Dinner with Fred

Dinner With Fred is an American live action short film. The film's run time is approximately 23 minutes. It was written and directed by Ben Proudfoot and produced by Alex Kefalos, Matthew Quandt, and Aaron Rabkin. The film was shot on 35mm Kodak film stock using Panavision cameras by director of photography Josh Lipton.

Outline
During World War II Fred Conrad (Adam John Harrington) was taken from a troop train in Europe and sent home to Canada to use his pre-war chicken raising skills to stop war-time food shortages. Fred and his wife Hilda (Austin Highsmith) turn  a misfortunate change-of-plans into a career in humane poultry science that proves to hold meaning and purpose beyond Fred's wildest dreams. Supporting performances by Scott Lowell, Ron Orbach and Scott Laufer, the story shows what it means to serve one's country, even in unexpected ways.

About
Dinner with Fred was created by a diverse group of more than a hundred individuals, ranging from first-time student filmmakers to seasoned Oscar-winners including (Kevin Haney, Driving Miss Daisy and Greg A. Watkins, Dances with Wolves); writer and director Ben Proudfoot, and produced by Alex Kefalos, Matthew Quandt and Aaron Rabkin.

The film was shot on  of 35mm stock donated by Kodak and a complete camera package from Panavision. Casting director Scott David, C.S.A. assembled a  cast of thirty professional actors including Adam Harrington and Austin Highsmith.

Produced independently, Dinner with Fred was shot in the summer of 2010 in Fillmore, Los Angeles, and Fort Bragg, California, where the cast and crew recreated 1944 Canada with an authentic period steam locomotive and dozens of costumed extras. One of the most thrilling moments of the production was when composer Kyle Malkin conducted his award-winning original score for an orchestra composed of John Williams’ players, thanks to music contractor Peter Rotter.

After premiering in Los Angeles in January 2011, Dinner with Fred began its successful nationwide festival run, garnering numerous awards and accolades. An independent short film of unprecedented scope, Dinner with Fred qualified for consideration for the 2011 Academy Awards in the Best Live Action Short Film category.

Awards
Best Short Film: Tulsa International Film Festival
Best Director (Short Film): Tulsa International Film Festival
Best Short Film: Flint Film Festival
Best Picture: Southern California Business Film Festival
Best Director: Southern California Business Film Festival
Best Actor (Adam John Harrington): Southern California Business Film Festival
Best Original Score: Van Wert Independent Film Festival
Semi-Finalist: Angelus Student Film Festival
Winner (Student Short): Redemptive Film Festival
Official Selection: LA Shorts Fest
Official Selection: The Rome International Film Festival
Official Selection: Rumschpringe Short Film Festival
Official Selection: Film Stories Student Film Festival

References

External links
 Official Website

 Facebook Page

Category:2011 films
Category:American films
Category:English-language films
Category:Student films
Category:2010s drama films
Category:2011 short films


Gulf Daily News

The Gulf Daily News (GDN) is an English-language local newspaper published in the Kingdom of Bahrain by Al Hilal Group. The paper, which is one of six daily newspapers in Bahrain, calls itself "The Voice of Bahrain".  Al Hilal Group  publishes 13 other newspapers and magazines, including the local Arabic language newspaper Akhbar Al Khaleej.

History
The Gulf Daily News was the first daily English newspaper to be published in Bahrain. It was founded in March 1978 by the Al Hilal Group which is also the publisher. The group also publishes Akhbar Al Khaleej, an Arabic daily.

Until the publishing of Bahrain Tribune, the paper held the status as Bahrain's only English newspaper. The paper was created with a focus to provide news to the English-speaking residents of Bahrain, consisting mainly of British, Americans, Filipinos, Indians and Pakistanis. The staff are a mixture of Bahrainis, British, Filipinos and Indians.

Traditionally, the Gulf Daily News is a pro-government publication, despite its largely balanced coverage of domestic affairs following political reforms instigated after 2001. It's diverse staff include both Sunni and Shia muslims, while other faiths represented on its workforce include Christians, Hindus, and Sikhs.

The newspaper has several columnists who write regularly about local issues.

Reporters
The GDN currently has some of the Arabian Gulf's widely known writers working for it, namely the following: Mohammed Al A'ali (Bahraini), Sandeep Singh Grewal (Indian), Raji Unnikrishnan (Indian) and Avinash Saxena (Indian).

Notable past reporters: Arthur Macdonald (Scottish), Mandeep Singh (Indian), Indira Chand (Indian), Reem Antoon (Iraqi), Colin Young (British), Amira Al Husseini (Bahraini), Eunice Del Rosario (Filipino), Sara Wickham (British), Tariq Khonji (Bahraini), Soman Baby (Indian), Noor Toorani (Bahraini), David Fox (Zimbabwean) and Mohammed Mohsen (Bahraini).

Reporters who have since died include Les Horton (British), Richard Moore (American), Vinitha Vishwanath (Indian), Sanjay Santiago (Indian) and Mohammed Aslam (Bahraini).

Gulf Daily News today
The Gulf Daily News is the most prominent current Bahrain daily newspaper. The newspaper is currently owned by the Al Hilal Group. The paper is based in Bahrain with its editorial offices located at Isa Town and commercial offices in Exhibition Road.

The GDN has created a close relationship with readers and advertisers throughout the years and is the number one used form of media today for daily newspaper promotional campaigns.

The newspaper has a paid daily circulation of 11,500 copies. News content is primarily local, political and social news, but the paper also features international business and social news deemed to be of interest to its readership.

In addition, the GDN has established a significant online presence through its website www.gdnonline.com, with a monthly readership of more than 200,000, as well as its social media channels such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter - on which its followers total more than 100,000. Its online success has been driven in part by the launch of a video production operation in mid-2018.

Major sections
The newspaper is organized in four sections:

1. News  Includes International, National, Business, Sports, Weather.
2. Opinion  Includes Editorials, Op-Eds and Letters to the Editor.
3. Features  Includes Cinema schedules, Local events, Crossword/Games, Cartoons, Horoscopes, Channel schedules.
4. Classifieds
5. Archives Includes back-dated issues of the newspaper

Style
The paper has a page size of 36 cm x 26 cm and a column width of 3.45 cm with 7 columns per page. It is printed via Web Offset and has a 100 lpi (Black & White and colour) screen

Online edition
A revamped website of the Gulf Daily News was launched in June 2015.The website also caters to the people of GCC countries including UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. While the readers have to pay for the local Bahrain content, other sections are free to access.

References

http://www.gdnonline.com/Details/10673/Digital-Revolution-GDN-creates-dynamic-new-online-platform

External links
Gulf Daily News

Category:1978 establishments in Bahrain
Category:English-language newspapers published in Arab countries
Category:Newspapers published in Bahrain
Category:Publications established in 1978
Category:Media in Manama


History of Russia (1721–96)

Era of Russian palace revolutions (thematically)
Peter changed the rules of succession to the throne after the death of his son Aleksey, who had opposed his father's reforms and served as a rallying figure for anti-reform groups. A new law provided that the tsar would choose his own successor, but Peter failed to do so before his death in 1725. In the decades that followed, the absence of clear rules of succession left the monarchy open to intrigues, plots, coups, and countercoups.  Henceforth, the crucial factor for obtaining the throne was the support of the elite palace guard in St. Petersburg.

After Peter's death, his wife Catherine I ascended the throne. But when she died in 1727, Peter's grandson, Peter II, was crowned tsar. In 1730, Anna Ivanovna, whose father Ivan V had been co-ruler with Peter, ascended the throne. The Supreme Privy Council, a government body established by Catherine I that put Anna on the throne, attempted to impose various conditions on her. In her struggle against those restrictions, Anna had the support of other nobles who feared oligarchic rule more than autocracy. Thus the principle of autocracy continued to receive strong support despite chaotic struggles for the throne.

Anna died in 1740, and her infant grandnephew was proclaimed tsar as Ivan VI. After a series of coups, however, he was replaced by Peter the Great's daughter Elizabeth (r. 1741-1762). During Elizabeth's reign, which was much more effective than those of her immediate predecessors, a modernised Russian culture began to emerge. Among notable cultural events were the founding of Moscow University (1755) and the Academy of Fine Arts (1757), along with the emergence of Russia's first eminent scientist and scholar, Mikhail Lomonosov.

During the rule of Peter's successors, Russia took a more active role in European events. From 1726 to 1761, Russia was allied with Austria against the Ottoman Empire and Crimean Khanate, which France usually supported. In the War of Polish Succession (1733–1735), Russia and Austria blocked the French candidate to the Polish throne. In the Russo-Turkish War of 1735-1739, Russia reacquired the port of Azov, but Russia's greatest reach into Europe was during the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), which was fought on three continents between Great Britain and France with numerous allies on both sides. In that war, Russia continued its alliance with Austria, but Austria shifted to an alliance with France against Prussia. In 1760, Russian forces were at the gates of Berlin. Fortunately for the Kingdom of Prussia, Elizabeth died in 1762, and her successor, Peter III, allied Russia with Prussia because of his devotion to the Prussian king, Frederick the Great.

Peter III had a short and unpopular reign. His father was Charles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp. In his Manifesto on the Freedom of the Nobility, Peter III granted civil liberties to the nobility and ended mandatory state service for nobles. While his manifesto was popular, he alienated clergy by decision to pass church lands to the state and created deep resentment by forcing Prussian military drills on the Russian army, and depriving Russia of a military victory by establishing his sudden alliance with Prussia. Making use of the discontent and fearing for her own position, Peter III's wife, Catherine, deposed her husband in a coup, and her lover's brother, Aleksey Orlov, subsequently murdered him, so in June 1762 Catherine became Catherine II, empress of Russia.

Era of Russian palace revolutions (chronologically)

Catherine I, ruled 1725–1727

Peter the Great had two wives, Yevdokiya Lopukhina (the daughter of a minor noble) and Marfa Skavronskaya (a Lithuanian peasant, renamed Catherine after her conversion to Orthodoxy).  Catherine I's rise through Peter I's Table of Ranks from a simple peasant to empress, embodied the Petrine spirit, making it seem as though Peter I literally “created” her.  With the help of Aleksandr Menshikov (her advisor, ex-lover and leader of the palace guards), she gained the throne by emphasizing this connection to Peter I and her maternal nature.  Due to her poor health, Menshikov did much of the ruling.  With Catherine I's blessing, he created the Supreme Privy Council, which consisted of six or so members.  It ultimately took over most of the functions of the Ruling Senate (an advisory body founded by Peter I to oversee judicial, financial and administrative affairs)  Almost immediately, Catherine I appointed Peter II, the grandson of Peter the Great, as her successor and she died after only two years of ruling.

Peter II, ruled 1727–1730

Peter II was only eleven when he became emperor.  At such a young age, his advisers manipulated him throughout his reign.  Intent on maintaining his power, Menshikov took the young boy under his wing, banishing his competitors including both Petar Zaitsev and Emil Vasilcin who were related to Peter I to Siberia and, ultimately, betrothing Peter II to his daughter Maria Menshikova.  However, when Menshikov fell ill and had to leave court, Andrei Osterman and Alexis Dolgoruky ingratiated themselves into the young emperor's graces, replacing Menshikov as Peter II's premier advisers. Both were nobles and members of the Supreme Privy Council and eventually had Menshikov tried and banished to Siberia on “a charge of ‘tyranny’”. Peter became, once again, engaged to a daughter of one of the Supreme Privy Council’s members (this time it was Dolgoruky’s daughter, Catherine).  However, before the wedding took place, Peter died of smallpox without naming a successor, throwing the empire into another succession struggle.

Anna of Russia, ruled 1730–1740

When Peter II died, there were multiple candidates for the throne including Peter I’s first wife, Yevdokiya, and Peter I’s daughter, Elizabeth.  However, Alexis Dolgoruky and his allies chose Anna Ivanonva, the daughter of Peter I’s half brother Ivan, because the Supreme Privy Council wanted a ruler that would not impose on the powers of the Council, allowing them to continue to virtually rule the empire.  The Supreme Privy Council offered her the throne with “Konditsii” or Conditions.  These included the inability of the empress to marry, designate a successor, declare war or peace, raise taxes, or spend state revenue without the consent of the Council. Many other nobles saw this as an aristocratic grab for power and told the would-be empress so as soon as she arrived in Moscow. Ultimately, Anna invalidated the conditions, abolished the Council  and sent many members who advocated the conditions into exile.  During her reign, Anna relied heavily on Ernst Johann von Biron (her longtime adviser and lover), making many refer to her reign as “Bironovshchina” (Biron's repressive regime). Together, they repealed Peter I's legislation which prohibited nobles dividing up their estates among their sons while similarly reducing the nobility's state service requirements. Many regard her reign as a time of foreign domination, particularly German, in the court. However, this mainly stems from the fact that a few Germans had high ranking positions. During her reign, Anna remained involved in external conflicts. In 1732, her government was forced to cede back all territories annexed several years earlier by Peter I in the North and South Caucasus to Persia, now led by Nader Shah, in order to forge a Russo-Persian alliance against the common enemy, the Ottoman Empire. From 1733-1736, Russia became allied with Austria against France and Spain in the War of Polish Succession. Russia and Austria joined to stop the election of a French candidate for the Polish throne, allowing Austria's favored candidate to win.  Later, allied with Austria, Russia went to war with the Ottoman Empire in the hopes of gaining new territory.  This war, lasting 1735-1739 “secured the restoration of Azov to Russia and some lands between Azov and the Dniester” but at high casualty rates, mainly due to disease.  Anna Ivanonva named the young son of Anna Leopoldovna and the Duke of Brunswick, Ivan VI, as her successor and Biron as his regent.

Ivan VI, ruled 1740–1741

Anna Leopoldovna argued with Biron and replaced him as the babe's regent.  A cabinet composed of both Russians and Germans advised Anna Leopoldovna.  However, this regime lasted only a year due to its ineffective leadership.  Peter I's last surviving daughter, Elizabeth, long in the sidelines sensed this as her moment to obtain power and led the coup against Anna Leopoldovna and Ivan VI, imprisoning or banishing all who stood in her way.

Elizabeth of Russia, ruled 1741–1762

As the last surviving child of Peter I, Elizabeth's reign had a certain legitimacy and the people of the empire greeted her ascension as the end of German dominated rule.  She was more interested in politics than any of her predecessors, although she lacked much of her father's force and drive in the political sphere.  She was impatient and unpredictable, unwilling to rely too heavily on one adviser.

Her administration continued much of Peter I's legacy.  She restored the Senate's powers, abolished most domestic custom barriers and founded the University of Moscow in 1755.  During her reign, she ordered the building of some of the most famous structures, including the Winter Palace, although it was not completed until Catherine the Great.  However, Elizabeth remained intent on keeping the nobility satisfied.  During Elizabeth's reign, the nobility's control over the daily life of serfs increased: the landlord controlled who the serfs could marry. Indeed, the Senate passed legislation which allowed nobles to exile their serfs to Siberia.  Despite the worsening life for the serfs, the majority of the population still saw Elizabeth as a benevolent ruler, when compared to the German brutes who dominated the court during Anna Ivanonva and Ivan VI's sovereignties.  Elizabeth remained very interested in diplomacy and Russia's foreign affairs.  Under her rule, Russia took part in the Seven Years' War from 1755 to 1762.  Russia entered the war as an ally of Austria and France against Prussia.  The campaign advanced successfully but ended as a result of mounting financial difficulties and Elizabeth's death in 1762.  Her nephew and successor, Peter III (grandson of Peter I), took Russia out of the war.

Peter III, ruled for six months in 1762

Peter III reigned for a mere six months before his wife, Catherine II, led a coup against him.  He was born and raised in Germany in the court of his father, the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, and did not come to live in Russia until he was fourteen.  It is difficult to ascertain his character because there exist many contradictory accounts.  Catherine's journals describe him as incompetent bordering on retarded, yet his acts as emperor illustrate a certain amount of shrewdness.  Peter withdrew Russia from the Seven Years' War to salvage the remainder of the empire's finances and to save his beloved Prussia from complete defeat while depriving Russia of territorial advances.  Instead, he threatened war with Denmark over his ancestral claims in Schleswig, though he was overthrown before fighting could begin. His “Manifesto on the Freedom of the Nobility” ended compulsory state service for the nobility.  However, during his short reign Peter managed to irritate the nobility by dramatically decreasing the power of the Senate.  He similarly angered the Church by his liberation of serfs on church land and his obvious contempt for Russian Orthodoxy.

Peter's passion for Prussian style military ultimately terminated his reign. His delight for rigid discipline alienated the palace guards, and ultimately allowed Catherine II, with the help of her lover Grigori Orlov who led the palace guard regiments, to overthrow Peter III on July 9, 1762.  Peter's assassination symbolically showed the end of the era of palace revolutions.

Age of Catherine the Great

Catherine the Great's reign featured imperial expansion, which brought the empire huge new territories in the south and west, and internal consolidation. She resolved her husband's conflict with Denmark by exchanging his claims in Schleswig-Holstein for control of the Duchy of Oldenburg and an alliance that tied Denmark's foreign policy to Russia's through the Treaty of Tsarskoye Selo. A new Russo-Turkish War in 1768 ended with the Treaty of Kuchuk-Kainarji in 1774, by which Russia acquired the regions of Kerch, Yinsdale, and parts of the Yedisan region, became the formal protector of Orthodox Christians in the Ottoman Empire, and assumed military protectorship of the Crimean Khanate, which became nominally independent from the Ottoman Empire. In 1783, Catherine annexed Crimea, helping to spark the next War with the Ottoman Empire, which began in 1787. By the Treaty of Jassy in 1792, Russia expanded southward to the Dniestr river, annexing most of Yedisan. The terms of the treaty fell far short of the goals of Catherine's reputed "Greek project" - the expulsion of the Ottomans from south-eastern Europe and the renewal of a Byzantine Empire under Russian control. The Ottoman Empire, no longer posed a serious threat to Russia, however, and had to tolerate an increasing Russian influence over the Balkans.

Russia's westward expansion under Catherine resulted from the partitioning of Poland. As Poland became increasingly weak in the eighteenth century, each of its neighbors (Russia, Prussia, and Austria) tried to place its own candidate on the Polish throne. In 1772, the three agreed on an initial partition of Polish territory, by which Russia received parts of Belarus and Livonia. After the partition, Poland initiated an extensive reform program, which included a democratic constitution that alarmed reactionary factions in Poland and in Russia. Using the danger of radicalism as an excuse, the same three powers abrogated the constitution and in 1793 again stripped Poland of territory. This time Russia obtained most of Belarus and Ukraine west of the Dnieper river. The 1793 partition led to the Kościuszko Uprising in Poland, which ended with the third partition in 1795. As a result, Poland disappeared from the international political map. Russia acquired territories in Lithuania and Courland in the third partition.

Although the partitioning of Poland greatly added to Russia's territory and prestige, it also created new difficulties. Having lost Poland as a buffer, Russia now had to share borders with both Prussia and Austria. In addition, the empire became more ethnically heterogeneous as it absorbed large numbers of Poles, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Lithuanians, and Jews. The fate of the Ukrainians and Belarusians, who primarily worked as serfs, changed little at first under Russian rule. Roman Catholic Poles resented their loss of independence, however, and proved difficult to control, staging several uprisings against the occupation. Russia had barred Jews from the empire in 1742 and viewed them as an alien population. A decree of January 3, 1792, formally initiated the Pale of Settlement, which permitted Jews to live only in the western part of the empire, thereby setting the stage for anti-Jewish discrimination in later periods. At the same time, Russia abolished the autonomy of Ukraine east of the Dnieper, the Baltic provinces, and various Cossack territories. With her emphasis on a uniformly administered empire, Catherine presaged the policy of Russification that later tsars and their successors would practice.

Historians have debated Catherine's sincerity as an enlightened monarch, but few have doubted that she believed in government activism aimed at developing the empire's resources, creating an educated elite, and reforming administration. Initially, Catherine attempted to rationalize government procedures through law. In 1767, she created the Legislative Commission, drawn from nobles, townsmen, and others, to codify Russia's laws. Although the commission did not formulate a new law code, Catherine's Instruction to the Commission introduced modern legal principles. It would also form the basis for Catherine's later legal codes, including the Statue of Administration of the Provinces (1775), the Salt Trade Code and the Code of Commercial Navigation (1781), the Police Ordnance (1782), and the Statue of Education (1786).

During the 1768-1774 war with the Ottoman Empire, Russia experienced a major social upheaval, the Pugachev Uprising. In 1773, a Don Cossack, Emel'yan Pugachev, declared himself as the re-emergent tsar Peter III. Other Cossacks, various Turkic tribes that felt the impingement of the Russian centralizing state, and industrial workers in the Ural Mountains, as well as peasants hoping to escape serfdom, all joined in the rebellion. Russia's preoccupation with the war enabled Pugachev to take control of a part of the Volga area, but the regular army crushed the rebellion in 1774.

The Pugachev Uprising bolstered Catherine's determination to reorganize Russia's provincial administration. In 1775, she divided Russia into provinces and districts according to population statistics. She then gave each province an expanded administrative, police, and judicial apparatus. Nobles no longer had to serve the central government, as the law had required since Peter the Great's time, and many of them received significant roles in administering provincial governments.

Catherine also attempted to organize society into well-defined social groups, or estates. In 1785, she issued charters to nobles and townsmen. The Charter to the Nobility confirmed the liberation of the nobles from compulsory service and gave them personal rights that not even the autocracy could infringe. The Charter to the Towns that established self-government of the towns proved complicated and ultimately less successful than the one issued to the nobles.

The modernization of Russia continued during Catherine's reign. An increase in the number of books and periodicals also brought forth intellectual debates and social criticism of the Russian Enlightenment. In 1790, Aleksandr Nikolaevich Radishchev published his Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow, a fierce attack on serfdom and on the autocracy. Catherine, already frightened by the French Revolution, had Radishchev arrested and banished to Siberia. Radishchev later gained recognition as the father of Russian radicalism. In accordance with the treaty Russia had signed with the Georgians to protect them against any new invasion of their Persian suzerains and further political aspirations, Catherine waged a new war against Persia in 1796 after they had again invaded Georgia and established rule over it about a year prior and expelled the newly established Russian garrisons in the Caucasus.

Catherine brought many of the policies of Peter the Great to fruition and set the foundation for the 19th century empire. Russia became a power capable of competing with its European neighbors in the military, political, and diplomatic spheres. Russia's elite became culturally more like the elites of Central and West European countries. The organization of society and the government system, from Peter the Great's central institutions to Catherine's provincial administration, remained basically unchanged until the emancipation of the serfs in 1861 and, in some respects, until the fall of the monarchy in 1917. Catherine's push to the south, including the establishment of Odessa as a Russian port on the Black Sea, provided the basis for Russia's nineteenth-century grain trade.

During the early nineteenth century, Russia's population, resources, international diplomacy, and military forces made it one of the most powerful states in the world. Its power enabled it to play an increasingly assertive role in Europe's affairs. This role drew the empire into a series of wars against Napoleon, which had far-reaching consequences for Russia and the rest of Europe.

Internally, Russia's population had grown more diverse with each territorial acquisition. The population included Lutheran Finns, Baltic Germans, Estonians, and some Latvians; Roman Catholic Lithuanians, Poles, and some Latvians; Orthodox and Uniate Belarusians and Ukrainians; Muslim peoples along the empire's southern border and in the East; Orthodox Greeks and Georgians; and members of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Daily life during Catherine the Great’s reign
Daily life in Catherine the Great's Russia was highly stratified, with huge divisions existing between the nobles and the peasantry. Few qualities bind the classes together besides the climate, and different social castes experienced the Russian lifestyle in vastly dissimilar ways.

Nobles
Despite popular perception, a small estate owner often led a boring and primitive life. The owner had few pursuits to distract him besides maintaining relationships with neighbors, religious and family obligations, and hunting, all of which made for a dull existence in the interim. Palaces did not feature privies during Catherine's time, greatly inconveniencing the inhabitants of these abodes.

However, the most fortunate nobles enjoyed lifestyles of great luxury and refinement. They often had elaborate palaces staffed by squadrons of servants, and many of these majestic homes still stand in St. Petersburg today. The government often dictated minor details of life for the nobles; the table of ranks set up during the era of Peter the Great determined the number of horses and the type of carriage a person could use—a first rank man could have six horses and a carriage while a merchant could only have one horse and a coach. Catherine also mandated clothing styles such as the colors of threads and fabrics allotted only to a specific social class—nobles alone could wear gold and silver thread, for example. The wealthy and well educated garnered vast libraries, demonstrating their great opulence and worldliness.

Nobles often navigated around or influenced the legal system to suit themselves. A noble had the advantageous privilege of the freedom not to serve in the military, and in the event that he did choose to serve, he was given special treatment when being considered for higher positions. The government told army colonels to give young nobles preference over non-nobles when promoting soldiers to higher ranks, regardless of the quality of the man in question, though several members of the highest class went further, contending that commoners should not even be allowed to become officers. The upper class also believed—and often proposed—that they should be exempt from corporal and capital punishment and instead be charged with fines when convicted of crimes. The nobles even demanded different laws regarding property inheritance after death so that they would not be required to divide land between all of their children. All of these scenarios demonstrate the authority the nobles had in the government during Catherine's reign.

Peasants and serfs
The lower classes led a far less engaging and enjoyable life. Daily existence was difficult for peasants and serfs, who were at the mercy of their masters at all times. They could not escape poverty and difficult working conditions, especially given the poor quality of the farmland throughout much of Russia. Scarcity almost always occurred on farms because of the cold climate, during which animals could not be let outside. The long winters thus resulted in a short growing season.

As a result of the country's poorly developed agricultural system, the peasant diet was high in meat, fish, milk, and butter products, with bread and grains less crucial, except in especially indigent areas. The dominance of the Orthodox Church also further affected food consumption since the church often ordered that fasts be religiously observed on up to 200 days a year. Critics believe that due to the village structure of cultivation and land assignment, the evolution of agriculture was impeded for Russia.

Since the soil was often cold and difficult to farm, especially in the central and northeastern parts of Russia, many peasants went into other trades to support themselves. Many departed their towns for industrial enterprises like manufacturing or to get jobs as drivers, porters, carriers, or servants. The cottage industry also thrived during this period, and many peasants turned to methods other than farming to make a living.

In addition to the struggle to eat and survive, peasant serfs faced several other difficulties. In many ways, serfdom resembled North American slavery except that serfs belonged to the same race and religion as those who ruled over them and were bound to serfdom by their society's lack of social mobility rather than by some perceived inferiority inherent in serfs. Serfs also lacked the ability to buy their own freedoms for a fixed sum as slaves in some countries in South America could, which made their situations inescapable except in the rare instances where an owner agreed to release a serf from his duties, which occasionally occurred when a household master died. Serfs could also escape their plights if they survived twenty-five years of service in the armed forces. But in general, laws tied serfs to their masters for life and caused them to suffer under an owner's rule. The most harrowing part of the experience was the lack of rights given to a serf, whether he was a peasant, entrepreneur, or member of the serf intelligentsia. His state was one of constant vulnerability; a bad season farming his land could bring famine and its related difficulties to his family, and he was always at the mercy of a master who could switch from benevolent to vicious at any moment. One's stability was constantly threatened: a serf's family could be removed from their land, sold away, or raped by their owner. The serf could be conscripted for the army, sent to Siberia, punished viciously without cause or proof of guilt, beaten, or even killed.

Despite the undeniable unpleasantness of peasant and serf life, it was comparatively less adverse than the existence of a commoner elsewhere. If they lived in areas with fertile land, Russian peasants led better lives than their French counterparts, who were heavily taxed while Catherine's government reduced taxes in the last quarter of the eighteenth century, and unlike the Irish, English, and French, Russians were entitled to land to farm due to the Board of communal structure of the townships. Furthermore, due to a steady balance between population and resources during Catherine's reign, the peasants of the late eighteenth century fared better than their nineteenth century counterparts. Masters also sometimes utilized the musical skills of their peasant serfs to entertain their guests or to play in orchestras for private balls and plays since many serfs played instruments. Peasants, while not leading a life of great luxury, could at least support themselves and their families.

See also
 Ambassadors and envoys from Russia to Poland (1763–1794)

References

Geography, topical maps
 Barnes, Ian. Restless Empire: A Historical Atlas of Russia (2015), copies of historic maps
 Catchpole, Brian. A Map History of Russia (Heinemann Educational Publishers, 1974), new topical maps.
 Channon, John, and Robert Hudson. The Penguin historical atlas of Russia (Viking, 1995), new topical maps.
 Chew, Allen F. An atlas of Russian history: eleven centuries of changing borders (Yale UP, 1970), new topical maps.
 Gilbert, Martin. Atlas of Russian history (Oxford UP, 1993), new topical maps.
 The first draft of this article was taken with little editing from the Library of Congress Federal Research Division's Country Studies series. As their home page at http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html says, "Information contained in the Country Studies On-Line is not copyrighted and thus is available for free and unrestricted use by researchers. As a courtesy, however, appropriate credit should be given to the series." Please leave this statement intact so that credit can be given.

*1721
*1721
*1721


Albert Einstein (album)

Albert Einstein is the second collaborative studio album by American hip hop recording artist Prodigy of Mobb Deep and American record producer The Alchemist. The album was released on June 11, 2013, by Infamous Records. The album features guest appearances from Roc Marciano, Domo Genesis, The Alchemist, Havoc, Raekwon and Action Bronson.

Background
On November 27, 2012 Prodigy announced an upcoming collaboration album with producer The Alchemist via his Twitter account, along with the title of Albert Einstein. He also would say the album was scheduled for an early 2013 release. It would be their second collaboration album after 2007's Return of the Mac. In November 2012, when speaking about the album with Complex Prodigy described it as a concept album.</blockquote>

On April 7, 2013 The Alchemist revealed via Twitter that the album had been completed. Then on April 12, 2013, the album's official track listing was revealed. The album contains 16 tracks and features guest appearances  by Roc Marciano, Domo Genesis, Havoc, Raekwon, and Action Bronson.

Release and promotion
The first single, "Give Em Hell" was released on January 28, 2013 via Prodigy's SoundCloud page. The song features vocals by Prodigy and was produced by The Alchemist. The album was originally scheduled to be released on May 14, 2013, but Amazon.com would later reveal a release date for the album of June 11, 2013. The second song released in promotion of the album would be "Dough Pildin" on May 12, 2013. On June 4, 2013, the music video was released for "Y.N.T." featuring Domo Genesis. The music video for "Dough Pildin" was released on June 17, 2013. On June 25, 2013, the music video was released for "Give Em Hell". On February 3, 2014, the music video was released for "IMDKV".

Critical response

Albert Einstein was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 73, based on 7 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Reed Jackson of XXL gave the album an L, saying "It’s the type of rough and witty realism people loved from P in the ’90s, and hopefully it’s here to stay for projects to come." Logan Smithson of PopMatters gave the album a seven out of ten, saying "Albert Einstein has plenty of memorable beats, but the lyrics don’t match that same level of success. You might not be blown away by the album, but Prodigy and Alchemist have put together a highly enjoyable album." Jaroslav Lavick of RapReviews gave the album an 8.5 out of ten, saying "This album is Prodigy and Alchemist giving long time fans exactly what they want."

Peter Marrack of Exclaim! gave the album a six out of ten, saying "He's casual, not always sincere, but dangerously convincing; his bars haven't faltered since his early Mobb Deep days and Einstein is no exception." Nate Patrin of Pitchfork Media gave the album an 8.2 out of 10, saying "Albert Einstein is so casually visceral and immediately gettable that it feels like a recent high point for both of them." Jesse Fairfax of HipHopDX gave the album three and a half stars out of five, saying "Sharing his first name with the famed genius, Prodigy breaks his advanced expertise down to a science on Albert Einstein. Prodigy continues his largely consistent reign as a still thriving pioneer of New York’s once thugged-out era." Matthew Sanderson of AllHipHop gave the album an eight out of ten, saying "This album is for the fans of the original Mobb sound of the late 90s. For the most part sick signature Alchemist beats, with the addition of some new sounds that are just right."

Commercial performance
The album debuted at number 175 on the Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 3,000 copies in the United States.

Track listing
All songs solely produced by The Alchemist except track 13, co-produced by Adrian Younge.

Personnel
Credits for Albert Einstein adapted from Allmusic.

Action Bronson – Featured Artist
Alan Daniel 'The Alchemist' Maman  – Featured Artist, Primary Artist, Engineer, Executive Producer, Producer
Mark B. Christensen – Mastering
Domo Genesis – Featured Artist
Havoc – Featured Artist
Albert "Prodigy" Johnson – Primary Artist, Executive Producer
Roc Marciano – Featured Artist
Raekwon – Featured Artist
Dom Rinaldi – Cover Art
Eddie Sancho – Mixing
Joe "Average Joe" Patrello - Engineer
BaJa Ukweli – Layout Design
Adrian Younge – Producer
Nacor Zuluaga – Assistant

References

Category:2013 albums
Category:Prodigy (rapper) albums
Category:Albums produced by The Alchemist (musician)
Category:Collaborative albums


Lou Romano

Lou Romano (born April 15, 1972) is an American animator and voice actor. He did design work on Monsters, Inc. and The Incredibles, and he provided the voices of Bernie Kropp in The Incredibles, Snot Rod in Cars and Alfredo Linguini in Ratatouille.

Romano had an interest in drawing and painting at an early age and studied theater arts, performing in plays throughout junior high and high school. He studied acting at the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA). After graduating in 1990 he studied animation at the California Institute of the Arts. He then completed workshops at The Groundlings in Los Angeles. He later went on to work as an art director and designer for animated projects, such as The Powerpuff Girls and The Iron Giant.

In 2000, Romano joined Pixar as the production designer of The Incredibles, for which he won an Annie Award in 2005. His artwork has been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art and the Gallery at The Metropolitan Opera in New York City and has been published on the cover of The New Yorker. In 2009, Romano left Pixar to work at Laika in Portland, Oregon. Lou and his wife reside in the Bay Area.

Filmography
Samurai Jack (2017) - Layout Keys
 Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) - Concept Artist
The Little Prince (2016) - Production Designer
The Boxtrolls (2014) - Additional Character Designer
Paperman (2012) - Visual Development Artist
ParaNorman (2012) - Thanks
Kinect Rush: A Disney-Pixar Adventure (2012) - voice of Alfredo Linguini
Up (2009) - Art Director: Lighting
Your Friend the Rat (2007) - voice of Alfredo Linguini
Ratatouille (2007) - voice of Alfredo Linguini
Wilbur (2007-2008) - Ramoni, Ray (singing)
Cars (2006) - voice of Snot Rod
Jack-Jack Attack (2005) - Art Director: Lighting
The Incredibles (2004) - Production Designer, voice of Bernie Kropp
Boys Night Out (2003) - Voice
Monkeybone (2001) - Cop/Psycharist
Monsters, Inc. (2001) - Visual Development
The Trouble with Lou (2001) - Lou/Ciro Romano
Herd (1999) - Bible Boy #1
The Iron Giant (1999) - Visual Development
The Powerpuff Girls (1998) - Background Color Designer, Storyboard Artist
Cats Don't Dance (1997) - Effects Assistant
Dexter's Laboratory (1996) - Storyboard Artist
The Pagemaster (1994) - Effects Assistant
Whoopass Stew! (1992) - Amoeba Boys

References

External links

 Lou Romano's Blog

Category:Living people
Category:1972 births
Category:Artists from San Diego
Category:American animators
Category:American art directors
Category:American male voice actors
Category:American production designers
Category:American storyboard artists
Category:Annie Award winners
Category:California Institute of the Arts alumni
Category:Male actors from San Diego
Category:Pixar people
Category:Laika people


Galliena

Galliena is a monotypic genus of Southeast Asian araneomorph spiders in the Cycloctenidae family containing the single species, Galliena montigena. It was first described by Eugène Simon in 1898, and has only been found in Indonesia.

References

Category:Cycloctenidae
Category:Monotypic Araneomorphae genera
Category:Spiders described in 1898
Category:Spiders of Asia
Category:Taxa named by Eugène Simon


Rio Grande (Paraná River)

Rio Grande (Portuguese for "great river") is a river in south-central Brazil. It rises in the Mantiqueira Mountains in the state of Minas Gerais and descends inland, west-northwestward. Its lower course marks a portion of the Minas Gerais-São Paulo border.  At the Mato Grosso do Sul state border, after a course of , it joins the Paranaíba River to form the Upper Paraná River.

Major tributaries of the Rio Grande are:
 Rio Aiuruoca, whose source is in Itamonte;
 Rio das Mortes, whose source lies between Barbacena and Senhora dos Remédios;
 Rio Jacaré, whose source is in the Serra do Galba;
 Rio Sapucaí, whose source is in the Mantiqueira Mountains in São Paulo;
 Rio Pardo, whose source is in Ipuiúna.

The basin of the Rio Grande belongs to the Paraná River basin. It has a total area of , of which  are located within Minas Gerais, which is equivalent to 17.8% of the state territory. The basin of the Rio Grande is responsible for about 67% of all energy generated in the state.

The Grande is interrupted by several dams and reservoirs; in the upper Grande the river forms Furnas Dam, then Peixotos Dam, and downstream, Luiz Barreto Dam, Jaguara Dam, Volta Grande Dam, Marimbondo Dam and Água Vermelha Dam.

The river plays a major role in production of electricity and, due to rapids and waterfalls, and absence of locks, is only navigable by small craft in limited stretches. However the Estrada de Ferro Oeste de Minas (a narrow gauge railway) operated a passenger and freight steam navigation service between 1889 and 1963. The EFOM met the Rio Grande at Ribeirão Vermelho, from where the service ran down the river for , as far as Capetina. There were six stations on the river between Ribeirão Vermelho and Capetinga, and the railway operated a fleet of 6 stern-wheel paddle steamers, together with barges and launches. The service was halted by the completion of the Furnas Dam.

See also
Luiz Barreto (Estreito) Dam
Marimbondo Dam
Água Vermelha Dam
Furnas Dam
Parana River steamers

References

External links
 Rio Grande at Wikimapia, Google terrain view, centered on the site of the photo above

Category:Rivers of Mato Grosso do Sul
Category:Tributaries of the Paraná River
Category:Rivers of São Paulo (state)
Category:Rivers of Minas Gerais


Hannah-Oke

Hannah-Oke is a British karaoke game show based on the hit TV series Hannah Montana that premiered on Disney Channel UK on 15 May 2009 and airs every week at 6pm.

The show sees six families from across the UK putting their singing abilities and Hannah song knowledge to the test in a series of challenges and karaoke sing-offs in front of a studio audience and panel of judges. The panel consists of Disney Channel UK star Brad Kavanagh, Pop Idol participant Nicki Chapman and Dancing on Ice participant Jason Gardiner. The audience then votes for the winning family, who will go through to the final. In the event of a tie-break, the judges vote and the family with the most votes goes through. The three final families then go head-to-head for the title of Hannah-Oke Champion 2009. The winning family receives a trip to Disneyland Paris, a karaoke machine, a Hannah Montana singstar game and a gold disk signed by Miley Cyrus.

Format
There are a variety of activities throughout the show.

The first activity is a sing-off where both families each sing a line of a Hannah Montana song.
The judges pick one solo star to sing on their own, who go backstage to get vocal lessons.

There is a second activity for the other families while the solo stars are having vocal lessons. Each family dances the "Hoedown Throwdown" from Hannah Montana: The Movie with Billy Ray Cyrus shouting out the moves, but when he says something that isn't one of the moves, the audience shouts "Silly Billy".

The songs sung by the soloists on each episode are:

 Episode 1: "Butterfly Fly Away"
 Episode 2: "The Climb"
 Episode 3: "The Climb"

After this, the audience votes for the winning family, by holding up red or blue cards. In the event of a tie, the judges each vote for the families, and the family with the most votes goes through to the final.

Every episode finishes with both families, and Duncan James and Konnie Huq, singing "Best of Both Worlds".

Hannah-Oke 2009 was won by the Williams family (the blue team), who won the signed Miley Cyrus gold disk and the family trip to Paris.

References

Category:Disney Channel UK and Ireland shows


Thomas Bennett (MP for Hindon)

Thomas Bennett (1620 – 1644) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons  from 1641 to 1644.

Bennett was the son of Thomas Bennett, of Pythouse, Wiltshire. He matriculated at Hart Hall, Oxford on 13 October  1637 aged 17.

In 1641, Bennett was elected Member of Parliament for Hindon in the Long Parliament. He was disabled from sitting in 1644 and died in the same year.

Bennet was probably the father of Thomas Bennett,  MP for Shaftesbury.

References

Category:1620 births
Category:1644 deaths
Category:English MPs 1640–1648
Category:People of the Stuart period


Content rating

A content rating (also known as maturity rating) rates the suitability of TV broadcasts, movies, comic books, or video games to its audience. A content rating usually places a media source into one of a number of different categories, which tell what age group is suitable to view said media. The individual categories include the stated age groups within the category, along with all ages greater than the ages of that category.__NOTOC__

See also

Film
 Motion picture content rating system
 MPAA film rating system
 Canadian Home Video Rating System
 Maritime Film Classification Board
 British Board Of Film Classification

Television
 Television content rating system
 Federal Communications Commission
 TV Parental Guidelines

Video games
 Video game content rating system
 Entertainment Software Rating Board
 Videogame Rating Council
 Pan European Game Information
 Computer Entertainment Rating Organization
 On Protecting Children from Information Harmful to Their Health and Development (Russia)

Internet
 Content-control software
 Internet Content Rating Association
 Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection – RTA "Restricted to Adults" label
 Platform for Internet Content Selection
 Internet Watch Foundation – maintains a website blacklist

Comics
 Comics Code Authority
 Marvel Rating System
 DC Comics rating system
 Viz Media Manga distribution rating system
 Tokyopop American Manga rating system
 Image Comics rating system

Music
 RIAA's Parental Advisory (Explicit Content rating)

Legal Means of content regulation and prohibition
 United States obscenity law
 Communications Decency Act
 Miller test
 Dost test

Various
 Brazilian advisory rating system
 Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons (Germany)

References

Category:Broad-concept articles


Sucha Wielka

Sucha Wielka  is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Zawonia, within Trzebnica County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. Prior to 1945 it was in Germany.

It lies approximately  west of Zawonia,  east of Trzebnica, and  north of the regional capital Wrocław.

References

Sucha Wielka


Ovidiu Cuc

Ovidiu Lucian Cuc  (born 14 January 1973) is a Romanian retired professional football player.

Aside from playing in his native home of Romania, Cuc played the majority of his career abroad, most notably in Portugal where he played for Chaves, Santa Clara, Gil Vicente, Famalicão and Ataense.

Cuc was part of the Romanian under-16 national team who played in the 1989 UEFA European Under-16 Championship.

Honours

Club
Mérida
Segunda División: 1994–95

References

External links

 Stats and profile at Zerozero

Category:1973 births
Category:Living people
Category:Sportspeople from Timișoara
Category:Romanian footballers
Category:Association football forwards
Category:Liga I players
Category:FC Politehnica Timișoara players
Category:CP Mérida footballers
Category:CA Marbella footballers
Category:Segunda División players
Category:Primeira Liga players
Category:G.D. Chaves players
Category:LigaPro players
Category:C.D. Santa Clara players
Category:Gil Vicente F.C. players
Category:Israeli Premier League players
Category:F.C. Ashdod players
Category:Liga II players
Category:Romania youth international footballers
Category:Romanian expatriate footballers
Category:Expatriate footballers in Spain
Category:Expatriate footballers in Portugal
Category:Expatriate footballers in Israel
Category:Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Spain
Category:Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal
Category:Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Israel


2003 MPSL season

The 2003 Men's Premier Soccer League season was the inaugural season of the MPSL.

Arizona Sahuaros finished the season as national champions, beating Utah Salt Ratz in the MPSL Championship game

Three of the teams who contested the first season - Arizona Sahuaros, Chico Rooks and Northern Nevada Aces - previously competed in the United Soccer Leagues, but left to form the breakaway MPSL in protest at the way the USL was being run.

Final standings
Purple indicates regular season title clinched
Green indicates playoff berth clinched

* Chico Rooks played only 14 league games as they represented the MPSL In the USASA National Cup.

Playoffs

Semi-Finals

Championship

Overtime Note:  2 ten minute periods with Golden Goal. PK's if still tied.

References
 US soccer history archives for 2003

2003
4


1st Space Surveillance Squadron

The United States Air Force's  1st Space Surveillance Squadron (1 SSS) was a space surveillance unit located at Griffiss AFB, New York.

Mission
The mission of the 1 SSS was to operate the Low Altitude Space Surveillance (LASS) system to gather space intelligence and track space systems in near-Earth orbits.  The LASS operation supported USAF space intelligence requirements, while being assisted by the 18th Intelligence Squadron's Det 1 for SIGINT support. This coverage augmented worldwide coverage of space signals activities at similarly equipped sites at Misawa AB, Japan, Osan AB, Republic of Korea and at RAF Feltwell and RAF Edzell in the United Kingdom.

History
Due to the creation of mobile versions of the space surveillance systems in 1992 and the BRAC decision regarding Griffiss AFB, AFSPC inactivated the 1 SSS during 1995, distributing surveillance mission requirements to other units.  The equipment held at the Verona Test Annex, N.Y. was also distributed to units with similar capabilities.

Lineage
 Constituted as the 1st Deep Space Surveillance Squadron on 10 February 1989
 Activated on 1 April 1989
 Redesignated 1st Surveillance Squadron on 1 May 1990
 Redesignated 1st Space Surveillance Squadron on 15 May 1992
 Inaxtivated on 30 September 1995

Assignments
 73d Space Surveillance Group (later 73d Space Group), 1 April 1989
 21st Operations Group, 26 April 1995 – 30 September 1995)

Stations
 Verona Test Annex, New York, 1 April 1989 – 30 September 1995

Commanders
Jun 1993 – Jun 1995, Lt Col Stephen L. Lanning
Aug 1992 – Jun 1993, Lt Col Michael Peterson

Equipment Operated
Low Altitude Space Surveillance System (1989–1995)

See also
3d Space Experimentation Squadron
5th Space Surveillance Squadron
18th Intelligence Squadron
Griffiss Air Force Base, New York

References
 Notes

 Citations

Bibliography

External links
Peterson AFB: 21st Space Wing homepage

Category:Military units and formations in New York (state)
Space Surveillance 0001


Elizabeth Jane Howard

Elizabeth Jane Howard, CBE, FRSL (26 March 1923 – 2 January 2014), was an English novelist, author of 12 novels including the best-selling series The Cazalet Chronicles.

Career
Howard worked briefly as an actress in provincial repertory and occasionally as a model before her writing career, which began in 1947.

Howard's first novel, The Beautiful Visit (1950), described as "distinctive, self- assured and remarkably sensual", won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize in 1951 for best novel by a writer under 30. She next collaborated with Robert Aickman, writing three of the six short stories in the collection We Are for the Dark (1951).

Her second novel, The Long View (1956), describes a marriage in reverse chronology; Angela Lambert remarked, "Why The Long View isn't recognised as one of the great novels of the 20th century I will never know." Five further novels followed before she embarked on her best known work, the Cazalet Chronicles, at the suggestion of her stepson Martin Amis.

The Chronicles were a family saga "about the ways in which English life changed during the war years, particularly for women." They follow three generations of a middle-class English family and draw heavily on Howard's own life and memories. The first four volumes, The Light Years, Marking Time, Confusion, and Casting Off, were published from 1990 to 1995. The fifth, All Change, was written in just a year and published in 2013; it was her final novel. Millions of copies of the Cazalet Chronicles were sold worldwide.

The Light Years and Marking Time were serialised by Cinema Verity for BBC Television as The Cazalets in 2001. A BBC Radio 4 version in 45 episodes was also broadcast from 2012.

Howard wrote the screenplay for the 1989 movie Getting It Right, directed by Randal Kleiser, based on her 1982 novel of the same name, as well as TV scripts for Upstairs, Downstairs.

She also wrote a book of short stories, Mr. Wrong (1975), and edited two anthologies, including The Lover's Companion (1978).

Personal life
Howard's parents were David Liddon Howard (1896–1958), a timber merchant, and Katharine Margaret ('Kit') Somervell (1895–1975), a dancer with Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes and daughter of the composer Sir Arthur Somervell. One of her brothers, Colin, lived with her and her third husband, Sir Kingsley Amis, for 17 years. She was educated at Francis Holland School and studied domestic science and drama at Ebury Street, London.

Howard married Peter Scott in 1942, at age 19, and they had a daughter, Nicola (born 1943). Howard left Scott in 1946 to become a writer, and they were divorced in 1951. At this time she was employed as part-time secretary to the pioneering canals conservation organisation the Inland Waterways Association, where she met and collaborated with Robert Aickman. She had an affair with Aickman, described in her autobiography Slipstream (2002).

Her second marriage, to Australian broadcaster Jim Douglas-Henry in 1958, was brief. Her third marriage, to novelist Kingsley Amis, whom she met while organising the Cheltenham Literary Festival, lasted from 1965 to 1983; for part of that time, 1968–1976, they lived at Lemmons, a Georgian house in Barnet, where Howard wrote Something in Disguise (1969). Her stepson, Martin Amis, has credited her with encouraging him to become a more serious reader and writer.

In later life, she lived in Bungay, Suffolk, and was appointed CBE in 2000. She died at home on 2 January 2014, aged 90.

Works
 Winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
 (a collection containing three stories by Howard and three by Robert Aickman)

 (contains the three stories included in We Are for the Dark, plus Mr Wrong)

Autobiography and biographies
Howard's autobiography, Slipstream, was published in 2002. A biography, entitled Elizabeth Jane Howard: A Dangerous Innocence by Artemis Cooper, was published by John Murray in 2017. A reviewer said it was "strongest in the case it makes for the virtues of Howard's fiction".

References

Further reading

 Elizabeth Jane Howard: Overview, Orlando (website), Cambridge University Press, accessed 1 November 2010, archived by WebCite on 31 October 2010.
 "Elizabeth Jane Howard", BBC Radio 4, 29 October 2002, accessed 1 November 2010.
 Millard, Rosie. "The beauty and the psycho", The Times, 12 October 2008, accessed 1 November 2010.

External links

Elizabeth Jane Howard on Desert Island Discs

Category:1923 births
Category:2014 deaths
Category:Amis family
Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Category:English women novelists
Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature
Category:John Llewellyn Rhys Prize winners
Category:Writers from London
Category:Disease-related deaths in England
Category:English autobiographers
Category:Waterways campaigners of the United Kingdom
Category:20th-century English novelists
Category:20th-century British women writers
Category:Scott family (conservationists)


Certificate of Use of Language in Spanish

The Certificate of Use of Language in Spanish, or CELU (Spanish: Certificado de Español: Lengua y Uso), is an exam designed to determine the level of proficiency in the Argentinian Spanish language. The exam can be taken by anyone whose mother language is not Spanish and needs to demonstrate he has a certain level of proficiency of the language, whether it is for working or studying, in Spanish-speaking countries. The exam is required by universities in Argentina for foreigners and it is also accepted as a valid exam in Brazil and China.

Candidates
Any person whose mother language is not Spanish can take this exam. They must be at least 16 years of age and certify a minimum three years of high school education (EGB III according to the current educational system in Argentina, roughly someone who has just passed to the 12th grade in the American system).

Passing the exam fulfills the language requirements for studying or working in Argentina where knowledge of Spanish is a requirement.

Grading
There are two "pass" grades, either "Intermediate" or "Advanced" level, awarded to candidates who achieve these grades. Candidates who do not pass are not given a grade. Both grades reflect how proficient the person is in the use of Spanish as a foreign language, especially in dealing with everyday situations and work related or academic issues.

This exam is aimed at certifying a certain level of command of the language, therefore, regardless of the regional variation a candidate may know, they will be able to understand the situations to be dealt with in the exam.

Acceptance
The CELU is recognized as a certificate which demonstrates a persons knowledge of the Spanish language in:
 Argentina
 Brazil
 China
 Italy

Parts of the Exam

Dates
Exams are taken in June and November. Application is opened three months prior to the examination dates and remains open for about one month.

Exam venues
In Argentina:

Buenos Aires
Córdoba
La Pampa
La Plata
Mar del Plata
Quilmes
Río Cuarto
San Luis
San Martín
Santa Fe
Tandil
San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca

In Brazil:

Brasília
Campinas
Curitiba
Rio de Janeiro
São Paulo
Porto Alegre
Santa Maria

In Germany:
Berlin
In  France:
Paris
In  Russia:
Moscow

University Consortium for the Evaluation of Knowledge and Use of Spanish as a Second Language
The following Universities are currently part of the Consortium:

Universidad de Buenos Aires
Universidad Nacional de Catamarca
Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires
Universidad Nacional del Comahue
Universidad Nacional de Córdoba
Universidad Nacional de La Pampa
Universidad Nacional de La Plata
Universidad Nacional del Litoral
Universidad de Lomas de Zamora
Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata
Universidad Nacional de Quilmes
Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto
Universidad Nacional de Río Negro
Universidad Nacional de San Luis
Universidad Nacional de General San Martín
Universidad Nacional de Villa María

See also
 Spanish as a Second Language

External links
 CELU Official Website
Nota publicada en Clarín el 15 de noviembre de 2004
Nota publicada en La Nación el 14 de febrero de 2006
Nota publicada en La Nación el 6 de abril de 2004

Category:Spanish language tests
Category:Education in Argentina
Category:Spanish as a second or foreign language


David Hanson (robotics designer)

David Hanson Jr. is an American roboticist who is the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Hanson Robotics, a Hong Kong-based robotics company founded in 2013.

The designer and researcher creates human-looking robots who have realistic facial expressions.

He is mainly known for Hanson Robotics, the company that created Sophia and other robots designed to mimic human behavior. Sophia has received widespread media attention, and was the first robot to be granted citizenship.

Early life and education
Hanson was born in on December 20, 1969 in Dallas, Texas, United States. He studied at Highland Park High School for his senior year to focus on math and science. As a teenager, Hanson’s hobbies included drawing and reading science fiction works by writers like Isaac Asimov and Philip K. Dick—the latter of whom he would later replicate in android form.

Hanson has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design in film/animation/video, and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Dallas in interactive arts and engineering. In 1995 as part of an independent-study project on out-of-body experiences, he built a humanoid head in his own likeness, operated by a remote operator.

Hanson’s dissertation was entitled Development of an Advanced Respirator Fit-Test Headform.

Career
Hanson’s career has focused on creating humanlike robots. Hanson's most well-known creation is Sophia, the world's first ever robot citizen.

In 2004 at a Denver American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) conference, Hanson presented K-Bot, a robotic head created with polymer skin, finely sculpted features, and big blue eyes. Named after his lab assistant Kristen Nelson, the robot head had 24 servomotors for realistic movement and cameras in its eyes. At the time he was 33 years old and a graduate student at the University of Texas Dallas.

After he graduated from university, Hanson worked as an artist, and went on to work for Disney where he was a sculptor and material researcher in the Disney Imagineering Lab. He has worked as a designer, sculptor, and robotics developer for Universal Studios and MTV. In 2004, Hanson built the humanoid robot Hertz, a female presenting animated robot head that took about nine months to build.

Hanson is the founder and CEO of Hong Kong-based Hanson Robotics, which was founded in 2013.

Hanson has been published in materials science, artificial intelligence, cognitive science, and robotics journals.

Hanson argues precise human looks are a must if people are going to effectively communicate with robots. Hanson believes social humanoid robots have the potential to serve humanity in a variety of functions and helping roles, like tutor, companion, or security guard. He argues the realism of his work has the potential to pose "an identity challenge to the human being," and that realistic robots may polarize the market between those who love realistic robots and those who find them disturbing. Many of Hanson's creations currently serve at research or non-profit institutions around the world, including at  the University of Cambridge, University of Geneva, University of Pisa and in laboratories for cognitive science and AI research.

Hanson's creation Zeno, a two-foot tall robot designed in the style of a cartoon boy, provides treatment sessions to children with autism in Texas as a result of a collaboration between the University of Texas at Arlington, Dallas Autism Treatment Center, Texas Instruments and National Instruments, and Hanson.

Other robots include Albert Einstein HUBO, a robotic head designed to look like Albert Einstein's and put it on top of the "HUBO" bipedal robotic frame, and Professor Einstein, a 14.5 inch personal robot that engages in conversation and acts as a companion/tutor.

Hanson collaborated with musician David Byrne on Song for Julio, which appeared at the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid in 2008 as part of the  Máquinas&Almas (Souls&Machines) exhibit, and his creations have appeared in other museums around the world.

Educational institutions
From 2011 to 2013 Hanson was an Adjunct Professor of Computer Science and Engineering Teaching at the University of Texas at Arlington. He also taught in 2010 at the University of North Texas as an adjunct professor in fine arts, kinetic/interactive sculpture, and at the University of Texas at Dallas as an instructor of independent study in interactive sculpture.

Public and media appearances
Hanson has keynote speeches at leading international technology conferences such as the Consumer Electronics Show and IBC.

Additional media appearances:
 CNBC: World's first robot citizen is calling for women's rights in Saudi Arabia
 Fortune: Robot Developer Warns Artificial Intelligence Developments Could Lead to Catastrophe
 Business Insider, Meet Sophia, the world's first robot citizen
 The 2016 documentary film, Machine of Human Dreams

Publications

Books
 Humanizing Robots: How making humanoids can make us more human, Sep 2, 2017 by David Hanson
 The Coming Robot Revolution: Expectations and Fears About Emerging Intelligent, Humanlike Machines, Feb 27, 2009, by Yoseph Bar-Cohen and David Hanson
 Humanizing Interfaces-- an Integrative Analysis of HumanLike Robots: David Hanson's Doctoral Dissertation at the University of Texas at Dallas, Interactive ... and Engineering, Ph.D. received in 2007. Jun 4, 2017, by David Hanson

Papers
 Hanson, D., Mazzei, D., Garver, C., De Rossi, D., Stevenson, M., ”Realistic Humanlike Robots for Treatment of ASD, Social Training, and Research; Shown to Appeal to Youths with ASD, Cause Physiological Arousal, and Increase Human-to-Human Social Engagement”, PETRA (PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environment), 2012.
 Mazzei, D., Lazzeri, N., Hanson, D., De Rossi, D. “HEFES: An Hybrid Engine for Facial Expressions Synthesis to Control Human-Like Androids and Avatars”, The Fourth IEEE RAS/EMBS International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics, 2012.
 Bergman, M., Zhuang, Z., Palmiero, A., Wander, J., Heimbuch, B., McDonald, M., Hanson, D., “Development of an Advanced Respirator Fit Test Headform”, AIHce in Indianapolis, IN, 2012.
 Hanson D., Baurmann S., Riccio T., Margolin R., Dockins T., Tavares M., Carpenter, K., “Zeno: a Cognitive Character”, AI Magazine, and special Proc. of AAAI National Conference, Chicago, 2009.
 Tadesse, Yonas; Priya, Shashank; Stephanou, Harry; Popa, Dan. and Hanson, David “Piezoelectric actuation and sensing for Facial Robotics” Journal of Ferroelectrics, vol. 345, Issue1, pp.13–25, 2006 (12 pages).
 Hanson D., Bergs R., Tadesse Y., White V., Priya S. “Enhancement of EAP Actuated Facial Expressions by Designed Chamber Geometry in Elastomers”, Proc. SPIE‘s Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices Conf., 10TH Smart Structures and Materials Symposium, San Diego, USA, 2006.
 Hanson D. “Expanding the Aesthetics Possibilities for Humanlike Robots”, Proc. IEEE Humanoid Robotics Conference, special session on the Uncanny Valley; Tskuba, Japan, December 2005.
 Hanson D. “Bioinspired Robotics”, chapter 16 in the book Biomimetics, ed. Yoseph Bar- Cohen, CRC Press, October 2005.
 Hanson D., White V. “Converging the Capabilities of ElectroActive Polymer Artificial Muscles and the Requirements of Bio-inspired Robotics”, Proc. SPIE‘s Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices Conf., 10TH Smart Structures and Materials Symposium, San Diego, USA, 2004.
 Hanson D., “Chapter 18: Applications for Electrically Actuated Polymer Actuators,” in Electrically Actuated Polymer Actuators as Artificial Muscles, Bar-Cohen Y. (Ed.) SPIE PRESS, Washington, USA, Vol. PM98, 2nd ed. March 2004.
 Hanson, D. “Bio-inspired Facial Expression Interface for Emotive Robots”, Proc. AAAI National Conference in Edmonton, CA, 2002.
 Hanson D. and Pioggia G., “Entertainment Applications for Electrically Actuated Polymer Actuators,” Ch 18 of Electrically Actuated Polymer Actuators as Artificial Muscles, SPIE PRESS, Washington, USA, Vol. PM98, Ch. 18, 2001.

References

External links

Category:American sculptors
Category:American roboticists
Category:Rhode Island School of Design alumni
Category:University of North Texas alumni
Category:University of Texas at Dallas alumni
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:Living people


Moszczenica, Zgierz County

Moszczenica  is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Zgierz, within Zgierz County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. It lies approximately  north-east of Zgierz and  north of the regional capital Łódź.

The village has a population of 20.

References

Moszczenica


2014 Hong Kong class boycott campaign

The 2014 Hong Kong class boycott campaign, also known as 922 Class Boycott and 926 Class Boycott, is a student strike protesting the PRC Standing Committee of the National People's Congress's restriction on nomination system of the election of the Chief Executive in the 2016 and 2017 Hong Kong Political Reform. The campaign, jointly organised by the Hong Kong Federation of Students and Scholarism, was participated in by university students from 22 to 26 September and later also by secondary school students on 26 September. The student movement evolved into the 2014 Hong Kong protests in which several regions across the Victoria Harbour were occupied by pro-democracy protesters.

Background

On 31 August 2014, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) of the PRC announced its decision on the electoral reform: although universal suffrage was introduced, the Nominating Committee under the new framework would be inherited without change from the 1200-member Election Committee in the previous system. Hong Kong students were dissatisfied of the framework, feeling it is too conservative and restrictive. Two student groups, the Hong Kong Federation of Students (HKFS) and Scholarism, initiated a class boycott aimed at students in 24 higher education institutions and hundreds of secondary schools on 22 and 26 September respectively, to object the decision of the NPCSC and seek its accountability to citizens and students.

In July 2014, Alex Chow Yong-kang, Secretary-General of the HKFS, stated that if the NPCSC rejected civil nomination or maintained the current Nominating Committee structure, the HKFS would call for a class boycott in September 2014 in order to demonstrate the extent of civil discontent over the HKSAR government. When the decision of the NPCSC was announced, Alex Chow reiterated that the purpose of the class boycott is to call for all members of society in Hong Kong to reflect on how much they are willing to give for a better place to live in. A "Class Boycott Committee" was formed by faculty staff from 14 universities and 328 higher-education, while several alumni organisations issued a joint declaration in support of the class boycott. 108 academics agreed to hold "Seminar on Democracy" with the protesters between Tuesday and Friday. Some other student organisations went onto the streets to support the class boycott.

Scholarism organised a demonstration outside the Central Government Offices on 13 September 2014. Protesters wearing yellow ribbon and blind-folded with red cloth declared class boycott by secondary schools on 26 September to echo the wider class boycott movement. The fact that it tried to influence secondary school students to go on strike caused some resistance from society. In response to the criticisms, Scholarism held a number of meetings with secondary school parents to explain the motivation behind the event and urged students to seek agreement from parents before attending the boycott. It also appealed to students to attend forums discussing the electoral reform, organise concern groups on electoral reforms, distribute yellow ribbons and pamphlets outside schools, and set up booths on the streets. While Scholarism stated that several secondary schools were in support of the strike, it asked schools to respect the students' freedom to participate in political activities.

Chronology

22 September

University teachers and tertiary students across Hong Kong wearing white shirts and yellow ribbons gathered at the University Mall (百萬大道), Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). At 2:20 p.m., Alex Chow, the Secretary-General of the HKFS, officially declared the start of the class boycott. He questioned why the future of 7 million Hong Kong people was not determined by themselves, but by the 170 handpicked members of the NPCSC. He stated that students in higher education institution should shoulder the civil and social responsibilities of Hong Kong, and live up to the hope of society by solving the social crisis. He also stated that as long as the Chinese Government and tycoons monopolised Hong Kong politics, livelihood problems would remain unsolved. HKFS demanded the government to:
Establish civil nomination as a valid nomination method for the 2017 Chief Executive election;
Start to reform of the Legislative Council (LegCo), abolishing all functional constituency seats;
Make an official apology to the Hong Kong people, and withdraw the injustice resolution on the electoral reform;
Otherwise, principal officials responsible for the electoral reform including CY Leung, Carrie Lam, Rimsky Yuen and Raymond Tam should be held accountable and resign.

Yvonne Leung, the President of the Hong Kong University Students' Union, expressed that the class boycott might escalate into an indefinite protest, depending on the response from the Government. Teachers and students gave speeches one after another. At 5:30 p.m., organisers of the campaign invited academics to give lessons on civil issues to the participants, in order to put into practice "Boycott Classes, Continue Learning", including Choy Chi-Keung, Andrew To, Tam Chun-yin, Daisy Chan, Chow Po-chung and Bruce Lui etc.  The first day of the strike ended with a film shown at 7:00 p.m.  According to announcement made by HKFS, 13,000 people had joined the rally.

23–25 September
The Class Boycott campaign was moved to Tamar Park in Admiralty. 108 Scholars also responded to the call and started the Civic auditorium. On the second day of the boycott, HKFS held a rally at night and indicated about 2,000 people had attended. Alex Chow Yong-kang, the Secretary of HKFS, expressed that he was not disappointed with the number of participants since it was only the second day of the boycott.

On the fourth day of the boycott, HKFS had another rally and announced 5,000 people participated. More and more people joined the rally after the nightfall and almost filled the entire Tamar Park. After the end of rally at about 21:30, HKFS launched a march to the Government House without any applications of the notice of no objection from the police force. Along the march, there were slogans protesting NPC's restriction on the nomination and the Chief Executive, CY Leung, not answering the students before deadline. Before the march, HKFS reminded the march had not been approved and protesters might have the risk of being arrested. Citizens were able to forward their Chinese and English name and contact numbers to the organiser for assistance if being arrested.

26 September
The Class Boycott campaign was held on Tim Mei Avenue and the square outside the Legislative Council Complex, because an organisation applied to hold a celebration event of  65th anniversary of the People's Republic China at the Tamar Park. It is also the day on which Scholarism hosted the class boycott movement for secondary school students. Joshua Wong, leading activist of Scholarism, pronounced the boycott statement. It was followed by a lecture held by Benjamin Au Yeung Wai Hoo, Senior Lecturer from department of Chinese, Chinese University of Hong Kong. The host mentioned there was 1,500 secondary school student joined the boycott movement. Total number of participants reached 3,000.

After the dusk, Hong Kong Federation of Students (HKFS) held the last gathering at Tim Mei Avenue and square outside Legislative Council Complex. Large number of people entered the assembly site though the bridge connecting Admiralty Centre and the Government Headquarters leading to MTR Admiralty Station. The assembly started at 8 p.m with a sharing session by Joshua Wong, a secondary school student under the pseudonym "Gary" and senior members from HKFS. The meeting also showed three videos filmed by artist Anthony Wong Yiu Ming, students activists from Macau and Taiwan activist Lin Fei-fan, one of the leaders of Sunflower Student Movement, in support of the event.

The assembly ended at 10 p.m. It was scheduled for a film sharing session by Anita Lee Chi Kwan, Assistant Professor of Languages and General Education Center, Tung Wah College, in a planned exchange with Margaret Ng. The organisers, however, postponed the session because of technical reason and the stage was handed over to Joshua Wong. At 10:30 p.m., Joshua Wong, all of a sudden, called for the crowd to "retake" the Civic Square, around which fences were built two months earlier. Led by members of HKFS, hundred of protesters climbed across fences and tore down the barriers around the flag stage. The police surrounded hundreds of protesters, and then further mobilised towards the Civic Square and clashed with the protesters. The police pepper-sprayed them and displayed their batons. In chaos, it was reported a protester was having a heart attack. The police force originally refused to let the medics enter, and later permitted under the protesters pressure. At 10:52 p.m. police handcuffed and arrested Joshua Wong for forcible entry to government premises, disorderly conduct in public place and unlawful assembly. As visible wounds were found, he was sent to Ruttonjee Hospital for medical inspections before sent to the Central Police station. Many people on site were sent to the hospital because of injuries or feeling unwell. The police and protesters fell into stalemate later on.

The organiser announced the start of civil disobedience, and reminded participants to uninstall communication software from their phones. They also encouraged the protesters to send their personal information to the HKFS secretariat in order to receive legal support.

This raid was planned in secret. Neither the media nor the students were notified. According to Ming Pao's report, which summarised information provided by HKFS, Scholarism and protesters, this raid was proposed by HKFS and Scholarism a few days before its implementation on 26 September. Hundreds of participants were notified secretly two hours before the operation, gathered at the car park outside the Legislative Council Complex and the Central Government Offices around 10:15 p.m., and then raided the Civic Square once instructed.

Aftermaths

After the raid on the Civic Square, HKFS announced they would continue the assembly and called up more people to join them. HKFS indicated that 50,000 participants were at the assembly at night (excluding those counter-enclosing the venue from the outside). Later, police arrested the host of the assembly and cleared the stage.

Overnight, riot police was deployed and the protesters blocked the roads to stop the reinforcement of the police from reaching the Central Government Offices. Police used peppar spray, against which the protesters defended themselves with umbrellas. Umbrella would later become a symbol of the occupation protest. Police surrounded the Civic Square not to allow any protesters to enter or exit it.

By 1pm, Police cleared the Civic Square and arrested protesters occupying there, including Leung Kwok-hung, legislator and chairman of the League of Social Democrats, Alex Chow and Lester Shum, Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General of HKFS. Altogether, 61 protesters were arrested for forcible entry into government premises and unlawful assembly.

At night, HKFS and Scholarism organised another assembly. Having declared the assembly unlawful, police blockaded Exit A of Admiralty MTR Station and bridges outside the Central Office Complex until the size of the crowd caused the police to lift the blockade.

At 1:30 am, 28 September, Benny Tai, co-initiator of the Occupy Central with Love and Peace movement, declared the official launch of the "Occupy Central" campaign. In the afternoon, as more and more people flooded to Admiralty in support of the students, the police completely blockaded the access to the government headquarters. Later, the protesters began to occupy Harcourt Road which police responded by using tear gas, triggering widespread occupations at Admiralty, Mong Kok and Causeway Bay.

The federation later disclosed that it had spent HK$332,000 ($42,500) to finance the boycott activities.

Government feedback

On 5 September, government officials commented on the class boycott campaign. The Chief Executive of HKSAR, Leung Chun-ying expressed that people should remain calm and try to understand the political reform suggested by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in a prudent manner. "The Universal Suffrage for Chief Executive is a step forward and the voting right should be appreciated," he said. After the class boycott campaign being launched, Leung made no promises on whether he would be meeting the students. On 15 September, the Chief Secretary for Administration, Carrie Lam and the Secretary for Education, Eddie Ng called a meeting with presidents and vice-chancellors of the eight local universities, in which they discussed the "Occupy Central" demonstration and class boycott campaign. Ms. Lam denied giving pressure on university presidents and claimed that the Government would not interfere with students' activities as long as they were legal and rational. As for secondary school students, the Government held the same stance as some education institutions that under-aged students should not participate in the class boycott campaign.

See also
 2014 Hong Kong protests
 Umbrella Movement
 2019 Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protests
 List of protests in the 21st century

References

Category:2014 Hong Kong protests
Category:2014 in Hong Kong
Category:Student protests in Hong Kong


Rosamygale

Rosamygale is an extinct genus of spiders, with a single described species, Rosamygale grauvogeli. It is the oldest mygalomorph and oldest known tarantula ancestor. It was described by Selden and Gall in 1992.

References

Category:Fossils of France
Category:Mesozoic arachnids
Category:Hexathelidae
Category:Triassic arthropods
Category:Monotypic Mygalomorphae genera
Category:Mygalomorphae genera


Ismailia

Ismailia ( , ) is a city in north-eastern Egypt. Known in Egypt as "The City of Beauty and Enchantment", Ismailia is situated on the west bank of the Suez Canal, it is the capital of the Ismailia Governorate. The city has a population of 366,669  (or approximately 750,000, including surrounding rural areas). It is located approximately halfway between Port Said to the north and Suez to the south. The Canal widens at that point to include Lake Timsah, one of the Bitter Lakes linked by the Canal.

History

Ismailia was founded in 1863, during the construction of the Suez Canal, by Khedive Ismail the Magnificent, after whom the city is named. Following the Battle of Kafr-el-Dawwar in 1882 the British established a base there.

The head office of the Suez Canal Authority is located in Ismailia at the shore of Lake Timsah. It has a large number of buildings dating from British and French involvement with the Canal. Most of these buildings are currently used by Canal employees and officials.

During World War I the British had an air base there and the Battle of Romani took place nearby. Ismailia War Cemetery was designed in 1919 by Sir Robert Lorimer marking the casualties of the battle.

In 1973 the Battle of Ismailia took place in the city.

Government and politics
The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Ismailia by Hassan al-Banna in March 1928. An underground paramilitary wing was established in the 1940s, primarily to fight British occupation forces. In the early 1950s, Ismailia hosted the British Military HQ and the Civilian Administration Centre of the Canal Zone. British suppression of an uprising by rebellious Egyptian police there on 25 January 1952 was a key event leading to the overthrow of King Farouk I later that year and the Egyptian Revolution that followed. British forces pulled out of Ismailia in 1954.

Coptic Catholic Eparchy
On 1982.12.17 an Eparchy (Eastern Catholic Diocese) of Ismayliah was established on territory split off from the Coptic Catholic Patriarchate of Alexandria (Alexandrian Rite in Coptic language), which remains its Metropolitan. Its episcopal see is St. Mark's cathedral.

Suffragan Eparchs (Bishops of Ismayliah)
 Athanasios Abadir (17 December 1982 – 25 December 1992, his death), previously Titular Bishop of Appia and Patriarchal Vicar of Alexandria of the Copts (Egypt) (18 May 1976 – 17 December 1982)
 Youhannes Ezzat Zakaria Badir (23 November 1992 – 23 June 1994), later Eparch (Bishop) of Luqsor of the Copts (Egypt) (23 June 1994 – 27 December 2015, his death)
 Makarios Tewfik (23 June 1994–present)

Education

Schools
Ismailia has several public and private schools. They face the same educational problems that schools all around Egypt face. Private tutoring is widely accessible and is almost an unofficial requirement for all students. Two international schools, Manar Language School and Educational Language Complex School (E.L.C) offer American Diploma and IGCSE teaching systems.

Universities
Ismailia is the home of the Suez Canal University, established in 1976 with the help of the Chinese Government to serve the region of Suez Canal and Sinai. Suez Canal University now is one of the fastest growing educational institutions in Egypt with many students studying abroad.

Culture and recreation

Arts and festivals

Ismailia hosts two important festivals each year. The first is the International Film Festival for Documentaries and Shorts that is held in June. In June 2014 the 17th consecutive festival was organized. The second is the Ismailia International Folklore Arts Festival that is held in September. In this festival folkloric troupes from all around the globe meet in Ismailia, where they perform folkloric dances representing the culture of their countries.

Archaeological Museum
A major attraction is the Ismailia Museum which was built in 1932. Visitors will find a variety of significant archaeological finds especially from sites in the Ismailia governorate such as Tell el-Maskhuta, from North Sinai, and from Upper Egypt.

Tourism
Ismailia does get tourists from within Egypt, but is not a major tourism destination for international tourists. The city is approximately a ninety-minute automobile drive from Cairo. From Ismailia it is approximately a four-hour drive to Sharm el-Sheikh in South Sinai. Driving to the Taba Border Crossing at Taba and the Rafah Border Crossing at Rafah are both approximately four-hour drives. The city is also infamous for sidewalks painted in yellow and blue after the original kit colour of Ismaily Sports Club, the local sports team of the governorate

Sports

Ismailia owns the third most successful club in Egypt in the field of Football, Ismaily SC. The club's performance is considered a major political issue, and can tend to dictate the city's mood. The team enjoys brief stints of competition for local and international competition, but its financial situation prevents these stints from extending beyond a few years. The team has won the Egyptian League three times (1967, 1991, 2002), the Egyptian Cup twice (1997, 2000), and the African Champions League once (1969) as a first Egyptian Arab Club team won this league.

Climate
Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as hot desert (BWh).

The hottest recorded temperature was  on 14 June 1944 while the coldest recorded temperature was  on January.

Notable people
Ali Gabr, footballer
Osman Ahmed Osman, a famous and influential Egyptian engineer, contractor, entrepreneur, and politician, was born in this town on 6 April 1917.
Tahiya Karioka, a famous Egyptian belly dancer and film actress, was born in this town on 22 February 1919.
Claude François, a famous French pop singer and songwriter, was born in this town on 1 February 1939.
Ahmed Hegazy, footballer
Louis Chedid, a famous French singer and songwriter son of writer Andrée Chedid and father of Matthieu Chedid (better known as -M-) was born in this town on 1 January 1948.

Ibrahim Alkady born in 1905 - 1961, A famous man in the late 1800s was called Ismail Alkady, had a son called Ibrahim Alkady. He had a gas station called Sakkomi Fackon Exxon Mobil. Now, he had the dealership of Buick and Cadillac in those days. He started the Alkady Automotive business in 1945. He had three sons: Ismail Alkady and Mohamed Alkady. They worked under their father inheriting his values and experiences with teaching his sons how to do anything right from the first time.

See also
 List of cities and towns in Egypt

References

External links

 Diocese of Ismailia

 Short animation festival in Ismailia

Category:Governorate capitals in Egypt
Category:Populated places in Ismailia Governorate
Category:Metropolitan areas of Egypt
Category:Suez Canal
Category:Populated places established in 1863
Category:Cities in Egypt
Category:1863 establishments in Egypt