Patna Police

Patna Police (Hindi: पटना पुलिस) is the police service responsible for law enforcement within Patna district, including the capital city of Patna in an Indian state of Bihar. Patna Police is the largest police service in the state. Its headquarters are at Gandhi Maidan Marg in Patna. The present SSP of Patna Police is Upendra Kumar Sharma since January 1, 2020.
History.
Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world, and policing in Patna is more than 3000 years old.
Today.
Patna police is broadly divided into four regions namely Central, East, West and Rural, each headed by a Superintendent of Police. For administrative purposes, each region is subdivided into Neighbourhood Policing Teams, each led by an Inspector. The Neighbourhood Policing Team's are responsible for the bulk of the community work undertaken in an area, and look to deal with long term local issues including Anti-Social Behaviour.
The Traffic Police is a semi-autonomous body under the Patna Police.
Services provided by the Patna Police include:
Further policing duties performed are traffic control, intelligence analysis and anti-terrorism investigation. The overall mission of the Patna Police is to protect life and property and to detect and prevent crime.
Rank structure.
The rank structure of Patna Police officers is as follows (in descending order of seniority):
Zonal level
Range level
District level
Circle level
Station level
Constabulary
Recently, a proposal for creating police commissioner system for the state capital has been sent to the state government by Bihar Police, the parent agency.
Helpline numbers.
The following are the helpline numbers of Patna Police.
More Helpline Numbers :
http://www.patnapolice.bih.nic.in
http://indianhelpline.com/BIHAR/
Equipment.
All the equipment of the Patna Police are manufactured indigenously by the Indian Ordnance Factories controlled by the Ordnance Factories Board, Ministry of Defence, Government of India.


Apa of Slavonia

Apa or Appa (also "Alban"; died after 1161) was a nobleman in the Kingdom of Hungary in the second half of the 12th century, who held courtly positions and elevated into the dignity of Ban of Slavonia during the last period of the reign of Géza II of Hungary.
Ancestry.
His origin is unknown, but his brother was the powerful and well-educated prelate, Lucas, Archbishop of Esztergom. According to Mór Wertner, Apa's namesake father was that Apa, who was referred one of the powerful lords in 1108, during the reign of Coloman the Learned. From the 18th century onwards, several historians and genealogists attempted to connect Apa and Lucas to various notable "genera" (clans) in the Kingdom of Hungary, mostly the illustrious Gutkeled clan. Historian Ubul Kállay argued Apa and Lucas were the sons of Alexius Gutkeled, a Ban of Slavonia during the reign of Stephen II of Hungary.
Career.
Apa was first mentioned by contemporary records in 1148, when he was already referred to as a "comes" by a privilege letter of Géza II. He was styled as ""apud regem gratiosissimus" in 1150, reflecting his distinguished status in the royal court by that time. He functioned as "ispán" of Bodrog County in 1156, but it is possible he already held the dignity from the previous decade, when he was frequently mentioned as "comes" (or "ispán") without the specific county. The brothers – Apa and Lucas – came to prominence after the departure of King Géza's maternal uncle, Beloš, who became disgraced at the royal court and fled Hungary in late 1157. As his successor, Apa was made Ban of Slavonia. It is plausible he bore the dignity until Géza's death in 1162. In this capacity, he governed the Dalmatian coastal region (Croatian Littoral or Primorje), and the area between the rivers Drava and Sava still did not fall under his jurisdiction. As there is no known office-holder of the dignity Palatine of Hungary in the last years of Géza II, it is possible that Apa was the most powerful secular confidant of the monarch after Beloš' departure, while Lucas was elevated into the archbishopric of Esztergom, becoming head of the Church in Hungary in the same time.
According to a non-authentic charter, he also served as Judge royal () in 1158. The charter also refers to a certain Emeric, who bore the title of "curialis comes minor"", which is a possible first mention of the office of vice-judge royal. Ban Apa possessed lands in the northeastern part of Hungary, mostly Ung and Zemplén counties. He owned the village of Kána (present-day archaeological ruins in Budapest). He erected a Benedictine abbey there.
According to a decretal of Pope Alexander III, when the papal legate, cardinal Pietro di Miso was sent to Hungary to hand over the pallium to Lucas of Esztergom in 1161, the archbishop's brother "Alban" (most scholars identified him with Apa) provided a horse for the legate, when Pietro and his escort entered the Hungarian border via Dalmatia (thus Apa perhaps still functioned as ban in that year). The letter narrates that Archbishop Lucas worried this step could be considered as simony in the Roman Curia. Pope Alexander reassured the prelate with Biblical phrases. This is the last mention of Apa as a living person.


Thomas Agar-Robartes

Thomas Charles Reginald Agar-Robartes (known as Tommy) (22 May 1880 – 30 September 1915) was a British Liberal politician.
Background and education.
Tommy Agar-Robartes was the eldest son and heir of Thomas Agar-Robartes, 6th Viscount Clifden, and his wife Mary (née Dickenson) and was brought up at Lanhydrock House, Bodmin. He was the eldest of ten (including a twin sister). Educated at Oxford and a keen horseman, he played in the Oxford University polo team that beat Cambridge in 1903.
Public life.
He was elected a Member of Parliament for Bodmin in the 1906 general election, but lost his seat in June 1906 following a controversial election petition by the defeated candidate alleging illegal payments to potential voters. He was elected to the St Austell Division of Cornwall in a by-election in 1908 and held the seat until his death.
Military career.
He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Royal 1st Devon Imperial Yeomanry on 4 June 1902. At the outbreak of World War I he joined the Royal Bucks Hussars as an officer. Tommy then joined the Coldstream Guards and was subsequently posted to France & Flanders. Captain The Honourable Thomas Charles Reginald Agar-Robartes, in command of No. 2 Coy, 1st Bn, the Coldstream Guards, was wounded in the Battle of Loos on 28 September and killed by a sniper on 30 September 1915 after rescuing a wounded comrade under heavy fire for which he was recommended for the Victoria Cross.
Memorials.
Agar-Robartes is buried in Lapugnoy Military Cemetery, near Béthune. He is commemorated by a memorial in Truro Cathedral and in stained glass at Selsey Abbey, Wimpole and Church Norton.
Agar-Robartes is commemorated on Panel 8 of the Parliamentary War Memorial in Westminster Hall, one of 22 MPs who died during World War I to be named on that memorial. Agar-Robartes is one of 19 MPs who fell in the war who are commemorated by heraldic shields in the Commons Chamber. A further act of commemoration came with the unveiling in 1932 of a manuscript-style illuminated book of remembrance for the House of Commons, which included a short biographical account of the life and death of Agar-Robartes. As Agar-Robartes never married and had no children, his younger brother Francis later succeeded their father in the viscountcy.


Banca IMI

Banca IMI is a subsidiary of Intesa Sanpaolo which is specialized in investment banking and capital markets. The bank can trace its origins to the Istituto Mobiliare Italiano. IMI merged with Istituto Bancario San Paolo di Torino to form Sanpaolo IMI in 1998 (through which a new subsidiary of the new group Banca d'Intermediazione Mobiliare was created ), which in turn merged with Banca Intesa in January 2007. In October Banca IMI (as Banca d'Intermediazione Mobiliare IMI S.p.A.) absorbed the corresponding subsidiary of Intesa: Banca Caboto to become the new Banca IMI S.p.A..


Republic of Gersau


Robert I of France

Robert I (c. 866 – 15 June 923), was the elected King of West Francia from 922 to 923. Before his election to the throne he was Count of Poitiers, Count of Paris and Marquis of Neustria and Orléans. He succeeded the overthrown Carolingian king Charles the Simple, who in 898 had succeeded Robert's brother, king Odo.
Life.
Robert was born in 866 as the posthumous son of Robert the Strong, count of Anjou, and the brother of Odo, who was elected king of West Francia in 888. In time West Francia evolved into the Kingdom of France; and under Odo, the royal capital was fixed in Paris. Robert and Odo came from the Robertian dynasty out of which the Capetian dynasty grew.
In 885 Robert participated in the defence of Paris during the Viking siege of Paris. He was appointed by Odo as the ruler of several counties, including the county of Paris, and abbot "in commendam" of many abbeys. Robert also secured the office of "Dux Francorum", a military dignity of high importance.
He did not claim the crown of West Francia when his brother died in 898; instead recognizing the supremacy of the Carolingian king, Charles the Simple. Charles then confirmed Robert in his offices and possessions, after which he continued to defend northern Francia from the attacks of Vikings. Robert defeated a large band of Vikings in the Loire Valley in 921, after which the defeated invaders converted to Christianity and settled near Nantes.
King.
The peace between King Charles the Simple and his powerful vassal was not seriously disturbed until about 921 when Charles' favoritism towards Hagano aroused rebellion. Supported by many of the clergy and by some of the most powerful of the Frankish nobles, Robert took up arms, drove Charles into Lotharingia, and was himself crowned king of the Franks ("rex Francorum") at Rheims on 29 June 922.
Robert's rule was contested by the Viking leader Rollo, who had settled in the Duchy of Normandy in 911 with the permission of Charles the Simple. During Robert's reign, Rollo remained loyal to Charles, who continued to contest his deposition. Gathering an army, Charles marched against Robert, and on 15 June 923 at the Battle of Soissons Robert was killed. However, his army won the battle and Charles was captured. Charles remained a captive until his death in 929. Robert was succeeded as king by his son-in-law Rudolph, Count of Burgundy, also known as Raoul.
Family.
Robert's first wife was Aelis. By her, he had:
Robert married for the second time to Béatrice of Vermandois, daughter of Herbert I of Vermandois. Together they had:


National Freight Corporation

The National Freight Corporation was a major British transport business between 1948 and 2000. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and at one time, as NFC plc, was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
History.
The company was established in 1948 as British Road Services (BRS). It was the road transport company formed by the nationalisation of Britain's road haulage industry, under the British Transport Commission, as a result of the Transport Act 1947.
From 1963, the company was administered by the Transport Holding Company and had four main operating areas: British Road Services, BRS Parcels, Pickfords and Containerway & Roadferry.
On 1 January 1969, it was renamed the National Freight Corporation. On the same date a 51% share in Freightliner was transferred from the British Railways Board (BRB). This was transferred back to the BRB on 1 August 1978.
In 1980, the assets of the National Freight Corporation were transferred to the National Freight Company. In 1982, the company was sold to its employees as the National Freight Consortium in one of the first privatisations of state-owned industry. The new company was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1989 and subsequently became NFC plc.
BRS Parcels was rebranded as Roadline and was sold in a management buy-out as Lynx Express in 1997. NFC disposed of Pickfords in 1999 to Allied Van Lines.
In 2000, the company merged with Ocean Group plc to form Exel plc.


R v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, ex p Rees-Mogg

R v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, ex p Rees-Mogg was an English legal case in which "Times" journalist and life peer William Rees-Mogg, challenged the legality of the Maastricht Treaty by judicial review. The case was based on Rees-Mogg's call for a declaration that by ratifying the Treaty on the EU, the Government transferred certain prerogative powers without statutory authority.
The case is notable for its liberal approach to the question of locus standi in judicial review cases.
The principle of parliamentary sovereignty will not therefore be affected since such making of treaty does not change any domestic law.


Taxation in the Faroe Islands

Taxation in the Faroe Islands has differed from the taxes in Denmark since home rule was granted in 1948. This gives the Faroe Islands control over their own taxes.
Income taxation.
All citizens of the Faroe Islands are subject to personal taxation. The government tax rate on incomes up to DKK 500,000 is 20%. Incomes higher than this pay a fixed amount, always resulting in a higher percentage. There are multiple tax deductions in the Faroes. This includes a 14% deduction for fishermen. However, this is limited to 14% of DKK 470,000 corresponding to a maximum annual deduction of DKK 65,800. A deduction for foreign workers also exists, and this deduction can be as high as 30%. Deductions are also available to students and parents.
VAT and business taxes.
The VAT or Value Added Tax, is a tax on imports and sales paid to the Faroese treasury. The VAT is deductible for income purposes. Companies that don't pay a VAT must pay an employer's tax. The corporate tax rate in the Faroe Islands stands at 18%.
Tax administration.
Citizens subject to taxation use the calendar year as the income tax/fiscal year. Generally, the income period for companies follows the accounting year, which has to be no longer than 12 months. However, the first accounting year can vary from 6 to 18 months.


Pakistani nationality law

The Pakistani nationality law governs citizenship of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The principal legislation determining nationality, the Pakistan Citizenship Act, was passed by the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on 13 April 1951. Pakistan is the only country in Asia with unconditional "jus soli" citizenship rights.
Citizenship.
Before the creation of Pakistan, its territories were part of the British Indian Empire (which included modern-day India, Bangladesh and itself) and its people were British subjects. Pakistan was founded on 14 August 1947 as a state for Muslims and held the status of a Dominion in the British Commonwealth; it included modern-day Bangladesh, which was known as East Bengal and East Pakistan and became independent from Pakistan in 1971. Upon independence from British colonial rule, millions of Muslims emigrated to Pakistan from India, and several millions of Hindus and Sikhs who had been residing in what became Pakistan emigrated to India, raising a number of citizenship issues.
Pakistani Citizenship Act 1951.
The Pakistan Citizenship Act of 1951 was enacted on 13 April 1951; stating the purpose of it is "to make provision for citizenship of Pakistan". The Act has been amended several times, the last occurring in 2000. The Act is divided into 23 sections, each one outlining a different provision of citizenship, of which the most significant are:
Commonwealth citizenship.
Pakistani citizens are also Commonwealth citizens
Dual nationality.
Since independence, the growth of expatriate Pakistani communities in the Middle East, Europe and North America has led to several changes in Pakistani nationality law. Dual citizenship is allowed in certain specified circumstances:
Pakistanis with dual citizenship are forbidden to run for public office, sit in the assemblies, contest elections or join the Pakistani military. On 20 September 2012, the Supreme Court of Pakistan disqualified eleven lawmakers including Interior Minister Rehman Malik for failing to disclose their dual nationalities upon taking office. The proposed 21st Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan would have allowed dual citizens to hold public office and contest elections, but the amendment never passed. On 16 December 2013, the Senate of Pakistan unanimously passed "The Civil Servants (Amendment) Bill, 2013", aimed at barring the civil servants of BPS-20 and above to have dual nationality. The bill will then be debated in the National Assembly of Pakistan. If it is passed there, it would then be implemented as an Act after the President of Pakistan signs it.
Controversial issues.
Both Pakistan and India law claim to the disputed region of Kashmir, which has been the subject of numerous wars between the two countries. The Pakistani Citizenship Act of 1951 allowed persons who were subjects of the state of Jammu and Kashmir to travel under a Pakistani passport and be considered a citizen of Pakistan without prejudice.
The independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan in 1971 led to the abandonment in the Bengali-majority state of around half a million "stranded Pakistanis", who traced their ethnolinguistic heritage to the Bihar region. Despite official promises, Bangladesh refuses to accept them or to recognise them as citizens. Conversely, a continuous migration of Bangladeshis between 1971 and 1995 led their population to cross the 1.6 million mark, which was only 10,000 at the time of separation. The migrants are mostly illegal and are not given the citizenship, as they migrated after the separation.
For political and other reasons, the 1.5 million registered Afghan refugees in Pakistan are not given Pakistani nationality, most of whom were born in Pakistan.
Travel freedom.
In 2021, Pakistani citizens has visa-free, visa on arrival or eVisa access to 21 countries and territories, ranking the Pakistani passport 208th in the world, in terms of visa restrictions, according to Passport Index


Port of Piraeus

The Port of Piraeus () is the chief sea port of Athens, Greece, located on the Saronic Gulf on the western coasts of the Aegean Sea, the largest port in Greece and one of the largest in Europe.
History.
The Port of Piraeus served as the port of Athens since ancient times.
Early Antiquity.
Until the 3rd millennium BC, Piraeus was a rocky island connected to the mainland by a low-lying stretch of land that was flooded with sea water most of the year. It was then that the area was increasingly silted and flooding ceased, thus permanently connecting Piraeus to Attica and forming its ports, the main port of Cantharus and the two smaller of Zea and Munichia. In 493 BC, Themistocles initiated the fortifications of Piraeus and later advised the Athenians to take advantage of its natural harbours' strategic potential. In 483 BC, the Athenian fleet left the older harbour of Phaleron and it was transferred to Piraeus, distinguishing itself at the battle of Salamis between the Greek city-states and the Persians in 480 BC. In the following years Themistocles initiated the construction of the port and created the ship sheds ("neosoikoi"), while the Themistoclean Walls were completed in 471 BC, turning Piraeus into a great military and commercial harbour, which served as the permanent navy base for the mighty Athenian fleet.
Late Antiquity and Middle Ages.
In the late 4th century BC Piraeus went into a long period of decline; the harbours were only occasionally used for the Byzantine fleet and the city was mostly deserted throughout the Ottoman occupation of Greece.
Present.
In 2002 PPA and the Greek government signed a concession agreement. The Greek government leased the port zone lands, buildings and facilities of Piraeus Port to PPA for 40 years. In 2008 the duration of the concession agreement was modified from 40 to 50 years. With this modification the lease is ending in 2052. Since the Greek government-debt crisis started in late 2009 the Greek government planned to privatize several state-owned assets. These assets are believed to be worth around 50 billion euros. One of these assets is the port of Piraeus. The Port is a major employer in the region.
Ownership.
The Port of Piraeus is majority owned by China COSCO Shipping (the successor of China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO)), the 3rd largest container ship company in the world.  In 2003 the port had its IPO, after which the Port was Majority owned by the Greek State (74.5%), while the rest was held by investors.
In 2009, Greece leased the to COSCO's subsidiary COSCO Pacific for 35 years. COSCO paid 100 million Euros each year as part of this arrangement.
"The port's geographic advantages and the quality services offered by us, have helped deliver rapid progress, in a crisis era" said Fu Chengqiu, managing director of Piraeus Container Terminal in 2012.  With COSCO's investment, the port had broken their 2006 record of 1.5 million TEUs handled by 2011, with dock 2 (COSCO) handling 1.18 million TEUs and Dock 1 (Greek) handling 500,000 TEUs.  In 2009 the financial crisis had brought the TEU volume down to 450,000 for the whole port.
In 2014 The Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF), the Greek government's privatization agency, sought to sell a majority stake of the port to finance debt. In 2016, COSCO bought 51% of the port from the HRADF for 280.5 million Euros.  As per an escrow, COSCO will pay 88 million more Euros for an additional 16% stake by 2021, contingent on COSCO making certain investments in the port, including passenger and cruise expansions, dredging, and expansion of the car terminal.
As of 2020, the Port of Piraeus is majority owned by COSCO with 67% of shares (16% in escrow shares). The HRADF has 7.14% of shares.  The rest (25.86%) is held by non-institutional investors.
Under COSCO ownership.
In October 2009 Greece leased docks 2 and 3 from PPA to the China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (in short: COSCO) for a 35-year-period. For its presence at the port COSCO is paying 100 million euros every year. Terminal 1 is operated by PPA S.A. and has a capacity of nearly 1 million TEUs. Terminal 2's capacity is 3 million TEUs and is run by "Piraeus Container Terminal PCT S.A.", a subsidiary of COSCO. In 2013, PCT finished the construction of Terminal 3 with a capacity of roughly 2.7 million TEU. The total port capacity is 6.7 m TEUs. COSCO's involvement was accompanied by protest. According to trade unionists of PPA, the arrival of COSCO led to reductions in salary and social benefits, exclusion of union members and increased pressures on time and performance. According to an interview in 2012 with Harilaos N. Psaraftis, a professor of maritime transport in Athens, in some cases the salaries of workers were $181,000 a year with overtime. Due to union rules a team of nine people was required to work a gantry crane. COSCO pays around $23,300 and only requires four people at a crane.
Economic performance of container handling has greatly improved since 2009. Before COSCO took over, the port's container handling record was at 1.5 million TEUs. These figures rose to 3.692 million containers in 2017. As a result, revenue and profits soared. In 2017 the Athens stock exchange listed company (OLP) almost doubled its pre-tax profits from 11 to 21.2 million euros.
Labour relations.
In 2012, the Greek government passed a law reducing the pay of all government jobs by 35 to 40 percent. At the time, Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) (the company legally allowed to operate the port) was considered a public company because it was majority held by the Greek State.  Consequently, the port was subject to the wage reduction.
In 2014 the Greek government sought to sell equity of the port as part of an agreement with the EU to recover from debt.  This was met with criticism and resistance by the port's local union as well as a significant part of the Greek population.  The Dockworker's union went on strike several times.  The push to sell the port stalled while the controlling federal political party changed, but that was short lived.  Negotiations between the Greek government and COSCO soon resumed while the resistance to foreign control of the port started to decline.  The port is sometimes known as the gateway to Europe due to its location relative to Europe, Asia, and northern Africa.  As such, the union wanted to keep the port under Greek control.  However, at that point the privatization efforts of the government were inevitable as Greece struggled to raise money to finance debt.
The Greek government went ahead with the decision to sell 51 percent of the PPA to COSCO in 2016, and hand over another 16 percent by 2021.  Chinese state news agencies report that the negotiation was easy for COSCO because it had already invested more than 300 million Euros into upgrading the container terminals since 2009, and promised to keep investing.  COSCO's container terminals had set records for the port at this time.  A dockworker, Constantinos Tsourakis, said at the time "This is not a concession, it’s a giveaway of property belonging to the Greek people.  Why should China be masters of the game at Piraeus and not the Greek state?"
COSCO and the union reached an agreement early on that established work environment concerns, including safety, working hours, and a gantry crane staffing dispute.  The 35/40 percent government mandated pay reduction ceased to apply as soon as COSCO owned 51 percent, because PPA was no longer a public company.  One of the union's expectations of the investment was that COSCO would up the wages to match what they were before the reduction.  However, the wages have been stagnant (as of 2017) since the 2012 reductions.  This hasn't sat well with the union, which is currently in negotiations regarding pay. COSCO maintains that they did not reduce the pay of any workers.  The union Gen. Secretary, Giorgios Gogos, agrees with that assessment, but says the expectation of COSCO to remove the 35/40 percent reduction remains a problem. He also points out that the 51 percent stake (which will increase to 67 percent in 2021) means that the 100 million dollars that the COSCO subsidiary pays each year to the PPA for use of dock 2 and 3 ends up back in COSCO's hands, not those of the Greek government or people, as originally intended.
The Dockworker's Union represents 350 workers in Piraeus and is a member of the General Confederation of Greek Workers (Greek) and a founding member of the International Dockworkers Council (International).
Statistics.
With about 18.6 million passengers Piraeus was the busiest passenger port in Europe in 2014. Since its privatization in 2009 the port's container handling is growing rapidly. Piraeus handled 5.65 million TEUs in 2019 According to Lloyd's list for top 100 container ports in 2015 Piraeus ranked 8th in Europe and 3rd the Mediterranean sea. The port of Piraeus is expected to become the busiest port of the Mediterranean in terms of container traffic by 2019.
Piraeus handled 4.9 million TEUs in 2018, an increase of 19,4% compared with 2017 climbing to the number two position of all Mediterranean ports.
 As of April 2016 the port ranks 39th globally in terms of container capacity. the Port of Piraeus handled 20,121,916 tonnes of cargo and 1,373,138 TEU's making it the busiest cargo port in Greece and the largest container port in the country and the East Mediterranean Sea Basin.
Terminals.
Container terminal.
The container part of the port is made up of three terminals:
The total capacity is hence now standing at 6,7m TEUs.
Cargo terminal.
The cargo terminal has a storage area of 180,000 m2 and an annual traffic capacity of 25,000,000 tonnes.
Automobile terminal.
The Port of Piraeus has two car terminals of approximately 190,000 m2, storage capacity of 12,000 cars and a transshipment capacity of 670,000 units per year.
In 2017 the automobile terminal handled 430,000 automobiles, 100,000 for the local market and 330,000 transhipments.
Passenger terminal.
The Port of Piraeus is the largest passenger port in Europe and one of the largest passenger ports in the world. It has a total quay length of 2.8 km and draft of up
to 11 m. Vehicle traffic reaches 2.5m while in 2017, passenger traffic reached 15.5m.
Total cruise traffic in 2019 was 1,098,091 passengers, compared with 961,632 in 2018, a 14.2% increase.  "Ferry Shipping News" attributes this significant increase to "PPA SA’s outward focus and dedication to cruise attraction policy coupled with increased demand for cruises in the eastern Mediterranean".
About a third of cruise sailings in Piraeus are home ported in Piraeus.  In 2018, there were 524 ship arrivals, while there were 622 in 2019.
Piraeus Cruise Port has 11 vessel berths, with a total quay length of 2,800 meters.  It can dock vessels with a draft of 11 meters.  Each berth has environmental/waste services available.  PPA operates three cruise terminals, "A", "B", and "C" .  Its security is International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS) compliant.
Terminal A is the main terminal and is open 24 hours.  It is within walking distance of the center of the Municipality of Piraeus.  It can handle 1,200 passengers an hour.  Two medium-sized ships can check in simultaneously.  Terminal B was built in 2013 which can handle mega cruise ships, with a draft up to 11 meters.  It has the same amenities as Terminal A; however there is space for 120 tour buses, and it can handle 1500 passengers an hour. Terminal C is the smallest. It was built in 2003, but expanded in 2016.  It can handle 700 passengers an hour, and features customs and a check in/departure hall. Free shuttle bus service is offered to bring passengers to the other terminals (to exit/enter the port).
For the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, 13 cruise ships were docked in Piraeus to serve as floating hotels.
Piraeus consistently ranks in the top-10 cruise destinations in Europe and the Mediterranean. Piraeus has been the top cruise destination in Greece for the tenth consecutive year, beating Santorini, Mykonos, Rhodes, and Crete.  In 2019 the port was awarded "Best Cruise Port in the Eastern Mediterranean Region" from MedCruise.
Ferry destinations.
A plethora of destinations in Greece can be reached by ferry from the harbour, including islands in the Saronic Gulf, the Cyclades, Crete, islands on the Northern Aegean Sea as well as Rhodes, among others. A full list can be seen "here".
Transportation links.
Piraeus metro station is located next to the Port () and is the southern terminus of Athens Metro Line 1. North to metro station is the Suburban Railway Station of Proastiakos to Acharnes Junction and other Proastiakos Destinations as well as Intercity Connections via transfer to Athens Central Railway Stiation.
Free shuttle buses inside the Port run from across the Metro Line 1 Terminal Station, around the north side of the port to the ships sailing for Crete, the Eastern Aegean and the Dodecanese. A direct Airport Express bus route X96 runs 24/7 between the port and Athens International Airport. Other public buses connect Piraeus with various other areas such as southern coastal zone and central Athens.
Environment.
Piraeus Port Authority's (PPA) 2013 environmental flyer calls itself the "Green Port of the Mediterranean Sea".  The port is a member of EcoPorts.  It is also ISO 14001 Certified by Lloyd's Register and Bureau Veritas.  PPA states on its website that it has disposal services for all types of ship-generated waste.  The port conducts water quality tests and works with nearby schools.
The port has partnered with the University of Piraeus and Cardiff University to implement a sea water quality monitoring program.  Bi-annually, the water and sediment throughout the whole port area is sampled and tested.  Some parameters measured include pH, Turbidity, Salinity, Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), E-Coli, Total Coliforms, TDS, and Heavy Metals.
For air quality monitoring, the port partnered with the National Technical University of Athens School of Chemical Engineers.  An air quality monitoring station was installed to take measurements of BTEX, CO, NOx, SO2, O3, and PM2.5 and PM10, 24 hours a day.  PPA has also collaborated with the Agricultural University of Athens to enhance the greenery around the port for aesthetic purposes, as well as to remove pollutants from the air.  The purposes of the monitoring initiatives so far has just been for data collection.
In 2004 for the Athens Olympic Games, a permanent sewage network was built for the cruise ships that were docked in Piraeus as floating hotels.  The sewage travels to the Wastewater Treatment Plant of Athens.  This development allows all cruise ships to be able to discharge sewage at the port.
PPA is a member of EcoPorts. As part of EcoPorts, the port has been continuously Port Environmental Review System (PERS) certified since 2004. PERS is a standard for port environmental management.  One of the requirements of EcoPorts is an environmental management system.  The port has an oil and Hazardous and Noxious Substances (HNS) contingency plan.  In 2016, PPA was independently tested to make sure pollution levels were within legal limits, which they were.
The port is currently looking into LNG as a bunker fuel, as well as cold ironing for the cruise terminals. It is also conducting a CO2 footprint assessment.  A green roof was installed on the top of one of the new container terminal buildings.


Denis Greenhill, Baron Greenhill of Harrow

Denis Arthur Greenhill, Baron Greenhill of Harrow (7 November 1913 – 8 November 2000) was the British Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Head of the Diplomatic Service from 1969 to 1973; a respected expert on the US, Europe and the Soviet Union, he was actively involved in setting postwar Britain's role in the world in a new direction, away from its imperial past and a compliant involvement with the United States towards a more active engagement in Europe. He served under three prime ministers, Harold Wilson, Sir Alec Douglas-Home and Edward Heath.
Education and war record.
Greenhill was educated at Bishop's Stortford College and Christ Church, Oxford. From 1935 to 1939, he worked for the London and North Eastern Railway. During World War II, he served in the Middle East, Far East, India and North Africa. He was promoted colonel in the Royal Engineers and was mentioned in despatches twice.
His wife, Angela (née McCulloch), whom he married in Cairo in 1941, died in 2013.
Career.
He joined the Foreign Office in 1946 with the support of the Labour Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin, who thought him an expert on oil transportation. He served as counsellor (and later minister) at the British Embassy in Washington, at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) and the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy (1963). As Britain's special envoy to Rhodesia (1972, 1976) he sought unsuccessfully to end Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence. He was Permanent Under-Secretary (PUS) at the time of the accession of the United Kingdom to the European Communities in 1973. His appointment as PUS had been regarded with scepticism by older hands in the Whitehall establishment.
In the event, he was liked and respected by colleagues, his managerial skills were valued and his advice was highly regarded by ministers. Created a life peer in 1974, he sat as a crossbencher.
This notorious cable was sent from the UK mission to the UN to the Colonial Office head Denis Greenhill. He responded, by hand, as follows, "Unfortunately along with the birds go some few Tarzans or Man Fridays whose origins are obscure, and who are hopefully being wished on to Mauritius etc. When this has been done I agree we must be very tough and a submission is being done accordingly."
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Diplomatic_Cable_signed_by_D.A._Greenhill,_dated_August_24,_1966.jpg
His later years included roles as governor of the BBC and as a director of BAT Industries, Hawker Siddeley Group, Wellcome Foundation, Clerical Medical and General Life Assurance, S.G. Warburg and Leyland International.
Titles, styles, honours and arms.
In the 1942 New Year's Honours he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
In the Order of St Michael & St George he was appointed a Companion (CMG) in 1960, knighted as a Knight Commander (KCMG) in 1967, and promoted to Knight Grand Cross (GCMG) in 1972.
On 31 January 1974 he was created a Life Peer as Baron Greenhill of Harrow, of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.


Home Port Doctrine

The Home Port Doctrine is a principle of United States law resulting from the Foreign Commerce Clause of the Constitution. It establishes that no state or local government can impose a property tax on commerce having its home port in another country as no taxable situs exists. Thus, ships with foreign registration are tax exempt except for port fees. As a result of this doctrine, the United States has no merchant ships with U.S registration.


C. Bechstein

C. Bechstein Pianoforte AG (also known as Bechstein, ) is a German manufacturer of pianos, established in 1853 by Carl Bechstein.
History.
Before Bechstein.
Young Carl Bechstein studied and worked in France and England as a piano craftsman, before he became an independent piano maker. His first pianos were made for other companies.
C. Bechstein.
C. Bechstein piano factory was founded on 1 October 1853 by Carl Bechstein in Berlin, Germany.
Carl Bechstein set out to manufacture a piano able to withstand the great demands imposed on the instrument by the virtuosi of the time, such as Franz Liszt. In 1857, Hans von Bülow (Liszt's son-in-law) gave the first public performance on a Bechstein grand piano by performing Liszt's Piano Sonata in B minor in Berlin.
By 1870, with endorsements from Franz Liszt and Hans von Bülow, Bechstein pianos had become a staple in many concert halls and private mansions. By that time three piano makers, all of which were founded in 1853, became established as the industry leaders across the world: Bechstein, Blüthner and Steinway & Sons.
In 1881, Bechstein began supplying pianos to Queen Victoria. A gilded art-case piano was delivered to Buckingham Palace, followed by several more Bechstein pianos to Windsor Castle and other royal residences. By January 1886 they were among the piano manufacturers holding a Royal Warrant as a supplier to the Queen. Several British embassies across the world acquired Bechstein pianos.
In 1885, Bechstein opened a branch in London, that eventually grew to become the largest showroom and dealership in Europe. In 1889 he moved to 40 Wigmore Street, taking over the property of H.J. Cave & Sons By 1890, showrooms opened in Paris, Vienna, and Saint Petersburg. On 31 May 1901, Bechstein Hall, built at a cost of £100,000, opened next to the company's London showroom at 36-40 Wigmore Street. Between 1901 and 1914, C. Bechstein was the largest piano dealership in London. At that time, Bechstein was patronized by the tsars of Russia, the royal families of Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Austria and Denmark, and other royalty and aristocracy. The list of royal clients of Bechstein may be found on the soundboard of vintage Bechstein pianos made before the Second World War. The list is part of the original Bechstein trademark logo; it can be seen under the strings in the centre of a piano's soundboard.
The years from the 1870s through 1914 brought Bechstein their most dramatic increase in sales. In 1880 a second Bechstein factory was opened in Berlin, and the third factory opened in 1897 in Berlin-Kreuzberg. Production reached 3,700 pianos annually in 1900, and 4,600 in 1910, making Bechstein the largest German manufacturer of high-end pianos. At that time, about three quarters of production went to international markets, especially Britain and the Commonwealth, and Russia.
Carl Bechstein died in 1900, and the Bechstein company continued to operate under the management of his sons.
Between 1900 and 1914 C. Bechstein was one of the leading piano makers in the world, employing 1,200 craftsmen and workers by 1913 and making five thousand pianos per year.
First World War.
C. Bechstein suffered huge property losses in London, Paris, and St. Petersburg during World War I. The largest loss was in London. Although the company's position in the United Kingdom was initially unaffected, with the company still listed as holding a Royal Warrant in January 1915, Warrants to both King George V, and his wife Queen Mary were cancelled on 13 April 1915. Bechstein was not the only musical concern to be affected by growing anti-German sentiment: there were earlier attempts, led by William Boosey, the managing director of Chappell & Co., to boycott German music altogether. In 1915 Sir Edgar Speyer - despite being a Baronet and Privy Counsellor who was then funding the Proms - was forced to leave the country. Following the passing of the Trading with the Enemy Amendment Act 1916 the British arm of the company was wound-up on 5 June 1916, all Bechstein property, including the concert hall and showrooms full of pianos, were seized as "enemy property" and closed. In 1916 the hall was sold as alien property at auction to Debenhams for £56,500. It was renamed Wigmore Hall, and then re-opened under the new name in 1917. All 137 Bechstein pianos at the Bechstein showrooms were confiscated too, and became property of the new owner of the Hall. After a dispute with his brother, Edwin Bechstein left the company and was paid off.
Between the wars.
Eventually the Bechstein factory resumed full-scale production during the 1920s. At that time, technical innovations and inventions of new materials and tools, as well as improvements in piano design and construction, had allowed Bechstein to become one of the leading piano makers again.
The most successful models were the updated "A"-185 and "B"-208 grand pianos. The upright pianos became more popular after the war, and C. Bechstein were successful with its upright pianos Model-8 and Model-9, both of which have been considered the finest upright pianos.
The company became a joint-stock company 1923, allowing Edwin Bechstein and his wife Helene, to re-purchase part of the company as shareholders.
In London a small number of budget-quality baby grand pianos 4'8" in size were built and marketed. They are cast "Bechstein London" on the frame and C.Bechstein on the fall board.
In 1930, the company collaborated with German electrical goods manufacturer Siemens under Nobel laureate Walther Nernst to produce one of the first electric pianos, the "Neo-Bechstein" or "Siemens-Bechstein" electric grand, using electromagnetic pickups.
Edwin Bechstein and his wife, Helene Bechstein, who was an ardent admirer of the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, bestowed many gifts on Hitler including his first luxury car, a red Mercedes costing 26,000 marks. Helene Bechstein and her friend Elsa Bruckmann introduced Hitler to Germany's cultural elite in Berlin and Munich. "I wish he were my son," she said.
After Edwin Bechstein died in 1934 in Berchtesgaden, where he had a villa named "Bechstein" in a short distance to the Obersalzberg, his body was transferred to Berlin. He was buried following a state funeral attended by Adolf Hitler and NSDAP politicians, including Wilhelm Frick and Max Amann.
Second World War.
In 1945, allied bombing raids destroyed the Bechstein piano factory in Berlin, along with the firm's stores of valuable wood, including the precious Alpine spruce used to make soundboards. The war also cost the company many of its experienced craftsmen. For several years after the war, Bechstein could not resume full-scale production of pianos and made only a few pianos per year.
After World War II.
After de-Nazification of the C. Bechstein Company, it began to produce pianos again in 1948.
C. Bechstein eventually increased piano production to about a thousand pianos per year during the 1950s and 1960s. However, the new economic situation in the post-war world was hard for the piano business. In 1961, the Bechstein piano factory was affected by the construction of the Berlin Wall. The ownership of C. Bechstein had changed several times. In 1963, all the shares were sold to the Baldwin Piano Company. Until the reunification of Germany, the company was making fewer pianos, although the quality of craftsmanship remained high.
In 1953, the centennial of Bechstein was celebrated by the Berlin Philharmonic under Wilhelm Furtwängler and Wilhelm Backhaus. Many entertainers and concert pianists, such as Leonard Bernstein, Jorge Bolet, and Wilhelm Kempff, favoured Bechstein pianos. The State Ministry of Culture of the Soviet Union made a contract to supply major state philharmonic orchestras and concert halls across the USSR with three brands of pianos - Steinway & Sons, Blüthner, and Bechstein. Blüthner and Bechstein were also made the staple practice pianos at the Leningrad Conservatory and Moscow Conservatory, while most other music schools of the USSR were limited mainly to the Soviet-made pianos. Concert pianists, such as Dinu Lipatti, Shura Cherkassky, Tatiana Nikolayeva, Vladimir Sofronitsky, and Sviatoslav Richter, among others, often chose Bechstein pianos for their studio recordings.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall.
In 1986, Karl Schulze, German entrepreneur and master piano maker, bought Bechstein and continued the legacy of fine piano making. Due to reunification of Germany and elimination of the Berlin Wall, the land formerly belonging to the Bechstein factory was used for new construction in the capital. In 1992 Bechstein started a new factory in Saxony for C. Bechstein and Zimmermann instruments. The manufacturing of Zimmermann instruments in Seifhennersdorf discontinued at the end of 2011.
In 1996, C. Bechstein went public. In 2003, Bechstein formed a partnership with Samick, in order to improve overseas distribution. Today, after the successful capital increase in 2009, Samick no longer has any shares. Nowadays major shareholders are Arnold Kuthe Beteiligungs GmbH as well as Karl Schulze and his wife Berenice Küpper, all Berlin investor.
By 2006, the company opened eight upscale showrooms and increased the number of Bechstein dealerships in major cities across Europe, North America and Asia. New Bechstein centres were opened in recent years in New York, Moscow, Shanghai as well as partner centres in Kiev, Seoul, Sydney, and the Netherlands.
In 2007, the new C. Bechstein Europe factory opened in Hradec Králové, Czech Republic. Bechstein has invested millions of Euros to build up a new manufacturing site especially for W. Hoffmann instruments. All brands and instruments made by C. Bechstein now exclusively originate from Europe.
Along with the company's economic success, C. Bechstein's concert grand pianos are making their comeback on international concert stages and in recording studios.
In 2006, the first international C. Bechstein Piano Competition took place under Vladimir Ashkenazy's patronage. National C. Bechstein competitions regularly foster the musical development of young artists.
As of 1 January 2017, the group is headed up by new management: Stefan Freymuth has taken over as CEO of C. Bechstein Pianoforte AG, replacing Karl Schulze who had led the group since 1986 and will stay on to advise the new CEO as general representative.
Artcase pianos.
Bechstein has been known as a maker of one-of-a-kind artcase pianos since the 19th century. Artcase pianos were commissioned by interior designers for royal palaces and mansions. Artists and craftsmen were hired by C. Bechstein to make special pianos decorated with gold, hand-carved details, and hand-painted art on the piano case. Some of the artcase Bechsteins are now museum pieces, while others are sometimes traded at musical-instrument auctions, mainly in London and New York.
Brands.
In addition to the "C. Bechstein" brand, C. Bechstein manufactures two other brands: "W. Hoffmann" for the mid-level market and "Zimmermann" for the entry-level market.
W. Hoffmann.
Made for the mid-level piano market, W. Hoffmann pianos are designed by C. Bechstein and built by C. Bechstein Europe factory in Hradec Králové, Czech Republic.
Zimmermann.
Made for the entry-level piano market, Zimmermann pianos are designed by C. Bechstein and built by Hailun Piano Company factory in Ningbo, China.
Composers.
Four musicians who composed on Bechstein pianos: Edvard Grieg, Alexander Scriabin, Maurice Ravel, Béla Bartók.
Performers.
Students and followers of Hans von Bülow and Franz Liszt also developed loyalty to Bechstein pianos.
Alexander Scriabin owned a concert-size Bechstein at his Moscow home, which is now a national museum, and Scriabin's piano is still played at scheduled recitals. Tatiana Nikolayeva preferred the Bechstein for her acclaimed recordings of the music of Bach. Sviatoslav Richter grew up studying piano on a Bechstein and remembered his experience with that piano as stimulating and rewarding.
Claude Debussy said "Piano music should only be written for the Bechstein".
Edwin Fischer chose a Bechstein piano for his pioneering recording of Bach's "The Well Tempered Clavier", as did Artur Schnabel for his cycle of Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas. Both artists were very fond of Bechstein pianos, as were many of the 20th century's leading pianists, such as Wilhelm Kempff, Wilhelm Backhaus, Walter Gieseking and Jorge Bolet.
Polish pianist Władysław Szpilman (famous thanks to the movie "The Pianist") used a Bechstein piano until 1941 in his family private apartments in Warsaw.
For his studio recording of the music of Chopin and Beethoven, Dinu Lipatti used a Bechstein piano.
Bob Dylan played a Bechstein piano at the ABC Theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland on 20 May 1966. He is mentioned on many Bechstein dealers' web pages as a regular Bechstein player. When Dave Stewart of The Eurythmics listed his Bechstein piano for auction, he named Bob Dylan as one of the musicians who had played the piano.
The Bechstein concert grand at London's Trident Studios, over a century old and much sought-after for its sound, became one of the most frequently recorded instruments in rock history. The piano can be heard on The Beatles' "Hey Jude," Elton John's "Your Song," George Harrison's "All Things Must Pass," David Bowie's "Life on Mars?," Lou Reed's "Perfect Day," Queen's "Seven Seas of Rhye," Carly Simon's "You're So Vain," Nilsson's "Without You," and Supertramp's "Crime of the Century". It saw service in the studio from 1968 until the mid 1980s, and has since been sold at auction.
The music video for Elton John's "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" features John playing a white Bechstein grand.
Oscar Peterson played and owned a Bechstein throughout much of his career, publicity contracts with rival manufacturers notwithstanding.
Anna Ivanova (2011) played Liszt's personal 1880 Bechstein grand piano, which is displayed in the Liszt Haus in Weimar (Germany). Recordings of her playing both this grand piano, and the Bechstein 576 (which was delivered 17 March 1862 to Franz Liszt), which presently is being displayed at the Bechstein Centre in Berlin, can be found on YouTube.
Today.
Bechstein is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Major shareholders are Karl Schulze and his wife Berenice Küpper as well as another private investor.
In 2010 C. Bechstein opened a representative office in Shanghai, China.


To the Stars (company)

To the Stars... Academy of Arts & Sciences (often shorted to just To the Stars or TTSA) is a Las Vegas-based company co-founded by Tom DeLonge, guitarist of Blink-182 and Angels & Airwaves; Harold E. Puthoff; and Jim Semivan. It is composed of aerospace, science, and entertainment divisions.
History and funding.
The company was founded in 2017 as a public benefit corporation by Jim Semivan, a former senior Intelligence Officer with the CIA; Harold E. Puthoff; and Tom DeLonge. The Entertainment Division was created by acquiring DeLonge's previous media company, To the Stars, Inc.
In September 2017, the company began offering $50 million worth of public stock through a Regulation A+ equity crowdfunding campaign. According to SEC filings, as of October 2018 only $1 million of those shares had been sold and the company had a $37.4 million deficit, largely from a stock incentive plan for its employees, prompting Ars Technica and Vice to question its financial sustainability.
Entertainment.
The entertainment leg of To the Stars, often referred to as To the Stars Media, publishes albums, books, TV shows and films.
To the Stars, Inc., the original company folded into the current entity in 2017, was announced in 2014 as a record label which debuted with Angels & Airwaves' fifth studio album "The Dream Walker" and DeLonge's first solo album, "To the Stars... Demos, Odds and Ends". The following year, it expanded to publishing books and graphic novels with "Poet Anderson: ...Of Nightmares" and "Strange Times: The Curse of Superstition Mountain".
To the Stars began releasing books, graphic novels and children's picture books in 2015, many of which were co-published by Simon & Schuster. Most of the company's books deal with topics of the supernatural, ufology and science fiction. The publishing division most prominently publishes novels in the "Sekret Machines" fictional series, co-authored by DeLonge and A. J. Hartley, as well as the "Sekret Machines" non-fiction companion series "Gods, Man & War" co-authored by DeLonge and Peter Levenda. It also publishes the space-based series "Cathedrals of Glass" by Harley, the young adult series "Poet Anderson" by DeLonge and Suzanne Young, and the young adult adventure series "Strange Times" by DeLonge and Geoff Herbach.
The company co-released the short animated film ' in 2014, but its first major project was the History Channel series ' in 2019. A feature film based on the "Strange Times" book series was in production, but it was repurposed into a television series for Turner Broadcasting System (TBS). To the Stars has also started production on a documentary TV series and a feature film for the "Sekret Machines" franchise.
Science and aerospace.
The science and aerospace divisions are devoted to the "outer edges of science" such as investigating unidentified flying objects. Harold E. Puthoff described their goals as "imagine having 25th-century science "this" century." One of their potential projects is an "electromagnetic vehicle."
Vice reported that the company would participate "in the investigation of UFOs and other fringe science projects" and that "many of the technologies or phenomena being researched by the company are based on highly speculative theories that toe the line of pseudoscience". To the Stars has detailed the risks involved with this research to potential investors, including possible failure to produce results in areas such as beamed energy propulsion launch systems and telepathy.
Some sources have opined that To the Stars is responsible for reinvigorating public imagination of UFOs, including Jan Harzan of Mutual UFO Network and Dan Zak of "The Washington Post". For his work at To the Stars, Tom DeLonge was named UFO Researcher of the Year in 2017 by the UFO hunting organization Open Minds.
Despite the company's work being primarily associated with ufology, Luis Elizondo stated: "None of us at TTSA consider ourselves ‘Ufologists’ or part of the ‘Ufology culture,’ in fact, most of us come from a U.S. government background (both Defense and Intelligence)." Vice reported that the company's "partnership with the U.S. Army may mean that it fancies itself as a military contractor", but that the organization "swings between being contenders for military contracts and a UFO research organization". Elizondo left the company in late 2020.
The VAULT.
The "Virtual Analytics UAP Learning Tool" (VAULT) is a public-facing database of UFO sightings. The VAULT team collects, analyses and provides their authentication of UFO sightings, most famously reported in the media as having been obtained through declassified government materials.
Three videos from the VAULT taken during the USS Nimitz UFO incident and the USS Theodore Roosevelt UFO incidents were publicly confirmed by the US Navy in September 2019 as authentic videos taken by Navy pilots. The videos were part of a campaign by former intelligence officer Luis Elizondo, who at the time was associated with To the Stars, who said that he wanted to shed light on the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, a secretive Department of Defense operation to analyze reported UFO sightings. In April 2020, the same footage released by the company was subsequently declassified and officially released by the Navy.
The company, with assistance from Chris Mellon, who worked formerly for the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Department of Defense, engaged congress and arranged classified congressional hearings with the pilots involved in the incidents aimed at understanding potential threats to aviators.
ADAM Research Project.
The company's ADAM Research Project is promoting what they believe to be an "extraterrestrial" metal for commercial and military applications.
In July 2019 the company stated it had acquired and was studying "potentially exotic materials" as part of its Acquisition & Data Analysis of Materials (ADAM) research project. Steve Justice, To The Stars's COO and former head of Advanced Systems at Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works said in a statement that "the structure and composition of these materials are not from any known existing military or commercial application” and that the materials would be studied in an attempt to reverse engineer them. Regarding the origin of the materials he stated: “they've been collected from sources with varying levels of chain-of-custody documentation, so we are focusing on verifiable facts and working to develop independent scientific proof of the materials' properties and attributes." In its SEC filing, the company is recorded as having paid $35,000 for several items including "six pieces of Bismuth/Magnesium-Zinc metal" and a piece of aluminum. According to the company, the metals are from an unidentified flying object, and were previously "retained and studied" by ufologist Linda Moulton Howe. Moulton Howe claimed in 2004 that the metals become a “lifting body” when subjected to electromagnetic radiation. Today, however, she claims she has had the samples tested by Carnegie Science's Department of Technical Magnetism in 1996 and again by Harold E. Puthoff and others on several occasions. According to a letter from Puthoff in 2012 the tests were unable to prove the alien origin of the samples or any "interesting/anomalous outcome" but suggested that one additional test was remaining that required special equipment which was not readily available. The company has partnered with research labs founded by Puthoff to study the materials further. Critics say there is no evidence to support the claim that the materials are "otherworldly in origin" or that they may be "scientifically important". Commenting on similar reports of "Alien Alloys", American Chemical Society expert panel member Richard Sachleben considers such claims "quite impossible". According to Sachleben, "I don't think it's plausible that there's any alloys that we can't identify". May Nyman of Oregon State University Department of Chemistry criticized claims of extensive research to identify an unknown alloy, saying, "if we had such mysterious metals, you could take it to any university where research is done, and they could tell you what are the elements and something about the crystalline phase within a few hours." Chris Cogswell, who holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering and hosts the Mad Scientist Podcast, states that “the chances of it being important scientifically are extremely slim" and suggested that the Bismuth/Magnesium-Zinc pieces may be slag from an industrial process such as the Betterton-Kroll process.
On October 17, 2019 the company announced it entered into a cooperative research and development agreement with the United States Army Combat Capabilities Development Command. The five-year contract will focus on "inertial mass reduction, mechanical/structural meta materials, electromagnetic meta material wave guides, quantum physics, quantum communications, and beamed energy propulsion." According to the U.S. Army, no public funding will go the group, but at least $750,000 will be provided in support and resources for developing and testing To the Stars technologies. The contract states that To the Stars will provide samples in its possession of “metamaterials”, any data or “obtained vehicles" that use “beamed energy propulsion,” and any information or technology related to “active camouflage” for testing and analysis of potential application on Army ground vehicles. Doug Halleaux, a spokesperson for the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Ground Vehicle Systems Center, has stated that the US government has approached To the Stars since “If materials represented in the TTSA ADAM project are scientifically evaluated and presented with supporting data as having military utility by the TTSA, it makes sense to look deeper here.” According to Halleaux, the Army is also interested in the results of a collaboration between To the Stars and "TruClear Global", a company that creates custom video screen billboards, aimed at providing "advanced technology solutions to United States Government clientele."
Works.
Books and graphic novels.
Sekret Machines
Cathedrals of Glass
Poet Anderson
Strange Times
Other


Fazle Kabir

Fazle Kabir (born 4 July 1955) is a Bangladeshi bureaucrat, economist and central banker. He is the 11th Governor of Bangladesh Bank, the central bank of Bangladesh. Prior to this position, he served as the Finance Secretary to the government and chairman of the state-owned Sonali Bank. He also served as a director of another state-owned Janata Bank.
Early life.
Kabir was born on 4 July 1955 in Dhaka of the then East Bengal (now Bangladesh). He completed his secondary and higher secondary education at Faujdarhat Cadet College. He obtained his bachelor's and master's degrees in Economics from University of Chittagong.
Career.
Kabir started his career in 1980 with Bangladesh Railway as an assistant traffic superintendent. In 1983, he joined the BCS Administration cadre aka Bangladesh Administrative Service. During his 34 years of civil service, Kabir held various key positions in different ministries and also in the field administration. He served as the Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate of Kishoreganj district, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Director General of the National Academy for Planning and Development, Director General of the BCS Administration Academy, Secretary Ministry of Railways. He was appointed as a senior secretary to the ministry of finance in 2012. Kabir was made the chairman of Sonali Bank, after it was hit by several financial scams, including that involving Hall-Mark Group.
On 15 March 2016 the then governor Atiur Rahman resigned from his post amid the Bangladesh Bank money laundering case. He submitted his resignation letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and within two hours Kabir was selected the new four-year term governor of Bangladesh Bank. He joined as the 11th Governor of Bangladesh Bank on 20 March 2016.
The government on 15 July, 2020 on Wednesday appointed Fazle Kabir governor of the Bangladesh Bank again for two years until he becomes 67 under the amended Bangladesh Bank Act.
Personal life.
Kabir is married to Mahmuda Sharmin Benu. She is a former Secretary of the Government.


Regulation T

Federal Reserve Board Regulation T (also referred to as Reg T) is 12 CFR §220 – Code of Federal Regulations, Title 12, Chapter II, Subchapter A, Part 220 (Credit by Brokers and Dealers).
Regulation T governs the extension of credit by securities brokers and dealers in the United States.
Its best-known function is the control of margin requirements for stocks bought on margin. The initial margin requirement for such margin stock purchases is 50%, and has been since 1974, but Regulation T gives the Federal Reserve the authority to change that percentage. Raising the margin requirement ostensibly reduces risk in the financial system by reducing the potential leverage and total buying power of investors. Conversely, lowering the margin requirement ostensibly increases systemic risk by expanding the buying power and leverage available to investors. Since 1974 the Federal Reserve has not deemed it necessary to adjust the margin requirement, despite periodic extremes of price volatility in the equities markets.


Francisco Tudela y Varela

Francisco Tudela y Varela (December 24, 1876 – November 19, 1962) was a French-born Peruvian diplomat, lawyer and politician. He was born in Paris, France. He graduated from the National University of San Marcos and served on its faculty. He was a member of the Civilista Party. He was Minister of Finance (August 22 – September 18, 1914) and foreign minister (June 17 – December 24, 1913, July 27, 1917 – December 6, 1918) in the Government of Peru. He was 68th Prime Minister of Peru (July 27, 1917 – December 18, 1918) under President José Pardo y Barreda. He served as ambassador of Peru to Spain and the United States (1918–1919). He served as President of the Chamber of Deputies (1915–1916). He served as mayor of Lima.
He became president of the Central Reserve Bank in 1945 and served until 1948.


Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority

Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority is the regulatory body under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Finance , Government of India for overall supervision and regulation of pension in India. The Government of India had, in the year 1999, commissioned a national project titled "OASIS" (an acronym for old age social & income security) to examine policy related to old age income security in India. Based on the recommendations of the OASIS report, Government of India introduced a new Defined Contribution Pension System for the new entrants to Central/State Government service, except to Armed Forces, replacing the existing system of Defined Benefit Pension System. On 23 August 2003, Interim Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority (PFRDA) was established through a resolution by the Government of India to promote, develop and regulate pension sector in India. The contributory pension system was notified by the Government of India on 22 December 2003, now named the National Pension System (NPS) with effect from 1 January 2004. The NPS was subsequently extended to all citizens of the country w.e.f. 1 May 2009 including self employed professionals and others in the unorganized sector on a voluntary basis.
The Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority Act was passed on 19 September 2013 and the same was notified on 1 February 2014. PFRDA is regulating NPS, subscribed by employees of Govt. of India, State Governments and by employees of private institutions/organizations & unorganized sectors. The PFRDA is ensuring the orderly growth and development of pension market.
Structure.
The Authority consists of a Chairperson and not more than six members, of whom at least three shall be whole-time members, to be appointed by the Central Government.
History.
PFRDA have set up a Trust under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882 to oversee the functions of the Pension Fund Managers (PFMs). The NPS Trust is composed of members representing diverse fields and brings wide range of talent to the regulatory framework. The Union Parliament passed the IPRDA [Interim Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority] Bill in February 2003 as a Budget Announcement, approved by the then President of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. It was meant to be in place till the final and fool-proof system was prepared, re-approved, and implemented in a way acceptable to all political parties in India, including the opposition. Tamil Nadu became the first state to implement NPS for its newly appointed employees from the financial year 2003–04, under the Chief Ministership of Jayalalitha.
On 19 September 2013, the President, Pranab Mukherjee, gave his assent to Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Bill of 2013, which was passed in the Monsoon Session of Parliament on 4 September 2013 in the Lok Sabha and 6 September 2013 in the Rajya Sabha, to make it a Permanent Act. This improved, foolproof and re-approved Bill, with the acceptance of all political parties in India, has replaced the old and imperfect IPRDA Bill of 2003. The President of India is the guardian of the PFRDA, subject to his Financial Emergency Powers, as per the Articles of Indian Constitution. PFRDA now has Full Autonomy & functioning Independently from F.Y. 2014–15.
National Pension System.
National Pension System is a defined contributory pensions introduced by Government of India. It is mandatory for all Central Government employees with effect from 1 January 2004. It extends to all citizens of India including workers of the unorganized sector on a voluntary basis with effect from 1 May 2009. On 29 October 2015 the Reserve Bank of India allowed Non-Resident Indians (NRI) to subscribe to NPS.


Flast v. Cohen

Flast v. Cohen, 392 U.S. 83 (1968), was a United States Supreme Court case holding that a taxpayer has standing to sue the government to prevent an unconstitutional use of taxpayer funds.
The Supreme Court decided in "Frothingham v. Mellon" (1923), that a taxpayer did not have standing to sue the federal government to prevent expenditures if his only injury is an anticipated increase in taxes. "Frothingham v. Mellon" did not recognize a constitutional barrier against federal taxpayer lawsuits. Rather, it denied standing because the petitioner did not allege "a breach by Congress of the specific constitutional limitations imposed upon an exercise of the taxing and spending power." Because the purpose of standing is to avoid burdening the court with situations in which there is no real controversy, standing is used to ensure that the parties in the suit are properly adversarial, "not whether the issue itself is justiciable."
In 1968, Florance Flast joined several others in filing a lawsuit against Wilbur Cohen, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, contending that spending funds on religious schools violated the First Amendment's ban on the establishment of religion. The district court denied standing, and the Supreme Court heard the appeal.
Decision.
Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Earl Warren established a "double nexus" test which a taxpayer must satisfy in order to have standing. First, he must "establish a logical link between [taxpayer] status and the type of legislative enactment attacked." Second, "show that the challenged enactment exceeds specific constitutional limitations upon the exercise of the taxing and spending power and "not" simply that the enactment is generally beyond the powers delegated to Congress by Article I, Section 8." Only when both nexuses have been satisfied may the petitioner have standing to sue.
"Flast" test.
The Court developed a two-part test to determine whether the plaintiffs had standing to sue. First, because a taxpayer alleges injury only by virtue of his liability for taxes, the Court held that "a taxpayer will be a proper party to allege the unconstitutionality only of exercises of congressional power under the taxing and spending clause of Art. I, § 8, of the Constitution." *479 Id., at 102, 88 S.Ct., at 1954. Second, the Court required the taxpayer to "show that the challenged enactment exceeds specific constitutional limitations upon the exercise of the taxing and spending power and "not" simply that the enactment is generally beyond the powers delegated to Congress by Art. I, § 8." Id., at 102-103, 88 S.Ct., at 1954."
Ruling.
The Court ruled that petitioners had satisfied both nexuses and therefore had standing to sue as taxpayers. First, their Constitutional challenge concerned expenditures contained within a law passed pursuant to Congress's Article I, Section 8 power to spend for the general welfare. Second, the law at issue allocated funds to parochial schools and therefore violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The Court, however, expressed "no view at all on the merits of appellants' claims in this case."
Concurring opinion.
Justice William O. Douglas advocated dealing with the seeming contradiction by overturning "Frothingham" completely.


Period Piano Company

The Period Piano Company was established in 1976 by David Winston. His original training was as a violin maker, having apprenticed to the German violin maker Hans Weisshaar. This was followed by working for the harpsichord maker William Dowd in Boston for an additional four years, before moving to the UK to work in the Adlam-Burnett workshops. He has been entrusted with the restoration of antique pianos of great historical importance, including the piano which was made for Beethoven by John Broadwood & Sons in 1817, Chopin's Pleyel from 1846, as well as instruments associated with Mendelssohn, and Liszt. Beethoven's Piano is part of the Collection of the Hungarian National Museum. Chopin's Pleyel is in the Cobbe Collection. Winston, the owner of the company, was granted a royal warrant as a "conservator and restorer of pianos to Her Majesty" in 2012.


Insurance Premium Tax (United Kingdom)

Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) is a type of indirect tax levied on general insurance premiums in the United Kingdom.
Overview.
The UK government introduced the Insurance Premium Tax to raise revenue from the insurance sector, which was viewed as being under-taxed, and not subject to Value Added Tax. The main EU legislation regarding VAT (Council Directive 2006/112/EC) states that insurance and reinsurance transactions, including related services performed by insurance brokers and insurance agents, are exempt from VAT.
The Insurance Premium Tax was announced by Kenneth Clarke in the November 1993 budget and introduced with the Finance Act 1994 which received Royal Assent on 3 May 1994. IPT is under the care and management of HM Revenue & Customs.
IPT raised £2.3 billion in the fiscal year 2009/10.
Law.
The main law relating to IPT includes:
Rates.
There are two different insurance premium tax rates:
Insurers providing taxable insurance are required to register and account for IPT, as must intermediaries who sell insurance subject to the higher rate of IPT and charge a separate insurance-related fee on top of the premium itself.
The Chancellor George Osborne stated in the 2016 spring budget that the standard rate of IPT would increase from 9.5% to 10% from 1 October 2016.
In the 2016 autumn statement the new Chancellor Philip Hammond stated that the standard rate would increase from 10% to 12% from 1 June 2017.
Historic rates.
From 1 October 1994 to 31 March 1997, a single rate of 2.5% was charged. From 1 April 1997, two rates were charged:
Exemptions.
All types of insurance risk located in the UK are taxable unless they are specifically exempted. Exemptions from this tax include:
IPT registration.
Businesses are required to register for IPT if they are:
Businesses must be registered from the date they receive (or someone receives on their behalf) their first taxable premium. Businesses must inform HM Revenue & Customs within 30 days of forming the intention of receiving taxable premiums as the insurer.


Guy de Beauchamp II

Sir Guy de Beauchamp (born c. 1335 - died 28 April 1360), Knight, was an English nobleman and heir apparent to the title of Earl of Warwick, being the eldest son of the 11th Earl of Warwick. He served as a military commander in the army of Edward III in France, where he was mortally injured in a freak hailstorm during the Siege of Chartres on 13 April. He died three weeks later on 28 April 1360.
Career.
He was knighted with his brother, Thomas, in July 1355, when the King was with the fleet in the Downs on the way to an invasion of France. For his good service, he was granted an annual pension of L100 27 November 1355.
Marriage and issue.
Guy de Beauchamp married Philippa de Ferrers before 1353: daughter of Henry de Ferrers, 2nd Lord Ferrers of Groby, and Isabel de Verdun, daughter and co-heiress of Thebaud de Verdun, Knight, 2nd Lord Verdun. His widow Philippa died 5 August 1384, and was buried at Necton, Norfolk. He left a will dated 26 September 1359.
Together they had two daughters:
His daughters were, by entail, excluded from their grandfather's inheritance.


Trisk (Hasidic dynasty)

The Trisk dynasty is a Volyn (then in the Russian Empire, today Ukraine) Hasidic dynasty, a branch of the Chernobyl dynasty, originating in Turiisk, Ukraine. The rebbes of the court also served in Poland, before the Second World War it was a large court of some 20,000 Hasidim (followers).
Today there are several descendants of the lineage, but they have no real court.
First generation.
The first rebbe of Trisk was Grand Rabbi Avraham Twersky (born 1806, died July 1, 1889 in Turisk), son of Grand Rabbi Mordechai Twersky of Chernobyl.
Post Holocaust.
Grand Rabbi Menachem Mendel Matisyohu Twersky is known as the Trisker Rebbe of London.


Leaving of Pecos

Leaving of Pecos was originally a camping place along the west bank of the Pecos River, on the wagon road called the Lower Emigrant Road, Military Road or San Antonio-El Paso Road in Texas. It was located 38 miles north of the Lancaster Crossing of the Pecos, and 16 miles east of the first crossing of Escondido Creek. It was also located a mile north of where the wagon road had its junction with a cutoff to the north to the wagon road called the Upper Emigrant Road between Fredericksburg, Texas and Comanche Springs, now Fort Stockton, Texas, where it joined the Lower Emigrant Road. It was later a stopping place on the route of San Antonio - El Paso Mail and the San Antonio-San Diego Mail Line.


Director of Policy Planning

The Director of Policy Planning is the United States Department of State official in charge of the department's internal think tank, the Policy Planning Staff. In the department, the Director of Policy Planning has a rank equivalent to Assistant Secretary. The position has traditionally been held by many members of the U.S. foreign policy establishment. Former Directors of Policy Planning include two National Security Advisors, a President of the World Bank, and several presidents of the prestigious Council on Foreign Relations.


GLADIATOR (British late Cold War tank project)


Alfred C. Chapin

Alfred Clark Chapin (March 8, 1848 – October 2, 1936) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the Mayor of Brooklyn and a member of the United States House of Representatives.
Early life.
Chapin was born to Ephraim Atlas Chapin who had interests in the railroad and Josephine, née Clark. He had a younger sister Alice Chapin who was an actress and suffragette.
He attended the public and private schools and graduated from Williams College (in Williamstown, Massachusetts) in 1869, and from Harvard Law School in 1871. He was admitted to the bar in 1872 and commenced practice in New York City with residence in Brooklyn.
Political career.
He was a member of the New York State Assembly (Kings Co., 11th D.) in 1882 and 1883, and was Speaker in 1883. On January 13, 1882, he was injured in the same train accident in which State Senator Webster Wagner was killed.
He was New York State Comptroller from 1884 to 1887, elected at the New York state election, 1883 and the New York state election, 1885. He was Mayor of Brooklyn from 1888 to 1891. Chapin was elected as a Democrat to the 52nd United States Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of David A. Boody and served from November 3, 1891, to November 16, 1892, when he resigned.
Later life.
Chapin served as railroad commissioner of New York State from 1892 to 1897, and continued the practice of law, He was also financially interested in various enterprises. He also owned a summer home in Murray Bay, Quebec.
Personal life.
On February 20, 1884, Chapin was married to Grace Stebbins (1860–1908). She was the daughter of Alice Holmes Schieffelin (1838–1913) and Russell Stebbins (1835–1894) and the granddaughter of Samuel Schieffelin, a religious author and businessman. Together, they were the parents of:
After his first wife's death in 1908, he remarried to Charlotte (née Storrs) Montant (1860–1942), the widow of Charles Montant, on January 6, 1913.
Chapin died in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel while on a visit in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1936. He was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx. Chapin's grandson Hamilton Fish IV also was a U.S. Representative from New York.


John Liu

John Chun Yah Liu (born January 8, 1967) is an American politician in New York City. A member of the Democratic Party, he is a member of the New York State Senate for the 11th District in northeast Queens. He previously served as the 43rd New York City Comptroller from 2010 to 2013, and as a member of the New York City Council from 2002 to 2009, representing District 20 in northeast Queens. He was the first Asian American New York City Council member and Comptroller, and one of the first two Asian American New York State Senators, as well as the first elected to legislative or citywide office in New York. He was also a candidate in the 2013 New York City mayoral election.
Liu currently teaches municipal finance and policy at Baruch College and Queens College of the City University of New York, and at Columbia University.
Early life and education.
Chun Liu was born in Taiwan, and moved to the United States at the age of 5. Chang F. Liu, his father, was a Master of Business Administration graduate student and bank teller. In honor of John F. Kennedy, Liu's father changed his sons' names to John, Robert, and Edward, and his own name to Joseph.
Liu attended PS 20 in Queens and Hunter College High School. He graduated from Bronx High School of Science in 1985, doing community organizing and volunteer work in his spare time.
During his years attending Binghamton University, he majored in mathematical physics and rose his way up to executive vice president of the University's Student Association. He worked as a manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers and served as president of the North Flushing Civic Association before his election to the City Council.
New York City Council (2002–2009).
Liu was elected to the New York City Council in 2001, representing northeast Queens in the 20th District as its first Asian American member. He also served as the Chairperson of the New York City Council's Transportation Committee, and served on the committees on Education, Consumer Affairs, Health, Land Use, Contracts, Oversight & Investigations as well as Lower Manhattan Redevelopment. Liu was known for his outspoken and confrontational demeanor.
Comptroller (2010-2013).
In March 2009, Liu announced that he was running for the post of New York City Comptroller. Liu had raised $3 million for his political run.
In May, Liu picked up several endorsements from several different organizations: The Village Independent Democrats, The Queens County Democratic organization, the local Americans for Democratic Action chapter and the Working Families Party, 1199 SEIU union local and the Uniformed Firefighters Association.
Later, in September 2009, the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) began endorsing Liu. In the September 15 Democratic primary, Liu was the front-runner, ending up with 133,986 votes (38% of the vote), but because he did not manage to reach 40% of the vote, a run-off election was required between Liu and David Yassky, who received 30 percent of the vote in the primary, but Liu later won the run-off by taking 55.6% of the vote.
In the general election on November 3, Liu won the comptroller election with a total of 696,330 votes (76% of votes). Republican candidate Joseph Mendola came in second with 19.3% of the vote.
During his tenure as New York comptroller, Liu claimed to have saved New York City more than $3 billion by cracking down on wasteful expenditures and cutting inefficiencies. He spearheaded Checkbook 2.0, the initiative to upgrade the city's current online transparency system.
Liu is a leader of the Asian Political Leadership Fund, a federally designated 527 fund whose purpose is to promote political leadership from within the Asian American community.
Mayoral run.
Liu ran as a candidate in the 2013 New York City mayoral election, but came in fourth place in the Democratic Party's primary election.
Views.
Liu's platform in the primary included:
Denial of matching funds.
On August 5, 2013, the Campaign Finance Board denied Liu matching funds worth $3.53 million for his campaign. His supporters disagreed with the decision, saying they had legitimately donated funds to Liu's campaign, and were being denied their rights.
Investigation into fundraising.
Investigations into Liu's election fundraising revealed that two of his former associates used straw donors to contribute to his campaign, a discovery that rattled his 2013 mayoral campaign
On November 17, 2011, Oliver Pan was arrested on charges of wire fraud from illegal donations. Pan was approached by an undercover Federal Bureau of Investigation agent posing as someone who wanted to donate $16,000 to Liu, well over the city donation limit of $4,950 for individual contributions, and agreed to arranged for 20 fictitious donors.
In February 2012, campaign treasurer Jia "Jenny" Hou was arrested for using straw donors to circumvent campaign finance laws and gain more matching funds from taxpayers. In October 2013, Hou was sentenced to ten months in prison after her conviction for attempted wire fraud, obstruction of justice and making false statements. Pan was sentenced to four months in jail.
Liu was never accused of any wrongdoing in connection with his staffers. On the eve of their trial, he expressed frustration with the U.S. Attorney's office for what observers have described as an "extraordinarily intrusive and exhaustive investigation," and was critical of the lengthy three-year long process and the interrogation of thousands of his supporters.
2014 State Senate bid.
In September 2014, Liu ran in the Democratic primary race for New York State Senate District 11 (which includes some of the same neighborhoods as City Council District 20), losing to incumbent Tony Avella 47-52%. Liu and Avella had previously served together in the City Council, representing neighboring districts, and the two had a strained relationship.
Liu criticized Avella for joining the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC), a group of senate Democrats that allied themselves with the Senate Republican Conference, creating a coalition that controlled the Senate. At the time, Democrats held a numerical majority in the Senate, but the IDC-Republican coalition prevented Democrats from holding power, while allowing Avella and other IDC members to gain committee chairships. Avella criticized Liu over the latter's campaign finance scandal, Liu's failure to pay fines from his earlier campaign for Comptroller, and Liu's record as Comptroller. Liu was initially supported by the Working Families Party, by the Queens County Democratic Party and by several unions, but these organizations largely dropped their support of Liu when Jeff Klein, leader of the Independent Democratic Conference, announced that its members would rejoin the mainline Democratic Conference after the 2014 elections. However, after Republicans gained an outright majority in the State Senate in the 2014 elections, the Independent Democratic Conference continued to caucus with the Republicans.
In 2014, Liu rejoined Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, where he has taught public finance. He also began a teaching position at Baruch College.
2018 State Senate bid.
Liu initially stated he had no plans to run for office after his 2014 loss to Avella and declined offers to do so, but was inspired after Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's upset victory over incumbent Congressman Joe Crowley in the June 2018 Congressional primary elections. He was then convinced to run for state senate by activists looking to defeat former IDC members. Liu was initially doubtful that the grassroots campaigners that approached him could gather enough signatures to place him on the ballot so close to the July filing deadline, but he received more than three times the number of signatures needed. New York's 14th congressional district, which Crowley represented, partially overlaps with State Senate District 11.
Unlike in 2014, the Queens County Democratic Party, which Crowley chaired at the time, endorsed Avella instead of Liu. In the September 2018 Democratic primary, Liu once again challenged Avella. In a reversal of their 2014 race, Liu defeated Avella 53-47%, attributed to backlash against the former members of the Independent Democratic Conference, which had dissolved earlier in 2018.
In the November 2018 general election, Liu won a four-way race with 54% of the vote, defeating Republican Vickie Paladino with 24% of the vote, Avella, running on two third-party lines with 21% of the vote, and third-party candidate Simon Minching with 1% of the vote, becoming one of the two first Asian Americans in the New York Senate.


Pyotr Lopukhin

Prince Pyotr Vasilyevich Lopukhin (1753, Saint Petersburg – 1827) was a Russian politician and member of the Lopukhin family. He was president of the Council of Ministers from 1816 to 1827.
Marriage and issue.
He married twice:
Life.
Educated at home, he was recorded as Life Guards of the Transfiguration Regiment and entered service in 1769.


Raj Singh II

Raj Singh II (25 April 1743 – 3 April 1761), was the Maharana of Mewar Kingdom (r. 1754–1762). He was a son of Maharana Pratap Singh II.


William Johnston Tupper

William Johnston Tupper, (June 29, 1862 – December 17, 1947) was a politician and office holder in Manitoba, Canada. He served as the province's 12th Lieutenant Governor from 1934 to 1940.
Tupper was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the son of Charles Tupper (who later served as Premier of Nova Scotia from 1863 to 1867, and Prime Minister of Canada in 1896) and Frances Amélia Morse. He was named in honour of his father's mentor James William Johnston. He was educated at Upper Canada College and Harvard Law School but returned to Nova Scotia to practice law, being called to the bar in 1885. Later in the same year, Tupper enlisted as a private in the Canadian army to assist in putting down the Northwest Rebellion, and remained in Manitoba afterwards. He was called to the Manitoba Bar in 1886, and worked in a Winnipeg law firm with Hugh John Macdonald, son of Prime Minister John A. Macdonald. In 1887, he married Margaret, the daughter of James McDonald. He was named a King's Counsel in 1912. Tupper also served as president of the Army and Navy Veterans in Canada.
Tupper entered political life in the 1914 provincial election, running as a Conservative in the rural provincial riding of Morden and Rhineland. He lost to incumbent Liberal Valentine Winkler, 1,073 votes to 971. Tupper ran against Winkler again in the 1915 election, and lost again by an increased margin amid a disastrous provincial defeat for his party.
In the 1920 election, Tupper was one of two Conservatives elected to the provincial legislature for Winnipeg, which elected ten members by a single transferable ballot. He finished second on his party's list, behind John Thomas Haig. Tupper was one of only eight Conservative MLAs in the legislature, and there is no indication that he played a major role in parliament. He ran for re-election in the 1922 campaign, but finished 21st overall on first-preference votes and was eliminated on the 24th count.
In 1931, Tupper was elected president of the Law Society of Manitoba, holding the position for three years.
Tupper was sworn in as lieutenant governor on December 1, 1934, and served until November 1, 1940. The position was largely ceremonial by this time, and Tupper had little influence over the government of John Bracken. He died in Winnipeg in 1947.