Captives

Captives is a 1994 British romantic crime drama film directed by Angela Pope and written by Dublin screenwriter Frank Deasy. It stars Julia Ormond, Tim Roth and Keith Allen. The picture was selected as the opening film in the Venetian Nights section of the 1994 Venice Film Festival, in addition to its selection for Gala Presentation at the 1994 Toronto International Film Festival.
Plot.
After the break-up of her marriage to Simon (Peter Capaldi), dentist Rachel Clifford (Julia Ormond) throws herself into work by taking an extra assignment at a local British prison. One of her patients is Philip (Tim Roth), a man nearing the end of a ten-year sentence for a crime he refuses to reveal. She later sees him on the street when he gets out to attend his college class. They form a friendship that eventually turns into a secret relationship. Their relationship becomes strained when Rachel realises Philip is serving time for the murder of his wife.
Another inmate, Towler (Colin Salmon), deals drugs within the prison. He uncovers Rachel and Philip's relationship and uses his associate Kenny (Mark Strong) to intimidate Rachel into smuggling a gun into the prison. She ultimately cannot go through with it and Philip, realising that she is out of her depth, reveals their relationship to the authorities in order to get her help. When Kenny confronts Rachel in a diner, she uses the gun to shoot him as the police arrive.
In the aftermath, Rachel is found to have shot Kenny in self-defense and Philip is transferred to another prison. In spite of everything that has occurred, she indicates that she would like to continue her relationship with him.
Production.
The film was a BBC Films co-production with Distant Horizon & Miramax Films.
Reception.
The movie received a mixed response.
Box office.
The movie debuted at No.6.


Central New England Railroad

The Central New England Railroad is a railroad in and near Hartford, Connecticut. It began operations in 1995 on former Conrail trackage.
The line currently operates two sections of track: The former Griffin Secondary from Hartford Union Station northwest to industrial areas in Bloomfield, which was once part of the Central New England Railway, and the Connecticut portion of the former New Haven Armory Branch (formerly the Springfield and New London Railroad) from East Windsor Hill to the Massachusetts State line.
Interchange is with Connecticut Southern Railroad & Pan Am Railways.


Ukranimafilm

The Ukrainian Animated Film Studio (), also the Ukranimafilm Film Studio (), is a state-owned Ukrainian animation film studio that has existed in Kyiv for more than 60 years (1959-2019).
The studio was founded in 1959 by separating from the state Kyiv studio of popular science films (Kyivnaukfilm). It operated until 2019, when was liquidated by joining the Dovzhenko Film Centre.
History.
In 1959, on the basis of the Kyiv Studio of Popular Science Films (Kyivnaukfilm), an art animation workshop was established, which was soon transformed into the Creative Association of Artistic Animation, headed by Ipolyt Lazarchuk and later by Iryna Hurvych.
In 1961, the first films of the studio were released — "The Adventures of Pepper" and "Vesnyanka". At this time, many young artists and directors joined the studio. In particular — Alla Grachova, Yevgeny Sivokon, Davyd Cherkaskyi, Efrem Pruzhansky, Volodymyr Dakhno, Volodymyr Honcharov, Mark Draitsun, Caesar Orshansky, Ivan Budz, Borys Khranevych, Yuriy Skirda, Eduard Kyrych, Mykola Churilov, Heinrich Umanskyi, Radna Sakhaltuyev, Oleksandr Lavrov, Konstantyn Chikin, Oleksandr Viken.
In the 1970s, Iryna Hurvych created films that became the studio's hallmark — "How Women Sold Men" and "How Men Taught Women a Good Lesson." Puppet animation was developed intensively. Such directors as Leonid Zarubin, Valentyna Kostyleva, Anatolii Trifonov, Volodymyr Kyryk and such artists as Natalia Okhotymska, Yakiv Gorbachenko, Yurii Skyrda, Mykola Churylov worked in this genre.
In the 1980s, the studio created popular serial projects: "The Adventures of Three Cossacks" (directed by V. Dakhno, animators — A. Vadov, E. Kirich, G. Umansky, I. Budz), "The Adventures of Captain Wrungel", " Treasure Island ”, “ Doctor Aibolyt'” (directed by D. Cherkasky, animator — R. Sakhaltuyev), “Alice in Wonderland ” and “Alice Through the Looking Glass” (directed by E. Pruzhansky, animators — I. Smirnova and G. Umansky).
Independence.
For 1991, Ukranimafilm appeared to be the most experienced team in the post-Soviet space after Moscow's Soyuzmultfilm. Since independence, the studio has made many films.
These films were characterized by the fact that they often appealed to national culture, folklore, literature and helped in the search for national identity.
The films based on Ukrainian folktales and songs:
The films based on Ukrainian literature:
Also worth noting are the films directed by Oleg Pedan:
Despite good results, the studio is gradually declining. The state reduced funding, and some talented and skilled workers emigrated abroad. In the 2000s Ukranimafilm experienced almost no development. Ishov tramvai nomer dev'iat (‘"The Tram №9 Was Going"’, clay animation, 2002) by Stepan Koval was the most notable Ukranimafilm's product of that period. The film was awarded the Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival, won at the Molodist International Film Festival, at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival and received some other awards at different animation festivals.
In 2014, the studio experienced a relative boom, when the series "Adventures of Kotygoroshko and his friends" and a full-length cartoon Babay were created at public expense. However, in the following years the studio was in decline. The concept of the studio's development as an animation hub, presented in 2017 by the new director of the studio Dmytro Lisenbart, could not be realized.


List of Royal Warrant Holders of the Swedish court

Royal warrants of appointment in Sweden are granted to the purveyor () by the monarch or other member of the royal family. To qualify for a warrant, the order must come from the Royal Court and the company must deliver its goods or services to the court. A royal warrant is personal and usually awarded to the managing director of the company rather than the company itself. All goods and services are paid for by the court.
Current Royal Warrant Holders.
There are c. 130 purveyors:


One weekend a month, two weeks a year

"One weekend a month, two weeks a year" is a former recruiting slogan used by the U.S. Army National Guard. It indicated the amount of time an individual would need to spend actively in the Guard to be a Guardsman with benefits. Though never officially, it was also informally used by Air National Guard, U.S. Army Reserve, U.S. Naval Reserve, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, U.S. Air Force Reserve and U.S. Coast Guard Reserve personnel in describing their similar military time commitment.
It was dropped during the Iraq War after it became clear that National Guardsmen and Reservists were now serving considerably more time in service, especially on active military duty on extended overseas deployments in the Southwest Asia combat zone.
Usage of the slogan.
The slogan "one weekend a month, two weeks a year" has been most commonly seen by Americans in recruiting ads for the National Guard, especially in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Although the slogan is only sometimes used directly in advertising, it was used to describe the duties of at least some military posts.
The slogan has also been used to contrast the commitment that a National Guard member would give during those times when his country was not at war.
Other Reserve and National Guard forces have used this slogan as something against which they can contrast their own dedication,
 showing that, as members of combat aviation units or special forces, they are not mere "weekend warriors".
Understanding among the enlisted.
Understanding the meaning of the slogan to those enlisted in the National Guard requires understanding the historical context in which it was given. During World War II, the National Guard was called up to defend their country, and this was repeated in the Korean War even when American soil was not directly threatened. At this time, joining a reserve component could clearly be seen as a route to service overseas. However, at the time of the Vietnam War, President Johnson made it clear that the National Guard's role was to defend the country and not to be involved in overseas adventures. At the time, this meant that those who joined the force could be fairly sure of not seeing action in the war, and became a pejorative term.
As a result, the term "weekend warriors" was coined by members of the United States Armed Forces and the general public, as the National Guard service was seen as cushy and easy compared to those in active duty. This perception was reinforced by the abysmal performances from the National Guard in notable events such as the 1967 Detroit riot and the 1970 Kent State shootings, where the guardsmen were overly criticized for inadequate riot training and lack of combat experience that resulted in casualties/damages far exceeding their intended goals.
These forces are expected to act as a second line of defense, primarily motivated by the fact that they are defending their own homes and families.
The commitment to Iraq and more recently, subsequent engagements, conflicts, and operations (primarily, and more specifically; those related to the Global War on Terrorism) has meant that many members of the National Guard feel the terms in which they understood their recruitment have been breached. The slogan has now become known in a changed form, "One weekend a month, my ass", as a comment on the perceived mistreatment of the National Guard and the Reserve.
Real service requirements contrasted to expectations.
During some periods of the 2003 war in Iraq, the National Guard (Army National Guard and Air National Guard) represented 41% of all U.S. military personnel deployed. The majority are supposed to serve for six months or a year. However, some specialists in the reserve forces have been required to serve for up to two years.
In the meantime, the role of the National Guard which, in the Vietnam War, largely revolved around home defense and policing, has changed so that in Iraq "about 20 percent of the U.S. military deaths in that conflict"
 have been carried by Reserve and Guard units.
It has been claimed in the U.S. media that the change in expectations on the National Guard is a deliberate change in policy by military planners in response to the Vietnam War. The need to use the National Guard is designed to reduce the possibility of "half-hearted" wars in future. Actual legal changes were made by the US Congress and in the 1980s which moved final decision for their use as military forces from their commanders in chief, the state governors, to the federal government. These new laws were successfully defended against challenges from state governors in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Army's future annual drill plans.
In July 2012, the Chief of Staff of the Army, General Ray Odierno, indicated that he intended to change the Army National Guard's annual peacetime active duty commitment from two weeks per year to up to seven weeks per year, in addition to the weekend a month, which would not change. The changes come as the Army plans to reduce the number of full-time soldiers, and going forward relies increasingly on the Army National Guard. "How do we sustain the readiness and experience that we've gained in the National Guard and Reserve component?" Odierno asked. "That's what we've been working on."
Other usages.
"One weekend a month, two weeks a year" was also formerly used as a descriptor in television advertisements for the Australian Army Reserve.


Pequonnock River Railroad Bridge

The Pequonnock River Railroad Bridge is a railroad drawbridge (movable bridge) over the Pequonnock River in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Owned by the State of Connecticut and maintained and operated by both Amtrak and Metro-North Railroad, it is also referred to as Pequonnock River Bridge, PECK Bridge, and Undergrade Bridge 55.90 (the mileage from Grand Central Terminal). Currently the bridge is part of the Northeast Corridor line, carrying rail traffic of Amtrak and Metro-North, as well as freight trains operated by the Providence & Worcester Railroad.
History.
The previous bridge was constructed between 1898 and 1902 by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (replacing an earlier bridge) as one of two through girder Scherzer rolling bascule bridges on the New Haven Line. The bridge consisted of twin parallel rolling lift spans.
It was one of eight legacy moveable bridges on the Amtrak route through Connecticut surveyed in one multiple property study in 1986. The eight bridges from west to east were: Mianus River Railroad Bridge at Cos Cob, built in 1904 (the surviving twin of the Pequonnock Bridge); Norwalk River Railroad Bridge at Norwalk, 1896; Saugatuck River Railroad Bridge at Westport, 1905; the Pequonnock Bridge; Housatonic River Railroad Bridge, at Devon, 1905; Connecticut River Railroad Bridge, Old Saybrook-Old Lyme, 1907; Niantic River Bridge, East Lyme-Waterford, 1907; and Thames River Bridge, Groton, built in 1919.
The original bridge had 80 feet of horizontal clearance, and 15 feet of vertical clearance (when closed). From its original construction in 1902, it had only two tracks, but it carried a second parallel span to facilitate an expansion to up to four tracks, which was carried out in the late 1960s.
The old bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987, an honor not enjoyed for long, as it was obvious even before the survey that total replacement, rather than repair, was needed for the span.
Deterioration and Replacement.
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, the 1902 bridge began to rapidly deteriorate due to corrosion, metal fatigue, and heavy river currents.
In 1986, a routine inspection revealed that the pit pier underneath the drawspan had loosened so much, the drawspan was able to move from side-to-side freely. A 10MPH speed restriction on trains was enforced while extensive repairs were undertaken to ensure the old bridge could remain in service until a replacement bridge was constructed.
Finally In 1992, the US government issued an $80 million grant to help replace the 90-year-old bridge.
Construction on a replacement bridge, which began in 1993, was undertaken in 3 phases in order to minimize the effect on both rail and marine traffic through the area:
Phase 1 included the realignment of the approaches to the bridge, and the construction of the south span of the new bridge, which would include two tracks. The new south span opened to rail traffic in early 1995.
Phase 2 included the removal of the old south span, and construction (In its place) of the new north span, which would also carry two tracks. The new north span opened to rail traffic in late 1996.
Phase 3 included the removal of the remainder of the old structure, additional structural work on the new bridge's two spans, and minor cosmetic improvements in the area surrounding the bridge. This phase was complete in early 1998, and soon after Amtrak and Metro-North jointly announced the completion of the bridge replacement project.
The new bridge has 105 feet of horizontal clearance, which allows passage of marine traffic in two directions at the time, as well as 20 feet of vertical clearance (When closed).
Additionally, the new bridge has a ballasted asphalt-topping deck instead of an open steel deck, which not only produces less noise, but also makes bridge and track maintenance much easier.
As on the old bridge, the new one has twin-parallel spans, but in addition to being capable of tandem operation, they are also capable of independent operation.


William Stuart (bishop)

William Stuart PC (15 March 1755 – 6 May 1822) was an Anglican prelate who served as the Bishop of St David's in Wales from 1794 to 1800 and then Archbishop of Armagh in Ireland from 1800 until his death.
Family life.
Stuart was the son of John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute (Prime Minister of Great Britain 1762–1763) and Mary Wortley-Montagu. There is a painting in the Tate Gallery in London of him aged 12 stealing eggs and chicks from a bird's nest.
He was educated at Winchester College and St John's College, Cambridge.
On 3 May 1796, William married Sophia Penn, daughter of Thomas Penn, and had three children:
Episcopal ministry.
In 1793 he was appointed Canon of the fourth stall at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, a position he held until 1800.
He was consecrated Bishop of St David's on 12 January 1794. Six years later, he was nominated Archbishop of Armagh on 30 October 1800 and appointed by letters patent on 22 November 1800.
Death.
He died in London on 6 May 1822, aged 67, as a result of having accidentally taken an improper medicine.
He was buried at his family's seat, Luton Hoo in Bedfordshire.
In St Patrick's Anglican Cathedral in Armagh there is a full-length marble figure of the Archbishop in the attitude of prayer, sculpted by Sir Francis Chantrey. Beneath it is the following Latin inscription:


Bongbong Marcos

Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr. (born September 13, 1957) is a Filipino politician who most recently served as a senator in the 16th Congress. He is the second child and only son of former President and dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos and of former First Lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos.
In 1980, the 23-year-old Bongbong Marcos became Vice Governor of Ilocos Norte, running unopposed under the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan party of his father, who still ruled the Philippines under martial law at the time. He then became Governor of Ilocos Norte in 1983, holding that office until his family was ousted from power by the People Power Revolution and fled into exile in Hawaii in February 1986.
After the death of his father Ferdinand Marcos in 1989, President Corazon Aquino eventually allowed the remaining members of the Marcos family, including Bongbong, to return to the Philippines in order to face various charges.
Eventually, Bongbong ran for and was elected Governor of Ilocos Norte again in 1998. Later on, he was elected as Representative of the Second District of Ilocos Norte from 1992 to 1995, and again from 2007 to 2010. In 2010, Marcos was elected as Senator of the Philippines under the Nacionalista Party.
In 2015, Marcos ran for Vice President of the Philippines in the 2016 election. With a difference of 263,473 votes, 0.64 percent difference, Marcos lost to Leni Robredo. In response, Marcos filed an electoral protest at the Presidential Electoral Tribunal. In 2021, Marcos' petition was unanimously dismissed after the pilot recount of the chosen provinces of Negros Oriental, Iloilo, and Camarines Sur which resulted in Robredo widening her lead even more by 15,093 additional votes.
Early life.
Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., nicknamed 'Bongbong', was born on September 13, 1957, to Ferdinand E. Marcos and Imelda Remedios Visitacion Romualdez. His father Ferdinand Sr. had been Representative of the Second District of Ilocos Norte when he was born, and became Senator two years later. Marcos Jr. was only 8 years old when his father was first inaugurated as the tenth President of the Philippines in 1965, but because Ferdinand Marcos Sr.'s term was extended by his 1972 declaration of Martial Law, Marcos Jr. turned 18 – the Philippines' age of legal majority – with his father still president, in 1974.
His godfathers included prominent Marcos cronies Eduardo "Danding" Cojuanco Jr., and pharmaceuticals magnate Jose Yao Campos.
Early public roles.
Although his career as a politician would formally begin at age 23 when he became Vice Governor of Ilocos Norte, his father's political profile meant that the Marcos children, particularly Bongbong and his sister Imee, became an integral part of the Marcos propaganda machine. Bongbong was thrust into the national limelight as early as when he was three years old, and the scrutiny became even more intense when his father first ran for President of the Philippines in 1965.
Appearance in presidential campaign film.
During his father's 1965 campaign, Bongbong played himself in a Sampaguita Pictures film ""Iginuhit ng Tadahana", a biopic based heavily on the portrayal of Ferdinand Marcos in the novel "For Every Tear a Victory"." The young Marcos was portrayed giving a speech towards the end of the film, in which he says that he would like to be "a politician" when he grows up. The public relations value of the film is credited for having helped the elder Marcos win the 1965 Philippine Elections.
Beatles incident.
Another prominent instance in which young Bongbong Marcos was the subject of intense media coverage was his "haircut" interview during the "Beatles Live in Manila" incident of July 1966, just one year after the Marcos Family came to Malacañang.
On the Beatles' first and only trip to the Philippines, Bongbong's Mother Imelda organized reception for the Beatles in Malacañang palace, with 400 children – including Bongbong and his sister Imee – in attendance. As the event went on without the Beatles appearing, the Marcos children were interviewed. Bongbong's sister Imee remarked "There is only one song I like from the Beatles, and it's Run for Your Life." – a quote which media later associated with the way the Beatles scrambled out of Manila, receiving rough treatment at the Manila International Airport. Bongbong, in the meantime, was quoted referring to the group's long hair, saying "I'd like to pounce on the Beatles and cut off their hair! Don't anybody dare me to do anything, because I'll do it, just to see how game the Beatles are."
The group later recounted a harrowing effort to be able to get out of the country: their security detail and other privileges were withdrawn; the airport escalator was shut off upon their arrival; a PhP 100,000 tax assessment was slapped on their manager; and the group was attacked by a mob as they tried to board their plane, resulting in the band members being shoved around, and one of their companions being kicked and slugged.
The Beatles swore never to return to the Philippines due to the incident. Later claiming to have become a Beatles fan himself, Bongbong Marcos has said he has made overtures to surviving Beatle Ringo Starr to come back and visit the country.
Education.
Bongbong Marcos first studied in Institucion Teresiana and La Salle Greenhills in Manila, where he obtained his kindergarten and elementary education, respectively. In 1970, Marcos was sent to England where he lived and studied at the Worth School, an all-boys Benedictine institution.
He then enrolled at St Edmund Hall, Oxford to read Politics, Philosophy, and Economics (PPE). However, despite his false claims that he graduated with a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, he did not obtain a degree and instead received a Special Diploma in Social Studies, which is given to students who have dropped out of their university course.
Marcos enrolled in the Masters in Business Administration program at the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, U.S. However, he did not complete the course because he withdrew from the program for his election as Vice Governor of Ilocos Norte in 1980.
Tuition, housing, and allowances at Wharton.
In the book "Some Are Smarter Than Others", author Ricardo Manapat reveals that after the EDSA revolution,investigators of the Presidential Commission on Good Government found out that the Marcos Jr' tuition, USD 10,000 monthly allowance, and the estate he lived in while studying at Wharton were paid using funds that could be traced partly to the intelligence funds of the Office of the President, and partly to some of the 15 bank accounts that the Marcoses had secretly opened in the US under assumed names.
Participation in the Marcos administration.
The young Bongbong Marcos was just 15 in 1972 when his father declared Martial Law, and was in the United Kingdom because he had been sent to board at the boys-only Worth School in West Sussex. He turned 18 in 1975, a year after he graduated from Worth school. Since he was technically a minor at the exact year Martial Law was declared, Bongbong Marcos and parties connected to him have often insisted that neither he nor his sister Imee should be blamed for any wrongdoings during their father's dictatorship.
However, government investigators who cataloged the wealth of the Marcoses after the 1986 ouster found that the three Marcos children, who all reached adulthood before 1980, and long before 1986, benefited significantly from what they called the "ill-gotten wealth" of the Marcos family. In addition, by the time their father was ousted from power in 1986, both Bongbong and Imee Marcos held key posts in the Marcos administration. Imee was already thirty when she was appointed as the national head of the Kabataang Barangay in the late 1970s, and Bongbong himself was in his twenties when he took up the vice-gubernatorial post for the province of Ilocos Norte in 1980, and then became Governor of that province from 1983 until the Marcos family was ousted from Malacañang in 1986.
Unexplained Marcos wealth.
Bongbong Marcos turned 18 in 1975, three years after the imposition of Martial Law in 1972; he was twenty-three years old by the time Martial Law was lifted in 1981, and was twenty-eight in 1986 when the Marcos family was ousted by the EDSA revolution. Since he had reached the age of majority and were "already adults during the height of the martial law regime", government investigators and critics alike consider him, in the words of Congressman Edcel Lagman, "old enough when the documented atrocities and plunder were committed by the conjugal dictatorship of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos".
Marcos is generally considered to have benefitted from the Marcos family's unexplained wealth. Aside from the tuition, USD 10,000.00 monthly allowance, and the estates used by Marcos Jr. and Imee Marcos during their respective studies at Wharton and Princeton, each of the Marcos children was assigned a mansion in the Metro Manila area, as well as in Baguio City, the Philippines' designated summer capital. Properties specifically said to have been given to Bongbong Marcos, which included the Wigwam House compound on Outlook Drive in Baguio City, and the Seaside Mansion Compound in Parañaque.
Vice Governorship and Governorship of Ilocos Norte.
Bongbong Marcos' first formal role in a political office came with his election as Vice Governor of Ilocos Norte (1980–1983) at the young age of 23. In 1983, he led a group of young Filipino leaders on a 10-day diplomatic mission to China to mark the 10th anniversary of Philippine-Chinese relations.
Marcos succeeded as Governor of Ilocos Norte (1983–1986) which he served until the People Power Revolution ousted his family from power. He then lived in political exile with his family in Hawaii, United States.
During Bongbong Marcos' term, at least two extra-judicial killings took place in Ilocos Norte, a point raised by organizations like the Martial Law Victims Association of Ilocos Norte (MLVAIN) during Marcos' lost campaign for the Vice Presidency in 2016.
Philcomsat.
Additionally, Bongbong Marcos' father appointed him chairman of the board of Philippine Communications Satellite Corp (Philcomsat) in early 1985. In a prominent example of what Finance Minister Jaime Ongpin later branded "crony capitalism", the Marcos administration had sold its majority shares to Marcos cronies such as Roberto S. Benedicto, Manuel H Nieto, Jose Yao Campos, and Rolando Gapud in 1982, despite being very profitable because of its role as the sole agent for the Philippines' link to global satellite network Intelsat. Philippine government investigators later found that President Marcos acquired a 39.9% share – USD 19.95 million worth – in the company through front companies under Campos and Gapud. This allowed the elder Marcos to appoint Bongbong chairman of the Philcomsat board in early 1985, allowing Bongbong to draw a monthly salary "ranging from USD9,700 to USD97,000" despite rarely visiting the office and having "no duties there".
Philcomsat was one of five telecommunications firms sequestered by the Philippine government in 1986 after government investigators discovered that they had together funneled a "steady flow" of "tens of millions of dollars" out of the Philippines over the course of 10 to 15 years.
EDSA Revolution, ouster, and exile.
Position on bombing Camp Crame.
During the last days of the 1986 People Power Revolution, Bongbong Marcos, in combat fatigues to project his warlike stance, pushed his father Ferdinand Marcos to give the order to his remaining troops attack and blow up Camp Crame despite the presence of hundreds of thousands of civilians there, nevertheless, the elder Marcos did not follow his son's urgings.
Flight to Honolulu.
Fearful of a scenario in which Marcos' presence in the Philippines would lead to a civil war, the Reagan administration withdrew its support for the Marcos government, and flew Marcos and a party of about 80 individuals – the extended Marcos family and a number of close associates – from the Philippines to Hawaii despite Marcos' objections. Bongbong Marcos and his family were on the flight with his parents.
The exiles stayed at Hickam Air Force Base at the expense of the US Government. A month later, they moved into a pair of residences in Makiki Heights, Honolulu, which were registered to Marcos cronies Antonio Floirendo and Bienvenido and Gliceria Tantoco.
Efforts to recover Swiss deposits.
In 2011, the South China Morning Post reported that Bongbong Marcos had admitted having "had a direct hand in trying to withdraw US$200 million from a secret family bank account with Credit Suisse in Switzerland". The paper also noted that it was Bongbong Marcos who pushed a 1995 deal to allow the Marcos family to keep a quarter of the estimated US$2 billion to US$10 billion that the Philippine government had still not recovered from them, on the condition that all civil cases be dropped – a deal that was eventually struck down by the Philippines' supreme court.
Death of Ferdinand Marcos.
Ferdinand Marcos would eventually die in exile in 1989. Marcos' military aide, Arturo C. Aruiza, would later reveal that Bongbong Marcos was the only family member present at the former dictator's deathbed.
Return to the Philippines, and to Ilocos Norte politics.
Bongbong Marcos was among the first of the Marcos family to return to the Philippines in 1991, and soon sought political office, beginning in the family's traditional bailiwick in Ilocos Norte.
Congress, first term.
In 1992, Marcos was elected as representative of the second district of Ilocos Norte to the Philippine House of Representatives (1992–1995). During his term, Marcos was the author of 29 House bills and co-author of 90 more, which includes those that paved the way for the creation of the Department of Energy and the National Youth Commission. He was also instrumental in advancing the cause of cooperatives by devoting most of his Countryside Development Fund (CDF) to organizing the cooperatives of teachers and farmers in his home province. In 1995, Marcos ran for a seat in the Philippine Senate but lost.
Establishment of the Marcos political dynasty.
Ferdinand Marcos Jr's 1992–1995 Congressional post in the 2nd District of Ilocos Norte, was eventually taken over by his sister, Imee Marcos, in 1998 – the same year Marcos Jr became governor of Ilocos Norte. In the context of their mother Imelda Marcos' similar return to Politics as Congresswoman in Leyte in 1995, Journalists and academics noted that the Marcoses had cemented a political dynasty after their return from exile, despite the explicit anti-dynasty provision in Article II Section 26 of the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines.
Saying that this was a common occurrence because of the way Philippine society is structured, Imee Marcos asserted in a November 2012 interview with the Sydney Morning Herald that ""It's pretty feudal in the Philippines still, even though we like to fool ourselves.""
In the same interview, Marcos Jr. noted that the family continued to win votes despite critics, saying ""We have a judgment against us in the billions. What more would people want?"" He also noted that this was despite the US court's ruling that the family was liable for torture and ill-gotten wealth, which he dismissed by saying: ""Well, that is one opinion and that is what the prosecutors would say"."
Ilocos Norte governor.
Marcos was again elected as Governor of Ilocos Norte in 1998, running against his father's closest friend and ally, Roque Ablan Jr. He served for three consecutive terms ending in 2007. According to his own website, Marcos "transformed Ilocos Norte into a first-class province of international acclaim, by showcasing its natural and cultural destinations." He also pioneered the wind power technology that serves as an alternative source of energy in Ilocos Norte and other parts of Luzon.
Congress, second term.
In 2007, Marcos ran unopposed for the congressional seat previously held by his older sister Imee. He was then appointed as Deputy Minority Leader of the House of Representatives. During this term, one of the important pieces of legislation he authored was the Philippine Archipelagic Baselines Law, or Republic Act No. 9522. He also promoted the Republic Act No. 9502 (Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act) which was enacted on 2009.
Senate career.
In 1995, Marcos ran for the Senate under the NPC-led coalition, but placed only 16th. He made a second attempt for the Senate in 2010, this time securing a Senate seat by placing seventh overall. , he is the chairman of the Senate committees on local government and public works. He also chairs the oversight committee on the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Organic Act, the congressional oversight panel on the Special Purpose Vehicle Act, and a select oversight committee on barangay affairs.
In the 15th Congress (2010–2013), Marcos was the author of 34 Senate bills and was co-author of 17 more, 7 of which became Republic Acts. Among them are the Anti-Drunk and Drugged Driving Act, the Cybercrime Prevention Act, the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, and the National Health Insurance Act.
In the 16th Congress (2013–2016), Marcos has authored 52 bills, with one enacted into law. His Senate Bill 1186, which sought the postponement of the 2013 Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections, later became Republic Act 10632 on October 3, 2013.
Marcos has also co-authored 4 Senate bills. One of them, Senate Bill 712, was approved as Republic Act 10645 or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010.
On November 20, 2009, the KBL forged an alliance with the Nacionalista Party (NP) between Marcos and NP chairman Senator Manny Villar at the Laurel House in Mandaluyong. Marcos became a guest senatorial candidate of the NP through this alliance. Marcos was later removed as a member by the KBL National Executive Committee on November 23, 2012. As such, the NP broke its alliance with the KBL due to internal conflicts within the party, however Bongbong remained part of the NP senatorial line-up. He was proclaimed as one of the winning senatorial candidates of the 2010 senate elections. He took office on June 30, 2010.
2014 PDAF Pork Barrel Scam.
In 2014, Bongbong Marcos was implicated by Janet Lim Napoles and Benhur Luy in the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) Pork Barrel scam through agent Catherine Mae "Maya" Santos.
Marcos was said to have channeled P100 million through 4 fake NGOs linked with Napoles through the National Livelihood Development Corporation (NLDC): Ginintuang Alay sa Magsasaka Foundation Inc (P5 million), Agricultura sa Magbubukid Foundation Inc (P25 million), Kaupdanan para sa Mangungugma Foundation Inc (P25 million), and Agri and Economic Program for Farmers Foundation Inc (P45 million). Marcos claimed that the large amounts of money was released by the budget department without his knowledge and that his signatures were forged.
2016 Commission on Audit suit.
In 2016, Marcos was also sued for "plunder" for funneling P205 million of his PDAF via 9 special allotment release orders (SARO) to the following bogus foundations from October 2011 to January 2013, according to Luy's digital files:
These NGOs were found by the Commission on Audit (COA) as bogus with shady or non-existent offices.
Vice-presidential bid, 2016.
On October 5, 2015, Marcos announced via his website his candidacy for Vice President of the Philippines in the 2016 general election stating "I have decided to run for Vice President in the May 2016 elections." Marcos ran as an independent candidate. Prior to his announcement, he had declined an invitation by presidential candidate, Vice President Jejomar Binay, to become his running mate. On October 15, 2015 presidential candidate Miriam Defensor Santiago confirmed that Marcos would serve as her running mate.
Marcos placed second in the tightly contested vice presidential race losing to Camarines Sur Representative Leni Robredo, who won by a margin of 263,473 votes.
Election results protest.
Marcos has challenged the results of the election, lodging an electoral protest against Leni Robredo on June 29, 2016, the day before Robredo's oathtaking.
A recount began in April 2018, covering polling precincts in Iloilo, Camarines Sur, which were areas handpicked by Marcos' camp. In October 2019, the tribunal found that Robredo’s lead grew by around 15,000 votes — a total of 278,566 votes from Robredo's original lead of 263,473 votes — after a recount of ballots from the 5,415 clustered precincts in Marcos' identified pilot provinces.
On February 16, 2021, the PET unanimously dismissed Bongbong Marcos' electoral protest against Vice President Leni Robredo. Media reports cited the reasons for the dismissal as: ""failure to allege specific acts showing electoral fraud"; "allegations (which) were bare, laden with generic & repetitious allegations, no critical information as to time, place and manner of irregularities,"” and "the absence of substantial recovery of votes in the 3 pilot provinces Marcos had chosen where Robredo actually gained additional votes with 1,510,718 against Marcos’ 204,512."
Endorsement by Rodrigo Duterte.
President Rodrigo Duterte has stated several times that he would resign if Marcos Jr. would be his successor instead of Vice President Leni Robredo.
Martial law revisionism.
As with other Marcos family members who have stayed in the public eye since their return to the Philippines, Marcos Jr has received significant criticism for instances of historical revisionism, and the denial or trivializing of the human rights violations and economic plunder that took place during the Marcos administration, and of the role he played in the administration.
Specific criticisms have been leveled at Marcos for being unapologetic for human rights violations and ill-gotten wealth during his father's administration.
In many early instances, Marcos brushes the issue of martial law atrocities aside, as was the case in a 2012 interview with Jackie Dent of the Sydney Morning Herald, where Dent recounts: ""I put it to him that it has been documented that people were tortured, money was appropriated and a Hawaiian court has found against the family. He laughs. "Well, that is one opinion and that is what the prosecutors would say," he says.""
However, Marcos specifically belittled or denied claims of Martial Law atrocities at various instances.
2012 human rights violation denial.
When victims of human rights abuses during his father's administration commemorated the 40th year of the proclamation of Martial Law in 2012, Marcos Jr. dismissed their calls for an apology for the atrocities as "self-serving statements by politicians, self-aggrandizement narratives, pompous declarations, and political posturing and propaganda."
2016 Vice Presidential Campaign.
On February 2016, Marcos responded to critics of his 2016 campaign to become Vice President of the Philippines, which he eventually lost saying:
""Ipaubaya natin ang kasaysayan sa mga propesor, sa mga nag-aaral tungkol sa kasaysayan ng Pilipinas. Kami hindi namin trabaho yun. Ang trabaho namin ay tingnan kung ano ba ang pangangailangan ng taong bayan ngayon"." (Let us leave history to the professors, to those who study the history of the Philippines. It is not our job. Our job is to look at what the people need at present.)
In response, over 500 faculty, staff and history professors from Ateneo de Manila University released the following statement:
"In response to Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos, Jr.'s call that teachers and students of history should make a judgment about the Marcos administration, we, the undersigned members
of the Ateneo de Manila community, vehemently oppose and condemn the ongoing willful distortion of our history. We deplore the shameless refusal to acknowledge the crimes of the Martial Law regime. We reject the revision of history, disturbing vision of the future, and shallow call for "unity" being presented by Marcos Jr. and like-minded candidates in the 2016 elections.
"The Marcos regime's economics of debt-driven growth was disastrous for the Philippines. The regime was not interested in inclusive development, long-term state-building, nor genuine social transformation of the country, despite its "New Society" rhetoric. Instead, Marcos was mainly concerned with perpetuating his personal hold on power by favoring family members, friends, and other cronies. Thus, Marcos simply created new elites or "oligarchs" rather than abolish them – supposedly one of his main justifications for declaring martial law. Those who dared challenge the regime's monopoly on power, whether politicians, business people, political activists, organized labor, peasants or urban poor, Church workers, students – young or old, rich or poor – were intimidated, imprisoned, kidnapped, tortured or summarily executed.
"We refuse to forget the atrocities committed by the Marcos regime, and we renew our demand that the perpetrators of these crimes be brought to justice. We also reiterate our position that the government should relentlessly pursue and reclaim all the ill-gotten wealth accumulated by the Marcos family and its cronies. Moreover, victims and their families should be given justice and compensation in full. Any call for unity, most especially from the heirs of the Marcos regime which bitterly divided the country, will be empty and meaningless unless truth and justice are upheld."
To this, Marcos replied: "...people have their own opinion; they have the right to their opinion. We'll agree to disagree, I guess."
On March 7, 2016, more than 1,400 Catholic Schools through the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) joined the call of the Ateneo faculty through a statement titled "CEAP Supports Call Against Marcosian Snares and Imeldific Lies". In it, they stated:
The Trustees of the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines, representing the 1,425 CEAP member-schools, colleges, and universities, support the faculty of the Ateneo de Manila University in their call against the attempt of Ferdinand Marcos Jr to canonize the harrowing horrors of martial rule.
"With the same fervor, we cry our hearts out, 'Never Again!'"
On March 28, 2016, the Department of History of the University of the Philippines Diliman released a statement entitled ""Malakas at Maganda": Marcos Reign, Myth-Making and Deception in History". In it, they stated:
"Great danger now lurks behind a deceptive nostalgia for a past that never really existed—that the Marcos years were a period of peace and prosperity. This is patently Marcos myth and deception. Under martial law, the country was plunged into a climate of repression and plunder and then into a social crisis that exploded in the 1980s.
"...it was in fact under martial law that the communist and Moro rebellions grew in leaps and bounds. Marcos claimed to break up an old oligarchy, but martial law instead created a new type under his control, a crony oligarchy.
"Economic crises characterized the Marcos years, as economists have consistently revealed, the most telling indicator was the extent of poverty. Poverty incidence grew from 41% in the 1960s to 59% in the 1980s. Vaunted growth was far from inclusive and driven by debt, which further weighed down on the nation. From 1970 to 1983, foreign debt increased twelve times and reached $20 billion (Dr. Manuel Montes, 1984). It grew at anaverage rate of 25% from 1970 to 1981. Much went to unproductive expenses like the Bataan Nuclear Plant, which was unsound and wasteful.
"To say then that EDSA interrupted our becoming like Singapore is a big joke, a malicious lie. Marcos had mismanaged the economy; it was in shambles long before the EDSA revolt. From 1970 to 1980, among East Asian and Southeast Asian countries, the Philippines registered the lowest GDP per capita at 3.4% [sic] (An Analysis of Economic Crisis, ed. Dr. Emmanuel de Dios, 1984).
Peace and order, a spurious claim, actually meant an iron-fisted clampdown on civil liberties. Through presidential decree and executive order backed by the full force of the military apparatus, Marcos padlocked Congress, jailed the opposition, gagged media, emasculated unions, and banned student councils. Thousands were jailed without warrant and due process, not to mention countless killings and disappeared. Yet the national crime rate climbed continuously from 183 in 1976 to 279 (per 100,000) in 1980 (De Dios, ed. 1984 citing Philippine Constabulary data). In 14 long years, repression had also stunted the growth of independent-minded new leaders from the younger generation.
"We reject deception and demand accountability!"
2018 Tete a Tete with Enrile.
On September 20, 2018, Marcos Jr released a youtube video showing a "tete-a-tete" between him and former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, where he asked Enrile, who had been his father's defense minister before playing a key role in his ouster during the 1986 EDSA revolution. The video made a number of claims, which were quickly refuted and denounced by martial law victims, including former Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr., former Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo, former Commission on Human Rights chair Etta Rosales, and Palanca award winning writer Boni Ilagan, among others. It was also denounced by families and friends of Martial Law victims, such as former President Noynoy Aquino, and former Senator Rene Saguisag.
Human rights lawyer Chel Diokno went as far as to say he would welcome a chance to confront Enrile in a formal debate because Enrile had claimed that his father, the former senator Jose Diokno, remained in prison because they did not want to be released. The Diokno family released a statement disproving each of the video's claims, and referring to the video as a "pathetic attempt at rewriting our history."
Congressman Edcel Lagman, whose brother Hermon was one of those who disappeared in 1977, during the Martial Law regime, reacted by saying ""Kailangan yata dumalaw lang si Enrile at si Bongbong Marcos sa Wall of Remembrance ng Bantayog ng mga Bayani upang makita nila kung sino-sino na doon", (It seems that Enrile and Bongbong Marcos should visit the Bantayog ng mga Bayani's Wall of Remembrance to see the names) those who had heroic sacrifices to the Filipinos and were killed and involuntary disappeared during martial law."
Enrile later backpedalled from some of his claims, attributing them to ""unlucid intervals"."
Online presence.
In December 2016, it became public knowledge that Marcos has a dedicated group of online supporters calling themselves the "BBM Online Warriors" (BOW) when he celebrated a Christmas party with them.
On June 2017, "Rogue" magazine did an audit of different Filipino Twitter celebrity and politician accounts and discovered that Marcos had the most fake followers at 44.19%, with other celebrity and politician accounts' fake followers ranging from just 7%–23%.
According to research by VERA Files, Marcos benefited the most from fake news from the Philippines in 2017, along with President Rodrigo Duterte.
In July 2020, Brittany Kaiser revealed in a Rappler interview that Bongbong had approached the controversial firm Cambridge Analytica in order to "rebrand" the Marcos family image on social media. In a response for comment, Marcos' spokesman Vic Rodriguez denied these allegations and stated that Marcos is considering legal options against Rappler for these allegations.
Personal life.
Marcos Jr is married to Louise "Liza" Cacho Araneta, with three sons: Ferdinand Alexander III "Sandro" (born 1994), Joseph Simon (born 1995) and William Vincent "Vince" (born 1997).
A friend of Marcos' family was actor Weng Weng (1957-1992). According to Marcos' sister Imee, he was the closest to Weng Weng.
Coronavirus disease diagnosis.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines and at the height of the Philippine COVID-19 VIP testing controversy, Marcos was reported to have arrived from an overseas trip to Spain and feeling unwell, after which he was tested for COVID-19. A Facebook-posted statement purportedly from his wife indicated that the Marcos couple and their entire staff had been tested for COVID-19 and that the results of these tests came out negative the following day, which was unusually speedy for Philippine COVID-19 tests at the time. A statement from Marcos himself, however, said that they were still waiting for the results. When asked about the conflicting statements, the staff of Marcos' sister, Senator Imee Marcos, said that the Facebook posted statement was not official.
On March 31, 2020, Marcos' spokesman confirmed that Marcos had tested positive for the virus, following a retest result from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.
External links.
Official social media
Marcos Family


Louis Mallet

Sir Louis Mallet CB PC (14 March 1823 – 16 February 1890) was a British civil servant who was an advocate of free trade and served on the Council of India.
Career.
Louis Mallet was born in Hampstead, grandson of Jacques Mallet du Pan and son of John Lewis Mallet who had been Secretary to the Commissioners for Auditing the Public Accounts (predecessor of the National Audit Office) since 1806. He was educated privately and at the age of 16 his father found him a place as a clerk in his own office. He spent eight years in the Audit Office and in 1847 transferred to the Board of Trade where he soon became private secretary to the President of the Board, serving Henry Labouchere 1848–52 and Lord Stanley 1855–57.
In 1860 Mallet was appointed an assistant commissioner under Richard Cobden for drawing up detailed tariffs under the Anglo-French Treaty of Commerce (the Cobden–Chevalier Treaty) which had been signed in January 1860. Cobden was much impressed by Mallet and he by Cobden, and Mallet became a strong advocate of free trade, and a founder member of the Cobden Club after Cobden's death. In 1865 Mallet was sent to Vienna to take a leading part in organising an Anglo-Austrian commercial treaty, which was signed in December 1865, though Mallet remained in Vienna until 1867 for follow-up negotiations.
In 1872 the Duke of Argyll, then Secretary of State for India, nominated Mallet to the Council of India. In 1874 he was appointed Permanent Under-Secretary of State for India, a position left vacant by the death of his first cousin Herman Merivale. He remained in that post until his retirement in 1883, touring India in 1875–76, which was facilitated by the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. Mallet served on a royal commission on the laws relating to copyright in 1876, and was a commissioner for the British representation at the Paris exhibition of 1878. In the same year he and Lord Reay represented India at a Monetary Conference in Paris, convened as a result of a fall in the price of silver relative to gold. Mallet retired in 1883 but was recalled in 1887 to serve for a short period on a Royal Commission on Precious Metals.
Family.
In 1858 Mallet married Frances Helen Pellew (daughter of Rev. Edward William Pellew and Marianne Winthrop, and granddaughter of Admiral Sir Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth) and they had four sons, including Bernard Mallet, Louis du Pan Mallet and Eugene Hugo Mallett.
He is buried in Brookwood Cemetery.
Honours.
Louis Mallet was appointed CB in 1866 and knighted in 1868. He was made a Privy Counsellor in 1883.


Davenport Fabian Cartwright Blunt

Davenport Fabian Cartwright Blunt (19 January 1888 – 28 December 1965) was a British Civil Servant who became Under-Secretary at HM Treasury.
Biography.
Blunt was born in Bedford on 19 January 1888 the son of Harry and Agnes Blunt. Blunt's father was a tutor and Blunt himself was educated at Bedford Modern School.
After school, Blunt joined the civil service and by 1911 was already an examiner in the exchequer and audit department. He moved to HM Treasury in 1939 where he was Under-Secretary between 1946 and 1948. In 1947 he was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath.
Blunt married Edith Harris in London in 1911. He died aged 77 on 28 December 1965 in Lewisham, London.


Judicial review

Judicial review is a process under which executive or legislative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. A court with authority for judicial review may invalidate laws, acts and governmental actions that are incompatible with a higher authority: an executive decision may be invalidated for being unlawful or a statute may be invalidated for violating the terms of a constitution. Judicial review is one of the checks and balances in the separation of powers: the power of the judiciary to supervise the legislative and executive branches when the latter exceed their authority. The doctrine varies between jurisdictions, so the procedure and scope of judicial review may differ between and within countries.
General principles.
Judicial review can be understood in the context of two distinct—but parallel—legal systems, civil law and common law, and also by two distinct theories of democracy regarding the manner in which government should be organized with respect to the principles and doctrines of legislative supremacy and the separation of powers.
First, two distinct legal systems, civil law and common law, have different views about judicial review. Common-law judges are seen as sources of law, capable of creating new legal principles, and also capable of rejecting legal principles that are no longer valid. In the civil-law tradition, judges are seen as those who apply the law, with no power to create (or destroy) legal principles.
Secondly, the idea of separation of powers is another theory about how a democratic society's government should be organized. In contrast to legislative supremacy, the idea of separation of powers was first introduced by Montesquieu; it was later institutionalized in the United States by the Supreme Court ruling in "Marbury v. Madison" under the court of John Marshall. Separation of powers is based on the idea that no branch of government should be able to exert power over any other branch without due process of law; each branch of government should have a check on the powers of the other branches of government, thus creating a regulative balance among all branches of government. The key to this idea is checks and balances. In the United States, judicial review is considered a key check on the powers of the other two branches of government by the judiciary.
Differences in organizing democratic societies led to different views regarding judicial review, with societies based on common law and those stressing a separation of powers being the most likely to utilize judicial review. Nevertheless, many countries whose legal systems are based on the idea of legislative supremacy have gradually adopted or expanded the scope of judicial review, including countries from both the civil law and common law traditions.
Another reason why judicial review should be understood in the context of both the development of two distinct legal systems (civil law and common law) and two theories of democracy (legislative supremacy and separation of powers) is that some countries with common-law systems do not have judicial review of primary legislation. Though a common-law system is present in the United Kingdom, the country still has a strong attachment to the idea of legislative supremacy; consequently, judges in the United Kingdom do not have the power to strike down primary legislation. However, when the United Kingdom became a member of the European Union there was tension between its tendency toward legislative supremacy and the EU's legal system, which specifically gives the Court of Justice of the European Union the power of judicial review.
Administrative acts.
Most modern legal systems allow the courts to review administrative acts (individual decisions of a public body, such as a decision to grant a subsidy or to withdraw a residence permit). In most systems, this also includes review of secondary legislation (legally enforceable rules of general applicability adopted by administrative bodies). Some countries (notably France and Germany) have implemented a system of administrative courts which are charged with resolving disputes between members of the public and the administration. In other countries (including the United States and United Kingdom), judicial review is carried out by regular civil courts although it may be delegated to specialized panels within these courts (such as the Administrative Court within the High Court of England and Wales). The United States employs a mixed system in which some administrative decisions are reviewed by the United States district courts (which are the general trial courts), some are reviewed directly by the United States courts of appeals and others are reviewed by specialized tribunals such as the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (which, despite its name, is not technically part of the federal judicial branch). It is quite common that before a request for judicial review of an administrative act is filed with a court, certain preliminary conditions (such as a complaint to the authority itself) must be fulfilled. In most countries, the courts apply special procedures in administrative cases.
Primary legislation.
There are three broad approaches to judicial review of the constitutionality of primary legislation—that is, laws passed dir, another type of primary legislation not passed by Parliament, can (see "Council of Civil Service Unions v Minister for the Civil Service" (1985) and "Miller"/"Cherry" (2019)). Another example is the Netherlands, where the constitution expressly forbids the courts to rule on the question of constitutionality of primary legislation.
Review by general courts.
In the United States, federal and state courts (at all levels, both appellate and trial) are able to review and declare the "constitutionality", or agreement with the Constitution (or lack thereof) of legislation by a process of judicial interpretation that is relevant to any case properly within their jurisdiction. In American legal language, "judicial review" refers primarily to the adjudication of constitutionality of statutes, especially by the Supreme Court of the United States. Courts in the United States may also invoke judicial review in order to ensure that a statute is not denying them of their constitutional rights. This is commonly held to have been established in the case of "Marbury v. Madison," which was argued before the Supreme Court in 1803. A similar system was also adopted in Australia.
Review by a specialized court.
In 1920, Czechoslovakia adopted a system of judicial review by a specialized court, the Constitutional Court as written by Hans Kelsen, a leading jurist of the time. This system was later adopted by Austria and became known as the "Austrian System", also under the primary authorship of Hans Kelsen, being emulated by a number of other countries. In these systems, other courts are not competent to question the constitutionality of primary legislation; they often may, however, initiate the process of review by the Constitutional Court.
Russia adopts a mixed model since (as in the US) courts at all levels, both federal and state, are empowered to review primary legislation and declare its constitutionality; as in the Czech Republic, there is a constitutional court in charge of reviewing the constitutionality of primary legislation. The difference is that in the first case, the decision about the law's adequacy to the Russian Constitution only binds the parties to the lawsuit; in the second, the Court's decision must be followed by judges and government officials at all levels.


Athens Mass Transit System

The Athens Mass Transit System is the largest mass transit system of Greece. The system is run by the OASA S.A. organisation and serves Athens Urban Area and the Athens Metropolitan Area (whole of the Region of Attica without the island section).
Companies.
In March 2011, with the Greek Government Law 3920 Attiko Metro Operational Company (AMEL S.A.) absorbed Athens-Piraeus Electric Railways S.A. and TRAM S.A. and was renamed "STASY S.A." (). Also ETHEL S.A. absorbed ILPAP S.A. and was renamed as "OSY S.A." (). The mergers were officially announced on June 10, 2011.  While mergers at the top management level took place quickly, integration of the former companies at operations and support level proceeds slowly.
As of July 2011, the Athens Mass Transit System consists of:
TRAINOSE S.A. ()
OSY and STASY is wholly owned by OASA. TrainOSE (for its Proastiakos department) is coordinated by Athens Urban Transport Organisation (Organismos Astikon Syngoinonion Athinon - OASA, ), a state-owned company.
ISAP, ETHEL and ILPAP were wholly owned by OASA S.A.. AMEL and Tram S.A. until June 2011 were subsidiaries of Attiko Metro S.A. (), a company that is currently wholly owned by the Greek government.
TrainOSE S.A., which absorbed the former Proastiakos S.A. in 2007, became independent of the OSE group in 2008 and is now a separate private company.
OASA regularly conducts street photography and videography competitions both in black-and-white and in colour for photos taken while inside its means of transport.


Master Control Facility

The Master Control Facility (MCF) is a facility set up by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in the city of Hassan in the Indian state of Karnataka. Established in 1982, this facility is responsible for monitoring and controlling geostationary and geosynchronous satellites launched by ISRO. This was the only Master Control Facility of ISRO till another one was established in Bhopal in 2005.
Establishment.
When ISRO wanted a control facility, it inspected various sites that were offered to it within India. ISRO chose Hassan as the location (Location on Google Maps) because it was free of noise and encountered less terrestrial transmission than other proposed sites. Low interference was a must since the facility should be able to pick up even very weak signals from the satellite. The land to set up this facility was spread across 17.2 hectares and offered by the Government of Karnataka.
Internal divisions.
The MCF has three internal divisions; the "Spacecraft Control Centre", "Mission Control Centre" and the "Earth station".
Spacecraft Control Centre.
This centre is responsible for controlling satellites and various commands are sent from this centre to the satellite to undertake the desired operations.
Mission Control Centre.
This centre plays a major role main during the launch of the satellite and its initial period in space. This is the place where the Mission Director and the different designers of the various modules in the satellite keep a watch on the functioning of the satellite. They do this by studying and comprehending the various parameters of satellite via telemetry signals that the satellites send, related to the health of its various modules. In case of any deviation from the prescribed limits of the parameters, an automatic alarm is sounded and the respective designers discuss with the Mission Director and send corrections to the satellite from this centre.
Earth station.
MCF has an integrated facility consisting of seven earth stations. The earth stations are assisted by an antenna array which provide the communication link between the satellite and the MCF (The link from earth station to satellite is UPLINK and from satellite to earth station is DOWNLINK). The MCF has 3 full-motion and about a dozen limited-motion antennas. The full-motion antennas can be turned around 360° and can be tilted from zero° to 90° in elevation. They send commands to the satellite, receive signals from it, thereby also helping to check that the satellite is in orbit. The full motion antennas are mostly used during the satellite launch and once the satellite is in its prescribed orbit, the limited motion antennas take over the communication link with the satellite.
Satellites.
Currently MCF controls the following 19 satellites: INSAT-3C, KALPANA-1, INSAT-3A, INSAT-4A, INSAT-4B, INSAT-4CR, GSAT-8, GSAT-12, GSAT-10, IRNSS-1A, INSAT-3D, GSAT-7, GSAT-14, IRNSS-1B, IRNSS-1C, GSAT-16 IRNSS-1D, GSAT-6 and GSAT-15 satellites. Of these 19 satellites 16 are controlled from MCF Hassan and three are controlled from MCF Bhopal (INSAT-3C, INSAT-4CR and GSAT-12.) In October 1997, the MCF lost contact with the INSAT-2D satellite which was a serious blow to ISRO. This glitch also affected the National Stock Exchange at Mumbai which had to suspend trading on 3 October 1997 till the VSAT terminals which it depended on were transferred to INSAT-2A.Previously, this facility also controlled ISRO's earlier generation of satellites, like the INSAT-1B.
GSAT-10 was successfully launched on 29 September 2012 at 2:48 am (IST) on board Ariane-5 rocket from Europe's spaceport in French Guiana. It has been put in its defined slot of 83° East. GSAT-10 carries the 12 high power Ku-band transponders, 6 extended C-Band Transponders each having a bandwidth of 36 MHz with power of 15 W, 12 C-Band transponders and GAGAN Navigation payload.
INSAT Master Control Facility.
The INSAT Master Control Facility is one of the centers of Indian Space Research Organisation, which is responsible for post-launch operations on INSAT, GSAT and IRNSS satellites including orbit manoeuvres, station-keeping, on-orbit and decommissioning operations. INSAT MCF of ISRO are located at two locations, Hassan in the South Indian state of Karnataka and at Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. At present, the centers support on-orbit operations of INSAT-3C, KALPANA-1, INSAT-3A, INSAT-4A, INSAT-4B, INSAT-4CR, GSAT-8, GSAT-12, GSAT-10, IRNSS-1A, INSAT-3D, GSAT-7, GSAT-14, IRNSS-1B, IRNSS-1C, GSAT-16, IRNSS-1D, GSAT-6 and GSAT-15 satellites.


USAID Superior Honor Award

The Superior Honor Award is an award of the United States Agency for International Development. Similar versions of the same award exist for the former U.S. Information Agency, Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, and Department of State. It is presented to groups or individuals in recognition of a special act or service or sustained extraordinary performance covering a period of one year or longer.
The award consists of a certificate signed by an assistant secretary, an official of equivalent rank or the Mission Director. While some medal sets are still available, medals are no longer issued.
Criteria.
The following criteria are applicable to granting a Superior Honor Award:
Nominating and Approval Procedures.
Nominations for USAID employees are submitted on Form JF-66, Nomination for Award, through supervisory channels to the Joint Country Awards Committee for review and recommendation to the Mission Director for final action.
Nominations initiated in Washington are reviewed by the USAID bureau/office with final approval by the appropriate assistant administrator or office head.
Military Use.
Upon authorization, members of the U.S. military may wear the medal and ribbon in the appropriate order of precedence as a U.S. non-military personal decoration.


Meir Rekhavi

Meir Yosef Rekhavi (born 1962) is a British Karaite Hakham, author.
Biography.
Born as Martin Furman in Leeds, England, Rekhavi came from an Orthodox Jewish family which had migrated to northern England from Tukums, Latvia via Germany in the early 1900s. Rekhavi was raised as a Rabbinical Jew and received his formative religious education at an Ultra-Orthodox Ḥeder. He studied at various yeshivoth in Jerusalem before embracing Karaite Judaism. In 1981 Rekhavi began to question the authority of the Oral Torah. From 1984 Rekhavi was mentored by the Karaite Hakham Mordechai Alfandari in Jerusalem.
Rekhavi is the Chancellor of the Karaite Jewish University in California and a founding member of the University, which was created in November 2005. In July 2007 Rekhavi served on the Beth Din (Jewish religious court) of the Karaite Jews of America that performed the first conversions of non-Jews to Karaite Judaism since 1465. He is also the Hakham of the Karaite Jews of Europe, sits on the Karaite Religious Council in Israel, and acts as an advisor to the Karaite Council of Sages. Rekhavi currently lives in Beer Sheva, Israel with his family.
Books.
Rekhavi is the co-author of "As It Is Written: A Brief Case for Karaism" (). He also produced and self-published a Karaite translation from Biblical Hebrew to English of the scriptural text read at Passover, the Haggadah.


Axel Springer SE

Axel Springer SE is a German digital publishing house which is the largest in Europe, with numerous multimedia news brands, such as "Bild", "Die Welt", and "Fakt" and more than 15,000 employees. It generated total revenues of about €3.3 billion and an EBITDA of €559 million in the financial year 2015. The digital media activities contribute more than 60% to its revenues and nearly 70% to its EBITDA. Axel Springer’s business is divided into three segments: paid models, marketing models, and classified ad models. Since 2020, it is majority-owned by the US private equity firm KKR.
Headquartered in Berlin, Germany, the company is active in more than 40 countries with subsidiaries, joint ventures, and licensing.
It was started in 1946/1947 by journalist Axel Springer. Its current CEO is Mathias Döpfner. The Axel Springer company is the largest publishing house in Europe and controls the largest share of the German market for daily newspapers; 23.6%, largely because its flagship tabloid "Bild" is the highest-circulation newspaper in Europe with a daily readership exceeding 12 million.
Newspapers, magazines, online offerings.
The media offerings of Axel Springer SE are clustered in: current news, autos, sports, computers and consumer electronics, as well as lifestyle.
Selection of publications.
In addition, the company is active in the online editorial and marketing business with its shares in aufeminin.com, Awin, and buy.at, and owns several online classified advertising platforms such as the career site StepStone, the real estate marketing portal immonet, various coupon portals, including Sparheld.de Germany and Reduc.fr in France and price comparison platform idealo. It is also a significant investor in the American digital media company Group Nine Media.
Criticism.
Editorial bias and alleged ties to US intelligence agencies.
According to German scholar Gudrun Kruip of the , Axel Springer SE and its subsidiaries spread a strongly pro-American view in which criticism of US foreign policy is largely absent. As of 2021, the Axel Springer SE names "solidarity with the free values of the United States of America." as one of its core principles on its website. Many scholars and independent observers allege a "subservience to American geopolitical interests" of the publishing house and its subsidiaries to this day.
Accusations of editorial interference in Poland.
In 2017, was accused of editorial interference, when the head of the joint venture Mark Dekan wrote a letter to the company's Polish employees in which he disparaged the head of the conservative Law and Justice political party, calling the Polish politician Jaroslaw Kaczynski a "loser" for opposing the candidacy of Donald Tusk as President of the European Union, stating that "...we should never forget about the basic values that we represent... Here is the moment where free media, such as ours must be active. We speak for the ideas of... a United Europe." In the letter, Dekan also raised his concerns that European integration was least supported by the youngest generation of Poles and vowed to take appropriate action, suggesting "Let's tell them what to do to stay in the fast lane and not end in the parking lot."
Competitors.
Major competitors in the German publishing market include Bauer Media Group, Bertelsmann, Hubert Burda Media, and Holtzbrinck.
Attacks.
In the 1960s and 1970s the company was targeted by a number of left-wing groups. It was denounced by German-American writer Reinhard Lettau in an incendiary speech at the Freie Universität Berlin; in 1968 their Berlin headquarters was blockaded by students; in 1972 the Red Army Faction claimed responsibility for six bombs placed in the Hamburg building (only three exploded and 17 people were injured) and in 1975 a bomb exploded in their Paris office, the "6th of March Group" (connected to the Red Army Faction) claimed responsibility.


Leonidas I

Leonidas I (; Doric , '; Ionic and Attic Greek: , ' ; "son of the lion"; died 19 September 480 BC) was a king of the Greek city-state of Sparta, and the 17th of the Agiad line, a dynasty which claimed descent from the mythological demigod Heracles and Cadmus. Leonidas I was son of King Anaxandridas II. He succeeded his half-brother King Cleomenes I to the throne in c. 489 BC. His co-ruler was King Leotychidas. He was succeeded by his son, King Pleistarchus.
Leonidas had a notable participation in the Second Persian War, where he led the allied Greek forces to a last stand at the Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC) while attempting to defend the pass from the invading Persian army; he died at the battle and entered myth as the leader of the 300 Spartans. While the Greeks lost this battle, they were able to expel the Persian invaders in the following year.
Life.
According to Herodotus, Leonidas' mother was not only his father's wife but also his father's niece and had been barren for so long that the ephors, the five annually elected administrators of the Spartan constitution, tried to prevail upon King Anaxandridas II to set her aside and take another wife. Anaxandridas refused, claiming his wife was blameless, whereupon the ephors agreed to allow him to take a second wife without setting aside his first. This second wife, a descendant of Chilon of Sparta (one of the Seven Sages of Greece), promptly bore a son, Cleomenes. However, one year after Cleomenes' birth, Anaxandridas' first wife also gave birth to a son, Dorieus. Leonidas was the second son of Anaxandridas' first wife, and either the elder brother or twin of Cleombrotus.
King Anaxandridas II died in 520 BC, and Cleomenes succeeded to the throne sometime between then and 516 BC. Dorieus was so outraged that the Spartans had preferred his half-brother over himself that he found it impossible to remain in Sparta. He made one unsuccessful attempt to set up a colony in Africa and, when this failed, sought his fortune in Sicily, where after initial successes he was killed. Leonidas' relationship with his bitterly antagonistic elder brothers is unknown, but he married Cleomenes' daughter, Gorgo, sometime before coming to the throne in 490 BC.
Leonidas was heir to the Agiad throne and a full citizen ("homoios") at the time of the Battle of Sepeia against Argos (c. 494 BC). Likewise, he was a full citizen when the Persians sought submission from Sparta and met with vehement rejection in or around 492/491 BC. His elder half-brother, king Cleomenes, had already been deposed on grounds of purported insanity, and had fled into exile when Athens sought assistance against the First Persian invasion of Greece, that ended at Marathon (490 BC).
Plutarch has recorded the following: "When someone said to him: 'Except for being king you are not at all superior to us,' Leonidas son of Anaxandridas and brother of Cleomenes replied: 'But were I not better than you, I should not be king.'" As the product of the "agoge", Leonidas is unlikely to have been referring to his royal blood alone but rather suggesting that he had, like his brother Dorieus, proven superior capability in the competitive environment of Spartan training and society, and that he believed this made him qualified to rule.
Leonidas was chosen to lead the combined Greek forces determined to resist the Second Persian invasion of Greece in 481 BC. This was not simply a tribute to Sparta's military prowess: The probability that the coalition wanted Leonidas personally for his capability as a military leader is underlined by the fact that just two years after his death, the coalition preferred Athenian leadership to the leadership of either Leotychidas or Leonidas' successor (as regent for his still under-aged son) Pausanias. The rejection of Leotychidas and Pausanias was not a reflection on Spartan arms. Sparta's military reputation had never stood in higher regard, nor was Sparta less powerful in 478 BC than it had been in 481 BC.
This selection of Leonidas to lead the defense of Greece against Xerxes' invasion led to Leonidas' death in the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC.
Battle of Thermopylae.
Upon receiving a request from the confederated Greek forces to aid in defending Greece against the Persian invasion, Sparta consulted the Oracle at Delphi. The Oracle is said to have made the following prophecy in hexameter verse:
In August 480 BC, Leonidas marched out of Sparta to meet Xerxes' army at Thermopylae with a small force of 1,200 men (900 helots and 300 Spartan hoplites), where he was joined by forces from other Greek city-states, who put themselves under his command to form an army of 7,000 strong. There are various theories on why Leonidas was accompanied by such a small force of hoplites. According to Herodotus, "the Spartans sent the men with Leonidas on ahead so that the rest of the allies would see them and march with no fear of defeat, instead of like the others if they learned that the Spartans were delaying. After completing their festival, the Carneia, they left their garrison at Sparta and marched in full force towards Thermopylae. The rest of the allies planned to do likewise, for the Olympiad coincided with these events. They accordingly sent their advance guard, not expecting the war at Thermopylae to be decided so quickly." Many modern commentators are unsatisfied with this explanation and point to the fact that the Olympic Games were in progress or impute internal dissent and intrigue.
Whatever the reason Sparta's own contribution was just 300 Spartiates (accompanied by their attendants and probably perioikoi auxiliaries), the total force assembled for the defense of the pass of Thermopylae came to something between four and seven thousand Greeks. They faced a Persian army who had invaded from the north of Greece under Xerxes I. Herodotus stated that this army consisted of over two million men; modern scholars consider this to be an exaggeration and give estimates ranging from 70,000 to 300,000.
Xerxes waited four days to attack, hoping the Greeks would disperse. Finally, on the fifth day the Persians attacked. Leonidas and the Greeks repulsed the Persians' frontal attacks for the fifth and sixth days, killing roughly 10,000 of the enemy troops. The Persian elite unit known to the Greeks as "the Immortals" was held back, and two of Xerxes' brothers (Abrocomes and Hyperanthes) died in battle. On the seventh day (August 11), a Malian Greek traitor named Ephialtes led the Persian general Hydarnes by a mountain track to the rear of the Greeks. At that point Leonidas sent away all Greek troops and remained in the pass with his 300 Spartans, 900 helots, 400 Thebans and 700 Thespians. The Thespians stayed entirely of their own will, declaring that they would not abandon Leonidas and his followers. Their leader was Demophilus, son of Diadromes, and as Herodotus writes, "Hence they lived with the Spartans and died with them."
One theory provided by Herodotus is that Leonidas sent away the remainder of his men because he cared about their safety. The King would have thought it wise to preserve those Greek troops for future battles against the Persians, but he knew that the Spartans could never abandon their post on the battlefield. The soldiers who stayed behind were to protect their escape against the Persian cavalry. Herodotus himself believed that Leonidas gave the order because he perceived the allies to be disheartened and unwilling to encounter the danger to which his own mind was made up. He therefore chose to dismiss all troops except the Thebans, Thespians and helots and save the glory for the Spartans.
Of the small Greek force, attacked from both sides, all were killed except for the 400 Thebans, who surrendered to Xerxes without a fight. When Leonidas was killed, the Spartans retrieved his body after driving back the Persians four times. Herodotus says that Xerxes' orders were to have Leonidas' head cut off and put on a stake and his body crucified. This was considered sacrilegious.
Legacy.
Antiquity.
A hero cult of Leonidas survived at Sparta until the Antonine era (2nd century AD).
Thermopylae monument.
A bronze statue of Leonidas was erected at Thermopylae in 1955. A sign, under the statue, reads simply: "ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ" ("Come and take them"), which was Leonidas' reply when Xerxes offered to spare the lives of the Spartans if they gave up their arms.
Another statue, also with the inscription ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ, was erected at Sparta in 1968.
Literature.
"Leonidas" was the name of an Epic poem written by Richard Glover, which originally appeared in 1737. It went on to appear in four other editions, being expanded from 9 books to 12.
He is a central figure in Steven Pressfield's novel "Gates of Fire".
He appears as the protagonist of Frank Miller's 1998 comic book series "300". It presents a fictionalized version of Leonidas and the Battle of Thermopylae, as does the 2006 feature film adapted from it.
Helena P. Schrader has produced a three-part biographical novel on Leonidas. "Leonidas of Sparta: A Boy of the Agoge", "Leonidas of Sparta: A Peerless Peer", and "Leonidas of Sparta: A Heroic King".
Film.
In cinema, Leonidas has been portrayed by:
Video games.
Leonidas serves an important role to the plot of the 2018 video game . In the game, Leonidas is the grandfather of the player character, Kassandra/Alexios. Additionally, Leonidas's spear is an important plot point as it is one of many powerful ancient artifacts in the Assassin's Creed lore, as well as wielded by Kassandra/Alexios in combat throughout the game.


Axel A. Weber

Axel Alfred Weber (born 8 March 1957) is a German economist, professor, and banker. He is currently a board member and chairman of Swiss investment bank and financial services company, UBS Group AG.
He was the president of the Deutsche Bundesbank and a member of the European Central Bank Governing Council from 30 April 2004 to 30 April 2011. He is also a member of the Group of Thirty.
Early life and education.
Weber was born in Kusel, Germany. He studied economics and public administration at the University of Constance from 1976 to 1982 and graduated with a master's degree ("Diplom") in economics.
After obtaining a Dr. rer. pol. in economics from the University of Siegen, Germany in 1987, Weber pursued his scientific studies abroad at the University of London and Tilburg University. Between 1992 and 1993, Weber spent an academic year in Washington, D.C. while teaching. In 1994, Weber received his habilitation in Economics from the University of Siegen. He also holds honorary doctorates from the University of Duisburg-Essen and the University of Konstanz.
Career.
From 1982 to 1988 Weber worked as research assistant in the field of monetary economics at the University of Siegen and was awarded a Doctorate in 1987. After gaining his "habilitation" at the University Siegen in 1994, he was appointed Professor of Economic Theory at the University of Bonn, and moved to the Goethe University Frankfurt in 1998. He was also the Director of the Center for Financial Studies in Frankfurt am Main from 1998 to 2001 and of the Center for Financial Research at the University of Cologne from 2001 to 2004.
In 2001 Weber was appointed Professor of International Economics at the University of Cologne, and from 2002 to 2004 he was a Member of the German Council of Economic Experts. From 2002 until 2011 he was a member of the expert advisory panel to the Deutsche Bundesbank.
Bundesbank.
Weber was appointed President of the Deutsche Bundesbank by the German finance minister Hans Eichel as successor of the resigning Ernst Welteke, and elected as a member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank in 2004.
In this capacity, Weber also served on the Board of Directors for the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), as German governor of the International Monetary Fund and a member of the G7 and G20 Ministers and Governors during this time. From 2010 to 2011 he was also a member of the Steering Committees of the European Systemic Risk Board and the Financial Stability Board.
On 9 February 2011, Weber announced his resignation from his chairmanship of the Bundesbank, effective 30 April 2011, a year before the expiry of his term of office. The move was seen as throwing open the candidacy for president of the European Central Bank to others to succeed Jean-Claude Trichet starting 1 November 2011.
University of Chicago.
From 2011 to 2012 Weber was a visiting professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. As visiting professor, he taught two three-hour sessions of the course "Central Banking: Theories and Facts" on Mondays, in fall 2011. He attended the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's Economic Policy Symposium in Moran near Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in summer 2011.
UBS AG.
Weber was elected to the Board of Directors of the Swiss bank UBS AG at the 2012 AGM held on 3 May 2012 and of UBS Group AG in November 2014. He succeeded Kaspar Villiger as chairman of the Board of Directors. His appointment was announced in mid-2011, when Villiger had been expected to retire in 2013.
Weber has chaired the Governance and Nominating Committee since 2012 and became Chairperson of the Corporate Culture and Responsibility Committee in 2013.
Recognition.
In late 2015, Weber was awarded the title of "European Banker of the Year 2014" in Germany by the International Association of Economic Journalists called the Group of 20+1. In the same year, Weber was also awarded the first Prix Marjolin Prize by the SUERF Council of Management.