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An Action Hero
An Action Hero is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language action film directed by debutant Anirudh Iyer and written by Neeraj Yadav, based on an original story by Iyer. It was produced by Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar, under T-Series Films, and Aanand L. Rai, under Colour Yellow Productions. The film stars Ayushmann Khurrana and Jaideep Ahlawat in lead roles.
Plot.
Maanav is a popular actor, known as a leading man in action films. For his upcoming film shoot, he heads to Mandothi in Haryana. Vicky Solanki, an aspiring strongman politician currently contesting the local elections, wants to meet Maanav gain publicity. Due to busy shooting schedule Maanav does not pay heed. Just when he is about to meet Vicky, he is distracted by the delivery of his new Ford Mustang and goes for a long drive. However, an enraged Vicky follows and manhandles him. Maanav enraged by Vicky's actions pushes him away. Vicky dies from blunt force trauma, on the spot after landing head first on a rock.
Frightened, Maanav flees to his house in Portsmouth, UK. Unbeknownst to him Vicky's brother, Bhoora Singh Solanki, a municipal councilor of Mandothi, is on his tail to hunt him down. The Haryana police conclude role of Maanav in Vicky's murder citing the side mirror of Maanav's new Mustang. Maanav's reputation is degraded and his films are boycotted. The news reaches UK, as well, and Maanav is forced to hide himself from the UK police, and later witnesses Bhoora killing two British officers at his home.
Maanav manages to escape the scene and tries to seek help from his UK lawyer, who does not respond. During his attempt to escape Maanav's car runs out of gas and Bhoora confronts him. He tries to prove his innocence, but Bhoora does not listen and tries to kill him. Maanav manages overpower and lock Bhoora in the car's trunk. Upon pressuring his manager, Roshan, for help, Maanav finally gets to meet another lawyer and fixer, Sai, for capturing potential footage of Bhoora killing the two cops. Sai tells Maanav to meet his contact in London, for collecting the footage.
Meanwhile, Bhoora escapes by calling a towing company and follows and kills Sai. When Bhoora was about to kill Maanav, he is intercepted by Kaadir, Sai's friend. Maanav and Bhoora together overpower Kaadir, but Maanav gets in the car and flees again leaving Bhoora behind. Bhoora manages to learn of Maanav's whereabouts from Kaadir as a hostage. Meanwhile, Maanav gets fed up of hiding, and surrenders himself to the police with the footage that Sai's contact procured from the dashcams of the cars nearby Maanav's house in Portsmouth. Masood Abraham Katkar, a feared terrorist from the D-Company, who was taunted by Maanav as irrelevant, abducts him through his men. He is taken to a rooftop, where Katkar is awaiting him.
Katkar takes a photograph with Maanav, seemingly planning on sending it to the media, to paint a picture that Maanav has contacts in the underworld. Katkar tells Maanav to perform at his granddaughter's wedding, in exchange for his freedom. Bhoora arrives and disrupts Maanav's dance number, only to be held at gunpoint, by Katkar's men. After an interrogation, Katkar advises Bhoora to kill Maanav. His image with Katkar becomes viral on social media and the news, just as Bhoora is about to shoot, Maanav deflects him and Katkar was shot dead in the skirmish.
Katkar's men are alerted and arrive to kill them both. Maanav and Bhoora manage to defeat Katkar's men, before turning on each other. With his newfound inner strength, Maanav defeats and wounds Bhoora. Later, Maanav formulates a plan to make a deal with the Indian Embassy to project a story that the government used Maanav's situation and assigned him for the mission to track and kill Katkar, thus saving him from imprisonment. Bhoora refuses to spare him, out of ego, despite fully being aware of his innocence from the beginning. With no choice left, Maanav kills Bhoora and his plan succeeds and returns to India to find himself surrounded by greetings from his fans and the public outside the Mumbai airport.
Production.
Development.
The film was announced in October 2021.
Filming.
Filming began in January 2022 in London and concluded in March 2022.
Music.
The music of the film is composed by Tanishk Bagchi, Biddu, Parag Chhabra and Amar Jalal. The background score is composed by Sunny M.R. and the Action Hero Theme is composed by Parag Chhabra.
The song "Jehda Nasha" was recreated from the 2019 track "Nasha" which was sung by IP Singh, Amar Jalal, written by Amar Jalal Group and composed by Faridkot, Amar Jalal. The song "Aap Jaisa Koi" was recreated from the 1980 film "Qurbani" sung by Pakistani singer Nazia Hassan, and was composed by British Indian producer Biddu. The song was featured in the film as an item number, picturised on Zeenat Aman.
The film version of "Aap Jaisa Koi" replaces original male vocalist Altamash Faridi with Yash Narvekar.
Release.
"An Action Hero" had its trailer released on T-Series' YouTube Channel. The film was theatrically released on 2 December 2022. Digital rights were acquired by Netflix and was released on 27 January 2023.
Reception.
"An Action Hero" received positive reviews from critics
"Bollywood Hungama" rated the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote ""An Action Hero" works due to Ayushmann's action-oriented role and Jaideep's screen presence. The twist in the last 30 minutes adds to the fun". Saibal Chatterjee of "NDTV" rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "The film bustles with coiled energy every time Jaideep Ahlawat is on the screen as a toughie responding to a rough, ready and rustic notion of justice and self-worth". Sonil Dedhia of "News 18" rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and said that the film is "wacky, breezy, bizzare and outlandish". Pratikshya Mishra of "The Quint" rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "The film makes fun of everything it can get its hands on while weaving a story worthy of its strong cast". Devesh Sharma of "Filmfare" rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "The film is cleverly written. It serves us twists and turns admiringly well. The insider jokes are a hoot. The arrogance of a superstar is on point". Kartik Bhardwaj of "Cinema Express" rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Ayushmann Khurrana and Jaideep Ahlawat lock horns in this cheeky take on stars, fans, and media culture". Himesh Mankad of "Pinkvilla" rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote ""An Action Hero" is an intelligently written action thriller, wherein the director follows his conviction to strike the right balance in the genre with some humor and whacky scenarios".
Rohit Bhatnagar of "The Free Press Journal" rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and said that the film might derail from the set formula concept, but it might entertain and delve deeper into world affairs. Fengyn Chiu of "Mashable" rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Ayushmann Khurrana and Jaideep Ahlawat will take you a wild ride filled with black comedy, suspense, satire". Sukanya Verma of "Rediff" rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote ""An Action Hero" oil and water combination of genres doesn't always gel, gets overly far-fetched in places but still holds up on the strength of whimsy and surprise". Archika Khurana of "The Times of India" rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "The interesting thing about the film is not so much the story itself, but seeing Ayushmann Khurrana get into the skin of an action hero and flex his muscles (literally) on screen". Bharathi Pradhan of "Lehren" rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and summarized "Bollywood Plays Hero & Victim". Anna M. M. Vetticad of "Firstpost" rated the film 2.75 out of 5 stars and described it as "a fun package.” Vetticad praised the chemistry between the two leads but commented on the lack of female characters: “It’s a good thing that the narrative’s drooping minutes don’t last long, because it is in those minutes that the glaring absence of women from the scene becomes impossible to ignore. Rahul Desai from "Film Companion" wrote "This is perhaps his timeliest and most pressing deed yet. After all, is there a bigger underdog than mainstream Hindi cinema today?" |
Solaris Bus & Coach
Solaris Bus & Coach is a Polish producer of public transport vehicles (buses, trolleybuses and trams), with its headquarters in Bolechowo-Osiedle near Poznań. It is a subsidiary of Spanish CAF. Solaris owns four production sites: its main factory and headquarters in Bolechowo (final assembly of buses and trolleybuses), two plants in Środa Wielkopolska (a welding shop for bodyframes of buses and trolleybuses and a welding shop for tram bodies) as well as a final assembling hall for rolling stock, located in Poznań, in Wieruszowska street.
The firm arose from the enterprise Neoplan Polska established in 1994. A production facility was launched in Bolechowo-Osiedle near Poznań in 1996. The first low-floor bus produced in Bolechowo rolled off the assembly line on 22 March 1996 and it is this very date that is understood as the beginning of the company's history. 1999 saw the première of the first city bus of the Solaris brand – the Solaris Urbino 12. In 2001 the company was rebranded into Solaris Bus & Coach Sp. z o.o., only to be converted from a limited liability company into a joint-stock company. The company is not listed on the stock exchange.
Solaris city buses are available in diverse drive configurations as well as bodywork sizes and types. In 2006, Solaris became the first manufacturer to market, in Europe, the first serially produced hybrid drive bus Solaris Urbino 18 Hybrid. The portfolio of the bus maker covers conventionally fuelled vehicles (diesel) as well as those with an alternative drive (electric, hybrid and CNG buses or trolleybuses). The Solaris Urbino 12 electric was the first Polish, and the first electric bus at that, to win an international title for the year Bus and Coach of the Year 2017. In July 2018, it was announced that Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) had acquired Solaris.
History.
Neoplan Polska.
In 1994, Krzysztof Olszewski founded the company Neoplan Polska Sp. z o.o., a branch office for the Polish market of German bus brand Neoplan. In 1995, this enterprise won a tender for the delivery of 72 low-floor city buses for Poznań. The tender was made conditional upon locating the bus manufacturing factory in the vicinity of Poznań. As a result, the company launched an assembly plant for buses in Bolechowo-Osiedle. The first bus produced by Neoplan Polska came fresh off the production line on 22 March 1996. Having carried out the order for Poznań, the firm went on to reach the position of Polish market leader in the segment of low-floor city buses. Initially, the Bolechowo plant manufactured licence-based buses of the Neoplan family:
The buses stood out from other ones thanks to their reliability and the quality of execution, but above all thanks to their innovative design and, which was a novelty back then, its accessibility for elderly and disabled people thanks to the low floor. An element distinguishing the Neoplan buses produced in Poland from those made abroad was the green dachshund logo pasted onto the left-hand corner of the front face. It was supposed to symbolise the low-floor feature of the bus and the simplicity of use. The colour of the dachshund was a reference to the company's environmental commitment in the production of public transport vehicles. The green dachshund has remained the symbol of the company to this day.
In the second half of the 1990s, the company Neoplan Polska expanded its own technical office in charge of research and development. Back then, the company was already using software that allowed it to shorten the time needed to design and build a prototype of a new model. Towards the end of the 1990s Neoplan launched a new generation of city buses. However, Mr Olszewski decided not to launch their production in the Bolechowo plant, as they would not meet with interest in Poland on account of their exorbitant price. Then, in 1998, the Neoplan Polska engineers constructed the first city bus to be produced only in Bolechowo – the Neoplan K4016TD (and its shorter version, the Neoplan K4010TD), for marketing purposes dubbed "Olibus". 1999 saw the début of the first city bus of the Solaris Urbino family (see: section City and intercity buses). To begin with Neoplan Polska was tied by its contract with Neoplan, so the company of Mr Olszewski was able to sell buses only in Poland or in countries in central and eastern Europe. In 2001, Neoplan was taken over by German company MAN. That is why on 1 September 2001, the firm Neoplan Polska was turned into a private limited company (pol. "spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością)", and its name was changed to Solaris Bus & Coach Sp. z o.o. Krzysztof and Solange Olszewski became the sole owners. From that point on the export of Solaris buses was no longer limited by contracts with Neoplan, and all ties to that company were rendered invalid. On 1 July 2005 the company was transformed into joint-stock company (pol."spółka akcyjna") Solaris Bus & Coach S.A..
Years later Solange Olszewska notes: “My husband and I were looking for a name that would evoke positive connotations in all languages, that would be easy to pronounce and would be related to the future. We were unable to find anything suitable. Then, among hundreds of words, we noticed “solaris” – a simple name, bringing to mind positive associations with sunshine and beginning with the same letter as my first name.
Acquisition by CAF.
On 5 September 2018 Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) finalised its acquisition of Solaris Bus & Coach. This was following an announcement on 3 July 2018. Additionally, CAF has entered into an agreement with the Polish Development Fund for the acquisition by the latter of a minority stake in Solaris (35%) in the same terms and conditions agreed in by CAF in the acquisition of Solaris. On 4 October 2018, Javier Calleja was named CEO.
Models.
City and intercity buses.
The first buses of the Solaris Urbino family were designed by a group of Polish engineers in collaboration with Berlin-based designer office IFS Designatelier under the leadership of Krzysztof Olszewski. In May 1999, at the Poznań International Fair Motor Show, the company unveiled its low-floor city bus MAXI class Solaris Urbino 12. Two other models of the MEGA class premièred that same year – the Solaris Urbino 15 and the Solaris Urbino 18. 2000 saw the market launch of the smallest member of the bus family – Solaris Urbino 9. A bodyframe made completely of stainless steel and the asymmetric front windscreen are turning into typical features of all buses of the Urbino family. The new series of city buses was characterised by the modern design and innovative technical solutions (e.g. the asymmetric line of the front windscreen improves the driver's field of vision). The first generation buses were made chiefly for the Polish market. In March 2000 the company sold the first vehicle to a non-Polish company; the Solaris Urbino 15 went to DPO from the Czech city of Ostrava. The first-generation Solaris Urbino buses have also made it to Slovakia, Latvia, and Germany.
The second generation Urbinos premièred in 2002. The manufacturer introduced small modifications compared to the predecessors, so the second generation was a transition between the first and the third edition of the Urbino. What is more, the new Solaris Urbino 10 was introduced, replacing the Urbino 9. The year 2002 was also a historic moment for the company, as it marks the first time that export sales double and foreign orders exceed the volume of domestic commissions
2002 saw also the unveiling of the first Solaris intercity bus, dubbed Solaris Valletta for commercial purposes. The vehicle was designed for a regional operator, based in Valletta, Malta. It was the first Solaris bus adapted to left-hand traffic. 2004 saw also the début of the intercity low-entry bus model Solaris Urbino 12 LE.
In September 2004, the third generation of Solaris Urbino buses had its début; serial production of those models kicked off in spring 2005. Many style and construction modifications were undertaken. It is this model that enabled the company's global success internationally. Moreover, in 2004, the company presented also the Solaris Urbino 15 CNG model – the first Solaris bus running on compressed natural gas. The Solaris Urbino participated in a contest titled Bus of the Year 2005, where it came second, losing by a whisker to MAN Lion's City. In 2006, Solaris became the first European manufacturer to present a serially produced hybrid drive bus – the Solaris Urbino 18 hybrid. In 2011 the company also launched a hybrid model of 12 meters.
In 2006 the company launched production of a 15 cm shorter model, 8.6 m long, i.e. the model Solaris Alpino, designed specifically for narrow streets of city centres and also less frequented communication routes. In 2008, the company extended the production line by two low-entry models, the Solaris Alpino 8,9 LE and the Solaris Urbino 15 LE. Also low-floor CNG- or biogas-fuelled models, designed specifically for buyers in Scandinavian countries, were launched around that time.
Mid-2009 the company designed the first prototypes of the intercity bus Solaris InterUrbino 12 which premièred in September 2009 at the Transexpo trade fair.
In September 2011, Solaris presented the prototype of the fully electric MIDI class city bus: the Solaris Urbino 8,9 LE electric. The first buyer of that electric Solaris bus was an Austrian carrier from Klagenfurt. A year later, at the IAA trade fair in Hanover, the producer unveiled the 12-metre version of its electric bus, the Solaris Urbino 12 electric. The first such model was sold in 2013, to an operator in Braunschweig, Germany. That is also, where the first articulated electric buses - the Solaris Urbino 18 electric - went to. In 2014 the producer supplied its innovative city buses Solaris Urbino 18,75 electric to Hamburg; these vehicles were the first to use a hydrogen fuel cell as an additional power source.
In September 2014, during the IAA trade fair in Hanover (world première), and in October that year, at the Transexpo trade fair in Kielce (Polish premiere), Solaris presented the new generation of Solaris Urbino buses – initially only with conventional drives and in the length versions 12 and 18 metres. This time, the producer introduced more modifications to the design compared to the predecessor buses. The design was profoundly amended and many technical innovations were applied. Over the next years, Solaris showed off a range of new generation models (the firm started using that name instead of the fourth generation, to distinguish it from the older model), though it continued to concurrently manufacture vehicles of the third generation.
In 2016 Solaris announced that the new generation Solaris Urbino 12 electric would compete in the “Bus Euro Test 2016” for the title Bus and Coach of the Year 2017. In the contest, the Solaris bus faced off against three competitors – the buses also evaluated in the test were the Mercedes-Benz Citaro C2 NGT, the Van Hool Exqui.City 18, the Irizar i2e and the Ebusco 2.01. Solaris turned out the final winner – thus becoming the first Polish bus to secure this title and the first electric bus ever to win this distinction.
Solaris supplies complete buses, i.e. it does not use the chassis of other manufacturers. However, it does implement components made by other sub-suppliers. It installs diesel engines and CNG engines made by Paccar/DAF, Cummins, whereas the transmissions are supplied by Voith or ZF Friedrichshafen. In the case of hybrid drives, Solaris vehicles use BAE Systems.
On 29 November 2016 Solaris became the leader of a technological cluster named “Polish Electric Bus - supply chain for electromobility”. The goal of the cluster is the design of electric buses, batteries and charging options. The cluster consists of: Akademia Górniczo-Hutnicza (University of Science and Technology), Politechnika Poznańska (Poznań University of Technology), Politechnika Warszawska (Warsaw University of Technology), EC Grupa, Ekoenergetyka Polska, Impact Clean Power Technology, Medcom, Instytut Napędów i Maszyn Elektrycznych KOMEL and SKB Drive. Later on companies El-Cab and ENEA joined the cluster.
In 2018 Solaris announced the debut of the three following vehicles: the Solaris Trollino 24, the Solaris Urbino 12 hydrogen with a hydrogen drive and the Solaris Urbino 12 LE lite hybrid, meaning a low-entry and low-emission bus involving lower operating costs.
Coaches.
In the first years of operation, Neoplan Polska also handled the assembly of the coaches Neoplan Transliner and Neoplan Skyliner. Serial production of the tourist coach of the company's own design Solaris Vacanza 12 began one year after the official unveiling in August 2001. The design of these coaches was drafted by the Berlin-based enterprise IFS Designatelier. A characteristic feature of these vehicles is the wedge-shaped bodywork line. Engines made by DAF were used for the driveline. In 2004, the company launched production of the longer model Solaris Vacanza 13. In 2003 the Solaris Vacanza was ranked second ("ex aequo" with the Volvo 9700) in the contest Coach of the Year 2004, right behind such brands as MAN Lion's Star and Scania Irizar PB, which took the first place "ex aequo". Due to limited sales, Solaris decided to eliminate them from its offer in 2011.
In 2002 Solaris assembled its first special purpose vehicle - a mobile blood donation station based on the Vacanza coach. Solaris bloodmobiles have been used in many Polish cities, but have also been sold to Riga. In 2018, Solaris presented the first fully electric special vehicle for blood donation, based on the Urbino 8.9 LE model.
Trolleybuses.
Solaris Trollino trolleybuses have been produced since 2001, based on low-floor buses of the Solaris Urbino series. The first Trollino 12 units were created in collaboration with PKT Gdynia. In 2002, the company launched serial production of longer trolleybuses, namely 15-metre and 18-metre versions. The Solaris Trollino 15 was the first trolleybus in the world of that length. Originally, the vehicles were made with drives manufactured by Hungarian company Ganz Transelektro and Czech firm Cegelec. In spring 2007, Solaris and the firm Medcom from Warsaw decided to build a prototype of the trolleybus Solaris Trollino 12, fitted with an asynchronous drive made in Poland. It was created in August 2007 and was then submitted for tests in Lublin. Two more vehicles were made for public operator MPK Lublin. Tychy-based TLT, too, is authorised to assemble and obtain the type approval for the Trollino model.
Trollino trolleybuses are available in various length versions: 12-, 15- and 18-metre models. In Poland, the Trollino can be encountered on the streets of Gdynia, Tychy and Lublin. They are also used by the Rome trolleybus system (the battery version which enables driving in the city centre while detached from the traction line) and for the trolleybus systems in Riga, Vilnius, Tallinn, Landskrona, Opava and Ostrava. In 2009, the first Solaris trolleybus made it to Portugal, with the purchase of a single Trollino by the Coimbra system. The Solaris Trollino is also available in a special version with a "MetroStyle" bodywork that has an affinity to the style of the Solaris Tramino tram. Trolleybuses of that type have been supplied to Salzburg, Esslingen and Castellón de la Plana.
Trams.
In March 2006 Solaris Bus & Coach signed a contract with Bombardier Transportation and German firm Vossloh Kiepe on the assembly of trams in Poland. In 2006 these companies won a tender for the supply of 24 trams of the Bombardier NGT6/2 type for Kraków and 3 for Gdańsk. Under the cooperation agreement, Bombardier Transportation supplied the bodyworks and carriages, Vossloh Kiepe provided the electric fittings and Solaris ensured the delivery of the remaining components and the assembly of the vehicles, in collaboration with MPK Kraków. The assembly of the trams for Cracow took place in the tram depot Zajezdnia Podgórze. 2007 saw the delivery of three ordered vehicles to Gdańsk and of eight vehicles for MPK Kraków.
Mid-2009 Solaris presented the prototype of its own tram, named Solaris Tramino. Its début took place on 14 October 2009 during the Trako trade fair in Gdańsk. Solaris scored its first commission for trams of its own design when it won a tender for the supply of 45 trams to the operator MPK in Poznań. The delivery of the vehicles started in July 2011 and ended in May 2012.
The second tender for Solaris concerned an order for 5 bi-articulated fully low-floor trams adapted to a 1000 mm track gauge, placed by Jenaer Nahverkehr – a public transport operator from the German city of Jena. The tram cars have been fitted with two driver cabins, three bogies, including four axles integrated with a 90 kW motor, and an air conditioning system for the passenger compartment. The trams were delivered in 2013. They were the first ones produced in Poland and sold to a customer in Germany. As part of the third tender in 2014, Solaris provided 18 tri-articulated trams riding on a 1100 mm track gauge to Braunschweig in Germany. These were the longest trams made by Solaris.
In August 2012 Solaris won a tender for the supply of 15 double-ended trams for the newly built tram network in Olsztyn. This vehicle features many state-of-the-art solutions, such as traction batteries allowing for a short-distance ride without a connection to the traction line. These are also the least noise-emitting trams in Poland. The 15 vehicles were supplied in 2015.
At the beginning of February 2015 Solaris won a commission for the supply of 41 trams to the Leipzig-based public transport operator Leipziger Verkehrsbetriebe GmbH in Germany. The new trams for the Saxon buyer have been given a completely new design, in compliance with the customer's wishes. However, references to the former Tramino construction have been maintained. The longest vehicle of the family (37 630 mm) was named "Tramino XL". The official première of the Tramino for Leipzig took place in February 2017, marking also the beginning of the delivery.
On 20 September 2016, at the InnoTrans trade fair in Berlin, the company announced that it had started cooperation with Stadler Rail – a Swiss rolling stock producer. The consortium won a tender for the delivery of 50 trams for public transport operator MPK S.A. from Kraków.
On 9 December 2016, Solaris announced the establishment of the joint venture Solaris Tram. The company started operation on 1 January 2017, with Zbigniew Palenica assuming the post of CEO, whereas the shares are divided between Solaris and Stadler Rail at a 40:60. In July 2017 Solaris Tram secured its first order, for the supply, to Braunschweig, of seven trams featuring a similar design as the vehicles from the previous contract.
Company management and staff.
Company management.
Source:.
Number of employees.
In the first year of operation there were 36 employees working in the production hall. In the following years, as new production halls were launched and production expanded, the staff number kept growing. In 2005 Solaris reported a headcount of 1000. As of 2018 Solaris employs 2300 people in Poland and in foreign agencies.
Commercial symbols.
Logo.
Initially, Neoplan Polska did not use its logo – it relied on the symbol of holding company Neoplan. The first logotype of Solaris was presented in 2001, when Solaris Bus & Coach Sp. z o.o. was officially established. It featured a stylised inscription reading Solaris, enclosed in an ellipse. Moreover, for buses the company used a complex logo on a black background, where the letter O was replaced by a planet, whereas the letter A was set against a star in the backdrop. In 2005 a new graphic system for Solaris was shown. The company introduced the characteristic logotype resembling the letter S. In 2012 the company launched an overhauled version of the symbol making it bolder and changing the interior filling of the letter S. What is more, the stylised name Solaris, in line with the design from 2001, is placed underneath the graphic symbol.
Advertising slogan.
In 2005 Solaris introduced its first advertising slogan: “Power of Enthusiasm”. It was in use until 2017, when the company replaced it with the slogan “Wspólny kierunek” (Polish for "Common direction").
Green dachshund.
The green dachshund is the mascot of the company Solaris. It used to be attached to Neoplan Polska buses, distinguishing them from vehicles produced in other Neoplan factories. It was created by the company's vice-president of the day, Solange Olszewska. The dachshund resembles a low-floor bus in shape, but it also symbolises the loyalty towards customers and low operating costs. The green colour is a symbol of concern for the natural environment. Its image is glued to the outside of the bus, usually on the front face, on the left side of the vehicle (when looking in the travel direction). A plush toy version of the symbol is often handed out during official release of buses to customers. In the case of the first and second generation and for some third-generation vehicles, the logo included the word “low-floor” written in the language of the country in question (e.g. “Niederflur” for Germany or “niskopodłogowy” for Poland). In the case of low-entry buses, the inscription was changed accordingly to “low-entry”. Standard buses of the Urbino family (with diesel or natgas engines) feature a dachshund logo in the basic form, whereas other drive or construction types have their distinguishing feature represented in the image of the dachshund, as shown in the table below:
Production and sales.
Solaris buses have found buyers in over 700 cities in 34 countries in Europe, Africa and Asia (as of: 2022). The furthest Solaris buses have ventured from Bolechowo so far is the island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean. Solaris has been leader of sales in Poland of new city buses with a DMC of more than 8 t since 2003 without interruption. The number of buses, trolleybuses and trams sold by Solaris was biggest for Poland (5528), Germany (2960), the Czech Republic (860), Italy (829), Sweden (616), France (523) and Norway (478).
Production facilities.
The production of Solaris vehicles is handled in four production facilities situated in the vicinity of Poznań and in the city itself. The headquarters is located in Bolechowo-Osiedle. That is also where the final stage of production takes place. Furthermore, Solaris operates two plants in Środa Wielkopolska and one in Poznań. According to company plans, within the framework of the joint-venture of Solaris and Stadler Rail, as of 2019 the final assembly of Solaris Tramino trams is to be executed in the Stadler Polska plants located in Siedlce. In 2017 Solaris launched yet another plant – the Solaris Logistics Center – located in Jasin near Poznań. The new distribution centre and spare part warehouse was to streamline the order implementation process and raising the level of after-sales customer care.
Bolechowo-Osiedle.
The factory in Bolechowo-Osiedle is the biggest production facility of Solaris. That is where the final stage of bus production takes place. Opened in 1996, is the oldest factory of Solaris, created for the execution of an order for buses for MPK Poznań. In 2014 the company started expanding the factory, adding additional production and office space. The following extension of that facility began in 2018. Annual output amounts to 1300–1400 vehicles, meaning that every day 5 to 8 new buses roll off the assembly line in Bolechowo. The average production time for one city bus is approx. 20 working days. Offices are located next to the production hall, constituting the headquarters of Solaris Bus & Coach. Since 2016, it is possible to sneak a peek at the interior of the factory and the office building in Bolechowo using Google Street View.
Środa Wielkopolska.
The facility in Środa Wielkopolska specialises in the production of steel bodyframes for buses and rolling stock. Solaris bought the factory in 1998, following the bankruptcy of the former owner, TRAMAD. The facility in Środa Wielkopolska employs about 360 people. About 8 bodyframes are completed here every day. In 2018, the company started the concurrent extension of the steel structure plant in Środa Wielkopolska and the plant in Bolechowo.
The second production hall in Środa Wielkopolska was launched in 2009, to serve the needs of orders for Solaris Tramino trams for the public transport operator MPK Poznań. Specialising in tram bodyframes, this particular facility caters only for the production of Tramino trams.
Poznań.
The factory in Poznań at Wieruszewska street is a facility focusing on the production of rolling stock, where the final assembly of Solaris Tramino trams takes place. Just like the plant in Środa Wielkopolska, this facility was built to handle orders placed by MPK Poznań. Earlier prototype models of trams were manufactured in production halls of external firms.
Biggest orders.
E.THE.L Athens.
At the beginning of 2008 the municipal bus operator from Athens, E..THE.L, issued an invitation to tender for 320 city buses – namely 220 MIDI-class and 100 MAXI-class vehicles. Solaris’ bid was singled out from among others and so, in July 2008, the company signed a contract for the supply of 100 Urbino 18 and 220 Alpino 8,6 buses. The contract value exceeded EUR 80 million. The deliveries were completed by the end of 2009.
Cotral Lazio.
At the beginning of 2016, Solaris won a contract for the delivery of 300 suburban buses for the operator Cotral from the Italian region of Lazio. This contract was worth nearly EUR 110 million. Under this contract, Solaris supplied 12-metre buses of the Solaris InterUrbino category. The buses were provided with, among others, baggage holds, air-conditioning and rear-view reversing cameras. The drive consists of a diesel engine made by DAF.
BVG Berlin.
In 2004 Solaris secured an order of Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe for the supply of 260 city buses of the MEGA class (130 + 130 under a contractual option). Following this contract, there are now 260 low-floor Solaris Urbino 18 buses of the third generation driving on the streets of Berlin. They joined 10 older Urbino 18 buses of the previous generation, already in use in the city.
RTA Dubai.
Towards the end of 2006 the Dubai Roads & Transport Authority (the municipal transport operator in Dubai) put out a tender for the supply of a total of 620 city buses, although the order was divided into several batches. One of these batches, covering 225 vehicles, was won by Solaris. The contract entailed the delivery of 150 articulated Urbino 18 buses and 75 Urbino 12 buses of the third generation. The deliveries of buses were spread in time, from the end of 2007 and over the first half of 2008. One novelty applied in the buses for the Dubai RTA was a more efficient air-conditioning system and systems protecting the engine from sand storms. Special curtains of cool air have been applied in the buses, too, to prevent heat from entering the bus through open doors.
SWRT Wallonia.
Société Régionale Wallonne du Transport (regional carrier of the Belgian region of Wallonia) ordered 208 hybrid buses of Solaris in 2017. Under the EUR 105 million commission the producer supplied Solaris Urbino 12 Hybrid buses of the 4 generation. The deliveries were spread over a period of two years – 97 buses were supplied in 2017 and another 111 were shipped over in 2018.
MZA Warsaw.
In March 2019, Solaris won the tender organized by MZA Warsaw, the subject of which was the delivery of 130 electric buses. The contract was signed on July 22, 2019. The vehicles will take to the streets of Warsaw in 2019 and 2020. The contract is worth PLN 399.5 million (roughly 89.5 million euro) and was the largest electric bus order to date in Europe. Solaris submitted the only tender.
ATM Milan.
In July 2019, Solaris won an order for the supply of 250 electric buses with a length of 12 m for a carrier from Milan, winning the bid against Mercedes. It was a tender for electric buses worth up to EUR 192 million. |
19th Canadian Army Field Regiment RCA
The 19th Canadian Army Field Regiment (Self Propelled) Royal Canadian Artillery (RCA) was a Field Artillery regiment in the Canadian Armed Forces during the Second World War. They would see action in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, before ending the war in Germany. It was commonly referred to as The 19th Field Regiment, The 19th Army Field Regiment, The 19th Field or by the men of the regiment, Hell on Wheels.
Canada.
The 19th Field received its mobilizing orders in August 1941, for three batteries to be formed from the three Reserve Brigade areas in Military District No. 1. The batteries were the 55th Field Battery (London, Ontario), the 63rd Field Battery (Guelph, Ontario), and the 99th Field Battery (Wingham, Ontario). From September 1941 to July 1943, the 19th Field was brought up to full strength and received training at Camp Borden, Ontario; Shilo, Manitoba; Prince Rupert, British Columbia; and Petawawa, Ontario.
During this time, they trained first with 18-pounders, 4.5" howitzers, and finally, what would become their main armament in Europe, the 25-pounder RAM, better known as the Sexton.
England.
On 5 July 1943, the 19th Field received orders to move overseas. They left Halifax on 21 July on board the and arrived in Greenock 27 July 1943 and fell under the command of the II Canadian Corps. On 19 October 1943, the 19th Field was briefly transferred to the command of the 5th Canadian Armoured Division before once again being transferred to the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division when the 5th was moved to the Italian Campaign. Between July 1943 and May 1944, the 19th Field would begin training for the coming invasion of mainland Europe and exchanged their Sextons for American M7 Priests, which were self-propelled 25-pounders, similar to the Sexton that had an armament of 105mm and could fire a distance of 11,500 yards.
While in England, the 19th took part in several training operations, but specifically "Exercise Savvy". It was the first divisional training exercise the regiment took part in, which focused on the firing of artillery on ships towards coastal targets and landing on beaches under fire. While in England, the 19th Field was also inspected by General Bernard Montgomery on 28 February 1944, and King George VI on 25 April 1944, in the prelude to the invasion of Europe.
On 23 May 1944, the 19th Field's camp was sealed for security reasons and plans were finalized for Operation Overlord: the long-awaited invasion of German occupied France. The final preparations were made as all vehicles were waterproofed and ammunition was brought up. On 1 June 1944, the 19th Field moved to its marshalling areas in Gosport and Southampton before embarking on the longest day. On June 3, 1944, Forward Observation Officers (FOOs) went to their respective units with the North Shore Regiment as Landing Craft were prepared to be filled with infantry units.
D-Day: 6 June 1944.
The Canadian assault on Juno Beach had three infantry brigades – the 7th, 8th and 9th – of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division with the 7th landing at Courseulles-sur-Mer, the 8th at Bernieres-sur-Mer and St. Aubin-sur-Mer with the 9th landing after the initial assault passing through the 8th's sector and advancing on Authie and Carpiquet airfield before capturing the high ground above Caen. The 19th was attached to the 8th brigade and the 12th, 13th, and 14th Field Regiments were also involved bringing a total of 96 M7 Priest guns into action. Specifically, the 19th was part of the 14th Canadian Field Regiment Artillery Group led by Lt.-Col. H.S. Griffin with each regiment firing towards the beaches from four Landing Craft towards their target of Nan Red beach.
The Landing Craft carrying the 19th and the other three Field Regiments advanced at about 6:30 a.m. with the 22nd and 30th LCT Flotilla carrying the 24 M7 Priests of the 19th. At 7:39 a.m., Major Peene the Fire Control Officer, gave the order to commence firing when they were 9,000 yards out. The guns of the 19th were the first Canadian to go into action and began firing towards northern France to signal the imminent invasion of German occupied Europe. Each gun launched 100 to 150 rounds over the course of about 30 minutes further saturating the German held territory. One gun from each of the six troops were firing phosphorus shells with seven fires being started on the Nan Red beach The commander of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, General Rod Keller, said the SP's "put on the best shoot they ever did." The Field Regiments had their M7 Priests strapped to the deck of the landing craft and went in firing towards the beaches as planes and naval vessels pounded the beaches. After they reached a 2,000 yards from shore they turned around and passed the inbound North Shore Regiment infantry of the first wave. Once the beachhead had been secured they came around again and landed with the second wave of infantry to provide close artillery support against any German counterattack.
Artillery is often a feared weapon of war, but studies conducted by the 21st Army Group's 2nd Operational Research Section found the gunners were highly inaccurate thanks to the intense waves of the English Channel. The report said the 19th missed their targets by up to 1,000 yards since they were sent on the wrong course inland by the navy. Once it was corrected, the inaccuracy prevailed with the unpredictable English Channel wreaking havoc on the sights of the gunners. They were still about 700 yards wide and 300 yards deep from their intended target. Also causing difficulty was that the concrete fortifications were between three and seven feet in thickness.
At 9:10 a.m. 'D' Troop of the 63rd Battery landed west of St. Aubin-sur-Mer under mortar and rifle fire on Nan Red beach and within 10 minutes they had their first gun 200 yards inland and in action providing fire support. 'C' Troop followed shortly after with 'E' and 'F' Troop also landing and in action by 10 a.m. with the 55th Battery and Q Battery being delayed due to a rudder being damaged and massive traffic trying to land on the beaches.
Shortly after landing, the 19th took their first casualties of the war with Lt. Malcolm, the regimental survey officer, being wounded and Gunner B.T. McHughen being killed. A further two men were killed and 17 more wounded on the first day. The regiment had its vehicle damaged when a M7 Priest of 'E' Troop hitting a mine and a track was blown off with it taking two hours to repair. The 55th Battery also faced its first difficulty when an ammunition explosion had two M7 Priests and a Bren Carrier catch fire quickly spreading to other vehicles and threatening to become larger as it moved towards live ammunition. Gunner H.R. Chaplin, already wounded from shrapnel, jumped in the Bren Carrier that had the ammunition and moved it safety to prevent further casualties or damage. Chaplin received the Military Medal for this act.
They ran into the German 716th Infantry Division that was primarily used as an occupation division and primarily made up of Polish, Russians, Ukrainians and other nationalities from the Soviet Union who were pressed into service. They had mostly obsolete Czechoslovakian equipment from the late-1930s, but also had a small cadre of non-commissioned officers that had combat experience on the Eastern Front giving the green troops veteran leadership.
The 19th ended D-Day in positions just outside St. Aubin-sur-Mer with them being called for close fire support multiple times throughout the day as German tanks and infantry counterattacked the positions gained by Canadian infantry. With night falling over northern France and the Allied beachhead secured the 19th had three soldiers killed and another 18 wounded in the first 24 hours of .
Casualties in Action.
Killed in Action |
Bonnie Sherk
Bonnie Ora Sherk (née Bonnie Ora Kellner; May 18, 1945 – August 8, 2021) was an American landscape-space artist, performance artist, landscape planner, and educator. She was the founder of "The Farm", and "A Living Library". Sherk was a professional artist who exhibited her work in museums and galleries around the world. Her work has also been published in art books, journals, and magazines. Her work is considered a pioneering contribution to Eco Art.
Early life.
Bonnie Ora Kellner was born on May 18, 1945, in New Bedford, Massachusetts. She grew up in Montclair, New Jersey. Her father Sydney Kellner was the area director of the American Jewish Committee and lecturer of art and architecture. Her mother was a first grade teacher.
Sherk graduated Douglass College, Rutgers University in the 1960s. She studied under Robert Watts at Rutgers, who taught her about the Fluxus movement. She later enrolled in an MFA program at San Francisco State University.
Career.
Sherk moved to San Francisco in the late 1960s with her husband David Sherk.
Sherk is a developer of a systemic, place-based approach to environmental transformation and education which links systems - biological, cultural, technological. Integrated with such innovations, like Green-Powered Digital Gateways, Sherk's approach incorporates interdisciplinary, standards-based, hands-on learning, community ecological planning and design, and state-of-the-art communications and technologies. Sherk's goal is to integrate local resources: human, ecological, economic, historic, technological, and aesthetic - seen through the lens of time - to make relevant ecological transformations, which are integrated with hands-on learning opportunities and community programs.
In an interview with Peter Cavagnaro, Sherk shares her love and passion for the environment. She believes that the environment is a "beautiful" and "diverse" place and that it is the most practical place for art and to create transformation, because it has the ability to reach communities near and far.
Works.
"A Living Library" (1980s–2021).
"A Living Library" was Sherk's ongoing work she started in the 1980s, that consists of transforming environments -buried urban streams and asphalted public spaces, into thriving art gardens. She has transformed these spaces in order to build education centers for children in communities in San Francisco and New York City.
"The Farm" (1974–1980).
Created in 1974, and lasting through 1980, by Sherk, "The Farm" (also known as "Crossroads Community") was a 7 acre eco garden and art space that spreads across traffic meridians and underused spaces under freeway overpasses. It even includes animals. This piece provided internships, educational activities for children, and acted as a public park throughout its duration.
Sherk felt that people lacked a “spiritual and ecological balance within ourselves and larger groups and nations,” and felt that a space like the Farm could offer a solution to this issue through community connection, education, and creating a space within the urban landscape to uncover the natural environment that exists within the landscape and demonstrate our connection to life and the ecosystem.
"Living In The Forest".
"Living In The Forest: Demonstrations of Atkin Logic, Balance, Compromise, Devotion, Etc." was an installation created in 1973 for De Saisset Museum in Santa Clara, conceived as a "a metaphor for life in all of its aspects, including birth, death, struggles for survival, compromise, living our daily lives, etc."
"Public Lunch".
"Public Lunch" was one of Sherk's most well-known performance pieces. The piece consisted of Bonnie eating lunch in cages with various animals, such as lions and tigers, at the San Francisco Zoo. She did this on a Saturday at 2pm in 1971, during normal feeding time and prime spectator watching.
"Sitting Still Series".
In Bonnie Ora Sherk's "Sitting Still Series", 1970 (digital projection, photo documentation of performances) the artist sate for approximately one hour in various locations around San Francisco as a means to subtly change the environment simply by becoming an unexpected part of it. At the first performance, Sherk, dressed in a formal evening gown, sat in an unholstered armchair amidst garbage and creek runoff from the construction of the Army Street freeway interchange. Facing slow moving traffic, her audience was the people driving by. The following month Sherk sat silently in the midst of a flooded city dump at California and Montgomery Streets. Other locations in the series included the Financial District, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Bank of America plaza. Sherk also continued her piece at the San Francisco Zoo in a number of indoor and outdoor animal cages. "Sitting Still" culminated in the performance "Public Lunch", in which the artist ceremoniously ate an elaborately catered lunch in an empty cage located next to a cage of lions during public feeding time at the zoo. The project reinforced Sherk's commitment to studying the interrelationship of plants, animals, and humans with the goal of creating sustainable systems for social transformation. The "Sitting Still Series" was exhibited in total as part of Public Works: Artists Interventions 1970s - Now, curated by Christian L. Frock and Tanya Zimbardo at Mills College Art Museum, September - December 2016; Sherk's first image from the series graces the cover of the exhibition catalogue designed by John Borruso.
Awards.
In 1970, the first SECA Vernal Equinox Special Award, which recognizes conceptual and experimental projects, was presented to Sherk and Howard Levine by the SFMOMA.
In 2001, Marion Rockefeller Weber's Arts and Healing Network awarded Sherk the 2001 AHN Award "for being an outstanding educator and for using her creativity to foster environmental healing."
Personal.
Sherk was married to David Sherk. The couple later divorced.
Sherk died on August 8, 2021 in San Francisco, California. She was buried on August 11 at the Mendocino Jewish Cemetery near the grave of her parents. |
U.S. Route 127 in Michigan
US Highway 127 (US 127) is a part of the United States Numbered Highway System that runs from Chattanooga, Tennessee, to the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. In Michigan, it is a state trunkline highway that runs for , entering from Ohio south of Hudson and ending at a partial interchange with Interstate 75 (I-75) south of Grayling. US 127 is the primary route connecting Lansing and Central Michigan to Northern Michigan and the Mackinac Bridge. From the south side of Jackson northerly, it is mostly a four-lane freeway. A notable exception is a stretch from north of St. Johns to just south of Ithaca, where the highway is built as an expressway and speed limits are lower. South of Jackson to the state line, the trunkline is a two-lane, undivided highway with access from adjacent properties.
The highway was first designated on November 11, 1926, along a series of existing state highways from Lansing southward toward Toledo. In 1930, the southern end was rerouted south of Somerset in rural northwestern Lenawee County to a course that ran directly south to the Ohio state line; the remainder was renumbered US 223. Starting in the 1950s, the highway was reconfigured to bypass Mason and other communities, converting US 127 into a freeway from Jackson to the Lansing area by the mid-1970s. When the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) successfully petitioned the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in 1999 to remove US 27 from the state, US 127 was to be extended northward from Lansing to Grayling as the replacement designation. This change was made in 2002, resulting in the current configuration of the highway in Michigan. The United States Congress has designated an additional Interstate Highway, to be part of I-73, that would replace most or all of US 127 through Central and Southern Michigan, but any plans by MDOT to complete this highway were cancelled in 2001.
Route description.
Running just about in Michigan, US 127 runs north–south up the center of the Lower Peninsula. North of its junction with US 223 in Lenawee County, it is listed as a part of the National Highway System, a system of roads importance to the nation's economy, defense and mobility. As a state trunkline highway, the roadway is maintained by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), and it includes approximately of freeway in two segments, the southernmost running between Jackson and Clinton counties, separated by a gap from the northernmost segment between Gratiot and Crawford counties.
According to the department, 1,253 vehicles use US 127 on average near the state line, and 68,853 vehicles do so between M-43 and Kalamazoo Street in Lansing, the lowest and highest traffic counts along the highway in 2013, respectively.
State line to Lansing.
US 127 enters Michigan as a two-lane highway south of Hudson called Meridian Road, which follows the course (with minor deviations) of the Michigan Meridian used to survey Michigan in the early 19th century. From the state line north, US 127 follows the Hillsdale–Lenawee county line north through agricultural areas in Southern Michigan. The highway intersects M-34 at Hudson. Near Beecher Road north of the city, US 127 veers westward, off the county line and travels fully within Hillsdale County for about . Near intersections with Manitou and Adams roads south of Addison, it crosses fully into Lenawee County. The highway continues due north from Addison to an intersection with US 223's northern terminus in the northwestern corner of the county, where US 127 turns northwesterly.
About a mile (1.6 km) farther north, US 127 intersects US 12 east of Somerset. US 127 continues northward, clipping through the corner of Hillsdale County and crossing into Jackson County. The highway follows Meridian Road through the southern area of the county until the interchange with M-50 southeast of Jackson. There US 127 transitions into a full freeway bypass to the east of Jackson while Business US 127 (Bus. US 127) follows M-50 into the city. The freeway crosses the Grand River twice near the South Street interchange. It also crosses a rail line of the Norfolk Southern Railway near the Page Avenue interchange. Northeast of Jackson, US 127 meets I-94 and turns westward to run concurrently with it along the northern edge of Jackson. US 127 crosses the Grand River again on this section of I-94 before turning northward again.
The US 127 freeway continues northward, concurrent with M-50 for the first mile and a half (2.4 km) north of I-94. The freeway runs through rural northern Jackson County, paralleled by State Road before curving northwesterly near the county line with Ingham County. US 127 passes through Leslie with Churchill and Hull roads running parallel on either side of the freeway. US 127 loses these companion roads at Mason where it curves northwest to the Lansing area.
On the southeastern side of the capital city, US 127 meets I-96. From this interchange northward, the freeway is also designated as part of I-496 (Ransom E. Olds Freeway). The I-496/US 127 freeway runs northward through suburban Delhi Township and into the city of Lansing. Right near the Red Cedar River, just west of the Michigan State University campus, I-496 and US 127 separate as US 127 continues north and I-496 turns west. This side of the city is mostly residential neighborhoods as US 127 runs along the East Lansing border, but there is a commercial area surrounding the Lake Lansing Road interchange before the highway crosses into Clinton County. US 127 meets I-69 northeast of Lansing, at the 1998–2002 terminus of the highway. From here north, US 127 follows the former US 27 north to Grayling.
Central Michigan.
The freeway continues northward through rural Central Michigan farmlands. The freeway passes over the Looking Glass River near DeWitt. At Price Road, Bus. US 127 splits off to connect into St. Johns while the freeway bypasses the city to the east. US 127 intersects M-21 due east of downtown St. Johns before the freeway curves west and then north to intersect the northern end of the business loop. North of this interchange, for about , US 127 follows an expressway segment. It is a four-lane divided highway with some local driveway access and cross traffic through at-grade intersections.
The expressway segment passes through an area that is mostly farms with occasional business. Just north of the Gratiot County line, the highway crosses the Maple River in the large wetlands area of Maple River State Game Area. North of the river, the expressway crosses a rail line at grade north of the one interchange along the expressway, connecting with M-57. South of Ithaca, the highway crosses the Bad River and transitions back to a freeway for the remainder of its routing. There are two interchanges on either end of Ithaca for that city's Bus. US 127 as the freeway runs east of that city's downtown area. US 127 runs due northward until curving northwesterly to pass between Alma and St. Louis. At the adjacent partial interchanges for Lincoln and State roads, two separate business loops depart from the freeway to run through the two cities. The Bus. US 127 for Alma follows Lincoln Road westward, while the one for St. Louis runs north on State Road. The freeway crosses the Pine River while running between Alma and St. Louis before intersecting M-46 and the northern ends of the two business loops at another pair of adjacent partial interchanges.
North of Alma, US 127 turns due north again and crosses into Isabella County. It runs near the campus of Central Michigan University, crossing the Chippewa River in Mount Pleasant. Mount Pleasant is also home to the Saginaw Band of Chippewa Indians and their tribal reservation. The area between the directional interchanges for Bus. US 127 in Mount Pleasant is marked by residential neighborhoods; the location of the M-20 interchange has some commercial properties, however. Otherwise, the landscape in Isabella County is mostly farms adjacent to the freeway.
The business loop for Clare splits from the main freeway south of the city, and it is also signed to provide access to eastbound US 10 via Bus. US 10, which US 127 crosses just south of the Clare County line. North of this line, US 10 and US 127 meet at a directional interchange. Traffic from westbound US 10 defaults onto northbound US 127, and traffic from the southbound freeway can exit onto eastbound US 10; no other direct connections are provided between the two freeways, requiring the use of the business loops through downtown to make the missing connections. The freeway rounds Lake Shamrock north of downtown and intersects the joint northern end of two business loops. There is a welcome center in the median of US 127/US 10 before the two highways separate north of the city.
US 127 continues northward through rural woodlands in Clare County to the community of Harrison. There is another Bus. US 127 for the community, part of which is also M-61. The freeway passes between Little Long and Sutherland lakes north of Harrison before intersecting the northern end of the business loop. US 127 serves the resort area at Houghton Lake in Roscommon County. It crosses the Muskegon River on the west side of Houghton Lake before running along the western side of Higgins Lake near the Crawford County line. US 127 ends about south of Grayling at a partial interchange with I-75. Traffic along US 127 northbound has access to northbound I-75 and southbound traffic on I-75 can access US 127 southbound.
History.
In 1919, the Michigan State Highway Department (MSHD) signposted the highway system for the first time, At the time, the original M-14 designation was assigned from the Ohio state line northward through Jackson, Lansing, Mount Pleasant, Clare, and Grayling. The highway also continued from Grayling northward through Gaylord to Cheboygan. Seven years later, the United States Numbered Highway System was created on November 11, 1926, and in Michigan's initial assignments, US 27 replaced M-14 between Lansing and Cheboygan, while US 127 ran from Lansing southward through Jackson to the Somerset area where it turned southeasterly, replacing the former M-80 and M-34 through Adrian to Toledo, Ohio. The remainder of M-14 south to the state line remained a shortened M-14.
The southern end of US 127 was rerouted in 1930 from Somerset south to Hudson and on to Cincinnati, Ohio. The section of former US 127 between Somerset and Toledo became US 223. The northern end was shifted slightly in 1950 in the city of Lansing when US 27 was rerouted from its car-only route to its truck route and US 127 was realigned to connect to the new routing.
The city of Mason was bypassed in 1954. The former route through town was designated Bus. US 127 at the time. The US 127 expressway was first started in 1957 with an extension south of Mason to Leslie. A further extension to Jackson was opened in 1958. By 1960, Jackson was bypassed to the east and the former route through downtown was redesignated Bus. US 127. Over the next few years, the expressway was upgraded to a full freeway that was completed in by 1964. The US 127 freeway was extended north to the Lansing area by 1968. Near Lansing, it was routed along I-496 to the north side of Lansing and East Lansing to connect with US 27. The last extension of US 127 for another 11 years was completed in 1973 when the freeway was completed north to the DeWitt area, connecting with US 27 there.
Two changes took place in the routing of US 127 in the 1980s as the I-69 freeway was completed. The northern Lansing bypass was completed in 1984, and I-69 was built through Clinton County in 1987. These changes routed I-69 along a portion of US 127 near DeWitt and removed a Temporary I-69 routing from US 127 on the east side of Lansing. The opening of the St. Johns Bypass on August 31, 1998, shortened US 127 by almost while US 27 was routed along the I-69 freeway between exits 87 and 89 to connect with the new freeway northward. US 127 ended at its junction with I-69 and US 27 and no longer ran concurrently with I-69 afterward.
MDOT petitioned the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) for approval to remove US 27 from Michigan in 1999. This proposed change was to remove the concurrency of I-69 and US 27 southwest of the Lansing area. MDOT also proposed that US 127 be extended north over the former US 27 to Grayling. AASHTO approved this change on April 16, 1999, nearly tripling the highway from . The highway markers were changed over in 2002, converting US 27 and the Bus. US 27 designations to US 127 and Bus. US 127, respectively.
In 2009, MDOT constructed Michigan lefts at several intersections in northern Clinton County to remove cross-street traffic. In April 2010, the department raised speed limits for passenger cars on this non-freeway stretch to from the previous .
In 2017, some speed limits in Michigan for passenger cars were increased from , and the speed limit for trucks was increased from . In turn, the expressway section of US 127 had a speed limit increase to for trucks (matching passenger car speed limits), and all freeway sections north of the I-69 interchange have a speed limit of (for passenger cars) now.
Future.
As originally defined in 1991, the alignment of I-73 in Michigan would have run along I-75 to Detroit. However, the definition was amended in 1995 to include a branch along the US 223 corridor to south of Jackson and the US 127 corridor north to I-75 near Grayling. From Grayling northward, the I-73 corridor would follow I-75 to Sault Ste. Marie. Except south of Jackson, where it is a two-lane road and a section of road north of Lansing where the freeway reverts to a divided highway, this is mostly a rural four-lane freeway. While there are no immediate plans to convert the section between St. Johns and Ithaca to freeway, MDOT continues to purchase parcels for right-of-way to be used for future upgrades.
MDOT included using the US 127 and US 223 corridors as one of its three options to build I-73 in 2000. The others included using the US 127 corridor all the way into Ohio with a connection to the Ohio Turnpike or using US 127 south and a new freeway connection to US 223 at Adrian. MDOT abandoned further study of I-73 after June 12, 2001, diverting remaining funding to safety improvement projects along the corridor. The department stated there was a "lack of need" for sections of the proposed freeway, and the project website was closed down in 2002. According to press reports in 2011, a group advocating on behalf of the freeway is working to revive the I-73 project in Michigan. According to an MDOT spokesman, "to my knowledge, we're not taking that issue up again." The Lenawee County Road Commission is not interested in the freeway, and according to the president of the Adrian Area Chamber of Commerce, "there seems to be little chance of having an I-73 link between Toledo and Jackson built in the foreseeable future." |
Xu Keqiong
Xu Keqiong (許可瓊) was a general of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state Chu. When, in Chu's last years, the realm was torn in a civil war between Ma Xiguang and Ma Xi'e (Prince Gongxiao), Xu betrayed Ma Xiguang, leading to Ma Xi'e's victory.
Background.
It is not known when Xu Keqiong was born. He was a son of the great Chu chancellor Xu Dexun. While it is not known when he began his military career, by 950, he had become the commander of the fleet because of prior accomplishments.
Betrayal of Ma Xiguang.
As of 950, Chu was torn by a civil war, as then-prince Ma Xiguang was facing the challenge to his rule by his older brother Ma Xi'e the military governor ("Jiedushi") of Wuping Circuit (武平, headquartered in modern Changde, Hunan). In late 950, Ma Xi'e's forces approached the capital Changsha, and Ma Xiguang stationed the fleet under Xu Keqiong's command to defend an attack on water, while having the cavalry commander Li Yanwen () and infantry commander Han Li () also taking their troops to defend other potential routes of attack. Soon, Zhu Jinzhong (朱進忠), a general under Ma Xi'e, arrived with Ma Xi'e's forward troops and camped with a mix of 7,000 Han and non-Han troops west of the Xiang River across from Changsha.
Ma Xiguang greatly trusted Xu, and had the other generals serve under his command, believing Xu to be a faithful and disciplined general. The non-Han officer Peng Shigao (), who had long been thankful for Ma Xiguang's trust and had sworn to be willing to die for Ma Xiguang, advocated that he be allowed to take some men to circle around Zhu's troops and attack it from the rear while Xu did so from the front, believing that once Zhu's forward troops were defeated, Ma Xi'e would give up his campaign. Ma Xiguang was ready to follow Peng's advice, but Xu, whom Ma Xi'e had already secretly contacted and enticed with an offer that they would divide the kingdom among themselves, opposed (as he was ready to accept Ma Xi'e's offer), stating to Ma Xiguang, "Peng Shigao is of the same kind as the Meishan barbarians, so how can you trust him? I, Xu Keqiong, and my family have been serving as Chu generals for generations, and will surely not disappoint you. There is nothing Ma Xi'e can do." Soon, when Ma Xi'e arrived with his fleet, his and Xu's fleet set up opposing lines across the Xiang. Xu, without letting his soldiers know, met with Ma Xi'e and continued negotiating with him, finally agreeing to his terms. Peng realized this, and went to Ma Xiguang, stating to him, "Xu Keqiong is about to commit treason. Everyone knows this. Please immediately execute him to stop this." Ma Xiguang, not believing Peng, responded, "He is Chancellor Xu's son. How would this happen?" Peng left his presence and lamented, but could do nothing else further.
Early in the morning on January 21, 951, Ma Xi'e's officer He Jingzhen (), seeing that Han's flags were in disarray, believed that that was a sign that Han's army was in disarray, and therefore launched an attack against Han. Han's army was defeated, and Han died from injuries. The Wuping army then used the opportunity to make a fierce assault on Changsha. Ma Xiguang's other infantry commander, Wu Hong (), and Yang Di (), fought hard to try to resist the Wuping army's assault from the early morning to noon, but eventually, Yang's army was worn out, without any aid coming from either Xu or another commander Liu Yantao (). Ma Xi'e's non-Han soldiers set fire to Changsha's east wall, and when the defenders requested that Xu come to their aid, Xu instead surrendered to Ma Xi'e, and Changsha thereafter fell. Ma Xi'e seized the throne, and subsequently forced Ma Xiguang to commit suicide.
After Ma Xi'e's victory.
Ma Xi'e, after his victory, neither carried out his promise to Xu Keqiong (to divide Chu among them) nor gave him any particular rewards. Suspecting that Xu would resent him, he sent Xu out to Meng Prefecture (蒙州, in modern Wuzhou, Guangxi) to serve as its prefect. Meanwhile, Ma Xi'e also sent the general Peng Yanhui () to Jingjiang Circuit (靜江, headquartered in modern Guilin, Guangxi) to take control of the circuit, drawing resentment from his younger brother Ma Xiyin, who was then the deputy military governor of the circuit. Ma Xiyin secretly summoned Xu to come to Gui to oppose Peng with him. Xu thereafter arrived at Gui and defeated Peng in battle; Peng abandoned Gui and fled to Hengshan (衡山, in modern Hengyang, Hunan), where Ma Xi'e was at that time after being overthrown by another brother, Ma Xichong. Xu stayed at Gui, in alliance with Ma Xiyin.
However, with Xu having abandoned Meng, the Southern Han general Wu Huai'en () seized it and proceeded to approach Jingjiang's capital Gui Prefecture (), pillaging the circuit at will. Meanwhile, Ma Xichong, finding his own position untenable, surrendered the remaining parts of the Chu realm that he still had control over to Southern Tang, leaving Ma Xiyin without possible reinforcements from Chu proper. Ma Xiyin and Xu did not know what to do, and then spent time drinking and crying together. Ma Xiyin considered surrendering to Southern Han, but could not resolve to do so. When Wu quickly reached Gui Prefecture, Ma Xiyin and Xu instead abandoned it and fled to Quan Prefecture (全州, in modern Guilin). Xu died at Quan thereafter. |
Rafina
Rafina () is a suburban port town located on the eastern coast of Attica in Greece. It has a population of 13,091 inhabitants (2011 census). Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Rafina-Pikermi, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 18.979 km2. It is part of Athens metropolitan area.
Geography.
Rafina lies on the Aegean Sea coast, east of the Penteli mountains and northeast of the Mesogaia plain. It is north of Artemida, south of Nea Makri and east of Athens city centre. The municipal unit of Rafina contains, besides the city itself, a large portion of the surrounding area, which is mostly woodland and farmland. The only other town is Kallitechnoupoli with a population of 923.
The town can be accessed through Greek National Road 54 (Athens – Rafina), Greek National Road 83 (Athens – Marathon – Rafina) and Greek National Road 85 (Lavrio – Rafina).
Rafina is a port town serving ferries to the southern part of Euboea as well as most of the Cyclades. Its port acts as the second port of Athens, after the Athens's port of Piraeus, but it will probably be superseded by the one in Lavrio, which is currently being expanded.
History.
Prehistory.
Rafina was inhabited in prehistoric times. The oldest finds are from the Neolithic Period, and a large number date from the Bronze Age (3,000 years B.C.), discovered by the excavations of Dimitrios Theocharis in '50s: a settlement on the hill above the port, bronze processing facilities near the delta of the Great Stream, and a Protohelladic Akropolis in the cape of Askitario which you can visit today.
Antiquity and later.
In ancient times, Rafina was one of the 100 demes of Athens as defined by Kleisthenes. The municipality was called "Araphen", after its first ruler, Arafinas, who was one of the 100 heroes of Attica. In the municipality of Arafin, lived one of the ten breeds of Attica. Also, the area near the sea till Artemida, called "Halae Araphenides" is where Orestis and Ifigenia arrived from Tavrida according to the myth.
From later centuries, excavations discovered Roman baths and the remains of a Byzantine Church.
Modern period and settlement of Triglian refugees.
After the defeat of the Greek army in the Minor Asia (1922), many refugees arrived in Greece. Some of them arrived in the area by Triglia, with ships owned by Filippos Kabounides, a Triglian shipowner, who arrived at the time of the destruction to save people and heirlooms.
A year later (August 29, 1923), Kabounides' ships brought to Rafina refugees who have lived in Tenedos for one year. After a few months, the first houses of the new refugee settlement were built and were located at the Skouze's estate that was given to the refugees. Also, around the area of the square, small shops were built and given to shop owners.
Six years later (1929), Rafina became a community.
Expansion.
During the 1950s, Pantovasilissa's church was built in remembrance of the Byzantine church in Triglia which held the same name. At its forecourt was erected a statue of the metropolite of Smyrni, Chrysostomos, who was killed by the Turks during the destruction. Many years later, people in Rafina built a little church to his memory.
When Triglians arrived from Asia Minor, they brought many things from their old country, the most important being "Panagia Episkepsis", a hagiography created during the 14th century A.D., which one can now see in the Byzantine Museum in Athens. A copy can be found in the city hall of Rafina.
Many heirlooms can be found in the Refugee Museum "Triglia's House", where visitors can see many originals or their copies.
World War II.
During the Second World War, and during the German Occupation, German and Italian armies were installed in Rafina. Important projects for the guarding and the vallation of the area were built at the port, along the seaside and on the hill that was since named "Fort".
Rafina Today.
In 1994, Rafina became a municipality and its first mayor was Andreas Kechagioglou, who kept his office until November 2011 when Rafina integrated with Pikermi as part of the Kallikratis plan. Following the planned municipal elections, Giorgios Christopoulos was elected Mayor for the new municipality of Rafina and Pikermi. During the past few years, the town has advanced significantly. Its population reaches about 12,000 people, and climbs to 30,000–50,000 during the summer. During the summer, many events take part in the town such as the "August's Moon", which takes place in August when the last full moon of August occurs. During this day, many musicians gather outside the church of St. Nikolaos and sing songs about the moon.
Rafina suffered damage from a forest fire in July 2005 and again in 2018.
Culture.
Sports.
Rafina is the seat of two football clubs with presence in third national division (Gamma Ethniki), Triglia Rafina, club founded in 1932 by refugees, and Thyella Rafina, club founded in 1957.
International relations.
Rafina is twinned with: |
International Ultraviolet Explorer
International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE or Explorer 57, formerly SAS-D), was the first space observatory primarily designed to take ultraviolet (UV) electromagnetic spectrum. The satellite was a collaborative project between NASA, the United Kingdom's Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC, formerly UKSRC) and the European Space Agency (ESA), formerly European Space Research Organisation (ESRO). The mission was first proposed in early 1964, by a group of scientists in the United Kingdom, and was launched on 26 January 1978 aboard a NASA Thor-Delta 2914 launch vehicle. The mission lifetime was initially set for 3 years, but in the end it lasted 18 years, with the satellite being shut down in 1996. The switch-off occurred for financial reasons, while the telescope was still functioning at near original efficiency.
It was the first space observatory to be operated in real time by astronomers who visited the groundstations in the United States and Europe. Astronomers made over 104,000 observations using the IUE, of objects ranging from Solar System bodies to distant quasars. Among the significant scientific results from IUE data were the first large scale studies of stellar winds, accurate measurements of the way interstellar dust absorbs light, and measurements of the supernova SN 1987A which showed that it defied stellar evolution theories as they then stood. When the mission ended, it was considered the most successful astronomical satellite ever.
History.
Motivation.
The human eye can perceive light with wavelengths between roughly 350 (violet) and 700 (red) nanometres. Ultraviolet light has wavelengths between roughly 10-nm and 350-nm. UV light can be harmful to human beings, and is strongly absorbed by the ozone layer. This makes it impossible to observe UV emission from astronomical objects from the ground. Many types of object emit copious quantities of UV radiation, though: the hottest and most massive stars in the universe can have surface temperatures high enough that the vast majority of their light is emitted in the UV. Active Galactic Nuclei, accretion disks, and supernovae all emit UV radiation strongly, and many chemical elements have strong absorption lines in the UV, so that UV absorption by the interstellar medium provides a powerful tool for studying its composition.
Ultraviolet astronomy was impossible before the Space Age, and some of the first space telescopes were UV telescopes designed to observe this previously inaccessible region of the electromagnetic spectrum. One particular success was the second Orbiting Astronomical Observatory (OAO-2), which had a number of UV telescopes on board. It was launched in 1968, and took the first UV observations of 1200 objects, mostly stars. The success of OAO-2 motivated astronomers to consider larger missions.
Conception.
The orbiting ultraviolet satellite which ultimately became the IUE mission was first proposed in 1964 by British astronomer Robert Wilson. The European Space Research Organisation (ESRO) was planning a "Large Astronomical Satellite" (LAS), and had sought proposals from the astronomical community for its aims and design. Wilson headed a British team which proposed an ultraviolet spectrograph, and their design was recommended for acceptance in 1966.
However, management problems and cost overruns led to the cancellation of the LAS program in 1968. Wilson's team scaled down their plans and submitted a more modest proposal to ESRO, but this was not selected as the Cosmic Ray satellite was given precedence. Rather than give up on the idea of an orbiting UV telescope, they instead sent their plans to NASA astronomer Leo Goldberg, and in 1973 the plans were approved. The proposed telescope was renamed the "International Ultraviolet Explorer".
Design and aims.
The telescope was designed from the start to be operated in real time, rather than by remote control. This required that it would be launched into a geosynchronous orbit – that is, one with a period equal to one sidereal day of 23h 56m. A satellite in such an orbit remains visible from a given point on the Earth's surface for many hours at a time, and can thus transmit to a single ground station for a long period of time. Most space observatories in Earth orbit, such as the Hubble Space Telescope, are in a low Earth orbit in which they spend most of their time operating autonomously because only a small fraction of the Earth's surface can see them at a given time. Hubble, for example, orbits the Earth at an altitude of approximately , while a geosynchronous orbit has an average altitude of .
As well as allowing continuous communications with ground stations, a geosynchronous orbit also allows a larger portion of the sky to be viewed continuously. Because the distance from Earth is greater, the Earth occupies a much smaller portion of the sky as seen from the satellite than it does from low Earth orbit.
A launch into a geosynchronous orbit requires much more energy for a given weight of payload than a launch into low Earth orbit. This meant that the telescope had to be relatively small, with a primary mirror, and a total weight of . Hubble, in comparison, weighs 11.1 tonnes and has a mirror. The largest ground-based telescope, the Gran Telescopio Canarias, has a primary mirror across. A smaller mirror means less light-gathering power, and less spatial resolution, compared to a larger mirror.
The stated aims of the telescope at the start of the mission were:
Construction and engineering.
The telescope was constructed as a joint project between NASA, ESRO (which became ESA in 1975) and the United Kingdom's SERC. SERC provided the Vidicon cameras for the spectrographs as well as software for the scientific instruments. ESA provided the solar arrays to power the spacecraft as well as a ground observing facility in Villafranca del Castillo, Spain. NASA contributed the telescope, spectrograph, and spacecraft as well as launching facilities and a second ground observatory in Greenbelt, Maryland at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC).
According to the agreement setting up the project the observing time would be divided between the contributing agencies with 2/3 to NASA, 1/6 to ESA and 1/6 to the UK's SERC.
Mirror.
The telescope mirror was a reflector of the Ritchey–Chrétien telescope type, which has hyperbolic primary and secondary mirrors. The primary was across. The telescope was designed to give high quality images over a 16 arcminute field of view (about half the apparent diameter of the Sun or Moon). The primary mirror was made of beryllium, and the secondary of fused silica – materials chosen for their light weight, moderate cost, and optical quality.
Instruments.
The instrumentation on board consisted of the Fine Error Sensors (FES), which were used for pointing and guiding the telescope, a high resolution and a low resolution spectrograph, and four detectors.
There were two Fine Error Sensors (FES), and their first purpose was to image the field of view of the telescope in visible light. They could detect stars down to 14th magnitude, about 1500 times fainter than can be seen with the naked eye from Earth. The image was transmitted to the ground station, where the observer would verify that the telescope was pointing at the correct field, and then acquire the exact object to be observed. If the object to be observed was fainter than 14th magnitude, the observer would point the telescope at a star that could be seen, and then apply "blind" offsets, determined from the coordinates of the objects. The accuracy of the pointing was generally better than 2 arcsecond for blind offsets
The FES acquisition images were the telescope's only imaging capability; for UV observations, it only recorded spectrum. For this, it was equipped with two spectrographs. They were called the Short Wavelength Spectrograph (SWS) and the Long Wavelength Spectrograph (LWS), and covered wavelength ranges of 115 to 200 nanometres and 185 to 330-nm respectively. Each spectrograph had both high and low resolution modes, with spectral resolutions of 0.02 and 0.60-nm respectively.
The spectrographs could be used with either of two apertures. The larger aperture was a slot with a field of view roughly 10 × 20 arcsecond; the smaller aperture was a circle about 3 arcsecond in diameter. The quality of the telescope optics was such that point sources appeared about 3 arcsecond across, so use of the smaller aperture required very accurate pointing, and it did not necessarily capture all of the light from the object. The larger aperture was therefore most commonly used, and the smaller aperture only used when the larger field of view would have contained unwanted emission from other objects.
There were two cameras for each spectrograph, one designated the primary and the second being redundant in case of failure of the first. The cameras were named LWP, LWR, SWP and SWR where P stands for prime, R for redundant and LW/SW for long/short wavelength. The cameras were television cameras, sensitive only to visible light, and light gathered by the telescope and spectrographs first fell on a UV-to-visible converter. This was a caesium-tellurium cathode, which was inert when exposed to visible light, but which gave off electrons when struck by UV photons due to the photoelectric effect. The electrons were then detected by the TV cameras. The signal could be integrated for up to many hours, before being transmitted to Earth at the end of the exposure.
Mission.
Launch.
The IUE was launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on a Thor-Delta launch vehicle, on 26 January 1978. It was launched into a transfer orbit, from which its on-board launch vehicle fired it into its planned geosynchronous orbit. The orbit was inclined by 28.6° to the Earth's equator, and had an orbital eccentricity of 0.24, meaning that the satellite's distance from Earth varied between and . The ground track was initially centred at a longitude of approximately 70° West.
Commissioning.
The first 60 days of the mission were designated as the commissioning period. This was divided into three main stages. Firstly, as soon as its instruments were switched on, the IUE observed a small number of high priority objects, to ensure that some data had been taken in the event of an early failure. The first spectrum, of the star Eta Ursae Majoris, was taken for calibration purposes three days after launch. The first science observations targeted objects including the Moon, the planets from Mars to Uranus, hot stars including Eta Carinae, cool giant stars including Epsilon Eridani, the black hole candidate Cygnus X-1, and galaxies including Messier 81 (M81) and Messier 87 (M87).
Then, the spacecraft systems were tested and optimised. The telescope was focussed, and the prime and redundant cameras in both channels were tested. It was found that the SWR camera did not work properly, and so the SWP camera was used throughout the mission. Initially, this camera suffered from significant electronic noise, but this was traced to a sensor used to align the telescope after launch. Once this sensor was switched off, the camera performed as expected. The cameras were then adjusted for best performance, and the slewing and guiding performance of the telescope evaluated and optimised
Finally, image quality and spectral resolution were studied and characterised, and the performance of the telescope, spectrographs and cameras were calibrated using observations of well-known stars. After these three phases were completed, the "routine phase" of operations began on 3 April 1978. Optimisation, evaluation and calibration operations were far from complete, but the telescope was understood well enough for routine science observations to begin.
Usage.
Use of the telescope was divided between NASA, ESA and United Kingdom in approximate proportion to their relative contributions to the satellite construction: two thirds of the time was available to NASA, and one sixth each to ESA and United Kingdom. Telescope time was obtained by submitting proposals, which were reviewed annually. Each of the three agencies considered applications separately for its allocated observing time. Astronomers of any nationality could apply for telescope time, choosing whichever agency they preferred to apply to. If an astronomer was awarded time, then when their observations were scheduled, they would travel to the ground stations which operated the satellite, so that they could see and evaluate their data as it was taken. This mode of operation was very different from most space facilities, for which data is taken with no real time input from the astronomer concerned, and instead resembled the use of ground-based telescopes.
Ground support.
For most of its lifetime, the telescope was operated in three eight-hour shifts each day, two from the U.S. ground station at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, and one from the ESA ground station at Villanueva de la Cañada near Madrid. Because of its elliptical orbit, the spacecraft spent part of each day in the Van Allen radiation belts, during which time science observations suffered from higher background noise. This time occurred during the second U.S. shift each day, and was generally used for calibration observations and spacecraft "housekeeping", as well as for science observations that could be done with short exposure times. The twice-daily transatlantic handovers required telephone contact between Spain and the U.S. to coordinate the switch. Observations were not coordinated between the stations, so that the astronomers taking over after the handover would not know where the telescope would be pointing when their shift started. This sometimes meant that observing shifts started with a lengthy pointing manoeuvre, but allowed maximum flexibility in scheduling of observing blocks.
Data transmission.
Data was transmitted to Earth in real time at the end of each science observation. The camera read-out formed an image of 768 × 768 pixels, and the analogue-to-digital converter resulted in a dynamic range of 8 bits. The data was then transmitted to Earth via one of six transmitters on the spacecraft; four were S-band transmitters, placed at points around the spacecraft such that no matter what its attitude, one could transmit to the ground, and two were Very high frequency (VHF) transmitters, which could sustain a lower bandwidth, but consumed less power, and also transmitted in all directions. The VHF transmitters were used when the spacecraft was in the Earth's shadow and thus reliant on battery power instead of solar power.
In normal operations, observers could hold the telescope in position and wait approximately 20 minutes for the data to be transmitted, if they wanted the option of repeating the observation, or they could slew to the next target and then start the data transmission to Earth while observing the next target. The data transmitted were used for "quick look" purposes only, and full calibration was carried out by IUE staff later. Astronomers were then sent their data on magnetic tape by post, about a week after processing. From the date of the observation, the observers had a six-month proprietary period during which only they had access to the data. After six months, it became public.
Scientific results.
The IUE allowed astronomers their first view of the ultraviolet light from many celestial objects, and was used to study objects ranging from Solar System planets to distant quasars. During its lifetime, hundreds of astronomers observed with IUE, and during its first decade of operations, over 1500 peer reviewed scientific articles based on IUE data were published. Nine symposia of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) were devoted to discussions of IUE results.
Solar System.
All the planets in the Solar System except Mercury were observed; the telescope could not point at any part of the sky within 45° of the Sun, and Mercury's greatest angular distance from the Sun is only about 28°. IUE observations of Venus showed that the amount of sulfur monoxide and sulfur dioxide in its atmosphere declined by a large amount during the 1980s. The reason for this decline is not yet fully understood, but one hypothesis is that a large volcanic eruption had injected sulfur compounds into the atmosphere, and that they were declining following the end of the eruption.
Halley's Comet reached perihelion in 1986, and was observed intensively with the IUE, as well as with a large number of other ground-based and satellite missions. UV spectra were used to estimate the rate at which the comet lost dust and gas, and the IUE observations allowed astronomers to estimate that a total of 3×108 tons of water evaporated from the comet during its passage through the inner Solar System.
Stars.
Some of the most significant results from IUE came in the studies of hot stars. A star that is hotter than about 10,000 K emits most of its radiation in the UV, and thus if it can only be studied in visible light, a large amount of information is being lost. The vast majority of all stars are cooler than the Sun, but the fraction that is hotter includes massive, highly luminous stars which shed enormous quantities of matter into interstellar space, and also white dwarf stars, which are the end stage of stellar evolution for the vast majority of all stars and which have temperatures as high as 100,000 K when they first form.
The IUE discovered many instances of white dwarf companions to main sequence stars. An example of this kind of system is Sirius, and at visible wavelengths the main sequence star is far brighter than the white dwarf. However, in the UV, the white dwarf can be as bright or brighter, as its higher temperature means it emits most of its radiation at these shorter wavelengths. In these systems, the white dwarf was originally the heavier star, but has shed most of its mass during the later stages of its evolution. Binary stars provide the only direct way to measure the mass of stars, from observations of their orbital motions. Thus, observations of binary stars where the two components are at such different stages of stellar evolution can be used to determine the relationship between the mass of stars and how they evolve.
Stars with masses of around ten times that of the Sun or higher have powerful stellar winds. The Sun loses about 10−14 solar masses per year in its solar wind, which travels at up to around , but the massive stars can lose as much as a billion times more material each year in winds travelling at several thousand kilometres per second. These stars exist for a few million years, and during this time the stellar wind carries away a significant fraction of their mass, and plays a crucial role in determining whether they explode as supernova or not. This stellar mass loss was first discovered using rocket-borne telescopes in the 1960s, but the IUE allowed astronomers to observe a very large number of stars, allowing the first proper studies of how stellar mass loss is related to mass and luminosity.
SN 1987A.
In 1987, a star in the Large Magellanic Cloud exploded as a supernova. Designated SN 1987A, this event was of enormous importance to astronomy, as it was the closest known supernova to Earth, and the first visible to the naked eye, since Kepler's star in 1604 – before the invention of the telescope. The opportunity to study a supernova so much more closely than had ever been possible before triggered intense observing campaigns at all major astronomical facilities, and the first IUE observations were made about 14 hours after the discovery of the supernova.
IUE data were used to determine that the progenitor star had been a blue supergiant, where theory had strongly expected a red supergiant. Hubble Space Telescope images revealed a nebula surrounding the progenitor star which consisted of mass lost by the star long before it exploded; IUE studies of this material showed that it was rich in nitrogen, which is formed in the CNO cycle – a chain of nuclear reactions which produces most of the energy emitted by stars much more massive than the Sun. Astronomers inferred that the star had been a red supergiant, and had shed a large amount of matter into space, before evolving into a blue supergiant and exploding.
The interstellar medium.
The IUE was used extensively to investigate the interstellar medium (ISM). The ISM is normally observed by looking at background sources such as hot stars or quasars; interstellar material absorbs some of the light from the background source and so its composition and velocity can be studied. One of IUE's early discoveries was that the Milky Way is surrounded by a vast halo of hot gas, known as a galactic corona. The hot gas, heated by cosmic rays and supernova, extends several thousand light years above and below the plane of the Milky Way.
IUE data was also crucial in determining how the light from distant sources is affected by dust along the line of sight. Almost all astronomical observations are affected by this interstellar extinction, and correcting for it is the first step in most analyses of astronomical spectra and images. IUE data was used to show that within the galaxy, interstellar extinction can be well described by a few simple equations. The relative variation of extinction with wavelength shows little variation with direction; only the absolute amount of absorption changes. Interstellar absorption in other galaxies can similarly be described by fairly simple "laws".
Active Galactic Nuclei.
The IUE vastly increased astronomers' understanding of active galactic nuclei (AGN). Before its launch, 3C 273, the first known quasar, was the only AGN that had ever been observed at UV wavelengths. With IUE, UV spectra of AGN became widely available.
One particular target was NGC 4151, the brightest Seyfert galaxy. Starting soon after IUE's launch, a group of European astronomers pooled their observing time to repeatedly observe the galaxy, to measure variations over time of its UV emission. They found that the UV variation was much greater than that seen at optical and infrared wavelengths. IUE observations were used to study the black hole at the centre of the galaxy, with its mass being estimated at between 50 and 100 million times that of the Sun. The UV emission varied on timescales of a few days, implying that the region of emission was only a few light days across.
Quasar observations were used to probe intergalactic space. Clouds of hydrogen gas in between the Earth and a given quasar will absorb some of its emission at the wavelength of Lyman alpha. Because the clouds and the quasar are all at different distances from Earth, and moving at different velocities due to the expansion of the universe, the quasar spectrum has a "forest" of absorption features at wavelengths shorter than its own Lyman alpha emission. Before IUE, observations of this so-called Lyman-alpha forest were limited to very distant quasars, for which the redshift caused by the expansion of the universe brought it into optical wavelengths. IUE allowed nearer quasars to be studied, and astronomers used this data to determine that there are fewer hydrogen clouds in the nearby universe than there are in the distant universe. The implication is that over time, these clouds have formed into galaxies.
Ultraviolet Spectrograph Package.
This experiment included the ultraviolet spectrograph package carried by the IUE, consisting of two physically distinct echelle-spectrograph/camera units capable of astronomical observations. Each spectrograph was a three-element echelle system composed of an off-axis paraboloidal collimator, an echelle grating, and a spherical first-order grating that was used to separate the echelle orders and focus the spectral display on an image converter plus SEC Vidicon camera. There was a spare camera for each unit. The camera units were able to integrate the signal. The readout/preparation cycle for the cameras took approximately 20 minutes. Wavelength calibration was provided by the use of a hollow cathode comparison lamp. The photometric calibration was accomplished by observing standard stars whose spectral fluxes had previously been calibrated by other means. Both echelle-spectrograph/camera units were capable of high-resolution (0.1 Angstrom (A)) or low-resolution (6 A) performance. The dual high/low-resolution capability was implemented by the insertion of a flat mirror in front of the echelle grating, so that the only dispersion was provided by the spherical grating. As the SEC Vidicons could integrate the signal for up to many hours, data with a signal-to-noise ratio of 50 could be obtained for B0 stars of 9th and 14th magnitudes in the high- and low-resolution modes, respectively. The distinguishing characteristic of the units was their wavelength coverage. One unit covered the wavelength range from 1192 to 1924 A in the high-resolution mode and 1135 to 2085 A in the low-resolution mode. For the other unit, the ranges were from 1893 to 3031 A and 1800 to 3255 A for the high-and low-resolution modes, respectively. Each unit also had its own choice of entrance apertures: either a 3-arcsecond hole or a 10- by 20-arcsecond slot. The 10- by 20-arcsecond slots could be blocked by a common shutter, but the 3-arcsecond aperture was always open. As a result, two aperture configurations were possible: (1) both 3-arcsecond apertures open and both 10- by 20-arcsecond slots closed, or (2) all four apertures open. With this instrumentation, the observational options open to an observer were long-wavelength and/or short-wavelength spectrograph, high or low resolution, and large or small apertures. Exposures could be made with the two spectrographs simultaneously, but the entrance apertures for each were distinct and separated in the sky by about 1 arcminute. An additional restriction was that data could be read out from only one camera at a time. However, one camera could be exposed while the other camera was being read out. The choice of high or low resolution could be made independently for the two spectrographs.
Particle Flux Monitor (Spacecraft).
The particle flux monitor experiment was placed in IUE to monitor the trapped electron fluxes that affected the sensitivity of the ultraviolet sensor in the IUE spectrograph package experiment, NSSDC ID 1978-012A-01. The particle flux monitor was a lithium-drifted silicon detector with a half-angle conical field of view of 16°. It had an aluminum absorber of 0.357 g/cm2 in front of the collimator and a brass shield with a minimum thickness of 2.31 g/cm2. The effective energy threshold for electron measurements was 1.3 MeV. The experiment was also sensitive to protons with energies greater than 15 MeV. The instrument was used as an operational tool to aid in determining background radiation and acceptable camera exposure time. The data were also useful as a monitor of the trapped radiation fluxes. The instrument was provided by Dr. C. Bostrom of the Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University. The instrument was turned off on 4 October 1991 because it was giving erroneous information.
Mission termination.
The IUE was designed to have a minimum lifetime of three years, and carried consumable sufficient for a five-year mission. However, it lasted far longer than its design called for. Occasional hardware failures caused difficulties, but innovative techniques were devised to overcome them. For example, the spacecraft was equipped with six gyroscopes to stabilise the spacecraft. Successive failures of these in 1979, 1982, 1983, 1985 and 1996 ultimately left the spacecraft with a single functional gyroscope. Telescope control was maintained with two gyros by using the telescope's Sun sensor to determine the spacecraft's attitude, and stabilisation in three axes proved possible even after the fifth failure, by using the Sun sensor, the Fine Error Sensors and the single remaining gyroscope. Most other parts of the telescope systems remained fully functional throughout the mission.
In 1995, budget concerns at NASA almost led to the termination of the mission, but instead the operations responsibilities were redivided, with ESA taking control for 16 hours a day, and GSFC for the remaining 8 only. The ESA 16 hours was used for science operations, while the GSFC 8 hours was used only for maintenance. In February 1996, further budget cuts led ESA to decide that it would no longer maintain the satellite. Operations ceased on 30 September 1996, and all the remaining hydrazine was discharged, the batteries were drained and switched off, and at 18:44 UTC on 30 September 1996, the radio transmitter was shut down and all contact with the spacecraft was lost.
It continues to orbit the Earth in its geosynchronous orbit, and will continue to do so more or less indefinitely as it is far above the upper reaches of the atmosphere of Earth. Anomalies in the Earth's gravity due to its non-spherical shape meant that the telescope tended to drift West from its original location at approximately 70°W longitude towards approximately 110°W. During the mission, this drift was corrected by occasional rocket firings, but since the end of the mission the satellite has drifted uncontrolled to the West of its former location.
Archives.
The IUE archive is one of the most heavily used astronomical archives. Data were archived from the start of the mission, and access to the archive was free to anyone who wished to use it. However, in the early years of the mission, long before the advent of the World Wide Web and fast global data transmission links, access to the archive required a visit in person to one of two Regional Data Analysis Facilities (RDAFs), one at the University of Colorado and the other at GSFC.
In 1987, it became possible to access the archive electronically, by dialling into a computer at Goddard Space Flight Center. The archive, then totalling 23 Gb of data, was connected to the computer on a mass storage device. A single user at a time could dial in, and would be able to retrieve an observation in 10–30 seconds.
As the mission entered its second decade, plans were made for its final archive. Throughout the mission, calibration techniques were improved, and the final software for data reduction yielded significant improvements over earlier calibrations. Eventually, the entire set of available raw data was recalibrated using the final version of the data reduction software, creating a uniform high quality archive. Today, the archive is hosted at the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes at Space Telescope Science Institute and is available via the World Wide Web and APIs.
Impact on astronomy.
The IUE mission, by virtue of its very long duration and the fact that for most of its lifetime it provided astronomers' only access to UV light, had a major impact on astronomy. By the end of its mission it was considered by far the most successful and productive space observatory mission. For many years after the end of the mission, its archive was the most heavily used dataset in astronomy, and IUE data has been used in over 250 PhD projects worldwide. Almost 4,000 peer-reviewed papers have now been published based on IUE data, including some of the most cited astronomy papers of all time. The most cited paper based on IUE data is one analysing the nature of interstellar reddening, which has subsequently been cited over 5,500 times.
The Hubble Space Telescope has now been in orbit for 31 years (as of 2021) and Hubble data has been used in almost 10,000 peer-reviewed publications at that time. In 2009, the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph was installed on HST by astronauts launched with the instrument by the Space Shuttle, and this device records ultraviolet spectrum, thus proving some ultraviolet observation ability in this period. Another ultraviolet space telescope, quite different in focus, was the wide-angle imaging GALEX space telescope operated between 2003 and 2013.
Some telescope visions such as Habex or Advanced Technology Large-Aperture Space Telescope (ATLAST) have included an ultraviolet capability, although its not clear if they have any real prospects. In the 2010s, many telescope projects were struggling, and even some ground observatories saw their potential for being shut down ostensibly to save budget. |
Yuval Ne'eman
Yuval Ne'eman (, 14 May 1925 – 26 April 2006) was an Israeli theoretical physicist, military scientist, and politician. He was Minister of Science and Development in the 1980s and early 1990s. He was the President of Tel Aviv University from 1971 to 1977. He was awarded the Israel Prize in the field of exact sciences (which he returned in 1992 in protest of the award of the Israel Prize to Emile Habibi), the Albert Einstein Award, the Wigner Medal, and the EMET Prize for Arts, Sciences and Culture.
Biography.
Yuval Ne'eman was born in Tel Aviv during the Mandate era, graduated from high school at the age of 15, and studied mechanical engineering at the Technion.
At the age of 15, Ne'eman also joined the Haganah. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War Ne'eman served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as battalion deputy commander, then as Operations Officer of Tel Aviv, and commander of Givati Brigade.
Later (1952–54) he served as Deputy Commander of Operations Department of General Staff, Commander of the Planning Department of the IDF. In this role, he helped organize the IDF into a reservist-based army, developed the mobilization system, and wrote the first draft of Israel's defense doctrine.
Between 1958 and 1960 Ne'eman was IDF Attaché in Great Britain, where he also studied for a PhD in physics under the supervision of 1979 Nobel Prize in Physics winner Abdus Salam at Imperial College London. In 1961, he was demobilized from the IDF with a rank of colonel.
In 1981, Ne'eman became a founding member of the World Cultural Council.
Between 1998 and 2002 Ne'eman was the head of the Israeli Engineer Association
Scientific career.
One of his greatest achievements in physics was his 1961 discovery of the classification of hadrons through the SU(3) flavour symmetry, now named the "Eightfold Way", which was also proposed independently by Murray Gell-Mann. This SU(3) symmetry laid the foundation of the quark model, proposed by Gell-Mann and George Zweig in 1964 (independently of each other).
Ne'eman was founder and director of the School of Physics and Astronomy at Tel Aviv University from 1965 to 1972, President of Tel Aviv University from 1971 to 1977 (following George S. Wise, and succeeded by Haim Ben-Shahar), and director of its Sackler Institute of Advanced Studies from 1979 to 1997. He was also the co-director (along with Sudarshan) of the Center for Particle Theory at the University of Texas, Austin from 1968 to 1990. He was a strong believer in the importance of space research and satellites to Israel's economic future and security, and thus founded the Israel Space Agency in 1983, which he chaired almost until his death. He also served on the Israel Atomic Energy Commission from 1965 to 1984 and held the position of scientific director in its Soreq facility. Nee'man was chief scientist of the Defense Ministry from 1974 to 1976.
He was described as "one of the most colorful figures of modern science" and co-authored "The Particle Hunters", which was published in English in 1986. "The Times Literary Supplement" hailed this book as "the best guide to quantum physics at present available".
Awards and honours.
He was also awarded with the College de France Medal and the Officer's Cross of the French Order of Merit (Paris, 1972), the Wigner Medal (Istanbul-Austin, 1982), Birla Science Award (Hyderabad, 1998) and additional prizes and honorary doctorates from universities in Europe and USA.
Political career.
In the late 1970s, Ne'eman founded Tehiya, a right-wing breakaway from Likud, formed in opposition to Menachem Begin's support for the Camp David talks that paved the way for peace with Egypt and the evacuation of Yamit. He was elected to the Knesset in the 1981 elections in which Tehiya won three seats. The party joined Begin's coalition about a year after the elections and Ne'eman was appointed Minister of Science and Development, the role later changed to Minister of Science and Technology.
He retained his seat in the 1984 elections, but Tehiya were not included in the grand coalition formed by the Alignment and Likud. After the 1988 elections, Tehiya were again excluded from the governing coalition. Ne'eman resigned from the Knesset on 31 January 1990 and was replaced by Gershon Shafat. However, Tehiya joined the government in June after the Alignment had left, and he was appointed Minister of Energy and Infrastructure and Minister of Science and Technology despite not retaking his seat in the Knesset. He lost his ministerial position following the 1992 elections and did not return to politics.
Death.
He died at age 80, on 26 April 2006 in the Ichilov Hospital, Tel Aviv, from a stroke. He left a wife, Dvora; a son and daughter; and a sister, Ruth Ben-Yisrael. |
Sant Tukaram (film)
Sant Tukaram ("Sant Tukārām"), also known as Saint Tukaram, is a 1936 Marathi film, produced by Prabhat Film Company and based on the life of Tukaram (1608–50), a prominent Varkari saint and spiritual poet of the Bhakti movement in India. The film was directed by Vishnupant Govind Damle and Sheikh Fattelal and featured Vishnupant Pagnis in the lead role of the saint.
"Sant Tukaram" is revered as a great Indian film. It was one of the first Indian films to receive international recognition. It was adjudged one of the three best films of the world at the Venice Film Festival and was showcased in other international film festivals. It was a runaway success and broke the box office records by being the first Indian film to run in a single theatre for more than a year. It was Prabhat's and Pagnis's most famous film and became the archetype for devotional film.
Plot.
Set in 17th century Dehu, Maharashtra, Tukaram - a farmer and grocer - loses interest in the material world after losing his first wife and child in a famine. He neglects his worldly duties to his second wife Jijai (Awali) and their two children. The Brahmin Salomalo is jealous of the religious following and popularity of the "shudra" (a caste lower than the Brahmin) saint. He claims that Tukaram stole his verses, and questions a shudra's right to examine the Hindu scriptures, Vedas, a right reserved for Brahmins (priest caste). Pandit Rameshwar Shastri, a learned Brahmin scholar and religious authority, is invited by Salomalo to examine his claims, which he backs by fabricating evidence. Shastri orders that Tukaram immerse his works into the river and never discuss religion in public. Tukaram complies and sits on a fast on the river bank with his family for thirteen days, when God returns him his works. Shastri falls seriously sick, which he interprets as divine retribution and becomes Tukaram's devotee. Salomalo then approaches the reigning king Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Empire. When Shivaji tests Tukaram by offering material gifts, the saint refuses and in turn, Shivaji becomes a disciple too. Salomalo then informs the Mughals, Shivaji's enemies that the king was in town, but God protects Shivaji at behest of Tukaram, when the Mughals come to Dehu. His saintliness brought hordes of people from different regions of the state offering worship at his feet and also offering him huge gifts which could enrich him but he refuses to accept any kind of rewards. When Tukaram's work is done on earth, God comes to take him to heaven. Tukaram asks his wife to join, but she refuses as she has to look after the children.
The film also depicts various miracles of Tukaram like God visiting him, an army being created from Vithoba's image, showering of grains from the sky, curing a sick boy, retrieving his works from the river which was intentionally thrown there, and in the end, going to the heaven in a celestial chariot.
Cast.
The cast included:
Characters and casting.
The film is based on the life of Tukaram, one of the most revered saints of Maharashtra and a devotee of the god Vithoba (the patron of the Varkaris), who propagated a vision of Hindus living together with no distinction of class, creed and gender. He wrote religious poetry in Marathi, the vernacular language of Maharashtra, which had mass appeal. It touched the heart strings of the common people, particularly those who were downtrodden or oppressed by the Brahminical hegemony. His preaching, rendered in rhythmic poetry, thus had great mass appeal and was considered the beginning of an "emancipatory movement in the country." Tukaram through his devotional songs conveys a message to the people that offering prayers to God sincerely in one's own humble way was, like Vedic rituals, a way of worship. His devotional verses were selected for translation by UNESCO.
Pagnis was a kirtankar, a minstrel who sang devotional songs. Before being cast by V. Shantaram of the producer company Prabhat as Tukaram, Pagnis was a specialist actor in donning female roles in plays by his theatre group "Swadesh Hitinchal Mandali". His selection was initially resented by directors Damle and Fattelal as they felt uncomfortable with his effeminate mannerisms. But it proved to be a blessing as Pagnis adopted his feminine style to match the saintly role of Tukaram to the "T"; a saint whose verses reflect an urge towards God as a woman pines for her lover. Pagnis also did a dedicatory visit to the "samadhi" (memorial shrine) of Tukaram in Dehu, before starting shooting for the film. After the film was made, film critiques stated that Pagnis was ideal for the role as his face was an "iconic but also indexical of both actor and character."
Availabai, Tukaram's second wife (although the film makes no mention of his first wife), is portrayed as a hard-working village woman with a practical earthy sense. She is a practical woman who has to endure poverty because her husband is a pious and unworldly simpleton. She is often impatient because of this, but she understands and respects her husband for his saintly goodness, and also defers to him and acts according to his wishes at the end of every issue that arises. Though devoted to her husband, she is irritated by his devotional ways, but nevertheless always obeys Tukaram's unworldly, charitable wishes. She frequently loses her temper on Tukaram for ignoring the family needs to feed their children and their upkeep. In a famous scene, when their son is ill and there is no money for treatment, and Tukaram expresses the view that prayer and faith will see them through the crisis, an infuriated Availabai drags her son to the temple by one hand and holds a "chappal" (sandal) in her other hand to threaten Tukaram's patron God Vithoba with a beating for bringing her family into dire straits. A miracle follows and the son is cured instantly in the precincts of the temple.
Availabai routinely admonishes her husband, telling him that singing bhajans (devotional songs) alone will not sustain his family. However, she also maintains the dignity of her wifely obligations to her husband. In one of the most touching scenes of the film, when Tukaram wanders in the forest to praise God, (the song shown is "vrikshavalli amha"), Availabai follows him with a basket of food so that he will eat in time. She explains that just as Tukaram is following his God in the path "dharma" through the forest of life, she also is following 'her personal God (her husband Tukaram) in the path of "dharma" through this forest. She then playfully asks if his God is kinder or hers; does his God sit down to dine with his devotee the way her God is eating now? In the final scenes of the film, Tukaram has a premonition that he will be transported in his mortal body to heaven by God. He reveals this to Availabai and asks her to accompany him. Availabai receives this priceless communication with her usual caustic derision and goes about her duties, cooking "poli" (chapati) for dinner. A final miracle ensues and a heavenly chariot indeed appears to convey Tukaram to heaven. Availabai runs out of her kitchen and is blessed with a vision of her husband being flown from earth to the skies on this chariot. This is the end of the film.
Gauri, who played the part of Availabai, was not a professional actress. She started as a sweeper in Prabhat and worked as an extra in films, finally graduating to the main role segment.
Salomalo is a bigoted Brahmin village priest and the chief adversary of Tukaram, who tries to ostracise Tukaram time and again.
Salomalo, as the aspirant to the status of a great devotional poet (like Tukaram), is jealous of Tukaram and harasses him frequently. Salomalo's verses are in refined language, incomprehensible to unread villagers, contrasting with Tukaram's simple poetry, which quickly becomes popular. Salomalo is also shown to lack dignity, moving in awry motion as in a tamasha, against Tukaram's calm, composed nature. Salomalo's goal is not to surpass Tukaram in scholarship, but just to ruin him. He ridicules Tukaram's devotional poetry and parodies it into a vulgar version. He visits courtesans, a sign of "spiritual bankruptcy" and also the dancing girls' performances adds glamour to the film to sustain the audience's film experience.
Shastri, a learned Brahmin, is a contrast to Salomalo, an orthodox village Brahmin. Shivaji, the king – a symbol of worldly power, being a disciple of the saint satisfies Availabai's practical mind. Shivaji is antipole of Tukaram's lack of worldliness and Salomalo's unjust jealousy. The film captures the historical fact of the union of Shivaji and the Varkari sect.
Production.
"Sant Tukaram" was directed by Vishnupant Govind Damle and Sheikh Fattelal. The script was written by Shivram Washikar. It was produced at the Prabhat Film Company at Pune owned by V. Shantaram, a notable and internationally acclaimed film maker of India. The film was made in Marathi language. The running time is 131 minutes.
Two earlier films from 1932 tried to capture Tukaram's life, but were unsuccessful at the box office. While those focussed on the miracles of the saint, directors Damle and Fattelal tell the story of a saint who rose from the common folk, concentrating on his everyday life, with little importance given to miracles. Washikar said that he wrote the film as a "researcher" as well as a devotee, keeping in time that most of the audience of the genre of "sant" (saint) films are devotees and want a hagiographical telling, rather than complete historical accuracy.
Damle and Fattelal created the settings to ensure that the features of the actors were accentuated distinctly in the film by having minimum background settings and scenes, which was termed as "compositional style”. The film was made in neo-realistic style (a style which came into vogue much later in foreign films) and provided telling performances from all the artists but the most impressive, which won the hearts of the people, was that of Jijai, wife of Tukaram played by Gauri.
The filming is done in traditional style. After the title cards are presented, a song dedicated to Vithoba, seen as a black stone image, is presented. The song which begins with the title cards is also continued. The meditative shot of Tukaram gives a Bhakti ethos which is continued for about 2 minutes. This is followed by the saintly presence of Tukaram in a traditional pose, cross legged with folded hands and holding a musical instrument and with religious markings on his face. Sitting on the ground in deep meditation for a while, his singing merges with the background song. The song is one of the Tukaram's 4,000 verses and is aptly fitted with the devotional worship of Vithoba. The song's first stanza is "Panduranga Dhyani, Panduranga mani" (meaning "I meditate on the figure of Panduranaga (Vithoba); his thoughts fill my mind"). This is an "aradhana" (prayer) shot where the saint, the God and the audience are brought to the same ethereal plane of worship. The scene is set by the directors in a very "scopic aspect of the worship", the "mise en scène". In the scene that follows, the song is continued but is now sung in a theatrical style (Sangeet Natak style) by Tukaram's arch rival, the Brahmin priest Salomalo, in a temple setting. Salomalo claims that the song is his own composition and not that of Tukaram. With this scene, the story of the film starts with clever editing of scenes in which the two adversaries exchange claims to the song, in a shot reverse shot technique.
Music.
Most of the songs of the film were Tukaram's own verses, except one song by Shantaram Athavale, written so realistically in Tukaram's style of writing that confused scholars contacted the film makers to know more about the source.
The rendering of music had a telling impact on the audience, as the narration was poetic and devotional. The music score was provided by Keshavrao Bhole. He had moved to Prabhat Films with an impressive record of giving music scores for 14 films, in many languages. His music compositions adopted innovations by introducing piano, Hawaiian guitar, and violin. This blending is stated to have given a "catholic, modern and cerebral outlook to his film music" for his devotional films. For "Sant Tukaram", Bhole followed the traditional music style of the Varkari sect, which turned out to be innovative without sacrificing the traditional originality of the bhakti music. Damle was also an accomplished singer, and he rendered many songs in the film.
Release and reception.
The film was first released on 12 December 1936 at the Central Cinema hall in Bombay, now Mumbai.
"Sant Tukaram" was the first Indian film to receive international recognition. The film was screened at the 1937 Venice Film Festival (the 5th Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematographica) and was the first Indian entry to get a screening at an international film festival. The film was adjudged as one of the three best films of the World, the other two being "Maria Nover" of Hungary and "Flying Doctor" from Australia. However, the citation document was lost. It was reportedly discovered in 1974 by Sunny Joseph, a cinematographer, from Thiruvananthapuram, in a garbage can on Law College road in Pune. Joseph restored it to the National Film Archive of India, Pune for safekeeping on 23 March 2004. In 1982, the film made a very honoured re-entry on the occasion of the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Mostra Internazionale del Cinema (La Biennale di Venezia), along with another Prabhat film "Duniya Na Mane"; when best films from previous festivals were screened.
The film was also selected to be screened at various other international film festivals. It was also viewed by the then Maharaja of Mysore and Lady Linlithgow, wife of Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow, the then Viceroy of India. A special screening was also arranged for the foreign consulates in Mumbai.
The film is described to emphasize the Gandhian philosophy of non-violence. The Indian Motion Pictures Congress in its 1939 session praised the film as extolling the ethos of nationalism, Gandhian ideals and the devotional bhakti movement.
"Sant Tukaram" broke box office records by being the first Indian film to run in a single theatre for more than a year. It was then a runaway success and an all-time record for the time, as it ran for 57 weeks continually. The film was seen by 6 million people in Maharashtra alone. It drew hoards of people from across villages wherever it was shown. "Filmindia" (1941) records a screening in a village with a population of 300 having a crowd of 1,500 for the film. Film scholar and professor on Indian cinema Gayatri Chatterjee describes how "Sant Tukaram" has a spiritual effect on audience of all ages, sections of society, Indian or foreign. She specially narrates about the experience of a Canadian Muslim student, who had a spiritual experience by watching this film.
On the eve of the celebration of 100 years of Indian cinema, Shyam Benegal, a doyen among film makers of India, considers this classic film, set in the true Maharashtrian rural cultural setting, when the Bhakti movement was at its peak frenzy in the state, as one of his five favourite films. Benegal does not consider this "somewhat primitively made film" a "work of cinematic craftsmanship", however regards it "an extraordinary achievement", as it was "culturally true". The dialogues between Tukaram and Jijai are correctly catching the nuances of their relationship. Critics like Dwyer and Shahani echo similar sentiments about its "timeless quality" and cultural accuracy.
"Sant Tukaram" is regarded as one of the greatest Indian films. It became Prabhat's "most famous and acclaimed" film. The film is regarded as the archetypal classic of "sant" film genre, and also devotional films in general. Pagnis, became immortal in the role of Tukaram and also performed as the saint in live performances in his later life. Even, later portraits of Tukaram used for worship resemble Pagnis's face and his attire in the film.
The film is an amalgamation of asymmetrical character of Tukaram with symmetrical character of his wife Jijai, a practical reality is the way Lyle Peason, a film critique explains the film. He extends this observation with a further saying that ""Sant Tukaram" does not give out concepts but...demonstrates their function in actual life...that a realistic story with songs and magic." The film was described as a "human document of great value." A simple theme was presented effectively and with appealing emotions by the main actors of the film. |
Dangerous Habits
Dangerous Habits is a six-issue "Hellblazer" story arc written by Garth Ennis with art by Will Simpson, published by DC Comics, later under their Vertigo imprint. "Dangerous Habits" comprises issues #41-46 of the "Hellblazer" series. The story features occult detective John Constantine contracting terminal lung cancer and attempting to con the Lords of Hell into curing it.
"Dangerous Habits" was a critical and commercial success, and is often considered to be among both the best "Hellblazer" stories and the best of Ennis' work. Its success helped to launch Ennis's career in the American comic book industry.
Publication history.
"Dangerous Habits" was written by Garth Ennis, who took over writing "Hellblazer" in 1991 after the conclusion of Jamie Delano's run on the series. "Dangerous Habits" was Ennis' first story written for the title. "Hellblazer" was Ennis' first major work in the American comic industry.
Plot.
After suffering severe coughing fits, John Constantine checks himself into a hospital. There he is diagnosed with advanced terminal lung cancer, and told that he has only a short time to live. Upon hearing this, Constantine determines to cure it and save himself, knowing that his soul is damned and Hell is set to claim it upon his death.
John visits a friend and fellow mage in Ireland named Brendan Finn for help. Upon arriving, he learns that Brendan cannot help him and that he, too, is dying. Disappointed, John and Brendan decide to spend their remaining time drinking together. Brendan tells John the secret of how Jesus turned water into wine. He leads John to the cellars, where he changes a pool of holy water into Guinness. The two get drunk together and share one final drink as Brendan passes away. As John leaves, he has his first meeting with Satan, known as The First of The Fallen, who has come to collect Brendan's soul.
The First tells Constantine that Brendan sold his soul in exchange for the largest wine collection in the world, and that he agreed to the deal because he finds a hopeless drunkard like Brendan amusing. The deal decreed that the First must collect Brendan's soul at midnight the day he died, or the deal would be null and void. The First suspects that Brendan may have been trying to cheat him due to the fact he hid himself inside an undetected holy place. Angered by the discovery, John attempts to save his friend's soul from being dragged into Hell. Five minutes before midnight, he invites the First for a drink, offering him a glass. Unbeknownst to the First, the drink is actually holy water that has been transformed into alcohol. The First drinks it and is poisoned. With the First in a weakened state, John mutilates him with a shattered bottle and sends him back to Hell. With Brendan's soul failing to be collected within the allotted time, his soul is sent to Heaven instead of Hell, thus saving him from eternal damnation.
John then seeks to enlist his demonic ally Ellie's aid in his search for a cure. Ellie reveals that the First is furious with John and that upon Constantine's death, his soul will be claimed by Hell and tormented like none before it. Now understanding that he cannot afford to die, John crashes a gentlemen's club and seeks aid from the Angel Gabriel. John reminds the angel of his debt to the conman, but Gabriel is unfazed. Believing that no mortal can issue orders to an angel, Gabriel rebukes him, saying that he deserves Hell for all the mortal sins he's committed. Realizing that he can only rely upon himself, John sets about saving his own life, though only after stopping to give his good-byes to his lifelong friend Chas Chandler and to an old man and fellow cancer patient whom John has befriended.
On the eve of his death, Constantine sells his soul to the other two Lords of Hell, Azrael and Beelzebub, doing so separately such that each believes himself to be the only one who has claimed John's soul. As John dies, the First of the Fallen arrives to taunt John during his dying minutes. The First, however, is shocked when the other two Lords also arrive to claim John's soul. The three Lords are faced with a dilemma: if Constantine dies with all three Lords claiming ownership of his soul, they will be forced to go to war for it, causing unbalance in Hell and creating an opening for Heaven to attack. However, each of the three Lords is too proud to simply cede John's soul to the others; surrendering a deal is seen as humiliating, and all three wish to uphold their reputations. Unwilling to accept either outcome of John's death, the three decide to heal him of his cancer. Once the healing is complete, John taunts the Lords of Hell, flipping the First of The Fallen the finger.
Reception and legacy.
"Dangerous Habits" has been praised by critics as one of the greatest stories in "Hellblazer". It maintains a score of 4.30 out of 5 on social cataloging website Goodreads. Writer Jim Pascoe praised the comic, saying "The result is a tense supernatural drama that begins with Constantine being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Though this book only hints at the freeform casualness and over-the-top vulgarity that became Ennis's trademark in the Preacher series, this is an immensely enjoyable read with strong characters and dynamite plot twists."
"Dangerous Habits" was voted the best Garth Ennis story on Comic Book Resources, ahead of his work on "Preacher", "The Boys" and "The Punisher". The popularity of Ennis and Dillon's run on "Hellblazer" is also credited for influencing Vertigo to agree to publish their seminal series "Preacher". "Empire" called it "rightly one of the most celebrated in comic book history".
Adaptations.
The cancer storyline was loosely adapted in the 2005 film "Constantine", which involves John learning that he is dying of cancer while knowing that he is destined to go to Hell. Rather than make a deal with the demons to save himself, he escapes Hell when he commits suicide to draw Lucifer's attention while confronting Mammon, Satan's son, now in an alliance with Gabriel to bring Hell to Earth in advance of Satan's own plans. Since Constantine selflessly sacrificed his chance to come back to life to request that the soul of a friend's sister be sent to Heaven, he redeemed himself and was allowed to go to Heaven, although Satan healed him of his injuries and cancer so that he could "prove" he deserved to go to Hell.
"Dangerous Habits" also inspired the fifth season of "Legends of Tomorrow", where Constantine's future death by lung cancer is advanced to the present by Astra, a girl he banished to Hell in a botched exorcism years ago, forcing Constantine to make a deal to extend his life by assuring Astra he will use the Loom of Fate to get her out.
Collected editions.
The story was reprinted and collected in trade paperback released in 1994. The book includes an introduction by its author, Garth Ennis. |
Trier Cathedral Treasury
The Trier Cathedral Treasury is a museum of Christian art and medieval art in Trier, Germany. The museum is owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trier and is located inside the Cathedral of Trier. It contains some of the church's most valuable relics, reliquaries, liturgical vessels, ivories, manuscripts and other artistic objects. The history of the Trier church treasure goes back at least 800 years. In spite of heavy losses during the period of the Coalition Wars, it is one of the richest cathedral treasuries in Germany. With the cathedral it forms part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
History.
Early sources indicate that the cathedral's relics were kept in a separate room north of the east choir around 1200. Considering that the church is one of the oldest in Germany, it may be assumed that the treasure is even older. Tradition has it that Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great, who resided in Trier in the early 4th century, gave the church some of its most valuable relics. In the late 10th century, under archbishop Egbert, Trier became a centre of the Ottonian Renaissance. Egbert's famous workshops produced metalwork and illuminated manuscripts, of which the cathedral acquired several.
The treasure was moved to a larger room in 1480 in the so-called "Badische Bau", part of the cloisters, where the treasury and the cathedral's archives are still housed. An increase in pilgrims led to the main relics and reliquaries being shown from 1512 until 1655 on a purpose-built platform in front of the western apse to the gathered pilgrims on the Domfreihof square. Inventories dating from 1238, 1429 and 1776 provide detailed information on the history of the treasure, which for centuries remained largely intact, in spite of fires, sieges and pillaging. For the safety of the relics, several times (particularly during war), the main relics were transferred to Ehrenbreitstein, which had a safe haven maintained by the bishops of Trier.
The outbreak of the First Coalition War led in 1794 to the incorporation of Trier and most of the German Rhineland into the French First Republic. During this period a large portion of the treasure was lost, principally due to the heavy war taxes imposed on the cathedral chapter, which resulted in the melting down of gold and silver objects in order to pay the taxes. In 1792 alone, 399 kg of precious metal was handed in at the Trier Electoral mint. Only twelve objects made of precious metal survived. One of the many treasures that went missing was the so-called "monile of Saint Helena", a golden hanger with a relic of the True Cross, listed in the 1238 inventory. The 10th-century "staff of Saint Peter", a masterpiece from the Egbert workshops, survived but ended up in the treasury of Limburg Cathedral.
During the 19th and 20th century the treasure was partly restored through donations, loans, acquisitions from art dealers and commissions. The Byzantine Adventus Ivory that had been part of the cathedral treasure until 1792 was bought back in 1845. In 1851, a 12th-century crosier was discovered in the grave of archbishop Heinrich II of Finstingen. Also in the 19th century, the periodical showing of the relics, especially the Holy Tunic, was resumed. In 1844 it was estimated that 600,000 pilgrims participated in the pilgrimage; in 1891 perhaps more than a million.
At the end of the Second World War the main treasures from Trier, along with those from Aachen and Essen, were hidden in a deserted mine tunnel near Siegen. Here they were discovered by American troops in April 1945 and returned to Trier within a month. Other, less valuable objects ended up in the Marburg Central Collecting Point in Marburg, from where they were returned through the work of Walker Hancock (a member of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program).
Collections.
The Trier Cathedral treasure consists mainly of reliquaries, liturgical vessels, religious statues and reliefs, ivories and illuminated manuscripts. The objects date from the 3rd through the 20th century.
Relics and reliquaries.
Four of the cathedral's main relics are not kept in the Treasury but elsewhere in the church. These are the Holy Tunic (in a separate chapel behind the main altar), the head reliquary of Saint Helena (in the east crypt), the reliquary shrine of Saint Maternus (in the central crypt) and the reliquary shrine of Saint Blaise and other saints (in the west crypt).
The following are kept in the Treasury:
Liturgical objects.
During its long history the cathedral collected numerous liturgical vessels, candlesticks, processional crosses and other objects used in mass or for administering the Holy Sacraments. Despite the losses in the late 18th and early 19th century, the following remain:
Enamelling.
The collection includes many enamels, including:
Painting and sculpture.
The cathedral in Trier owns many paintings, statues and reliefs, most of which can be found in the church, where they have a religious function. A few, mainly ivory carvings, are kept in the treasury:
Books and manuscripts.
Only a few specimens from the collection of historical books and medieval manuscripts are on display in the treasury: |
Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan
Dr. Khan Sahib () (born 1883, Utmanzai, Charsadda – 9 May 1958, Lahore), mistakenly named as Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan (), was a pioneer in the Indian Independence Movement and a Pakistani politician. He was the elder brother of the Pashtun activist Abdul Ghaffar Khan, both of whom opposed the partition of India. Upon independence, he pledged his allegiance to Pakistan and later served as the Chief Minister of West Pakistan.
As the Chief Minister of the North-West Frontier Province, Dr Khan Sahib along with his brother Bacha Khan and the Khudai Khidmatgars boycotted the July 1947 NWFP referendum about the province joining India or Pakistan after the partition of India, citing that the referendum did not have the options of the NWFP becoming independent or joining Afghanistan.
Early life.
He was born in the village of Utmanzai, Charsadda, in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) of British India (now in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan). His father, Bahram Khan was a local landlord. He was eight years older than his brother, Abdul Ghaffar Khan (Bacha Khan).
After matriculating from the Edwards Mission High School in Peshawar, Khan Sahib studied at Grant Medical College, Bombay. He subsequently completed his training from St Thomas' Hospital in London. During the First world war, he served in France. During his stay in France, he met a Scottish girl Mary. They fell in love and soon they got married, though his younger brother Bacha Khan was against this marriage. After the war, he joined the Indian Medical Service and was posted in Mardan with the "Guides regiment". He resigned his commission in 1921, after refusing to be posted in Waziristan, where the British Indian Army was launching operations against his fellow Pashtun tribes (1919–20).
Contribution to the Indian independence movement.
In 1935, Khan Sahib was elected alongside Peer Shahenshah of Jungle Khel Kohat as representatives of the North-West Frontier Province to the Central Legislative Assembly in New Delhi.
Along with his brother Abdul Ghaffar Khan and the Khudai Khidmatgar, Jabbar Khan strongly opposed the partition of India, favouring a united country.
With the grant of limited self-government and announcement of 1937 Indian provincial elections, Dr. Khan Sahib led his party to a comprehensive victory. The Frontier National Congress, an affiliate of the Indian National Congress emerged as the single largest party in the Provincial Assembly.
In the 1940s, a Sikh family was killed in the Hazara District of colonial India, with their daughter Basanti being married off to a Muslim man. Basanti asked to be sent to her Sikh relatives and Jabbar Khan agreed with this. The All India Muslim League, however, agitated against Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan's decision, "and made the woman’s return to Islam the principal demand of its civil disobedience movement in the Frontier Province."
In the same district, Jabbar Khan fined the villages of the Hazara District for riots that targeted Hindus and Sikhs. When a crowd of pro-separatist Muslim League supporters arrived at his residence, Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan stated that he did what he considered his rightful duty.
Politics in Pakistan 1947 – 1954.
At the time of the creation of Pakistan in 1947, he was the chief executive of the province appointed in British India. Later he was jailed by Abdul Qayyum Khan Kashmiri's government. After Abdul Qayyum Khan Kashmiri's appointment to the Central government and the personal efforts of the Chief Minister of the North West Frontier Province at the time, Sardar Bahadur Khan, he along with his brother and many other activists were released.
Back in government.
He joined the Central Cabinet of Muhammad Ali Bogra as Minister for Communications in 1954. This decision to join the government led to his split with his brother.
In October 1955, he became the first Chief Minister of West Pakistan following the consolidation of the provinces and princely states under the One Unit scheme. After differences with the ruling Muslim League over the issue of Joint versus Separate Electorates, he created the Republican Party with the help of then Governor-General of Pakistan Iskander Mirza.
He resigned in March 1957 after the provincial budget was rejected by the assembly. In June, he was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan representing the constituency of Quetta, the former capital of Balochistan.
Assassination.
He was assassinated by Atta Mohammad at approximately 8:30 am on 9 May 1958, according to some sources on the orders of Allama Mashraqi, leader of the Khaksars.
In a book entitled “Allama Mashriqi Narrowly Escapes the Gallows: Court Proceedings of an Unpardonable Crime Against the Man Who Led the Freedom of the Indian Subcontinent”, scholar and historian Nasim Yousaf, Mashriqi’s grandson, provides a day-by-day account of the court proceedings.
This tragic incident occurred while Dr. Khan Sahib was sitting in the garden of his son Sadullah Khan's house at 16 Aikman Road, GOR, Lahore. He was waiting for Colonel Syed Abid Hussein of Jhang to accompany him to a meeting organised in connection with the scheduled February 1959 General Elections. The assailant was a "Patwari" (Land Revenue Clerk) from Mianwali who had been dismissed from service two years previously. Despite his appeal in court, the assailant had not been reinstated to his position as 'Patwari'.
"In his first public address after the assassination of his elder brother in Lahore, Abdul Ghaffar said on May 19 that he felt that Dr. Khan
Sahib had been done to death by those people for whom he had forsaken his own people, discarded his party and thrown to the winds the position he held as a result of a glorious political career."
The body of Dr. Khan Sahib was taken to his village Utmanzai, Charsadda about 30 miles from Peshawar, where he was laid to rest by side of his European wife Mary Khan.
Speaking of his passing, Pakistani President Iskander Mirza said, about him that he was "the greatest Pathan of his times, a great leader and a gallant gentleman whose life-long fight in the cause of freedom, his sufferings and sacrifices for the sake of his convictions and his passion to do good to the common man were the attributes of a really great man."
Legacy.
A major shopping district in New Delhi, India, the Khan Market, is named in his honour. The market was established in 1951 for refugees of the Partition of India from the North West Frontier Province. Dr. Khan who was the Chief Minister of NWFP during the partition had helped many families to escape without harm. |
Eighteen Mile Creek (Niagara County)
Eighteen Mile Creek, or Eighteenmile Creek, is a tributary of Lake Ontario located entirely in Niagara County, New York in the United States. The name of "Eighteen Mile" Creek refers not to the length of the creek, but to its distance from the Niagara River to the west.
Originating just north of City of Lockport in the Town of Lockport, it travels approximately northward, winding through the Town of Newfane. A dam by the community of Burt forms a widening of the creek as far upstream as the community of Newfane. Eighteen Mile Creek enters Lake Ontario at Olcott harbor.
Much of the course of the creek is followed by New York State Route 78.
Watershed and course.
The Eighteen Mile Creek drainage basin is located along the southern shore of Lake Ontario in Niagara County, New York. The creek flows generally to the north and discharges into Lake Ontario, through Olcott Harbor, approximately east of the mouth of the Niagara River. The watershed has a drainage area of approximately and includes Eighteen Mile Creek and its two main tributaries, the East Branch and the Gulf, as well as minor tributaries. In addition, much of the flow in the main branch of Eighteen Mile Creek comes from water diverted from the New York State Barge Canal.
The natural topography of the area can be characterized as two relatively flat plains at different elevations separated by the Niagara Escarpment. The southernmost portion of the watershed is at a higher elevation than the remainder of the watershed and is separated by the Niagara Escarpment along the northern portion of the City of Lockport. The watershed lies entirely within Niagara County and encompasses portions of the Towns of Cambria, Lockport (including a portion of the City of Lockport), Royalton, Hartland, Newfane, and Wilson. The majority of the watershed can be characterized as a rural area comprising agricultural lands, with scattered residences along roadways, and rural villages; including Olcott, Newfane, and Gasport. A portion of one urban area, the City of Lockport, falls within the watershed and is the most densely populated area within the watershed. Commercial and industrial uses are concentrated in the City of Lockport.
The main branch of Eighteen Mile Creek originates southeast of the City of Lockport, in the vicinity of Keck and Chestnut Ridge Roads, on the south side of the Niagara Escarpment. It travels northwest through the city until it is diverted underground near Vine Street. It then flows north in an underground culvert and resurfaces briefly south of the canal. It travels a short distance under the Canal, to a point near Clinton Street north of the canal, where it again resurfaces. It continues generally north, descending approximately over the Niagara Escarpment. As the creek descends the escarpment, it travels through the abandoned Flintkote factory property on Mill Street, and adjacent to the Lockport Wastewater Treatment Plant. The creek then flows north through the Town of Newfane before draining into Lake Ontario at Olcott Harbor.
Environmental protection.
On March 13, 2012, the section of the creek north of the canal in Lockport was added to the U.S. Superfund National Priorities List.
A section of Eighteen Mile Creek was designated as an Area of Concern (AOC) by the International Joint Commission because of an existing fish consumption advisory, benthic population decline, a degradation of fish and wildlife populations, prevalence of bird and animal deformities or reproductive problems and restrictions on dredging. Over the years, numerous contaminants have been identified in creek sediments which have a detrimental effect to the AOC and Lake Ontario. These contaminants include but are not limited to: polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), mercury, dioxins and furans, dieldrin, mirex, DDT, lead, and copper. Sediments contaminated with these substances have directly contributed to the impairments just mentioned.
The AOC is relatively pristine to the naked eye. This section of Eighteen Mile Creek flows through a steep-sided, undeveloped wooded gorge, where habitat disturbances are minimal. The extensive beds of emergent and submergent aquatic vegetation in this area account for an estimated , comprising one of the largest coastal wetlands in the western portion of Lake Ontario. These wetlands and undisturbed woodlands bordering Eighteen Mile Creek provide valuable habitats for wildlife that are uncommon in Niagara County's coastal area.
A variety of bird species inhabit the area, including great blue heron, green heron, mallard, wood duck, belted kingfisher, marsh wren, common yellowthroat, red-winged blackbird, and swamp sparrow. Eighteen Mile Creek is particularly significant because large concentrations of Coho and Chinook salmon and brown trout migrate from Lake Ontario into the creek each fall. In addition, steelhead migrate into Eighteen Mile Creek during the fall and between late February and April. Due to the importance of this area, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has determined that, "Disturbances of wetland vegetation, including submergent beds, through dredging, filling, or bulkheading [excluding Olcott Harbor], would result in a direct loss of valuable habitat area."
The mission of the Eighteen Mile Creek Remedial Action Plan (RAP) is to restore the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the ecosystem in the Eighteen Mile Creek Area of Concern in a manner that reflects the communities concern for the preservation and protection of the waterway. Specific goals of the RAP are the protection and enhancement of human health, fish and wildlife, aesthetics, recreation and the economy of the Eighteen Mile Creek Area of Concern. Bathing and aquatic life have been established as the best uses of Eighteen Mile Creek through a public process under the New York State Stream Classification System. The RAP is designed to restore these uses where they have been impaired and to move toward the reduction of all sources of pollutants. |
Cohabitation (government)
Cohabitation is a system of divided government that occurs in semi-presidential systems, such as France, whenever the president is from a different political party than the majority of the members of parliament. It occurs because such a system forces the president to name a premier (prime minister) who will be acceptable to the majority party within parliament. Thus, cohabitation occurs because of the duality of the executive: an independently elected president "and" a prime minister who must be acceptable both to the president and to the legislature.
France.
Cohabitation took place in France in 1986–1988, 1993–1995, and 1997–2002. The president faced an opposition majority in the National Assembly and had to select his government from them.
Origins.
Cohabitation was a product of the French Fifth Republic, albeit an unintended one. This constitution brought together a president with considerable executive powers and a prime minister, responsible before Parliament. The president's task was primarily to end deadlock and act decisively to avoid the stagnation prevalent under the French Fourth Republic; the prime minister, similarly, was to "direct the work of government", providing a strong leadership to the legislative branch and to help overcome partisan squabbles.
Since 1962, French presidents have been elected by popular vote, replacing the electoral college, which was only used once. This change was intended to give Fifth Republic presidents more power than they might have had under the original constitution. While still seen as the symbol and embodiment of the nation, the president also was given a popular mandate. Of course, the majority party of the National Assembly retained power as well, but since the popularly elected president appointed the prime minister, the former was seen as having the upper hand in any conflict between executive and legislature. Furthermore, the imbalance is further illustrated by the fact that the president can dissolve the Assembly at any time (but not more than once in a year), whereas the legislature has no powers of removal against the president.
The sole caveat to this position of presidential pre-eminence was the fact that the president's selection to the premiership required approval by the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament: because the assembly can dismiss the government by a vote of no confidence, it follows that the prime minister must command a majority in the assembly. This was not a problem whilst the legislative majority was aligned with the president, and indeed, de Gaulle, who was responsible for inspiring much of the Constitution, envisioned that the president would resign if the people disavowed him in an assembly election, and would then elect a new president (there is no vice-president in France) and a new election takes places less than two months after a resignation, a new president being elected for a new, full term; that happened in 1969, when de Gaulle resigned because the people voted against a referendum proposed by him.
The first "near miss" with cohabitation occurred with the election of Socialist President François Mitterrand in 1981. A right-wing coalition headed by the Gaullist Rally for the Republic controlled the assembly at the time. Almost immediately, Mitterrand exercised his authority to call assembly elections, and the electorate returned an assembly with an absolute majority of Socialists, ending the presumed crisis.
However, when assembly elections were held as required in 1986, five years later, the Socialists lost their majority to the right. Mitterrand decided to remain president, beginning the first cohabitation.
Cohabitation in practice.
There have been only three periods of cohabitation, but each is notable for illustrating the oscillation of powers between the president and prime minister.
Mitterrand–Chirac period (1986–1988).
After the 1986 assembly elections, Mitterrand was forced to nominate as a Prime Minister Jacques Chirac, the leader of Rally for the Republic (RPR), the largest party in the majority coalition. Throughout the cohabitation between Mitterrand and Chirac, the president focused on his foreign duties and allowed Chirac to control internal affairs. Since Mitterrand was distanced from these policies, Chirac began to reverse many of Mitterrand's reforms by lowering taxes and privatising many national enterprises. There were however tense moments, such as when Mitterrand refused to sign "ordonnances", slowing down reforms by requiring Chirac to pass his bills through parliament. This lasted for two years until 1988 when the newly reelected Mitterrand called for new legislative elections that were won by a leftist majority, which lasted five years.
Mitterrand–Balladur period (1993–1995).
In 1993, President Mitterrand found himself in a similar position when the right won an 80% majority in the National Assembly elections. Once again, he was forced to appoint an opposition member from the RPR and Union for French Democracy (UDF) parties. This time he appointed Édouard Balladur to the post of prime minister, because Chirac was focused on running for president instead of being prime minister for the third time. Balladur maintained this post through the cohabitation until May 18, 1995 when Jacques Chirac took office as president.
Chirac–Jospin period (1997–2002).
In 1995, rightist leader Jacques Chirac succeeded Mitterrand as president, and, since the right had a majority in the assembly, he was able to appoint his fellow RPR member Alain Juppé as his prime minister, ending cohabitation by a change in the presidency. This alignment of president and assembly should have lasted until at least the normally scheduled 1998 assembly elections.
However, in 1997, President Chirac made the ill-fated strategic decision to dissolve parliament and call for early legislative elections. This plan backfired when the French electorate turned back to the leftists and removed the right-wing assembly majority. Chirac was forced to appoint Socialist Lionel Jospin to the premiership. Jospin remained prime minister until the elections of 2002, making this third term of cohabitation the longest ever, one of five years. Chirac called this a state of 'paralysis', and found it particularly difficult to arrange campaign activities for the National Assembly.
With Jospin holding the premiership, Chirac's political influence was constrained and he had no say over certain major reforms being instituted by the left-wing majority. This included the 1998 legislation to shorten the working week from 39 to 35 hours, which came into effect in 2000.
Observations.
Arend Lijphart contends that the French Fifth Republic usually operates under a presidential system, but when in cohabitation, this effectively changes, at least in terms of domestic policy, to a parliamentary system, in which the prime minister controls the legislative agenda and the president's powers are limited to foreign policy and defence.
A common problem during cohabitation is that each leader wants his or her own policies to be carried out so that the public is positive toward their strategies, and he or she will be elected when the time comes. Because each party is in competition, there is little room for progression since the friction between both sides holds each other back. Whilst leaders of the same political spectrum help each other in decision-making when in power concurrently, cohabitation can lead to a decline in national authority and make the country appear outwardly insecure.
Although originally believed to be improbable, France was governed under a cohabitation of leaders for almost half the period from 1986 to 2006, suggesting that French people no longer fear the prospect of having two parties share power.
Future prospects.
In 2000, with the support of President Chirac, the term of a president was shortened from seven years to five years, a change accepted by a referendum. Furthermore, legislative elections are now held one month after presidential ones, thus creating a coattail effect that encourages those who won the presidential election to confirm their vote one month later during legislative elections.
The near-simultaneity of presidential and legislative elections makes cohabitation less likely by reducing the prospect of major changes in public opinion between the two elections, but cohabitation remains a possibility even if public opinion remains stable. For example, a group of voters (e.g. voters on the left) may be split between two or more presidential candidates, thus making it unlikely that any of this group's candidates wins the presidential election, but these coordination problems may be resolved in the legislative election, leading to a different outcome in the two elections. Alternatively, a party that wins a majority of support in both the presidential and legislative elections may nonetheless fail to control the National Assembly because that support is distributed unequally across legislative districts. In another scenario, a presidential candidate from a new party may win the presidency despite his party not having the candidates or the party apparatus to win legislative elections.
Cohabitation can also occur if the presidential and legislative elections occur at different times due to extraordinary circumstances. For example, the president can dissolve the Assembly and call for new elections mid-term, which could theoretically lead to a different party winning (though the president would of course seek to avoid calling elections if this result were likely). The president could also die, be incapacitated, resign, or be impeached during his term, leading to a new presidential election. Cohabitation could result, although the new president would then be likely to call new assembly elections.
Elsewhere in Europe.
Finland.
The Constitution of Finland, as written in 1918, was originally similar to the French system of 40 years later. It included explicit provisions that the president focuses on national security and international relations. The arrangement was a compromise between monarchists and parliamentarists. In essence, a strong presidency was adopted instead of a constitutional monarchy. The new constitution of 2000 reduced the power of the president by transferring the power to choose a prime minister to the parliament. Cohabitation has occurred frequently, as Finland has multiple powerful parties which are not highly polarized between left and right, and also since the terms of a parliament are shorter (four years) than the presidential terms (six years). Theoretically, the president should remain strictly non-partisan, and presidents have usually formally renounced party membership while in office.
Georgia.
Georgia underwent a period of cohabitation from 2012 to 2013, occasioned by the defeat of the ruling United National Movement party by the opposition Georgian Dream coalition in the 2012 parliamentary election. At the same time, a new constitutional system came into effect and the leader of the defeated party, the incumbent President Mikheil Saakashvili, had to appoint the Georgian Dream leader, Bidzina Ivanishvili, as prime minister. According to the European Commission report, with the expiration of Saakashvili's two terms as president and the victory of the Georgian Dream candidate, Giorgi Margvelashvili, in the 2013 presidential election, Georgia completed a complex and peaceful transition from a "presidential" to a "parliamentary" system. The period of cohabitation was assessed in the same report as "uneasy but functioning."
Poland.
The president of Poland is required to be non-partisan while in office, but so far all presidents were elected as partisan candidates. A cohabitation occurred in 2007, when President Lech Kaczyński was forced to appoint Donald Tusk, his main rival in 2005 presidential election as prime minister.
Romania.
The 2012 Romanian political crisis was a major political conflict between Prime Minister Victor Ponta of the Social Democratic Party and the centre-right President Traian Băsescu, after the former was asked to form a government in May 2012. The dispute degenerated into civil disobedience and alleged democratic backsliding, lasting until the two sides signed an agreement on institutional cohabitation in December.
There have been six periods of cohabitation in Romania, involving two presidents and five prime ministers.
Russia.
In the Russia, the State Duma has to approve a prime minister chosen by the president. However, if the State Duma rejects the president's candidate(s) three times in a row the President has the right to dissolve the State Duma and call legislative elections, but he cannot do so within a year after the last election, which in this period may lead to cohabitation.
Though the rest of the time cohabitation is unlikely, it can occur when in the State Duma there is no stable majority loyal to the president. Thus, cohabitation evolved between 1998 and 1999, when the State Duma twice refused to appoint Viktor Chernomyrdin as prime minister. However, since the appointment of the new prime minister was caused by the recent default, there was a risk that the opposition would improve its result after the snap election, which in turn would lead to even more tension between President Boris Yeltsin and the State Duma, especially since at this time preparations for the impeachment process were already underway. In consequence, Boris Yeltsin had to nominate Yevgeny Primakov for prime minister, who had broad support among the left opposition.
Ukraine.
A cohabitation in a semi-presidential system also existed in Ukraine between 2006 and 2010. After 2006 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko had to appoint Viktor Yanukovych, his rival from the 2004 presidential election, as prime minister in August 2006.
Asia.
Palestinian National Authority.
The Palestinian National Authority, a quasi-governmental organization responsible for administering the Palestinian territories, has operated within the framework of a semi-presidential republic since the creation of the office of prime minister in the spring of 2003. While the president has the power to appoint anyone as prime minister, there was an unspoken agreement upon the establishment of the office that the prime minister would be appointed from the majority party in the Legislative Council. This arrangement led to a period of cohabitation after the 2006 legislative election, in which Fatah President Mahmoud Abbas appointed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh prime minister after Hamas' victory in the elections. The cohabitation did not last long, however, as funds were withheld from the Palestinian Authority and hostilities between Fatah and Hamas broke out in December 2006, leading to the appointment of a caretaker government led by Salam Fayyad on June 14, 2007.
Sri Lanka.
Sri Lankan politics for several years witnessed a bitter struggle between the president and the prime minister, belonging to different parties and elected separately, over the negotiations with the LTTE to resolve the longstanding civil war. Since 1978, Sri Lanka transferred from parliamentary system to semi-presidential system, which the president has more executive power.
Other countries.
Cohabitation does not occur within standard presidential systems. While a number of presidential democracies, such as the United States, have seen power shared between a president and legislature of different political parties, this is another form of divided government. In this situation, the executive is directed by a president of one party who serves for a fixed term of years, even if and while the legislature is controlled by another party; in cohabitation, by contrast, executive power is divided between a president of one party and a cabinet of another party. Cohabitation thus only occurs in systems that have both parliamentary government (i.e. ministers accountable to parliament) and a directly elected executive president, i.e., semi-presidential systems. In a true parliamentary system, the head of state, whether president or constitutional monarch, has no significant influence over the government.
As seen above, the theory of cohabitation is no longer limited to France. However, there are not many countries where the constitutional structure exists in which it "could" occur. Since some of the new democracies of eastern Europe have adopted institutions quite similar to France, cohabitation may become more common, but if those countries elect their executives and legislature at or near the same time, as France is now doing, then cohabitation will be less likely. |
Richie Tozier
Richard "Richie" Tozier is a fictional character created by Stephen King and one of the main characters of his 1986 novel "It". The character is a member of "The Losers Club" and is seen to be the comic relief of the group; however, his loudmouthed antics often get him in trouble, leading to him being called "Richie 'Trashmouth' Tozier" and his friends often using the phrase "Beep Beep Richie" when they want him to be quiet. He was portrayed by Seth Green as a child and Harry Anderson as an adult in the 1990 miniseries adaptation of the novel, and by Ankur Javeri as a child and Nasirr Khan as an adult in the novel's 1998 television series adaptation. He was later portrayed by Finn Wolfhard as a child and Bill Hader as an adult in the 2017 film and its 2019 sequel.
Fictional character biography.
Richard (Richie) Tozier was born on March 7, 1946 (novel), 1950 (miniseries), or 1976 (films) and is the son of Maggie and Wentworth Tozier. Richie is known for his loudmouthed and sarcastic personality, which led to him being called "Richie 'Trashmouth' Tozier" by his peers. Richie is good friends with Bill Denbrough and the other members of The Losers Club Stanley Uris, Eddie Kaspbrak, Ben Hanscom, Beverly Marsh, and Mike Hanlon. After Bill's younger brother Georgie is killed by Pennywise the Dancing Clown, Richie and his friends each have individual encounters with Pennywise before facing It collectively at Neibolt Street. After this encounter, they believe they have killed It, but they take an oath that if they have not succeeded, they will one day return to Derry to finish the job.
27 years later, Richie is a disc-jockey in Beverly Hills and one of the only members of The Losers Club to have never married. Richie receives a call from Mike – who remained behind in Derry – that It has returned, causing the death of Adrian Mellon. Richie returns to Derry and reunites with The Losers Club, with whom he encounters It once again. Eventually, the group descends into the sewers to kill It by performing the Ritual of Chud. During the ritual, It mortally wounds and kills Eddie, leaving Richie devastated.
Adaptations.
Richie was portrayed by Seth Green as a child, and by Harry Anderson as an adult in the 1990 miniseries, and by Ankur Javeri as a child and Nasir Khan as an adult (named "Raja") in the 1998 television series. The adult portrayal is well known for a scene where Pennywise taunts him in a public library, which has become iconic for Tim Curry's over-the-top performance.
Richie was portrayed again by Finn Wolfhard in the 2017 film and as an adult by Bill Hader in the 2019 sequel. This interpretation of Richie tends to make more pop-culture references and becomes a stand-up comedian as an adult rather than a DJ. A popular fan theory of Wolfhard's interpretation of the character is that his family has a tendency to neglect Richie and that he struggles with ADHD.
Richie's sexuality.
In the adaptation of "It Chapter Two", Richie is portrayed as being secretly in love with Eddie Kaspbrak until the latter's death, and Eddie remained unaware of these feelings. It is confirmed that Richie's reason for making jokes are just in part a defense mechanism to hide his feelings for Eddie, as most of his jokes target him, as opposed to just trying to be humorous as in the book or other adaptation of "IT". This film incorporates a scene where, when Eddie is killed by Pennywise, Richie is visibly more upset than the rest of the Losers' Club. It is revealed in one of the final scenes of the film that Richie recarves his and Eddie's initials into a bridge.
Director Andy Muschietti has stated that the decision to depict Richie as gay in "It Chapter Two" was based on this interpretation of the book. Stephen King said that while he didn't intend for there to be an unrequited romance between the two characters, he approved of the storyline, saying "it’s one of those things that’s kind of genius, because it echoes the beginning [with Adrian Mellon's gay bashing]. It comes full circle. At least there’s love involved. Somebody cares for [Eddie,] and that echoes the love that Adrian’s partner has for him. So that was cool.”
Comedy.
Richie is known as being the comedian of The Losers Club, often telling jokes at inappropriate times, which leads to his friends often saying "Beep Beep, Richie" when they want him to stop talking. Richie's humor has been viewed as being either a defense mechanism, or a call for attention. It has been speculated that Richie uses his comedy as a defense mechanism, to hide his fear of not only Pennywise, but his fear of not being accepted by The Losers Club. Once Richie has his first encounter with Pennywise, his comedy turns into a coping mechanism as well, hiding his fears of the supernatural being and the possibility of his death at the hands of the creature. Strictly in "It Chapter Two", it has been interpreted by some fans that Richie's comedic defense mechanism also doubles as him hiding his romantic feelings for Eddie Kaspbrak. It has also been speculated that Richie's comedy derives from a feeling of neglect by his parents, and as a cry for attention from his friends. He wants to have the attention and love from his friends that he doesn't receive at home from his parents.
Appearances in other King stories.
Richie briefly appears in a cameo appearance in King's novel "11/22/63". In the novel, after the events of Pennywise, Richie is seen dancing with Beverly preparing for a talent show. The two are approached by time traveler Jake Epping, who enquires about the Dunning family. Afterwards, Epping teaches the two how to dance properly. However, this meeting is erased by the end of the novel as Epping removes his mark on history.
In King's novel "Duma Key", the song excerpt in the beginning is by a band called Shark Puppy. In the credits page of the book, the song is written by R. Tozier and W. Denbrough.
Reception.
The portrayals of Richie in the 2017 remake by Wolfhard and the 2019 sequel by Hader were both highly praised and considered to be "show-stealers". Both portrayals were noted for their comedic relief and chemistry with their fellow cast members, in particular between Wolfhard and Jack Dylan Grazer for the first film and Hader and James Ransone in the second. Hader's portrayal was noted for its blend of comedy and drama when required, as well as the subtle references to Richie's sexuality and his implicated love for Eddie, referred to by Pennywise as his "dirty little secret." |
Foreign policy of the Gerald Ford administration
The United States foreign policy during the 1974-1977 presidency of Gerald Ford was marked by the Cold War. Gerald Ford continued Richard Nixon's policies regarding detente with both the Soviet Union and China. He presided over the final stages of the Vietnam War, announcing in April 1975 that U.S. participation in the war had ended. In the aftermath of the war, his administration responded forcefully to both the Mayaguez incident and an incident with North Korea in Panmunjom. In the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War, the Ford administration facilitated completion of the Sinai Interim Agreement between Israel and Egypt.
Leadership.
Appointments.
Upon assuming office, Ford inherited Nixon's cabinet. Ford quickly replaced Chief of Staff Alexander Haig with Donald Rumsfeld, who had served as a counselor to the president under Nixon. Rumsfeld and Deputy Chief of Staff Dick Cheney rapidly became among the most influential people in the Ford administration. Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger and Secretary of Defense James R. Schlesinger remained highly influential officials early in Ford's tenure. Ford retaines Kissinger as Secretary of State throughout his presidency, but Brent Scowcroft replaced Kissinger as National Security Advisor in 1975.
Cold War.
Ford continued Nixon's détente policy with both the Soviet Union and China, easing the tensions of the Cold War. In doing so, he overcame opposition from members of Congress, an institution which became increasingly assertive in foreign affairs in the early 1970s. This opposition was led by Senator Henry M. Jackson, who scuttled a U.S.–Soviet trade agreement by winning passage of the Jackson–Vanik amendment. The thawing relationship with China brought about by Nixon's 1972 visit to China was reinforced with another presidential visit in December 1975.
Despite the collapse of the trade agreement with the Soviet Union, Ford and Soviet Leader Leonid Brezhnev continued the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, which had begun under Nixon. In 1972, the U.S. and the Soviet Union had reached the SALT I treaty, which placed upper limits on each power's nuclear arsenal. Ford met Brezhnev at the November 1974 Vladivostok Summit, at which point the two leaders agreed to a framework for another SALT treaty. Opponents of detente, led by Jackson, delayed Senate consideration of the treaty until after Ford left office.
Helsinki Accords.
When Ford took office in August 1974, the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) negotiations had been underway in Helsinki, Finland, for nearly two years. Although the USSR was looking for a rapid resolution, none of the parties were quick to make concessions, particularly on human rights points. Throughout much of the negotiations, U.S. leaders were disengaged and uninterested with the process. In an August 1974 Kissinger told Ford, that "we never wanted it but we went along with the Europeans ... [i]t is meaningless—it is just a grandstand play to the left. We are going along with it."
In the months leading up to the conclusion of negotiations and signing of the Helsinki Final Act in August 1975, Americans of Eastern European descent voiced their concerns that the agreement would mean the acceptance of Soviet domination over Eastern Europe and the permanent incorporation of the Baltic states into the USSR. Shortly before President Ford departed for Helsinki, he held a meeting with a delegation of Americans of Eastern European background, and stated definitively that US policy on the Baltic States would not change, but would be strengthened since the agreement denies the annexation of territory in violation of international law and allows for the peaceful change of borders. he told the delegation that:
His reassurances had little effect. The volume of negative mail continued to grow. The American public was still unconvinced that American policy on the incorporation of the Baltic States would not be changed by the Helsinki Final Act. Despite protests from all around, Ford decided to move forward and sign the agreement. As domestic criticism mounted, Ford hedged on his support for the Helsinki Accords, which had the impact of overall weakening his foreign-policy stature. His blunder in the debate with Carter when he denied Kremlin control of Poland prove disastrous.
Though Ford was criticized for his apparent recognition of the Soviet domination of Eastern Europe, the new emphasis on human rights would eventually contribute to the weakening of the Eastern bloc in the 1980s and speed up its collapse in 1989.
Vietnam.
One of Ford's greatest challenges was dealing with the ongoing Vietnam War. American offensive operations against North Vietnam had ended with the Paris Peace Accords, signed on January 27, 1973. The accords declared a cease fire across both North and South Vietnam, and required the release of American prisoners of war. The agreement guaranteed the territorial integrity of Vietnam and, like the Geneva Conference of 1954, called for national elections in the North and South. South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu was not involved in the final negotiations, and publicly criticized the proposed agreement, but was pressured by Nixon and Kissinger into signing the agreement. In multiple letters to the South Vietnamese president, Nixon had promised that the United States would defend Thieu's government, should the North Vietnamese violate the accords.
Fighting in Vietnam continued after the withdrawal of most U.S forces in early 1973. As North Vietnamese forces advanced in early 1975, Ford requested Congress approve a $722 million aid package for South Vietnam, funds that had been promised by the Nixon administration. Congress voted against the proposal by a wide margin. Senator Jacob K. Javits offered "...large sums for evacuation, but not one nickel for military aid". President Thieu resigned on April 21, 1975, publicly blaming the lack of support from the United States for the fall of his country. Two days later, on April 23, Ford gave a speech at Tulane University, announcing that the Vietnam War was over "...as far as America is concerned".
With the North Vietnamese forces advancing on the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon, Ford ordered the evacuation of U.S. personnel, while also allowing U.S. forces to aid others who wished to escape from the Communist advance. Forty-thousand U.S. citizens and South Vietnamese were evacuated by plane until enemy attacks made further such evacuations impossible. In Operation Frequent Wind, the final phase of the evacuation preceding the fall of Saigon on April 30, military and Air America helicopters took evacuees to off-shore U.S. Navy vessels. During the operation, so many South Vietnamese helicopters landed on the vessels taking the evacuees that some were pushed overboard to make room for more people.
The Vietnam War, which had raged since the 1950s, finally came to an end with the Fall of Saigon, and Vietnam was reunified into one country. Many of the Vietnamese evacuees were allowed to enter the United States under the Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act. The 1975 act appropriated $455 million toward the costs of assisting the settlement of Indochinese refugees. In all, 130,000 Vietnamese refugees came to the United States in 1975. Thousands more escaped in the years that followed. Following the end of the war, Ford expanded the embargo of North Vietnam to cover all of Vietnam, blocked Vietnam's accession to the United Nations, and refused to establish full diplomatic relations.
Mayaguez and Panmunjom.
North Vietnam's victory over the South led to a considerable shift in the political winds in Asia, and Ford administration officials worried about a consequent loss of U.S. influence in the region. The administration proved it was willing to respond forcefully to challenges to its interests in the region on two occasions, once when Khmer Rouge forces seized an American ship in international waters and again when American military officers were killed in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between North Korea and South Korea.
In May 1975, shortly after the fall of Saigon and the Khmer Rouge conquest of Cambodia, Cambodians seized the American merchant ship "Mayaguez" in international waters, sparking what became known as the Mayaguez incident. Ford dispatched Marines to rescue the crew, but the Marines landed on the wrong island and met unexpectedly stiff resistance just as, unknown to the U.S., the "Mayaguez" sailors were being released. In the operation, two military transport helicopters carrying the Marines for the assault operation were shot down, and 41 U.S. servicemen were killed and 50 wounded while approximately 60 Khmer Rouge soldiers were killed. Despite American losses, the rescue operation proved to be a boon to Ford's poll numbers; Senator Barry Goldwater declared that the operation "shows we've still got balls in this country." Some historians have argued that the Ford administration felt the need to respond forcefully to the incident because it was construed as a Soviet plot. But work by Andrew Gawthorpe, published in 2009, based on an analysis of the administration's internal discussions, shows that Ford's national security team understood that the seizure of the vessel was a local, and perhaps even accidental, provocation by an immature Khmer government. Nevertheless, they felt the need to respond forcefully to discourage further provocations by other Communist countries in Asia.
A second crisis, known as the axe murder incident, occurred at Panmunjom, a village which stands in the DMZ between the two Koreas. At the time, Panmunjom was the only part of the DMZ where forces from North Korea and South Korea came into contact with each other. Encouraged by U.S. difficulties in Vietnam, North Korea had been waging a campaign of diplomatic pressure and minor military harassment to try and convince the U.S. to withdraw from South Korea. In August 1976, North Korean forces killed two U.S. officers and injured South Korean guards who were trimming a tree in Panmunjom's Joint Security Area. The attack coincided with a meeting of the Conference of Non-Aligned Nations, at which North Korea presented the incident as an example of American aggression, helping secure the passage of a motion calling for a U.S. withdrawal from South Korea. Determined not to be seen as "the paper tigers of Saigon," the Ford administration decided that it was necessary to respond with a major show of force. A large number of ground forces went to cut down the tree, while at the same time the air force deployed flights over Panmunjom. The North Korean government backed down and allowed the tree-cutting to go ahead, and later issued an unprecedented official apology.
Middle East.
In the Middle East and eastern Mediterranean, two ongoing international disputes developed into crises during Ford's presidency. The Cyprus dispute turned into a crisis with the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, which took place following the Greek-backed 1974 Cypriot coup d'état. The dispute put the United States in a difficult position as both Greece and Turkey were members of NATO. In mid-August, the Greek government withdrew Greece from the NATO military structure; in mid-September 1974, the Senate and House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted to halt military aid to Turkey. Ford vetoed the bill due to concerns regarding its effect on Turkish-American relations and the deterioration of security on NATO's eastern front. A second bill was then passed by Congress, which Ford also vetoed, fearing that it might impede negotiations in Cyprus, although a compromise was accepted to continue aid until December 10, 1974, provided Turkey would not send American supplies to Cyprus. U.S. military aid to Turkey was suspended on February 5, 1975.
In 1973, Egypt and Syria had launched a joint surprise attack against Israel, seeking to re-take land lost in the Six-Day War of 1967. However, early Arab success gave way to an Israel military victory in what became known as the Yom Kippur War. Although an initial cease fire had been implemented to end active conflict in the Yom Kippur War, Kissinger's continuing shuttle diplomacy was showing little progress. Ford disliked what he saw as Israeli "stalling" on a peace agreement, and wrote, "[Israeli] tactics frustrated the Egyptians and made me mad as hell." During Kissinger's shuttle to Israel in early March 1975, a last minute reversal to consider further withdrawal, prompted a cable from Ford to Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, which included:
On March 24, Ford informed congressional leaders of both parties of the reassessment of the administration policies in the Middle East. "Reassessment", in practical terms, meant canceling or suspending further aid to Israel. For six months between March and September 1975, the United States refused to conclude any new arms agreements with Israel. Rabin notes it was "an innocent-sounding term that heralded one of the worst periods in American-Israeli relations". The announced reassessments upset many American supporters of Israel. On May 21, Ford "experienced a real shock" when seventy-six U.S. senators wrote him a letter urging him to be "responsive" to Israel's request for $2.59 billion in military and economic aid. Ford felt truly annoyed and thought the chance for peace was jeopardized. It was, since the September 1974 ban on arms to Turkey, the second major congressional intrusion upon the President's foreign policy prerogatives. The following summer months were described by Ford as an American-Israeli "war of nerves" or "test of wills". After much bargaining, the Sinai Interim Agreement (Sinai II) between Egypt and Israel was formally signed, and aid resumed.
Angola.
A civil war broke out Angola after the fledgling African nation gained independence from Portugal in 1975. The Soviet Union and Cuba both became heavily involved in the conflict, backing the left-wing MPLA, one of the major factions in the civil war. In response, the CIA directed aid to two other factions in the war, UNITA and the FNLA. After members of Congress learned of the CIA operation, Congress voted to cut off aid to the Angolan groups. The Angolan Civil War would continue in subsequent years, but the Soviet role in the war hindered détente. Congress's role in ending the CIA presence marked the growing power of the legislative branch in foreign affairs.
Indonesia.
U.S. policy since the 1940s has been to support Indonesia, which hosted American investments in petroleum and raw materials and controlled a highly strategic location near vital shipping lanes. In 1975, the left-wing Fretilin party seized power after a civil war in East Timor (now Timor-Leste), a former colony of Portugal that shared the island of Timor with the Indonesian region of West Timor. Indonesian leaders feared that East Timor would serve as a hostile left-wing base that would promote secessionist movements inside Indonesia. Anti-Fretilin activists from the other main parties fled to West Timor and called upon Indonesia to annex East Timor and end the communist threat. On December 7, 1975, Ford and Kissinger met Indonesian President Suharto in Jakarta and indicated the United States would not take a position on East Timor. Indonesia invaded the next day, and took control of the country. The United Nations, with U.S. support, called for the withdrawal of Indonesian forces. A bloody civil war broke out, and over one hundred thousand died in the fighting or from executions or starvation. Upwards of half of the population of East Timor became refugees fleeing Fretilin-controlled areas. East Timor took two decades to settle down, and finally, after international intervention in the 1999 East Timorese crisis, East Timor became an independent nation in 2002.
Other issues.
Ford attended the inaugural meeting of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized nations (initially the G5) in 1975 and secured membership for Canada. Ford supported international solutions to issues. "We live in an interdependent world and, therefore, must work together to resolve common economic problems," he said in a 1974 speech.
List of international trips.
Ford made seven international trips during his presidency. |
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