William F. Dean

William Frishe Dean Sr. (August 1, 1899August 24, 1981) was a United States Army major general during World War II and the Korean War. He received the Medal of Honor for his actions on July 20 and 21, 1950, during the Battle of Taejon in South Korea. Dean was also the highest ranking American officer captured by the North Koreans during the Korean War.
Dean attended the University of California at Berkeley before graduating with a commission in the US Army through the Reserve Officer's Training Corps (ROTC) in 1921. Slowly rising up the ranks in the inter-war years, Dean worked a desk job in Washington D.C. for much of World War II before being transferred to the 44th Infantry Division which he later commanded during the final days of the war, and was awarded a Distinguished Service Cross.
Dean is known for commanding the 24th Infantry Division at the outbreak of the Korean War. Dean led the division for several weeks in successful delaying battles against the North Koreans, before he led his division in making a last stand at Taejon. During the confused retreat from that city, Dean was separated from his soldiers and badly injured, and was eventually captured by the North Koreans. He remained in North Korean custody near P'yongyang for the remainder of the war. After the end of the conflict, Dean returned to the United States to a hero's welcome. He retired from the Army soon after and lived a quiet life until his death.
Early life and education.
Dean was born on August 1, 1899, in Carlyle, Illinois, to Charles Watts Dean, who worked as a dentist, and Elizabeth Frishe Dean, who was of German descent. William Dean had two siblings, a brother named David and a sister named Elizabeth. Dean states in his biography his interest in the military began at a very young age, upon seeing the United States Military Academy cadets in the 1904 Saint Louis Exposition performing military drill. During his childhood, Dean was interested in physical fitness, and began weightlifting and running, activities he would continue throughout much of his life. His first jobs included selling magazines for spending money. Growing up in Carlyle, Dean was the town's main paperboy for "The Saturday Evening Post".
After graduating from high school, Dean applied to the US Military Academy, but was rejected. He then tried to enlist in the United States Army during World War I, but he was too young to do so without his parents' permission, and his mother refused. Dean instead attended University of California at Berkeley studying pre-law. During this time, he also took a variety of side jobs, including a stevedore at the San Francisco docks, a motorman, and briefly as a patrolman for the Berkeley Police Department, where he worked under police chief August Vollmer. Dean originally sought to attain a Doctor of Law degree but only completed a Bachelor of Arts degree from Berkeley in 1922 before joining the Army.
Career.
Inter-war career.
Dean, who had been a member of Berkeley's ROTC, was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the California Army National Guard in 1921, before being given an active duty commission in the infantry on October 13, 1923. His first assignment was to the US 38th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Douglas, Utah. During this posting, Dean took an interest in polo ponies, owning and training several of his own.
Dean was moved to the Panama Canal Zone in 1926, coaching boxing and basketball teams though not competing himself. Dean returned to Fort Douglas in 1929 before attending the United States Army Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia and then serving with a tank battalion before taking a course at the tank school. In 1932, Dean was assigned to the US 30th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division on the US West Coast. During this time, Dean also served in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) as commander of Camp Hackamore in northern California. Dean was then moved to the CCC headquarters in Redding, California.
Following these appointments, Dean attended the US Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas before being assigned to a post on Oahu, Hawaii for two years. Following this stint, Dean attended the Armed Forces Industrial College at Fort McNair, Washington D.C. and then the field officer's course at the Chemical Warfare school in the United States Army War College at Carlisle Barracks. Dean was promoted to captain in 1936, and major in 1940. Upon this promotion, Dean was assigned to Washington D.C. on the United States Department of War on the General Staff, first as a junior member, then as assistant secretary, then as executive officer in the Requirement Division of the Ground Forces Headquarters, a department concerned with the acquisition of new weapons and electronics, and training literature.
World War II.
Following the United States' entry into World War II, Dean was promoted to the temporary rank of lieutenant colonel in 1941, and colonel in 1942. He was promoted to brigadier general in December of that year and made head of the Requirements Division in 1943. He held this office only briefly, before being assigned as assistant commander of the US 44th Infantry Division, under Major Generals James I. Muir and Robert L. Spragins beginning in late 1943. The division was to sail for the European Theater and Dean went with them despite being injured shortly before departure in a flamethrower accident which claimed the lives of two other soldiers.
The 44th Infantry Division landed in France via Omaha Beach on September 15, 1944. It trained for a month before entering combat on October 18, 1944, when it relieved the US 79th Infantry Division in the vicinity of Foret de Parroy, east of Luneville, to take part in the Seventh United States Army drive to secure several passes in the Vosges Mountains. The division was hit by a heavy counterattack by forces of Nazi Germany on October 25–26. The attack was repulsed and the 44th remained in the sector for several weeks. On November 13, 1944, it attacked northeast, advancing through the Vosges Mountains east of Leintrey to Dossenheim, and capturing Avricourt, on November 17. The division then pushed on to liberate Strasbourg with the French 2nd Armored Division. After regrouping, the 44th Infantry Division returned to the attack, taking Ratzwiller and entering the Ensemble de Bitche along the Maginot Line.
When division commander Major General Robert L. Spragins was injured and relieved of command in December 1944, Dean was promoted to command the division. That month, the division was caught up in the German Army offensive in the Alsace, known as Operation Nordwind. Fort Simserhof was captured by the Germans on December 19 and the 44th Infantry Division was forced to retreat to defensive positions east of Sarreguemines. On December 21–23, the 44th threw back three attempts by the Germans to cross the Blies River. An aggressive defense of the Sarreguemines area was continued throughout February and most of March 1945, when Dean was promoted to major general.
The division moved across the Rhine River at Worms, Germany on March 26, in the wake of the 3rd Infantry Division. The 44th relieved the 3rd on March 26–27 and crossed the Neckar River to attack and capture Mannheim, Germany on March 28–29. Shifting to the west bank of the Main River, the division crossed that river at Grosse Auheim in early April, and engaged in a three-week period of training. Returning to the lines, the division resumed its attack on April 18 in conjunction with the US 10th Armored Division, the 44th took Ehingen on April 23, crossed the Danube River. It then attacked southeast into Austria, taking Füssen, Berg, and Wertach as part of a drive to Imst. Pursuing the disintegrating German forces through Fern Pass and into Inn Valley, the 44th was in Imst by May 4. The city of Landeck surrendered on May 5. The 19th German Army had surrendered at Innsbruck the same day, and the division was involved in processing German prisoners until V-E Day on May 8. Dean's troops took 30,000 prisoners of war in the surrender of the German army. Dean was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Legion of Merit, and the Army Distinguished Service Medal for his leadership of the division during the war.
After a short period of occupation duty, the 44th Infantry Division returned to the United States in July 1945 where it began training for deployment to the Pacific Theater. As part of Operation Coronet it was intended that Dean would lead the division during the planned invasion of Honshū, but the war came to an end before this took place and the operation was subsequently cancelled. Dean then oversaw the drawdown of the division until he was relieved of command on November 1, 1945. The 44th Infantry Division was disbanded by the end of that month.
Post-World War II.
After he transitioned out of command of the 44th Infantry Division, Dean was assigned to Fort Leavenworth again to organize and direct command classes. In October 1947, Dean was appointed the commander of military forces in South Korea, deputy to Lieutenant General John R. Hodge, commander of the United States Army Military Government in Korea. This job was temporary as the US forces transitioned the South Koreans to independence. Headquartered in Seoul, Dean maintained political control of the country until August 15, 1948, when the new South Korean government was elected and the occupation ended. Dean was then made commander of the US 7th Infantry Division, overseeing its movement from South Korea to bases in Japan as part of the Occupation of Japan. By January 1949, Dean and his division were in Sapporo, Japan on the island of Hokkaido. He was moved to Yokohama in May 1949 to serve as chief of staff to the Eighth United States Army under Lieutenant General Walton Walker. In October 1949 Dean returned to division command when he took command of the US 24th Infantry Division in Kokura, Kyushu.
Suppression of the Jeju uprising.
Through his role in the USAMGIK, General Dean oversaw the violent suppression of the Jeju uprising, a prolonged armed uprising which broke out on April 3, 1948, largely in protest to the Division of Korea and moves to establish a separate government in the South. The Workers' Party of South Korea and its supporters launched the insurgency by attacking the police. Northwest Youth League members stationed on Jeju mobilized to violently suppress the uprising. In less than a month after the uprising began, a peace agreement had been reached between resistance leader Kim Dal-sam and Jeju constabulary commander Kim Ik-ryeol. However this agreement was rejected by Dean who soon after fired Kim Ik-ryeol and replaced him with the more compliant Pak Chin-gyŏng. Dean subsequently ordered a purge of suspected sympathizers of the Workers' Party of South Korea from the Korean Constabulary culminating in the summary execution of three sergeants. The First Republic of Korea under President Syngman Rhee escalated the suppression of the uprising from August 1948, declaring martial law in November and beginning an "eradication campaign" against rebel forces in the rural areas of Jeju in March 1949, defeating them within two months. 30,000 people were killed in total during the uprising including at least 14,373 civilians.
Korean War.
Delaying action.
At the outbreak of the Korean War on June 25, 1950, Dean's division was the closest US ground unit to the Korean Peninsula. General of the Army Douglas MacArthur ordered Walker to deploy the division to South Korea as quickly as possible to resist the advancing forces of North Korea. Dean was ordered to send an advance battalion from his division by air to South Korea with a mission to advance and resist leading elements of the North Korean People's Army in an effort to delay them as much as possible while the remainder of the division followed by sea. Dean was given command of all US forces in Korea, and his division numbered 15,965 men and 4,773 vehicles at the time. On July 1, Dean organized the 406-man Task Force Smith from components of the US 21st Infantry Regiment and ordered it into Korea, as the advance force. As Task Force Smith advanced, Dean himself landed in Taejon on July 3 and set up his command post with Brigadier General John H. Church, the Assistant Division Commander, and Brigadier General George B. Barth, the Division Artillery commander, as his deputies. Dean ordered Barth forward to act as his forward commander for Task Force Smith, which began digging in at Osan to resist North Korean troops advancing after the capture of Seoul. Task Force Smith was subsequently defeated by North Koreans at the Battle of Osan the next day, and pushed back.
With the defeat of Task Force Smith, Dean ordered the US 34th Infantry Regiment and other elements of the division to conduct delaying actions south of Osan, but he was disappointed and frustrated by the result. The 34th Infantry was badly defeated in the Battle of Pyongtaek where it only briefly resisted the North Koreans before retreating in disarray. Dean was angered by the poor performance of the 34th Infantry Regiment during the battle. He allegedly was upset that the regiment retreated so quickly without attempting to further delay the North Koreans. He considered ordering the regiment back north immediately but did not do so fearing the unit would be ambushed. Dean replaced the commander of the 34th Infantry, Colonel Jay B. Lovless, and ordered the 3rd Battalion back north, but when it encountered North Korean resistance it immediately became disorganized and was forced to withdraw. The North Koreans outnumbered Dean's troops, and the US forces had no weapons heavy enough to destroy the North Korean T-34 tanks.
Following the retreat from Pyongtaek, the scattered 1st Battalion, 34th Infantry retreated to Chonan, where the rest of the 34th Infantry Regiment was located. L Company of the 3rd Battalion, 34th Infantry was ordered to probe north of the city and meet the advancing elements of the North Korean 4th Infantry Division which was advancing following its two victories. Dean telegraphed the command from Taejon, ordering the rest of 3rd Battalion, 34th Infantry to move up behind L Company. Former regimental commander Lovless moved north to join L Company, along with newly arrived Colonel Robert R. Martin, a friend of Dean's. Around 18:00, Dean ordered Martin to take command of the 34th Infantry Regiment from Lovless. The next morning, July 8, Dean and Walker arrived to see the outcome of the Battle of Chonan which had begun in the night. They discovered Martin had been killed and the regiment again defeated and fleeing in disarray. He ordered it back to the Kum River. Dean ordered the rest of the 21st Infantry to conduct one final delaying action, and in the Battle of Chochiwon from July 10–12 it delayed the North Koreans before being defeated and forced back to the Kum River.
Taejon.
On July 12, Dean ordered the division's three regiments—the US 19th, 21st and 34th Infantry Regiments—to cross the Kum River, destroying all bridges behind them, and to establish defensive positions around Taejon. Dean formed a line with the 34th Infantry and 19th Infantry facing east, and held the heavily battered 21st Infantry in reserve to the southeast. Taejon stood as a major transportation hub between Seoul and Taegu, giving it great strategic value for both sides. The division was attempting to make a stand at Taejon, the last place it could conduct a delaying action before the North Korean forces could converge on the unfinished Pusan Perimeter.
The 24th Infantry Division's three infantry regiments, which had a wartime strength of 3,000 each, were already below strength on their deployment, and heavy losses in the preceding two weeks had reduced their numbers further. The 21st Infantry had 1,100 men left, having suffered 1,433 casualties. The 34th Infantry had only 2,020 and the 19th had 2,276 men. There were another 2,007 men in the 24th Infantry Division artillery formations. Thus the division's total strength was 11,400. This was severely reduced from the 15,965 men and 4,773 vehicles that had arrived in Korea at the beginning of the month.
The 19th and 34th Regiments engaged the North Korean 3rd Division and 4th Division at the Kum River, just west of Taejon. Between July 13 and July 16, the two regiments suffered 650 casualties among the 3,401 men committed there. On July 18, Walker ordered Dean to hold Taejon until July 20 so that the US 1st Cavalry Division and US 25th Infantry Division could establish defensive lines along the Naktong River, forming the Pusan Perimeter.
The North Koreans then moved against Taejon. On July 19, North Korean forces entered Taejon, the site of the 24th Infantry Division's headquarters. Dean personally led the division in its stand at Taejon. The North Koreans quickly surrounded the city and moved in from the west, north and south.
For two days, the 34th Infantry fought the advancing North Koreans in bitter house-to-house fighting. North Korean soldiers continued to infiltrate the city, often disguised as farmers. The remaining elements of the 24th Infantry Division were pushed back block by block. Without radios, and unable to communicate with the remaining elements of the division, Dean joined the men on the front lines, hunting the T-34 tanks with the help of the new shaped-charge, armor-piercing 3.5 inch "Super Bazookas", which had only been put into production two weeks before the war. At one point, Dean personally attacked a tank with a hand grenade, destroying it. He also repeatedly directed the fire of US armor in the city while being exposed to North Korean fire. American forces pulled back gradually after suffering heavy losses, allowing the North Korean 3rd and 4th Divisions to move on the city freely from the north, south, and west roads. The 24th Infantry Division repeatedly attempted to establish its defensive lines, but was repeatedly pushed back by the numerically superior enemy.
Separation.
At the end of the day on July 20, Dean ordered the headquarters of the 34th Infantry to withdraw. Dean remained behind and assisted the US troops in evacuating the city until the last convoy was ready to leave Taejon. As the last convoy of troops moved out of the city and fought through a North Korean roadblock, Dean, with a small force of soldiers, followed them. At the edge of the city, the final elements of the 34th Infantry, leaving the city in 50 vehicles, were ambushed and many of their vehicles were destroyed by machine guns and mortars, forcing the Americans to retreat on foot. In the ensuing fight, Dean's jeep made a wrong turn and was separated from the rest of the American forces.
Dean's small force eventually made it out of the city past several North Korean roadblocks. Just outside the city Dean stopped his jeep to tend to several wounded US soldiers in a wrecked truck in the ditch. However, as they attempted to escape further they ran into another North Korean roadblock and were forced to continue on foot, crossing the Taejon River and climbing a nearby mountain. In the confusion, Dean was separated from the group.
While he was going after water for a wounded man, Dean fell down a steep slope and was knocked unconscious. When he regained consciousness he found he had a gashed head, a broken shoulder, and many bruises. For 36 days, Dean wandered alone in the mountains trying to reach safety, going without food and medical treatment. The tall Dean who had weighed before the war was reduced to as he wandered for the next month. On August 25, two South Koreans who pretended to be guiding him toward safety led him into a prearranged ambush of North Korean soldiers at Chinan, south of Taejon and west of Taegu. Dean attempted to fight the North Koreans with his sidearm to make them kill him, but they easily took the weakened Dean prisoner.
By July 22, with Dean still missing, the Eighth Army appointed Church commander of the 24th Infantry Division and promoted him to major general. Dean was widely believed to have been killed until October 1950, when US forces captured a North Korean soldier named Lee Kyu Hyun near P'yongyang. Lee had been assigned to live with Dean for a month as an interpreter. Lee was interviewed throughout late 1950 but US military leaders still generally thought Dean was dead.
Imprisonment.
Dean was taken to a local police headquarters and kept in a cage overnight. North Korean troops were initially not aware of his identity. Dean was taken to a prison camp in Suwon where he was given food and medical treatment, but he began suffering from diarrhea and dysentery. Dean was then transported to the main North Korean prisoner of war camp in Seoul with other American prisoners. He attempted to keep his identity a secret but he was quickly recognized by a South Korean administrator who had worked under him before the war. Dean was moved to P'yongyang and given a larger living quarters in an underground North Korean facility. He remained sick owing to poorly prepared food.
As UN air raids against the North Koreans intensified, Dean was moved to Sunan, north of P'yongyang, to a hut where he lived with several guards. They began daily interrogations primarily aimed at forcing military intelligence from him or making him sign a written condemnation of the UN intervention in Korea, but Dean adamantly refused to do so. Senior North Korean military leaders continued such interrogations through October 1950 but eventually gave up when Dean would not cooperate and was not intimidated by their threats. Dean continued to suffer from illness related to poor food but he was not given another interpreter and was not interrogated after October 1950. North Korean leaders had threatened to harm Dean if he did not cooperate but he was never actually tortured. Dean took to playing chess with his guards often and he was allowed to exercise daily. He was kept alone, however, and was never with other American prisoners for the remainder of his confinement. Dean later wrote extensively of his capture and imprisonment in his 1954 autobiography, "General Dean's Story". He claimed the North Koreans considered him a war criminal and had many discussions with him about the problems with capitalism in the United States.
Dean later said he had tried to commit suicide because he feared he would break under torture and divulge critical intelligence to the North Koreans, such as the plans for Operation Chromite, of which he had been aware. Still he remained defiant during interrogations, refusing to divulge any information and acting unafraid, sometimes laughing off threats. He was given better treatment than most UN prisoners in North Korea, as he was regularly fed and rarely subjected to interrogations after his initial capture. He tried several times to escape but failed in doing so. He may have been moved to Manpo when the UN forces took P'yongyang, and returned when the Chinese People's Liberation Army entered the war and forced the UN forces back.
Dean had no contact with the outside world until he was interviewed on December 18, 1951, by an Australian journalist, Wilfred Burchett, who was a correspondent for "Le Soir", a Belgian newspaper. Burchett's interview was the first time Dean was definitively confirmed alive and as a prisoner to the rest of the world. Dean recounted the incident in his autobiography with the title, "My friend Wilfred Burchett." From Burchett's visit to the end of the war, Dean claimed in his autobiography he was visited by numerous news correspondents. He claimed to have lived the remainder of his time as a prisoner in relative comfort. After the July 27, 1953, , Dean remained in North Korea as a prisoner of war for several more weeks while the armistice was worked out. He was returned to the UN forces at Panmunjom during Operation Big Switch on September 4, 1953.
Later life and death.
When Dean returned to the United States, he received a hero's welcome and was presented with a number of decorations, including the Medal of Honor, which he was unaware he had been awarded. Dean maintained he did not think his own experience was particularly heroic and asserted he did not feel he deserved an award for his actions in Korea. He was given a ticker-tape parade in New York City on his return to the US on October 26, 1953, and he was made the Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses Parade on January 1, 1954.
Three months after his return from Korea, Dean was assigned as the Deputy Commanding General of the Sixth United States Army at the Presidio of San Francisco in California. Dean held this post for two years until he retired from active duty on the 31st of October in 1955. Upon retirement Dean was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge for his front line service in World War II and Korea; general officers are not usually eligible, since they are not usually participants in front line combat, and Dean was only the second general to receive the award. Other generals who received the Combat Infantryman Badge were Douglas MacArthur, Omar Bradley and Joseph Stilwell.
Dean lived a quiet life in San Francisco after retirement. He died on August 24, 1981, aged 82, and was buried in San Francisco National Cemetery in the Presidio of San Francisco and next to his wife.
Personal life.
Dean met Mildred Dern of Salt Lake City, Utah, when one of Dern's friends was injured in a fall from one of Dean's polo ponies during his tour between 1923 and 1926 at Fort Douglas. The two were married in 1926. The couple had two children, Majorie June Dean, born in 1927, and William Dean Jr., born 1929. June married Robert Williams, a US Army Captain, while William Jr. attended West Point Academy in 1950. Dean maintained an athletic lifestyle for much of his life, picking up weightlifting and running when he was young, coaching basketball and, in his later years, he played tennis. He maintained a steady athletic regimen for the majority of his life, even insisting upon it during his imprisonment.
In his later life, Dean maintained a self-deprecating outlook on his actions in Korea and maintained he did not feel he deserved the Medal of Honor. Of his time in Korea, Dean later said, "I wouldn't have awarded myself a wooden star for what I did as a commander." In his autobiography, he opted instead to highlight the command decisions he regretted making and contend, "There were heroes in Korea, but I was not one of them."
Awards and decorations.
Dean was decorated numerous times for his World War II and Korean War service. These awards are now on display at the University of California, Berkeley.
Medal of Honor citation.
In 1951, Congress voted to award Dean the Medal of Honor for his actions during the defense of Taejon. The Medal was presented by US President Harry S. Truman on February 16, 1951, to Dean's wife, son William Dean Jr. and daughter Marjorie June Dean. Dean himself was still reported missing in action in Korea and thought to be dead.
William F. Dean
Rank and organization: Major General, U.S. Army, commanding general, 24th Infantry Division
Place and date: Taejon, Korea, 20 and July 21, 1950
Entered service at: California. Born: August 1, 1899, Carlyle, Ill
G.O. No.: 7, February 16, 1951.
Citation:
Legacy.
Dean was the highest ranking UN prisoner of war of the Korean War. He was also the highest ranking Medal of Honor recipient during the Korean War. His story of capture and imprisonment by the North Koreans was recorded by numerous publications. His initial capture was covered by "Life Magazine" in July 1950 with a photo essay detailing his life. In December 1951, when he was discovered to be alive, "TIME Magazine" did an article on his story and imprisonment, featuring an image of him on the magazine's front cover. He subsequently received more attention from the press. Multiple media outlets attempted to interview Dean but the North Koreans rarely allowed it. Few photos and little information on his status was released, mostly that which showed him in good condition. After his release, Dean's story, as well as Lee's, was told in "Life Magazine".
Dean was memorialized in several ways for his actions. The T-34 tank Dean knocked out remained where it was destroyed in Taejon until 1977 as a memorial to the fight. In his hometown of Carlyle, a newly renovated bridge was named the General Dean Suspension Bridge in 1953. It was inducted into the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. After Dean's death, his uniform and personal items were donated to the University of California at Berkeley ROTC program. The ROTC created a memorial for Dean in the Hearst Gym on campus, designating Room 155 "The Dean Room." Dean's uniform and medals, including his Medal of Honor, have been housed there. The university's Cal Alumni Association also selected Dean as their 1953 "Alumnus of the Year."


Basel IV

The Basel IV standards are changes to global bank capital requirements that were agreed in 2017 and are due for implementation in January 2023. They amend the international banking standards known as the Basel Accords. Regulators argue that these changes are simply completing the Basel III reforms, agreed in principle in 2010–11, although most of the Basel III reforms were agreed in detail at that time. The Basel Committee (BCBS) itself calls them simply "finalised reforms" and the UK Government has called them "Basel 3.1". Critics of the reform, in particular those from the banking industry, argue that Basel IV require a significant increase in capital and should be treated as a distinct round of reforms.
Requirements.
Basel IV introduces changes that limit the reduction in capital that can result from banks' use of internal models under the Internal Ratings-Based approach. This includes:
These reforms will take effect from January 2023 (with exception of the output floor, which is phased in, taking full effect only on 1 January 2027).
British banks alone may have to raise another £50Bn in capital in order to meet Basel IV requirements. The average Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio for major European banks is estimated to fall by 0.9%, with the biggest impact on banks in Sweden and Denmark of 2.5%–3%.
History.
Basel III is an international regulatory framework for banks, developed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) in response to the financial crisis of 2007-08. It contains various rules on capital and liquidity requirements. The 2017 reforms complement the initial Basel III. This set of rules was adopted on 7 December 2017 (14 January 2019 for the adjustment to the market risk framework) with an intended implementation date of January 2022 (2027 for the output floor). As the BCBS does not have the power to issue legally binding regulation, the Basel standards have to be implemented by national authorities.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the BCBS agreed to delay implementation until January 2023.


Starfleet

Starfleet is a fictional organization in the "Star Trek" media franchise. Within this fictional universe, Starfleet is a uniformed space force maintained by the United Federation of Planets ("the Federation") as the principal means for conducting deep space exploration, research, defense, peacekeeping, and diplomacy (although Starfleet predates the Federation, having originally been an Earth organization, as shown by the television series ""). While most of Starfleet's members are human and it is headquartered on Earth, hundreds of other species are also represented. Most of the franchise's protagonists are Starfleet commissioned officers.
History.
During production of early episodes of the , several details of the makeup of the "Star Trek" universe had yet to be worked out, including the operating authority for the USS "Enterprise". The terms "Star Service" ("The Conscience of the King"), "Spacefleet Command" ("The Squire of Gothos"), "United Earth Space Probe Agency" ("Charlie X" and "Tomorrow Is Yesterday"), and "Space Central" ("") were all used to refer to the "Enterprise"s operating authority, before the term "Starfleet" became widespread from the episode "" onwards.
However, references to the United Earth Space Probe Agency, and its abbreviation UESPA, are to be found in episodes of later series. For example, the "Friendship One" probe (launched, on the fictional timeline, in 2067) is marked with the letters UESPA-1 in the ' episode "". Other background props included additional UESPA references, such as Captain Jean-Luc Picard's family album in "Star Trek Generations". During the production of ', some larger Starfleet insignia designs included the name "United Earth Space Probe Agency".
Multiple "" episodes refer to Starfleet having started operation some time between 2112 and 2136, when it funded research begun by Zefram Cochrane and Henry Archer, which led to the first successful flight of Warp-3 vessels in the 2140s.
This research is said to have evolved into the NX Program, which led to Starfleet launching its first Warp 5–capable starship, "Enterprise" (NX-01), in 2151, followed by "Columbia" (NX-02), in 2155, as well as other vessels.
However, the Starfleet that is in existence before the Federation is a different organization (the "Earth Starfleet") than that of the Federation Starfleet.
Starfleet acts under the Prime Directive, a policy of non-interference with pre-warp worlds, such as interference in their internal politics. This is said not to be a human construct, but stems from policies originally implemented by the Vulcans, who regarded an alien civilization's attainment of warp speed as the sign of their importance and a reason for making first contact with them. The Prime Directive and Starfleet's first-contact policies are at the center of several episodes in each "Star Trek" series and the film "".
Starfleet Headquarters is shown to be located on Earth, northeast of the Golden Gate Bridge in the present-day Fort Baker area. Starfleet Academy is located in the same general area. Additionally, various episodes show Starfleet operating a series of starbases throughout Federation territory, as ground facilities, or as space stations in planetary orbit or in deep space. One example is Deep Space 9, a station near a wormhole commanded by Benjamin Sisko after its transfer from the Cardassian Empire.
Mission.
Starfleet has been shown to handle scientific, defense, and diplomatic missions, although its primary mandate seems to be peaceful exploration in the search for sentient life, as seen in the mission statements of different incarnations of the USS "Enterprise". The flagship of Starfleet is often considered to be the starship USS "Enterprise".
Components.
Starfleet has many components, including:
Starfleet Academy.
As early as the original ', characters refer to attending Starfleet Academy. Later series establish it as an officer training facility with a four-year educational program. The main campus is located near Starfleet Headquarters in what is now Fort Baker, California.
Starfleet Command.
Starfleet Command is the headquarters/command center of Starfleet. The term "Starfleet Command" is first used in episode "". Its headquarters are depicted as being in Fort Baker, across the Golden Gate from San Francisco, in ' and '. Overlooking the Command from the other side of the Golden Gate is the permanent site of the Council of the United Federation of Planets in what is now the Presidio of San Francisco. Throughout the "Star Trek" franchise, the main characters' isolation from Starfleet Command compels them to make and act upon decisions without Starfleet Command's orders or information, particularly in "" when the main protagonists have no means of contacting Earth for several years.
Starfleet Shipyards.
StarTrek.com notes that many of Starfleet's ships are built on Mare Island near San Francisco. It states:
The "Enterprise-D" and USS "Voyager" are depicted to have been constructed at a shipyard named Utopia Planitia in Mars orbit. Utopia Planitia served as Starfleet's main ship yards throughout a large portion of Starfleet's existence.
After the "Enterprise-D" encountered the Borg in the episode "Q Who" the size of the Utopia Planitia shipyards was doubled out of fear of a Borg strike. They were once again doubled after the Dominion threat became more evident.
In the 2009 film, James T. Kirk arrives at a shipyard near his home in Iowa and boards a shuttle to enlist in Starfleet; as the shuttle leaves, we see that the ship under construction there is the "Enterprise".
In the 2013 sequel, Montgomery "Scotty" Scott discovers a covert Starfleet facility, near Jupiter, that has built a much larger Federation warship, USS "Vengeance".
The shipyards at Utopia Planitia were attacked and destroyed in "".
Starfleet Engineering Corps.
The Starfleet Engineering Corps (also called the Starfleet Corps of Engineers) is mentioned in several episodes in conjunction with projects such as hollowing out the underground laboratory complex inside the Regula I asteroid in ', the design of the "Yellowstone"-class Runabout in the alternate timeline in the ' episode ", and devising a defense against the Breen energy-dampening weapon in the " episode "When It Rains..." As a result of these successes, Starfleet engineers gained a reputation as the undisputed masters of technological adaptation and modification. As one minion of the Dominion in the "Star Trek: DS9" episode, "" notes, Starfleet engineers are reputed to be able to "Turn rocks into replicators."
Additionally, Pocket Books has published a series of eBooks and novels in the "Starfleet Corps of Engineers" series.
Starfleet Intelligence.
Starfleet Intelligence is an intelligence agency of the United Federation of Planets. It is entrusted with foreign and domestic espionage, counter-espionage, and state security.
Starfleet Judge Advocate General.
The Starfleet Judge Advocate General (or "JAG") is the branch charged with overseeing legal matters within Starfleet. Several episodes revolve around or involve JAG officers and procedures:
Dialog in "Court Martial" reveals that a court-martial may be convened in the absence of any JAG officers by three presiding command-level officers. Additionally, dialog in "The Measure of a Man" indicates that the loss of a starship automatically leads to a JAG court-martial. Courts-martial were held following the loss of the USS "Pegasus" and USS "Stargazer". In the "Voyager" episode "", Tuvok states that the Captain has the authority to conduct a court-martial on the ship, given the circumstance of the ship being isolated from the Federation.
Starfleet Medical.
Starfleet Medical is the medical branch of Starfleet.
Gates McFadden, who played Dr. Beverly Crusher, left "" during its second season. The character is described during this season, and after her return, as having been assigned to Starfleet Medical.
Starfleet Operations.
Numerous star ship dedication plaques identify other personnel associated with Starfleet Operations. Rear Admiral James T. Kirk served 18 months as Starfleet's Chief of Operations.
Starfleet Security.
Starfleet Security is an agency of Starfleet referred to in several episodes of ' and '. Security is a branch of Starfleet first introduced in the . Main characters in subsequent series have been security officers.
Starfleet Tactical.
Starfleet Tactical is a rarely mentioned department in Starfleet that is responsible for planning defensive strategies, as well as engaging in weapons research and development.
Different species in Starfleet.
Although Humans are the most-often-seen crew members onscreen, Starfleet is shown to be composed of individuals from over 150 species, with Vulcans perhaps being the most common aliens seen.
Already in ', the USS "Enterprise" and other ships have a mixed-species crew, although this does not appear to be an absolute rule; for instance, the episode "" refers to the USS "Intrepid" as having an all-Vulcan crew. The ' episode "Take Me Out to the Holosuite" also features such a crew, serving aboard the USS "T'Kumbra".
In keeping with this idea, ", in its first two seasons, was the only show to have an entirely human crew, as it was set before the formation of the Federation, although the vessel did carry Phlox, a Denobulan serving in a medical exchange program, and T'Pol, then serving as an observer from the Vulcan High Command.
" saw the introduction of Starfleet's first Klingon officer. Other races—such as Bolians, Betazoids, and Trill—were seen, and given more central roles, in later series; some of these, notably Klingons, had been shown as enemies in earlier episodes.
Various episodes show that Earth/Federation citizenship is not a necessary pre-condition for joining Starfleet. T'Pol of Vulcan is shown to be the first non-human Starfleet officer, receiving a commission as a commander following the Xindi mission and her resignation from the Vulcan High Command. Even after the Federation's formation citizenship was not required; several officers are from planets that are not part of the Federation. For example, "Star Trek: TNG"s Ensign Ro Laren, a Bajoran aboard the USS "Enterprise"-D; her fellow Bajoran Kira Nerys, who was field-commissioned as a Starfleet commander so that she could aid the Cardassian resistance during the Dominion War; and Ferengi Nog, who enters Starfleet Academy in season four of Deep Space Nine; all were from non-member planets. In addition, Quinn and Icheb from "" both spoke of joining Starfleet.
An example of the process imagined by the writers is given when the character Nog attempts to apply to the Academy. He is told that since he is from a non-member world (Ferenginar), he requires a letter of recommendation from a command-level officer before his application can be considered, with the implication that this is the standard procedure for all non-Federation applicants to Starfleet.
In the "Star Trek" Expanded Universe, an example of what typically becomes of a new Federation member world's military is depicted when the Bajoran Militia is integrated into Starfleet upon Bajor's entry into the Federation.


Francis Mastin Wright

Francis Mastin Wright (July 14, 1810 – January 16, 1869) was a Republican politician in the U.S. State of Ohio who was Ohio State Auditor (1856–1860).
Francis Wright was born in Frederick County, Virginia, and ended up in Clark County, Ohio, where he was educated in the country schools. He was a merchant in Springfield, Ohio and later Urbana, Ohio. He was elected as a Whig for County Auditor of Champaign County.
In 1855, as a Republican, he defeated incumbent Democrat William Duane Morgan for Ohio State Auditor, but declined a second term. He returned to Urbana in 1860, and was appointed Internal Revenue Collector by President Lincoln. He resigned in 1867 and died at Urbana January 16, 1869.


Edward Fuller Witsell

Edward Fuller Witsell (March 29, 1891–November 27, 1969) was an officer in the United States Army who served as Adjutant General from 1946 to 1951. General Witsell was a 1911 graduate of The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina and a World War I veteran.


Centrica

Centrica plc is a British multinational energy and services company with its headquarters in Windsor, Berkshire. Its principal activity is the supply of electricity and gas to consumers in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It also provides energy solutions and trading to businesses worldwide.
It is the largest supplier of gas to domestic customers in the United Kingdom, and one of the largest suppliers of electricity, operating under the trading names Scottish Gas in Scotland and British Gas in England and Wales. It owns Bord Gáis Energy in Ireland. The company also provides household services including plumbing.
Centrica is listed on the London Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
History.
Predecessors.
The company has its historical origin in the Gas Light and Coke Company which incorporated in 1812. Over the next 137 years, it grew by acquisition of other gas companies to become the primary supplier of gas to Greater London. In 1949, under the Gas Act 1948 the ownership of the company transferred to a government agency, North Thames Gas Board. The various area gas boards were merged into the national British Gas Corporation in 1973. The Gas Act 1986 sold the company to private investors as British Gas plc.
Origin.
Centrica became a separate, distinct corporation on 17 February 1997, when British Gas plc split (demerged) to form three separate companies: Centrica plc, BG plc and Transco plc. Centrica took over gas sales and gas trading, services and retail businesses, together with the gas production operations in the North and South Morecambe gas fields (Rampside Gas Terminal). The new company was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
In 1998, Centrica's supplier monopoly for gas came to an end. Centrica maintained the British Gas retail brand but is only allowed to use this brand name in the United Kingdom. The electricity market also opened up to competition and, through the British Gas brand, the company started supplying its first domestic electricity customers.
1998 to 2010.
At the end of 1998, under CEO Sir Roy Gardner and Finance Director Mark Clare, Centrica attempted to diversify – firstly by developing the Goldfish credit card, then in July 1999, by acquiring the AA for £1.1 billion. In July 2001, Centrica further diversified with the opportunistic purchase of the UK residential telecoms business of Australia's One.Tel.
Centrica also moved into the North American energy supply market, through the acquisition of the Canada-based company Direct Energy in July 2000, for £406 million. Direct Energy's operations were subsequently considerably expanded through a number of further acquisitions, including of Enbridge Services for £437 million in January 2002.
This strategy of diversification changed in the middle of 2003, possibly under pressure from major city shareholders to deliver better returns and/or possibly anticipating pressure on the core energy supply business. The change started with the sale of the Goldfish business to Lloyds TSB (who subsequently sold it to Morgan Stanley Bank International Limited).
Then, in July 2004, Centrica sold the AA to two private equity firms; Luxembourgish CVC and British Permira for £1.75 billion. In December 2005, Centrica sold their OneTel business to Carphone Warehouse. However, in October 2004 Centrica paid £57 million for Dyno-Rod, the emergency drainage franchiser, who had previously been contracted to carry out work for Centrica's customers who had bought drain and plumbing insurance.
From 2005, Centrica declared a strategy of consolidating within the energy sector, upstream and downstream, including expanding operations overseas. New chairman Roger Carr replaced retiring chairman Sir Michael Perry in 2005, whilst new CEO Sam Laidlaw picked up the reins from retiring CEO Sir Roy Gardner in March 2006.
In January 2006, it was rumoured that the Russian state-owned utility company Gazprom was seeking a takeover of Centrica. This created controversy in the media, while the Department for Trade and Industry stated any deal would be subject to "intense scrutiny". Tony Blair announced in April that he would not block any potential deal.
In September 2008, the company acquired the Caythorpe gas producing field near Bridlington to use for storage purposes. It also agreed to buy 20% of British Energy from EDF, financing this with a £2.2 billion, 3 for 8 rights issue. The rights issue offered shares at 160 pence per share and closed on 12 December 2008. In August 2009, Centrica took over Venture Production, a North Sea gas producer.
2010 to 2019.
On 13 June 2010 Centrica, through Direct Energy, acquired Clockwork Home Services. Combining with the existing energy offer made Centrica the largest provider of heating and cooling, plumbing and electrical services in North America. On 17 November 2010, Centrica acquired the assets of heat pump installation company Cool Planet Technologies Ltd. for £0.5 million in cash. This aimed to boost the company's strategy of developing a broad range of low carbon technologies and advice.
In February 2011, Centrica signed a £2 billion three-year contract with Qatargas for the purchase of 2.4 million tonnes a year of liquefied natural gas. In March 2011, Centrica agreed the sale of the electricity and gas supply business of its Netherlands based subsidiary Oxxio to Eneco BV for €72 million (£63 million) in cash. The sale completed Centrica's exit from the supply of electricity and gas in Continental Europe, following the earlier disposal of its supply businesses in Belgium and Spain.
In November 2011, Centrica agreed to buy $1.6 billion stakes of eight fields on the Norwegian continental shelf from Statoil ASA. In a second deal, Centrica agreed to buy five billion cubic meters a year gas from the same company from 2015 to 2025 as equal to 5% of gas consumption in the United Kingdom. Centrica's Germany based trading division "Centrica Energie GmbH" was closed in April 2012.
In July 2013, it was announced that Centrica would acquire the energy marketing unit of Hess Corporation for $1.03 billion. In March 2014, Centrica acquired the retail arm and other assets belonging to Ireland's state owned Bord Gáis for a fee of around €1.1 billion. In 2010, Centrica entered into joint venture arrangements with Tullow Oil to explore for oil in the South Lokichar Basin in Kenya.
In August 2014, Tullow, the operator, revealed significant oil discoveries had been made in the Etom 1 exploration well and testing block 10BB, which expanded the already proven South Lokichar Basin "significantly northwards," taking in an additional 247 km2. In September 2013, Centrica established Hive as part of its Connected Home offering, building on its Remote Heating Control service provided through its British Gas subsidiary.
In February 2015, in light of significantly changed circumstances, a fundamental strategic review was launched. This focused on outlook and sources of growth; portfolio mix and capital intensity; operating capability and efficiency; and group financial framework. The review was a thorough and rigorous analysis of the group's prospects, led by Centrica's senior management. It concluded that Centrica's strength lay in being a customer-facing business and that all activities and priorities would focus on meeting customers' changing needs. The shape of the group would be reworked to reflect this, including one group-wide efficiency programme that would reduce employee numbers by around 6,000.
Also in February 2015, under its British Gas brand, Centrica completed the acquisition of AlertMe, a connected home company based in the United Kingdom that provided innovative energy management products and services. In November 2015, Direct Energy also acquired Panoramic Power, a provider of device-level energy management technology, for $60 million (£39 million).
In April 2016, Centrica acquired Neas Energy A/S (Neas), one of Europe's providers of energy management and revenue optimisation services for decentralised third-party owned assets. It also acquired ENER-G Cogen International Limited ("ENER-G Cogen"), an established supplier and operator of combined heat and power (CHP) systems and REstore NV, Europe's demand response aggregator.
In June 2017, it was announced that the CQ Energy Canada Partnership, the Canadian exploration and production joint venture in which Centrica owned a 60% interest, was to be sold to a consortium comprising MIE Holdings Corporation, The Can-China Global Resource Fund and Mercuria for a purchase price of C$722 million (£413 million) in cash.
On 21 June 2017, the company agreed to sell its operational Langage and South Humber Bank combined cycle gas turbine power stations, with a combined capacity of 2.3GW, to EP UK Investments Ltd for £318million in cash.
On 11 December 2017, Centrica combined its North Sea exploration & production business with Bayerngas Norge, to form a joint venture named Spirit Energy with the German, Austrian and Swiss owners of Bayerngas, led by German energy and infrastructure firm Stadtwerke München (SWM).
In December 2017, the Competition & Markets Authority agreed to grant Centrica plc and Centrica Storage Limited's (CSL's) request to be released from the Rough Undertakings. CSL decided that it could no longer operate Rough as a storage facility as the facility was no longer capable of safe injection operations due to its age and condition and that due to the economics of seasonal storage, neither refurbishing or rebuilding the facility would be cost-effective.
The British Gas brand lost 750,000 domestic customers in 2017 amid intense competition, contributing to a February 2018 announcement that 4,000 jobs would be cut. Centrica cut its dividend in July 2019, after making a loss of £446 million in the prior six months.
Since 2020.
In the spring of 2020, following the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, offices and factories shut and energy use decreased sharply, and the financial problems caused by the pandemic among Centrica's customers were expected to lead to bad debts. Analysts dropped their estimate of Centrica's earnings for 2020, 2021, and 2022 by 30%, and Centrica paused its search for a buyer for its 69% stake in Spirit Energy. The share price in April reached a record low of £0.30, valuing the company at less than half of its net debt of nearly £4bn. In June 2020, Centrica's shares were moved from the FTSE 100 to the FTSE 250 Index. The same month, the company announced that it would cut 5,000 jobs, half of them from leadership, management and corporate departments.
Operations.
Organisation.
Centrica's operations are principally the supply of electricity and gas to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom. They are organised as follows:
Centrica ceased to own large power stations in 2017.
Shareholdings.
In May 2009, Centrica purchased a 20% stake in nuclear power generator British Energy from EDF Energy. The company now produces 14.3% of its electricity from nuclear plants (the second highest rate in the United Kingdom), helping it to achieve the lowest carbon emissions of the major providers. Centrica has also acquired an option to purchase a 20% stake in EDF's subsidiary, NNB Generation Company (NNB GenCo).
In December 2017, Centrica launched a new company as a joint venture with German energy and infrastructure firm Stadtwerke München (SWM). Spirit Energy, an exploration and production (E&P) company, is the result of a combination of Centrica's E&P business and Bayerngas Norge AS, which was formerly majority-owned by SWM. Centrica plc owns 69% of Spirit Energy, with Bayerngas Norge's former shareholders, led by SWM and Bayerngas GmbH, owning 31%.
Senior management.
Sam Laidlaw was the chief executive of Centrica between 1 July 2006 and 31 December 2014. In the 2010 financial year Laidlaw received a salary of £941,000 and a bonus of £900,000.
Iain Conn was appointed Group Chief Executive of Centrica on 1 January 2015; he had previously been BP's chief executive, downstream (BP's refining and marketing division) for seven years.
Group Chief Financial Officer, Chris O'Shea, was appointed Interim Group Chief Executive of Centrica on 17 March 2020.
Controversies.
Greenwash.
British Gas was accused of greenwashing in the advertising of its Zero Carbon tariff in January 2008, after the Advertising Standards Authority upheld a complaint about the 'greenest domestic tariff' claim.
Customer complaint response.
In July 2011, British Gas was fined £2.5 million by the energy regulator Ofgem for failing to deal properly with customer complaints.
Ofgem found that British Gas failed to reopen complaints from customers who indicated they felt the matter was not resolved adequately, failed to provide sufficient information to complainants about the energy ombudsman service, and failed to deal properly with complaints from micro-businesses because it had not implemented the necessary processes and practices.
A spokesperson for British Gas said the company felt that finding it in breach of rules for failing to provide adequate information to consumers about the energy ombudsman was "disproportionate to the mistake".
British Gas Business was fined £1 million in July 2011 after Ofgem's investigation found the company had misreported the amount of electricity supplied under the British government's renewables obligation. British Gas claims it spotted the problem – it said an over-reporting of the amount of renewable energy it was supplying caused by human error – and notified the regulator.
Political activity.
Centrica entered the political arena in February 2014, by threatening an investment strike in response to the Labour Party's proposal for a price freeze. Caroline Flint, the shadow energy secretary, said: "It is not acceptable for companies to threaten that the lights will go out because they don't want greater transparency, competition and accountability".
Centrica has also funded, in conjunction with Cuadrilla Resources, the North West Energy Task Force which on 8 January 2015 organised an Open Letter to Lancashire County Council in support of fracking. This letter was signed by Jane Watson, sister of Robert Altham, the judge who sentenced three anti-fracking protesters to jail in September 2018.


Eliza Arabella Garfield


House of Zhao

The House of Zhao () was the imperial clan of the Song Empire (960–1279) of China.
Family history.
Origin.
The Zhao family originated from Zhuo Commandery (), located near present-day Zhuozhou, Hebei Province in China, and traced its roots back to the Spring and Autumn period (roughly 771–476 BCE). The founder of the Song Empire, Zhao Kuangyin, was born to a military family. His father, Zhao Hongyin was a general in Zhuo Commandery who later moved to Luoyang with his family. Zhao Kuangyin also had an elder brother Zhao Guangji, two younger brothers Zhao Kuangyi and Zhao Guangmei, and two younger sisters.
Rise of the Zhao family.
Zhao Kuangyin initially served in the Later Han military but he subsequently defected to serve under Chai Rong, emperor of Later Zhou, an enemy of the Later Han. He also persuaded his father, a Later Han general, to serve Chai Rong, thus contributing to the decline and collapse of the Later Han. Having gained Chai Rong's trust, Zhao Kuangyin was assigned as guardian to Chai Rong's seven-year-old son, Guo Zongxun, before Chai's death.
Zhao Kuangyin subsequently deposed Guo Zongxun in a bloodless military coup and established the Song dynasty. Following the founding of the dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin conquered the neighbouring states in the south and incorporated them into the fledgling empire. Fearing a military coup such as the one he instigated to depose Guo Zongxun, and to cement civilian power, Zhao Kuangyin dismissed his generals. This inadvertently weakened the military, which would have severe consequences in later years.
Zhao Kuangyin reigned for 17 years and died unexpectedly in 976, at the age of 49. His younger brother, Zhao Kuangyi (Emperor Taizong) succeeded him as the new emperor. It was suspected that Zhao Kuangyi murdered his brother, as well as two nephews, for the throne. The subsequent emperors – Emperor Zhenzong through Emperor Gaozong – were all descendants of Zhao Kuangyi, until Emperor Gaozong passed the throne to Zhao Shen (a descendant of Zhao Kuangyin), and adopted him as his son.
Decline after the Jingkang Incident.
The Song Empire was prosperous during Zhao Kuangyi (Emperor Taizong)'s reign despite the threats posed by the northern nomadic empires, such as the Khitan-led Liao Empire, Jurchen-led Jin Empire and Tangut-led Western Xia. In 1115, the Song aligned themselves with the Jin regime in the hope of capturing the Sixteen Prefectures. However, this alliance allowed the Jurchens to learn of the Song's military weaknesses, namely a lack of capable commanders and armies primarily composed of mercenaries and poorly trained convicts. After the fall of the Liao empire, the Jin invaded Song territory and, on 20 March 1127, captured the Song capital, Bianjing (present-day Kaifeng). The Emperors Huizong and Qinzong, along with many family members, were captured and taken to the Jin capital, Shangjing, in present-day Harbin. This event is historically known as the Jingkang Incident. Many of these nobles died during the journey to, or after arriving in, Shangjing, although some committed suicide to avoid degradation at the hands of the Jurchens.
Emperor Huizong's ninth son, Zhao Gou the future Emperor Gaozong, escaped from Bianjing and fled to southern China, where he reestablished the Song Empire (as the Southern Song dynasty) with its capital at Lin'an (present-day Hangzhou) and himself as the new emperor. As his own son had died prematurely, Emperor Gaozong designated Zhao Shen (Emperor Xiaozong), a descendant of Zhao Kuangyin (Emperor Taizu), as heir thus returning the imperial lineage to Zhao Kuangyin's line.
In 1234, the Song Empire allied with the Mongol Empire against the Jin Empire. While successful at bringing about the downfall of the Jin Empire, the alliance also exposed significant weaknesses in the Southern Song military to the Mongolians. Leading up to the alliance with the Mongol Empire, capable commanders, such as Yue Fei and Han Shizhong, had been able to reform the military in the years following the loss of the northern part of the empire, but imperial distrust hamstrung these commanders. Furthermore, the signing of the Treaty of Shaoxing resulted in the Song Empire becoming a vassal to the Jin Empire as well as the execution of Yue Fei, who commanded the armies that fought the Jin in former northern Song territories. Following the fall of the Jin Empire, the Mongol Empire acquired Chinese siege weaponry, cannons, and gunpowder-related weapons, which they used to further their conquests. The fall of the Jin Empire also ended the Song-Mongol alliance and an outbreak of hostilities between the former allies.
Fall of the Song Empire.
Despite the weakness of the Song military, they managed to slow the Mongol Empire advance for decades. The Song resistance led to the death of Möngke Khan, in 1259, at Diaoyu Fortress. The resulting withdrawal of the Mongol forces, for the customary kurultai to select a new Khan, ultimately led to the Toluid Civil War which divided the Mongol Empire. Möngke's brother, Kublai Khan, who already controlled Mongolia and China's northern territories, formerly part of the Jin Empire, declared himself Emperor of China and founded the Yuan dynasty. Kublai renewed the Mongol campaign against the Song eventually capturing the fortified cities of Fancheng, and Xiangyang during the Battle of Xiangyang in 1273, allowing his armies to advance deep into Song territory and seize its capital. On 19 March 1279, the Song chancellor Lu Xiufu committed suicide with the eight-year-old Zhao Bing after the defeat of the remaining Song forces at the Battle of Yamen bringing an end to the Song Dynasty and marking the beginning of a century of Mongolian rule over China before the establishment of the Ming Dynasty by the House of Zhu and a return to Han rule.
Descendants.
Zhao Mengfu, was a famous painter during the Yuan dynasty and met the Yuan emperor Kublai Khan on at least one occasion. He was the father of Zhao Yong and maternal grandfather of Wang Meng, both of whom were also accomplished scholars and painters.
The Southern Song Han Chinese Emperor Gong of Song (personal name Zhao Xian) surrendered to the Yuan dynasty Mongols in 1276 and was married off to a Mongol princess of the royal Borjigin family of the Yuan dynasty. Zhao Xian had one son with the Borjigin Mongol woman, Zhao Wanpu. Zhao Xian's son Zhao Wanpu was kept alive by the Mongols because of his mother's royal Mongolian Borjigin ancestry even after Zhao Xian was ordered killed by the Mongol Emperor Yingzong. Instead Zhao Wanpu was only moved and exiled. The outbreak of the Song loyalist Red Turban Rebellion in Henan led to a recommendation that Zhao Wanpu should be transferred somewhere else by an Imperial Censor in 1352. The Yuan did not want the Chinese rebels to get their hands on Zhao Wanpu so no one was permitted to see him and Zhao Wanpu's family and himself were exiled to Shazhou near the border by the Yuan Emperor. Paul Pelliot and John Andrew Boyle commented on Rashid-al-Din Hamadani's chapter "The Successors of Genghis Khan" in his work Jami' al-tawarikh, identified references by Rashid al-Din to Zhao Xian in his book where he mentions a Chinese ruler who was an "emir" and son-in-law to the Qan (Khan) after being removed from his throne by the Mongols and he is also called "Monarch of Song", or Suju (宋主 Songzhu) in the book.
Other descendants include Zhao Yiguang (1559-1625), who lived during the Ming dynasty and a patron of the arts. One recipient of his patronage was Lu Qingzi, an intellectual and a member of the scholar-gentry class, who he later married. Zhao Yiguang and Lu had a son, Zhao Jun, who married the daughter of Wen Congjian, who also descended from a scholarly family. Two works by Zhao Yiguang, "Jiuhuan Shitu" (九圜史圖) and "Liuhe Mantu" (六匌曼圖), which form part of the "Siku Quanshu", were in a collection owned by Wang Qishu.
The Zhao Imperial family survived into the Ming and Qing dynasties, and on into the modern era where they have split into more than 20 different branches. Descendants of the Song emperors are known to live in Chengcun Village near the Wuyi Mountains in Fujian Province, while others reside in Hua'an County and Guangdong Province.
In 1351 anti-Yuan dynasty Red Turban rebel leaders Han Shantong and his son Han Lin'er (w:zh:韓林兒) claimed descent from the Song dynasty and Han Liner was enthroned as the Longfeng 龍鳳 Emperor of the Great Song dynasty (Red Turban Song dynasty w:zh:宋 (韓林兒)).
In 1768 anti-Qing dynasty Tiandihui rebel Zhao Liangming claimed to be a descendant of the Song dynasty.
Zhao Family Fort.
Of particular importance to Zhao descendants is the Zhao Family Fort (趙家堡) in Zhangpu County, Fujian Province. The Fort was built after Zhao Ruohe (a descendant of Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong's brother Zhao Guangmei), his family and other members of the imperial clan fled to Zhangpu County after escaping Mongolian pursuit. Zhao Ruohe and his family were forced to change their family name to Huang to avoid discovery. Seventeen years after the end of the Yuan dynasty and the ascendancy of the Ming dynasty, a descendant of Zhao Ruohe, Huang Mingguan, became engaged to a woman whose surname was also Huang. This raised the suspicion of local law officials that the families may be committing to an incestuous union until the lineage of Huang Mingguan was revealed. Their residence was subsequently renamed.
In later years, a Zhao descendant, Zhao Fan, entered politics in the Ming imperial court. After his retirement, Zhao Fan and his son, Zhao Yixiu, had the Fort renovated to match the architecture of Kaifeng prior to its capture by the Jin Empire. In modern times, the fort has become a tourist attraction, displaying artifacts from the Song Dynasty, as well as a gathering place for the descendants of the Zhao family.
Family tree of emperors.
The Generation poem used by the Zhao family was "若夫，元德允克、令德宜崇、師古希孟、時順光宗、良友彥士、登汝必公、不惟世子、與善之從、伯仲叔季、承嗣由同。" The 42 characters were split into three groups of 14 for the offspring of Song Taizu and his two brothers.


Dimitar Radev

Dimitar Radev is a Bulgarian economist who since July 14, 2015 has been governor of the Bulgarian National Bank.
Early life and education.
Radev was born in Plovdiv and on 12 July 1956. He graduated in Finance and Credit at the University of National and World Economy, and later specialized in Georgetown University's Institute of Foreign Relations, Washington (1994).
Career.
In the 1990s, Radev served as a deputy finance minister in charge of budget.
Before his appointment, Radev worked at the International Monetary Fund’s fiscal affairs department.
In a parliamentary selection process including public nominations and hearings, Radev was named one of the candidates to succeed Bulgaria’s central bank governor Ivan Iskrov in 2015, alongside Biser Manolov, Grigorii Vazov and Victor Yotzov. He was nominated by Bulgaria’s ruling GERB party. He was also backed by GERB’s junior partner, the Reformist Bloc. In July 2015, he was appointed for a six-year term.


Minister of Foreign Affairs (Niue)

This is a list of foreign ministers of Niue.


Battle of Nahavand

The Battle of Nahavand ( ', '), also spelled Nihavand or Nahawand, was fought in 642 between Arab Muslims and Sassanid armies. The battle is known to Muslims as the "Victory of Victories." The Sassanid King Yazdegerd III escaped to the Merv area, but was unable to raise another substantial army. It was a victory for the Rashidun Caliphate and the Persians consequently lost the surrounding cities including Spahan (renamed Isfahan).
The former Sassanid provinces, in alliance with Parthian and White Hun nobles, resisted for about a century in the region south of the Caspian Sea, even as the Rashidun Caliphate was replaced by the Umayyads, thus perpetuating the Sassanid court styles, Zoroastrian religion, and Persian speech.
Background.
At the time of the death of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad in 632, the religion that he led dominated the Hejaz (western Arabia). Under the first two caliphs Abu Bakr and Umar, Islam expanded into Palestine and Mesopotamia where it respectively confronted the East Roman and Persian (Sāsānian) empires. Both were exhausted by warfare and internal dissent. With the East Roman defeat at the Battle of Yarmouk (636), the Muslim Arabs were free to turn east to the Euphrates and the Persian heartland. In November 636 a Sāsānian army was defeated at the Battle of Qadisiya, resulting in the loss of Iraq to the Muslims.
Number of Arab and Sasanian forces.
Following defeat by the Arabs in 639, the "King of Kings" Yazdgerd III was forced to abandon his capital at Ctesiphon. From Mesopotamia he withdrew into the Sāsānian homeland in what is now the southern plateau of Iran. There he was able to assemble an army to replace that lost at Qadisiya.
At Nahāvand an estimated 30,000 Arab warriors, under the command of Nuʿmān, attacked a Sāsānian army reportedly of ca. 100,000 men. The Sāsānian troops, commanded by Fīrūzan, were entrenched in a strong fortified position. After an indecisive skirmish, Nuʿmān pretended to be defeated and withdrew from the battlefield. Fīrūzan then abandoned his position and pursued his foe. The pursuit proved to be a major tactical error because the Sāsānians were forced to fight on unfavourable ground; the Sāsānian army, caught between two mountain defiles, was massacred by the Arabs. Both Nuʿmān and Fīrūzan died in the battle, and Persian casualties were said to have numbered about 38,000.
Battle.
Various accounts are told about Nahāvand and the early stages of the battle. According to some versions the Persian cavalry mounted an ill-prepared pursuit of the Arabs who retreated to a more secure location. The Arabs then rallied, before surrounding and trapping the Persian force. Finally the Muslim warriors assaulted the Sāsānian host from all sides and defeated it.
According to a different version the Arab commander Nuʿmān was able to outmaneuver his Sāsānian counterpart Fīrūzan through the use of superior tactics rather than misleading rumors. The numerically superior Persians had been deployed in a strong defensive position. This would not normally have been a strategy favored by the loosely disciplined Sāsānian forces; drawn from decentralized sources and led by an alliance of feudal nobles. Nuʿmān was accordingly able to draw out the Persians from their vantage point by skirmishing advances and then a general but cohesive retreat. During the Sāsānian pursuit Fīrūzan found his horsemen caught in extended order across a rough landscape and narrow passes. The highly motivated and well-mounted Muslims then rallied and counterattacked, inflicting very heavy losses on the disorganized Persians. Both Nuʿmān and Fīrūzan were reportedly killed in the final melee but the Sāsānian defeat was total.
As the historian Tabari notes, the Persians were never again able to unite their forces in such numbers. Many of the Sāsānian nobles were already considering deserting the Empire even before the battle commenced. Many of Yazdegerd's military and civilian officials had already abandoned him.
Aftermath.
Nahāvand marked the dissolution of the Sasanian Imperial army, with the fall of the last of the grand marshals of the army and the rise of warlordism among the Persians. The Emperor Yazdegerd III attempted to raise troops by appealing to other neighbouring areas such as the princes of Tukharistan and Sogdia and eventually sent his son Peroz III to the Tang court, but without any success.
Yezdegerd hurriedly fled towards the east where he was ill-received by several Marzban (provincial governors) in the north; as well as in Merv, where the governor Mahoye openly showed his hostility to the Emperor. According to non-Muslim sources, Yazdegerd failed to rally enough support in Eastern Persia where the Sasanians were unpopular with the local population. Muslim sources, such as Tabari, reported that the province of Khorasan revolted against Sasanian rule, just as it had years earlier when the population had sided with Khosrau II's uncle Vistahm. When Yazdegerd was crowned in Estakhr, Persia had in fact three Kings ruling in different regions and Khorasan had not initially given support to Yazdegerd.
Before Yazdegerd had a chance to receive help from the Hepthalites and Turkish tribes, he was assassinated by a local miller in Merv in 651. Thereafter, Yazdegerd's son Peroz attempted to re-establish the Sasanian empire against the Rashidun Caliphate and its successor, the Umayyad Caliphate, though the plan did not develop, as Peroz ultimately died in China.
Impact.
On the long-term impact of this battle, Sir Muhammad Iqbal wrote: "If you ask me what is the most important event in the history of Islam, I shall say without any hesitation: “The Conquest of Persia.” The battle of Nehawand gave the Arabs not only a beautiful country, but also an ancient civilization; or, more properly, a people who could make a new civilisation with the Semitic and Aryan material. Our Muslim civilisation is a product of the cross-fertilization of the Semitic and the Aryan ideas. It is a child who inherits the softness and refinement of his Aryan mother, and the sterling character of his Semitic father. But for the conquest of Persia, the civilisation of Islam would have been one-sided. The conquest of Persia gave us what the conquest of Greece gave to the Romans."


Sadigura (Hasidic dynasty)

Sadigura is a Hasidic dynasty named for the city of Sadhora (Sadigura in Yiddish), Bukovina, which belonged to Austria. The dynasty began in 1850 with Rabbi Avrohom Yaakov Friedman, a son of Rabbi Yisrael Friedman of Ruzhyn, and was based in Sadigura until 1914. During the interwar period the dynasty was led by Rebbes in Vienna and Przemyśl, Poland, and on the eve of World War II was transplanted to Israel, where it thrives to this day.
Sadigura is one of the branches of the Ruzhiner dynasty, together with Bohush, Boyan, Chortkov, Husiatyn, and Shtefanesht.
As of 2013, Sadigura has several hundred members in Israel, the United States and Europe. Its members reside in Israel in Jerusalem, Ashdod, Los Angeles, New York City, Modiin Ilit, Beitar Ilit, and Elad, and in Europe in London and Antwerp. The dynasty is centered on the current Sadigura Rebbe's "beis medrash" in Bnei Brak, Israel.
The 6th Rabbi, Rabbi Yisrael Moshe Friedman 65 died in Bnei Brak on 11 August 2020 following a lengthy illness. He was succeeded by his son Rabbi Yitzchak Yehoshua Herschel Friedman, Sadigura Rebbe in Bnei Brak
History.
Leadership in Austria.
In the early 1840s, the Ruzhiner Rebbe fled Russia to escape persecution by the Tsar. He moved his family to Sadigura. The Ruzhiner Rebbe lived in Sadigura for ten years; he built a palatial residence and an imposing synagogue, and attracted tens of thousands of Hasidim. When the Ruzhiner Rebbe died at the age of 54 on 9 October 1850, his six sons established their own courts in different towns. His eldest son, Rabbi Sholom Yosef Friedman (1813-1851), remained in Sadigura to continue leading the court his father had founded, but died ten months later. At this point, the Ruzhiner Rebbe's second son, Rabbi Avrohom Yaakov (1820–1883), assumed the mantle of leadership in Sadigura, becoming known as the first Sadigura Rebbe.
The Sadigura Rebbe maintained the grand lifestyle of his father's court, with its lavish accoutrements and showy dress, and immersed himself in the mysticism of Kabbalah, as had his father. The combination of earthly royalty and spiritual depth attracted both Jews and Christians to his court. Hundreds of thousands of Jews sought his wisdom and counsel. He also entertained visits from prominent Christians, including princes, counts, and writers who published articles about him in newspapers in Vienna, Berlin, Frankfurt, Prague, and other locales.
The Sadigura Rebbe undertook the remainder of the fund-raising for the Tiferet Yisrael Synagogue, the Ruzhiner synagogue in the Old City of Jerusalem initiated by his father. The synagogue was completed in 1872. He also purchased the privilege of lighting the main bonfire at the grave of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai in Meron, Israel on Lag BaOmer from the Sephardi guardians of Meron and Safed. The Sadigura Rebbe bequeathed this honor to his eldest son, Rabbi Yitzchok, the first Boyaner Rebbe, and his progeny.
After his death, his two sons, Rabbi Yitzchok (1850–1917) and Rabbi Yisrael (1852–1907), assumed joint leadership of their father's Hasidim. While they were content with this arrangement, many of the Sadigura Hasidim preferred to have one Rebbe, and in 1887, the brothers agreed to draw lots to determine who would stay in Sadigura and who would move out. The lots fell to Rabbi Yisrael to remain as the second Sadigura Rebbe, while Rabbi Yitzchok moved to the neighboring town of Boiany (Boyan) and established his court there, becoming the first Boyaner Rebbe.
Rabbi Yisrael had five sons: Rabbi Aharon of Sadigura (the author of "Kedushas Aharon") (1877–1913) who had considerable musical accomplishment, Rabbi Shlomo Yosef of Chernovitz, Rabbi Avrohom Yaakov Friedman of Sadigura (1884–1961), Rabbi Yitzhak of Rimanov (1887–1929), and Rabbi Shlomo Chaim (Reb Shlomenu) of Sadigura (1887–1972). After Rabbi Yisrael's death in 1907, each of his sons became Rebbes, making their courts and conducting their "tishen" in different halls of the great Sadigura synagogue. Rabbi Yisrael's eldest son, the "Kedushas Aharon", died in 1912 and was succeeded by his 16-year-old son, Rabbi Mordechai Sholom Yosef Friedman.
In 1914, with the outbreak of World War I, Rabbi Avrohom Yaakov fled to Vienna together with his younger brother, Rabbi Shlomo Chaim, and his orphaned nephew, Rabbi Mordechai Sholom Yosef. Rabbi Avrohom Yaakov established his court in Vienna and led the Sadigura Hasidim from that city for the next 24 years. The relocation of the Sadigura Rebbes to Vienna spelled the end of the once flourishing Jewish community in Sadigura, which comprised more than 5,000 Jews before World War I. Although some Jews remained, only a few lone survivors were left at the end of World War II .
Leadership in Israel.
Rabbi Avrohom Yaakov Friedman, grandson of the first Sadigura rebbe, obtained a visa to Palestine shortly after the "Anschluss" of 1938 and re-established his court in Tel Aviv. Thousands of Sadigura Hasidim were murdered in the Holocaust, leaving the Rebbe with only a few dozen followers. Nonetheless, he continued to lead his Hasidim with princely bearing, conducting his court in Tel Aviv for 22 years until his death in 1961. Known as the third Sadigura Rebbe, Rabbi Avrohom Yaakov was actively involved in Jewish communal life in the new state of Israel, being one of the first members of Agudat Israel and occupying a seat on the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah.
After the death of the third Sadigura Rebbe in 1961, his Hasidim asked his younger brother, Rabbi Shlomo Chaim, to succeed him, but the latter demurred. He did agree to sit in his brother's place at "tischen" held on Jewish holidays and on the yahrtzeits of his Ruzhiner and Sadigura ancestors. Meanwhile, the Sadigura dynasty continued through the Rebbe's nephew, Rabbi Mordechai Sholom Yosef Friedman (1897–1979), known as the fourth Admor of Sadigura, who led Sadigura Hasidim in Sadigura and Przemyśl (where he founded the Yeshiva ‘Meshivas Nefesh’) before emigrating to Tel Aviv in 1939. His words of Torah were compiled in ‘"Knesses Mordechai"’. Upon his death in 1979, Rabbi Mordechai Sholom Yosef was interred near the other Admorim of Sadigur, in the ‘Nachlas Yitzchak’ cemetery in Givatayim, and was succeeded by his son, Rabbi Avrohom Yaakov Friedman (1928–2013), who moved the Sadigura court from Tel Aviv to Bnei Brak. Rabbi Avrohom Yaakov died at 84 on 1 January 2013, after being ill from pneumonia, and was buried in the Nahalat Yitzhak cemetery alongside his father. He was succeeded by his only son, the previous Sadigura Rebbe, Rabbi Yisrael Moshe Friedman of blessed memory (b. 1955), former Rov & founder of Kehilas Sadigura in London.
Rabbi Yisrael Moshe Friedman 65 was nifter in Bnei Brak on 11 August 2020 following an lengthy illnessand was buried in the Nahalat Yitzhak cemetery in Givatayim, alongside his father and grandfather.
 On the yahr tzeit of the holy Rizhiner on the third day of the Jewish month of cheshvan in 2016, the previous Rebbe rededicated the Rizhiner Kloiz in Sadigura. The Rebbe was accompanied to Sadigura, Ukraine with roughly 400 of his followers. This was the culmination of a few year project of restoration on the Klolz's interior. The actual outer structure, is the one the holy Rizhiner oversaw himself during most of its construction.The blue prints of the Kloiz, were approved by the holy Rizhiner. Much input was added by him. The interior was restored to mimic its original appearance.
Lineage of the Sadigura dynasty.
Rabbi Avrohom Yaakov I.
Rabbi Avrohom Yaakov was the second son of Rabbi Yisroel of Ruzhyn, and the first man to carry the title "Sidigura Rebbe". He was considered the biggest Rebbe of his generation, along with his second yougest brother, Rabbi Dovid Moshe of Chortkov. He is known to followers as The Alter Rebbe, not to be confused with Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, Alter Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch. His teachings are recorded in many volumes, primarily the two part sefer Emes L'Yaakov, not to be confused with the sefer by Reb Yaakov Emden with the same title.
Rabbi Yisroel of Sadigura.
The second Rebbe of Sadigura was Rabbi Yisroel Friedman, the third son of Rabbi Avrohom Yaakov. He should not be confused with his first cousin, Rabbi Yisroel Friedman of Chortkov, with whom he had a close personal friendship. After serving as Rebbe alongside his elder brother Reb Yitzchok for approximately one year following his father's passing, Rav Yitzchok moved to Boyan leaving the mantle of Sadigura solely to Rav Yisroel's decendants. His teachings are recorded primarily in Ohr Yisroel, and he is known to his chassidim by this name.
Rabbi Aharon.
Rabbi Aharon Friedman was the oldest son of Rabbi Yisroel of Sadigura, and the last Sadigura Rebbe to serve his entire tenure in Sadhora. He is known for musical talents and for the deep kabbalistc style of his Torah. He was named for his forefather, Rabbi Aharon of Karlin. There are many similarities between the two Rabbis, including their identical lifespan of exactly 36 years and six months each. Chassidim refer to him as the Kedushas Aharon, after the sefer that records his teachings.
Rabbi Avrohom Yaakov II.
Rabbi Avrohom YaakovII was the younger brother of Rabbi Aharon, and the fifth son of Rabbi Yisoel. He served as an atlternate Rebbe in Sadigura during the life of his eldest brother, and in Vienna and Tel Aviv during the tenure of his nephew. He is called the Abir Yaakov by Chassidim, and his title is "Rebbe of Sadigura-Tel Aviv".
Rabbi Mordechai Shalom Yosef.
Rabbi Mordechai Shalom Yosef of Sadigura-Pshemisyl was the only child of Rav Aharon, and the youngest to serve as Sadigura Rebbe. He was sixteen years old when he assumed leadership of the dynasty. He began his tenure in Sadhora, and then moved the Pshemishyl where he established a shul and yeshiva. He then moved to Vienna where his uncles lived. He relocated to the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, where he led his rabbinical court until he migrated to Tel Aviv. He built his Beis Medrash there, and established the Sadigura Institutions in nearby Bnei Brak. He was a leading Rabbi in the Agudah, serving the organization until the end of his life. He was the longest serving Sadigura Rebbe, having led the dynasty for more than 66 years. Chassidim call him the Knesses Mordechai, after his sefer.
Rabbi Avrohom Yaakov III.
Rabbi Avrohom Yaakov III was the second son of Rav Mordechai Shalom Yosef, and the fifth Rebbe of Sadigura. Prior to his father's passing, he served as Rosh Yeshiva in the Sadigura Yeshiva established by his father. He was also a senior member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudas Yisroel. He relocated the chassidus's headquarters to B'nei Brak after serving in Tel Aviv for approxamtely two decades. Chassidim call him Der Rebbe Der Ikvei Abirim.
Rabbi Yisroel Moshe.
Rabbi Yisroel Moshe, known as "Der Sadigura Rebbe Zatzal" was the third child and only son of Rabbi Avrohom Yaakov III. He established the Kehilla of Sadigura-London, which he led personally until his coronation as rebbe upon his father's passing. He assumed his father's positions in Sadigura and on the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah, which he held for seven and a half years until his early passing in 2020 at age 65. It was during his tenure as Rebbe that the Ruzhyner's Hoif in Sadhora was rededicated. His teachings are recorded in Ateres Yisroel, Abirei Yam, and Yalkut Imrei Kodesh-Sadigura.


Shadow Open Market Committee

The Shadow Open Market Committee (SOMC) is an independent group of economists, first organized in 1973 by Professors Karl Brunner, from the University of Rochester, and Allan Meltzer, from Carnegie Mellon University, to provide a monetarist alternative to the views on monetary policy and its inflation effects then prevailing at the Federal Reserve and within the economics profession.
At that time, the Fed argued that rising and variable inflation since 1965 was largely attributable to non-monetary forces such as the power of labor unions and oil price shocks, and had little to do with rapid money growth. Based on the principles of monetarism developed earlier by Milton Friedman, the SOMC blamed the Great Inflation squarely on Federal Reserve policies that featured excessive money growth.
The SOMC's principal message that persistent inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon has been widely accepted by central bankers and economists. That framework still forms the basis for the Committee's comments on and criticisms of Federal Reserve policy actions and strategy. Over time, the SOMC has broadened its focus to include issues relating to policies on international trade, exchange rates, and taxes, as well as the regulation of the U.S. banking and financial systems.
The SOMC continues to meet twice per year and maintains an active website that includes an archive of the SOMC's position papers and "Core Beliefs" statement as well as papers of its members. Since 2009, the SOMC has operated in partnership with E21: Economic Policies for the 21st Century.
Founding and early history.
Allan Meltzer has described the circumstances that led him, together with Karl Brunner, to organize the Shadow Open Market Committee, and has also chronicled the SOMC’s early history.
When, in 1971, President Richard Nixon adopted wage and price controls in an attempt to reverse the acceleration of inflation, which by then had risen above 4 percent, Brunner and Meltzer wished to form a group of "like-minded economists" to argue against the effectiveness of wage and price controls as a tool for ending inflation and in favor of a gradual reduction in money growth as a preferred alternative. Together with William Wolman, Brunner and Meltzer chose the name "Shadow Open Market Committee," as a reference to both the Federal Open Market Committee, the Federal Reserve's monetary policy making arm, and the Shadow Cabinet as the group of ministers chosen from the opposition party within the U.K. Parliamentary system.
The original SOMC featured twelve members, equal to the number of voting members of the Federal Open Market Committee, chosen from academic institutions, financial institutions, and nonfinancial businesses. Beginning on September 14, 1973, the group met semi-annually in New York City.
John Allan of the New York Times described the first SOMC meeting and policy statement. The Committee urged the Fed to abandon its efforts to fine tune the economy, and focus instead on reducing the rate of money growth from 6 ½ to 5 ½ percent per year, as an initial step towards working inflation down to more acceptable levels.
In 1988, the SOMC moved its meeting location from New York to Washington. Changes in membership gradually occurred, with some former SOMC members leaving to accept high-ranking positions at the Federal Reserve. In this sense, Meltzer points out, the SOMC has functioned somewhat like the U.K. Shadow Cabinet, with its members rotating periodically into official policymaking positions.
Original SOMC member Robert Rasche served as Executive Vice President and Policy Advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis from January 1999 until his retirement in June 2011. Beryl Sprinkel, another original SOMC member, became Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers in 1985. SOMC member Jerry Jordan served as a member of the Council of Economic Advisors in 1981 and 1982 and as President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland from 1992 through 2003. Lee Hoskins served as President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland from 1987 through 1991; William Poole as President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis from 1998 through 2008; and Charles Plosser as President and of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia from 2006 through 2015.
Anna Schwartz was the longest-serving member of the Shadow Open Market Committee. One of the 12 original members in 1973, Schwartz continued to attend and participate actively in SOMC meetings through 2010.
Subsequent and recent developments.
In 2009, the SOMC moved the site of its bi-annual meetings back to New York City.
At its November 2014 meeting, the Committee presented a statement of "Core Beliefs," intended to "help promote its vision and relevance in an era of increasingly complex central banking." The SOMC Core Beliefs relate to the conduct of monetary policy and to the Federal Reserve's role as lender of last resort. They are as follows:
Current members.
As of April 2019, the following people are listed at the organization.


Linsk (Hasidic dynasty)

Linsk ( "Linsk") is the name of a Hasidic dynasty—a family of Hasidic leaders or "rebbes" and the group of their associated followers or "chassidim"—founded by Rabbi Avraham Chaim Horowitz of Linsk ( or  – 1831). Linsk is the Yiddish name of the town of Lesko in southern Poland.
The Linsk dynasty is a branch of the Ropshitz dynasty.


List of former members of the American Legislative Exchange Council

The American Legislative Exchange Council, otherwise known by the acronym ALEC, is a non-profit 501(c) political organization established in 1975. The legislative members are state and federal legislators. It is a forum to allow the members to write model laws and discuss legislative language with other members. ALEC meetings are an opportunity for the corporate and non-profit leaders to meet and provide feedback to legislators. Member legislators can then use the model bills as templates for their own bills.
Members here are listed as former members by virtue of the end of their terms in office of the various state legislatures, a necessary qualifier for membership in ALEC. None of these former members resigned from ALEC. See Resigned legislative members for the individuals who have announced they are no longer members by choice.
ALEC keeps its membership, activities and communications confidential. This list includes former members whose identity primarily has become known through internal documents revealed to Common Cause and by research by members of the press.
Notable former legislative members.
Early members included a number of state and local politicians who went on to statewide or national office, including Bob Kasten and Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin, John Engler of Michigan, Terry Branstad of Iowa, and John Kasich of Ohio. Several members of Congress were also involved in the organization during its early years, including Sen. James L. Buckley and Rep. Jack Kemp of New York, Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina, and Rep. Phil Crane of Illinois. More recently, Eric Cantor Majority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives was an alumnus.
Former elected government official members.
Former state level members.
MARYLAND
Phillip D Bissett, R Maryland House of Delegates
James M Harkins, R Maryland House of Delegates