Diplomacy of John Adams

John Adams (1735-1826) was an American Founding Father who served as one of the most important diplomats on behalf of the new United States during the American Revolution. He served as minister to the Kingdom of France and the Dutch Republic and then was sent to help negotiate the Treaty of Paris to end the American Revolutionary War.
Adams served as the first minister to Great Britain and then returned home. Relations with France dominated diplomacy during his presidency (1797-1801). American anger at French insults in the XYZ Affair of 1797-98 escalated into an undeclared naval war, called the Quasi-War. One wing of his Federalist Party that was led by his rival, Alexander Hamilton, demanded an all-out war. He rejected it and secured peace with France in 1800.
Early stages of revolution.
In the spring of 1776, Adams advocated on the floor of the Second Continental Congress that independence was necessary to establish trade and that trade was essential for the attainment of independence. He specifically urged negotiation of a commercial treaty with France. He was then appointed, along with Franklin, Dickinson, Benjamin Harrison V of Virginia, and Robert Morris of Pennsylvania, "to prepare a plan of treaties to be proposed to foreign powers." While Jefferson was laboring over the Declaration of Independence, Adams worked on the Model Treaty, which authorized a commercial agreement with France but contained no provisions for formal recognition or military assistance. There were provisions for what constituted French territory. The treaty adhered to the provision that "free ships make free goods," which allowed neutral nations to trade reciprocally but exempted an agreed-upon list of contraband.
In early September 1776, after the British victory at the Battle of Long Island, Admiral Lord Howe, having been appointed Acting Peace Commissioner, met with Adams, Benjamin Franklin and Edward Rutledge, to hold peace discussions. The Americans insisted that any negotiations required British recognition of their independence. Howe stated he did not have the authority to meet that demand, and the British resumed the campaign. In October 1777, the Americans captured the British invasion army at Saratoga in upstate New York, and France was ready to recognize the US and to join the war.
Commissioner to France.
On November 27, 1777 Adams was named as commissioner to France and replaced Silas Deane. He accepted at once. He was to join Franklin and Arthur Lee in Paris to negotiate an alliance with the French, who were debating whether or not they would recognize and aid the United States. On April 1, he arrived in Spain, where Adams learned that France had already agreed to an alliance with the United States on February 6. Adams was annoyed by the other two commissioners: Lee, whom he thought to be paranoid and cynical, and the popular and influential Franklin, whom he found irritating, lethargic, and overly deferential and accommodating to the French. He took a disliking to Dr. Edward Bancroft, Franklin's advisor who was later shown to be a British spy. Adams did not speak French, the international language of diplomacy at the time, which made him assume a less visible role, but Adams emerged as the commission's chief administrator, who imposed order and methods lacking in his delegation's finances and recordkeeping affairs. Adams was frustrated by the lack of commitment on the part of the French to helping the United States. In December, he wrote a letter to French foreign minister, the comte de Vergennes, to argue for French naval support in North America. Although Franklin toned down the letter, Vergennes ignored it. In September 1778, Congress increased Franklin's powers by naming him minister plenipotentiary to France while Lee was sent to serve in Spain. Adams received no instructions on where to go or what to do next. Disgusted by the apparent slight, he departed France on March 8, 1779.
In the fall of 1779, Adams was appointed sole minister charged with negotiating peace and a postwar commercial treaty with Britain. After the conclusion of the Massachusetts constitutional convention, at which he drafted the state constitution, he departed for Europe in November aboard the French frigate "Sensible" and was accompanied by John Quincy and 9-year-old son Charles.
In France, constant disagreement between Lee and Franklin eventually resulted in Adams assuming the role of tie-breaker in almost all votes on commission business. Adams also increased his usefulness by mastering the French language. Lee was eventually recalled. Adams closely supervised his sons' education but wrote to his wife, Abigail, relatively infrequently, only about once every ten days.
Compared to Franklin, Adams held a distinctly pessimistic view of the French-American alliance. Adams believed the French to be involved only for their own self-interest, and he grew frustrated by what he perceived to be lethargy in providing substantial aid to the US. "It is interest alone which does it," he said, "and it is interest alone which can be trusted." Adams wrote that the French meant to keep their hands "above our chin to prevent us from drowning, but not to lift our heads out of water." His straightforward manner eventually led to a collision with Vergennes.
In March 1780, Congress, trying to curb inflation, voted to devalue the dollar. In June, Vergennes summoned Adams for a meeting. In a letter sent that same month, he insisted that any fluctuation of the dollar value without an exception for French merchants was unacceptable and requested for Adams to write to Congress asking it to "retrace its steps." Adams wrote back in defense of the decision and claimed that the French merchants were doing better than Vergennes had implied. Adams also used the letter to sound off on some of his grievances with the French. The alliance had been made over two years earlier, and an army, under the comte de Rochambeau, had been sent to assist Washington but had yet to do anything of significance. The US was expecting French warships, which Adams wrote were needed to contain the British armies in the port cities and to contend with the powerful British Navy. However, the French Navy had been sent not to the United States but to the West Indies so that it could protect French interests there. Adams believed that France needed to commit itself more fully to the alliance. Vergennes responded that he would deal only with Franklin, who had sent a letter back to Congress that criticized Adams:
Before a response could be sent, Adams had left France on his own.
Minister to Dutch Republic.
In the summer of 1780, Adams decided to go to the Dutch Republic. Since it was one of the few other republics in the world, Adams thought that the Dutch might be sympathetic to the American cause. Securing a loan from them could increase American independence from France and pressure Britain into peace.
At first, Adams had no official status, but in July, he was named envoy and took up residence in Amsterdam in August. Adams, at first, thought the chances of success quite good, and he greatly enjoyed the city. However, he soon found himself disappointed. The Dutch, fearing British retaliation, refused to meet Adams. Meanwhile, word reached Europe of American defeats at Charleston and Camden as well as the betrayal of Benedict Arnold. After the discovery of secret aid that had already been sent by the Dutch to the Americans, the British authorized reprisals against Dutch ships, which only increased their apprehension. After five months of not meeting with a single Dutch official, Adams, in early 1781, pronounced Amsterdam "the capital of the reign of Mammon."
He was finally invited to present his credentials to the Dutch on April 19, 1781, but no assistance was promised. In the meantime, Adams thwarted an attempt by neutral European powers to mediate the war without the United States being consulted.
In July 1781, Adams consented to the departure of both of his sons. Francis Dana, Adams's secretary, was assigned to go to Saint Petersburg to seek recognition from Russia. Knowing little French, Dana received Adams's permission to bring with him John Quincy, who was fluent in the language. In August, shortly after he was removed as the sole negotiator of the treaty to end the war, Adams fell seriously ill in what scholars call "a major nervous breakdown." In November, he learned that American and French troops had won the decisive victory over British troops at Yorktown with the assistance of the French Navy, which vindicated Adams's stand for increased naval assistance from France.
News of the American triumph at Yorktown convulsed Europe. In January 1781, after recovering, Adams arrived at The Hague to demand for the States General of the Netherlands to answer his petitions. His efforts stalled, and he took his cause to the people by successfully capitalizing on popular pro-American sentiment to push the States General towards recognizing US independence, which was done by several provinces. On April 19, 1782, the States General formally recognized American independence and acknowledged Adams as envoy.
Ferling, however, downplays Adams's efforts and argues that it was the success of Yorktown, combined with pressure put on the Dutch by the French, to have been chiefly responsible for the recognition of independence.
With the aid of the Dutch Patriot leader Joan van der Capellen tot den Pol, Adams negotiated a loan of five million guilders, financed by Nicolaas van Staphorst and Wilhelm Willink, on June 11. In October 1782, he negotiated with the Dutch a treaty of amity and commerce. The house that Adams bought during his stay became the first American-owned embassy on foreign soil.
Peace treaty negotiations.
After negotiating the loan with the Dutch, Adams was appointed as one of the American commissioners to negotiate the Treaty of Paris to end the war. Since Vergennes still disapproved of Adams, which caused Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Jay, and Henry Laurens to be appointed to collaborate with Adams; nevertheless, Jefferson did not go to Europe, and Laurens was posted to the Dutch Republic.
Jay, Adams, and Franklin played the major part in the final negotiations. One of the most important goals for the Americans became surprisingly difficult but Adams played an important role in resolving it: the securing of fishing rights off Newfoundland and Cape Breton Island. The British ministers proposed strict limitations on how close American fishermen could be to the Canadian shore. Adams insisted for American fishermen to be allowed to travel as close to the shore as they wished, and that they should be allowed even to cure their ships on the shores off Newfoundland. Referring to that and other demands, Vergennes, through an emissary, secretly informed the British that France did not feel compelled to "sustain [these] pretentious ambitions." Overruling Franklin and distrustful of Vergennes, Jay and Adams decided not to consult with France but dealt directly with the British commissioners.
Adams strongly felt that the US should make peace with Britain separately, in violation of both the wishes of Congress and the terms of the 1778 Treaty of Alliance with France. Adams feared that Congress, Franklin, and Vergennes would tie the US too closely to European affairs. On November 30, 1782, the American commissioners signed a preliminary peace treaty with Britain, but it was not to go into effect until France had made peace as well.
Adams told the British that the fishing terms proposed to th were more generous than those that had been proposed by France in 1778, which would create goodwill towards Britain in the United States and also put pressure on France. Britain agreed to that, and both sides worked out a number of other provisions. Vergennes angrily expressed his disappointment when he learned from Franklin of US duplicity but did not demand renegotiation. Supposedly, he was surprised at how much the American ministers had been able to extract from the British. The independent negotiations also allowed the French to plead innocence to their Spanish allies, who were angry that Britain still held Gibraltar and worried that it might attempt to retake Florida. Attempting to incorporate Spanish demands might have caused significant problems during the negotiations.
On September 3, 1783, the treaty was signed with French approval, and the British recognized the US as an independent nation.
In 1784 and 1785, Adams was one of the architects of extensive trade relations between the United States and Prussia. The Prussian ambassador in The Hague, Friedrich Wilhelm von Thulemeyer, was involved, as were Jefferson and Franklin, who were in Paris.
Minister to Great Britain.
Adams was appointed in 1785 the first American minister to the Court of St James's (envoy to Great Britain). He had his first audience with King George III on June 1. Adams approached the king, bowed three times, and promised to do all that he could to restore friendship and cordiality between people separated by an ocean and "have the Same Language, a Similar Religion and kindred Blood." The king agreed and added that "while he had been the last to consent" to American independence, he wished Adams to know that he had always done what he thought right and proper. He inquired, "There is an Opinion, among Some People, that you are not the most attached of all Your Countrymen, to the manners of France." Adams replied, "That Opinion sir, is not mistaken, I must avow to your Majesty, I have no Attachments but to my own Country." George responded, "An honest Man will never have any other."
During her visit to Washington, DC, to mark the bicentennial of American independence in 1976, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom gave historical perspective to Adams's service: "John Adams, America's first ambassador, said to my ancestor, King George III, that it was his desire to help with the restoration of 'the old good nature and the old good humour between our peoples.' That restoration has long been made, and the links of language, tradition, and personal contact have maintained it."
Adams was joined by his wife while in London; suffering the hostility of the king's courtiers, they chose to escape when they could by seeking out Richard Price, the minister of Newington Green Unitarian Church and instigator of the Revolution Controversy. Jefferson visited Britain for a time in 1786 while serving as Minister to France. He and Adams toured the countryside and saw many of Britain's most important historical sites. During his time in London, Adams briefly met his old friend Jonathan Sewall, but they discovered that they had grown too far apart to renew their friendship. Adams considered Sewall one of the war's casualties. Sewall, in turn, offered a critique of Adams as an envoy:
Adams's tenure in Britain was complicated by the failure of both countries to follow their treaty obligations. Both had been delinquent in paying debts owed to British merchants. As security for these payments, the British refused to evacuate forts in the Northwest, as had been prescribed the Treaty of Paris. Adams's attempts to resolve this dispute failed, and he was often frustrated by a lack of news from home. He corresponded with his sons John Quincy and Charles, both of whom were at Harvard, cautioning the former against the "smell of the midnight lamp" and admonishing the latter to devote sufficient time to study. Adams grew frustrated with the situation in Great Britain, and letters detailing tumult at home such as in Shays' Rebellion heightened his anxiety. He wrote to Jay to ask to be relieved.
In 1788, Adams took his leave of the king, who engaged Adams in polite and formal conversation and promised to uphold his end of the treaty once America did the same. He then went to The Hague to take formal leave and to secure refinancing to allow the United States to meet obligations on earlier Dutch loans.
Presidency.
In 1796, as Adams faced Jefferson in the presidential contest, the French minister Pierre Adet decided that Adams was an enemy of France, which was accurate, and was a friend of England – which was an exaggeration. He encouraged American friends of France to vote for Jefferson; Federalists responded by attacking Adet for interfering in American politics. Republican France responded with a decree announcing seizures of American ships in the West Indies, and that American sailors in British service would be treated as pirates. In effect, a limited maritime war against American commerce began a few days before Adams was inaugurated. Adams responded by calling a special session of Congress, asking it to enact defense measures to prepare for war. However, he also sent a special mission to France to resolve the dispute. The mission proved to disaster called the XYZ Affair. It led to an undeclared war called the Quasi-War.
Adams sent Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, John Marshall, and Elbridge Gerry. They were approached through informal channels by agents of the French Foreign Minister Talleyrand, who demanded bribes and a loan before formal negotiations could begin. Although such demands were not uncommon in European diplomacy of the time, the Americans were offended by them, and eventually left France without ever engaging in formal negotiations. Gerry, seeking to avoid all-out war, remained for several months after the other two commissioners left. His exchanges with Talleyrand laid groundwork for the eventual end to diplomatic and military hostilities.
Quasi War.
The failure of the American commission caused a political firestorm in the United States when its commission's dispatches were published. It led to the undeclared Quasi-war (1798 to 1800). Federalists linked to Hamilton who controlled the government took advantage of the national anger to build up the nation's military. A new army was created with George Washington in nominal control, and Hamilton in actual charge They also attacked the Jeffersonian Republicans for their pro-French stance, and Elbridge Gerry (a nonpartisan at the time) for what they saw as his role in the commission's failure.
The war was called "quasi" because it was undeclared. It involved two years of hostilities at sea, in which both navies attacked the other's shipping in the West Indies. The unexpected fighting ability of the U.S. Navy, which destroyed the French West Indian trade, together with the growing weaknesses and final overthrow of the ruling Directory in France, led foreign minister Talleyrand to reopen negotiations. At the same time, there was an escalation of the battle between Adams and Hamilton over control of the national policy. Adams took sudden and unexpected action, rejecting the anti-French hawks in his own party and offering peace to France. In 1800 he sent William Vans Murray to France to negotiate peace; the Federalists cried betrayal.
The Quasi War ended with the signing of the Convention of 1800. It released the United States from its first entangling alliance – the next one would take place in World War II. For France, the convention was the first diplomatic step by Napoleon and his pacification policies.
Haiti.
Haiti, then known as Saint Domingue, was a French colony whose black slaves has successfully revolted and created a new government. In 1798, Adams made the US the first and only nation to recognize a member of the African diaspora, Toussaint Louverture, as a "de facto" head of state.
The main goals were to weaken France during the Quasi-War and to attempt to seek an advantage in the Caribbean trade. Adams disliked slavery and had experience in negotiating with the Barbary States. His Secretary of State, Timothy Pickering, likewise was anti-slavery and played a key role.


United Nations Security Council Resolution 679

United Nations Security Council resolution 679, adopted unanimously on 30 November 1990, after considering a report by the Secretary-General regarding the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), the Council noted its efforts to establish a durable and just peace in the Middle East.
The resolution decided to call upon the parties concerned to immediately implement Resolution 338 (1973), it renewed the mandate of the Observer Force for another six months until 31 May 1991 and requested that the Secretary-General submit a report on the situation at the end of that period.


Nellie Grant

Ellen Wrenshall "Nellie" Grant (July 4, 1855 – August 30, 1922) was the third child and only daughter of U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant and First Lady Julia Grant. At the age of 16, Nellie was sent abroad to England by President Grant, and was received by Queen Victoria. She was also regarded, popularly, by girls, as a teenager growing up in the White House and so attracted much attention.
In 1874, Nellie was one of a rare group of celebrated women who married at the White House. Her marriage to Englishman Algernon Sartoris produced children, but the couple later became estranged, and she was granted a divorce. She reclaimed her American roots in her second marriage to Frank Jones, but within a few months she became ill. She died an invalid in 1922.
Early life.
Nellie Grant was born on July 4, 1855, in Wistonwisch, Missouri, near St. Louis, on the estate slave plantation of Col. Frederick Dent, known as White Haven. Her father was Mexican–American War veteran Ulysses S. Grant and her mother was Julia Dent Grant, the daughter of Col. Dent. She was first named Julia, at the insistence of her father, but was christened Ellen Wrenshall at 18 months to honor her dying grandmother. For the first two years Nellie was raised in a log cabin, called Hardscrabble, that was built by her father.
White House years.
At the age of 13, Nellie moved into the White House, after her father was elected to the Presidency in 1868. Grant was a successful Union War general and Commanding General of the U.S. Army during Reconstruction Era. Nellie made friends with everyone and she shared the national popularity of her father President Grant. The nation was fascinated by Nellie, as she was the first teenage girl in the White House since Abby Fillmore.
Because she was their only daughter, with three brothers, the Grants sent Nellie to Miss Porter's School, an elite boarding school for girls in Connecticut. The situation did not last long after Nellie sent three distressing telegrams to Grant, who relented, and sent an escort to bring Nellie back to the White House. Washington society was shocked when Nellie danced through the night at a society ball. President Grant, her father, however, did not rebuke her. When Nellie turned 16, President Grant was concerned when there were many young suitors who pursued his only daughter. To keep Nellie out of the limelight, Grant sent her on a trip abroad to England surrounded by trusted chaperones. In England, Nellie was received by Queen Victoria and she attended many garden parties. Victoria described Nellie as "rather stiff and off hand in her manner and spoke with a great twang.". On the voyage home she met her future husband Algernon Charles Frederick Sartoris (pronounced Sar-tress) [August 1, 1851 – February 3, 1893], an Englishman of "minor gentry", and potential heir to his family's fortune. Sartoris's mother was Adelaide Kemble, a former opera singer, and sister of the famous actress Fanny Kemble. Sartoris's father Edward was a member of Parliament and served as a British European court minister. Grant had initially opposed Sartoris's courtship and engagement to his daughter, having learned from his parents that he was a "drinker". Grant, himself, had a reputation of drinking and had battled rumors of alcoholism throughout his life. Grant also did not want his daughter to live in England.
When Grant invited Sartoris to the White House to play billiards, Sartoris told Grant he wanted to marry Nellie. Both Julia and President Grant had the premonition that there was something not quite right with Sartoris. Grant finally relented and on July 7, 1873, writing to Sartoris's father, he gave his daughter permission to marry Sartoris on condition that the wedding take place in a year. Grant was concerned about Sartoris not having permanent employment and that he would have to support Nellie on his Presidential salary.
Wedding.
At the age of 18, Nellie and 23-year-old Algernon were married in a lavish wedding held at the White House on May 21, 1874. The interior of the White House, including the walls, staircases, and chandeliers were covered with lilies, tuberoses, and spirea. Orange blossoms from Florida had been crated up and sent North to the White House. The bride Nellie was described as "probably the most attractive of all the young woman who have ever lived in the White House." The Marine Band played Mendelssohn's Wedding March, while President Grant escorted Nellie to the East Room, filled with 250 guests. Nellie looked radiant in her wedding dress, trimmed in Brussel pointed lace, and reportedly worth thousands of dollars. After the wedding, the newlywed couple traveled on a special train to New York in a luxurious Pullman palace car, especially made for the Vienna Exposition, covered by British and American flags. The following day Nellie and Sartoris sailed for England. After the wedding, President Grant went to his daughter's bedroom and sobbed uncontrollably. One historian, a hundred years later, said Nellie had been "sold at a low price."
Marriages and family.
Grant-Sartoris.
Grant and Sartoris had four children together, two sons and two daughters:
Nellie Grant and Sartoris lived together in England, and unlike her brief stay at "Porter's School", she was brave throughout her ordeal. Although her four children comforted her greatly, however, she never fully accepted English society, or had the admiration of the British people like her parents. Her mother-in-law Adelaide Kemble Sartoris, who had entertained Charles Dickens, took Nellie under her care. When author Henry James visited the family at Adelaide's home in Southampton, he described having a brilliant dinner conversation, but added "poor little Nellie Grant sits speechless on the sofa, understanding neither head nor tail." Family tradition concerning Nellie's husband was that in addition to having a drinking problem he was a womanizer.
By 1889, Sartoris's drinking problem was out of control and his parents believed Nellie, the daughter of President Grant, had suffered long enough. The storybook marriage that charmed both the British and American public had ended. Sartoris proved dissolute and a disappointment to his parents, who made it clear that they did not blame Nellie for the breakup. Nellie, who longed to return to America, was granted a divorce, given a large annual income, and allowed to take her children back to the United States, where she was given renewed citizenship by a special act of Congress. Sartoris died in 1893 at the age of forty-two, leaving Nellie Grant free to remarry.
Grant-Jones.
In 1912, Nellie married Frank Hatch Jones (March 6, 1854 – October 2, 1931) a lawyer originally from Springfield who lived in Chicago. He was a Yale University graduate, who was Chairman of the Sangamon County Democratic Committee, President of the State League of Democratic Clubs of Illinois and Secretary of the Illinois State Bar Association.
Later life.
Nellie had returned to the United States from England to be with her sick father and American family. In 1885, ex President Grant was dying of throat cancer while he was writing his memoirs. At the time of her father's death, she was honored with a popular poem "Nellie" by the writer Eugene Field. Nellie Grant died on August 30, 1922, at the age of 67. Upon her death, her remains were buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield.


Kiira Motors Corporation

Kiira Motors Corporation or KMC is a State Enterprise in Uganda established to champion the Development of the Domestic Automotive Value Chain for job and wealth creation and commercialize the Kiira Electric Vehicle Project. The Equity Partners are Government of Uganda represented by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation holding 96% of the initial stock and Makerere University holding 4%.
Africa's first electric vehicle was developed under the Kiira Electric Vehicle Project in 2011. KMC developed Africa's first hybrid vehicle, the Kiira EVS, in 2014 and Africa's first solar electric bus, the Kayoola Solar Bus in 2016.
KMC's market entry products are the Kayoola EVS a Fully Electric Low Floor City Bus with a range of 300 kilometers on a full charge and the Kayoola Diesel Coach, a premium highway coach.
History.
The KMC journey dates back to 2007; evolving from an extra-curricular activity under the auspices of then Makerere University Faculty of Technology, to a university curricular activity and later a mainstream national initiative for automotive manufacturing. In 2007, a global consortium of over 31 universities and colleges across the world took part in a Vehicle Design Summit (VDS) to design and bring to market a 5-Seater plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, the Vision 200, targeting the Indian market. Under the United States-based Massachusetts Institute of Technology led three-year project, Uganda's Makerere University was the only participant from Africa. The team from the Faculty of Technology now College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology was responsible for design and integration of the Low Power Electronics and Data Networking Systems. Given the experience in building the Vision 200, other global experiences through collaborations, and best practices benchmarking, the Makerere team resolved to embark on a project aimed at designing and building a vehicle in Uganda.
The Center for Research in Transport Technologies (CRTT) was then conceived under Makerere University in December 2008 and approved as part of the University Structures effective 1 January 2011. The strategic goal of CRTT was to advance research and innovation in transportation technologies on land, air and sea with specific emphasis on green mobility solutions for Africa. The Kiira EV Project was the first project implemented under CRTT. The Kiira EV, Africa's first electric vehicle, was completed by the team and launched by H.E Yoweri Museveni, the President of the Republic of Uganda, on 24 November 2011.
The successful execution of the Kiira EV Project led to the establishment of the Kiira Motors Project as a government initiative for Automotive Industry Development aimed at Establishing a Vehicle Plant in Uganda. The Kiira Motors Project started the Kiira Vehicle Technology Innovation Program through which the Kiira EV SMACK, the first Electric Hybrid Vehicle designed and built in Africa, was developed and unveiled at a very high-profile event at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi, Kenya in November 2014.
The team then designed and built the Kayoola Solar Bus, the first Electric Solar Bus designed and built in Africa. The Kayoola Solar Bus was launched by H.E Yoweri Museveni on 16 February 2016 at the Kampala Serena Hotel.
Kiira Motors conducted a Pre-Investment Analysis (The KMC Business Case) to affirm the viability of vision Vehicles Made in Uganda. This informed the development of the Kiira Motors Corporation Business Strategy and subsequently Business Plan. The KMC Pre-Investment Analysis (Business Case) was launched by the Uganda Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda on 7 December 2015 at the President's Office Conference Hall.
Commercial Production.
Cabinet of Uganda sitting on Monday 9 April 2018 at Statehouse Entebbe approved the roadmap for the Commercialization of the Kiira Electric Vehicle Project. This is to be undertaken in a phased manner with the market-entry point being assembly of vehicles (including electric vehicles) in partnership with reputable vehicle manufacturers. Cabinet approved a Seed Fund of US$40 Million (USh 143.7 Billion) over a period of four years starting in the Financial Year 2018/19 with an allocation of USh 24 Billion under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. The decision was facilitated by a comprehensive appraisal and approval of a Feasibility Study for Setting Up and Operating the Kiira Vehicle Plant by the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development. Cabinet also authorised the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation to put in place the necessary Institutional Framework for the Commercialization of the Kiira Electric Vehicle Project and mandated the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation to establish and oversee the project governance and management structures.
Kiira Vehicle Plant.
The government of Uganda, acting through the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA), allocated 100 acres for the establishment of the Kiira Vehicle Plant, located at the Jinja Industrial and Business Park, Plot No. 701, Block 2 Kagogwa Village, Mawoito Parish, Kakira Town Council, Jinja District.
Kiira Motors Corporation and National Enterprise Corporation (NEC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding for Construction of the Kiira Vehicle Plant Start-Up Facilities (Phase I) at the Jinja Industrial and Business Park based on the Force Account Mechanism provided for under Section 95(A) of the PPDA Act, 2003 ("as amended)". This was subsequent to clearance of the MOU by the Solicitor General.  The Kiira Vehicle Plant Site was handed over to NEC on 18 January 2019, who deployed security and commenced work on 11 February 2019. Construction is expected to take two and a half (2.5) Years with completion slated for June 2021.
The Scope of Work for NEC includes: Site Clearance; Construction of a perimeter fence and Two Gates; Excavation of a 1.4 km Open Channel along the Western Boundary; Construction of the Assembly Shop, Offices, R&D Space, Materials Storage Areas, Overhead Water Reservoir, Container Yards, Finished Vehicle Park Yard, and Plant Monument; Construction and Installation of Servicing Facilities including the Plant Campus Circulation Roads, Power Distribution, Water Distribution, I.T Network Backbone, Drainage and Waste (Water and Solid) Management Systems; and defects liability period shall be for 12 months commencing on the date of Practical Completion of the Project.
The construction and installation of a 3.7 km long 33kV medium voltage electricity line connecting the Kiira Vehicle Plant Site to the national electricity grid was completed, tested and commissioned by Umeme. The construction and installation of a 5.4 km long 6-inch water pipeline connecting the plant site to the municipal water supply system was completed, tested and commissioned by National Water and Sewerage Corporation.
Establishment of the Kiira Vehicle Plant is expected to catalyse investment by small and medium enterprises in the manufacture of vehicle parts, components and autonomy systems (Brake pads, seats, bolts and nuts, bumpers, vehicle electronics, navigation system, among others). Kiira Motors Corporation has developed a roadmap for the Domestic Manufacture of Auto-Parts in Uganda and secured accreditation from PPDA for an alternative system for procurement of Auto-Parts Suppliers providing for sample parts development and accreditation of the production part manufacturing system.
Establishment of the Kiira Vehicle Plant is projected to increase demand for the utilization of Uganda's natural resources such as steel from iron ore deposits; plastics from oil and gas, lithium ion batteries from graphite, lithium and cobalt deposits, vehicle upholstery and interior padding from cotton and leather, glass from silica and sand among others.
The Kiira Vehicle Plant's contribution to employment in Uganda is estimated at 940 jobs from the Start-Up Investment. The full-scale plant operation is estimated to create over 2,000 direct jobs and 12,000 indirect jobs.
The Kiira Vehicle Plant start-up Facilities will have an installed capacity of 5,000 vehicles annually.
In January 2020, the Daily Monitor newspaper reported that the Kayoola electric buses were as of then, available for sale to the public. KMC plans to manufacture 5,000 electric vehicles annually, beginning in July 2021. The manufacturer plans to procure up to 90 percent of the components in Uganda. It is being assisted by CHTC Motor Company, a subsidiary of the state-owned Sinomach Automobile Company. The long-term plan is to reduce air pollution in Uganda's capital, Kampala.
Products.
Kayoola EVS.
The Kayoola EVS is the market-entry product of Kiira Motors Corporation. The Kayoola EVS is a Fully Electric, Low Floor City Bus specifically designed for Urban Mass Transportation. At full charge, the Kayoola EVS has a range of up to 300 kilometers making it capable of handling the daily duty cycle. With a sitting capacity of up to 90 passengers.
The Kayoola EVS buses were used to offer Airport Transfer Services between Entebbe International Airport and Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort for delegates during the EU-Uganda Business Forum in March 2020. The buses have also undertaken the following exhibition drills and select shuttle services in Uganda:
Kayoola Diesel Coach.
The Kayoola Diesel Coach is an intercity bus in Africa. The Kayoola Diesel Coach is powered by a 6-cylinder turbo charged inter cooled Cummins engine, providing over 375 horsepower, and able to achieve a top speed of 140km/hr.
Kiira EVS.
The Kiira EVS, a Vehicle designed and Built by Kiira Motors Corporation, is a four-seater executive vehicle built off the Kiira EV SMACK platform. The Kiira EVS has undertaken a Nation-Wide Tour in excess of 3,650 kilometers in Eastern, Northern and Western Uganda with Exhibitions in Masaka, Mbarara, Kabale, Kisoro, Kibaale, Bushenyi, Jinja, Kampala, Pakwach, Nebbi, Arua, Koboko, Oraba, Gulu, Kitgum, Lira, Soroti, Katakwi, Moroto, Mbale, Iganga along with a grand expo at the Africa Now Summit 2019.
Awards.
KMC was recognized for the initiatives in Green Mobility by Frost & Sullivan with the 2016 Frost & Sullivan Visionary Innovation Leadership Award in Sustainable Mobility.
Bulamu Ventilator.
In April 2020, Makerere University, in close collaboration with KMC, ResilientAfrica Network, and in partnership with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation started the development of an open design low-cost medical ventilator, called the Bulamu Ventilator, to fill the critical need for ventilators for Uganda and the region, in response to COVID-19. Once the ventilator is developed, tested and optimally operational, the consortium will develop capacity for its mass production. The ventilator will be applied beyond COVID-19 to other severe conditions that require assisted breathing. This technology will substantially improve the capacity for critical care in Uganda.
As of 30 June 2020, the consortium had undertaken Phase I of the development of the Bulamu Ventilator which included Technology Assessment & Open Design Adaptation, Systems Design and Specification, Development of Initial Engineering Prototype for Proof of Functionality and Development of Three (3) Engineering and Validation Prototypes.
The raw materials for the machine are majorly sourced within Uganda. It is expected to retail at about US$3,000, compared to US$25,000 for an imported medical ventilator.


William, Landgrave of Hesse-Rotenburg

William I "the Elder" of Hesse-Rotenburg (15 May 1648, in Kassel – 20 November 1725, in Langenschwalbach) was from 1683 until his death Landgrave of Hesse-Rotenburg. He was a son of Ernest I of Hesse-Rotenburg-Rheinfels and his wife, Countess Maria Eleonore of Solms-Lich. William was nicknamed "the Elder" to distinguish him from his nephew, William of Hesse-Wanfried.
Life.
After his father's death in 1693, William ruled one half of the Rotenburg Quarter, the quarter of Hesse-Kassel which Landgrave Maurice of Hesse-Kassel had distributed as fiefs among the sons of his second wife, Juliane. He officially resided in Rotenburg an der Fulda, but he often stayed in Langenschwalbach in the Taunus area. His descendants ruled the Rotenburg Quarter; his grandson, Constantine reunited all the parts of the Quarter.
William's dominions included the lower part of the County of Katzenelnbogen and the districts and castles of Burg Rheinfels, Reichenberg and Hohenstein as well as shares of Umstadt and Vierherren an der Lahn. He swapped the district and city of Eschwege with his brother Charles for the district and city of Rotenburg. He also held the dominions of Falkenberg, Cornberg and Langenschwalbach and he received a share of the Hessian toll on the Rhine and custom duties on wine, agriculture and wool and the toll at Boppard.
William died in 1725 and was buried in the Catholic Church of St. Elizabeth in Langenschwalbach.
Marriage and issue.
William married on 3 March 1669 in Rochefort Countess Maria Anna of Löwenstein-Wertheim (1652–1688). Anna died in 1688 and was buried in the Franciscan monastery in Boppard. With her, he had eight children, including his successor, Ernest II Leopold:


Thomas Humphrey Cushing

Thomas Humphrey Cushing (November, 1755 – October 19, 1822) was an officer in the Continental Army, and later the United States Army, and finally became a collector of customs for the port of New London, Connecticut.
Revolutionary War service.
Cushing began his military career as a sergeant in the 6th Continental Regiment in January 1776. He was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant in the 1st Massachusetts Regiment in January 1777 and was promoted to 1st Lieutenant in January 1778. He was taken prisoner in May 1781 and was later exchanged. He was breveted to the rank of captain in September 1783. Cushing was admitted as an Original Member of the Society of the Cincinnati in the state of Massachusetts that same year.
Following the British evacuation of New York City in November 1783, the bulk of the Continental Army was discharged. Cushing was retained in Jackson's Continental Regiment, commanded by Brevet Brigadier General Henry Jackson, and was one of the last officers to be discharged from the Continental Army when the regiment was disbanded on June 20, 1784.
Later military career.
On March 4, 1791 Cushing was commissioned a captain in the 2nd Infantry Regiment. On March 3, 1793 he was commissioned as a major in the 1st Sublegion (later re-designated as the 1st Infantry Regiment).
From February 27, 1797 to May 22, 1798 he served as Adjutant and Inspector General of the Army. (From 1792 to 1821 the offices of Adjutant General and Inspector General were combined.) In 1799, he commissioned artist James Peale to create a miniature portrait of himself. On June 15, 1800 he was re-appointed as Adjutant and Inspector General and held the office until April 2, 1807. From 1800 to 1807 he resided in Washington, D.C. .
Cushing was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the 2nd Infantry on April 1, 1802. He was promoted to colonel of the same regiment on September 7, 1805.
In early 1811, on the order of Brigadier General Wade Hampton I, Cushing was arrested and court martialed on charges of disobedience to orders and misuse of government funds. The court-martial first met on April 26, 1811 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and was presided over by Colonel Alexander Smyth, with Winfield Scott appointed as the judge advocate (prosecutor). It lasted over a year and on May 5, 1812, Cushing was acquitted of most charges, and received only a written reprimand for the minor charges of which he was convicted.
War of 1812.
Cushing was promoted to the rank of brigadier general on July 2, 1812. During the War of 1812, he served as Adjutant General of the Army from July 6, 1812 to March 12, 1813. He was then assigned as commander of Military District Number 1 (consisting of the states of Massachusetts and New Hampshire) with his headquarters at Boston.
After the war's end, he retired from the Army on June 15, 1815.
Later life.
In January 1816 Cushing was appointed collector of customs for the port of New London, Connecticut, succeeding Jedediah Huntington.
In 1817, Cushing fought a duel with Virginia congressman William J. Lewis and was saved when the bullet struck his watch. The two resolved their differences, and Lewis, stepping up to the general, said: "I congratulate you, general, on having a watch that will keep time from eternity."
Cushing died in New London in 1822. He was originally buried in the Second Burial Ground in New London but his remains were later relocated to the Cedar Grove Cemetery in the same city.


Philo C. Fuller

Philo Case Fuller (August 14, 1787 near Marlboro, Middlesex County, Massachusetts – August 16, 1855 near Geneva, Ontario County, New York) was an American lawyer and politician.
Early life.
Fuller was born on August 14, 1787 in Marlborough, Massachusetts. He was the son of Samuel Fuller and Delia (née Case) Fuller. He served in the War of 1812.
Fuller was educated at the local common schools. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1813, and practiced in Geneseo, New York.
Career.
Fuller served as private secretary to General William Wadsworth of Geneseo, New York and practiced law in Albany, New York.
From 1829 to 1830, he was a member of the New York State Assembly (Livingston Co.) in 52nd and 53rd New York State Legislatures. From 1831 to 1832, he was a member of the New York State Senate (8th D.), sitting in the 54th and 55th New York State Legislatures.
Fuller was elected as an Anti-Mason to the 23rd United States Congress, and re-elected as an Anti-Jacksonian to the 24th United States Congress, holding office from March 4, 1833, to September 2, 1836, when he resigned, and moved to Adrian, Michigan where he engaged in banking and was president of the Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad.
He was a member of the Michigan House of Representatives in 1841 and was Speaker until April 3 when he resigned having been appointed Assistant United States Postmaster General by President William Henry Harrison. Later that year, he was an unsuccessful Whig candidate for Governor of Michigan. Afterwards he returned to Geneseo, New York.
On December 18, 1850, he was appointed New York State Comptroller, and served for the remainder of Washington Hunt's unexpired term until the end of 1851.
Personal life.
In April 1817, he married Sophia Nowlen (ca. 1791–1850), a native of Connecticut. Their children were:
Fuller died near Geneva, New York on August 16, 1855. He was buried at the Temple Hill Cemetery in Geneseo.


Frederick Sylvester North Douglas

Frederick Sylvester North Douglas (8 February 1791 – 21 October 1819) was an English actuary and politician.
He was the oldest son of Sylvester Douglas, 1st Baron Glenbervie, and his wife Lady Catherine Anne North, daughter of Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford.
He was educated at Westminster School, Christ Church, Oxford, and at Lincoln's Inn, before setting off on a grand tour from 1810 to 1812. On his return he wrote "An Essay on Certain Points of Resemblance Between the Ancient and Modern Greeks".
He was elected at the 1812 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Banbury, holding the seat until his death in 1819, aged 28.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1817.


Minister for European Neighbourhood and the Americas

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for European Neighbourhood and the Americas, formerly Minister of State for Europe, is a ministerial position within the Government of the United Kingdom, in charge of affairs with Europe, the European Union and NATO. The Minister can also be responsible for government policy towards the Americas; European security; defence and international security; the Falkland Islands; polar regions; migration; protocol; human resources; OSCE and Council of Europe; relations with Parliament; British Overseas Territories of Gibraltar and Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus; and FCO finance, knowledge and technology.
The office is either a Minister of State or Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State within the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Despite being a junior ministerial role, the position has sometimes conferred the right to attend meetings of the Cabinet, which is occasionally granted to other such ministers at the Prime Minister's discretion. This first occurred when Denis MacShane was replaced by Douglas Alexander after the 2005 general election, although Alexander's successor ceased to have this right. When Chris Bryant held the office, it was not as Minister of State but as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Europe and Asia.
The responsibilities of the office were next appointed to a Minister of State in 2010 by then Prime Minister David Cameron. He appointed David Lidington, who held the office for over six years. In July 2016, the responsibilities of the Minister for Europe were combined with the portfolio of the traditionally more junior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. The post of Minister of State for Europe and the Americas was held by Alan Duncan until he resigned on 22 July 2019; Duncan was largely regarded as the second most senior-ranking Foreign Office Minister behind the Foreign Secretary. On 25 July 2019, newly elected Prime Minister Boris Johnson appointed Conservative MP for Tamworth, Christopher Pincher to the role as part of his ministerial reshuffle. Johnson promoted Wendy Morton to the role of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for European Neighbourhood and the Americas to replace Pincher in February 2020.
The post is not to be confused with the Minister of State within the Department for Exiting the European Union, the department created by Prime Minister Theresa May following the UK's vote to leave the EU in 2016 and abolished by Boris Johnson following the UK's exit from the EU on 31 January 2020. They supported the work of the department overseeing the UK's exit from the EU rather than overseeing government policy towards all-European affairs.


AMS v Minister for Justice and Equality

A.M.S. v Minister for Justice and Equality [2014] IESC 65, [2015] 1 I.L.R.M. 170 was an Irish Supreme Court case in which the Court held that s.18 (4) of the Refugee Act 1996 allowed the Minister for Justice to evaluate the financial burden that a refugee's dependents may put on the State, whilst determining an application for entry.
Background.
Under the Refugee Act 1996, a family member of a refugee could apply for family reunification. There are two classes of members as identified by the relevant legislation; ss.18 (4) of the Refugee Act 1996. Section 18(3) states that automatic entitlement to the reunification is accorded to spouses, unmarried minors and parents of minor refugees. Section 18(4) of the Act, states that in the case of family members outside of the above mentioned, there is discretion as to the according of reunification. "A.M.S. v Minister for Justice" deals with family members falling outside s.18(3).
The Applicant, Mr. S., a Somalian citizen born in 1985, arrived in Ireland seeking asylum in May 2007 and was granted refugee status in January 2009. Mr. S. applied to the Minister for Justice, under s. 18 of the Act, seeking family reunification for a number of people, namely; his wife, his mother, his daughter, two of his sisters, and two brothers. Mr. S completed the necessary application forms without the assistance of a Lawyer. In his application Mr. S. stated that he, and the above mentioned family members, had lived as one unit back in Somalia. He stated that the mentioned family members were located in refugee camp out of Mogadishu. Whilst completing a questionnaire, Mr. S failed to answer a question "seeking information on financial dependency on the part of the relevant family members towards him". Mr. S stated that no family members mentioned were employed at the time of the application. He stated that he was seeking for a job, which would provide for him and the applied for family members. He did not reply to a question on social welfare benefits. It is on all this information that a report was drafted and provided to the Minister for Justice on 1 September 2009, after having been considered by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner (ORAC).
In early 2010, Mr. S. received the news that his daughter and one of his brothers had died in a bomb attack while the family were leaving the refugee camp in Mogadishu, heading towards the Ethiopian border. Mr. S obtained a solicitor that same year. The solicitor provided the minister with additional documents in support of Mr. S.'s application. The minister was informed that Mr. S.'s family was undocumented in Ethiopia, and renting an apartment in Addis Ababa, with financial aid from Mr. S. The minister was informed of Mr. S.'s mother's deteriorating health. She suffered from hypertension, chronic liver disease, chronic rheumatism, dementia and depression.
In 2011, Mr. S.'s solicitor wrote to the minister, seeking a decision be issued within eight days, to which the minister replied that he required additional information in order to come to a decision. On 4 May 2011, Mr. S was granted the reunification for his wife, as according to s.18(3) of the Act. However, reunification was denied in respect to the remaining family members, as by s.18(4) of the Act. The denied family members applied a second time, following a second denial decision made July 2012. The applicant sought to quash the second denial by means of judicial review. These reviews were in relation to Mr. S.'s mother and sister. These were successful before the High Court in "A.M.S. v Minister for Justice and Equality" [2014] IEHC 57. This judgment was appealed by the minister to the Supreme Court.
It was established that the Mr. S.'s mother and sister were financially dependent on Mr. S. However, as Mr. S.'s only income was his social welfare payments, the minister deemed that the reunification would be a financial burden to the State.
Issues.
The first issue relevant to this appeal concerns the determination of the proper interpretation of s. 18 of the Refugee Act 1996. The second issue was the question of proportionality. The principle of proportionality must have been applied by the minister in his refusing the family reunification of Mr. S.'s family members.
Judgment of the Supreme Court.
The judgment was delivered by Frank Clarke. He held that s. 18(4) of the Act provides the minister with discretionary powers in regards to consideration of cases, during the assessment of a refugee's application for family reunification. The minister was found to possess the power to decide whether or not the refugee's dependents would prove to be a financial burden on the State.
The court thus overruled the judgment of Colm Mac Eochaidh in the High Court that it was not within the minister's power to consider whether a reunification would result in a financial burden on the State. The principal issue was instead the proportionality of the minister's discretion: The Court found the minister's balancing exercise to have been flawed, and thus his appeal was dismissed.
Subsequent developments.
In establishing that each case must be assessed independently, "A.M.S. v Minister for Justice and Equality" may have overturned an earlier decision "Hassan v Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform" in which the court held that the minister has the power to deny an application for family reunification, as long as the applicant is found not have future means to support his dependents without State intervention.


List of Vega launches

This is a list of launches of the Vega rocket. The Vega has been launched a total of 18 times, with 16 successful launches and 2 failed launches. Additionally, there are currently 12 launches that are planned for the Vega. A new version, the Vega-C, is currently under development. The Vega was made by Arianespace.


Thomas Barrett-Lennard (politician)

Thomas Barrett-Lennard (4 October 1788 – 9 June 1856) was a British Whig politician.
Family and early life.
Born in 1788, Barrett-Lennard was the eldest of 12 children of his namesake, Thomas Barrett-Lennard (died 1857)—who himself was the illegitimate son and testamentary heir of his namesake Thomas Barrett-Lennard, 17th Baron Dacre (1717–1786)—and Dorothy née St. Aubyn, daughter of Sir John St. Aubyn, 4th Baronet.
Intended for a political life early on, he was educated at Charterhouse School from 1797 to 1804, and at Jesus College, Cambridge in 1806, and admitted to Inner Temple in 1809. He was guided for political life by the rector of Upminster, John Rose Holden, and his Cambridge contemporary, Henry Bickersteth, 1st Baron Langdale, who said, of Barrett-Lennard's future, "it is a sort of treason to yourself and your country when you neglect the opportunities fortunes has bestowed on you". He was then sent to Edinburgh for further studies "prior to entering Parliament".
He married twice, first to Margaret Wharton, daughter of Beverley Whig MP John Wharton, in 1815. Upon their marriage, his father granted him £1,200 a year, raising further to £2,000 when the couple travelled to Nice to search for a cure for tuberculosis, from which Margaret later died without issue at the "Hotel des Etrangers". He later remarried to Mary Shedden, daughter of Bartlett Bridger Shedden, in 1825. They had five sons before she died in 1844: Thomas (1826–1919); Dacre (1829–1910); St. Aubyn (1831–1866); Charles Edward (1835–1874); and, John (1839–1898).
Political career.
Barrett-Lennard was first invited, by the sitting member Charles Powell Leslie, to stand for election in 1813 at a by-election in County Monaghan. Although Thomas Dawson, 1st Viscount Cremorne offered his influence, following canvassing Barrett-Lennard declined to go to a poll, paid his respects at Dublin Castle and returned to Belhus, Essex and Scotland.
He remained active politically, and in line with his family's support for the Whigs and Catholic emancipation, he campaigned for a county meeting in Essex to protest the Liverpool ministry's responses to the Peterloo massacre. This ultimately failed, partly due to a lack of support from the Whig county member, Charles Callis Western, who warned "you cannot mix up with the radicals with any comfort of safety".
Between 1820 and 1852, Barrett-Lennard spend much time as a member of parliament, becoming known as a man of "retired and studious habits", and "an advanced but independent Whig".
Ipswich MP.
After joining Brooks' on Western's and Lord William Russell's recommendation in December 1819, he was first elected Whig MP for Ipswich in 1820, helped somewhat by influence from Henry Baring, John May and William May. At the election's hustings, he denounced ministerial corruption, high taxes, sinecures and repressive legislation passed in the wake of Peterloo, as well as called for free trade and parliamentary reform, arguing Ipswich was in danger of becoming a government borough.
Policies.
Although he topped the poll with William Haldimand in the four-man contest, scrutiny led to him being relegated to third place. However, on petition, he was again declared elected. He became a regular attender and ready debate, voting against the Tory government and with the Whigs in almost every major division between 1820 and 1824, including supporting the 'Mountain' and Joseph Hume's campaigns for economy and retrenchment and becoming one of their spokesman on diplomatic expenditure, local courts, and a variety of issues affecting the city. He voted against the Barrack Agreement Bill in 1820, and divided for Catholic relief in 1821 and 1825. Thrice, he voted for parliamentary reform, in 1821, 1822 and 1823, while also campaigning for the disenfranchisement of Grampound, promising to make Leeds a scot and lot boroug" if it took over Grampound's seats.
While in Parliament, Barrett-Lennard also called for greater facilities for the public at the British Museum, voted for repeal of the additional malt duty, called for an inquiry and presented petitions from individuals injured at Peterloo, and petitioned against the English Poor Laws, among numerous other areas.
Caroline of Brunswick.
In January 1821, he rebuked Caroline of Brunswick when he was asked to present the Ipswich address, forwarding this to Henry Vassall-Fox, 3rd Baron Holland. He also spoke against granting Caroline £50,000 a year from the consolidated fund, suggesting it should be paid from crown revenue or admiralty droits, and argued her treatment showed the need for legal and parliamentary reform. He later called for the Six Acts to be repealed on grounds of seditious meetings and libels, arguing that restricted county meetings had meant "public opinion has not been expressed with the openness and to the extent that it is hitherto". However, he lost the vote in Parliament, with 88 votes against and 66 votes for.
Maldon MP.
In 1825, when the corporation of Ipswich told members they should henceforth bear the cost of expensive bailiwick elections, Barrett-Lennard resolved to never contest the borough. At the next general election in 1826 general election, while he campaigned for Robert Torrens and William Haldimand, Barrett-Lennard moved to contest Maldon as a Whig, or 'county interest' candidate. He was successful at the election, securing 1,455 votes and ending second out of three candidates.
In this seat, Barrett-Lennard voted against the Duke of Clarence's grant, the army estimates, and Catholic relief in 1827, and sat on the Galway election committee, voting to refer the Irish estimates to a select committee. He supported George Canning's administration, but this left him at odds with his colleagues when he qualified his decision to vote against the repeal of the Six Acts by referring to his previous opposition when they were used to detain and prosecute Richard Carlile.
When Canning died, he was expected to support Lord Goderich, but aligned with the Huskissonites and the Duke of Wellington's ministry until May 1828. He continued to presented further petitions for the repeal of the Test Acts in 1828, and endorsed a pro-Catholic and anti-Friendly Societies Bill petitions in the same year. Other votes included favouring Catholic and Jewish emancipation, rejecting the Metropolitan Police Bill in 1829, and the Reform Act 1832, following which he was unsure whether to stand for Maldon or North Essex at the ensuing general election.
However, he chose to remain at Maldon—noting his father was standing for South Essex and "a borough and a seat for a father and son in the two divisions is too much for one family"—and held that seat until 1837. He returned to the seat 10 years later at the 1847 general election before losing the seat again at the next general election in 1852. Although he sought to regain the seat at a by-election in 1854, he was again unsuccessful.
Other activities.
Outside of Parliament, Barrett-Lennard spent much time in Brighton and on the continent, where his second wife, Mary, died while pregnant in Naples. Barrett-Lennard himself died in Brighton in April 1856, leaving his five sons, brother George, and Sarah Woodfield, with £50,000 charged from the family estates in Essex, Fermanagh and Norfolk.


Alan Gemmell (diplomat)

Alan Gemmell OBE (born 6 April 1978) is the co-founder of FiveFilms4Freedom and former Director of the British Council in India. Gemmell was appointed as Chief Executive of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council in December 2018. Gemmell was appointed OBE in the 2016 New Year Honours List. Gemmell was included in the 2017 Financial Times Top 20 Public Sector LGBT Executives and in "GQ" magazine's 2016 List of the 100 Most Connected Men in the UK.
Early life and career.
Gemmell attended Irvine Royal Academy and the Junior School of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama where he studied piano and bass trombone and toured with the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland. He read law at Glasgow University.
Gemmell is the Director of the British Council in India and served as Director Israel from 2012 to 2016; Deputy Director Mexico (2011-2012); in São Paulo, Brazil (2011); and, as Director of External Relations, London (2008-2011).
Gemmell was included in the 2018 "Financial Times" list of Top 30 Public Sector LGBT Executives.
British Council.
British Council India.
Gemmell is Director of the British Council Group in India, a 600-person operation. with a turnover over £40m. Gemmell supported the organisation's existing online and mobile offers to connect with India's millennial generation, and partner with the economic growth and knowledge ambitions of India's states.
British Council 70th anniversary in India.
British Council 70th anniversary scholarships.
Gemmell secured Rs 18 crore (£1.75m) to create the British Council's first scholarship programme for women as part of the organisation's 70th anniversary in India in 2018. 100 Indian women were awarded funding to study a one-year master's degree in STEM at 44 British universities. The 70th anniversary scholarships launched a year-long Inspired by India campaign with a logo designed by Indo-British design house Studio Carrom based on the banyan tree mural of the late British artist Howard Hodgkin on the front of the British Council's Delhi HQ.
Gemmell announced a further £1 million for 70 British Council 70th anniversary scholarships during a visit by the 104 2018 scholars to meet British Prime Minister Theresa May at 10 Downing Street.
British Council India Garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
Gemmell commissioned British Garden Designer Sarah Eberle to create the first British Council Garden at the 2018 RHS Chelsea Flower Show to mark the 70th anniversary year. The garden was funded by the Piramal Group, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), and the JSW Group
Changing Moves Changing Minds.
Gemmell announced a legacy project from the Chelsea Garden in partnership with the Royal Academy of Dance and the Marylebone Cricket Club. Changing Moves Changing Minds will use sport and dance to promote positive gender roles for 300,000 children and tackle sexism in schools.
Commonwealth Big Lunch.
Gemmell and Dr Achyuta Samanta, founder of the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), hosted lunch for 30,000 students and volunteers on 23 March 2018 at KISS to celebrate the Commonwealth and the 70th anniversary of the British Council in India. The British Council KISS Big Lunch was announced by British Prime Minister Theresa May in February 2018.
State engagement.
Gemmell focussed the British Council's work on States across India with a mission to partner their economic development and knowledge ambitions. He signed an agreement with Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Macmillan Education to improve the English-Language skills of 12,000 young people in the state. Gemmell signed an agreement with the state of Maharashtra to train 30,000 teachers benefiting 1.5 million children across the state. Gemmell secure a partnership with the state of Andhra Pradesh and its Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, to train 100,000 college students. Gemmell signed an agreement witnessesd by Hon’ble Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to support English teaching across the state and improve the skills of young people in Odisha.
Gemmell has led a focus on Northeast India signing an agreement with the North Eastern Council of the Ministry for Development of North Eastern Region of the Government of India. The North Eastern Council partnership enabled the British Council to develop new partnership and education programmes across the North East.
Gemmell signed an agreement with the state of Arunachal Pradesh in the presence of Hon’ble Chief Minister Pema Khandu at the Tawang Festival in October 2018 to develop cultural and educational programmes. Gemmell signed an agreement with the Government of Sikkim to develop similar initiatives.
UK-India Year of Culture.
Gemmell was responsible for the 2017 UK-India Year of Culture, a year of cultural exchange announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his November 2015 visit to the UK. British Prime Minister Theresa May and Indian Prime Minister Modi referenced the Year of Culture and its unprecedented level of cultural exchange in the Joint Statement to mark the visit of PM Modi to London in April 2018.
Her Majesty The Queen hosted the official launch of the year on 27 February 2017 at Buckingham Palace with Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley representing Prime Minister Modi. Gemmell worked with the Palace, British Indian start-up Studio Carrom and 2017 Creative Director Ruth Ur to project a peacock, India's national bird, onto the facade of Buckingham Palace.
The programme for the year was announced by British Council Deputy Chair Rt Hon Baroness Prashar CBE PC, UK Minister of State for Digital and Culture Rt Hon Matt Hancock and Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom HE Mr Sinha at the British Film Institute on 28 February 2017. The programme includes an exhibition from the British Museum and The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya in Mumbai, the first exhibition on Indian innovation at the UK's Science Museum, London, and the restoration of 1928 Indian movie, Shiraz, by the British Film Institute with a new score by British-Indian musician Anoushka Shankar.
Mix the City.
Gemmell inaugurated the Year of Culture in India on 6 April 2017 projecting elements of the Buckingham Palace Studio Carrom peacock onto the British Council's Delhi building and launching Mix the City Delhi. Gemmell commissioned Mix the City in 2015 working with UK tech start-ups Flying Object and Roll Studio, the BBC and the Arts Council of England. Mix the City is the British Council's first interactive art work. For the Year of Culture, Gemmell commissioned Mix the City in India's 4 main cities Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai. Gemmell launched Mix the City Mumbai in partnership with "Rolling Stone" India at a Music Expo hosted by the UK Government's Department of International Trade on 31 March 2017. He launched Mix the City Northeast in February 2018 at IIT Guwahati's student festival Alcheringa.
Mix the Play.
In November 2016 Gemmell launched Mix the Play, an interactive digital theatre collaboration with Indian director Roysten Abel, during the visit of British Prime Minister Theresa May to India. Mix the Play allows users to direct Adil Hussain Kalki Koechlin, Kriti Pant and Tushar Pandey in the balcony scene of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet". Mix the Play was part of the U.K. Government's commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the death of Shakespeare. Mix the Play was again developed with Flying Object and Roll Studio.
Mix the Body.
In October 2017 Gemmell launched Mix the Body, an interactive dance platform with British choreographer Wayne McGregor. Mix the Body lets users create a unique dance performance on their mobiles using dancers from McGregor's company Studio Wayne McGregor and Bangalore-based Attakkalri. Users can set their dance to the music of British composers Max Richter and Jon Hopkins. Thus is the third interactive art work created with Flying Object and Roll Studio. The Mix series have been experienced by over 1.5 million people from 200 countries.
fiveFilms4freedom.
In 2015 Gemmell co-founded fiveFilms4freedom, an online, free, 10-day LGBT film festival promoting freedom, equality and LGBT rights, with the British Film Institute and the UN Free & Equal Campaign. The initiative was seen in 135 countries.
The second fiveFilms4freedom ran from 16 to 27 March 2016. The initiative was seen in 179 countries. In 2016 Gemmell also launched a Global List of people promoting LGBT rights.
For the fourth fiveFilms4freedom Gemmell developed a partnership with Indian mobile network operator Jio and selected the first Indian short film, "Goddess", by director Karishma Dev Dube. 2.8 million people in India viewed the film on Jio's network.
Britain Israel Academic Exchange Partnership Regenerative Medicine Initiative (BIRAX RMI).
Gemmell secured £7 million from British and international medical research foundations for the BIRAX RMI programme through partnerships with Parkinson's UK, JDRF, the MS Society and British Heart Foundation. BIRAX RMI has funded 15 research collaborations between scientists in Britain and Israel including a collaboration to develop a breath test for Parkinson's Disease. The BIRAX programme has been supported by the Prime Ministers of Britain and Israel.
Middle East Water Research Programme.
Gemmell created the UK's first multi-lateral water research programme in the Middle East - a platform for scientists from across the region to work together with British scientists to tackle critical water issues. Five research projects were announced in April 2016 involving water researchers from Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Gaza, Morocco, Jordan and the UK. Gemmell also created a scholarship programme for water technology and health graduates of Palestinian universities to study full PhDs at Israeli universities.
Civil service.
Gemmell was a civil servant in the UK's Home Office and Cabinet Office (2002-2007). He was Private Secretary to Permanent Secretary Sir John Gieve (2003-2005), Assistant Director responsible for economic migration (2005-2006) and counter radicalisation advisor in the Cabinet Office Defence and Overseas Secretariat (2006-2007) headed by Sir Nigel Sheinwald.
Personal life.
Gemmell married Damien Lee Stirk, a ballet dancer and ballet teacher, on 18 July 2015. Their wedding was mentioned in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Conor McGinn MP. McGinn referenced Gemmell's wedding in the House of Commons on 28 March 2018 during a Ten-Minute Rule motion for leave to bring in the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) (Northern Ireland) Bill. Stirk performed in Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake in the US, UK, Russia, Japan and in the film adaptation of Phantom of the Opera. He trained at the English National Ballet School, London (1996-1998) and the Royal Academy of Dance (2012) and has worked with the English National Ballet, the Israel Ballet and Ballet National de Marseille.
Honours and offices held.
Gemmell was appointed OBE in the 2016 New Year Honours List He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a founding Leadership Fellow of St George's House, Windsor Castle. Gemmell was included on the 2017 "Financial Times" list of Top 20 Public Sector LGBT Executives. He is listed in GQ Magazine's 2016 Most Connected Men in the UK.


Magnus II of Sweden

Magnus II; Swedish: Magnus Henriksson (c. 1130 – 1161) was a Danish lord and King of Sweden between 1160 and 1161. He is often seen by posterity as a usurper.
Background.
The mother of Magnus was Ingrid Ragvaldsdotter, a granddaughter of King Inge I of Sweden. His father was the Danish lord Henrik Skatelår, son of an illegitimate son of king Sweyn II of Denmark. After Henrik's death, Ingrid remarried thrice, with Harald Gille of Norway, then Ottar Birting, and finally Arne from Stårheim. Magnus therefore had kinship ties with the royalty of the three Nordic kingdoms. He was married to his stepsister Bridget Haraldsdotter, a daughter of Harald Gille who had previously been married to the powerful jarl in Västergötland, Karl Sunesson. Magnus is first mentioned in 1148 when he witnessed a document issued by King Sweyn III of Denmark.
Reign.
Magnus was a claimant to the much-competed throne of Sweden. In 1156 he allegedly bribed a trusted servant of King Sverker I to assassinate him. A few years later, according to a legendary source, he allied with a certain chief in the country, possibly Sverker's son Karl. He then ambushed and killed Eric IX of Sweden (later to be known as Eric the Saint) when he left the church at Östra Aros near Uppsala on May 18, 1160. After this feat Magnus reigned as king over most of Sweden, but apparently not Östergötland, which was ruled by Karl Sverkersson since c. 1158. He is, however, mentioned in the short chronicle of the Westrogothic law, implying that he was recognized in Västergötland. Magnus appointed his brother Ragnvald as jarl and provided refuge to his uterine brother Orm when their brother King Inge the Hunchback was killed in Norway. Otherwise not much is known about his reign, except that he donated land to Vreta Abbey.
Magnus merely reigned for a year. According to the 15th-century historian Ericus Olai, some retainers of Eric the Saint survived the assault in Östra Aros and fled to the north, to Helsingland, where they propagated against the usurper-king. Dissatisfaction with the regicide among the Swedish peasantry soon led to a rising against Magnus. The near-contemporary Saxo Grammaticus, on the other hand, writes that "he fell in a battle that he fought against Sverker's son Karl, whom he also intended to deprive of his crown, after he had first deprived him of his father." Saxo regarded the violent death of Magnus as the divine revenge for the shameful assassination of Sverker. According to Swedish sources the battle took place in Örebro in 1161. After the fall of Magnus, Karl Sverkersson reigned as King Charles VII of Sweden . His full brothers Knut and Buris served as jarls in the court of Valdemar the Great of Denmark. His uterine brother Nikolas Arnesson was Bishop of Oslo, and an opponent of Sverre of Norway, the son-in-law of Eric IX. Queen Bridget later remarried with the powerful jarl Birger Brosa (d. 1202) and became the ancestress of a branch of the House of Bjälbo, and the grandmother of John I of Sweden.


Amtrak Standard Stations Program

The Amtrak Standard Stations Program was an effort by Amtrak to create a standardized station design. The railroad launched the effort in 1978 to reduce costs, speed construction, and improve its corporate image.
Background.
When Amtrak was founded in 1971, it had no facilities beyond the station buildings and depots inherited from its constituent railroads. Many were in disrepair. Elsewhere, route realignments, ownership conflicts, or a lack of existing facilities required the construction of new station houses. Additionally, existing grand terminals in many large cities were larger than Amtrak needed and were expensive to retain. These reasons and others prompted the effort to provide those locations with more modern and appropriately sized facilities.
The first new station Amtrak built was Cincinnati River Road in 1973. Other early attempts by Amtrak to create a modest "modern" station design include the 1975 Richmond Staples Mill Road station and 1977 Cleveland Lakefront station. Amtrak president Paul H. Reistrup expressed a desire for Amtrak stations to look familiar in each locality.
Amtrak formally outlined its Standard Stations Program in its 1978 "Standard Stations Program Executive Summary". The program was intended to amplify a sleek, modern image. It was also intended foster a unified corporate identity through a consistent "look" and branding, with each standard station using not only one of several similar station building designs, but also the same interior and exterior finishes, signage, and seating. The program's manual outlined the reasoning of for such efforts.
Standard designs were seen as cost-efficient as they would eliminate design costs that would otherwise be incurred with each and every station were they uniquely designed, and would also expedite construction.
Station designs.
The station structures were intended to be functional, flexible, and cost-efficient. With spikes in ridership during the 1970s due to oil shortages, there was a perceived potential for permanent ridership gains. Therefore, Amtrak designed the stations to be easily expanded. End walls of the stations were designed to be able to be removed in order to build additions without incurring disruptions to the functioning of the stations.
Designs were mostly rectangular, and all except the largest model were one story. Walls were to be built of either textured, precast concrete panels, split concrete block or brick in what was described as a “play of bronze and tan” colors. A prominent cantilevered, flat black metal roof was to sit atop the buildings, with deep eaves to protect passengers from bad weather. Stations had floor-to-ceiling windows. Often, the top edge of the walls had a band of clerestory windows, which from a distance provided an optical illusion that the roof was floating above the station. The square footage and amenities of stations were to be determined by what their peak hour passenger count was.
Five initial standard station design models were presented with varying ideal sizes and intended capacities:
Outcome.
Amtrak constructed standard stations in the 1970s and 1980s, but ultimately built relatively few of them. Strapped for funds, it instead gravitated towards either building even cheaper modular stations or seeking local funding for station development, in some cases even cooperating with private developers. Many "stations" opened in the 1980s and 1990s were very minimal, sometimes lacking any facilities besides a platform and appropriate signage or only featuring simple bus stop-style platform shelters. Many of the standard stations have been replaced with more modern intermodal facilities or by restored previous historic stations throughout the 2000s and 2010s. the documentation is still referenced when necessary in planning or constructing new stops.


Marcial Mora

Marcial Mora Miranda (January 12, 1895 – May 13, 1972) was a Chilean politician, and a minister in the cabinet of Chile in 1930s and 1940s. Mora was the president of Central Bank of Chile from 1939 to 1940.


Joseph Oladele Sanusi

Chief (Dr.) Joseph Oladele Sanusi (born 24 September 1938) is a Nigerian chartered accountant who was Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria from May 1999 to May 2004.
Background and qualifications.
Sanusi was born on 24 September 1938 in Ogbagi-Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria.
He studied at South West London College and Kingston College of Technology, England from 1962 to 1965, qualifying as a Chartered Accountant. He became a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in 1969, and became a fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Bankers in 1987.
Career.
Sanusi worked first as an Accountant in England, then with the Department of Customs and Excise in Nigeria. He joined the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 1966 as a Deputy Manager. He became a Departmental Director in 1977, Chief Executive of the Securities and Exchange Commission (1978–1979), Executive Director, Monetary and Banking Policy (1979–1984), and Deputy Governor (1988–1990).
Sanusi left the CBN to become managing director and Chief Executive of United Bank for Africa (1990–1992), then managing director and Chief Executive of First Bank of Nigeria (1992–1998).
He was also Vice-Chairman of Nigeria Merchant Bank and Chairman of Banque Internationale du Benin.
Governor of the Central Bank.
In May 1999 Sanusi was appointed Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria by President Olusegun Obasanjo, serving until May 2004.
Sanusi was picked as a safe and conservative banker. He quickly introduced foreign exchange controls in an effort to reduce the drain on foreign reserves which had fallen from over $7 billion to under $4 billion in the last two years, and to defend the Nigerian naira. Oil revenues, the primary source of foreign exchange, had dropped below the level needed to cover basic requirements. The business community was hostile to the efforts to prop up the currency, believing that devaluation coupled with exchange market reform was necessary.
Speaking in Washington, DC in April 2001 as chairman of the G-24, Sanusi expressed concern about the poor prospects for the world economy, particularly as it affected developing countries. He called for greater access to concessionary funding for these countries, and spoke out against protectionist measures by developed countries such as subsidies, countervailing duties and other restrictions to trade, particularly in agricultural products. He recognised the value of international codes and standards, but asked that their enforcement take into account levels of development in each country. He called for realistic and simple conditionality rules to recognise the realities of national constraints.
In February 2002, Sanusi issued a notice revoking the license of Savannah Bank, saying the bank did not have enough assets to meet liabilities and did not comply with CBN obligations, and that the regulators had prevent further deterioration. The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation took over as liquidator, sealing the bank's offices. The matter dragged through the courts, with the bank's owners eventually being awarded damages of N100 million in February 2009.
In August 2002, Sanusi announced that Nigeria was suspending payments on some of its $33bn foreign debts and was trying to reschedule payments. He blamed the problem on falling oil revenues and failed privatisation plans.
Sanusi discussed Nigeria's debt in an opening address at a monetary policy forum in May 2003. He pointed out that debt had risen from 1% of GDP in 1960 to 16.2% in 1980 and 83.6% by the end of 2002. Federal government borrowing from the CBN was causing inflation and exchange rate problems, crowding out private borrowers and thus damping growth. He recommended greater use of the long term capital market rather than the short-term money market, and much greater focus on productive use of the money borrowed to optimise return and avoid building up a problem for future generations.
In 2002, Sanusi was awarded the rank of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON).
In May 2004, Sanusi voluntarily retired and handed over to Charles Chukwuma Soludo.
Later career.
On 7 October 2004 he was appointed to the board of directors of Lafarge Cement Wapco, a cement manufacturing company in Nigeria owned by Lafarge of Paris.
Other post-CBN appointments include Chairman of Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria, First Pension Funds Custodian, Santrust Securities, STI Consulting and Global Biofuels, and Director of West African Portland Cement and Marina Foods.


American Presence Post

An American Presence Post (APP) is a very small diplomatic facility of the United States government located abroad. It is usually staffed by a single Foreign Service Officer who carries the title of Consul. An American Presence Post is roughly equivalent to a Consulate, but lacks a regular consular section, and does not issue visas. These matters are referred to the closest full scale Consulate, or the Embassy which has jurisdiction over the APP. It is not uncommon to hear an APP casually referred to as a Consulate or Virtual Consulate.


Joint Support Coordination Cell

The Joint Support Coordination Cell (JSCC) is the planned security and defence (CSDP) body of the European Union's (EU) European External Action Service (EEAS) that will provide for relations between the civilian and military planning and conduct capabilities, abbreviated CPCC and MPCC, respectively, in the context of civilian and military missions missions.
Tasks.
The JSCC would unite the following civilian-military support functions:
The organisation of the JSCC is set to build upon previous experience from the now-defunct European Union Operations Centre (EU OPCEN).
Organisation.
The MPCC and CPCC will both provide staff for the cell and ensure sharing of expertise in the areas of mission planning, conduct and support. The chiefs of the staff of the MPCC and CPCC are set to coordinate the daily work of the civilian/military teams of the JSCC, who would be co-located where possible. Administratively they would remain part of the MPCC/EUMS or the CPCC respectively, and the civilian and military lines of command would remain separate and distinct.


List of viceroys of Valencia

This is a list of viceroys of the Kingdom of Valencia from 1520 to 1707.


Above-the-line deduction

In the United States tax law, an above-the-line deduction is a deduction that the Internal Revenue Service allows a taxpayer to subtract from his or her gross income in arriving at "adjusted gross income" for the taxable year. These deductions are set forth in Internal Revenue Code Section 62. A taxpayer's gross income minus his or her above-the-line deductions is equal to the adjusted gross income. Because these deductions are taken before adjusted gross income is calculated, they are designated "above-the-line." Thus, those deductions allowed in computing "taxable income" under section 63 of the IRC are "below the line deductions" (thus, adjusted gross income represents "the line"). Above-the-line deductions may be more valuable to high income taxpayers than below-the-line deductions.
Since tax year 2018, above-the-line deductions are reported on Schedule 1 of IRS Form 1040.
Impact.
Above-the-line deductions are generally more advantageous for a high income taxpayer than so-called below-the-line deductions. Below the line deductions are subtracted from a taxpayer's adjusted gross income. Above-the-line deductions may also be subject to income-sensitive phaseouts or limitations, e.g., MAGI limits on Tuition and Fees deduction on line 34. Certain below the line deductions are also phased out for high income taxpayers pursuant to Internal Revenue Code Section 68. Medical and dental expenses are below the line deductions pursuant to Internal Revenue Code Section 67. These expenses may only be deducted, however, to the extent they exceed 10% (7.5 % for 65 and over ) of a taxpayer's AGI. ( Accordingly, a taxpayer would only be entitled to deduct the amount by which these expenses exceed 10% of $100,000, or $10,000 with an adjusted gross income of $100,000 and medical expenses of $11,000. Because these expenses exceed $10,000 by $1,000, the taxpayer is only entitled to a $1,000 deduction.
Above-the-line deductions are also preferred because they can be taken by ALL taxpayers regardless of whether they take standard or itemized deductions (see attached tax ladder). Moreover, they are desirable because they reduce adjusted gross income (AGI). Generally, the smaller the AGI, the greater the percentage of deductibility of itemized deductions.
List of the above-the-line deductions.
Internal Revenue Code Section 62(a)(1) allows above-the-line deductions for most ordinary and necessary business expenses which are attributable to a trade or business carried on by the taxpayer, if such trade or business does not consist of the performance of services by the taxpayer as an employee. I.R.C. 162(a). This includes reasonable allowance for salaries or other compensation for personal services rendered, traveling expenses (including amounts expended for meals and lodging other than amounts which are lavish or extravagant under the circumstances) while away from home in the pursuit of a trade or business; and rentals or other payments required to be made as a condition to the continued use or possession, for purposes of the trade or business, of property to which the taxpayer has not taken or is not taking title or in which he has no equity.
Internal Revenue Code Sections 62 states that the following items are allowable as above-the-line deductions:
See also IRS Publication 17.


The Real Fauda

The Real Fauda is a 2018 BBC documentary film that explores the background reality of the TV Series "Fauda" ('Chaos') to find the source of the Israeli TV thriller's popularity in Arab countries. The documentary was filmed with exclusive behind the scenes access to season 2 of Fauda, and for the first time, real access to the group that the hit series is based on.
For the first time, and in light of the popularity of "Fauda", Oren Rosenfeld and Jane Corbin were granted exclusive access to the clandestine operatives and organization of the Yamas. The documentary delves into the secretive world of the real life operatives, and how closely the show mirrors the reality.
The underlying theme is how the Arab-Israeli conflict plays out in "Fauda" and the realities of the situation in the region.
The documentary includes interviews with Lior Raz the actor who plays Doron in "Fauda" and Laetitia Eido who plays Dr. Shirin El Abed.
Documentary commentary by Oren Rosenfeld for I24 News


Tiktinsky (Mir)

The Tiktinsky (or "Tiktinski") family is "associated with the foundation and development of" the Mir Yeshiva (Belarus), from which came the one in Jerusalem, the Mir in Brooklyn and Bais HaTalmud. Shmuel Tiktinsky and his oldest son, Avrohom, who both died (separately) in 1835, were the first two of this family to facilitate the success of the Mir. At that time, Shmuel's second oldest son, Chaim Leib, was eleven years old. Two others led the Mir before it became his turn.
Shmuel Tiktinsky was "a merchant of considerable means and a talmudic scholar." He used both of these to build and run the Mir.
Avrohom Tiktinsky was given "the whole burden of administration" by his father in 1823. One change he made was eliminating "eating kest" - the practice of having individual students eat their meals by different town families each day. One purpose was
"raising their status."
When, like his father, he died in 1835, "Shmuel"'s second oldest son was eleven years old. Responsibility shifted to the chief rabbi of the town, and subsequently upon "his" death, to that rabbi's son.
In 1850, the now 26 year old Chaim Yehuda Leib Tiktinsky, known as "Chaim Leib", "was appointed joint principal of the yeshiva." Chaim Leib "insisted that the student must devote himself solely to the texts and the commentaries" and reduced deployment of "pilpul." This brought in more students, and in 1867, with the death of the other principal, he
"was entrusted with the entire control" of the Mir. "Chaim Leib" named two sons "Shmuel" and "Avrohom".
Beyond.
Chaim Leib's Shmuel (1876), and then Avrohom (1883), were his successors. The latter retired in 1907.


Aponte Indigenous Reserve

Aponte is an indigenous reserve in El Tablon de Gómez municipality. It is located in the northern part of the department of Nariño, in southern Colombia, with approximately 5000 inhabitants, and is a native of the Inga ethnic group from the Quechua. Its community has its own language and being an indigenous reserve, it has special rules imposed by its community, under the command of the indigenous governor and the indigenous guard.
History.
According to historians, it is said that the first inhabitants came to this land at the beginning of the 16th century, from the department of Putumayo, exactly Valley Sibundoy valley, ruled by the Cacique Carlos Tamabioy, a native of Santiago Putumayo. They began the journey by a bridle path through the thick jungle that separates these two towns. To this day this path is still preserved, used by ancestors to communicate between the two sister communities.
Climate.
The climate of Aponte Indigenous Reserve ranges from subtropical highland climate (Cfb) in the lower parts to subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc) and Tundra climate (ET) in the higher parts. The following climate data is for the central part of the reserve which has a borderline Tundra climate and subpolar oceanic climate.