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Alexandra David-Néel

Alexandra David-Néel (born Louise Eugénie Alexandrine Marie David; 24 October 1868 – 8 September 1969) was a Belgian–French explorer, spiritualist, Buddhist, anarchist, opera singer, and writer. She is most known for her 1924 visit to Lhasa, Tibet, when it was forbidden to foreigners. David-Néel wrote over 30 books about Eastern religion, philosophy, and her travels, including Magic and Mystery in Tibet, which was published in 1929. Her teachings influenced the beat writers Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, the popularisers of Eastern philosophy Alan Watts and Ram Dass, and the esotericist Benjamin Creme.

Early life and background

In 1871, when David-Néel was two years old, her father Louis David, appalled by the execution of the last Communards, took her to see the Communards' Wall at the Père-Lachaise cemetery in Paris; she never forgot this early encounter with the face of death, from which she first learned of the ferocity of humans. Two years later, the Davids emigrated to Belgium.

Since before the age of 15, she had been exercising austerities such as fasting and corporal torments drawn from biographies of ascetic saints found in the library of one of her female relatives, to which she refers to in Sous des nuées d'orage, published in 1940.

At the age of 15, spending her holidays with her parents at Ostend, she ran away and reached the port of Vlissingen in the Netherlands to try and embark for England. Lack of money forced her to give up.

At the age of 18, David-Néel had already visited England, Switzerland and Spain on her own, and she was studying in Madame Blavatsky's Theosophical Society. "She joined various secret societies – she would reach the thirtieth degree in the mixed Scottish Rite of Freemasonry – while feminist and anarchist groups greeted her with enthusiasm... Throughout her childhood and adolescence, she was associated with the French geographer and anarchist Elisée Reclus (1820–1905). This led her to become interested in the anarchistic ideas of the time and in feminism, that inspired her to publish Pour la vie (For Life) in 1898. In 1899, she composed an anarchist treatise with a preface by Reclus. Publishers did not dare to publish the book, though her friend Jean Haustont printed copies himself and it was eventually translated into five languages." In 1891, she visited India for the first time, and met her spiritual preceptor, Swami Bhaskarananda Saraswati of Varanasi.

According to Raymond Brodeur, she converted to Buddhism in 1889, which she noted in her diary that was published under the title La Lampe de sagesse (The Lamp of Wisdom) in 1896. She was 21 years old. That same year, to refine her English, an indispensable language for an orientalist's career, she went to London where she frequented the library of the British Museum, and met several members of the Theosophical Society. The following year, back in Paris, she introduced herself to Sanskrit and Tibetan and followed different instructions at the Collège de France and at the Ecole pratique des hautes Etudes (practical school of advanced studies) without ever passing an exam there. According to Jean Chalon, her vocation to be an orientalist and Buddhist originated at the Guimet Museum.

1895–1904: Opera singer
At the suggestion of her father, David-Néel attended the Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles (Royal Conservatory of Brussels), where she studied piano and singing. To help her parents who were experiencing setbacks, David-Néel, who had obtained a first prize for singing, took the position of first singer at the Hanoi Opera House (Indochina) during the seasons 1895–1896 and 1896–1897 under the name Alexandra Myrial.

She interpreted the role of the Violetta in La traviata (by Giuseppe Verdi), then she sang in Les Noces de Jeannette (by Victor Massé), in Faust and in Mireille (by Charles Gounod), Lakmé (by Léo Delibes), Carmen (by Georges Bizet), and Thaïs (by Jules Massenet). She maintained a pen friendship with Frédéric Mistral and Massenet at that time.

From 1897 to 1900, she was living together with the pianist Jean Haustont in Paris, writing Lidia with him, a lyric tragedy in one act, for which Haustont composed the music and David-Néel the libretto. She left to sing at the opera of Athens from November 1899 to January 1900. Then, in July of the same year, she went to the opera of Tunis. Soon after her arrival in the city, she met a distant cousin, Philippe Néel, chief engineer of the Tunisian railways and her future husband. During a stay of Jean Haustont in Tunis in the Summer of 1902, she gave up her singing career and assumed artistic direction of the casino of Tunis for a few months, while continuing her intellectual work.

1904–1911: Marriage
On 4 August 1904, at age 36, she married Philippe Néel de Saint-Sauveur, whose lover she had been since 15 September 1900. Their life together was sometimes turbulent but characterized by mutual respect. It was interrupted by her departure, alone, for her third trip to India (1911–1925) (the second one was carried out for a singing tour) on 9 August 1911. She did not want children, aware that motherhood was incompatible with her need of independence and her inclination to education. She promised to return to Philippe in nineteen months, but it was fourteen years later, in May 1925, when they met again, separating after some days. David-Néel had come back with her exploration partner, the young Lama Aphur Yongden, whom she would make her adopted son in 1929. Legend has it that her husband was also her patron. The truth is probably quite different. She had, at her marriage, her own personal fortune.

During that time, she wrote for journals and lectured about controversial subjects in the cities of Europe. She advocated in favour of Buddhism, Zionism and radical feminism. Her marriage started to unravel, as her travels kept her apart from her husband.

Arrival in Sikkim (1912)
Alexandra David-Néel traveled for the second time to India to further her study of Buddhism. In 1912, she arrived at the royal monastery of Sikkim, where she befriended Maharaj Kumar (crown prince) Sidkeong Tulku Namgyal, the eldest son of the sovereign (Chogyal) of this kingdom (which would become a state of India), and traveled in many Buddhist monasteries to improve her knowledge of Buddhism. In 1914, she met young Aphur Yongden in one of these monasteries, 15 years old, whom she would later adopt as her son. Both decided to retire in a hermitage cavern at more than 4000 meters above sea level in northern Sikkim.

Sidkeong, then the spiritual leader of Sikkim, was sent to the meeting with Alexandra David-Néel by his father, the Maharaja of Sikkim, having been told about her arrival in April 1912 by the British resident at Gangtok. On the occasion of this first encounter, their mutual understanding was immediate: Sidkeong, eager for reformation, was listening to Alexandra David-Néel's advice, and before returning to his occupations, he left behind the Lama Kazi Dawa Samdup as a guide, interpreter and professor of Tibetan. After that, Sidkeong confided in Alexandra David-Néel that his father wished for him to renounce the throne in favor of his half-brother.

Meeting with the 13th Dalai Lama in Kalimpong (1912)
Lama Kazi Dawa Samdup accompanied Alexandra David-Néel to Kalimpong, where she met with the 13th Dalai Lama in exile. She received an audience on 15 April 1912, and met Ekai Kawaguchi in his waiting room, whom she would meet again in Japan. The Dalai Lama welcomed her, accompanied by the inevitable interpreter, and he strongly advised her to learn Tibetan, an advice she followed. She received his blessing, then the Dalai Lama engaged the dialogue, asking her how she had become a Buddhist. David-Néel amused him by claiming to be the only Buddhist in Paris, and surprised him by telling him that the Gyatcher Rolpa, a sacred Tibetan book, had been translated by Phillippe-Édouard Foucaux, a professor at the Collège de France. She asked for many additional explanations that the Dalai Lama tried to provide, promising to answer all her questions in writing.

Stay at Lachen (1912–1916)
In late May, she went to Lachen, where she met Lachen Gomchen Rinpoche, the superior (gomchen) of the town's monastery, with the improvised interpreter M. Owen (E. H. Owen), a reverend who replaced the absent Kazi Dawa Samdup. In Lachen, she lived for several years close to one of the greatest gomchens of whom she had the privilege to be taught, and above all, she was very close to the Tibetan border, which she crossed twice against all odds.

In her anchorite cave, she practiced Tibetan yoga. She was sometimes in tsam, that is to retreat for several days without seeing anyone, and she learned the technique of tummo, which mobilized her internal energy to produce heat. As a result of this apprenticeship, her master, the Gomchen of Lachen, gave her the religious name of Yeshe Tome, "Lamp of Wisdom", which proved valuable to her because she was then known by Buddhist authorities everywhere she went in Asia.

While she was in company of Lachen Gomchen Rinpoche, Alexandra David-Néel encountered Sidkeong again on an inspection tour in Lachen on 29 May 1912. These three personalities of Buddhism, thus reunited, reflected and worked together to reform and expand Buddhism, as the Gomchen would declare. For David-Néel, Sidkeong organized a one-week expedition into the high areas of Sikkim, at 5000 meters of altitude, which started on 1 July.

There was correspondence between Sidkeong and Alexandra David-Néel. In a letter by Sidkeong written at Gangtok on 8 October 1912, he thanked her for the meditation method she had sent him. On 9 October, he accompanied her to Darjeeling, where they visited a monastery together, while she prepared to return to Calcutta. In another letter, Sidkeong informed David-Néel that, in March 1913, he was able to enter Freemasonry at Calcutta, where he had been admitted as a member, provided with a letter of introduction by the governor of Bengal, a further link between them. He told her of his pleasure of having been allowed to become a member of this society.

When his father was about to die, Sidkeong called Alexandra David-Néel for help, and asked her for advice in bringing about the reform of Buddhism that he wished to implement at Sikkim once he came to power. Returning to Gangtok via Darjeeling and Siliguri, David-Néel was received like an official figure, with guard of honor, by Sidkeong on 3 December 1913.

On 4 January 1914, he gave her, as a gift for the new year, a lamani's (female lama) dress sanctified according to the Buddhist rites. David-Néel had her picture taken with a yellow hat completing the ensemble.

On 10 February 1914, the Maharaja died, and Sidkeong succeeded him. The campaign of religious reform could begin, Kali Koumar, a monk of southern Buddhism was called to participate in it, as well as Sīlācāra (an Englishman) who was then living in Burma. Ma Lat (Hteiktin Ma Lat) came from that same country, David-Néel was in correspondence with her, and Sidkeong married Ma Lat, with Alexandra David-Néel becoming the Maharaja's marriage counselor.

While she was at the monastery of Phodong, the abbot of which was Sidkeong, David-Néel declared she heard a voice announcing to her that the reforms would fail.

On 11 November 1914, leaving the cavern of Sikkim where she had gone to meet the gomchen, David-Néel was received at Lachen Monastery by Sidkeong. One month later, she learned about Sidkeong's sudden death, news that affected her and made her think of poisoning.

First trip to Tibet and meeting with the Panchen Lama (1916)
On 13 July 1916, without asking for permission, Alexandra David-Néel left for Tibet, accompanied by Yongden and a monk. She planned to visit two great religious centers close to her Sikkim retreat: the monastery of Chorten Nyima and Tashilhunpo Monastery, close to Shigatse, one of the biggest cities of southern Tibet. At the monastery of Tashilhunpo, where she arrived on 16 July, she was allowed to consult the Buddhist scriptures and visit various temples. On the 19th, she met with the Panchen Lama, by whom she received blessings and a charming welcome: he introduced her to his entourage's persons of rank, to his professors, and to his mother (with whom David-Néel tied bonds of friendship and who suggested to her to reside in a convent). The Panchen Lama bade and proposed her to stay at Shigatse as his guest, what she declined, leaving the town on 26 July, not without having received the honorary titles of a Lama and a doctor in Tibetan Buddhism and having experienced hours of great bliss.

Upon her return to Sikkim, the British colonial authorities, pushed by missionaries exasperated by the welcome afforded David-Néel by the Panchen Lama and annoyed by her having ignored their ban of entering Tibet, informed her that she was to be deported for violating the no-entry edict.

Trip to Japan, Korea, China, Mongolia, and Tibet
As it was impossible to return to Europe during World War I, Alexandra David-Néel and Yongden left Sikkim for India and then Japan. There she met the philosopher Ekai Kawaguchi who had managed to stay for eighteen months in Lhasa as a Chinese monk in disguise a few years earlier. David-Néel and Yongden subsequently left for Korea and then Beijing, China. From there, they chose to cross China from east to west, accompanied by a colourful Tibetan Lama. Their journey took several years through the Gobi, Mongolia, before a break of three years (1918–1921) at Kumbum Monastery in Tibet, where David-Néel, helped by Yongden, translated the famous Prajnaparamita.

David-Néel preferred to eat vegetarian food throughout her life but whilst traveling in Tibet would often eat meat dishes as a guest at monasteries.

Incognito stay in Lhasa (1924)
Disguised as a beggar and a monk, respectively, and carrying a backpack as discreet as possible, Alexandra David-Néel and Yongden then left for the Forbidden City. In order not to betray her status as a foreigner, David-Néel did not dare to take a camera and survey equipment, she hid, however, under her rags a compass, a pistol, and a purse with money for a possible ransom. Finally, they reached Lhasa in 1924, merged with a crowd of pilgrims coming to celebrate the Monlam Prayer Festival. They stayed in Lhasa for two months visiting the holy city and the large surrounding monasteries: Drepung, Sera, Ganden, Samye, and met Swami Asuri Kapila (Cesar Della Rosa Bendio). Foster Stockwell pointed out that neither the Dalai Lama nor his assistants welcomed David-Néel, that she was neither shown the treasures of lamasery nor awarded a diploma. Jacques Brosse states more precisely that she knew the Dalai Lama well, but he didn't know that she was in Lhasa and she could not reveal her identity. She found "nothing very special" in Potala, of which she remarked that the interior design was "entirely Chinese-style". Despite her face smeared with soot, her yak wool mats, and her traditional fur hat, she was finally unmasked (due to too much cleanliness – she went to wash herself every morning at the river) and denounced to Tsarong Shape, the Governor of Lhasa. By the time the latter took action, David-Néel and Yongden had already left Lhasa for Gyantse. They were told about the story only later, by letters of Ludlow and David Macdonald (the British sales representative in Gyantse).

In May 1924, the explorer, exhausted, "without money and in rags", was accommodated together with her companion at the Macdonald home for a fortnight. She managed to reach Northern India through Sikkim thanks partly to the 500 rupees she borrowed from Macdonald and to the necessary papers that he and his son-in-law, captain Perry, obtained for her. In Calcutta, dressed in the new Tibetan outfit Macdonald had bought for her, she got herself photographed in a studio.

After her return, starting at her arrival at Havre on May 10, 1925, she was able to assess the remarkable fame her audacity had earned her. She hit the headlines of the newspapers and her portrait spread in the magazines. The account of her adventure would become the subject of a book, My Journey to Lhasa, which was published in Paris, London and New York in 1927, but met with disbelief of critics who had a hard time accepting the stories about such practices as levitation and tummo (the increase of body temperature to withstand cold).

In 1972, Jeanne Denys, who was at one time working as a librarian for David-Néel, would publish Alexandra David-Néel au Tibet: une supercherie dévoilée (approximately: Alexandra David-Neel in Tibet: trickery uncovered), a book which caused rather little sensation by claiming to demonstrate that David-Néel had not entered Lhasa. Jeanne Denys maintained that the photograph of David-Néel and Aphur sitting in the area before the Potala, taken by Tibetan friends, was a montage. She pretended that David-Néel's parents were modest Jewish storekeepers who spoke Yiddish at home. She went as far as to accuse David-Néel of having invented the accounts of her voyages and of her studies.

1925–1937: The European interlude
Back in France, Alexandra David-Néel rented a small house in the hills of Toulon and was looking for a home in the sun and without too many neighbors. An agency from Marseille suggested a small house in Digne-les-Bains (Provence) to her in 1928. She, who was looking for the sun, visited the house during a rainstorm, but she liked the place and she bought it. Four years later, she began to enlarge the house, called Samten-Dzong or "fortress of meditation", the first hermitage and Lamaist shrine in France according to Raymond Brodeur. There she wrote several books describing her various trips. In 1929, she published her most famous and beloved work, Mystiques et Magiciens du Tibet (Magicians and Mystics in Tibet).

1937–1946: Chinese journey and Tibetan retreat
In 1937, aged sixty-nine, Alexandra David-Néel decided to leave for China with Yongden via Brussels, Moscow and the Trans-Siberian Railway. Her aim was to study ancient Taoism. She found herself in the middle of the Second Sino-Japanese War and attended the horrors of war, famine and epidemics. Fleeing the combat, she wandered through China on a shoestring budget. The Chinese journey took course during one and a half years between Beijing, Mount Wutai, Hankou and Chengdu. On 4 June 1938, she went back to the Tibetan town of Tachienlu for a retreat of five years. She was deeply touched by the announcement of the death of her husband in 1941.

One minor mystery relating to Alexandra David-Néel has a solution. In Forbidden Journey, p. 284, the authors wonder how Mme. David-Néel's secretary, Violet Sydney, made her way back to the West in 1939 after Sous des nuées d'orage (Storm Clouds) was completed in Tachienlu. Peter Goullart's Land of the Lamas (not in Forbidden Journey's bibliography), on pp. 110–113 gives an account of his accompanying Ms. Sydney partway back, then putting her under the care of Lolo bandits to continue the journey to Chengdu. While in Eastern Tibet David-Néel and Yongden completed circumambulation of the holy mountain Amnye Machen. In 1945, Alexandra David-Néel went back to India thanks to Christian Fouchet, French Consul at Calcutta, who became a friend; they stayed in touch until David-Néel's death. She finally left Asia with Aphur Yongden by airplane, departing from Calcutta in June 1946. On 1 July, they arrived at Paris, where they stayed until October, when they went back to Digne-les-Bains.

1946–1969: the Lady of Digne
At 78, Alexandra David-Néel returned to France to arrange the estate of her husband, then she started writing from her home in Digne.

Between 1947 and 1950, Alexandra David-Néel came across Paul Adam – Venerable Aryadeva, she commended him because he took her place on short notice, at a conference held at the Theosophical Society in Paris.

In 1952, she published the Textes tibétains inédits ("unpublished Tibetan writings"), an anthology of Tibetan literature including, among other things, the erotic poems attributed to the 6th Dalai Lama. In 1953, a newspiece followed, Le vieux Tibet face à la Chine nouvelle, in which she gave "a certain and documented opinion" on the tense situation in the regions once visited by her.

Yongden died suddenly on 7 October 1955. According to Jacques Brosse, Yongden, seized by a strong fever and sickness, which David-Néel attributed to a simple indigestion, fell into a coma during the night and died carried off by kidney failure according to the doctor's diagnosis. Just having turned 87, David-Néel found herself alone. Yongden's ashes were kept safe in the Tibetan oratory of Samten Dzong, awaiting to be thrown into the Ganges, together with those of David-Néel after her death. With age, David-Néel suffered more and more from articular rheumatism that forced her to walk with crutches. "I walk on my arms", she used to say. Her work rhythm slowed down: she did not publish anything in 1955 and 1956, and, in 1957, only the third edition of the Initiations lamaïques.

In April 1957, she left Samten Dzong in order to live at Monaco with a friend who had typed her manuscripts. She decided to live alone in a hotel, going from one establishment to the next, until June 1959, when she was introduced to a young woman, Marie-Madeleine Peyronnet, who she took as her personal secretary. She would stay with the old lady until the end, "watching over her like a daughter over her mother – and sometimes like a mother over her unbearable child – but also like a disciple at the service of her guru", according to the words of Jacques Brosse.

Legacy
In 1925, she won the Award Monique Berlioux of the Académie des sports. Although she was not a sportswoman in a strict sense, she is part of the list of the 287 Gloires du sport français (English: Glories of French sport).

In 2006, Priscilla Telmon paid tribute to Alexandra David-Néel through an expedition on foot and alone across the Himalaya. She recounted her predecessor's journey from Vietnam to Calcutta via Lhasa. A movie, Au Tibet Interdit (English: Into Forbidden Tibet), was shot on that expedition.

General sources

 * This book is based on extensive interviews with David Neel's secretary at Digne and reading her letters to her husband, now published as "Journal de voyage: lettres a son mari."
 * This book is based on extensive interviews with David Neel's secretary at Digne and reading her letters to her husband, now published as "Journal de voyage: lettres a son mari."
 * This book is based on extensive interviews with David Neel's secretary at Digne and reading her letters to her husband, now published as "Journal de voyage: lettres a son mari."
 * This book is based on extensive interviews with David Neel's secretary at Digne and reading her letters to her husband, now published as "Journal de voyage: lettres a son mari."

title: Alexandra David-Néel


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Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills

Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills is a 1996 American documentary film directed, produced and edited by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky about the trials of the West Memphis Three, three teenage youths accused of the May 1993 murders and sexual mutilation of three prepubescent boys as a part of an alleged satanic ritual in West Memphis, Arkansas.

The film uses the music of Metallica instead of an original soundtrack, the first time that the band authorized their music to be used in a film; the accused teenagers were fans of the band, something which played a part in their trials. It was well received by critics, and was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Informational Programming. It was followed by two sequels, also made by Berlinger and Sinofsky, which followed the evolution of the case through the years: Paradise Lost 2: Revelations in 2000, and Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory in 2011.

Description
The film documents the events following the arrests of Misskelley, Echols and Baldwin for the murders of Christopher Byers, Michael Moore and Stevie Branch, whose naked and hogtied bodies were discovered in a ditch in Brandon Mississippi Robinhood.

Filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky interviewed numerous people connected with the case, including the parents of the victims, the parents of the accused, members of the West Memphis Police Department (WMPD) and all the defendants involved in the trial. Berlinger and Sinofsky are not filmed themselves, and the dialogue is provided by the interviewee, rather than using a "Q & A" format.

The film starts with an introduction to the case, before moving on to the arrests of the three teenagers. Much of the community, including the detectives and the victims' parents, believe the murders were committed by the teenagers as part of a Satanic ritual. During the trial, Damien Echols is asked about his familiarity with Aleister Crowley's belief system. Echols also states that he likes reading books by Anton LaVey and Stephen King.

The community is shown to be politically conservative and strongly Evangelical Christian. Because Misskelley had provided police with a confession, his trial is separated from that of Damien and Jason, and is covered in the first half of the film.

Trials coverage
The first trial to be covered in the film is that of Misskelley, a trial which was severed from those of Echols and Baldwin since it was Misskelley who confessed. Emphasis is placed on the fact that there is a strong possibility that the confession was coerced. Interviews are conducted with Misskelley himself, his family and friends, and his attorney Dan Stidham. Misskelley is sentenced to life in prison.

Part two of the film documents the trials of Echols and Baldwin. Like the coverage of Misskelley's trial, there are interviews with both defendants, their attorneys and their families. The families of the victims also share their views.

During the course of filming, John Mark Byers, the stepfather of one of the victims (Christopher Byers), gave the filmmakers a knife which had blood in the hinge. The filmmakers turned the knife over to police, who examined it; the DNA was similar to that of Mark Byers and Christopher, but the evidence was nonetheless inconclusive since the DNA evidence produced was fragmented and could not provide concrete links.

Production
The production had 79 filming days over a 10-month period, starting in the weeks after the murders through the trials and convictions, at the actual Arkansas locations. The movie marks the first time Metallica allowed their music to be used in a movie. A decade later, the directors made Metallica: Some Kind of Monster about the band.

Reception
The movie was well received by critics, including Roger Ebert. The film was followed by two sequels. First Paradise Lost 2: Revelations (2000), which suggests that further evidence was missed or suppressed and attempts to prove Echols' innocence. Followed by Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory (2011), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 100%.

Aftermath
Following a successful decision in 2010 by the Arkansas Supreme Court regarding recently uncovered DNA evidence, the West Memphis Three reached a deal with prosecutors. On August 19, 2011, they entered Alford pleas, which allow them to assert their innocence and were sentenced to time served, effectively freeing them.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


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User:Seitaro

I am a Japanese living near Nagoya, Japan. I am not good at English, so feel free to correct my bad English.

title: User:Seitaro


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Victor Callejas

Victor Callejas (born November 12, 1960) is a Puerto Rican former boxer who was world Junior Featherweight champion.

Early history
Callejas compiled a record of 36 wins and 4 defeats as an amateur boxer, and in 1979, he decided to turn professional. That he did on the night of February 18 of that year. In his first bout, Callejas, like Henry Armstrong, Rafael Marquez, Chucho Castillo and Wilfredo Vazquez, lost. He was beaten by Jose Parrilla by a decision in four rounds. For his next three bouts, he travelled around some of the other Caribbean islands, gaining revenge over Parrilla in St. Croix for his first professional win, knocking out Wilt Jones in one round in St. Marteen for his first knockout and beating Albert Pagan, also by a knockout, in five.

Professional boxing career
Between the fight against Jones and the fight versus Jose Ortiz in 1983, Callejas had a streak of 15 knockout wins in a row, winning Puerto Rico's Jr. Featherweight title and earning a ranking among the world's top Jr. Featherweights with the WBA along the way. Some fans even started to call him the next Wilfredo Gómez. His fight with Ortiz ended in a second round no-contest. But after that, on May 7 of '83, he beat Juan Arenade Balzan by a knockout in three, and then, on February 15 of 1984, he beat the WBA's number one challenger, Bernardo Checa, by a knockout in three in Guaynabo. That same night, but in Milan, Italian boxer Loris Stecca was becoming the new Jr. Featherweight champion of the world when he beat Leo Cruz by a knockout in round 12 for the WBA title.

On May of that year, Stecca went to Puerto Rico to defend his title against Callejas. On May 26, Callejas became world champion by knocking Stecca out in round eight. Callejas then began to face different problems to fight, and it was almost a year later that he could finally defend his title for the first time, when he beat future IBF super bantamweight champion Seung-Hoon Lee by a decision in 15 on February 2, 1985, after dropping him in round 2, at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan.

Stecca had won five fights in a row since losing to Callejas, all by knockout. So the logical next step was for a rematch to take place. The second time around, it was Callejas who had to travel to his rival's home turf, and so Callejas went to Italy, where he complained about such pre-fight conditions as the heating system in his hotel room and the gestures made towards him by some Stecca fans he met on the streets. Callejas-Stecca 2 took place on November 8 in Rimini, with Gómez himself and Ivonne Class broadcasting the fight for Puerto Rican TV. During round four of the rematch, the lights went off the sports facility where the fight was held at, and the fighters had to keep boxing under a complete obscurity. But in round six, Callejas retained the title with a highlight film knockout: He connected with a left hand that lifted Stecca off his feet, and when Stecca came down, he landed on his knees, his upper body over his lower legs. He got up, but was saved by the bell and not allowed to continue for round seven by his corner. This Callejas knockout earned many knockout of the year awards.

Callejas would not fight again for two years. Many reasons were given for this, including managerial and weight making problems. But when he came back in 1987, he won fights over contenders Cleo Garcia (by decision in 10) and Nivio Nolasco (knockout in one), the latter of which marked Callejas' Las Vegas debut. Callejas was given an opportunity by the WBC to fight for another world title in 1988, and so he travelled to Australia, where he met Jeff Fenech on March 7, losing by a knockout in ten for the vacant WBC's world Featherweight title.

Later that year, Callejas did a two fight tour of the United Kingdom, beating Juan Torres Odelin by a knockout in seven in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and Brian Roche by a decision in eight in London.

Retirement
In his last fight as a professional, Callejas lost to Francisco Alvarez by a decision in eight at San Juan. Callejas later held an important position in a government sports department in Puerto Rico. He had a professional boxing record of 27 wins, 3 losses and 1 no-contest, with 22 wins by knockout.

On March 2, 2022, news surfaced that Callejas and other people had helped save former world boxing champion Wilfredo Gomez from "deplorable" living conditions at Gomez's house in San Juan. Once considered "the next Wilfredo Gomez" by press and fans alike, Callejas was by then friends with his former idol

title: Victor Callejas


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Poul Martin Møller

Poul Martin Møller (21 March 1794 – 13 March 1838) was a Danish academic, writer, and poet. During his lifetime, he gained renown in Denmark for his poetry. After his death, his posthumously published fiction and philosophical writings were well received. He also devoted several decades of study to classical languages and literature. While serving as a professor at the University of Copenhagen, he was a mentor to the philosopher Søren Kierkegaard.

Life and career
Møller was born near Vejle and raised on the island of Lolland, where his father served as a pastor. As a young man, his father tutored him in classical languages and literature. In 1812 he enrolled in the University of Copenhagen and studied theology. He also taught religion at a nearby school during this time. He graduated as the valedictorian of his class three and a half years later. In 1815 he published his first poem. After a stint as the tutor of two young counts, he returned to Copenhagen to study classical philology. After an unsuccessful proposal of marriage to his childhood sweetheart, he left Copenhagen to serve as the pastor of a ship during its two-year journey to China. While on the journey, he read the complete works of Cicero, wrote poetry, and wrote in his journal. After returning to Copenhagen, he began teaching Greek and writing poetry and fiction. He later successfully proposed to his first wife, with whom he had four sons. From 1826 to 1832, he taught at the Royal Frederick University in Christiania. Although he rose from assistant professor to full professor, he disliked living in Norway and returned to Denmark. Although eccentric, notoriously disheveled, and prone to becoming distracted during lessons, his good nature and pleasant disposition allowed him to become a popular teacher. In 1831, he was promoted to Professor Extraordinary at the University of Copenhagen, where he taught Hegel, classical literature, and moral philosophy. His first wife died in 1834, an event which left him shaken to the core and almost unable to function. Two years later, he married a friend of his late wife. He fathered a daughter with his second wife before succumbing to what was most likely liver cancer in March 1838.

Writings
While working as a teacher he wrote extensively, working on poetry, a novel, and translating literature into Danish. He published translations of both contemporary and classical authors, including Lord Byron's "The Dream" and a portion of The Odyssey. Due to his habit of writing very slowly and later rewriting his work, he was never able to publish much of his work. The largest work that he published during his lifetime was a translation of the first six books of The Odyssey. He was most successful as a poet; his poem "Joy Over Denmark" ("Glæde over Danmark") became one of the most famous Danish poems. Though unfinished, Møller's novel Adventures of a Danish Student also gained lasting fame. It tells the comedic story of the romantic escapades of an eccentric student and his philosophical musings. Years later it became a favorite book of the Danish physicist and thinker Niels Bohr, who often quoted it during lectures. Shortly before his death, he charged his stepbrother Christian Winter and his colleague Fredrick Olsen with the task of publishing his writing posthumously. Although Møller's unfocused nature made this a difficult task, they were eventually able to publish nine volumes by 1850. After these volumes were published, Møller's reputation greatly improved among the Danish public. However, only a small portion of his philosophical writings were able to be published.

Relationship with Kierkegaard
Møller is perhaps best known for relationship with Søren Kierkegaard. They first met when Møller was teaching at the University of Copenhagen and they also lived in the same square in Copenhagen from 1836 to 1838. Møller was also well acquainted with Søren's brother Peter. Six years after Møller's death, Kierkegaard dedicated his work The Concept of Anxiety to him with remarks which were unusually personal for Kierkegaard. An unpublished draft of the dedication was even more emphatic, referring to Møller as the "inspiration of my youth" and "the mighty trumpet of my awakening".

In his journals, Kierkegaard notes that Møller provided him advice about the study of philosophy and communication. Part of Møller's influence came through his lectures on moral philosophy and the Greek and Roman classics that Kierkegaard attended while a student at the University of Copenhagen. In addition to classroom instructions, they also frequented Møller's favorite tea house. Kierkegaard adopted Møller's preferred method of writing, recording his thoughts in a short mixture of poetry and prose, into his own journals. Kierkegaard records that shortly before his death, Møller cautioned him regarding the polemical tone that he had adopted. Kierkegaard, however, viewed his tone as consistent with the New Testament writers.

Philosophy
There is also significant common ground between the philosophical views of Møller and Kierkegaard, in large part due to Møller's tutelage. After Møller's writings were published posthumously, Kierkegaard studied them in great detail. It is generally believed that Møller had a maieutic relationship with Kierkegaard, hence Kierkegaard's description of Møller as, "the confidant of Socrates”. They often debated the subjects of irony and humor, favorite topics of Kierkegaard's. Although Møller had studied the works of Hegel in great depth, he later became skeptical of Hegel's philosophy. He felt that Hegel's philosophy was limited because of its abstractness. In his attack on Hegelianism in Concluding Unscientific Postscript to Philosophical Fragments, Kierkegaard cites Møller as an opponent of Hegel. Another similarity is the dislike both men felt toward philosophical systems that emphasized thought without feeling. Møller highly valued personal authenticity in philosophy and preferred the use of aphorisms over discursive arguments. Kierkegaard greatly appreciated the lighthearted satirical tone of Møller's as a departure from the serious scholarly tone of many of their contemporary philosophers.

Møller's philosophy was also influenced by the theological work of the speculative theist philosopher Immanuel Hermann Fichte.

title: Poul Martin Møller


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Talk:Aum Shinrikyo

Note about 'cult-bashers'

 * It also seems important to note that there are groups usually called 'cult-bashers' that collect and later distribute the smear material on religious groups they call 'cults'. Example of such group: Cult Awareness Network. Besides smearing the 'cults' these entities label the scholars suspected in 'sympathising the cults' in being 'cult sympathisers' and smear them as well (usually so-called 'character assassination' is involved, when scholar is accused being a bad citized, drug addict etc.). I would very much like these people to keep their research to themselves and not produce it here, but given the nature of open source this is not always feasible. 'Cult-bashers' is a separate problem for scholars in itself, as they tend to provide information that look legitimate and to attack sholars focused more on research than activism.

Comments on the "During its most successful period" passage

 * Another difficulty is how to classify the doctrine. There always are a lot of PhDs that offer their expert opinion on what Aum's doctrine is (i.e. 'a mixture of..'), usually not bothering to read even the several books that were translated into English (the full collection is several bookshelves in Japanese). Let me comment the following passage:

 * During its most successful period, Aum Shinrikyo was a new religious group (did it ceased to be new or religios since then?), often described as a cult (true, but a repetition), centered on the charismatic leader Shoko Asahara (debatable and not very informative). Asahara's teachings (incorrect label, Asahara did not write the Pali Canon, so we cannot say the Canon is his teachings) combined elements of Buddhism and Hinduism (simplistic and not accurate) as well as millenarian Christianity (wrong), including yoga (yoga was already mentioned - Hinduism, why repeat), meditation (meditation is a technique, not a religion), and Qi Gong breathing exercises (Qi Gong is not 'breathing excercise', it's static postures, there are also moves, there are some breathing rules, similar to 'kata' in Karate. Qi Gong is part of Taoism, which was mentioned in my edition of the article) Central to the group's teachings was that the apocalypse is near (popular belief, but wrong. Central to the teachings are original buddhist sutras, the Pali Canon). The name "Aum Shinrikyo" derived from the Hindu mantra "Aum", followed by a Japanese word meaning "supreme truth" (true). /// Note: not much factual data, many lame passages, a lot seems to be said just to make the group seem weirder.

 * I am writing this comment to outline problems that are hard to avoid when dealing with the subject and to find consensus on how to improve the article. In other worlds, I think that stuff like doctrine is better discuss here and then make amendments.

Description of crimes

 * Same to crimes. Does it makes any sense to describe the sufferings of victims at such lenghth (almost a half of the text)? Will we post the detailed report on how exactly Mr Clinton had sex with that Ms Levinsky on Clinton's article (half of the text)? I suggest just to state who was killed.

 * 'On October 31, 1989, a lawyer working against Aum Shinrikyo, Tsutsumi Sakamoto, successfully persuaded Shoko Asahara to submit to a blood test to test for the "special power" that the leader claimed was present throughout his body. He found no sign of anything unusual. To prevent the disclosure of this outcome' /// The blood test and 'special power' is simplistic and untrue. Tsutsumi Sakamoto, to my knowledge was a lawyer who tried something like mega-lawsuit Japanese-style against Aum and was very active in that. Monks in Aum severe ties with families, so their relatives (such as fathers, mothers etc.), with help of Sakamoto, sought 'compensation' (money) for the fact that they cannot live with them as they used to (moral damage) and funds they were receiving when relatives supported them financially (financial damage). Sakamoto was their lawyer, who received percentage of the sums. Of course, Sakamoto probably also tried to 'expose Aum' as lawyers do, but Aum was 'exposed' many thousand times before by almost every major newspaper or TV station in Japan. Compensations could make Aum bankrupt. So this is the facts, but I suggest deleting everything except the fact that Sakamoto was murdered and what Sakamoto did shortly before the murder. Otherwise, we could safely try not only describe Mr Clinton's affair in naturalistic details, but also write on reasons Ms Levinsky was so attractive to him in length.

Religious News Blog and compensations fund
As regards the recent changes (which involved links to Religious News Blog, previously removed 3 times from "see also" section), I will try to incorporate additions, but not incorrect info. Let me comment on the following passage:

 * "[v]ictims of the March 1995 sarin gas attacks on the Tokyo subway and other crimes committed by the AUM Shinrikyo cult urged the government Wednesday to act swiftly and comprehensively on the issue of compensation, which remains unresolved after nine years." The report pointed out that AUM had been "ordered to pay compensation to its victims. However, the cult is apparently short of funds, while those directly involved in the crimes do not have the capacity to pay." (Kyodo News Service)

In fact, Aum Shinrikyo paid everything it could and was declared bankrupt as a result (that is why "the cult" is "short of funds", because it does not exist anymore). A new successor organization has been established, under name Aleph and it can not be "ordered" to pay any debts of Aum Shinrikyo, obviously. However, Aleph *voluntarily* established a compensations fund to pay compensations to victims. There were reports in the media pointing to insufficient *government* support to victims, including medical and financial, but this has nothing to do with "acting swiftly" with "the cult", because it has already being paid fully and the new organization is not responsible for any outstanding debts(see above). Therefore, as this passage is misleading, I will remove it.

Apologetics Index: Under Surveiilance Passage
Replaced links to Apologetincs Index (a countercult website maintained by an "online Christian ministry") - over 6 total, some repeating - with direct links to sources.

Miscellaneous minor edits
Removed the sentence on nuclear weapons development and attempts to acquite uranium (lack of credible evidence). To the best of my knowledge, suspicions and theories regarding attempts to buy uranium in Africa and extract in Australia were not confirmed.

Changed around some wording. Under Activities, "It had been founded by" becomes "Founded by". "young elite universities graduates" becomes "young graduates from elite universities". Gaius Octavius Atellus

Added: info on Aleph'2005
Information on reformers and fundamentalists, although scarce, has appeared at least several times in Japanese press starting the summer of 2005, so I condider it worth mentioning. The extent of disagreements is unclear, so I chose not to speculate this time.

Unexplained addition
Shogo Amakusa, leader of the renegade Christians in the Christian Arc of the anime Rurouni Kenshin, is likely based on Shoko Asahara.
 * Author of this, please elaborate on the meaning of this passage, what exactly in Mr Amagusa was based on Asahara? the character in that anime movie resembles him or something else? I will try to investigate and if found relevant enough, rephrase. Otherwise will remove. This perhaps makes sense to leave as Aum affair influenced the popular culture... but frankly religious theme is recent animes are so closely attached to Japanese version of reality that I remember a few more movies where I could find similarities... It would be great if you could provide some more examples or materials on this 'cultura;' aspects, especially J-Pop and anime mass cultureExitControl

March 21 edits
Removed various additions such as this one:

"Although Aum/Aleph often use terminology appropriated from Sanskrit and Tibetan Buddhist doctrine, they attribute meanings to these terms which are shorn of their original contexts and often bear little resemblance to the original doctrines"

I believe we may say that "some critics say or believe" this. Didn't rephrase because most similar additions attempt to picture the group worse it already was while the information itself is of doubtful quality or isn't an information at all (rather author's opinion). Another good example is expanding the 'doctrine' part with sentences sayings that 'Asahara' is an assumed name and he is currently in prison (it is already stated where it should). Lastly, if someone has so much time and determination as to replace 'argued' to 'unfoundently claimed', please think about others (namely me) who has to go thru each sentence and clean it up not to destroy the valuable imput of others who made contributions later :-) If I spoiled your term paper this way, what would you say to me? :-) Couldn't you find a less destructive way to express your POV?

Contacted North Korea? No proof
Replaced the following:

 * "Right-wing groups also are reported to dislike Aleph due to Aum's previous attempt to contact North Korea to acquire the weapons they eventually acquired from Russia".

There are many allegations and ideas regarding many things, but as in many of such cases there is absolutely no proof that any Aum member contacted North Korea with anything, there is also no proof that any weapons were acquired from whatever source, including Russia the country. Besides, the page linked does not deal with any weapons matters at all.

As to Japan's right wing protesters, they dislike many things that they consider foreign to Japan's traditional values - America for defeating Japan in WWII and U.S. bases in Okinawa, Russian embassy for not giving back Kuril islands, Koreans for taking low-profile Jobs etc, Chinese for this and that etcetera. Their standard technique of 'peaceful protest' incudes a sort of audio-terrorism, when high-decibel noise is produced from powerful loudspeakers (this is considered legal in Japan). As regards to Aum, these protestations are understandably very unpleasant to Aum's neighbors and obviously the landlords.

As to North Korea. Couple of years ago, a lay Aum follower fled to North Korea where she sought political asylum. This way she tried to get rid of harassment by PSIA, the security service whose main duty is 'to monitor Aum Shinrikyo' which it believes 'remain a serious threat' (before Aum-related incidents there were plans to disband the Agency). The agency tried to convince the woman to spy on Aum from within and threatened with some consequences in case she refuses. The woman has lived in Pyongyang's hotel and finally decided to return back. In her words, secret service agents, now North Korean, were constantly keeping eye on her and basic necessities to which she got used in Japan (such as lipstick) were impossible to obtain. All this story came up in quite idiotic manner when she returned, but initially it was reported by the papers that her trip to North Korea was somehow a grim plot by Aum to establish contact with 'evil regime'. Conclusion: read carefully and double cross-check. ExitControl

title: Talk:Aum Shinrikyo


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Pontiac (Odawa leader)

Pontiac or Obwaandi'eyaag (c. 1714/20 – April 20, 1769) was an Odawa war chief known for his role in the war named for him, from 1763 to 1766 leading Native Americans in an armed struggle against the British in the Great Lakes region due to, among other reasons, dissatisfaction with British policies. It followed the British victory in the French and Indian War, the American front of the Seven Years' War. Pontiac's importance in the war that bears his name has been debated. Historical accounts from the 19th century portrayed him as the mastermind and leader of the revolt, but some subsequent scholars argued that his role had been exaggerated. Historians today generally view him as an important local leader who influenced a wider movement that he did not command.

The war began in May 1763 when Pontiac and 300 followers attempted to take Fort Detroit by surprise. His plan foiled, Pontiac laid siege to the fort, where he was eventually joined by more than 900 warriors from a half-dozen tribes. Meanwhile, messengers spread the word of Pontiac's actions, and the war expanded far beyond Detroit. In July 1763, Pontiac defeated a British detachment at the Battle of Bloody Run, but he was unable to capture the fort. In October, he lifted the siege and withdrew to the Illinois Country. Pontiac's actions contributed to the British Crown's issuance of the Proclamation of 1763, which prohibited any settlers west of the Appalachian Mountains to preserve an area for Native Americans.

Pontiac's influence declined around Detroit because of the siege but he gained stature as he continued to encourage the various tribal leaders to fight against the British. Seeking to end the war, British officials made him the focus of their diplomatic efforts. In July 1766, he made peace with British Superintendent of Indian Affairs Sir William Johnson. The British attention to Pontiac aroused resentment among other tribal leaders, as the war effort was decentralized. Pontiac claimed greater authority than he possessed. He was increasingly ostracized and in 1769 he was assassinated by a Peoria warrior.

Early years
Contemporaneous documents reveal little about Pontiac before 1763. He was probably born between 1712 and 1725, perhaps at an Odawa village on the Detroit or Maumee River. Other sources state that he may have been born in Defiance, Ohio. A park at the confluence of the Maumee and Auglaise rivers in Defiance is named Pontiac Park and identified as his birthplace.

Historians are uncertain about the tribal affiliation of his parents. According to an 18th-century Odawa tradition, Pontiac's mother was a Chippewa and his father an Odawa, although some sources claim that one of his parents was a Miami. Some sources also state that he may have been born a Catawba and taken as prisoner, then adopted as Odawa. Pontiac was always identified as Odawa by people who knew him. Since 1723 he had also lived in close proximity to Fort Detroit (which he later besieged). Pontiac was married to a woman named Kantuckee Gun in 1716 and they had 2 children both sons. They also had a daughter, Marie Manon who is described as a Salteuse or Saulteaux Indian. She is buried in Assumption Cemetery in Windsor, Ontario.

By 1747, Pontiac had become a war leader among the Odawa, when he allied with New France against a resistance movement led by Nicholas Orontony, a Huron leader. Nicolas had also allowed the English to build a trading post, Fort Sandusky, in 1745 near Sandusky Bay in Ohio country. Pontiac continued to support the French during the French and Indian War (1754–1763) against British colonists and their allied Native Americans. He may have taken part in the famous French and Indian victory over the Braddock expedition on July 9, 1755, although there is no direct evidence.

In one of the earliest accounts of Pontiac, Robert Rogers, a noted British frontier soldier, claimed to have met with the warrior chief in 1760, although many details in Rogers' story are unreliable. Rogers wrote a play about Pontiac called Ponteach: or the Savages of America (1765), which helped to make the Odawa leader famous and began the process of mythologizing about him. According to historian Richard White, the play made Pontiac "the most famous Indian of the eighteenth century".

Pontiac's War
The French and Indian War, the North American theater of the Seven Years' War, effectively ended in 1760 with the British conquest of Quebec, which marked the defeat of New France. Indian allies of the defeated French soon became dissatisfied with the trading practices of the victorious British. In addition, although by treaty the British said they would not build any forts in Ohio Country, General Jeffery Amherst, the architect of British Indian policy, ordered one built on the south shore of Sandusky Bay in 1761. It was known as Fort Sandusky. Amherst also changed policies toward Native Americans, cutting back on the practice of gifts, which the French had customarily given to the Indians, but he considered to be bribes. He also restricted the distribution of gunpowder and ammunition, supplies that the Indians needed for hunting and that had previously been traded to them by the French. Some Indian people believed that the British intended to subjugate or destroy them.

Following the war, British colonists started entering areas formerly colonized by the French. By 1761, tribal leaders began calling for Indians to join, drive the British out of the region, and revive the French and Indian alliance. The French government recognized that the region of the Great Lakes was now in British control. Pontiac's desire to see the French return was so great that he refused to believe that the French would not return, believing it to be a ploy by the British. Contributing to the anti-British sentiment was a religious revival inspired by a Lenape prophet named Neolin, who called for Indians to reject European cultural influences and return to traditional ways. Pontiac may have been involved in a 1762 conference on the Detroit River in which leaders had apparently issued a call to arms to various Indian tribes. According to historian John Sugden, Pontiac "probably thought himself part of a resistance movement already under way".

On April 27, 1763, Pontiac held a large council about 10 miles below Fort Detroit (present-day Council Point Park in Lincoln Park, Michigan). Pontiac urged the listeners to join him in a surprise attack on Fort Detroit. On May 1, Pontiac visited the fort with 50 Odawa in order to assess the strength of the garrison.

According to a French chronicler, Pontiac proclaimed in a second council: "It is important for us, my brothers, that we exterminate from our lands this nation which seeks only to destroy us. You see as well as I that we can no longer supply our needs, as we have done from our brothers, the French.... Therefore, my brothers, we must all swear their destruction and wait no longer. Nothing prevents us; they are few in numbers, and we can accomplish it. The French are all subdued, But who are in their Stead become our Lords? A proud, imperious, churlish, haughty Band. The French familiarized themselves with us, Studied our Tongue, and Manners, wore our Dress, Married our Daughters, and our Sons their Maids, Dealt honestly, and well supplied our Wants, Used no one ill, and treated with Respect Our Kings, our Captains, and our aged Men; Call’d us their Friends, nay, what is more, their Children. And seem’d like Fathers anxious for our Welfare"

Pontiac's War began on May 7, 1763, when Pontiac and 300 followers attempted to take Fort Detroit by surprise. His plan was foiled because Major Henry Gladwin, the fort's commander, had been warned by an informer and had prepared his defense. Pontiac withdrew and looked for other opportunities to capture the fort, to no avail. On May 9, he laid siege to the fort, and was eventually joined by more than 900 warriors from a half-dozen tribes. While Pontiac was besieging Fort Detroit, messengers spread word of his actions. Indians made widespread attacks against British forts and Anglo-American (but not French) settlements, and at one point controlled nine of eleven British forts in the Ohio Valley. They destroyed Fort Sandusky. In July 1763, Pontiac defeated a British detachment at the Battle of Bloody Run, but he was unable to capture the fort. In October, he lifted the siege and withdrew to the Illinois Country, where he had relatives.

Pontiac continued to encourage militant resistance to British occupation among the Illinois and Wabash tribes, and to recruit French colonists as allies. According to historian Richard White, it was during this time that Pontiac exerted his greatest influence, developing from a local war leader into an important regional spokesman. After the failure of the siege of Fort Detroit, the British initially thought that Pontiac was defeated and would trouble them no longer, but his influence continued to grow. The British had successfully pacified the uprising in the Ohio Country, but British military dominance was tenuous. They decided to negotiate with the Odawa leader. The British further increased his stature by making Pontiac the focus of their diplomacy and not understanding the decentralized Indian approach to war. Pontiac met with Sir William Johnson, the British Superintendent of Indian Affairs, on July 25, 1766, at Fort Ontario in Oswego, New York, and formally ended hostilities when he signed a peace treaty stopping the rebellions.

To prevent a similar uprising, the British increased their frontier presence in the years following Pontiac's War. In this way, the rebellion's result was the opposite of Pontiac's original intentions. Perhaps most importantly, these were the final major Indian rebellions against British control in the Ohio Country before the creation of the United States guaranteed a permanent white presence in the North American interior.

Final years
Pontiac's final years are sparsely documented. He was summoned to Detroit in August 1767 to testify in the investigation of the murder of Elizabeth "Betty" Fisher, a seven-year-old English colonist. In 1763 during the siege of Detroit, an Odawa war party had attacked the Fisher farm, killing Betty's parents and taking the girl captive. The following year, while Betty was still captive at Pontiac's village, she tried to warm herself at Pontiac's fire. The girl was sick with dysentery, and Pontiac became angry when she soiled some of his clothes. According to court testimony, Pontiac picked up the naked child, threw her into the Maumee River, and called upon a French-speaking ally to wade into the river and drown her. This was done. The French colonist who drowned Fisher was later arrested by the British, but he had escaped by the time that Pontiac came to testify. Pontiac neither confirmed nor denied his role in the murder, and the investigation was eventually dropped.

The attention paid to Pontiac by the British Crown encouraged him to assert more power among the Indians of the region than he possessed by traditional rights. "By 1766 he was acting arrogantly and imperiously," wrote historian Richard White, "assuming powers no western Indian leader possessed." In 1768, he was forced to leave his Odawa village on the Maumee River and relocate near Ouiatenon on the Wabash River. On May 10, 1768, he dictated a letter to British officials in which he explained that he was no longer recognized as a chief by the people of his village on the Maumee.

Pontiac was assassinated on April 20, 1769, near the French town of Cahokia. Most accounts place his murder in Cahokia, but historian Gregory Dowd wrote that the killing probably happened in a nearby Indian village. The killer was a Peoria warrior whose name has not been preserved. He was apparently avenging his uncle, a Peoria chief named Makachinga (Black Dog), whom Pontiac had stabbed and badly wounded in 1766. A Peoria band council had authorized Pontiac's execution. The Peoria warrior came behind Pontiac, stunned him by clubbing him, and stabbed him to death.

Various rumors quickly spread about the circumstances of Pontiac's death, including one that the British had hired his killer. Benjamin Drake, writing in 1848, records that the Michigamie, along with the other bands in the Illinois Confederation, had been attacked by a general confederation of the Sauk, Fox, Kickapoo, Sioux, Chippewa, Odawa, and Potawatomi, along with the Cherokee and Choctawa from the south. The war continued for a great many years until the Illinois Confederation was destroyed. Drake records that by 1826, only about 500 members of the Confederation remained. Lieutenant Pike, in his travels to the sources of the Mississippi, remarked, "By killing the celebrated Sauk chief, Pontiac, the Illinois, Cahokias, Kaskaskias, and Peorias kindled a war with the allied nations of the Sauks and Reynards, which has been the cause of the almost entire destruction of the former nations." According to a story recorded by historian Francis Parkman in The Conspiracy of Pontiac (1851), a terrible war of retaliation against the Peoria resulted from Pontiac's murder. This legend is still sometimes repeated, but there is no evidence that there were any Indian reprisals for Pontiac's murder. Pontiac's burial place is unknown, and may have been at Cahokia. But evidence and tradition suggest that his body was taken across the river and buried in St. Louis, recently founded by French colonists from New Orleans and the Illinois Country. In 1900, the Daughters of the American Revolution placed a commemorative plaque at the southeast corner of Walnut and South Broadway in St. Louis, which was said to be near Pontiac's burial place.

Legacy and honors
Historians have differed in their assessments of Pontiac's importance. Older accounts of the war portrayed him as a ruthless but brilliant mastermind behind a massive "conspiracy" which was planned in advance. For example, Norman Barton Wood dubbed him the "Red Napoleon". Historians today generally agree that Pontiac's actions at Detroit were the spark that instigated the widespread uprising, and that he helped to spread the resistance by sending emissaries urging other leaders to join it, but he did not command the various tribal war leaders as a whole. They operated in a highly decentralized way.

In addition, tribal leaders around Fort Pitt and Fort Niagara, for example, had long been calling for a declaration of war against the British; they were not led by Pontiac. According to historian John Sugden, Pontiac "was neither the originator nor the strategist of the rebellion, but he kindled it by daring to act, and his early successes, ambition, and determination won him a temporary prominence not enjoyed by any of the other Indian leaders". The British assumed that chiefs were able to hold more authority than they usually did, and failed to recognize the decentralized nature of the Indian bands and tribes.

Places named for Pontiac include the cities of Pontiac in Michigan and Illinois in the United States; Pontiac, Quebec, in Canada; and the Pontiac Regional County Municipality in Quebec. Pontiac was also the name of a popular automobile brand of General Motors, developed and originally based in Detroit, which was discontinued in 2010. A Belgian watch company was also named after him, reportedly because he was able to tell the time by the stars. Various streets and buildings throughout the US are named after Pontiac.

title: Pontiac (Odawa leader)


text:
Talk:Polygraph

TV episodes
A lot of space in this article - most of the section “Society and culture” - was taken up by recounting TV shows in which a polygraph is used to supposedly solve a case or reveal the truth. IMO this coverage was way excessive and added little or no relevant information to the article - and most of it was unsourced to boot. I have provided sources for a few of the more directly relevant items. The others were detailed retellings of a particular episode of a TV show in which a polygraph is featured, either to reveal the truth or to fool the machine. None of them was referenced and I have deleted them all. Anyone object? If so, please explain why you think they are significant and provide references. -- MelanieN (talk) 17:14, 15 May 2019 (UTC)

Effective
I don't know what you mean by "are 98% effective". Effectiveness is neither reliability nor validity, so I don't know what you mean. I cannot make heads or tails of it. How do you define effectiveness? How do you measure it? What are WP:RS for it? What you wrote is grammatically correct, but it does not have meaning. In plaintext: tell us where did you read that polygraph examinations are 98% effective. Tgeorgescu (talk) 23:02, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

Uncited material in need of citations
I am moving the following uncited material here until it can be properly supported with inline citations of reliable, secondary sources, per WP:V, WP:CS, WP:IRS, WP:PSTS, WP:BLP, WP:NOR, et al. This diff shows where it was in the article. Nightscream (talk) 17:41, 21 December 2021 (UTC)

 * It is true what you say, but it needs a source. tgeorgescu (talk) 22:49, 1 January 2022 (UTC)
 * Service: That refers to this reinsertion of one of the paragraphs below. --Hob Gadling (talk) 08:57, 4 January 2022 (UTC)

Israel
In private discipline, some insurance companies attempt to include a clause in insurance contracts, in which the beneficiary agrees that polygraph results be admissible as evidence. In such cases, where the beneficiary has willingly agreed to such a clause, signed the contract, and taken the test, the courts will honor the contract, and take the polygraph results into consideration. However, it is common practice for lawyers to advise people who signed such contracts to refuse to take the test. Depending on whether or not the beneficiary signed an agreements clause, and whether the test was already taken or not, such a refusal usually has no ill effects; at worst, the court will simply order the person to take the test as agreed. At best, the court will cancel the clause and release the person from taking the test, or rule the evidence inadmissible.

Australia
The High Court of Australia has not yet considered the admissibility of polygraph evidence. However, the New South Wales District Court rejected the use of the device in a criminal trial. In Raymond George Murray 1982 7A Crim R48, Sinclair DCJ refused to admit polygraph evidence tending to support the defense. The judge rejected the evidence on the following grounds: The Court cited, with approval, the Canadian case of Phillion v R 1978 1SCR 18.
 * 1) The veracity of the accused and the weight to be given to his evidence, and other witnesses called in the trial, was a matter for the jury.
 * 2) The polygraph "expert" sought to express an opinion as to ultimate facts at issue, which is peculiarly the province of the jury.
 * 3) The test purported to be expert evidence by the witness who was not qualified as an expert; he was merely an operator and assessor of a polygraph. The scientific premise upon which his assessment was based had not been proved in any court in Australia.
 * 4) Devoid of any proved or accepted scientific basis, the evidence of the operator is hearsay which is inadmissible.

Security clearances
A security clearance in the United States may not be revoked based solely on polygraph results. However, a person's access to sensitive information may be denied if the polygraph results are not favorable. In addition, persons being considered for a government position or job may be denied the employment, if the position specifically requires successful completion of a polygraph examination. It is difficult to precisely determine the effectiveness of polygraph results for the detection or deterrence of spying. It is inadmissible as evidence in most federal courts and military courts martial. The polygraph is more often used as a deterrent to espionage rather than detection.

As part of his plea bargain agreement for his case of espionage for the Soviet Union, Robert Hanssen would be made to undergo a polygraph at any time as a means of damage assessment. In Hanssen's 25-year career with the FBI, not once was he made to undergo a polygraph. Hanssen later admitted that had he been subject to a polygraph or received news of such during his tenure with the FBI, it would have discouraged him from espionage.

The Senate committee reported that the second examination, at a time when Ames was under suspicion, resulted in indications of deception and a retest a few days later with a different examiner. The second examiner concluded that there were no further indications of deception. In the CIA's analysis of the second exam, they were critical of their failure to convey to the second examiner the existing suspicions.

Alternative tests
Recalling artificial memories are known to activate the posterior cingulate cortex. However, fMRIs are limited by being expensive, immobile, and having inconsistent lying responses.

Notable cases
[Gary Ridgway] In the interim he had killed seven additional women.

[David Westerfield] He was ultimately tried and convicted of kidnapping and first degree murder.

"Junk science"?
Even though a few sources are cited, should it really be referred to as "junk science"? This doesn't sound very neutral. 2601:49:8400:26B:F89F:F8CE:B532:A6BB (talk) 14:01, 4 April 2024 (UTC)
 * "Neutral" does not mean "some say this, some say that" on Wikipedia. It means "follow where the sources go". See WP:FALSEBALANCE. --Hob Gadling (talk) 14:13, 4 April 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Polygraph


text:
Coccidioidomycosis

Coccidioidomycosis, commonly known as cocci, Valley fever, as well as California fever, desert rheumatism, or San Joaquin Valley fever, is a mammalian fungal disease caused by Coccidioides immitis or Coccidioides posadasii. Coccidioidomycosis is endemic in certain parts of the United States in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, and northern Mexico.

C. immitis is a dimorphic saprophytic fungus that grows as a mycelium in the soil and produces a spherule form in the host organism. C. immitis is dormant during long dry spells, then develops as a mold with long filaments that break off into airborne spores when it rains.

Coccidioidomycosis is a common cause of community-acquired pneumonia in the endemic areas of the United States. Infections usually occur due to inhalation of the arthroconidial spores after soil disruption. The disease is not contagious. In some cases the infection may recur or become chronic.

Description
Coccidioidomycosis is a mammalian fungal disease caused by Coccidioides immitis or Coccidioides posadasii. It is commonly known as cocci, Valley fever, as well as California fever, desert rheumatism, or San Joaquin Valley fever. Coccidioidomycosis is endemic in certain parts of the United States in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, and northern Mexico.

C. immitis is a dimorphic saprophytic fungus that grows as a mycelium in the soil and produces a spherule form in the host organism. It resides in the soil in certain parts of the southwestern United States, most notably in California and Arizona. It is also commonly found in northern Mexico, and parts of Central and South America. C. immitis is dormant during long dry spells, then develops as a mold with long filaments that break off into airborne spores when it rains. The spores, known as arthroconidia, are swept into the air by disruption of the soil, such as during construction, farming, low-wind or singular dust events, or an earthquake. Windstorms may also cause epidemics far from endemic areas. In December 1977, a windstorm in an endemic area around Arvin, California led to several hundred cases, including deaths, in non-endemic areas hundreds of miles away.

Coccidioidomycosis is a common cause of community-acquired pneumonia in the endemic areas of the United States. Infections usually occur due to inhalation of the arthroconidial spores after soil disruption. The disease is not contagious. In some cases the infection may recur or become chronic.

It was reported in 2022 that valley fever had been increasing in California's Central Valley for years (1,000 cases in Kern county in 2014, 3,000 in 2021); experts said that cases could rise across the American west as the climate makes the landscape drier and hotter.

Classification
After Coccidioides infection, coccidioidomycosis begins with Valley fever, which is its initial acute form. Valley fever may progress to the chronic form and then to disseminated coccidioidomycosis. Therefore, coccidioidomycosis may be divided into the following types:
 * Acute coccidioidomycosis, sometimes described in literature as primary pulmonary coccidioidomycosis
 * Chronic coccidioidomycosis
 * Disseminated coccidioidomycosis, which includes primary cutaneous coccidioidomycosis

Valley fever is not a contagious disease. In some cases the infection may recur or become chronic.

Signs and symptoms
An estimated 60% of people infected with the fungi responsible for coccidioidomycosis have minimal to no symptoms, while 40% will have a range of possible clinical symptoms. Of those who do develop symptoms, the primary infection is most often respiratory, with symptoms resembling bronchitis or pneumonia that resolve over a matter of a few weeks. In endemic regions, coccidioidomycosis is responsible for 20% of cases of community-acquired pneumonia. Notable coccidioidomycosis signs and symptoms include a profound feeling of tiredness, loss of smell and taste, fever, cough, headaches, rash, muscle pain, and joint pain. Fatigue can persist for many months after initial infection. The classic triad of coccidioidomycosis known as "desert rheumatism" includes the combination of fever, joint pains, and erythema nodosum.

A minority (3–5%) of infected individuals do not recover from the initial acute infection and develop a chronic infection. This can take the form of chronic lung infection or widespread disseminated infection (affecting the tissues lining the brain, soft tissues, joints, and bone). Chronic infection is responsible for most of the morbidity and mortality. Chronic fibrocavitary disease is manifested by cough (sometimes productive of mucus), fevers, night sweats and weight loss. Osteomyelitis, including involvement of the spine, and meningitis may occur months to years after initial infection. Severe lung disease may develop in HIV-infected persons.

Complications
Serious complications may occur in patients who have weakened immune systems, including severe pneumonia with respiratory failure and bronchopleural fistulas requiring resection, lung nodules, and possible disseminated form, where the infection spreads throughout the body. The disseminated form of coccidioidomycosis can devastate the body, causing skin ulcers, abscesses, bone lesions, swollen joints with severe pain, heart inflammation, urinary tract problems, and inflammation of the brain's lining, which can lead to death. Coccidioidomycosis is a common cause of community-acquired pneumonia in the endemic areas of the United States. Infections usually occur due to inhalation of the arthroconidial spores after soil disruption.

A particularly severe case of meningitis caused by valley fever in 2012 initially received several incorrect diagnoses such as sinus infections and cluster headaches. The patient became unable to work during diagnosis and original search for treatments. Eventually the right treatment was found—albeit with severe side effects—requiring four pills a day and medication administered directly into the brain every 16 weeks.

Cause
C. immitis is a dimorphic saprophytic fungus that grows as a mycelium in the soil and produces a spherule form in the host organism. It resides in the soil in certain parts of the southwestern United States, most notably in California and Arizona. It is also commonly found in northern Mexico, and parts of Central and South America. C. immitis is dormant during long dry spells, then develops as a mold with long filaments that break off into airborne spores when it rains. The spores, known as arthroconidia, are swept into the air by disruption of the soil, such as during construction, farming, low-wind or singular dust events, or an earthquake. Windstorms may also cause epidemics far from endemic areas. In December 1977, a windstorm in an endemic area around Arvin, California led to several hundred cases, including deaths, in non-endemic areas hundreds of miles away.

Rain starts the cycle of initial growth of the fungus in the soil. In soil (and in agar media), Coccidioides exist in filament form. It forms hyphae in both horizontal and vertical directions. Over a prolonged dry period, cells within hyphae degenerate to form alternating barrel-shaped cells (arthroconidia) which are light in weight and carried by air currents. This happens when the soil is disturbed, often by clearing trees, construction or farming. As the population grows, so do all these activities, causing a potential cascade effect. The more land that is cleared and the more arid the soil, the riper the environment for Coccidioides. These spores can be easily inhaled unknowingly. On reaching alveoli they enlarge in size to become spherules, and internal septations develop. This division of cells is made possible by the optimal temperature inside the body. Septations develop and form endospores within the spherule. Rupture of spherules release these endospores, which in turn repeat the cycle and spread the infection to adjacent tissues within the body of the infected individual. Nodules can form in lungs surrounding these spherules. When they rupture, they release their contents into bronchi, forming thin-walled cavities. These cavities can cause symptoms including characteristic chest pain, coughing up blood, and persistent cough. In individuals with a weakened immune system, the infection can spread through the blood. The fungus can also, rarely, enter the body through a break in the skin and cause infection.

Diagnosis
Coccidioidomycosis diagnosis relies on a combination of an infected person's signs and symptoms, findings on radiographic imaging, and laboratory results. The disease is commonly misdiagnosed as bacterial community-acquired pneumonia. The fungal infection can be demonstrated by microscopic detection of diagnostic cells in body fluids, exudates, sputum and biopsy tissue by methods of Papanicolaou or Grocott's methenamine silver staining. These stains can demonstrate spherules and surrounding inflammation.

With specific nucleotide primers, C. immitis DNA can be amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). It can also be detected in culture by morphological identification or by using molecular probes that hybridize with C. immitis RNA. C. immitis and C. posadasii cannot be distinguished on cytology or by symptoms, but only by DNA PCR.

An indirect demonstration of fungal infection can be achieved also by serologic analysis detecting fungal antigen or host IgM or IgG antibody produced against the fungus. The available tests include the tube-precipitin (TP) assays, complement fixation assays, and enzyme immunoassays. TP antibody is not found in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). TP antibody is specific and is used as a confirmatory test, whereas ELISA is sensitive and thus used for initial testing.

If the meninges are affected, CSF will show abnormally low glucose levels, an increased level of protein, and lymphocytic pleocytosis. Rarely, CSF eosinophilia is present.

Imaging
Chest X-rays rarely demonstrate nodules or cavities in the lungs, but these images commonly demonstrate lung opacification, pleural effusions, or enlargement of lymph nodes associated with the lungs. Computed tomography scans of the chest are more sensitive than chest X-rays to detect these changes.

Prevention
Preventing coccidioidomycosis is challenging because it is difficult to avoid breathing in the fungus should it be present; however, the public health effect of the disease is essential to understand in areas where the fungus is endemic. Enhancing surveillance of coccidioidomycosis is key to preparedness in the medical field in addition to improving diagnostics for early infections. There are no completely effective preventive measures available for people who live or travel through Valley fever-endemic areas. Recommended preventive measures include avoiding airborne dust or dirt, but this does not guarantee protection against infection. People in certain occupations may be advised to wear face masks. The use of air filtration indoors is also helpful, in addition to keeping skin injuries clean and covered to avoid skin infection.

From 1998–2011, there were 111,117 U.S. cases of coccidioidomycosis logged in the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS). Since many U.S. states do not require reporting of coccidioidomycosis, the actual numbers may be higher. The United States' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) called the disease a "silent epidemic" and acknowledged that there is no proven anticoccidioidal vaccine available. A 2001 cost-effectiveness analysis indicated that a potential vaccine could improve health as well as reducing total health care expenditures among infants, teens, and immigrant adults, and more modestly improve health but increase total health care expenditures in older age groups.

Raising both surveillance and awareness of the disease while medical researchers are developing a human vaccine can positively contribute towards prevention efforts. Research demonstrates that patients from endemic areas who are aware of the disease are most likely to request diagnostic testing for coccidioidomycosis. Presently, Meridian Bioscience manufactures the so-called EIA test to diagnose the Valley fever, which however is known for producing a fair quantity of false positives. Recommended prevention measures can include type-of-exposure-based respirator protection for persons engaged in agriculture, construction and others working outdoors in endemic areas. Dust control measures such as planting grass and wetting the soil, and also limiting exposure to dust storms are advisable for residential areas in endemic regions.

Treatment
Significant disease develops in fewer than 5% of those infected and typically occurs in those with a weakened immune system. Mild asymptomatic cases often do not require any treatment. Those with severe symptoms may benefit from antifungal therapy, which requires 3–6 months or more of treatment depending on the response to the treatment. There is a lack of prospective studies that examine optimal antifungal therapy for coccidioidomycosis.

On the whole, oral fluconazole and intravenous amphotericin B are used in progressive or disseminated disease, or in immunocompromised individuals. Amphotericin B was originally the only available treatment, but alternatives, including itraconazole and ketoconazole, became available for milder disease. Fluconazole is the preferred medication for coccidioidal meningitis, due to its penetration into CSF. Intrathecal or intraventricular amphotericin B therapy is used if infection persists after fluconazole treatment. Itraconazole is used for cases that involve treatment of infected person's bones and joints. The antifungal medications posaconazole and voriconazole have also been used to treat coccidioidomycosis. Because the symptoms of coccidioidomycosis are similar to the common flu, pneumonia, and other respiratory diseases, it is important for public health professionals to be aware of the rise of coccidioidomycosis and the specifics of diagnosis. Greyhound dogs often get coccidioidomycosis; their treatment regimen involves 6–12 months of ketoconazole taken with food.

Toxicity
Conventional amphotericin B desoxycholate (AmB: used since the 1950s as a primary agent) is known to be associated with increased drug-induced nephrotoxicity impairing kidney function. Other formulations have been developed such as lipid-soluble formulations to mitigate side-effects such as direct proximal and distal tubular cytotoxicity. These include liposomal amphotericin B, amphotericin B lipid complex such as Abelcet (brand) amphotericin B phospholipid complex also as AmBisome Intravenous, or Amphotec Intravenous (Generic; Amphotericin B Cholesteryl Sul), and amphotericin B colloidal dispersion, all shown to exhibit a decrease in nephrotoxicity. The latter was not as effective in one study as amphotericin B desoxycholate which had a 50% murine (rat and mouse) morbidity rate versus zero for the AmB colloidal dispersion.

The cost of the nephrotoxic AmB deoxycholate, in 2015, for a patient of 70 kg at 1 mg/kg/day dosage, was approximately US$63.80, compared to $1318.80 for 5 mg/kg/day of the less toxic liposomal AmB.

Epidemiology
Coccidioidomycosis is endemic to the western hemisphere between 40°N and 40°S, including certain parts of the United States in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, and northern Mexico. The ecological niches are characterized by hot summers and mild winters with an annual rainfall of 10–50 ml. The species are found in alkaline sandy soil, typically 10–30 cm below the surface. In harmony with the mycelium life cycle, incidence increases with periods of dryness after a rainy season; this phenomenon, termed "grow and blow", refers to growth of the fungus in wet weather, producing spores which are spread by the wind during succeeding dry weather. While the majority of cases are observed in the endemic region, cases reported outside the area are generally visitors, who contact the infection and return to their native areas before becoming symptomatic.

North America
In the United States, C. immitis is endemic to southern and central California with the highest presence in the San Joaquin Valley. C. posadassi is most prevalent in Arizona, although it can be found in a wider region spanning from Utah, New Mexico, Texas, and Nevada. An estimated 150,000 infections occur annually, with 25,000 new infections occurring every year. The incidence of coccidioidomycosis in the United States in 2011 (42.6 per 100,000) was almost ten times higher than the incidence reported in 1998 (5.3 per 100,000). In area where it is most prevalent, the infection rate is 2-4%.

Incidence varies widely across the west and southwest. In Arizona, for instance, in 2007, there were 3,450 cases in Maricopa County, which in 2007 had an estimated population of 3,880,181 for an incidence of approximately 1 in 1,125. In contrast, though southern New Mexico is considered an endemic region, there were 35 cases in the entire state in 2008 and 23 in 2007, in a region that had an estimated 2008 population of 1,984,356, for an incidence of approximately 1 in 56,695.

Infection rates vary greatly by county, and although population density is important, so are other factors that have not been proven yet. Greater construction activity may disturb spores in the soil. In addition, the effect of altitude on fungi growth and morphology has not been studied, and altitude can range from sea level to 10,000 feet or higher across California, Arizona, Utah and New Mexico.

In California from 2000 to 2007, there were 16,970 reported cases (5.9 per 100,000 people) and 752 deaths of the 8,657 people hospitalized. The highest incidence was in the San Joaquin Valley with 76% of the 16,970 cases (12,855) occurring in the area. Following the 1994 Northridge earthquake, there was a sudden increase of cases in the areas affected by the quake, at a pace of over 10 times baseline.

There was an outbreak in the summer of 2001 in Colorado, away from where the disease was considered endemic. A group of archeologists visited Dinosaur National Monument, and eight members of the crew, along with two National Park Service workers were diagnosed with Valley fever.

California state prisons, beginning in 1919, have been particularly affected by coccidioidomycosis. In 2005 and 2006, the Pleasant Valley State Prison near Coalinga and Avenal State Prison near Avenal on the western side of the San Joaquin Valley had the highest incidence in 2005, of at least 3,000 per 100,000. The receiver appointed in Plata v. Schwarzenegger issued an order in May 2013 requiring relocation of vulnerable populations in those prisons. The incidence rate has been increasing, with rates as high as 7% during 2006–2010. The cost of care and treatment is $23 million in California prisons. A lawsuit was filed against the state in 2014 on behalf of 58 inmates stating that the Avenal and Pleasant valley state prisons did not take necessary steps to prevent infections.

Population risk factors
There are several populations that have a higher risk for contracting coccidioidomycosis and developing the advanced disseminated version of the disease. Populations with exposure to the airborne arthroconidia working in agriculture and construction have a higher risk. Outbreaks have also been linked to earthquakes, windstorms and military training exercises where the ground is disturbed. Historically, an infection is more likely to occur in males than females, although this could be attributed to occupation rather than being sex-specific. Women who are pregnant and immediately postpartum are at a high risk of infection and dissemination. There is also an association between stage of pregnancy and severity of the disease, with third trimester women being more likely to develop dissemination. Presumably this is related to highly elevated hormonal levels, which stimulate growth and maturation of spherules and subsequent release of endospores. Certain ethnic populations are more susceptible to disseminated coccidioidomycosis. The risk of dissemination is 175 times greater in Filipinos and 10 times greater in African Americans than non-Hispanic whites. Individuals with a weakened immune system are also more susceptible to the disease. In particular, individuals with HIV and diseases that impair T-cell function. Individuals with pre-existing conditions such as diabetes are also at a higher risk. Age also affects the severity of the disease, with more than one-third of deaths being in the 65-84 age group.

History
The first case of what was later named coccidioidomycosis was described in 1892 in Buenos Aires by Alejandro Posadas, a medical intern at the Hospital de Clínicas "José de San Martín". Posadas established an infectious character of the disease after being able to transfer it in laboratory conditions to lab animals. In the U.S., Dr. E. Rixford, a physician from a San Francisco hospital, and T. C. Gilchrist, a pathologist at Johns Hopkins Medical School, became early pioneers of clinical studies of the infection. They decided that the causative organism was a Coccidia-type protozoan and named it Coccidioides immitis (resembling Coccidia, not mild).

Dr. William Ophüls, a professor at Stanford University Hospital (San Francisco), discovered that the causative agent of the disease that was at first called Coccidioides infection and later coccidioidomycosis was a fungal pathogen, and coccidioidomycosis was also distinguished from Histoplasmosis and Blastomycosis. Further, Coccidioides immitis was identified as the culprit of respiratory disorders previously called San Joaquin Valley fever, desert fever, and Valley fever, and a serum precipitin test was developed by Charles E. Smith that was able to detect an acute form of the infection. In retrospect, Smith played a major role in both medical research and raising awareness about coccidioidomycosis, especially when he became dean of the School of Public Health at the University of California at Berkeley in 1951.

Coccidioides immitis was considered by the United States during the 1950s and 1960s as a potential biological weapon. The strain selected for investigation was designated with the military symbol OC, and initial expectations were for its deployment as a human incapacitant. Medical research suggested that OC might have had some lethal effects on the populace, and Coccidioides immitis started to be classified by the authorities as a threat to public health. Coccidioides immitis was never weaponized to the public's knowledge, and most of the military research in the mid-1960s was concentrated on developing a human vaccine. Coccidioides immitis is not on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's list of select agents and toxins.

In 2002, Coccidioides posadasii was identified as genetically distinct from Coccidioides immitis despite their morphologic similarities and can also cause coccidioidomycosis.

It was reported in 2022 that valley fever had been increasing in Central Valley of California for years (1,000 cases in Kern county in 2014, 3,000 in 2021); experts said that cases could rise across the American west as the climate makes the landscape drier and hotter. The Coccidioides flourishes due to the oscillation between extreme dryness and extreme wetness. The California Department of Public Health said the 9,280 new cases of Valley fever with onset dates in 2023 was the highest number the department has ever documented.

Research
As of 2023, there is no vaccine available to prevent infection with Coccidioides immitis or Coccidioides posadasii, but efforts to develop such a vaccine are underway. Anivive Lifesciences and a team at the University of Arizona Medical School was developing a vaccine for use in dogs, which could eventually lead to a vaccine in humans.

Other animals
Valley fever is not contagious.

In dogs, the most common symptom of coccidioidomycosis is a chronic cough, which can be dry or moist. Other symptoms include fever (in approximately 50% of cases), weight loss, anorexia, lethargy, and depression. The disease can disseminate throughout the dog's body, most commonly causing osteomyelitis (infection of the bone), which leads to lameness. Dissemination can cause other symptoms, depending on which organs are infected. If the fungus infects the heart or pericardium, it can cause heart failure and death.

In cats, symptoms may include skin lesions, fever, and loss of appetite, with skin lesions being the most common.

Other species in which Valley fever has been found include livestock such as cattle and horses; llamas; marine mammals, including sea otters; zoo animals such as monkeys and apes, kangaroos, tigers, etc.; and wildlife native to the geographic area where the fungus is found, such as cougars, skunks, and javelinas.

In popular culture

 * In the Season 1 episode of Bones called "The Man in the Fallout Shelter" the entire lab is exposed to coccidioidomycosis through inhalation of bone dust. Erroneously, the team is forced to quarantine in the lab on Christmas Eve to prevent the disease from spreading to the public (in real life, the disease is not contagious).
 * The lab is later exposed to it again in the Season 2 episode "The Priest in the Churchyard" from contaminated graveyard soil but only receives a series of injections rather than be forced to quarantine.
 * Everything in Between, a 2022 Australian feature film, contains references to coccidioidomycosis.
 * In House Season 3 Episode 4, "Lines in the Sand", a 17-year-old patient who has been exposed to Coccidioides immitis exhibits symptoms of coccidioidomycosis.
 * Thunderhead, a 1999 novel by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, uses the fungus and illness as a central plot point.

title: Coccidioidomycosis