrible."


title: Charles Henry Allan Bennett

text: Crowley set to praise his old guru and published a newspaper article on 13 June 1908, stirring images of the brilliance of his old friend and teacher. First painting the surreal graphic details of ceremonial magic then going on to state "How wonderful must then be the inmost shrine of Buddhism, when we find this same Allan Bennett discarding as childish folly the power of healing the sick, or raising the dead, of the attainment of the Philosopger's Stone, the Red Tincture, the Elixir of Life!". Metteyya clearly having renounced his prior esoteric path to take up the "white heights" of spiritual Buddhist practice. "What strange attraction must lie" in the yellow robes of a Bhikkhu, "the Begging Bowl, the shaven head, and the averted eye". Crowley goes on to rouse Londoners to a monumental illustration that this man has "torn the heart of Truth bleeding from the dead body of the universe", that they who are hungry should seek his wisdom. That to all serious men who seek for real Faith, that this man has "passed through all the ways of life and dead" and he is attained, "Latin Intra Nobis Regnum: Bhikkhu Ananda Metteyya - Allan Bennett - is the man to help you find it." Crowley's arousal of energy, probably purely motivated, was likely a key factor in Metteyya's later character assassination attacks. Certainly his former life as an occultist and public admiration from Crowley would have added to the hype of murmurs and baseless accusations.


title: Charles Henry Allan Bennett

text: Dark suspicion over Metteyya's controversial past and associations seem to captivated some part of the public. While his faith and practice was genuine, Metteyya still was a controversial figurehead. Both due to his history in the esoteric and his ongoing contact with friends in groups such as the Theosophy Society, meant the suspicion continued. In years to come these rumours were to amplify when Crowley was openly attacked in the media. This resulted in the names of both Jones and Metteyya to be dragged through the mud. Jones tried to sue the journal for libel which resulted in a drawn out court case. One news article said of Metteyya: "the rascally sham Buddhist monk Allan Bennett, whose imposture was shown up in Truth some years ago" is likely one of the worst examples of the accusations thrown about. "Counsel proceeded to question the witness with regard to Allan Bennett, a Buddhist monk, and also a member of the Order, and it was at this point" that his lordship Mr. Justice Scrutton remarked "this trial is getting very much like the trial in 'Alice in Wonderland,'".


title: Charles Henry Allan Bennett

text: Allan Bennett was a pioneer, and without him, Buddhism would not have entered the Western world as it did. In particular he encouraged and introduced the "serious study of Buddhism as a spiritual practice" into Britain, and further fostered its growth in Burma and Ceylon. Just before Bennetts death in 1923 the collection of lectures that had taken place in Clifford Bax's studio plus and addition paper on Rebirth were printed in the book The Wisdom of the Aryas. Posthumously in 1929 the Theosophical Publishing House in India printed The Religion of Burma and Other Papers a collection of Metteyya's writings from the first decade of the century a rework of the 1911 release. This latter collection subsists of the bulk of articles that have been published throughout his life as a Buddhist Monk, and as a devoted Buddhist. "Rightly indeed have the Buddhists of the East decided that these inspiring writings shall not be consigned to the oblivion which overtakes back-numbers of journals, but made accessible to the world in the form of a volume." Many of his addresses and papers are still intact, available and in use today.


title: Military School of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic

text: This educational institution was called the "School of Ensigns". When Russian-Armenian units led by Stepan Shaumian at the Armenian Revolutionary Federation operated in the country, officers of the Ganja Military School involved supporting the nation, leaving the school to be temporarily closed. By June 1918, the school had resumed its activities, although the admission rate very low. Those who studied at the school were called junkers. In October, the first graduation took place with notable generals and politicians being in attendance such as Nasib Yusifbeyli and the father of the Chief of Staff of the Islamic Army of the Caucasus. On 1 December 1918, the status of the school was changed and the ensign school was established. Later, a military engineering school was opened on the basis of that school, operating first in Ganja and then in Hacıkənd. In addition, schools were established to train military railwaymen and military paramedics. In the meantime, the Ganja Ensign School trained young cadets all of Azerbaijan.


title: Snow hydrology

text: In recent years the most predominant topic related to snow hydrology has been global warming. The underlying concept states that human construction and production of emissions, has created a number of gaseous chemical compounds which add to existing greenhouse gases. Gases such as CO2 and CH4 trap heat in the atmosphere, adding to global climate change. These gases are usually broken down relatively quickly through environmental processes like photosynthesis; however, in recent years, studies have shown their atmospheric composition is increasing. Some studies believe this is a natural part of the Earth's cycle while others claim it is due to the growing amount of fossil fuel emissions and the gradual deforestation of oxygen producing plants. The theory suggests that these changes in temperature, could affect the way ice and snow forms over the Earth's crust, initiating a glacial shifting process, possibly created a rise in sea level from 0.5 meters to 1.5 meters. This change then could influence the salinity of the ocean, causing environmental changes, altering oceanic current and organisms that inhabit it.


title: United Nations Commission on the Status of Women

text: The commission began working after its founding in 1946 to directly introduce women's rights to the international arena. This was achieved through a variety of means, most commonly through attempts to collect data that showed discrimination occurring against women. In conjunction with the emerging global women's movement, the UN and the CSW named 1976 through 1985 the United Nations Decade for Women. During this time, reproductive rights were included in the central action of the commission, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which entered into force in 1981. This convention stipulated that with regards to reproductive rights, reproduction "should not be a basis for discrimination". It also acknowledges the social implications of motherhood, and states that childcare and maternity protection are integral rights and should be extended to all realms of the lives of women. CEDAW is the only international human rights treaty that overtly references family planning. It states that it is a human right for women "to decide freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of their children and to have access to the information, education and means to enable them to exercise these rights", and any state party to the treaty is required to provide education on family planning and reproductive rights, including various forms of contraception. Forced abortion or sterilization constitute violations to the treaty. The United States has failed to ratify CEDAW. In addition to CEDAW, the CSW has undertaken several other efforts to address reproductive rights. Throughout this time, the Commission hosted four global conferences on women to address issues including reproductive rights. The locations were Mexico City in 1975, Copenhagen in 1980, and Nairobi in 1985.


text: In 1995, the Commission held the Fourth World Conference for Action, better known as the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. This followed three other conferences addressing the needs and rights of women around the world. The Beijing Platform has been hailed by the Center for Reproductive Rights as "the most comprehensive articulation of international commitments related to women's human rights." It places a special emphasis on reproductive rights through its legislation regarding family planning, which states that it is the right of all women "to be informed and to have access to safe, effective, affordable and acceptable methods of family planning of their choice, as well as other methods of their choice for regulation of fertility which are not against the law." Specifically, the Platform urges state governments to reevaluate punitive measures placed on abortion, provide family planning and a range of contraceptives as alternatives to abortion as well as quality abortion after care. The Platform also presents a safe, healthy pregnancy as a human right which is to be attained through quality resources and healthcare available to all women regardless of economic status. Some scholars have argued that the Platform served to complicate issues of adolescent sexual care and complications resulting from HIV and AIDS.


text: Since the new millennium, the CSW has also taken action to integrate reproductive rights into the international arena through the creation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), specifically goal 5, which is achieving universal access to reproductive health. In 2005, the UN added a provision to MDG 5 which aimed to "achieve, by 2015, universal access to reproductive health," determined by the prevalence of contraceptives, adolescent birth rates, the use of prenatal care, and the failure to access family planning methods. The agreements published from the 57th session in 2013 of the CSW also mentions the importance of reproductive rights as human rights and access to safe reproductive care as a means to resolve violence against women. The Declaration also understands this care as a means of prevention of future violence, acknowledges systematic factors and how they influence care and reproductive rights. More recently, the CSW reaffirmed their prioritization of their sexual education, reproductive rights, and reproductive justice for all women including the use of modern family planning options (including a range of contraceptive options) through publishing their 2014 Declaration of Agreements.


title: David Gallo

text: Gallo designed the 2009 New Year's Eve extravaganza in Miami for jam band Phish and was creative director for its 2010 New Year's Eve production at Madison Square Garden, where the global version of "Meatstick" was born. Gallo was the creative collaborator with Phish for New Year's Eve at the Garden in 2011 and production designer in 2012 where he threw a "Garden Party" and staged a runaway golf cart marathon. In 2013, Gallo re-created the band's original tour truck and customized a flatbed-turned-stage where Phish performed "in the round" in the world's most famous arena. In 2016, Gallo returned to Madison Square Garden with the band as creative director of a 25-minute gag featuring a cast of 17, floating umbrellas on nano winches, an astonishing rain effect, and a maelstrom of "raining" inflatable cats and dogs and customized foam raindrops. In 2017, he filled the Garden with "an ocean of light and love" with performing riggers operating a rotating mast of sails amid an audience twinkling with LED wristbands. The following year, he directed ten aerialists in nets with ten specialty "Phish droid" moving colored fog and light machines, that appeared to blast the performers with spray paint and fire. Afterwards, two of the band members "flew" in the air while playing, and a large cast danced in inflatable alien costumes and flung air freshener-covered inflatables into the audience.


title: Jacques Rensburg (musician)

text: Jacques Rensburg grew up in a bankers family and worked as a banker himself as well. He had violoncello lessons from Simon Ganz and Joseph Giese, teacher at the Royal School of Music at the Hague, later Daniel de Lange, Emil Hegar and Woldemar Bargiel. At the age of 10 he gave his first public concert. In 1867 he decided for the music and went to Cologne to study with the violoncellist Schmitt. However, Schmitt was severely ill. Instead of becoming his pupil, he became sort of a substitute for Schmitt. After his death Jacques Rensburg took over his positions as first violoncellist in the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne and as professor at the Konservatorium der Musik on 1 April 1868. Also, he succeeded Schmitt in the quartet of Otto von Königslöw. He gave many concerts and his fame grew rapidly. On 9 February 1868 he participated in Cologne in a concert of the pianist Anton Rubinstein. In 1872 he played, both as a soloist and with chamber music, at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig and once again in 1874, where a.o. he played Johannes Brahms's quartet op. 25 with the composer, Engelbert Röntgen and Friedrich Hermann.


title: Mai Kuraki

text: After coming back to Japan, Kuraki began working on her J-pop materials. She released her Japan debut single, "Love, Day After Tomorrow", on December 8, 1999. The single entered the Oricon single chart at number 18, and eventually peaked at number 2, selling 1.4 million copies and becoming the fourth best-selling single of 2000 in Japan. In June 2000, Kuraki's debut studio album, Delicious Way was released to a commercial success, debuting at number one in Japan and selling 2,210,000 copies in its first week, which still has been the biggest first week sales for the debut album in Japan as of 2020. Delicious Way has sold over three million copies and was certified 3x million as well as won "Rock album of the Year" at the 16th annual Japan Gold Disc Awards. As of 2020, the album remains as the ninth best-selling album in Japan. The album has spawned three other singles, "Stay by My Side", "Secret of My Heart", and "Never Gonna Give You Up", all of which reached top three in Japan. "Secret of My Heart" won a Japan Gold Disc Award for "Song of the Year" and was chosen as the theme song to the television anime series, Case Closed, for which Kuraki would be known for singing the multiple theme songs. In 2000, Kuraki sent six singles inside the top 100 on the Oricon Yearly Singles chart.


title: Mai Kuraki

text: In June 2007, Kuraki left Giza Studio in Osaka and made a new record contract with the newly founded record label, Northern Music in Tokyo, although the labels are both under the Being Inc, group. On 7 June 2007, Kuraki performed "Born to Be Free" at the A3 Champions Cup 2007 in Shandong, China. On 16 June 2007, she performed "Secret of My Heart" at the Golden Melody Awards in Taiwan as the representative artist from Japan. In September 2007, Kuraki made her first appearance at the Asia Song Festival in Seoul, South Korea. Kuraki embarked on the promotional tour, Mai Kuraki Live Tour 2007 Be With U in December 2007. In January 2008, Kuraki released her seventh studio album, One Life. The album failed to reach top ten in Japan, only peaking at number fourteen, partly due to the chart system of Oricon. The album peaked at number twelve in Taiwan and has been sold over 89,000 copies in Japan, certified gold by the RIAJ. One Life has spawned four top ten singles, "Shiroi Yuki", "Season of Love", and "Silent Love: Open My Heart"/"Be With U".


title: Mai Kuraki

text: In October 2008, Kuraki embarked on the Mai Kuraki Live Tour 2008 "Touch Me!" to promote her then unreleased eighth studio album, Touch Me!. The album was released in January 2009. Kuraki made her first appearance on the music television program, Music Station, where she performed the album's title track, "Touch Me!", to promote the album. This performance became Kuraki's first performance on the television program, aside the Kōhaku Uta Gassen. The album was a commercial success, the album debuted at number one in Japan, earning her first number one album in five years, since the release of Wish You the Best . It has sold over 90,000 copies nationwide and been certified gold by the RIAJ. The album also peaked at number twelve in Taiwan. Touch Me! has spawned four top ten singles, "Yume ga Saku Haru"/"You and Music and Dream", "Ichibyōgoto ni Love for You", and "24 Xmas Time". The title track also charted in Japan, peaking at number sixteen on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, despite not being released as a single. In April 2009, Kuraki was featured as a guest vocalist on ZARD's posthumous single, "Sunao ni Ienakute", The single peaked at number 5 in Japan, selling over 36,000 copies nationwide.


title: Mai Kuraki

text: In July 2009, Kuraki embarked on the Asia tour, titled 10th Anniversary Mai Kuraki Tour 2009 "Best", in celebration of her tenth debut. Her second compilation album, All My Best was released to a commercial success, debuting atop on the Oricon chart, making her among the two artists who sent two albums atop on the chart in 2009, the other being Greeeen. The album has sold over 250,000 copies nationwide and been certified platinum by the RIAJ, as well as enter the year-end album chart at number twenty-five. The album has spawned two top three singles, "Puzzle" and "Beautiful". The lead track from the album, "Watashi no, Shiranai, Watashi." was used in the television commercials for the cosmetic company, Kosé, in which she was featured as a model. The song peaked at number twenty on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, even though it was not released as a single. The double A-side single, "Puzzle"/"Revive" became Kuraki's first top three single in 5 years since "Ashita e Kakeru Hashi" . On 31 October 2009, Kuraki held a Halloween concert, titled 10th Anniversary Mai Kuraki Live Tour 2009 "Best" Happy Happy Halloween Live at Nippon Budokan. "Puzzle" was used as the ending theme for the thirteenth movie Detective Conan: The Raven Chaser, while "Revive" was used as the twenty-fifth opening theme song for the TV series.


title: Mai Kuraki

text: In March 2010, Kuraki released the double A-side single, "Eien Yori Nagaku"/"Drive Me Crazy". The former was used in the television commercial for Kosé, while the latter was used as the Japanese theme song to the American television series, Heroes Season 3. The single peaked at number four in Japan and fifteen in Taiwan. In November 2010, her ninth studio album, Future Kiss was released. The album debuted at number three and has sold over 65,000 copies in Japan. It also peaked at number eleven in Taiwan, making her highest-charting album in the country to date. The album has spawned four top five singles, "Revive", "Beautiful", "Drive Me Crazy", and "Summer Time Gone". The title track of the album was performed on the several television programs including SMAP×SMAP and Music Station, making it peak at number thirteen on the Billboard Japan Hot 100. Another song from the album, "Tomorrow Is the Last Time" was used as the theme song to the anime, Case Closed and charted on the RIAJ Digital Track Chart at number forty-two. In November 2010, Kuraki performed at Kamigamo Shrine in Kyoto, the UNESCO World Heritage Site, as a part of the Tokyo FM's 40th anniversary campaign.


title: Mai Kuraki

text: In March 2011, Kuraki sang the national anthem at the soccer charity match, titled "The Tohoku Earthquake recovery support charity match Ganbarou Nippon!", at Yanmar Stadium Nagai, Osaka. The match was held again in August 2011, where Kuraki performed the anthem. In April 2011, she released a single titled "Anata ga Irukara", which she dedicated to the victims of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. The song was re-released in August as a video single, featuring the performance by a professional figure skater, Shizuka Arakawa. The proceeds from all versions of the song were donated to the Japanese Red Cross Society to benefit the victims and the reconstruction in the disaster area. In June 2011, Kuraki was featured on Nerdhead's single, "Doushite Suki nandaro?" under the name, Mai-K. The song peaked at number fifteen in Japan. In August 2011, Sanrio announced their collaboration with Northern Music for the creation of one of the characters of Wish me mell, Maimai. Maimai is officially based on Kuraki herself in collaboration with Sanrio, and she released the series' official image song "Stay the Same". In October 2011, Kuraki held a charity concert titled Mai Kuraki Premium Live One for All, All for One at Nippon Budokan. The concert was supported by the musicians such as Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Alex Ru, and Nerdhead. In November 2011, Kuraki released her first video single, "Strong Heart". The single peaked at number seven and three in Japan and Taiwan respectively. The part of the proceeds were donated to reconstract the disaster area of 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. In January 2012, her tenth studio album Over the Rainbow was released. The album debuted at number two in Japan and has sold approximately 50,000 copies nationwide. Over the Rainbow was preceded by four top ten singles, "1000 Mankai no Kiss", "Mou Ichido", "Your Best Friend", and "Strong Heart". From the same month, she embarked on the Mai Kuraki Live Tour 2012: Over the Rainbow in support of the album. In April 2012, Kuraki won The Most Popular Asian Influential Japanese Singer at the 2012 Channel V "Migu" Chinese Music Award, which was held in Macau. In June 2012, she signed a promotional deal with NGW Japan to promote their bottled mineral water series, Ice Field. In September 2012, Kuraki held her first orchestral concert titled Mai Kuraki Symphonic Live -Opus 1- at Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre. In December 2012, she released an orchestral compilation album, Mai Kuraki Symphonic Collection in Moscow. The lead track from the album, "Hakanasa" was chosen as the Japanese theme song to the Chinese fantasy film, Painted Skin and the television series adapted from the film.


title: Mai Kuraki

text: In February 2013, Kuraki released a single "Try Again", which was used as the theme song to the anime series Case Closed. The single peaked at number seven and managed to enter G-Music J-Pop chart at number three. In June 2013, Kuraki embarked on the national tour titled Mai Kuraki Live Project 2013 "Re:". In September 2013, she held her second orchestral concert, Mai Kuraki Symphonic Live -Opus 2- in Tokyo. In March 2014, as a part of JICA's Nantokashinakya! Project, Kuraki visited Siem Reap, Cambodia to support and help education system in Cambodia. After the visit, Kuraki started the project to raise fund to found a school in Trei Nhoar, Puok District, Cambodia. In February 2016, the project was completed, and Trey Nhoar Community Learning Center was founded. From June 2014, Kuraki embarked on two tours, 15th Anniversary Mai Kuraki Live Project 2014 Best "151A": Fun Fun Fun and 15th Anniversary Mai Kuraki Live Project 2014 Best 151A: Muteki na Heart. During the former tour, Kuraki performed at the relatively small music venues while she performed at the music halls during the latter tour. In November 2014, Kuraki released her third compilation album Mai Kuraki Best 151A: Love & Hope in celebration of her fifteenth debut anniversary. The album peaked at number two in Japan and has sold over 67,000 copies, certified gold by the RIAJ. It also chart in Taiwan at number nineteen. Mai Kuraki Best 151A: Love & Hope has yielded six top ten singles, "Koi ni Koishite"/"Special Morning Day to You", "Try Again", "Wake Me Up", "Muteki na Heart"/"Stand by You".


title: Mai Kuraki

text: In May 2015, Kuraki released a promotional single "Serendipity" in celebration of 40th anniversary of West Japan Railway Company's San'yō Shinkansen. The single debuted at number six on the Recochoku weekly chart. In November 2015, Kuraki and other musicians including Kazufumi Miyazawa, Tetsuya Takeda, and Ai Kawashima recorded the charity single "Hitori, Hitotsu" to support the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers. In April 2016, Kuraki held her first concert in Russia, at the Mariinsky Theatre. In May 2016, Kuraki signed an ambassador deal with Nihon Unisys and wrote the image song to the company, "Make That Change". In September 2016, Kuraki embarked on the China tour, Mai Kuraki "Time After Time" Chine Live Tour. In January 2017, Kuraki released "Yesterday Love" as the first VR single in Japan. In the following month, her first studio album in five years, Smile was released to a minor commercial success. The album managed to peak at number four and has sold over 29,000 copies in Japan. The album was preceded by one single, "Yesterday Love", and two promotional singles, "Serendipity" and "Sawage Life". To promote the album, Kuraki embarked on the Mai Kuraki Live Project 2017 Sawage Live.


title: Mai Kuraki

text: In April 2017, Kuraki released the single "Togetsukyo (Kimi Omou)", the ending theme for the animated film Detective Conan: Crimson Love Letter. The song instantly entered the major music charts in Japan, selling about 30,000 physical copies in its first week. "Togetsukyo (Kimi Omou)" peaked at number two on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 and number five on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart. Finally it sold over 76,000 physical copies and became her best-selling song since her 2004 single "Ashita e Kakeru Hashi". Finally the song became the best-selling single by a solo female musician in Japan, and fifty-second overall. Also, the song sold over 250,000 digital copies and became her most downloaded song since her debut, certified as platinum by the RIAJ. On July 25, 2017, she was awarded a Guinness World Record for singing the most theme songs in a single anime series (Case Closed). Kuraki's fourth compilation album Mai Kuraki x Meitantei Conan Collaboration Best 21: Shinjitsu wa Itsumo Uta ni Aru!, a collaboration with Case Closed, was released on October 25, 2017. The album was a commercial success, peaking at number four and selling over 79,000 copies in Japan. In December 2017, Kuraki made her first appearance at the Kōhaku Uta Gassen in twelve years, performing "Togetsukyo (Kimi Omou)".


title: Mai Kuraki

text: Kuraki's songs are often written and produced by the fellow musicians from her label, Being Group, such as Aika Ohno, Akihito Tokunaga, and Yoko Blaqstone, and Cybersound, an engineering team in Boston and Michael Africk. Kuraki frequently blends elements of J-pop, R&B, dance, and sometimes rock into her songs, and her records typically include a combination of ballads and uptempo tracks. Following her debut, Kuraki was credited with influencing the revival of R&B in Japan of the late 1990s and the early 2000s. Other musicians in the field counts Misia, Hikaru Utada, and Yuki Koyanagi. Delicious Way prominently displayed R&B and J-pop sound, while Perfect Crime incorporates rock sound, as seen on "Stand Up" and "Come On! Come On!". Her third studio album Fairy Tale adopted a wide range of genres, including surf rock on "Feel Fine!" and Christmas music on "Winter Bells", while sticking to the R&B sounds. On her fourth studio album If I Believe , Kuraki mixed the elements of R&B, J-pop and kayokyoku on "Time After Time (Hana Mau Machi de)". On the album, she recorded a song, "Tonight, I Feel Close to You" with a Singaporean singer Stefanie Sun.


title: Mai Kuraki

text: Her fifth and sixth studio albums Fuse of Love and Diamond Wave saw the drastic change in her musical style, diverting into the teen pop and J-pop sounds throughout the entire albums. Kuraki returned to R&B sound on her seventh studio album, One Life . For the album, Kuraki listed some musicians outside of Being Group, including Martin Ankelius and Daisuke Miyachi. For Touch Me! , Kuraki worked with R&B, J-pop, hip hop music, aiming for musical diversity and artistic growth. Kuraki worked with Rodney Jerkins on her ninth studio album Future Kiss , influenced by the American R&B sounds. For her tenth album Over the Rainbow , Kuraki collaborated with a Japanese hip hop musician, Nerdhead, on the several songs. Kuraki listed some American musicians on her eleventh studio album Smile , including Nash Overstreet and Porcelain Black. After the gagaku-influenced song "Togetsukyo (Kimi Omou)" commercially succeeded, Kuraki veered into incorporating the traditional Japanese sounds on her songs. Her twelfth studio album Kimi Omou: Shunkashūtō mixed elements of J-pop, R&B, gagaku, kayokyoku, and rock. For her thirteenth studio album Let's Goal!: Barairo no Jinsei , Kuraki enlisted the Western musicians such as Fernando Garibay, Benjamin Ingrosso, and Quiz & Larossi. The works of Kuraki have been remixed by prominent DJs, including Johnny Vicious, Justin Strauss, Mark Kamins, and Ken Ishii.


title: Mai Kuraki

text: Kuraki was among the first and biggest artists to work on the charities and philanthropies after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. On March 29, 2011, eighteen days after the earthquake occurred, Kuraki performed the national anthem at the charity soccer match "The Tohoku Earthquake recovery support charity match Ganbarou Nippon!", which was played to raise a donation to the victims. All the players, referees, and Kuraki gratuitously participated in the match, and Yanmar Stadium Nagai allowed them to use the stadium free of charge, to send as much donation as possible to the victims. The match was played on March 29, 2011, as well, and Kuraki performed the national anthem again. On April 11, 2011, Kuraki released a charity single, "Anata ga Irukara". The proceeds from the single was donated to the Japanese Red Cross Society. In August 2011, Kuraki visited Onagawa, Miyagi, to do a soup-run and perform a concert. She has visited the city several times since 2011, performing at the music festival Gareki Stock and including the city on her tours. In October 2011, Kuraki held a charity concert, Mai Kuraki Premium Live One for All, All for One at Nippon Budokan. The video of the concert was included on the video album of the same title and was released in March 2012. Another charity single, "Strong Heart" was released in November 2011. In June 2013, Kuraki participated in the Green Wall Project, which aims to plant evergreen broad-leaved trees to work as natural tide embankments in Iwanuma, Miyagi, where the tsunami killed 180 people in March 2011. To promote the project, Kuraki performed at the symposium, in January 2013. Following the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes in April 2016, Kuraki took part in the volunteering project in Mashiki, Kumamoto by soup-running and performing the live. In October 2017, Kuraki visited the city again to participate in the conference titled "Mirai Talk", where the citizens in the city talked about the strategy for reconstruction. In September 2019, after the Typhoon Faxai hit Chiba Prefecture, Kuraki performed at the public school Nagasaku Gakuen to cheer up the elementary school students in the prefecture. In June 2011, Kuraki performed at the charity concert to encourage blood donation, Love in Action Meeting, as a headliner.


title: 2003 Daegu FC season

text: For its first season, Kim Hak-Cheol was the designated captain, and Daegu brought in two Czech players, Roman Gibala and Jan Kraus for the season. Another import was Turkish player Rahim Zafer, a former Turkish international defender who was in the twilight of his career. Indio transferred in midseason to Daegu from Brazilian club Esporte Clube Santo André. Some of the key Korean foundation players included Lee Sang-il, who had played domestic football in Belgium, and Park Jong-jin who has played all his domestic football with Daegu, bar a two-year spell with Gwangju Sangmu when undertaking his military service. Many of the Korean foundation players came to the club via University Football clubs, which meant that Daegu was their first experience of professional football. The K-League structure for 2003 required each team to play 44 matches, making for a long drawn out season. Daegu ultimately finished their first season 11th (out of 12 teams) in the league, winning 7 games, and drawing 16.


title: PLA Northern Theater Joint Operations Command Center

text: The new JOCOs started to focusing on training staff to deal with the complexities of joint operations The Northern Theater Joint Operations Command Center started a month-long set of training exercises almost immediately after being set up in January 2016. At 12:00 on the night of February 2, 2016, the Northern Theater Joint Operations Command Center officially started trial operation. In early April 2016, the first batch of 44 military regulations for the Northern Theater Command was compiled into the "Compilation of Military Regulations for the Northern Theater Command". The Joint Operations Command Center of the Northern Theater organized a drill almost every day in accordance with the requirements of the "Joint Operations" guidelines. On April 19,in his role as Commander-in-Chief of the Joint Operations Command Center of the Central Military Commission, sat at the Central JOCC HQ in Beijing, and using the secure communications system was able to receive reports from the Commander of the Northern Theater, Song Puxuan (宋普选), via video.。


title: Roberto Merhi

text: On 9 March 2015, the Manor Marussia team announced that Merhi would drive in the Australian Grand Prix, alongside Britain's Will Stevens. However, Marussia did not compete in Australia due to a technical problem. In the Malaysian Grand Prix Merhi competed in his first Formula One race despite problems to his teammate Stevens' car. Merhi failed to set a lap time within 107% of the fastest time in Q1, but the race stewards allowed Merhi to start the race. Merhi finished in 15th place, 3 laps down on race winner Sebastian Vettel. In the Chinese Grand Prix, Merhi finished in 16th place behind his teammate Stevens. In Bahrain and Spain Merhi also finished behind Stevens. However, in the Monaco Grand Prix Merhi finished in 16th ahead of Stevens. In the Canadian Grand Prix, Merhi qualified ahead of Stevens and would start in 16th thanks to penalties to Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen. As well as that Jenson Button failed to set a lap time in qualifying because of an engine issue. In the race, Merhi was a minute ahead of Stevens but on lap 56, he was forced to retire due to a drive-shaft problem. It was the first time that Merhi failed to finish a Formula One race that he started, but he remained ahead of Stevens in the Drivers' Championship. In Austria, Merhi finished in 14th position, 3 laps behind race winner Nico Rosberg. Merhi was dropped in favour of Alexander Rossi for five of the last seven Grands Prix of 2015, the exceptions being Russia and Abu Dhabi, before taking a subsequent demotion to Formula E in 2017 and Formula 2 in 2018.


title: Vivek Gupta (major)

text: Major Vivek Gupta was in command of the leading Charlie Company, when 2nd Rajputana Rifles launched a battalion attack on Tololing Top, in Drass sector on 13 June 1999. In spite of heavy artillery and automatic fire, the company under the leadership of Major Vivek Gupta was able to close in with the enemy. As soon as the Company emerged in the open, they came under multi-directional intense fire. Three personnel of the leading section of the Company were hit and the attack was temporarily stalled. Knowing fully well that staying any longer in the open under the murderous enemy fire would lead to more losses, Major Vivek Gupta reacted immediately and fired a rocket launcher at the enemy position. Before the shocked enemy could recover, Major Vivek Gupta charged on to the enemy position. While so charging, he was hit by two bullets, despite which, he kept moving towards the position. On reaching the position, he engaged the enemy in fierce hand-to-hand combat and managed to kill three enemy soldiers despite his own injuries.


title: Sony Xperia XZ2

text: The Xperia XZ2 comes with the new "Ambient Flow" design. It consists of a new 7000-series aluminum alloy chassis that has a curved edge all around the device, and 2.5D scratch-resistant front and arched back glass panels made of Corning's Gorilla Glass 5, resulting in a symmetric and curvier design aesthetic. The most defining change in the Xperia XZ2, as well as the Xperia XZ2 Premium and XZ2 Compact, is the placement of the camera on the back. It is now symmetrically arranged on the top-center of the device, as opposed to being placed on the top left side like on previous Xperia smartphones. The NFC antenna is placed along the Triple Image Sensing System, the MotionEye camera module and the now US-enabled fingerprint sensor, symmetrically aligned near the top-center axis of the device. The front houses the improved dual front-firing stereo speakers, one on the top bezel along with a 5 MP front camera, ambient light and proximity sensor and notification LED, and the other on the bottom bezel in an elongated slit along the edge of the glass and frame.


title: Sony Xperia XZ2

text: The Xperia XZ2 has the Triple Image Sensing technology that started with the Xperia XZ as standard. It is composed of the image sensing (CMOS sensor with PDAF), distance sensing (Laser AF sensor) and color sensing (RGBC-IR sensor) systems, featuring a hybrid autofocus that utilizes Phase Detection (PDAF) to lock focus on a subject within 0.03 seconds, and also includes phase and contrast detection along with predictive motion tracking. It also has a laser autofocus sensor for fast tracking and locking focus on a subject, as well as an RGBC-IR (RedGreenBlueClear-InfraRed) color sensor that assists the white balance function of the camera by providing additional data about the light conditions of the surrounding environment. It also has SteadyShot with Intelligent Auto in addition to the five-axis sensor-shift image stabilization first seen in the Xperia XZ. The Motion Eye Camera in the Xperia XZ2 also has Predictive Capture. When it detects fast-paced movement, the camera automatically captures a maximum of four photos before the shutter button is pressed, and lets the user select the best one afterwards. This is done without any user intervention and is possible due to the same built-in RAM chip on the image sensor used in capturing the 960 fps super slow-motion videos.


title: Thurso Town Hall

text: Following the completion of the Dounreay Nuclear Power Development Establishment in 1954, the Board Member for Engineering and Production at the UK Atomic Energy Authority, Sir Christopher Hinton, used the town hall to give a lecture, which extolled the peaceful uses of atomic energy, in January 1955. Other visitors included the Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, who arrived at the town hall in June 1964. The town hall continued to serve as the headquarters of the burgh council for much of the 20th century but ceased to be local seat of government after the enlarged Caithness District Council was formed in 1975. A public inquiry was held in the town hall, to consider government proposals to build a European Demonstration Fast Nuclear Reprocessing Plant at Dounreay, in 1986. After the library service relocated from the Carnegie library building to the old Miller Academy building in Davidson's Lane, the Carnegie library building was then converted for use as the "Thurso Heritage Museum".


title: Sydney Kearney

text: Born in Sydney to solicitor Timothy John Kearney and Sarah Margaret Trim, he attended New England Grammar School and St Joseph's College, after which he was articled as a clerk to his father in 1889. In 1894 he was admitted as a solicitor, partnering with his father until the latter's retirement in 1896, when he became a land agent; he was also secretary of the Armidale Federation League in 1899. On 10 May 1903 he married Harriet Johannah Hughes, with whom he had six children. From 1904 he was a member of the Farmers' and Settlers' Association, and at the 1903 Armidale by-election he was elected as a Liberal member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, holding the seat at the 1904 election. In 1907 he was dropped as a candidate, but in 1908 he became an alderman at Armidale, serving as mayor in 1913. He left the council in 1917. Kearney later joined the Labor Party and was secretary of the Armidale Non-Conscription League in 1917; he contested the federal seat of New England for Labor in 1922. Kearney died at Armidale in 1923.


title: Don't Stop Me Now

text: Alexis Petridis of The Guardian wrote that the "astonishing" song "may be Queen's greatest song of all". He felt it was "a direct product of hedonism and promiscuity: an unrepentant, joyous, utterly irresistible paean to gay pleasure-seeking. You find yourself wondering if its title might not have been aimed at his censorious bandmates." Mike Orme of Stylus Magazine ranked it the 7th-greatest penultimate track on an album, calling it Queen's "most flamboyant and energetic single" and commenting: "Essentially three and a half minutes of Freddie Mercury jacking the mike from the rest of the world, the song offers him a chance to let us know just how much fun he's having in the spotlight." Billboard praised Brian May's guitar solo and also stated that the song was "less gimmick laden" than Queen's previous single from Jazz, "Bicycle Race"/"Fat Bottomed Girls", "while still retaining the brazen braggadocio of Freddie Mercury's lead vocals." Cash Box said it has "vocal dramatics and varied arrangements by Mercury" and "beautifully layered vocals and regal guitar work from May". Record World called it a "fast paced tune with that easily identifiable Freddie Mercury lead vocal and Brian May guitar." The television show Top Gear voted it the Greatest Driving Song Ever.


title: Henry Langley (bishop)

text: The announcement of the death of the Right Rev. Henry Archdall Langley, first Bishop of Bendigo, on Sunday recalls interesting stories of his career. He was a man of fine physique, and could hold his own where display of muscular skill was wanted. During a Y.M.C.A. picnic some years ago in Melbourne, a crowd rushed an excursion steamer, endangering the lives of the women and children on board. The rev. gentleman, a strong stalwart man, seizing the situation, stood right on the gang plank, and with his big body as a barrier, his strong, muscular arms to aid him, and a judicious exercise of commonsense, to say nothing of his pluck and indomitable will, he was able to keep back hundreds of men and lads, in- cluding many roughs, from getting aboard the steamer at an awkward time. He dared them to pass him, and he literally kept them at bay. On another occasion, when he was connected with St. Mary's, Balmaln, Sydney, a Sunday school picnic had proceeded somewhere down the harbour; and a boat load of larrikins, intent on annoying the happy picnickers, attempted to land at the spot, where the Sunday school people were enjoying themselves. A conspicuous figure was seen ashore, standing with his coat off, armed with a big umbrella, and threatening that if the push set their foot on the picnic ground they would have to take the consequences. And the man who spoke was capable of using his weapon with good effect. He succeeded in beating off the larrikins, who, though they had numbers on their side, were not anxious to try conclusions of a physical sort with the stalwart curate. The curate was none other than the future Bishop of Bendigo, Bishop Langley, who was appointed to Bendigo on the creation of the see in 1901, and who was noted for his straightforward, earnest, evangelical views. He was an exceedingly liberal Churchman, and connected with all philanthropic movements, irrespective of denominational basis. He was held in esteem by all churches, and earned the title of "The Nonconformist Bishop". At the same time he was highly respected in the Church of England. He visited Adelaide in June, 1904, and delivered a mem- orable address at the Y.M.C.A. silver jubilee meeting in the Exhibition Building. His subject was appropriately entitled, "Strong men". from The (Adelaide) Register, Tuesday 7 August 1906.


title: Victor Grignard

text: Grignard was the son of a sailmaker. He was a hard-working student and was described as having a humble and friendly attitude. He also had a talent for mathematics. After attempting to major in mathematics, Grignard failed his entrance exams before being drafted into the army in 1892. After one year of service, he returned to pursue his studies of mathematics at the University of Lyon and finally obtained his degree Licencié ès Sciences Mathématiques in 1894. In December of the same year, he transferred to chemistry and began working with Professors Philippe Barbier and Louis Bouveault . After working with stereochemistry and enines, Grignard was not impressed with the subject matter and asked Barbier about a new direction for his doctoral research. Barbier advised that Grignard study how a failed Saytzeff reaction using zinc, was successful, in low yields, after substitution of magnesium. They sought to synthesize alcohols from alkyl halides, aldehydes, ketones, and alkenes. Grignard hypothesized that the aldehyde or ketone prevented the magnesium from reacting with the alkyl halide, accounting for the low yields. He tested his hypothesis by first adding an alkyl halide and magnesium filings to a solution of anhydrous ether and then adding the aldehyde or ketone. This resulted in a drastic increase in the yield of the reaction.


title: Victor Grignard

text: A couple of years later, Grignard was able to isolate the intermediate. He had heated a mixture of magnesium turnings and isobutyl iodide and added dry ethyl ether to the mixture, observing the reaction. The product is known as a Grignard reagent. Named after him, this organo-magnesium compound (R-MgX) (R = alkyl ; X = Halogen) readily reacts with ketones, aldehydes, and alkenes to produce their respective alcohols in impressive yields. Grignard had discovered the synthetic reaction that now bears his name (the Grignard reaction) in 1900. In 1901, he published his doctoral thesis titled "Thèses sur les combinaisons organomagnesiennes mixtes et leur application à des synthèses d'acides, d'alcools et d'hydrocarbures". He became a lecturer in organic chemistry at the University of Nancy in 1909, and was promoted to full professor in 1910. In 1912 he and Paul Sabatier were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. During World War I he studied chemical warfare agents with Georges Urbain at Sorbonne University, particularly the manufacture of phosgene and the detection of mustard gas. In 1918, Grignard discovered that sodium iodide could be used as a battlefield test for mustard gas. Sodium iodide converts mustard gas to diiododiethyl sulfide, which crystallizes more easily than mustard gas. This test could detect as little as 0.01 gram of mustard gas in one cubic meter of air and was successfully used on the battlefield. His counterpart on the German side was another Nobel Prize–winning chemist, Fritz Haber.


title: Victor Grignard

text: Grignard was drafted into the French military as part of obligatory military service in 1892. Within the two years of his first session of service he rose to the rank of corporal. He was demobilized in 1894 and returned to Lyon to pursue his education. He was awarded a medal of the Legion of Honour and made a Chevalier in 1912 after winning the Nobel Prize. When World War I broke out, Grignard was drafted back into the military, keeping his rank of corporal. He was placed on sentry duty, and served there for several months until he was brought to the attention of the General Staff. Grignard had been wearing his Medal of the Legion of Honour, despite being ordered to take it off by a superior. After looking more into Grignard, the General Staff decided that he would be better suited for research than sentry duty, so they assigned him to the explosives division. Grignard's research shifted to antidotes to chemical weapons when production of TNT was no longer sustainable, and eventually Grignard was assigned to research new chemical weapons for the French army.


title: JoAnn Gillerman

text: In the 1980s, Gillerman shifted from phenomenological explorations of perception to sensual and erotic imagery in works that heralded the introduction of computer graphics into live video performance. She combined complex image processing and real-time coordination, rapid editing and dense color overlays in highly associative, playful and dramatic patterns of dissolving and reassembling forms. Whispers in a Plane of Light was a live collaboration with musician Jean Piché in which they alternately (her on image processor, him on synthesizer) controlled the imagery or sound of the other. Described as a "kaleidoscopic array of images multiply and combine in a rhythmic and sensuous dance," it blended computer graphics, ambiguous forms (a Venus de Milo-like nude female torso) and tight performance footage (Gillerman overlaid in hot pink and yellow, caressing the skin of her neck, shoulders and upper chest; Piché's face in cool blues), creating a study of gender, relationships, reality and fantasy in constant flux.


title: JoAnn Gillerman

text: Twelve years after first witnessing and filming a total solar eclipse Gillerman began a new phase in her work, recording and reworking macrocosmic primal events around the world. In July 1991 she traveled with collaborator Rob Terry to the Island of Hawaii to record a spectacular confluence of natural events: a total solar eclipse coinciding with the eruption of an active volcano, Kilauea. She reconstituted the resulting material—views of the eclipse, horizon and surroundings (captured by a custom-designed 360-degree panning device)—into interactive installations with sculptural elements, CD-ROMs and a video, Volcanic Eclipse , noted for its striking sense of light, images of neon-glowing molten lava, and unique framings of land and sky. The interactive environment, The Sun Drops its Torch , was intended as a "sacred space" in which to explore the phenomena on personal, cultural and universal levels. It consisted of a semi- or full circular ring of 10–24 monitors and audio speakers, placed within a multi-user system of floor sensors that enabled viewers to reconfigure images, multilingual, indigenous stories and sounds, and fragments of the event without using a mouse or keyboard.


title: JoAnn Gillerman

text: These experiments led to larger-scale interdisciplinary exhibits that Gillerman/Viper Vertex created for public museums, science centers and other venues. Innovation Forum was an exhibit that encouraged dialogue on ethics and technology between visitors (who could add their thoughts to the exhibit) and a diverse virtual panel of experts. Shadow Dance was a floor-pad controlled, multi-channel, multi-user exhibit at the Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland that extended Gillerman's work on eclipses. Using floor sensors embellished by backlit images of sun, moon and earth, participants could create individual mixes of aural (scientific, personal and indigenous mythical accounts) and visual imagery of eclipses on two rows of six flat-screen monitors. Chimp Finder was an outdoor exhibit at the St. Louis Zoo that enabled participants to locate and identify live chimpanzees and find out about their backstories and relationships; the first of its kind, it combined a custom-designed scope, computer-aided biometrics and a touch screen display with information menus.


title: Tantely Andrianarivo

text: Following Ratsiraka's victory in the 1996 presidential election, Andrianarivo became Deputy Prime Minister and Minister responsible for Economy and Finance in the new government of Prime Minister Pascal Rakotomavo, named on 27 February 1997; he was one of three deputy prime ministers, along with Pierrot Rajaonarivelo and Herizo Razafimahaleo. Following parliamentary elections held in May 1998, he was named Prime Minister by Ratsiraka in July to replace Rakotomavo. During the 2002 election dispute between Ratsiraka and Marc Ravalomanana, which eventually led to Ratsiraka being forced into exile, Andrianarivo announced a state of emergency imposed by Ratsiraka following Ravalomanana's declaration that he was president on 22 February. In the following months the two rival governments struggled for control of the island. On 27 May 2002, Ravalomanana's forces raided the prime minister's residence in Antananarivo — the last government building in the capital still under the control of the Ratsiraka government — and detained Andrianarivo; Ravalomanana's prime minister, Jacques Sylla, took over the residence. In response, Ratsiraka said he would not participate in planned talks until Andrianarivo was released.


title: Tantely Andrianarivo

text: Andrianarivo's trial began on 22 December 2003, and on 24 December, he was convicted of embezzlement and usurping powers and was sentenced to 12 years of hard labor. He was also fined 42 billion Malagasy francs, about $7.6 million U.S. dollars: about $7.4 million to repay the allegedly embezzled money, and another $200,000 in damages. The prosecution argued that Andrianarivo was not legitimately the Prime Minister when he withdrew the money, and that he therefore did so illegally. Andrianarivo argued that, despite Ravalomanana's nomination of Sylla as Prime Minister, he remained legally Prime Minister until he was detained on 27 May 2002, due to the absence of a decree abrogating his nomination up to that point; he said that it had been necessary to withdraw the money for the payment of wages and other administrative purposes. According to Amnesty International, the trial was "marred by irregularities". His health was also said to be poor at the time. In Ravalomanana's 2003 end of the year speech, he revealed that Andrianarivo was allowed to seek medical treatment abroad.


title: Information Research Department

text: The Information Research Department (IRD) was a secret Cold War propaganda department of the British Foreign Office, created to publish anti-communist propaganda, including black propaganda, provide support and information to anti-communist politicians, academics, and writers, and to use weaponised information, but also disinformation and "fake news", to attack not only its original targets but also certain socialists and anti-colonial movements. Soon after its creation, the IRD broke away from focusing solely on Soviet matters and began to publish pro-colonial propaganda intended to suppress pro-independence revolutions in Asia, Africa, Ireland, and the Middle East. The IRD was heavily involved in the publishing of books, newspapers, leaflets and journals, and even created publishing houses to act as propaganda fronts, such as Ampersand Limited. Operating for 29 years, the IRD is known as the longest-running covert government propaganda department in British history, the largest branch of the Foreign Office, and the first major anglophone propaganda offensive against the USSR since the end of World War II. By the 1970s, the IRD was performing military intelligence tasks for the British Military in Northern Ireland during The Troubles.


title: Information Research Department

text: The IRD was once one of the largest and well-funded of the UK Foreign Office, with an estimated 400-600 employees at its height. Although the IRD was founded under Clement Attlee's post-WWII Labour Party government the department has been headed by numerous different politicians of both the Labour Party and Conservative Party, including Ralph Murray, John Rennie, and Ray Whitney. Although the vast majority of IRD staff were British subjects, the department also hired emigres from the Soviet Union, such as the rocket scientist Grigori Tokaty. Other staffers of note include Robert Conquest, whose secretary Celia Kirwan collected Orwell's list. Tracy Philipps was also based at the IRD, working to recruit emigres from Eastern Europe. Many IRD agents were former members of Britain's WWII propaganda department, the Political Warfare Executive (PWE), including former Daily Mirror journalist Leslie Sheridan. This high level of PWE veterans within the IRD, coupled with the similarities between how these two propaganda departments operated, has led some historians to describe the department as a "peacetime PWE".


title: Information Research Department

text: Following the abortive Indonesian Communist coup attempt of 1965 and the subsequent mass killings, the IRD's South East Asia Monitoring Unit in Singapore assisted the Indonesian Army's destruction of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) by circulating anti-PKI propaganda through several radio channels including the British Broadcasting Corporation, Radio Malaysia, Radio Australia, and the Voice of America, and through newspapers like The Straits Times. The same anti-PKI message was repeated by an anti-Sukarno radio station called Radio Free Indonesia and the IRD's own newsletter. Recurrent themes emphasised by the IRD included the alleged brutality of PKI members in murdering the Indonesian generals and their families, Chinese intervention in the Communist attempt to overthrow the government, and the PKI subverting Indonesian on behalf of foreign powers. The IRD's propaganda efforts were aided by the United States, Australian and Malaysian governments which had an interest in supporting the Army's anti-communist mass murder and opposing President Sukarno. The IRD's information efforts helped corroborate the Indonesia Army's propaganda efforts against the PKI. In addition, the Harold Wilson Labour Government and its Australian counterpart gave the Indonesian Army leadership an assurance that British and Commonwealth forces would not step up the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation.


title: Information Research Department

text: The existence of Orwell's List, also known as Foreign Office File "FO/111/189", was made public in 1996. T names included on the list were not made public until 2003. The list came into possession of the IRD in 1949, after being collected by IRD agent Celia Kirwan. Kirwan was a close friend of Orwell, she was also Arthur Koestler's sister-in-law and the secretary for fellow IRD agent Robert Conquest. Guy Burgess was based in the next office to her own. The list itself was divided into three columns headed "Name" "Job" and "Remarks", and referred to those listed as "FTs" meaning Fellow Travelers, and labelled people he believed of being suspected of being secret Marxists as "cryptos". Some of the names listed by Orwell included filmmaker Charlie Chaplin, writer J. B. Priestley, actor Michael Redgrave, historian E. H. Carr, New Statesman editor Kingsley Martin, New York Times's Moscow correspondent Walter Duranty, historian Isaac Deutscher, Labour Party MP Tom Driberg and the novelist Naomi Mitchison, as well as lesser-known writers and journalists. Only one of the people named by Orwell, Peter Smollett, was ever revealed to have been a real Soviet agent. Peter Smollett, who Orwell claimed "...gives strong impression of being some kind of Russian agent. Very slimy person." Smollett had been the head of the Soviet section in the British Ministry of Information, while in fact being a Soviet agent who had been recruited by Kim Philby.


title: Information Research Department

text: Reactions to Orwell's list have been mixed, with some people crediting Orwell's actions to mental illness, others labelling him a "snitch" and theorising that Orwell's suspicion of numerous African, homosexual, and Jewish people within his list signified bigotry, and others minimising the significance the list. Academic Norman MacKenzie, who knew Orwell personally and considered him a friend, lived long enough to discover that Orwell had reported him to the British secret service on suspicion of being a secret Communist. MacKenzie responded to learning that Orwell had reported him, and credited Orwell's actions to his degrading mental state caused by tuberculosis. Alexander Cockburn was far less sympathetic, labelling Orwell a "snitch" and a bigot for the information included in Orwell's notebook, another list of suspected Communists that came into the possession of the IRD. This notebook created by Orwell which contained 135 names, was also found to have been held by the Foreign Office. Within this document, Orwell describes African-American Civil Rights leader Paul Robeson as a "very anti-white...U.S Negro".


title: Mirko Krlić

text: Krlić was promoted to the fifty-third position on the Progressive Party's Aleksandar Vučić — Future We Believe In list in the 2014 Serbian parliamentary election and was elected when the list won a landslide victory with 158 out of 250 mandates. He received the forty-sixth position on the successor Aleksandar Vučić – Serbia Is Winning list in the 2016 election and was again returned when the list won 131 mandates. In November 2017, he was chosen as chair of the assembly's culture and information committee. During this sitting of the assembly, he was also a member of the committee on Kosovo-Metohija, a member of a working group "for the collection of facts and evidence for the investigation of crimes committed against Serbs and other national communities in Kosovo-Metohija," and a member of the parliamentary friendship groups with Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.


title: Ward No. 79, Kolkata Municipal Corporation

text: Attempts were made to establish a municipal corporation at Kolkata from the middle of the 19th century. The electoral system was introduced for the first time in 1847, and 4 of the 7 board members were elected by the rate payers. In 1852 the board was replaced by a new one and in 1863 a new body was formed. As per old records, in 1872 there were 25 wards in Kolkata (spellings as in use at that time) – 1. Shyampukur, 2. Kumartuli, 3. Bartala, 4. Sukea Street, 5. Jorabagan, 6. Jorasanko, 7. Barabazar, 8. Kolutola, 9. Muchipara, 10. Boubazar, 11. Padmapukur, 12. Waterloo Street, 13. Fenwick Bazar, 14. Taltala, 15. Kalinga, 16. Park Street, 17. Victoria Terrace, 18. Hastings, 19. Entali, 20. Beniapukur, 21. Baliganj-Tollyganj, 22. Bhabanipur, 23. Alipur, 24.Ekbalpur and 25. Watganj. A new municipal corporation was created in 1876, wherein 48 commissioners were elected and 24 were appointed by the government. With the implementation of the Municipal Consolidation Act of 1888 the area under the jurisdiction of the municipal corporation was enlarged. Certain areas were already there but more parts of them were added (current spellings) - Entally, Manicktala, Beliaghata, Ultadanga, Chitpur, Cossipore, Beniapukur, Ballygunge, Watganj and Ekbalpur, and Garden Reach and Tollygunj. The Calcutta Municipal Act of 1923 brought about important changes. It liberalised the constitution along democratic lines.


title: Treason by the Book

text: Treason by the Book, by Jonathan Spence, is a historical account of the Zeng Jing (曾靜) case which took place during the reign of the Yongzheng Emperor of Qing China around 1730. Zeng Jing, a failed degree candidate heavily influenced by the seventeenth-century scholar Lü Liuliang, in October 1728 attempted to incite the descendant of Yue Fei, Yue Zhongqi (岳仲琪), Governor-general of Shaanxi-Sichuan, to rebellion. He gave a long list of accusations against Yongzheng, including the murder of the Kangxi Emperor and the killing of his brothers. This triggered a series of investigations which captured the attention of Yongzheng, who was eager to make his ascent to the throne seem legitimate. Highly concerned with the implications of the case, Yongzheng had Zeng Jing brought to Beijing for trial. But instead of imposing an immediate death sentence, the emperor began an intensive, written conversation with Zeng Jing. Zeng Jing eventually wrote a confession of error and received pardon for his crimes. The emperor then decided to circulate the relevant documents, including the original note, nationwide as a civics lesson for his subjects.


title: Open-notebook science

text: Open-notebook science is the practice of making the entire primary record of a research project publicly available online as it is recorded. This involves placing the personal, or laboratory, notebook of the researcher online along with all raw and processed data, and any associated material, as this material is generated. The approach may be summed up by the slogan 'no insider information'. It is the logical extreme of transparent approaches to research and explicitly includes the making available of failed, less significant, and otherwise unpublished experiments; so called 'dark data'. The practice of open notebook science, although not the norm in the academic community, has gained significant recent attention in the research and general media as part of a general trend towards more open approaches in research practice and publishing. Open notebook science can therefore be described as part of a wider open science movement that includes the advocacy and adoption of open access publication, open data, crowdsourcing data, and citizen science. It is inspired in part by the success of open-source software and draws on many of its ideas.


title: Open-notebook science

text: The second argument advanced against open notebook science is that it constitutes prior publication, thus making it impossible to patent and difficult to publish the results in the traditional peer reviewed literature. With respect to patents, publication on the web is clearly classified as disclosure. Therefore, while there may be arguments over the value of patents, and approaches that get around this problem, it is clear that open notebook science is not appropriate for research for which patent protection is an expected and desired outcome. With respect to publication in the peer reviewed literature the case is less clear cut. Most publishers of scientific journals accept material that has previously been presented at a conference or in the form of a preprint. Those publishers that accept material that has been previously published in these forms have generally indicated informally that web publication of data, including open notebook science, falls into this category. Open notebook projects have been successfully published in high impact factor peer reviewed journals but this has not been tested with a wide range of publishers. It is to be expected that those publishers that explicitly exclude these forms of pre-publication will not accept material previously disclosed in an open notebook.


title: Demographic history of Japan before the Meiji Restoration

text: The household registration system (Hukou (simplified Chinese: 户口; traditional Chinese: 戶口; pinyin: hùkǒu) or Huji (simplified Chinese: 户籍; traditional Chinese: 戶籍; pinyin: hùjí)), which is called koseki (戸籍, family registries) in Japanese, was introduced from ancient China to Japan during the 7th century. According to "Nihon Shoki (日本書記)", the first koseki system, called Kōgo no Nen Jaku (庚午年籍) or Kōin no Nen Jaku (庚寅年籍), was established between 670 or 690, and was to be readministered every six years. However, most of the original koseki texts were lost because they were to be preserved only 30 years. The oldest koseki fragments - which were reused as reinforcement papers (Shihai Monjo (紙背文書, scroop document)) in Shōsōin (正倉院) - records names, ages and estates of people including slaves (e.g. 1,119 persons were recorded for the village named Hanyū (半布里) (present day Tomika-chō (富加町)) in 702)). A discarded lacquer-coated paper document (Urushigami Monjo (漆紙文書, lacquer paper document)) found in Kanoko C Ruins (鹿ノ子C遺跡), Ishioka, Ibaraki records the total population of families of taxpayers in Hitachi no kuni (常陸国) in 795 was 191,660 (excluding families of officers, families of workers for Shintō shrines and slaves); this is the only reliable remaining census recorded for a whole province before the Edo period. The ancient koseki system later collapsed during the early Heian period, when aristocrats achieved power as landowners of Shōen.


text: In 1732, Tokugawa Yoshimune also ordered nine big Tozama daimyōs whose Domains were not changed since 1664 to report earlier population growths in their Domains. Here, population of Morioka Domain increased from 245,635 in 1669 to 322,109 in 1732; population of Tokushima Domain increased from 308,880 in 1665 to 470,512 in 1732; population of Tsu Domain increased from 252,061 in 1665 to 287,242 in 1732; population of Okayama Domain increased from 185,043 in 1686 to 396,469 in 1732; population of Kagoshima Domain increased from 260,961 in 1698 to 339,955 in 1732; population of Sendai Domain increased from 599,241 in 1690 to 647,427 in 1732; population of Tsuruoka Domain increased from 126,383 in 1694 to 131,164 in 1732; population of Kaga Domain increased from 551,754 in 1720 to 576,734 in 1732; while population of Nihonmatsu Domain only decreased from 73,351 in 1685 to 70,614 in 1732, according to the records written in "Chikkyō Yohitsu Besshū", which supports the rapid population growth in the early Edo era.


text: After the beginning of the Tokugawa census, population growth fell almost to zero until the end of the Sakoku policy. On the other hand, regional demographic data suggest that population growth differed depending on area; the population of Tōhoku region (Mutsu and Dewa), especially in Mutsu decreased drastically, probably because of famines. The population of Kansai region (Kinai and its surrounding areas), which was the most densely populated and the most cultivated area of that time, as well as that of Kantō region, also slightly decreased, probably because the surplus population in the rural areas moved to the big cities such as Kyoto, Osaka, and Edo, where the life expectancy at birth were much lower than that in rural areas. On the other hand, populations in most of western Japan including Chūgoku region (San'indō and San'yodō), Shikoku (Nankaidō except for Kii) and Kyūshū (Saikaidō) steadily increased, where growth was sustained by the introduction of New World crops such as sweet potato, pumpkin, or corn.


text: Even the peak estimated population of Edo varies from 788,000 to 1,500,000. For example, Yoshida estimated the peak population of Edo (shortly before Perry's expeditions) at 1,400,000 based on the average amount of rice carried into Edo (1,400,000 koku per year). Chandler estimated the peak population of Edo at 788,000 by adding samurai population as 3/8 of the recorded chōnin population. Sekiyama estimated the peak population of Edo at 1,100,000 by adding samurai and servants population as 500,000 (215,000 Hatamoto, Gokenin, their servants and families, 100,000 shōgun's Ashigaru, other lower servants and their families, 180,000 Daimyo, their servants and their families). Diaries recorded that the population of Edo was 1,287,800 in 1837, the population of monks and priests was ca. 40,000 or the samurai population of Edo was 700,973. According to the map of Edo illustrated in 1725, area for samurai occupied 66.4% of the total area of Edo (estimated population density: 13,988 /km2 for 650,000 individuals), while areas for chōnin and temples-shrines occupied 12.5% (estimated chōnin population density: 68,807 /km2 for 600,000 individuals) and 15.4% (estimated population density: 4,655 /km2 for 50,000 individuals), respectively.


The Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission (VWC) is an agency of the U.S. state of Virginia that oversees the resolution of workers' compensation claims brought in that state, in accordance with the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act. The Commission has exclusive jurisdiction to adjudicate such claims. Its decisions may be appealed to the Virginia Court of Appeals. The Commission is led by a Senior Leadership team consisting of three Commissioners, an Executive Director and a Chief Deputy Commissioner. The Commissioners are appointed by the Virginia General Assembly and serve staggered six-year terms. Honorable Robert A. Rapaport, Honorable Wesley G. Marshall and Honorable R. Ferrell Newman currently serve as Commissioners. The Commissioners elect a Chairman for a term of three years. Commissioner Rapaport currently serves as Chairman. Ms. Evelyn McGill is the Commission's Executive Director and Honorable James J. Szablewicz is the Commission's Chief Deputy Commissioner. The Commission is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, and has offices and hearing locations at various places around the state.


title: Rennyo

text: The monks of the Enryaku-ji (the head temple of the Tendai School located on Mt. Hiei) noticed Rennyo's successes in the provinces around Kyoto. In 1465, Mt. Hiei sent a band of sōhei (warrior monks) to the Hongan-ji and destroyed most of the temple complex. The attacks were justified by claims that the Jōdo Shinshū movement was heretical. The actual motivation for these attacks was likely financial. Mt. Hiei had significant interests in Ōmi Province that included properties and businesses, and felt they needed to prevent Jōdo Shinshū's growth before they felt the economic effects. However, due to the wealth of the congregations Rennyo had converted in the area, enough money was raised to bribe the Mt. Hiei warriors in exchange for peace. The contingency to this was that Hongan-ji must become a member of Mt. Hiei's temples, thus entering them into yearly dues they had to pay Mt. Hiei. Rennyo was very nervous during this period, for just when Hongan-ji was at the pinnacle of uniting the disbanded factions of Shinran, Mt. Hiei reduced the Ōmi temple to rubble.


title: Rennyo

text: During this time, Rennyo established a new form of liturgy (gongyō), incorporating elements that would eventually become the core of Honganji Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism. He also rewrote many Buddhist texts into kana, the simple, phonetic Japanese characters, making the texts more accessible for the common person. In 1496, Rennyo sought solitude and retired to a rural area at the mouth of the Yodo River, where he built a small hermitage. The area was known for its "long slope," or "Ō-saka" (大阪) in Japanese. Contemporary documents about Rennyo's life and his hermitage were thus the first to refer to this place by the name Osaka. Rennyo's isolation did not last long, however; his hermitage grew quickly into a temple and surrounding temple town (jinaimachi) as devotees gathered to pay him homage and to hear his teachings. By the time of Rennyo's death three years later , the complex had come to be known as the Ishiyama Hongan-ji, and was close to the final shape which would prove to be the greatest fortified temple in Japanese history.


title: James Windet

text: Windet erroneously said to have been originally of Queen's College, Oxford (Foster). He graduated M.D. at Leyden on 26 June 1655, and was incorporated at Oxford on 27 March 1656. He became candidate or member of the College of Physicians of London on 25 June 1656. He at first practised at Yarmouth, but after 1656 in London. In 1660 he published in London two Latin poems, 'Ad majestatem Caroli secundi Sylvæ duæ.' The first begins with the word 'occidimus,' and is on the execution of Charles I; the second begins with the word 'vivimus,' and is on the Restoration. In 1663 he published 'De vita functorum statu,' a long Latin letter, with numerous passages in Greek, Hebrew, and Arabic, addressed to Dr. Samuel Hall, in reply to a letter from him. It begins with a general discussion of the word 'Tartarus' and of the Greek and Hebrew words and phrases used in describing the state of man after death, and goes on to consider the Greek and Hebrew views on the state and place of the good, on a middle state, and on the place of the wicked with related subjects. A second edition was published at Rotterdam in 1693. He was a friend of Sir Thomas Browne. Simon Wilkin, who had examined Windet's letters to Browne, states that they are uninteresting and pedantic. He died in Milk Street, London, on 20 November 1664 (Smyth, Obituary, p. 62). Wood (Fasti Oxon. ii. 790) states that he left a quarto manuscript of Latin poems.


title: Battle of Perlasz

text: A serious obstacle in the way of the Serbian forces in Bánság was the town of Fehértemplom, the only town in the border region that stood by the Hungarian government. The soldiers of the Serbian military camps in Vracsegáj and Lokva were constantly attacking the city. On 2 August, the garrison of Fehértemplom, led by Lieutenant Colonel Le Gay, attacked and destroyed the Serb camp from the Lokva forest. The K.u.K. troops, however, soon left the town, while the Serbs established two smaller camps around the town in addition to the Vracsevgáj camp. After the departure of the K.u.K. troops, the defense of Fehértemplom was taken over by Captain Ferenc Maderspach. At 1 am on 19 August, the Serbs led by Stevan Knićanin attacked the city from three directions, and by morning had taken the Serb-inhabited part of the city. In the afternoon, however, Maderspach's guards recaptured the whole town. Shortly afterward reinforcements arrived from Versec under Colonel Blomberg, but they did not take part in the fighting. After the failed offensive, the Serbs tried to negotiate the departure of the Hungarian troops, but they imposed such humiliating conditions on the town's population that the citizens refused to accept them. At the same time, Austria's consul in Belgrade, Colonel Ferdinand Mayerhofer von Grünhübel, did his best to support the Serbians, and convince the government from Serbia, to send more troops to Hungary, which was a strong signal to the leaders of the non-Hungarian supplemented Imperial regiments, put under the command of the Hungarian government, stationing in the Bácska and Bánság regions, convincing them that the Empire preferred to support the Serbs against the Hungarians and that they, therefore, did not have to fight on the side of the Hungarians.


title: Battle of Perlasz

text: Of the Serbian military camps in Bánság, the Perlasz camp, was the third camp built after those from Karlóca and the Roman entrenchments, being established in mid-June, under the command of retired K.u.K. Lieutenant Jovan Drakulić, Colonel of the Serbian National Guards. This camp was built in opposition to Nagybecskerek and, together with Alibunár, was a solid base for the Serb uprising. The Serbian communities south and east of the camp were subordinated to the Perlasz camp. All actions from here to the north threatened especially Nagybecskerek and its surroundings. The Perlasz Serb military camp was located on the left bank of the Béga canal, on the Perlasz-Écska road, about 4 km from the village of Perlasz. The camp, which was at a forest guardhouse, was surrounded by a continuous defensive trench system of parallel ramparts, the outer trench of which was 2 m deep and 4 m wide. The camp was situated on a slightly elevated area, with its western and northern sides descending steeply towards the Béga. The higher southern part overlooked the surrounding area. Closer to Perlasz, a massive redoubt has been built at Jáncsa Hill (Jancova Hunka). The camp had about 500 thatched huts to house the troops. The camp had 300 border guards at the beginning of July, and 5,000 border guards and 300 Servians in mid-July. The Serb troops consisted mainly of well-trained border guards, Šajkaši units, Servians, and volunteers from Serbian villages in Hungary. 12 cannons were deployed on the parapets. 4 of these were placed on the open outpost trench. The guns in the camp were mostly of small caliber.


title: Battle of Perlasz

text: Kiss allocated a large part of his forces to guarding the surrounding villages and watching the roads to ensure the attack. Because of this, he remained with only 2500 troops to attack Perlasz. The plan for the capture of the Perlasz camp was prepared by Lieutenant Colonel Antal Vetter from the 37th Infantry Regiment, and Colonel Kiss approved it and set the date for its realization for September 2. According to the battle plan, the right flank led by Captain Pál Kiss, numbering about 300 men, had to advance on the right bank of the Béga River and drew the attention of the Serbs. Meanwhile, the center (the 3rd Battalion of the 37th Infantry Regiment, the 10th Battalion, two companies of the 6th Hussars Regiment, 8 guns) had to attack the camp from the front in the early hours of the morning, and if they succeed in taking it, they had to cover the entrenchments and blow up the Jančova Hill from the center of the camp. If the ambush attack failed, the camp had to be attacked after artillery preparation. If the capture of the camp was successful, the six companies of the 2nd Hussars on the left flank would pursue the enemy; but Kiss, as a Hussar officer, reserved the further orders for himself, i.e. the pursuit could only begin on his orders.