The Big Texan Steak Ranch

The Big Texan Steak Ranch is a steakhouse restaurant and motel located in Amarillo, Texas, United States, which opened on the previous U.S. Route 66 in the 4500 block of East Amarillo Boulevard in 1960. It relocated to its present location on Interstate 40 in 1970. Fire gutted the west wing of the restaurant in 1976 and destroyed $100,000 in antiques. The restaurant reopened as a larger facility in 1977. The building is painted a bright yellow, with blue trim. A large bull statue advertises their "free" 72 oz. steak (see below). The now-closed Texas Tornado Museum resided off in a far corner of the parking lot on the property.
72oz Steak Challenge.
The Big Texan is best known for its 72 ounce (4.5 pounds or 2.04 kg) steak. The steak is free to anyone who, in one hour or less, can eat the entire meal, consisting of the steak itself, a bread roll with butter, a baked potato, shrimp cocktail, and a salad; otherwise, the meal costs $72. Those who have successfully consumed the 72oz steak challenge have their names recorded and posted at the restaurant. To date, over 9,800 people out of about 68,000 people who attempted this challenge have accomplished this feat.
According to the restaurant, when featured on the TV show "Man v. Food", the challenge started in 1960, when founder Bob Lee decided to hold a contest over which of the cowboys working in the stockyards could eat the most steaks in one hour, with a prize of $5 (over $41 when adjusted for inflation in 2017) at stake. One cowboy ate four and a half 1-pound steaks, a shrimp cocktail, a baked potato, a dinner roll, and a salad in the hour's time to win the $5. Lee was so impressed with the achievement that he declared, "Whoever eats that much again in my restaurant, he gets it for free." Those who take on the 72oz steak challenge are required to pay for the meal in advance and, if they are successful, their money is refunded. The steak is cooked to the participant's preference, and the challenge takes place at a table for six on a raised platform in the middle of the main dining room.
The record for the shortest time to finish the entire 72oz steak challenge had been held by competitive eating champion Joey Chestnut (at 8 minutes and 52 seconds), breaking Frank Pastore's 1987 record (of 9 minutes 30 seconds, which stood for 21 years) on his March 24, 2008 visit. On May 26, 2014, he was bested by 125-pound competitive eater Molly Schuyler, who polished off the meal in just 4 minutes 58 seconds, and came back for seconds (14 minutes and 57 seconds for two meals). She did not, however, eat a third steak meal in the same hour. Schuyler returned on April 19, 2015 and would finish her first meal in 4 minutes 18 seconds, beating her own record by 40 seconds. She had defeated four other teams of competitors in the challenge, devouring two more meals in twenty minutes. The unofficial record (for all animals, including humans) was held by a 500-pound Siberian tiger who ate the steak in 90 seconds in 1999, until bested by a lioness in 2012 clocking in at 80 seconds.
From mid-March to early May 2020, because of the COVID-19 outbreak concerns, the challenge was suspended.
In media.
The Texas King meal is shown in the movie "Waking Up in Reno", with Billy Bob Thornton taking the challenge. It is also shown on the Travel Channel's "Man v. Food", where host Adam Richman completes the challenge and in "", where Bourdain declines to compete but his cameraman takes part and fails.
The Big Texan Steak Ranch is known for its Cadillac white stretch limos with longhorn hood ornaments, one of which appears in the 2006 animated film "Cars" as Texas oil baron Tex Dinoco. Becky Ransom and the Big Texan Steak Ranch ("free 72-ounce steak if consumed in 60 minutes") are acknowledged in the film's credits.
In the Season 3 episode of "King of the Hill" "And They Call It Bobby Love", the Steak Ranch was parodied with a similar restaurant called the "Panhandler Steakhouse." Bobby Hill accepts the challenge only to spite the girl that spurned his affections (who was also a vegetarian). He completes the challenge but upon returning home subsequently vomits.
A billboard advertising the restaurant appears in a panel in George Takei's autobiographical graphic novel "They Called us Enemy".
Big Texan Motel.
Located adjacent to the restaurant on The Big Texan Steak Ranch property is the 54-unit Big Texan Motel. The cinder-block construction motel is designed to resemble a main street in an old west town, and features Texas-themed decor and a Texas-shaped pool. In 2004, a 20-stall stable was added behind the main motel building.


Bhavanarayana Temple

Bhavanarayana Temple is a temple in Bapatla of Guntur district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The temple is dedicated to Lord Bhavanarayana and because of this temple the town of Bapatla got its name. It is one of the centrally protected monuments of national importance.
History.
The temple was constructed in 1465 by a chola king named, Krimikantha Chola and was later restored.


Dix Mountain Wilderness Area

The Dix Mountain Wilderness Area is the name previously given to an area of New York's Forest Preserve in the Adirondack Park , and is located in the towns of Elizabethtown, Keene and North Hudson, Essex County. It is roughly bounded on the north by NY 73, on the east by the Adirondack Northway (Interstate 87), on the south by Blue Ridge Road and on the west by Elk Lake Club and Ausable Club lands.
In 2018 the Dix Mountain Wilderness Area was merged with the High Peaks Wilderness Area after New York State acquired several parcels of land connecting the two wilderness areas.
Geography.
The terrain is rough, rocky and mountainous, with several of the mountain tops exceeding . The area contains 12 small ponds with a total surface area of about . Vertical cliffs of considerable height are common, particularly in the northern and eastern parts.
Some of the mountains, such as Dix, South Dix and Macomb, have had small landslides in recent years which occur mostly on the near vertical north slopes. This has left a series of prominent, bare rock scars on the upper slopes.
There are four trailless peaks in the area — South Dix, East Dix, Hough and McComb — that are over 4,000 feet in elevation. Many approach these mountains from a popular, unmaintained trail off NY 73 which provides access to a slide scramble up East Dix. From there, all the major peaks are connected by herd paths.
Forest.
Some of the most severe and extensive forest fires of the Adirondacks occurred in this area during a prolonged drought period in 1903. As a result, the tops and upper slopes of the mountains not only lost their forest cover but the humus was also consumed and the mineral soil eroded down to bare rock.
The present forest cover consists chiefly of pole-size yellow birch, aspen and stunted balsam at the higher elevations with mixed hardwoods and softwoods on the better soils at lower elevations.
Recreation.
The area contains of maintained foot trails, 2 lean-tos. The area also has a significant number of popular but unmaintained trails; in fact, four high peaks within the area are only accessible by unmaintained trails. The area also includes Chapel Pond, a high mountain lake surrounded by cliffs that is a popular destination for rock climbing and ice climbing.
History.
The Adirondack Trail Improvement Society, with headquarters at St. Huberts, maintains a system of foot trails in the northern and northwestern part of the area, with approval of the DEC. Their trails extend to such mountain tops as Round Top Mountain, Noonmark, Bear Den, Dial, Nippletop, Colvin, Blake and Pinnacle. The steep, rugged terrain, characteristic of nearly the whole area, has been responsible for the region's retaining a wilderness atmosphere. This, together with other accompanying features, lends itself well to the classification into which it has been placed.
The state, in 1978 and 1980, purchased in fee from the Adirondack Mountain Reserve. Approximately became part of the Dix Mountain Wilderness as a result, including the following summits: Noonmark, Bear Den, Dial, Colvin, and Pinnacle. The state was given a conservation easement on the remaining Adirondack Mountain Reserve lands generally below in elevation, limiting the future development potential of these lands while permitting the public to cross lands still held in fee by the Club, on foot, to reach the peaks.
In 2013, New York State acquired a 1,450-acre parcel on the western boundary of the Dix Mountain Wilderness Area known as the Casey Brook Tract. In 2016, the 20,700-acre Boreas Ponds Tract was also acquired by the state, thereby creating a connection of state-owned land between the Dix Mountain Wilderness Area and the nearby High Peaks Wilderness Area. In 2018, the Adirondack Park Agency recommended, and Governor Andrew Cuomo approved, the merging of the Dix Mountain Wilderness Area into the High Peaks Wilderness Area.


La Ceiba Wildlife Refuge

The La Ceiba Wildlife Refuge is a private wildlife refuge in Costa Rica, part of the Tempisque Conservation Area, which protects tropical forest on the Nicoya Peninsula near the small village of San Rafael in Paquera District in the Puntarenas Province.
The area protected is covered by tropical dry forest and contains a small camping site and two cabins inside the reserve used by ecotourists, which helps fund the project.


Nevada State Route 445

State Route 445 (SR 445) is a state highway in Washoe County, Nevada. The route follows "Pyramid Way", a major thoroughfare in the city of Sparks, and connects the Reno metropolitan area to Pyramid Lake. The route is designated a Nevada Scenic Byway.
Route description.
SR 445 begins at the intersection of Nugget Avenue and Pyramid Way in Sparks. From there, it passes under Interstate 80 directly to the north and skirts the eastern edge of Victorian Square in downtown Sparks as it continues heading almost due north. After about , the road curves slightly to the northeast to serve as the primary link to the rapidly expanding northern valleys of Sparks, including Spanish Springs.
Once outside of urban Sparks, SR 445 transitions to Pyramid Lake Road, more commonly referred to as Pyramid Highway. The rural highway is four lanes for a seven-mile stretch passing through Spanish Springs. The road narrows to two lanes entering the more sparsely populated Palamino Valley north to Pyramid Lake. As the road turns more sharply northeast, it enters the Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation. Shortly thereafter, the road curves northwest as it intersects State Route 446, following the western shore of Pyramid Lake. The highway passes through Sutcliffe and then comes to an end at Warrior Point Park Road, north of the town.
History.
The first two miles (3 km) of State Route 445 in Sparks was originally designated State Route 32, with the remainder of the route comprising most of former State Route 33. SR 445 was crafted from these routes in the Nevada highway renumbering that took place in the late 1970s.
 of the route (the entirety of the route within the Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation) became a Nevada Scenic Byway on June 27, 1996. The same stretch was designated a National Scenic Byway on July 15 of that same year.
Future.
The Pyramid Highway/U.S. 395 Connector (also known as the Northeast Connector) is a project taken by NDOT and RTC to improve mobility throughout the northern communities. The projects focuses on rerouting Pyramid Highway as a four to six-lane limited arterial roadway and freeway connecting U.S. 395 with an indirect connection to Sun Valley Boulevard, traveling along the mountainous region dividing Sun Valley with Sparks before merging with the original route. There is no set completion date, as it has not enter final design.


Cave of Niaux

The Cave of Niaux (French: Grotte de Niaux) is located in the Niaux commune, Ariège "département" in south-western France as part of a wider geological system that includes the "Sabart Cave" and "Lombrives Cave" in the hill of "Cap de la Lesse de Bialac". The Niaux cave's system is complex and has a combined length of more than of underground passages and chambers. An archaeological site with a documented history of Paleo-human presence, Niaux contains numerous distinct areas and galleries of carefully drawn and vivid wall paintings, executed in a black-outlined style typical of the classic Magdalenian period, between 17,000 and 11,000 years ago.
Overview.
Félix Garrigou, prehistorian and hydrologist, known for his investigations of caves of southern France visited the site in 1869. He is the first person attributed to a documented suspicion - notes in his diary - about the true identity of the site.
Research.
Only after a Commander Molard and his sons had discovered the gallery of "Salon Noir" and published a plan of the cave did Niaux attract specialists' attention in 1869. It was investigated by Henri Breuil and Emile Cartailhac a year later and received full-scale recognition. In 1925 J. Mandeman found another gallery with black paintings and called it "Cartailhac Gallery". In 1971, a major scientific examination was undertaken by Jean Clottes and Robert Simonnet and in 1980 and 1981 a team of scientists made an inventory of all the pictures in the cave.
Site.
Niaux Cave, situated in a steep-sided valley in the commune of Vicdessos in the Tarascon basin is one of the few cave systems left where exceptional prehistoric paintings can still be viewed by the public. The previously unrecorded separate "Reseau Clastres" network has been found only as recently as 1970. It holds a series of prehistoric 'footprints' and a rare charcoal sketch of a weasel.
Black Hall panel.
"The base of the stone is not colored and the range is restricted for the figures: black and some red for a few of the signs.
The predominating animal is the bison, represented in the upper part of the panel. The bison standing out in the left central part is usually catalogued as a female, due to the shapes presented, such as the scarcely prominent hump. By contrast and in opposition to this is the male, found on the right-hand side and showing a more prominent hump.
The lower part of the wall represents several horses which, with painted hair, represent a member of the equine family with a great amount of hair, the Przewalski. The bestiary is finished off with two goats, one represented in a very natural manner and the other in a totally schematic manner. The panel is dated as being 13,000 years old. The walk to the paintings leads through both big caves and narrow passages. The cave floor has been left in its natural state: wet, very uneven and slippery in places so sturdy walking shoes are essential."
A facsimile of Niaux’s Salon Noir (in its pristine form), as well as of other figures in the cave and the Réseau Clastres, is displayed in the nearby Park of Prehistoric Art, near Tarascon-sur-Ariège.


Batang Gadis National Park

Batang Gadis is a national park covering 1,080 km2 in North Sumatra province, Indonesia extending between 300 and 2,145 metres altitude. It is named after the Batang Gadis river that flows thorough the park. Signs of the endangered Sumatran tiger and the threatened Asian golden cat, leopard cat and clouded leopard were seen in the park. The protection of Batang Gadis as a national park is part of a plan to create the Northern Sumatra biodiversity conservation corridor, which would be connected, via a series of protected areas and forests, to Gunung Leuser National Park in the north of the island.
Flora and fauna.
There are at least 47 species of mammals, 247 of birds, 240 vascular plants and 1,500 microorganisms in the park.
By sampling of 200 meter square area, researchers found 242 vascular plants or about 1 percent of all flora in Indonesia. "Schefflera aromatica" is often the most common plant to occur in the understory of montane primary forest, where it is found at densities of 7% to 17% in the forest cover. The fern "Diplazium proliferum" is the second most common plant in this area. At lower elevations in both primary and secondary forest it is also the second most (after "Dracontomelon dao"), or most, respectively, dominant understory plant, but it occurs at lower densities. On less diverse, more heavily degraded land however, it is even more dominant, occurring at up to 25% of the forest cover. Where the forest is disturbed the only understory species more common than this "Schefflera" in the park is "Ganua kingiana".
The mammals that can be found are Sumatran tiger, Malayan tapir, Malayan porcupine, Asian golden cat, leopard cat, Indian muntjac, goral ("Naemorhedus sumatrae"), Java mouse-deer, binturong, sun bear and Sambar deer. There were 13 endemic species of bird recorded in the park, including Salvadori's pheasant and Schneider's pitta. Amphibians include the caecilian "Ichtyopis glutinosa" and the long-nosed horned frog, etc.
In 2008 the population of Sumatran tigers has been estimated to be between ca.30 to 100. In 2013 their number has been estimated to be between 23-76, or 20% of the total population.
Conservation and threats.
Parts of the forest within the national park have been protected by the Dutch colonial government in 1921. The proposal for a national park has been submitted by the local government in 2003. Batang Gadis National Park has been declared in 2004.
The wildlife in the park is threatened by poaching, and encroachment by an Australian gold mining company that holds a 200,000-hectare concession that overlaps with the national park.


Nitt Witt Ridge

Nitt Witt Ridge is a house on two and a half acres in Cambria, California, United States. Artist/recluse Arthur "Art" Harold Beal (1896-1992) bought his hillside lot in 1928 and spent most of the next 50 years carving out the terraces with only a pick and shovel, creating his own "castle on a hill".
History.
Arthur Harold Beal is known as Doctor Tinkerpaw or Captain Nitt Witt. Beal was a garbage collector for the town of Cambria in the 1940s and 1950s and made good use of what Cambrians were throwing away, as well as the natural materials on the property, in the nearby pine forests, and on the area's beaches. Some parts are also reportedly remnants from Hearst Castle where he supposedly worked for a time. Other common building materials are beer cans, abalone shells, and concrete. There are also washer drums, car rims, tile, car parts, and old stoves.
After Art died in 1992 at the age of 96, his ashes were spread around his favorite redwood tree on Nitt Witt Ridge. The house still is full of knick-knacks and architectural uniqueness, despite the deterioration and ransacking it suffered after Art's death.
In 1999 Michael and Stacey O'Malley became the owners of Nitt Witt Ridge. They have repaired some of the house and cleaned up the gardens and offer tours of the home.
Preservation.
Nitt Witt Ridge is California Historical Landmark No. 939. It is considered a thematic landmark, in connection with the Twentieth Century Folk Art Environments. The plaque reads:
Nitt Witt Ridge, one of California's remarkable twentieth-century folk-art environments, is the creation of Arthur Harold Beal (Der Tinkerpaw, or Capt Nitt Witt), a Cambria Pines pioneer who sculpted the land using hand tools and indigenous materials, inventiveness and self-taught skills. A blend of native materials and contemporary elements, impressive in its sheer mass and meticulous placement, it is a revealing memorial to Art's cosmic humor and zest for life.
California Registered Historical Landmark No. 939.
Plaque placed by the State Department of Parks and Recreation in cooperation with Saving and Preserving Arts and Cultural Environments with the Art Beal Foundation, non-profit and educational corporation. June 26, 1986.


Laureles Grade


Dunmore Cave

Dunmore Cave () is a limestone solutional cave in Ballyfoyle, County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is formed in Lower Carboniferous (Viséan) limestone of the Clogrenan Formation. It is a show cave open to the public, particularly well known for its rich archaeological discoveries and for being the site of a Viking massacre in 928.
Show cave.
The caves are located to the east of and close to the N78 Kilkenny–Castlecomer road and about north of Kilkenny City. The entrance is in the townland of Mohill, where a tourist centre has been established at the site. Overlooking the River Dinan valley, it is found in an isolated outcrop of limestone on the Castlecomer Plateau.
Dunmore is not one of the largest of Ireland's caves. It contains just a quarter of a mile of passages and at its deepest point, it descends to , but it possesses some fine calcite formations. The most spectacular is the Market Cross, a distinctly cross-shaped column over high.
Development.
Dunmore Cave was designated a National Monument by the Commissioners of Public Works in 1944, but development as a show cave with visitor centre and tours didn't begin until 1967, at the behest of respected archaeologist and spelaeologist J. C. Coleman. The cave was closed in 2000 for archaeological work and redevelopment, and reopened in 2003.
History.
The earliest historical reference to the cave is to be found in the Triads of Ireland, dating from the 14th to the 19th century, where ", and " are listed under the heading, "the three darkest places in Ireland". The last, meaning the "Cave of the Alders," is generally thought to be the present Dunmore Cave, while the first two translate as the caves of Knowth and Slaney. It is not known which exact system of caves/passage tombs near the river Slaney is being referred to, with the most likely, those at Baltinglass. Other sources translate the listed locations as Rath Croghan, the cave or crypt of Slane and the "Cave of the Ferns".
In the "Annals of the Four Masters", dated to the 17th century, was recorded as the site of a great Viking massacre in 928 AD:
"Godfrey Uí Ímair, with the foreigners of Ath Cliath, demolished and plundered Dearc Fearna, where one thousand persons were killed in this year as is stated in the quatrain:

"Nine hundred years without sorrow, twenty-eight, it has been proved,"
" 'Since Christ came to our relief, to the plundering of Dearc-Fearna.""
"Gofraith, ua h-Iomhair, co n-Gallaibh Atha Cliath, do thoghail & do orgain Derce Fearna, "

"airm in ro marbhadh míle do dhaoinibh an bhliadhain-si, amhail as-berar isin rann,"
"Naoi c-céd bliadhain gan doghra, "

"a h-ocht fichet non-dearbha, "

"o do-luidh Criost dár c-cobhair "

"co toghail Derce Ferna."
While the human remains found in the cave are thought to be victims of the Viking massacre, this has not been reliably confirmed. Many of the remains belong to women and children, and it is hypothesised that they are the bodies of people hiding in the cave who were unable to leave when the Vikings tried to smoke them out, dying from asphyxiation.
Archaeological study.
The earliest writings on the cave of an archaeological nature came from the bishop George Berkeley, whose report dated 1706 detailed a visit that he made to the cave as a boy. The essay was not published until 1871. In 1869 Arthur Wynne Foot, a physician, made an archaeological visit to the cave with Rev. James Graves and Peter Burtchaell and discovered large quantities of human remains, which they collected. In his reports, Foot meticulously documented his findings, and culled references from the writings of researchers over the preceding 120 years.
In 1999, a hoard of 43 silver and bronze items was discovered in a rocky cleft deep in the cave. Archaeologists dated this hoard, consisting of silver, ingots and conical buttons woven from fine silver, to 970 AD.


Toronto City Hall

The Toronto City Hall, or New City Hall, is the seat of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and one of the city's most distinctive landmarks. Designed by Finnish architect Viljo Revell (with Heikki Castrén, Bengt Lundsten, and Seppo Valjus) and landscape architect Richard Strong, and engineered by Hannskarl Bandel, the building opened in 1965. It was built to replace Old City Hall, which had housed city offices since 1899. The current city hall, located at Nathan Phillips Square, is the city's fourth and was built to replace its predecessor which the city outgrew shortly after its completion.
History.
City leaders had been looking to build a more modern city hall to house its growing municipal government since at least 1943, when a report to city council recommended a new city hall and square in the block bounded by Queen Street West, Bay Street, and Chestnut Street. The recommendation was rejected by the electorate in a referendum on New Year's Day in 1947. However, in October 1952, a panel of citizens appointed by city council made the same recommendation. In 1954, leaders selected a partnership of three of Toronto's largest architectural firms: Marani and Morris, Mathers and Haldenby, and Shore and Moffat, to create a design. Presented in November 1955, their design proposed a conservative, symmetrical limestone-clad building in the Modernist style facing a landscaped square. Unlike the design that would ultimately be built, it retained the stone Beaux-Arts Registry Office on the western part of the site and also included a landscaped public space in front of it. The podium of the new city hall was to house the council chambers, and was given columns to complement the eight columns of the Registry Building, with which it was aligned across the new public space in front of it.
The scheme was panned by leading architects, including Frank Lloyd Wright (who called it a "sterilization" and "a cliché already dated") and Walter Gropius (who deemed it a "very poor pseudo-modern design unworthy of the city of Toronto"), and all classes of the University of Toronto Faculty of Architecture co-authored a letter condemning the proposal and calling for an international competition. The whole $18 million proposal was scrapped when voters rejected it in a December 1955 referendum. The parti was adapted by the architects and built as the Imperial Oil Building on St. Clair Avenue West.
Design competition.
Led by Mayor Nathan Phillips, the Toronto city council decided in 1956 to hold an international competition to choose the new design under terms created by the International Union of Architects. This caused some controversy as some felt the work should be done by a Canadian. Phillips assembled a five-person panel of judges from some of the world's greatest architecture experts with Eric Arthur serving as advisor.
By the deadline of April 18, 1958, the committee received over 500 designs from 42 countries from which it selected eight semi-finalists. In September 1958, three judges selected Viljo Revell's design, though it almost missed the short list. Eero Saarinen, as member of the panel of five judges, arrived a day and half late and chose Revell's design from the other judges' list of entrants that could summarily be rejected. He convinced two other judges on the panel that Revell's unique design should be the winner. One of the two dissenting judges was William Graham Holford, who was skeptical that the design could be built within the $18 million budget set by the city. Revell received a $25,000 prize plus an estimated $1 million in fees to supervise construction. He complained that not enough credit was given to his design collaborators, Heikki Castren, Bengt Lundsten, and Seppo Valjus, and asked that all names be listed as the architects. Revell died in 1964 before the project was finished.
Construction.
Construction began in 1961, and the building was completed four years later. The time capsule for City Hall was placed in a large ceremony on November 7, 1962 and Governor General Georges Vanier officially opened the new structure September 13, 1965.
The area of Toronto City Hall and the civic square was formerly the location of Toronto's first Chinatown, which was expropriated and bulldozed during the mid-1950s in preparation for a new civic building. The location of City Hall itself was also the site of the 1917 Land Registry Office. It was designed in the Roman Classical style and was itself intended as part of a prior urban renewal plan for the area. It was demolished in 1964.
The south side of Queen Street opposite City Hall was considered a 'commercial slum' and in August 1964, Toronto City Council voted to expropriate the south side for development appropriate to the new civic square. The businesses on that side of the street included two burlesque theatres, pawn shops and a cinema. The south side was vacant at the time of the City Hall opening but was eventually occupied by a new hotel, connected by a bridge over Queen Street to the square.
To the west of the new City Hall, the University Avenue Armouries at University Avenue just north of Osgoode Hall was bought from the Government of Canada for million to make way for a new court building, also as part of the new civic square project.
Architectural features.
While the building's base is rectangular, its two towers are curved in cross-section and rise to differing heights.
The east tower is 27 storeys () tall and the west tower is 20 storeys (). Between the towers is the saucer-like council chamber, and the overall arrangement is somewhat like two hands cradling the chamber. The outer surfaces of the curve are covered with concrete bearing a rib pattern that provides strength and prevents collapse of the fabric as a result of the expansion of the exterior surfaces, and the tearing apart of the fabric as a result of differences in air pressure on the two sides of each wing-like tower during the high winds characteristic of the Great Lakes. The north, west, and east elevations are more abstract and sculptural in contrast with the extensive glazing of south elevation facing the square; each presents a view of concave panels of concrete textured with split-faced strips of Botticino marble. To the east of the square is Old City Hall which currently serves as a courthouse. From the air, the building is seen as a giant unblinking eye, thus the building's original nickname of "The Eye of Government". When finished, the building generated widespread controversy among many who felt that it was "too futuristic" for the city. In Arthur's 1964 book, "Toronto, No Mean City", he praised the new City Hall, writing: "Taller buildings will be built before the end of the century here and elsewhere in North America, but there will be no comparable or no more renowned city hall."
The design for the public space in front of the new city hall, Nathan Phillips Square, was part of the competition. The square's reflecting pool and concrete arches, fountain, and overhead walkways were thus also part of Revell's submission. It has since seen several monuments, sculptures, and other works of public art added, and was renovated, but it continues to complement the city hall with its original Modernist design elements.
Council Chambers.
The City Council chambers is a semi-circular room located on the second floor supported on a single massive column below. On the main level of the chambers are the seats for the 25 members of Council, arranged in a semi-circle.
In front of the councillors is the podium and seat for the Speaker of Toronto City Council (or Deputy Speaker when Speaker is not present). Flanking the Speaker are two long tables for Commissioners (i.e., department heads); City Manager, Deputy City Manager, City Solicitor and Chief Financial Officer are seated to the right and City Staff on the left. In front of the Speaker is the horseshoe shaped desk for the City Clerk and Clerk staff. The mayor, is seated amongst councillors in the first row to the Speaker's right. A removable podium is located to the right of the Speaker for guest speakers. The room is covered by a shallow dome resting on 23 pairs of v-shaped supports that rise from the base. The space behind the supports is filled with glass.
Behind the councillors is the public seating gallery which accommodates 250 in tiered rows. Adjacent to City Council chambers are two committee rooms, as well as the offices of the mayor and city councillors. Two sets of elevators provide access to the floors below (ground floor and to the parking garage below).
Additions and changes.
City Hall has changed over the last four decades:
City Hall was designated as a property of historical and architectural significance under the "Ontario Heritage Act" in 1991.
Events.
City Hall's forecourt, Nathan Phillips Square, is one of the main hosts of different festivals and events in Toronto. New Year's celebrations are held there every year which include fireworks and musical performances. The annual Cavalcade of Lights Festival decorates the square from the end of November until the end of December.
Various locations throughout the building are accessible to the public during Doors Open Toronto; council chambers, the Mayor's office, and 27th floor were included in 2009.
In popular culture.
Even as early as 1969, the building appeared as a futuristic alien building in a Star Trek comic; it was later seen in the " episode " (Season 2, episode 11, March 20, 1989) as one of the possible destinations of an alien portal.
The 2010 film "Red" featured Toronto City Hall and various other city locations.


Chanchelulla Wilderness

Chanchelulla Wilderness is an 8,062-acre (3,263 ha) wilderness area under the jurisdiction of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest in the U.S. state of California. Established in 1984, the Wilderness is centered around Chanchelulla Peak standing at 6,399 feet (1,950 m). The southern slopes are covered in thickets of chaparral while the northern slopes hold pockets of pine, fir, and cedar. Wildlife in the area include deer, American black bears, fishers, North American cougars, birds of prey, owls (including northern spotted owls), and numerous songbirds.


Myshkin (town)

Myshkin () is a town and the administrative center of Myshkinsky District in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located on the steep left bank of the Volga. Population:
History.
A settlement at this location has existed since at least the 15th century. Town status was granted to it in 1777. It was demoted in status to that of an urban-type settlement in Soviet times, but was granted town status again in 1991.
Administrative and municipal status.
Within the framework of administrative divisions, Myshkin serves as the administrative center of Myshkinsky District. As an administrative division, it is incorporated within Myshkinsky District as the town of district significance of Myshkin. As a municipal division, the town of district significance of Myshkin is incorporated within Myshkinsky Municipal District as Myshkin Urban Settlement.
Tourism and culture.
The town attracts a significant number of tourists usually arriving by river cruise ships. Myshkin retains architectural features characteristic for the 19th century Russia. It also features a number of museums. One of them is the unique Mouse Museum (the name of the town is derived from the word "" ("mysh") meaning "mouse" in Russian). There are also a Museum of Valenki ("valenki" being a type of Russian felt boots), an ethnographic museum, an art gallery, an open air retro car museum and more.


Monitor National Marine Sanctuary

Monitor National Marine Sanctuary is the site of the wreck of the USS "Monitor", one of the most famous shipwrecks in U.S. history. It was designated as the country's first national marine sanctuary on January 30, 1975, and is one of only two of the sixteen national marine sanctuaries created to protect a cultural resource rather than a natural resource. The sanctuary comprises a column of water in diameter extending from the ocean’s surface to the seabed around the wreck of the Civil War ironclad, which lies south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Average water depth in the sanctuary is . Since its sinking in 1862, the "Monitor" has become an artificial reef attracting numerous fish species, including amberjack, black sea-bass, oyster toadfish and great barracuda.
USS "Monitor".
The "Monitor" was the prototype for a class of U.S. Civil War ironclad, turreted warships that significantly altered both naval technology and marine architecture in the nineteenth century. Designed by the Swedish engineer John Ericsson, the vessel contained all of the emerging innovations that revolutionized warfare at sea. The Monitor was constructed in a mere 110 days.
While the design of "Monitor" was well-suited for river combat, her low freeboard and heavy turret made her highly unseaworthy in rough waters. This feature probably led to the early loss of the original "Monitor", which foundered during a heavy storm. Swamped by high waves while under tow by "Rhode Island", she sank on December 30, 1862 in the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Hatteras. Sixteen of 62 crewmen were lost in the storm.
Rediscovery.
In 1973, the wreck of the ironclad "Monitor" was located on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean by an interdisciplinary team of scientists from Duke University’s Marine Laboratory. The discovery was preceded by extensive historical research and the selection of probable areas for the "Monitor"’s sinking. The search team located what they believed to be the wreck of the Monitor using side-scan sonar and remotely operated cameras. In 1974, the U.S. Navy and the National Geographic Society launched a second expedition that confirmed the identity of the "Monitor" and produced detailed photographic documentation of the wreck site. One year later, in 1975, the site was designated as the nation’s first marine sanctuary.
Preservation.
Initial dives in the 1970s and later research expeditions in the early 1990s have indicated that the "Monitor"’s iron hull, having been inundated with saltwater for over 100 years, is deteriorating at an accelerated rate. In 1998, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) developed a plan to recover significant "iconic" sections of the wreck for conservation and public display. Additionally, NOAA developed a plan to help stabilize the wreck from further deterioration as much as possible.
The warship's propeller was raised to the surface in 1998. On July 16, 2001, divers from the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary and the US Navy brought to the surface the steam engine. Due to the depth of the wreck, the divers utilized surface supplied diving techniques while breathing heliox. In 2002, after 41 days of work, the revolutionary revolving gun turret was recovered by the NOAA and a team of U.S. Navy divers. Before removing the turret, divers discovered the remains of two trapped crew members. The remains of these sailors, who died while on duty, are at the Joint POW-MIA Accounting Command at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, awaiting positive identification.
Many artifacts from "Monitor", including her turret, propeller, anchor, engine, delicate glass bottles, lumps of coal, wood paneling, a leather book cover and even walnut halves, have been conserved and are on display at the Mariners' Museum of Newport News, Virginia. Once conservation is complete, artifacts are available for exhibition and study. While the majority of the Monitor artifacts remain at The Mariners’ Museum, other facilities including the Richmond National Battlefield Park in Virginia, Civil War Naval Museum in Columbus, Georgia, Nauticus in Norfolk, Virginia, and soon the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum in Hatteras, North Carolina, also display artifacts from the historic ship.
In 1986, "Monitor" was designated a National Historic Landmark. It is one of only three accessible monitor wrecks in the world, the others being the Australian vessel HMVS "Cerberus", and the Norwegian KNM "Thor", which lies at about off Verdens Ende in Vestfold county, Norway.


San Luis Obispo North Coast Byway


Cave of Valporquero

The cave of Valporquero (la cueva de Valporquero" is located at the north of the Province of León (Spain), near the village of Valporquero de Torío in the municipality of Vegacervera and 47 km away from the capital city, León. Open to the tourism since 1966, the management is done by the Diputación de León.
The "open route" to the normal tourism is 1300 m long through six "halls" with increasing complexity and diversity of the geological formations, from the small marvels hall to the marvel hall.
The "bottom level is 3150 m long" including a subterranean river.
The main six halls are:


The Raven Nature Reserve

The Raven Nature Reserve is a Ramsar site and national nature reserve of approximately located in County Wexford, Ireland. It is managed by the Irish National Parks & Wildlife Service.
Features.
The Raven Nature Reserve was legally protected as a national nature reserve by the Irish government in 1983. In 1986, the site was also declared Ramsar site number 333. The area is also a Special Area of Conservation and a Special Protection Area.
The land on which The Raven is located was originally a long narrow sand spit which sheltered the entrance of the Wexford Harbour. When the North Slob was created in the mid 19th century, the area was landlocked on its western side. The name Raven comes from the Irish "Rabhainn" meaning spade shaped piece of land, which refers to the sand spit and its former shape. The area is now one part of a large system of sand dunes, with lagoons and a sand bar on the southern tip.
Along with the North Slob, The Raven is home to 35% of the world's population of Greenland and White-fronted Geese who over-winter there. The birds feed at the Slob during the day, and roost on The Raven's sand bar at night. It is also home to large numbers of wading birds who live there year round. Other birds recorded there include crossbills and little terns. There is a rich flora on the reserve with rare species such as round-leaved wintergreen, which is not found anywhere else in Ireland. A wide variety of butterflies can be seen in the reserve also.
It is thought that the family who owned the land during the 19th century, the Tooles of Curracloe House, began planting the trees on the site, which today is predominately conifers such as Corsican Pine. There is a population of red squirrels on the reserve, supported by the pine cones of the tree plantation. Due to the presence of pine martens, grey squirrels have not established there.


Tivives Protected Zone

Tivives Protected Zone (), is a protected area in Costa Rica, managed under the Central Pacific Conservation Area, it was created in 1986 by decree 17023-MAG.


The Streets of Woodfield

The Streets of Woodfield is a lifestyle center located at I-290 and Higgins Rd. in Schaumburg, Illinois, directly across from Woodfield Mall. McCaffery Interests, a Chicago-based real estate developer, rebuilt the mall into the present-day configuration as a shopping and entertainment mall anchored by Legoland Discovery Center, GameWorks, Restoration Hardware Outlet, and Dick's Sporting Goods. This lifestyle center also features outparcels across the street like Crate & Barrel and Whole Foods Market. There is also a 20-screen AMC Loews Streets of Woodfield 20. The lifestyle center is known throughout the area as a prominent shopping destination.
History.
Previously, The Streets of Woodfield was an enclosed, discount-oriented shopping mall known as One Schaumburg Place. One Schaumburg Place opened in 1991 under the development of Ken Tucker, anchored by a Loews Cineplex, Montgomery Ward, Office Depot, Filene's Basement, Phar-Mor, Child World, and Highland Superstore, which later became Chernin Shoes. The mall was largely vacant throughout most of its history, particularly after Montgomery Ward closed in 1997.
McCaffery Interests purchased One Schaumburg Place in 1997 and began reconfiguring the development from a two-level indoor mall into a streetside retail development. This major overhaul concluded in 2000. Original plans called for The Home Depot's Expo Design Center to take over as the south anchor. In 2006, The Home Depot decided to close all of their Expo Design Centers by 2007.
On October 9, 1998, Galyan's opened on the right side. The store was renamed Dick's Sporting Goods in 2004. Carson's officially opened to the public in 2000.
The shopping mall sold to Blackstone Group in February 2015.
On February 1, 2018, The Bon-Ton, announced it would close 42 locations as part of their Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, including the Carson's at the Streets of Woodfield. The store permanently closed in April 2018. This was the second anchor vacancy the lifestyle center has ever faced (As the Streets of Woodfield). Just a year later, a Restoration Hardware Outlet store opened in the former Carson's space.
Tenants.
Major retailers of The Streets of Woodfield include Dick's Sporting Goods, LOFT, Jos. A. Bank, Christopher & Banks, Gentlemen's Quarters, Asha, Destination Maternity, The Olive Oil Place, Omaha Steaks, Crate & Barrel, The Joffrey Institute and Citibank.
The Streets of Woodfield is also a regional entertainment destination with such features as GameWorks, Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club, Chicago Comedy Company and Legoland Discovery Center. The AMC Loews Streets of Woodfield 20 megaplex was renamed when AMC Theatres acquired the Loews Cineplex chain and replaced the early-1990s One Schaumburg Place cinemas with this 20-screen movie theater in 2000. In addition, a indoor Legoland Discovery Center, the first one in the United States, opened in late July 2008.
Restaurants and dining in the shopping center include Maggiano's Little Italy, Big Bowl, Shaw's Crab House, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Corner Bakery Cafe, Jamba Juice, Starbucks, Jersey Mike's Subs, Tokio Pub, and Whole Foods Market.
Joseph Freed and Associates LLC purchased the mall in 2004. Whole Foods Market and Crate & Barrel were added as outparcels in 2010, the latter relocating from Woodfield Mall. Cypress Equities Real Estate Investment Management acquired the property in 2012.


List of garden structures at West Wycombe Park

West Wycombe Park contains a number garden temples, pavilions and follies; many of these are listed for their architectural or historical significance:


Basaseachic Falls National Park

Basaseachic Falls National Park is a national park located in the western side of the state of Chihuahua in the heart of the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range. The park is named after Basaseachic Falls (Cascada de Basaseachic) the second tallest waterfall in Mexico with a height of 246 meters (853 ft). Basaseachic Falls empties into Candameña Canyon (Barranca de Candameña) which was carved by the Basaseachic River over millions of years. The park is known for its pine-oak forest, rock formations, and scenic views from high cliffs. Cliffs in the park reach an impressive height of 1,640 meters (5,380 ft).
History.
Basaseachic Falls were discovered by Europeans sometime in the 18th century, becoming one of the most popular tourist attraction of the state of Chihuahua. The area of the present-day national park was inhabited by Tarahumara prior to the Spanish Colonial period. The etymology of the name "Basaseachic" originates from the Tarahumara language, Rarámuri meaning "place of the waterfall".
The first known European settlement in the area was "Misión de Tomochi" near the town of Cajurichi which was under the legal jurisdiction of the mission. After the 18th century, the area attracted many settlers because of the discovery of abundant natural resources like minerals and high-quality wood.
Basaseachic Falls National Park was created by the Mexican federal government on February 2, 1981, by decree under president Jose Lopez Portillo. The park was defined to 5,803 hectares (14,340 acres) in the Sierra Madre Occidental along the surrounding area of the Basaseachic Falls and" Barranca de Candameña."
Geography.
The park is located in the subdivision of the Sierra Madre Occidental known as Sierra Tarahumara, near the municipality of Ocampo, Chihuahua. The dramatic topology was created by deep tectonic plate movements causing large fractures and rising rifts. The violent movement of the terrain resulted in deep canyons and high mountains. The present-day topology has been changed over thousands of years by wind erosion and the Basaseachic River.
The vertically pronounced walls of the Candameña Canyon can reach a height of 1,640 meters (5,380 ft); Candameña Canyon is known as one of the deepest canyons in the Sierra Tarahumara. The park includes two rivers: Duraznos River and Basaseachic River; both rivers feed into Basaseachic Falls that empties into the Candameña Canyon finally ending in the Candameña River.
Climate.
The climate in the park changes depending on the elevation of the terrain. There are many microclimates in the park due to the different terrain. According to Köppen climate classification the following climates occur in the park.
Flora and fauna.
The park has a great diversity in flora found in Northern Mexico. One of the factors that allows the park to have such a great variety of flora is due to the large number of microclimates found in the park due to dramatic terrain. The flora in the park like that found throughout the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range varies with elevation. Pine ("Pinus") and oak ("Quercus") species are usually found at an elevation of 2,000 meters (6,560 ft) above sea level. The park contains 92 species of conifers and 76 species of oaks. A large number of flora species in the following genus are observed in the park: "Pinus, Quercus, Ficus, Vachellia, Ipomoea, Acacia, Lysiloma, Bursera, Vitex, Tabebuia, Sideroxylon, Cordia, Fouquieria, Pithecellobium".
The park also supports a large variety of fauna including a significant number of mammals, reptiles and birds. The mammals that can be found in the park include: Mexican fox squirrel "(Sciurus nayaritensis)", antelope jackrabbit "(Lepus alleni)", raccoon "(Procyon lotor)", hooded skunk "(Mephitis macroura)", wild boar "(Sus scrofa)", collared peccary "(Pecari tajacu)", white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), cougar "(Puma concolor)". The three main species of reptiles found in the park are: Texas horned lizard "(Phrynosoma cornutum)", rock rattlesnake "(Crotalus lepidus)", black-tail rattlesnake "(Crotalus molossus)".
There is a great variety of birds observed in the park including: Mexican jay "(Aphelocoma ultramarina), Steller's jay "(Cyanocitta stelleri)", acorn woodpecker "(Melanerpes formicivorus)", canyon towhee ("Pipilo fuscus"), mourning dove "(Zenaida macroura)", broad-billed hummingbird "(Cynanthus latirostris)", Montezuma quail "(Cyrtonyx montezumae)", mountain trogon "(Trogon mexicanus)", turkey Vulture "(Cathartes aura)". "Trogon mexicanus" is endemic species found in the mountains in Mexico; it is considered an endangered species and has symbolic significance to Mexicans.


East Coast Road

East Coast Road (ECR), combination of SH-49, NH-332A, NH-32 is a two-lane highway (now being partially upgraded to four-lane way from Chennai to Mamallapuram) in Tamil Nadu, India, built along the coast of the Bay of Bengal connecting Tamil Nadu's state capital city Chennai with Kanyakumari via Pondicherry, Cuddalore, Chidambaram, Sirkali, Thirukkadaiyur, Tharangambadi, Karaikal, Nagore, Nagapattinam, Thiruthuraipoondi, Muthupet, Adirampattinam, Pattukkottai Manora, Manamelkudi, Mimisal, Ramanathapuram, Koodankulam, Thoothukudi, Tiruchendur, Kudankulam. The total length of the road is about 777 km between Chennai and Kanyakumari.
ECR once existed from Chennai to Puducherry, later it has been extended to Cuddalore and then to Nagapattinam and then Tuticorin via Ramanathapuram and finally up to Kanyakumari.
The highway is a state highway maintained by the Government of Tamil Nadu under the Department of Highways and Minor Ports and Tamil Nadu Road Infrastructure Development Corporation (TNRIDC). It was a two-lane highway, and has plans to upgrade into four-lane divided highway till Kanyakumari. It is the most preferred alternate route for southern districts of Tamil Nadu.
The Chennai neighbourhoods on ECR are Thiruvanmiyur, Kottivakkam, Palavakkam, Neelankarai, Injambakkam, Panaiyur, Uthandi, Muttukadu, Covelong and Vilambur.
History.
Prior to its completion, the East Coast Road mainly consisted of village roads. The connecting link then was the Old Mahabalipuram Road (SH-49A) till Mahabalipuram. Pondicherry was reached from Chennai through the still existent route via Tambaram, Tindivanam along NH45. In 2000, the State government signed a concessionaire agreement with the TNRDC in order to improve the road, at a cost of 60 crore. The 113-km long stretch from Akkarai to Pondicherry, dotted with resorts and beach houses, became a toll facility in March 2002 and was upgraded into a two-lane road from a small winding road passing through 154 villages.
In 2010, TNRDC announced that toll collections had reached an all-time high at 1.08 crore in December 2009 against the 54.67 lakh collected in April 2002 when toll operations started.
Four laning ECR.
The ECR starts at Thiruvanmiyur in Chennai and is a part of the Chennai City roads till Uthandi. From Uthandi starts the beachway section starts as a toll road. The speed of the vehicles on this road is restricted to a maximum of 80 km/h. The State Government upgraded most of East Coast Road to a four lane divided, open access highway by 2015.
The ECR was made a toll road in April 2002. The ECR till Hanumanthai near Pondicherry is 113.2 km long and has a total of 22 bends. On an average 10,000 passenger car units (PCUs) use the road during rush hour and a total of 40,000 PCUs daily, up from about 5,000 daily before the construction of the road. The process of acquiring land for widening the 11.4-km stretch from Thiruvanmiyur to Akkarai covering six revenue villages (including Thiruvanmiyur, Kottivakkam, Palavakkam, Neelankarai, Injambakkam and Vettuvankani), which is under the control of the Highways Department, is under way. The stretch currently has width varying between 50 ft and 80 ft. After widening at a sanctioned cost of 3,540 million, the stretch would be uniformly wide and would have six lanes, a 1.2-m-wide median, footpath-cum-stormwater drain. ECR extends up to Hanumanthai. On the way to Hanumanthai, a famous location Marakkanam is situated. On the ECR road right side famous Bhoomiswarar Temple is situated. It is believed that Sri Bhoomiswara is the God for Bhoomi, hence, many perform pooja before buying land placing the sale agreement on His holy feet. Hence real estate promoters also rush to this location.


Fernando Castro Cervantes Mixed Wildlife Refuge

Fernando Castro Cervantes Mixed Wildlife Refuge (), is a protected area in Costa Rica, managed under the Central Conservation Area, it was created in 1994 by decree 22848-MIRENEM.


The Cordish Companies

The Cordish Companies (previously The Cordish Company) is a U.S.-based real estate development and entertainment operating company with its headquarters on the 6th floor of the Pratt Street Power Plant in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1910 by Louis Cordish.
In 1933, his son Paul L. Cordish joined the business, then in 1968, Paul’s son David S. Cordish joined the firm and serves as its chairman and CEO. As of 2014, all three of David’s sons, Jonathan, Blake, and Reed Cordish, served as Vice Presidents of The Cordish Companies with responsibilities over Private Equity Holdings, Real Estate Development and Entertainment Management divisions.
The Cordish Companies has experience in the following disciplines of real estate: Commercial Real Estate, Coworking Spaces, Entertainment Districts, Gaming, Hotels, International Development, Private Equity, Residential, Restaurants and Sports-Anchored Districts. The Cordish Companies has been awarded seven ULI Awards for Excellence for positively impacting the cities in which they develop.
Investments.
Notable properties developed, or under development, by the company are as follows:
History.
The company dates to 1910, when Louis Cordish began developing real estate in the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area.
In 1935, his son Paul L. Cordish joined the business; in 1968, Paul’s son David S. Cordish joined the firm.
In 1968, David S. Cordish assumed leadership of the company.
In 1982, the Gaming and Hotel divisions were formed.
In 1994, the Entertainment Management division of the company was formed.
In 1999, the company opened the first Live! district, Power Plant Live!.
In 2004, the company reached developed the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa and the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood.
In 2005, the company formed the Sports-Anchored District division.
In 2010, the company launched its International Development division.
In 2020, the company launched a brand new online gambling business called Playlive!


Old Market Hall, Llanidloes

The Old Market Hall is the oldest timber-framed market hall in Llanidloes, Wales, dating to the early 17th century.
Until well into the 20th century a weekly market was held on the open cobbled ground floor.
Over the years the large and well-lit upper floor room has been used as a wool and flannel market, law court, preachers' hall, flannel store, working men's institute and museum.
Description.
The market hall is at the centre of Llanidloes, at the crossing of the town's four main streets.
It is built of stone, brick and timber.
The two storey building has five bays defined by posts.
There was an open marketplace of pitched and cobbled paving on the ground floor.
The closed market was held above in a long and well-lighted room supported by oak beams and arches.
The building, which was in the middle of the main road from the north to the south of Wales, was typical of market halls of the period in most mid-Wales market towns.
A large door on the upper floor was once used to load and unload wool.
It has since been closed off.
A door and stairway in the east bay gave access to the upper hall.
This door has also been closed.
The roof is of slate, with overhanging eaves. It has a glazed octagonal cupola.
The cupola contained a bell that was used to ring the curfew, and is topped by a weathervane dated 1738.
History.
King Edward I of England granted a market charter to Llanidloes in 1280, with the market originally held round a market cross in the town centre.
The Market Hall replaced the old market in the 17th century.
The timber-framed market hall was built between 1612 and 1622, but some of the timbers date back to the mid-16th century.
Originally it was called the Booth Hall, a reference to the stalls or "booths" under and around the hall.
Until the 19th century the hall was a busy centre of the Welsh woollen trade, where wool and flannel was brought to be taken to Welshpool.
The wool market was in the upper room, which was also used as a court of law and a preachers hall.
The assizes were held in the market in 1606 and 1629.
The area at present occupied by a stairway was once used as the town jail.
John Wesley (1703–1791) is said to have preached in the hall in 1748, 1749 and 1764.
The "Wesley stone" on which he stood in 1749 when speaking to a large congregation is now outside the north west corner.
The stone wall at the south end was rebuilt some time after the original building.
The brick gable end facing Long Bridge Street was rebuilt in 1765.
The hall was used as a flannel store in the later Victorian era.
In June 1876 the Freemasons of the province of North Wales and Shropshire had a banquet in the Market Hall.
It was used by the Working Men's Institute and Library from 1897.
The Working Men's Institute and Library moved to the Llanidloes Town Hall when it was opened in 1908.
As of July 1910 tolls were still being taken for stalls pitched on Saturdays in the ground floor open market.
The hall was owned by Colonel J. Davies-Jenkins of Pennygreen, Llanidloes.
From 1930 to 1995 the town museum was housed in the hall.
In 1957–59 the whole building was carefully restored.
Heavy traffic was starting to affect the structure, but a bypass road has reduced the risk of damage from vibration.
As of 2016 the hall contained a permanent display on timber-frame buildings, describing their history, construction techniques and uses. The exhibit includes a section on dating timber through tree rings and on restoration of the buildings


Shab Bhar Mosque

The Shab Bhar Mosque (; meaning "Overnight mosque") is a colonial era mosque in the Shah Alami neighbourhood of Lahore, Pakistan. The mosque is said to have been built overnight, following a dispute between local Hindus and Muslims in 1917.
History.
The mosque was built in 1917 following a dispute between local Hindus and Muslims regarding ownership of a 3 "marla" site after a Muslim had offered prayer on the vacant site, upsetting local Hindus. Both communities then expressed a wish to build their house of worship there. The matter was submitted to British colonial authorities, who decided to dispatch a judge to the site in order to determine to which community the disputed plot would belong. A Muslim lawyer advised his community to build a mosque at the site before the judge arrived, so that ownership of the site would be declared in their favour as British authorities had pledged not to disturb religious sites. Under the leadership of a local wrestler named "Gama Pehalwan", Muslims volunteers are said to have gathered after the evening Isha prayer, in order to build the mosque. The mosque reportedly was complete by the morning Fajr prayer, and the judge then ruled in favour of the Muslim community.


Gatorland

Gatorland is a theme park and wildlife preserve in Florida, located along South Orange Blossom Trail south of Orlando. It was founded by Owen Godwin on former cattle land in 1949, and is privately owned by his family.
Billed as the "Alligator Capital of the World," Gatorland features thousands of alligators (including rare leucistic alligators) and crocodiles, and many other animals. Attractions in the park include a breeding marsh with a boardwalk and observation tower, zip lines, an off-road swamp vehicle tour, a ridable miniature railroad, alligator feeding shows, alligator wrestling shows, an aviary, a petting zoo, and educational programs. The breeding marsh area of the park was used in the filming of the 1984 movie "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom".
The park is known for buying and rescuing nuisance alligators from trappers that would otherwise be killed for their meat and skin. Gatorland also manages the live alligator display at the Gaylord Palms resort in Kissimmee.
Gatorland Express.
The Gatorland Express, known as "Ol' Iron Horse Express" prior to 2001, is a narrow gauge railroad attraction inside the park, which first opened in 1961 and was originally built by the Allan Herschell Company. The park claims that the Gatorland Express is the first amusement attraction in Central Florida. The original locomotive was retired in 2000 and put on static display, while a brand-new locomotive built by Custom Locomotive of Chicago was purchased and put into operation the following year. The new locomotive is the same model as the locomotive previously used at the nearby Green Meadows Petting Farm. An additional fee is required to ride the railroad and prior to the 2011 opening of the zip line, it was the only non-animal-related attraction in Gatorland.
2006 fire.
Shortly before sunrise on Monday, November 6, 2006, a three-alarm fire broke out at Gatorland, apparently started when a heating pad in one of the displays in the gift shop shorted out; arson was not suspected. The fire was brought under control within several hours, but the gift shop was completely destroyed, and several walkways also burned. The fire killed a four-foot-long crocodile and two six-foot-long pythons, but spared the other animals. During the day, the birds that are displayed in and around the shop were moved to the aviary at the back of the park and were not injured.
After inspectors confirmed that there was no structural damage to the various walkways and displays at the park, Gatorland reopened less than three weeks later, on the day after Thanksgiving. The gift shop and main offices were rebuilt as a two-story concrete block building, incorporating the repainted historic concrete alligator's mouth, and opened on May 22, 2008.
Zip line ride.
In the summer of 2011, Gatorland added a zip line that travels across a pool of alligators and past several of the existing attractions. The ride is approximately long and several stories high. It is available for riders tall or more. In January 2016, Gatorland made the zip line wheelchair-accessible.
Gator Spot.
Gatorland opened Gator Spot at Fun Spot America Theme Parks' Orlando park in the International Drive tourist area on May 11, 2015. The $1 million attraction allows visitors to hold, take photos with, and feed alligators. The main attraction is a leucistic alligator named Bouya, a white gator with blue eyes.


Dinkey Lakes Wilderness

The Dinkey Lakes Wilderness is a federally designated wilderness area located northeast of Fresno, in the state of California, United States. It comprises within the Sierra National Forest and was added to the National Wilderness Preservation System by the California Wilderness Act of 1984.
Elevations range from to .
Recreational activities in the wilderness include day hiking, backpacking, horseback riding, fishing, rock climbing and cross-country skiing.
The landscape of Dinkey Lakes Wilderness is composed of subalpine forests with high, rolling ridges made up of granitic bedrock intersparsed with large, wet meadows. A high divide along the southwestern boundary has several peaks over . elevation, including the Three Sisters, Brown Peak, and Eagle Peak. Extensive glaciation is evident by the many cirques located at timberline.
Flora and fauna.
Wildlife include the North Kings and Huntington deer herds, black bear, golden-mantled ground squirrel, coyote, and the Sierra red fox. Also martins, and pikas in rocky areas above timberline.
Dinkey Lakes Wilderness has forests of red fir, lodgepole pine, western white pine, with mountain hemlock and whitebark pine at higher elevations.
Recreation.
The large John Muir Wilderness () is to the east of Dinkey Lakes and is separated from it by the Dusy-Ershim Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) route. This corridor links Kaiser Pass in the north to the Courtright Reservoir in the south. There are three other OHV routes to the west of the wilderness boundary and are popular in the summer months.
Three entry points into the wilderness are; the Cliff Lake trailhead at Courtright Reservoir, Dinkey Creek trailhead and the California Riding and Hiking trailhead located at D and F Pack Station on Kaiser Pass road. There are of trails offering a variety of one way and loop trips into the lake basin areas and mountain summits.
The summits of Dogtooth Peak () and Three Sisters () offer Class 2 and Class 3 rock climbing routes. <br>There are 17 lakes in the wilderness with 14 of those being stocked with golden, brook and rainbow trout.
Winter recreation is limited by the long distance from plowed roads. The nearby Sierra Ski Summit Area on highway 168 provides access to the D and F Pack Station and trailhead which is two miles (3 km) north of the wilderness boundary.
A California campfire permit and a wilderness permit are required all year for overnight trips and can be obtained at various ranger stations of the Sierra National Forest as well as the Courtright Reservoir Homeowners Association building at Courtright Reservoir.
Quotas are in place for Dinkey Lakes Wilderness to limit and control the number of visitors. Permits are in effect all year and are divided up between advance reservations (60%) and walk-ins (40%). Each trailhead has a quota limit.
The Forest Service encourages the practice of Leave No Trace principles of wilderness travel to minimize human impact on the environment.
References.
Adkinson, Ron "Wild Northern California". The Globe Pequot Press, 2001


Hovs Hallar

Hovs Hallar () is a nature reserve on the northern tip of the Bjäre Peninsula in the county of Skåne, Sweden. It is located approximately 7 km northeast of the coastal town of Torekov. The reserve is an area of geological interest and its impressive cliff faces are home to a variety of seabirds. It is assumed that the area gave the name of the province Halland, meaning "the land beyond Hovs Hallar".
The location is also the setting for the opening scenes of the classic film "The Seventh Seal", with the Knight challenging Death to a game of chess for his life on the shoreline, and the closing scene with the "Dance Macabre" against a stormy sky.


Alafia River Reserve

The Alafia River Reserve is a recreation area and water conservation area managed by the Southwest Florida Water Management District in Mulberry, Florida, Polk County, Florida. It covers and is located at 4872 Indian Oak Drive in Mulberry, Florida. It was created to preserve wetlands and includes hiking trails and a picnic area.


Black River State Forest

Black River State Forest is a state forest located in the western half of Jackson County, Wisconsin near Black River Falls, Wisconsin, U.S.A.. It is administered by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The park has campsites, trails, and allows for hunting, ATV, and canoeing.
It is at the edge of the Driftless Area of Wisconsin, and is more rugged than what is found in the eastern half of the county.
Environmental management.
Each year, around 1000 acres (4.05 km2) of forest in the park are used for logging. Logs are harvested for regeneration of the forest via selective cutting.
In 2015 and 2016, elk were reintroduced into the park.

Over 140 organizations "representing millions of Americans" have joined the Alliance since it was incorporated in June 1994. Notable member organizations include:


Secular inflation

In economics, secular inflation is a prolonged period of gentle or mild price increases. Secular, or chronic, inflation is basically creeping inflation that continues to persist over a long period of time. Creeping inflation is the gradual, rather than drastic, increase in prices. Although most commonly used to describe a mild inflation rate, secular inflation can be used to describe most inflation rates that are spread over long periods of time. This type of inflation can be consistent (without many downward movements) or intermittent (occurring at regular intervals).
Causes.
Friedrich-Karl Lage, the economist credited with coining the term "secular inflation", described three causes for secular inflation. These are: outside influences, the wear-and-tear on money-stabilizing institutions, and human conduct. Other factors contributing to secular inflation are production and distribution, as costs of production and investments that take a long time to mature prolong rising prices and inflation rates. A final cause of secular inflation is consumption behavior, especially when people live beyond their means as a result of the Duessenberry effect.


Robert Grieshaber

Robert Grieshaber (23 April 1846, Hallau – 25 October 1928) was a Swiss politician and President of the Swiss National Council (1897/1898).


Culture Warlords

Culture Warlords: My Journey into the Dark Web of White Supremacy is a non-fiction book by Talia Lavin. In it, Lavin describes a project of inventing online personae that allow her to meet and expose fascist white supremacists who gather in online chatrooms and websites; the book also traces the historic roots of these contemporary phenomena.
"Time" named "Culture Warlords" one of the 100 must-read books of 2020.
Publication history.
Lavin, who is Jewish and the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, became motivated to investigate the topic following white supremacist rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017 where "Jews will not replace us!" was a rallying cry.
In March 2019, Lavin sold "Culture Warlords" to editor Paul Whitlatch at Hachette Books. It was published on October 13, 2020.
Content.
Lavin invented online personae which allowed her to gain entry to white supremacist websites and chatrooms, gathering information for journalists and anti-fascist activists. The book describes these present-day encounters while also tracing “the distant and near history of the alt-right, from the medieval European blood libel to Henry Ford’s mainstreaming of anti-Semitic ideas to Gamergate and the stories of a radicalized adolescent YouTuber.”
Reception.
"Publishers Weekly" called the book a "bracing and wide-ranging look at the internet as a breeding ground for racism and misogyny. Readers with a strong stomach for hateful ideology will find plenty of harrowing takeaways." "Kirkus" gave "Culture Warlords" a starred review and "USA Today" named it number one in the “hottest new book releases” for the week it was published.
Writing in "The New York Times", Jennifer Szalai said, "One of the marvels of this furious book is how insolent and funny Lavin is." In her review for the "Boston Globe", Kate Tuttle notes that while other books treat similar material, Lavin’s work "feels particularly insightful, perhaps because she understands so deeply both the modern idiom in which these bigots operate today and their historic roots in race science, eugenics, and anti-Semitism."
"Time" named "Culture Warlords" one of the 100 must-read books of 2020.


Martine Brunschwig Graf

Martine Brunschwig Graf (born 16 March 1950 in Fribourg) is a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss National Council for the Canton of Geneva; since 2003. Her political party is FDP.The Liberals.
Brunschwig Graf was a member of the parliament of the Canton of Geneva from 1989 to 1993; as a member of Liberal Party of Switzerland. On 14 November 1993, she was elected to the Cantonal Government and later re-elected twice in 1997 and 2001. Initially, she headed Geneva's education department: 1993–2001; and thereafter, the finance department: 2003–2005. Brunschwig Graf presided over Geneva cantonal government in 1998/1999 and 2004/2005.


Commonwealth Taekwondo Championships

The Commonwealth Taekwondo Championships are held every two years, in every year the Commonwealth and Olympic Games are held. They are sanctioned by the Commonwealth Taekwondo Union, the Commonwealth Games Federation and the World Taekwondo Federation and involve world class competitors, making them a major event in Taekwondo.
The first Commonwealth Taekwondo Championships were held in Brisbane, Queensland, on 14 and 15 October 2006. The host was Taekwondo Australia Inc.
In 2008, the Taekwondo Championships were held from November 21 to 23 at the MTS Center in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
The 3rd Commonwealth Taekwondo Championships were held in Brisbane, Australia and included:
The award for the placings in the Commonwealth Taekwondo Championships are medals.
Taekwondo is now a Category 2 Commonwealth Games Sport and may feature in future Commonwealth Games.
England will have their strongest ever Poomsae Team represent the country at this weekends forthcoming 2011 Commonwealth Taekwondo Championships held in Chennai, India 28-30 January.


Pictou (provincial electoral district)

Pictou was a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that, at the time of its dissolution, elected two members to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. It existed from 1867 to 1949, at which time Pictou County was divided into the three electoral districts of: Pictou East, Pictou West, and Pictou Centre.
Members of the Legislative Assembly.
Pictou elected the following members to the Legislature:
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Prior to 1933, Pictou elected three members to the Nova Scotia Legislature:


Petitcodiac (electoral district)

Petitcodiac was a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, Canada.


Cariboo-Chilcotin (provincial electoral district)

Cariboo-Chilcotin is a provincial electoral district in British Columbia, Canada. It was established by the "Electoral Districts Act, 2008" and was first contested in the 2009 general election. It was last contested in the 2020 provincial election.
Geography.
As of the 2020 provincial election, Cariboo-Chilcotin comprises the southern portion of the Cariboo Regional District. It is located in central British Columbia. Communities in the electoral district consist of Williams Lake and 100 Mile House.


Harvey Thomas Strosberg

Harvey Thomas Strosberg, (born September 1, 1944) is a Canadian lawyer. He is a senior partner at the law firm of Strosberg, Sasso, Sutts LLP.
Early life.
Harvey Strosberg was raised in Windsor, Ontario, and graduated from Kennedy Collegiate Institute. At Kennedy Collegiate Institute, he was an avid participant in team sports, including football, basketball and track and field. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Windsor and a Bachelor of Laws degree from Osgoode Hall Law School.
Legal career.
Strosberg was an articling student for John Sopinka on Bay Street in Toronto, Ontario before Sopinka became a justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.
Strosberg was called to the bar in 1971 and became a Queen's Counsel in 1982.
Strosberg served as Commission Counsel to Mr. Justice Horace Krever in the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Confidentiality of Health Records in Ontario (1977-1980).
Strosberg has been a bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada since 1987 and was its 55th Treasurer from 1997–1999.
His portrait at the Law Society was painted by Curtis Hooper.
Strosberg was named a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers in 1991.
Strosberg has recovered more than $3.6 billion for his class action clients. Mr. Strosberg was co-lead counsel in the Hepatitis C class action, co-lead counsel in the YBM Magnex securities class action, co-lead counsel in the Vitamins price fixing class action and lead counsel in the Money Mart class action. He has also acted or is acting as lead or co-lead counsel in class actions against, among others, The Bank of Nova Scotia, Merck & Co., Inc., Guidant Corporation, NovaGold Resources Inc., Ford, General Motors, VW in the Volkswagen emissions scandal and the Federal Government of Canada. A part of the VW case settled for $2.1 billion.
Strosberg was recognized by Lexpert as one of Canada's top 25 commercial litigation counsel. He was appointed by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice as Plaintiff's Counsel Representative to oversee the administration of a class action settlement relating to the Walkerton tragedy and as a member of the Joint Committee overseeing the administration of the Hepatitis C class action settlement.
Strosberg's firm has represented wrongfully convicted persons including William Mullins-Johnson, Anthony Hanemaayer, Robert Baltovich and James Driskell in their civil lawsuits.
In 2010, Strosberg secured the largest cost award in Canadian history, $11 million to the plaintiff's lawyers.
In October 2010, Mr. Strosberg suffered a debilitating stroke, which took away his ability to speak. His remarkable recovery has allowed him to return to the courtroom. In 2012 he was lead plaintiff's counsel in the case of Mandeville et al. v. Manufacturers Life Insurance Company.
Strosberg is currently seeking the largest punitive damage award in Canadian history against the Canadian Transit Corporation and the owners of the Ambassador Bridge for their handling of property owned on the Canadian side of the crossing.
Strosberg has been partners with some of the most accomplished lawyers in Canada. Mr. Strosberg's former partners include Allan Rock and Patrick Ducharme.
Academic career.
Strosberg taught a course in class action law at the University of Windsor law school with his partner David Robins and until recently, lectured annually at the University of Ottawa.
Public service.
In 1995, Strosberg served as the first Board chair of LPIC, the organization which eventually became LawPro. He led the investigation into and proposed the solution to the Law Society of Upper Canada's approximately $154 million insurance fund deficit.
He served as a member of the Board of Directors for Legal Aid Ontario (1999- 2002).
He has also been a panelist at the Ontario Bar Association Cross Border Litigation Program, the Metropolitan Toronto Law Association Class Action Update, the American Bar Association, the Canadian Council on International Law and the Superior Court of Ontario Seminar for Judges.
Awards and honours.
Strosberg's work as a civil litigator has been widely recognized in the form of honorary degrees and medals. In 2002 the Law Society of Upper Canada awarded him an Honorary LLD. He received a DCL from the University of Windsor in 2003. He also received an LLD from Assumption University (Windsor, Ontario) in 2004.
Strosberg was awarded the Law Society Medal in 2010.
Most recently, one year after he suffered the stroke, he was awarded the Ontario Bar Association Award of Excellence in Civil Litigation in 2011. His speech was delivered at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel.
Personal life.
Strosberg is married to Cathy Strosberg. His first marriage ended in divorce. Strosberg had three children with his first wife: Elaine, Sharon and Jay. They all went on to become lawyers as well.
He is the nephew of Olympian Irving Meretsky.
Strosberg was friends with judges Edward Ducharme of the Ontario Court of Appeal and Paul Stephen Andrew Lamek of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, and delivered both of their eulogies.
Bibliography.
Strosberg is currently the editor of the Canadian Class Action Review.


Pictou West

Pictou West is a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly.
Its Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) since 2013 has been Karla MacFarlane of the Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia (PC).
Members of the Legislative Assembly.
This riding has elected the following Members of the Legislative Assembly:
Election results.

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Squadrone Volante (Scotland)

The Squadrone Volante (from the Italian, meaning "Flying Squadron") was a political grouping in Scotland around 1700, under the leadership of the deposed Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland John Hay, 2nd Marquess of Tweeddale, which was influential in passing the Act of Union with England in 1707.
Although the actual grouping pre-dated 1705, it received the nickname "squadrone volante" in that year, as it was independent of the main Court and Country parties in the Scottish Parliament.


PASOK

The Panhellenic Socialist Movement ( ("Panellenio Sosialistiko Kinema"), ), known mostly by its acronym PASOK, (; , ) is a social-democratic political party in Greece. Until 2015, it was one of the two major electoral forces in the country, along with New Democracy, its main political rival.
Following the collapse of the Greek military dictatorship of 1967–1974, PASOK was founded on 3 September 1974 by Andreas Papandreou as a socialist, Venizelist, democratic socialist and left-wing nationalist party. As a result of the 1981 legislative election, PASOK formed Greece's first centre-left government. Andreas Papandreou was the leader of the party from its founding to his resignation in 1996, shortly followed by his death on 23 June. In those years, he served three terms as Prime Minister. His successor as president of the party was Costas Simitis, who served two continuous terms as Prime Minister. George Papandreou, Andreas Papandreou's son, then took leadership of the party and was elected as Prime Minister in 2009.
Formerly one of the largest left-wing parties in Greek politics between the 1977 and 2012 elections, PASOK lost much of its popular support as a result of the Greek debt crisis. When the crisis begun, PASOK was the ruling party with George Papandreou as Prime Minister and he was responsible for negotiating the first Greek bailout package with the European troika which necessitated harsh austerity measures. After suffering a significant loss in popularity as a result of the economic crisis, Papandreou resigned in 2011 and Evangelos Venizelos took over as leader of the party. The party was part of two coalition governments from 2011 to 2015, during which further austerity measures were taken in response to the crisis. Due to said measures and the crisis, PASOK went from being the largest party in the Hellenic Parliament with 160 seats (44% of the popular vote) in the 2009 election to being the smallest party with 13 seats (5% of the popular vote) in the January 2015 election. This decline became known as Pasokification.
To halt the party's decline, Fofi Gennimata was elected as the new president of the party and PASOK formed a political alliance with the Democratic Left known as the Democratic Alignment. In the September 2015 election, Democratic Alignment was the fourth most voted-for party. In 2018, PASOK merged into a new political alliance of centre-left parties, again led by Gennimata, called the Movement for Change, becoming the third largest party in the Hellenic Parliament in the 2019 election.
History.
Foundation.
The first members of the party were the main organizers of the collapse of the military junta of 1967–1974 and the re-establishment of democracy on 3 September 1974. Its founder was Andreas Papandreou, son of the late Greek liberal leader and three-time Prime Minister of Greece Georgios Papandreou Sr. Its founding mottos were "National Independence, Popular Sovereignty, Social Emancipation, Democratic Process." Andreas Papandreou was offered the leadership of the liberal political forces immediately after the restoration of democracy, but in a risky move he declined, so the leadership was assumed by Georgios Mavros. Papandreou, a powerful orator and charismatic leader, explicitly rejected the Venizelist ideological heritage of his father, and stressed the fact that he was a socialist, not a liberal.
Early years.
At the November 1974 elections the Party received only 13.5% of the vote and won 15 seats (out of 300), coming third behind the centre-right New Democracy of Konstantinos Karamanlis and the Centre Union – New Forces (EK-ND) of Georgios Mavros. At the November 1977 elections, however, PASOK eclipsed the EK-ND, doubled its share of the vote and won 92 seats, becoming the main opposition party.
In government.
At the October 1981 national elections the PASOK won a landslide victory with 48% of the vote and capturing 173 seats; it formed the first socialist government in the history of Greece since 1924. Although Papandreou had campaigned for withdrawal of Greece from NATO and the European Economic Community, after a strong request by the rest of the party members and its supporters, changed his policy towards both institutions. He proved to be an excellent negotiator when it came to securing benefits and subsidies for Greece from the EEC. For example, in 1985 he openly threatened Jacques Delors to veto the entry of Spain and Portugal in the Community in order to secure more monetary aid for Greece.
In 1986, the PASOK government amended the Greek constitution to remove most powers from the President and give wider authority to the Prime Minister and the Executive Government. Civil marriages, not consecrated by religious ceremony, were recognized as equally valid with religious weddings. The left-wing Resistance movement against the Axis in World War II was finally formally recognized, and former leftist resistance fighters were given state pensions, while leftist political refugees of the Greek Civil War were finally given permission to return to Greece. The National Health System was created and various repressive laws of the anti-communist postwar establishment were abolished, wages were boosted, an independent and multidimensional foreign policy was pursued, many reforms in family law to strengthen the rights of women were undertaken and the Greek Gendarmerie was abolished in 1984. At the June 1985 elections, received 46% of the vote and won 161 seats, thus securing a stable parliamentary majority for its second term in power.
It continued to be popular for much of its second term, especially in March 1987 when Andreas Papandreou successfully handled a crisis in the Aegean with Turkey. By late 1988 however, both the government's popularity and Papandreou's health had declined. The former, because of press reports of financial and corruption scandals that surfaced, implicating Ministers and, allegedly, Andreas Papandreou himself as well as because of fiscal austerity measures imposed after the Keynesian policies of the first term. PASOK lost the June 1989 elections with 40% of the vote while the opposing New Democracy received 44.3%. PASOK had changed the electoral law before the elections, making it harder for the leading party to form a majority government, so the legislature was deadlocked.
Another election in November produced a very similar result. After a brief period of a grand coalition government, in which PASOK participated, a third election in April 1990 brought New Democracy back to power. Despite a 7% lead in popular vote over PASOK, New Democracy could only secure a marginal majority in the Hellenic Parliament, electing 152 MPs out of a total of 300; PASOK had secured a larger number of representatives on a lower percentage of votes, as well as a small overall lead, in the elections of 1985, under the previous electoral system. Its representation in the Parliament shrunk to 121 MPs in 1990.
In opposition, PASOK underwent a leadership crisis when Andreas Papandreou was prosecuted over his supposed involvement in the Bank of Crete scandal. He was eventually acquitted and, in a dramatic reversal of fortunes, at the October 1993 elections he led the party to another landslide victory. Papandreou returned to office with 47% of the vote and his re-election was considered by many a vote of confidence of the public against his prosecution. In November 1995, however, Papandreou's health began to deteriorate and the Party was racked with leadership conflicts.
Modernization period.
In January 1996 Andreas Papandreou retired after a protracted three-month-long hospitalization, during which he retained the role of Prime Minister; he died six months later. He was succeeded by Costas Simitis, the candidate of the modernising, pro-European wing of PASOK (the so-called "modernizers", εκσυγχρονιστές "eksynchronistes"), who won an internal vote against Akis Tsochatzopoulos, a Papandreou confidant. In the first days following his election, Costas Simitis faced the biggest crisis in Greek politics for over 20 years, with the Imia crisis. He was criticized for his soft stance against Turkey and especially for praising in public the American intervention on the issue.
In a PASOK conference held in the summer of 1996, following Andreas Papandreou's death, Costas Simitis was elected leader of the party and called early elections seeking a renewed public vote of confidence. Although the Imia crisis had somewhat tarnished his image, the country's economic prosperity and his matter-of-fact administration won him the September 1996 general election with a 41.5% of the vote. Under Costas Simitis' leadership, PASOK had two major successes: In September 1997 Greece won the right to stage the 2004 Summer Olympic Games and in 2001 it was confirmed that the country would be included in the Eurozone, for which it had failed to meet the convergence criteria in 1998. Costas Simitis won another term in April 2000, narrowly winning with 43.8% of the vote and 158 seats: a substantial achievement for a Party which had been in power almost continuously for nearly 20 years.
In 2000, after the assassination of Brigadier Saunders by the terrorist group 17 November (17N), and especially with the forthcoming Athens Olympics being a major terrorist target, a significant international pressure was exerted on PASOK to recognise that Greece had a terrorist problem and do everything possible to bring the terrorist group to justice. Some amongst the western media had even falsely accusing the party of colluding with the terrorists, due to the fact that the authorities were unable to arrest the terrorists. Under the guidance of British and U.S. experts, the government intensified its efforts and finally, with a string of events starting at 29 June 2002, the 17N members were captured and put to trial.
George Papandreou leadership.
Nevertheless, the party was losing its traditional appeal to the Greek lower and middle classes. In order to revitalize the party's chances for the next elections, Costas Simitis announced his resignation as the leader of the party on 7 January 2004. He was succeeded by George Papandreou, son of Andreas Papandreou. The party members were expecting that Papandreou could reverse the slide in the opinion polls which saw the opposition New Democracy (ND), under Kostas Karamanlis, 7% ahead at the start of the year.
Although Papandreou reduced ND's lead in the polls to 3%, he was unable to reverse the view of the majority of Greek voters that PASOK had been in power too long and had grown lazy, corrupt and had abandoned the inclusive and progressive principles of economic parity on which it was founded. ND had a comfortable win at the 2004 legislative elections held on 7 March 2004, placing the party in opposition after eleven years in office with 40.55% share of the vote and 117 seats.
On 16 September 2007, New Democracy headed by Costas Karamanlis won re-election with a marginal majority of 152 seats in the Parliament. Despite ND's falling performance in the 2007 legislative election, PASOK suffered a crushing defeat, registering 38.1% of the vote, its lowest percentage in almost 30 years, and 102 seats in the Hellenic Parliament.
The dismal result led to activation of the procedure to select new leadership, or to reaffirm the previous one. The main competitors for the leadership were the incumbent George Papandreou and the Party's informal second in command, Professor Evangelos Venizelos. M.P. for Thessaloniki. M.P. Kostas Skandalidis also announced his candidacy in September. According to Party regulation, leaders are elected in a voting process open to all members. During the leadership election of 11 November 2007 George Papandreou was re-elected by the friends and members of the party as its leader.
In June 2009, the PASOK won the 2009 European Parliament election in Greece. Four months later, the Party enjoyed a resounding victory in the October 2009 general elections with 43.92% of the popular vote to ND's 33.48%, and 160 parliament seats to 91. Due to a number of defections and expulsions after 2009, by November 2011 PASOK held a slim majority of 152 of the parliament's 300 seats.
Decline.
A poll in October 2011 on behalf of the Greek TV channel Skai TV and the newspaper "Kathimerini" (after the austerity measures that were taken to tackle the financial crisis) revealed that of the people asked, 92% felt disappointed by the government while only 5% believed that a PASOK government would be best for the nation in the next elections. In the same survey, when asked about whether people have a positive or negative opinion of the various political parties in Greece, PASOK scored as the lowest, with 76% answering "negative".
Because of the financial crisis and the measures that were taken by the party from 2009 to 2012, PASOK, having been the largest party in the outgoing coalition government, achieved only third place with a mere 13.18%, retaining just 41 seats.
After the elections of 6 May 2012, the President of Greece, Karolos Papoulias, mandated New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras to form a coalition government. On 7 May 2012, Samaras gave up the attempt and on the following day, President Papoulias mandated Alexis Tsipras, president of the Synaspismos political party and head of the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) parliamentary group. After Tsipras was also unable to form a government, Evangelos Venizelos was mandated, but he too had no success. The legislative elections of June 2012 resulted in a further reduction in PASOK's popular support, probably as a result of the unpopular memorandum signed by former Prime Minister George Papandreou with the IMF, European Commission and European Central Bank. PASOK's share of the overall vote was its worst ever showing since the party was formed (12.28%). However PASOK decided to help the formation of a government by joining with New Democracy (ND) as well as the Democratic Left (DIMAR) of Fotis Kouvelis in a coalition under Prime Minister Samaras.
To contest the 2014 European election, PASOK founded the Olive Tree electoral alliance on 7 March 2014. In the May 2014 European elections, the Olive Tree list came in fourth place nationally, receiving 8.02% of the vote, electing 2 MEPs.
On 29 December 2014, following the failure of the government to elect a presidential candidate, a snap January 2015 legislative election was called by Prime Minister Samaras, scheduled for 25 January 2015.
2015 legislative elections.
On 2 January 2015, in the run-up to the legislative election, former Prime Minister and PASOK leader George Papandreou announced the formation of a breakaway party called Movement of Democratic Socialists (KIDISO), a move immediately condemned by PASOK officials. Five PASOK members of the Hellenic Parliament were expected to join the new party, including the former ministers Philippos Sachinidis and Dimitris Reppas.
In the 25 January 2015 legislative election, PASOK received 4.7% of the vote, with mandate for 13 seats in the Hellenic Parliament.
On 30 August 2015, ahead of the upcoming September snap election, PASOK announced an electoral alliance with DIMAR, dubbed the Democratic Coalition.
In the September 2015 legislative election on 20 September 2015, the PASOK–DIMAR list received 6.3% of the vote, and 17 seats.
Road to a new party.
On 12 November 2017, an open primary was used as the first round of elections to select the leader of a new, as yet unfounded centre-left party in which PASOK would be folded. Nine initial leadership candidates include PASOK leader Fofi Gennimata, The River leader Stavros Theodorakis and incumbent Athens mayor Giorgos Kaminis. Reaching the second-round election were Gennimata, with 44.5% of the vote, and PASOK MEP Nikos Androulakis with 25.4%. The run-off election on 19 November was won by Gennimata with 56% of the vote. On 28 November 2017, the preliminary name of the new party was announced as “Movement for Change” ("Kinima Allagis").
International and European links.
PASOK is a member of the Socialist International, the Progressive Alliance and the Party of European Socialists. PASOK MEPs sit with the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group in the European Parliament.
Pasokification refers to the decline of centre-left parties across Europe. In 2021, the collapse of the Labour Party (UK)’s share of the vote in the 2021 United Kingdom local elections and the 2021 Hartlepool by-election, saw British commentators refer to the Labour leadership as ‘Pasok on Thames’.