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Dinosaurs (TV series)

Dinosaurs is an American family sitcom television series that aired on ABC from April 26, 1991 to July 20, 1994. The show, about a family of anthropomorphic dinosaurs, was produced by Michael Jacobs Productions and Jim Henson Television in association with Walt Disney Television and distributed by Buena Vista International, Inc.  The characters were designed by Henson team member Kirk Thatcher.

Origins and development
News stories written at the time of the show's premiere highlighted Dinosaurs' connection to Jim Henson, who had died the year before. Henson conceived the show in 1988, according to an article in The New York Times, adding he wanted it to be a sitcom, but about a family of dinosaurs. Until the success of The Simpsons, according to Alex Rockwell, a vice president of the Henson organization, "people thought it was a crazy idea."

In the late 1980s, Henson worked with William Stout, a fantasy artist, illustrator and designer, on a feature film starring animatronic dinosaurs with the working title of The Natural History Project; a 1993 article in The New Yorker said that Henson continued to work on a dinosaur project (presumably the Dinosaurs concept) until the "last months of his life."

The television division of The Walt Disney Company began working on the series in 1990 for CBS before the series landed on ABC, which Disney eventually acquired.

Rafael Montemayor Aguiton of Vulture wrote that upon premiere the show "was a hit", and Michael Jacobs stated that this was why the network did not interfere much in the production.

Aguiton wrote that ratings suffered from the show being moved to different time slots on the network. The animatronics made the show relatively expensive, with Stuart Pankin recalling that "I heard it was the most expensive half-hour TV show, at least at that point" and that this contributed to the cancellation.

Plot
Dinosaurs is initially set in 60,000,000 BC in Pangaea. The show centers on the Sinclair family: Earl Sneed Sinclair (the father), Fran Sinclair (née Phillips – the mother), their three children (son, Robbie; daughter, Charlene; and infant, Baby Sinclair) and Fran's mother, Ethyl.

Earl's job is to push over trees for the Wesayso Corporation with his friend and coworker Roy Hess, where they work under the supervision of their boss, Bradley P. Richfield.

Characters
The focus of the show's plot is the Sinclair family: Earl, Fran, Robbie, Charlene, Baby, and Ethyl. The family name is a reference to the Sinclair Oil Corporation, which had prominently featured a dinosaur as its logo and mascot for decades, under the belief that petroleum deposits were formed during the age of the dinosaurs. Other character and family names throughout the series often referred to rival petroleum companies or petroleum products. For example: Phillips, Hess, B.P., Richfield, and Ethyl, among others.

Other characters
The following characters are not in the Unisaurs category below:

Unisaurs
Outside of the recurring characters, there are a group of dinosaur characters called Unisaurs. They are customizable dinosaur characters similar to the Whatnots from The Muppet Show and the Anything Muppets from Sesame Street. Some of the Unisaurs are Full-Bodied while the others are hand-puppets. They come in different types.

The following are the Full-Bodied Unisaurs:

Topical issues
Although Dinosaurs is targeted at a family audience, the show touched upon multiple topical issues, which include environmentalism, endangered species, women's rights, sexual harassment, LGBT rights, objectification of women, censorship, civil rights, body image, steroid use, allusions to masturbation (in the form of Robbie doing the solo mating dance), drug abuse, racism (in the form of a dispute between the two-legged dinosaurs and the four-legged dinosaurs), peer pressure, rights of indigenous peoples (in the form of the dinosaurs interacting with cavepeople), corporate crime, government interference in parenting, and pacifism.

In the episode "I Never Ate for My Father," in lieu of carnivorism, Robbie chooses to eat vegetables, which the show uses as a metaphor for homosexuality, communism, drug abuse and counter culture.

The 2-part episode "Nuts to War" was a satire of American involvement in the Gulf War, with two-legged dinosaurs going to war with four-legged dinosaurs over pistachios instead of oil.

In the final season, "The Greatest Story Ever Sold" (a take-off of The Greatest Story Ever Told) references religion when the Sinclair family becomes eager to learn the meaning of their existence. The Elders dictate a new system of beliefs, and the entire cast (with the exception of Robbie) abandons science to blindly follow the newly popular "Potato-ism".

Another religious-themed episode was "The Last Temptation of Ethyl," in which Ethyl willingly allows a televangelist to exploit her near-death experience to extort money from followers. She backs out after having a second such experience, where instead of heaven, she experiences a "place not so nice": an existence surrounded by nothing but multiple Earl Sneed Sinclairs.

Several jokes in the series were at the expense of television shows in general. Earl often wants to watch TV rather than do something more practical, and several jokes accuse television of "dumbing down" the population and making it lazy.

Captain Action Figure shows up in children's programming that Fran mistakes for a commercial. Whenever Captain Action Figure mentions a product, the screen flashes "Tell Mommy I WANT THAT!". Before the appearance of Georgie, Dinosaurs used a puppet reminiscent of Barney the Dinosaur named "Blarney" in two episodes. During his appearances, members of the Sinclair family commented on his annoying characteristics and failure to teach anything to children.

The characters will sometimes break the fourth wall as well, especially Baby. An example of such is seen in the episode "Nature Calls" (Season 3, Episode 1) when Fran and Earl spell out words in front of Baby during an argument, who, after looking at the camera and saying "This could get ugly", proceeds to spell out "They think I can't spell" with his alphabet blocks.

Series finale
The final episode of Dinosaurs produced and aired on ABC, titled "Changing Nature", was intended as the series finale and depicts the irresponsible actions of the dinosaurs toward their environment, and the ensuing Ice Age which leads to their demise. In the episode, a swarm of bunch beetles do not show up as expected to devour a form of creeper vine. Charlene discovers that a wax fruit factory called FruitCo has been constructed on Wesayso-controlled swampland that serves as the bunch beetles' breeding grounds, causing the extinction of the species who were killed off by the developers, save for one male named Stan. Charlene and Stan make this information public on the news. After getting a phone call from his superiors at Wesayso who are fearing a public relations nightmare more than any environmental threat, B.P. Richfield quickly puts Earl in charge of an attempt to destroy the vines, which have grown out of control without the beetles to keep them in check. Earl proposes spraying the planet with defoliant which causes the destruction of the vines, but also kills off all plant life on the planet. B.P. Richfield assumes that the creation of clouds will bring rain, allowing the plants to grow back, and so decides to create clouds by dropping bombs in the planet's volcanoes to cause eruptions and cloud cover. The dark clouds instead cause global cooling in the form of a gigantic cloud cover. Howard Handupme states that the scientists estimate that the dark clouds would take "tens of thousands of years" to dissipate. When he gets a call from Earl, B.P. Richfield dismisses this as a "4th quarter problem" and states that Wesayso is currently making record-breaking profits from the cold weather selling blankets, heaters, and hot cocoa mix as the result of the "cold snap". Later, Earl apologizes to his family and Stan for his actions that led to the end of the world. Baby is reassured by Robbie and Charlene that whatever happens, nobody is going to leave and that they will all stay together. Earl tries to assure everyone that it will work out okay, saying that dinosaurs have been on this Earth for 150 million years and it is not like they are going to just disappear. There is a brief shot of FruitCo as it starts to get buried in snow. At DNN, Howard Handupme states that the weather forecast is the same with continued snow, darkness, and extreme cold. He concludes his broadcast by saying "This is Howard Handupme. Good night. Goodbye." The ending credits roll with scenes of snow falling around the Sinclair home, signaling the start of a volcanic/nuclear winter. That officially ended the series on a somber note.

Stuart Pankin, the voice of Earl, stated that the ending "was a simplistic and heartfelt social comment, yet it was very powerful" with "subtlety" being a defining aspect.

The television series creators decided to make this finale as a way of ending the series as they knew the show could be canceled when they created season 4. Michael Jacobs stated that "We certainly wanted to make the episode to be educational to the audience", and as people knew dinosaurs were no longer alive, "The show would end by completing the metaphor and showing that extinction." Ted Harbert, president of ABC, expressed discomfort at the ending in a telephone call, but allowed it to go forward.

Jacobs stated that correspondence from parents revealed that "They understood the creativity in the final episode, and they were sad at the predicament we presented in the story." Pankin stated that "Everybody was at first shocked, but I think it was more of a reaction to the show ending." Pankin stated that he did not remember a significant number of audience members being angry about the ending. In 2018, Jacobs stated that the episode would have trended on social media had it been released that year.

Noel Murray of The A.V. Club stated that the episode "delivered as blunt an environmental message as any major network TV broadcast since The Lorax." Brian Galindo of BuzzFeed described it as being shocking for children.

International screening
In the United Kingdom, the show was screened on ITV in 1992 and in reruns from 1995 to 2002 on Disney Channel. In Canada, the show started airing reruns in 1992 on The Family Channel and aired them until the late 1990s; the show also aired on CHRO-TV in the early-to-mid 1990s. In Australia, the show started airing on the Seven Network from February 1992 through to 1995. In Ireland, in the mid-1990s, it was shown on a Sunday evening on RTÉ Two (known as network 2 back then). In 1994, it was shown in Italy on Rai 1. The show has also aired on TV3, then moved in 2003 to TV2 in New Zealand, KBC in Kenya and M-Net in South Africa. In Brazil the show started airing on Rede Globo from 1992 to 1999, on SBT from 2003 to 2005, on Band from 2007 to 2011, and on Canal Viva in 2014. In Mexico the show was aired on Canal 5.

Home media
The first three volumes were released on VHS on December 6, 1991. On May 2, 2006, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released Dinosaurs: The Complete First and Second Seasons as a four-disc DVD box set. The DVD set includes "exclusive bonus features including a never-before-seen look at the making of Dinosaurs". The complete third and fourth seasons, also a four-disc DVD set, were released on May 1, 2007, with special features, including the episodes not aired on U.S. television. Both sets are currently available only in Region 1.

On September 29, 2017, Hulu acquired the streaming rights to Dinosaurs along with fellow Disney–ABC television properties Home Improvement and Boy Meets World, in addition to fellow TGIF programs Family Matters, Full House, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, Perfect Strangers and Step by Step.

Dinosaurs was made available for streaming on Disney+ on January 29, 2021, for the United States.

Reception
As of September 2022, the series as a whole has received an approval rating of 91% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Its first season received an approval rating of 83%, its consensus reads, "Dinosaurs, marries astonishingly expressive puppetry with genuinely funny satire of social norms, making for a forward-thinking prehistoric sitcom." While its fourth season received more critical praise, with a 100% approval rating. Common Sense Media rated the series a three out of five stars and said: "Dino puppet-driven sitcom deals with modern issues."

title: Dinosaurs (TV series)


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Traci Harding

Traci Harding (born 1964) is an Australian novelist. Her work blends fantasy, fact, esoteric belief, time travel and quantum physics, into adventurous romps through history, alternative dimensions, universes and states of consciousness.

She was born and raised in Carlingford, a western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales. Harding states that her early interests were, "music, boys, daydreaming and storytelling". After leaving school she first pursued an interest in music, and then worked in film studio management for several years where she wrote and developed film scripts, and later began writing novels.

Novels

 * The Ancient Future trilogy
 * The Ancient Future: The Dark Age (1996)
 * An Echo in Time: Atlantis (1997)
 * Masters of Reality: The Gathering (1998)

 * The Alchemist's Key (1999)
 * The Celestial Triad
 * Chronicle of Ages (2000)
 * Tablet of Destinies (2001)
 * Cosmic Logos (2002)

 * Ghostwriting (2002) (short stories)
 * The Book of Dreams (2003)
 * The Mystique Trilogy
 * Gene of Isis (2005)
 * The Dragon Queens (2007)
 * The Black Madonna (2008)

 * Triad of Being Trilogy
 * Being of the Field (2009)
 * The Universe Parallel (2010)
 * The Light-Field (2012 - February)

 * The Timekeepers (trilogy)
 * Dreaming of Zhou Gong (February 2013)
 * The Eternity Gate (January 2014)
 * ''AWOL' (February 2015)

 *  The Storytellers Muse (2016)
 *  The Immortal Bind (2017)
 * This Present Past (2018) (prequel to The Ancient Future trilogy)
 * The Twelve Chapters of the Infinite Night (2022)

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

title: Traci Harding


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Stewart Copeland

Stewart Armstrong Copeland (born July 16, 1950) is an American musician and composer. He is best known for his work as the drummer of the English rock band the Police from 1977 to 1986, and again from 2007 to 2008. Before playing with the Police, he played drums with English rock band Curved Air from 1975 to 1976. As a composer, his work includes the films Wall Street (1987), Men at Work (1990), Good Burger (1997), and We Are Your Friends (2015); the television shows The Equalizer (1985–1989), The Amanda Show (1999–2002), and Dead Like Me (2003–2004); and video games such as the Spyro series (1998–present) and Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare (2001). He has also written various pieces of ballet, opera, and orchestral music.

According to MusicRadar, Copeland's "distinctive drum sound and uniqueness of style has made him one of the most popular drummers to ever get behind a drumset". He was ranked the 10th best drummer of all time by Rolling Stone in 2016. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Police in 2003, the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 2005, and the Classic Drummer Hall of Fame in 2013.

Early life
Copeland was born in Alexandria, Virginia, on July 16, 1950, the youngest of four children of Scottish archaeologist Lorraine Copeland (née Adie; 1921–2013) and American CIA officer Miles Copeland Jr. (1916–1991). His mother was born in Edinburgh, while his father was from Alabama. His father was, according to his own 1989 biography and files released by the CIA in 2008, a founding member of the OSS and the CIA.

The family moved to Cairo a few months after Copeland's birth. When he was five years old, the family moved to Beirut, where he attended the American Community School. He started taking drum lessons at age 12 and was playing drums for school dances within a year. He later moved to England, attending the American School in London and Millfield boarding school in Somerset from 1967 to 1969. He went to college in California, enrolling at Alliant International University and the University of California, Berkeley. His eldest brother, Miles Copeland III (born 1944), founded I.R.S. Records and became the Police's manager. He has also overseen Copeland's interests in other music projects. His other brother, Ian Copeland (1949–2006), was a pioneering booking agent who represented the Police and many others.

Curved Air (1975–1976)
Returning to England, Copeland worked as road manager for the progressive rock band Curved Air's 1974 reunion tour, and then as drummer for the band during 1975 and 1976. The band kicked off with a European tour, which started poorly. Band leader Darryl Way, a notorious perfectionist, grew impatient with the struggling of his bandmates, especially novice drummer Copeland. Then, for reasons no one could pinpoint, the musicians suddenly "clicked" with each other and the band caught fire, quickly becoming a popular and acclaimed live act.

Eventually, Way left the band and after months of gradually losing steam, Curved Air broke up so quietly that, by singer Sonja Kristina's recollections, most of the music press wrote off the band's absence as a "sabbatical". Copeland formed the Police and Kristina and Way both pursued solo careers. Kristina and Copeland maintained the close personal relationship they'd formed while bandmates and were married in 1982.

The Police (1977–1986)
In early 1977, Copeland founded the Police with lead singer-bass guitarist Sting and guitarist Henry Padovani (who was soon replaced by Andy Summers), and they became one of the top bands of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Copeland was the youngest member of the band. The Police's early track list (before their album debut) was largely Copeland compositions, including the band's first single "Fall Out" (Illegal Records, 1977) and the B-side "Nothing Achieving". Though Copeland's songwriting contribution was reduced to a couple of songs per album as Sting started writing more material, he continued to co-arrange all the Police's songs together with his two bandmates. Amongst Copeland's most notable songs are "On Any Other Day" (where he also sang lead vocals), "Does Everyone Stare" (later to be used as the title of his documentary on the band Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out), "Contact", "Bombs Away", "Darkness" and "Miss Gradenko". Copeland also co-wrote a number of songs with Sting, including "Peanuts", "Landlord", "It's Alright for You" and "Re-Humanize Yourself".

Copeland also recorded under the pseudonym Klark Kent, releasing several UK singles in 1978 with one ("Don't Care") entering the UK Singles Chart that year, along with an eponymous 10-inch album on green vinyl released in 1980. Recording at Nigel Gray's Surrey Sound Studios, Copeland played all the instruments and sang the lead vocals himself. Kent's "Don't Care", which peaked at No. 48 UK in August 1978, actually predates the first chart single by the Police by several months ("Can't Stand Losing You", issued in October 1978) as "Don't Care" was released in early June 1978.

In 1982, Copeland was involved in the production of a WOMAD benefit album called Music and Rhythm. Copeland's score for Rumble Fish secured him a Golden Globe nomination in 1983. The film, directed and produced by Francis Ford Coppola from the S. E. Hinton novel, also had a song released to radio on A&M Records "Don't Box Me In" (UK Singles Chart n. 91)—a collaboration between Copeland and singer-songwriter Stan Ridgway, leader of the band Wall of Voodoo—that received significant airplay upon release of the film that year.

The Rhythmatist record of 1985 was the result of a pilgrimage to Africa and its people, and it features local drums and percussion, with more drums, percussion, other musical instruments and occasional lead vocals added by Copeland. The album was the official soundtrack to the movie of the same name, which was co-written by Stewart. Copeland is seen in the film playing the drums in a cage with lions surrounding him. The band attempted a reunion in 1986, but the project fell apart.

Solo projects and movie soundtracks (1987–1998)
After the Police disbanded, Copeland established a career composing soundtracks for movies (Airborne, Talk Radio, Wall Street, Riff Raff, Raining Stones, Surviving the Game, See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Highlander II: The Quickening, She's Having a Baby, The First Power, Fresh, Taking Care of Business, West Beirut, I am David, Riding the Bus with My Sister, Good Burger), television (The Equalizer, Dead Like Me, Star Wars: Droids, the pilot for Babylon 5 (1993), Nickelodeon's The Amanda Show, The Life and Times of Juniper Lee), operas (Holy Blood and Crescent Moon, commissioned by Cleveland Opera) and ballets (Prey' Ballet Oklahoma, Casque of Amontillado, Noah's Ark/Solcheeka, commissioned by the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, King Lear, commissioned by the San Francisco Ballet Company, Emilio). In 1996, Copeland provided the score for The Leopard Son, Discovery Channel's its first commercially released full-length feature film, made by wildlife filmmaker Hugo van Lawick.

Copeland also occasionally played drums for other artists. Peter Gabriel employed Copeland to perform on his song "Red Rain" from his 1986 album So because of his "hi-hat mastery". He has also performed with Mike Rutherford and Tom Waits. That year he also teamed with Adam Ant to record the title track and video for the Anthony Michael Hall movie Out of Bounds. In 1989, Copeland formed Animal Logic with jazz bassist Stanley Clarke and singer-songwriter Deborah Holland. The trio had success with their first album and world tour but the follow-up recording sold poorly, and the band did not continue.

In 1993 he composed the music for Channel 4's Horse Opera and director Bob Baldwin, and in 1999, he provided the voice of an additional American soldier in the animated musical comedy war film South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999).

Spyro the Dragon soundtracks (1998–2002, 2018)
He was commissioned by Insomniac Games in 1998 to make the musical score for the hit PlayStation game Spyro the Dragon. Copeland would play through the levels first to get a feel for each one before composing the soundtrack. He also stayed with the project to create the musical scores for the remaining Insomniac sequels Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! and Spyro: Year of the Dragon. The franchise shifted over to Universal for the fourth title, Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly, which would be Copeland's last outing with the series. While the soundtracks never saw commercial release, the limited edition of the fourth game came packaged with a bonus CD, containing unused tracks. The soundtracks were very well received, and one track would later appear on the 2007 compilation album The Stewart Copeland Anthology. Copeland composed a new title theme for Spyro Reignited Trilogy.

This period also saw Copeland compose the soundtrack for Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare, his only video game soundtrack outside of the Spyro franchise to date. In 2000, he combined with Les Claypool of Primus (with whom he produced a track on the Primus album Antipop) and Trey Anastasio of Phish to create the band Oysterhead. That same year, he was approached by director Adam Collis to assemble the score for the film Sunset Strip.

Collaborations (2002–2006)
In 2002, Copeland was hired by Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger of the Doors to play with them for a new album and tour, but the tour was cut short.

In 2005, Copeland released "Orchestralli", a live recording of chamber ensemble music which he had composed during a short tour of Italy in 2002. Also in 2005, Copeland started Gizmodrome, a new project with avant-garde guitarist David Fiuczynski, multi-instrumentalist Vittorio Cosma, singer Raiz and bassist Max Gazzè. The band made their U.S debut on September 16, 2006, at the Modern Drummer Drum Festival. In January 2006, Copeland premiered his film about the Police called Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out at the Sundance Film Festival. In February and March, he appeared as one of the judges on the BBC television show Just the Two of Us (a role he later reprised for a second series in January 2007).

The Police reunion (2007–2008)
At the 2007 Grammy Awards, Copeland, Andy Summers and Sting performed the song "Roxanne" together again as the Police. This marked the band's first public performance since 1986 (they had previously reunited only for an improvised set at Sting's wedding party in 1992 and for their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003). One day later, the band announced that in celebration of the Police's 30th anniversary, they would be embarking on what turned out to be a one-off reunion tour on May 28, 2007. During the tour, Copeland also released his compilation album The Stewart Copeland Anthology, which was composed of his independent work.

In 2007, the French government appointed Copeland (along with Police bandmates Summers and Sting) a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

The group performed 151 dates across five continents, concluding with a final show in August 2008 at Madison Square Garden, New York.

Projects (2008–present)
In 2008, RIM commissioned Copeland to write a "soundtrack" for the BlackBerry Bold smart phone. He created a highly percussive theme of one minute's length from which he evolved six ringtones and a softer 'alarm tone' that are preloaded on the device.

In March 2008, he premiered his orchestral composition "Celeste" at "An Evening with Stewart Copeland", part of the Savannah Music Festival. The performance featured classical violinist Daniel Hope. His appearance at Savannah included a screening of Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out and a question and answer session. Also in 2008, he was commissioned by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra to create a percussion piece involving primarily Indonesian instruments. "Gamelan D'Drum" was first performed in Dallas on February 5, 2012, and had its European Premiere at the Royal Academy of Music in London in July 2012.

On August 21, 2009, at SummerFest 2009, Copeland unveiled the composition "Retail Therapy", which was commissioned by the Music Society. He performed three more original works: "Kaya", "Celeste", and "Gene Pool", the last accompanied by San Diego-based percussion ensemble red fish blue fish. He attended a composer's roundtable and a question and answer discussion in conjunction with the festival. Copeland wrote the score for a theatrical presentation of Ben-Hur, which premiered on September 17, 2009, at the O2 Arena in London. He provided English-language narration of the production, which is performed in Latin and Aramaic. His memoir Strange Things Happen: A Life with The Police, Polo, and Pygmies was released by HarperCollins in September 2009. The book chronicles events in his life from childhood through his work with the Police and to the present. In October 2009, he was a guest on Private Passions, the biographical music discussion program on BBC Radio 3.

On May 24, 2011, he started a YouTube channel devoted to his videos and project updates. On this channel, he uploads performances with various musicians, including Primus, Andy Summers, Jeff Lynne, Snoop Dogg, and others in his home studio, which he refers to as the Sacred Grove. On August 24, 2011, he was a featured soloist on the Late Show with David Letterman, as part of their second "Drum Solo Week".

On January 10, 2012, he appeared on an episode of the A&E reality series Storage Wars to appraise a drum set for Barry Weiss, buying a Turkish cymbal from the set for $40. In July he reunited with former Animal Logic bandmate Stanley Clarke for a European tour.

In May 2013, he and the Long Beach Opera premiered The Tale Tell Heart, an opera based on the short story by Edgar Allan Poe.

On November 26, 2013, he appeared in the first episode of The Tim Ferriss Experiment.

In 2017, he formed the supergroup Gizmodrome with Adrian Belew, Vittorio Cosma, and Mark King and released an album of the same name.

Ricky Kej and Stewart Copeland had worked together on a song in 2016 and so with a pause in concerts and activity due to the pandemic, Kej reached out to Copeland to collaborate on a new album that came to be called Divine Tides. Released in 2021, the album includes nine songs and eight music videos that were shot in locations ranging from the Himalayas in India, to forests in Spain. In April 2022, the album scored Copeland his sixth Grammy Award, and Ricky Kej his second Grammy Awards, in the category of Best New Age Album.

On September 5, 2021, the opera Electric Saint about the life of Nikola Tesla by Copeland with libretto by Jonathan Moore premiered at the National Theater of Weimar.

On February 6, 2023, the album Divine Tides brought Copeland his seventh Grammy Award and Ricky Kej his third Grammy Award in the 65th Annual Grammy Awards in the category of Best Immersive Audio Album.

Personal life
In 1974, Copeland became romantically involved with Curved Air vocalist Sonja Kristina, and they were married from 1982 to 1991. He adopted her son from a previous relationship, and they had two sons of their own. In 1981, he fathered a son with Irish author Desmond Guinness' daughter Marina. He currently lives in Los Angeles with his second wife, with whom he has three children.

Copeland's hobbies include rollerskating, cycling along the beach in Santa Monica, filmmaking, and playing polo. He is also active on his YouTube channel, where he uploads videos of himself and other musicians during jam sessions in his studio, the Sacred Grove.

Drumming style
Copeland grew up listening to a combination of Lebanese music, rock and roll, jazz, and reggae, but he selected from these styles what he needed rather than imitating them. In the 1980s, when many musicians were looking for bigger sound from bigger drums, he added Octobans. Invented by Tama Drums in 1978, Octobans consisted of eight six-inch drums in the shape of narrow tubes. He used another innovation, a splash cymbal based on a toy that he owned and that he helped Paiste design. He relied heavily on his 13" hi-hats.

Despite being left-handed, Copeland plays a right-handed drum kit, placing the hi-hats on his left and ride cymbal and floor toms on his right. He uses a wide dynamic range and demonstrates a proficiency of jazz-style articulation in his snare drum playing, interspersing strong back-beats with soft rim comping. During his years with the Police, he became known for engaging only the hi-hat with the bass drum to keep the beat.

In an interview with Modern Drummer, Copeland has cited Mitch Mitchell of the Jimi Hendrix Experience as a prime musical influence. He states that as a child, whenever he had a song or melody pop in his head, he would walk around wondering how Mitchell would drum to that particular tune. He also named Sandy Nelson and Ginger Baker as other fundamental influences in the youth years. He has stated that due to his "enforced listening" of Buddy Rich, he considers himself "allergic" to jazz.

He is noted for his strong emphasis on the groove as a complement to the song, rather than as its core component. Nonetheless, his playing often incorporates spectacular fills and subtle inflections which greatly augment the groove. Compared to most of his 1980s contemporaries, his snare sound was bright and cutting. He is also one of the few rock drummers to use traditional grip rather than matched grip. He is also noted for syncopation in his drumming.

Equipment
Copeland's equipment includes Tama drums, Paiste cymbals, Remo drum heads, and Vater signature drum sticks.

Original live kit set-up (1984)

 *  Tama Imperialstar Mahogany Drums (9-ply) and Paiste Cymbals:
 * Drums – Midnight Blue
 * 10x8" Rack Tom
 * 12x8" Rack Tom
 * 13x9" Rack Tom
 * 16x16" Floor Tom
 * 14x5" Pearl B4514 Chrome over Brass Snare Drum
 * 22x14" Bass Drum
 * Tama Octobans Low Pitch (x4)
 * Cowbell
 * Wood Blocks
 * Cymbals – Paiste
 * 13" Formula 602 Medium Hi-Hats
 * 16" 2002 Crash
 * 8" 2002 Bell
 * 7.5 Ufip Ictus Bell
 * 8" 2002 Splash (x2)
 * 11" 2002 Splash
 * 14" (or 16") Rude Crash/Ride
 * 16" (or 18") Rude Crash/Ride
 * 18" 2002 Medium
 * 24" Rude Ride/Crash
 * 20" 2002 China
 * Simmons (x2) Pads (to his left)
 * Assorted Percussion
 * Stewart also used Calato Regal Tip Rock Wood Tipped Drumsticks

The Police Reunion (2007–2008) tour kit

 * Tama Starclassic Maple Drums and Paiste Cymbals:
 * Drums – Custom Police Blue Sparkle Maple Wood
 * 10x8" Tom
 * 12x8" Tom (To the left of his snare drum)
 * 13x9" Tom
 * 16x16" Floor Tom
 * 18x16" Floor Tom
 * 20x14" Tama Gong Drum
 * 22x18" Bass Drum
 * 14x5" Tama SC145 Stewart Copeland Signature Snare
 * Tama Custom Police Blue Sparkle Octobans (x4) (custom made for Copeland)
 * Cymbals – Paiste
 * 12" Prototype Micro Hi-Hats
 * 16" Signature Full Crash
 * 17" Signature Fast Crash
 * 18" Signature Fast Crash
 * 18" Signature Full Crash
 * 18" 2002 Flat Ride (prototype)
 * 22" Signature Blue Bell Ride
 * 10" Signature Splash
 * 8" Signature Bell
 * 8" Signature Prototype Splash
 * Assorted percussion
 * Stewart also uses his own Vater Stewart Copeland Standard Sticks.

Studio albums

 * 1980: Klark Kent: Music Madness from the Kinetic Kid (as Klark Kent)
 * 1983: Rumble Fish (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
 * 1985: The Rhythmatist
 * 1986: Wall Street / Salvador (Original Motion Picture Soundtracks)
 * 1988: The Equalizer and Other Cliff Hangers
 * 1990: Noah's Ark (Audiobook, with James Earl Jones)
 * 1994: Silent Fall Motion Picture Soundtrack
 * 1994: Rapa Nui (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
 * 1995: Kollected Works (as Klark Kent)
 * 1996: The Leopard Son
 * 1997: Four Days In September (Music From The Miramax Motion Picture)
 * 1998: Little Boy Blue
 * 1999: Simpatico (Music From The Motion Picture)
 * 2004: Orchestralli (Live album)
 * 2004: La Notte della Taranta
 * 2007: The Stewart Copeland Anthology (Compilation)
 * 2009: Music From Ben Hur Live
 * 2010: Dead Like Me (Original MGM Television Soundtrack)
 * 2022: Spyro
 * 2023: Police Deranged for Orchestra
 * 2023: Klark Kent Deluxe Edition (as Klark Kent)

Curved Air

 * 1975: Midnight Wire
 * 1976: Airborne

The Police

 * Outlandos d'Amour (1978)
 * Reggatta de Blanc (1979)
 * Zenyatta Mondatta (1980)
 * Ghost in the Machine (1981)
 * Synchronicity (1983)

Collaborations

 * 1977: Strontium 90: Police Academy by Strontium 90
 * 1982: Acting Very Strange by Mike Rutherford
 * 1986: So by Peter Gabriel
 * 1989: Mr. Doubles by Moon on the Water
 * 1989: Animal Logic by Animal Logic
 * 1991: Animal Logic II by Animal Logic
 * 2001: The Grand Pecking Order by Oysterhead
 * 2005: Crossing Times And Continents by Eberhard Schoener & Friends - With Sting and Andy Summers
 * 2017: Gizmodrome by Gizmodrome
 * 2021: Gizmodrome Live by Gizmodrome
 * 2021: Divine Tides with Ricky Kej
 * 2023: Police Beyond Borders with Ricky Kej

title: Stewart Copeland


text:
Sam Nujoma

Samuel Shafiishuna Daniel Nujoma, (born 12 May 1929) is a Namibian revolutionary, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served three terms as the first President of Namibia, from 1990 to 2005. Nujoma was a founding member and the first president of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) in 1960. Prior to 1960, SWAPO was known as the Ovambo People's Organisation (OPO). He played an important role as leader of the national liberation movement in campaigning for Namibia's political independence from South African rule. He established the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) in 1962 and launched a guerrilla war against the apartheid government of South Africa in August 1966 at Omugulugwombashe, beginning after the United Nations withdrew the mandate for South Africa to govern the territory. Nujoma led SWAPO during the lengthy Namibian War of Independence, which lasted from 1966 to 1989.

During World War I, South Africa defeated the German colonial forces in South West Africa and established martial law in the colony after making a peace treaty in July 1915. After the war, the League of Nations officially assigned the former German colony to the United Kingdom as a mandate under the administration of South Africa. When the National Party won the 1948 election in South Africa, it passed laws establishing racial segregation known as apartheid. It applied these laws to South West Africa as well, which it governed as the de facto fifth province of South Africa.

Nujoma became involved in anti-colonial politics during the 1950s. In 1959, he cofounded and served as the first president of the Ovamboland People's Organization (OPO), a nationalist organization advocating an independent Namibia. In December 1958 he was an organizer of the Old Location resistance and was arrested and deported to Ovamboland. In 1960 he escaped and went into exile in Tanzania where he was welcomed by Julius Nyerere.

Namibia finally achieved independence from South Africa in 1990, holding its first democratic elections. SWAPO won a majority and Nujoma was elected as the country's first President on 21 March 1990. He was re-elected for two more terms in 1994 and 1999. Nujoma retired as SWAPO party president on 30 November 2007.

He published his autobiography Where Others Wavered in 2005. He has received multiple honors and awards for his leadership, including the Lenin Peace Prize, Indira Gandhi Peace Prize, and the Ho Chi Minh Peace Prize. The Parliament of Namibia honored him with the titles "Founding President of the Republic of Namibia" and "Father of the Namibian Nation". In 2007 SWAPO named him as "Leader of the Namibian Revolution."

Early life
Samuel Shafiishuna Daniel Nujoma was born at Etunda, a village in Ongandjera, near the town of Okahao, Ovamboland, Southwest Africa on 12 May 1929. Nujoma was born to Helvi Mpingana Kondombolo (1898–2008) and Daniel Uutoni Nujoma (1893–1968). His mother Helvi was an Uukwambi princess by virtue of descent, and this fact would later reinforce Nujoma's charismatic influence during his political career. He is the eldest of his parents' eleven children.

Nujoma spent much of his early childhood looking after his siblings and tending to the family's cattle and traditional farming activities. His educational opportunities were limited. He started attending a Finnish missionary school at Okahao when he was ten and completed Standard Six, which was as high as possible for blacks during the time. In 1946, at age 17, he moved to Walvis Bay to live with his aunt, where he began his first employment at a general store for a monthly salary of 10 Shillings. He would later also work at a whaling station. While there he was exposed to world politics by meeting soldiers from Argentina, Norway and other parts of Europe who had come during World War II.

In 1949, Nujoma moved to Windhoek, where he started work as a cleaner for the South African Railways (SAR), while attending adult night school at St Barnabas Anglican Church School in the Windhoek Old Location, mainly with the aim of improving his English. He further studied for his Junior Certificate through correspondence at the Trans‐Africa Correspondence College in South Africa.

Political career
Nujoma became involved in politics in the early 1950s through trade unions. Nujoma's political outlook was shaped by his work experiences, his awareness of the contract labour system, and his increasing knowledge of the independence campaigns across Africa. In 1957, at age 29, Nujoma resigned from SAR so he could devote more time to politics. In 1957, a group of Namibians working in Cape Town led by Andimba Toivo ya Toivo formed the Ovamboland People's Congress (OPC). OPC was opposed to South African policies in South West Africa including the inhumane contract labour system under which people were forced to work for meagre wages. In 1958, ya Toivo sent a petition to the United Nations (UN) to force the apartheid regime to relinquish South West Africa to the Trusteeship Council of the United Nations. Consequently, he was expelled from Cape Town to Windhoek and then to Ovamboland where he was restricted. On 19 April 1959, Nujoma and OPC cofounder Jacob Kuhangua adapted a copy of the OPC constitution and formed the Ovamboland People's Organization (OPO) in Windhoek. At its first congress Nujoma was elected president. During the next year he travelled Namibia in secret mobilizing and setting up branch structures of OPO. In September 1959, the South West African National Union (SWANU) was formed as an umbrella body for anti-colonial resistance groups. Nujoma joined its executive committee representing OPO. After the Old Location Massacre on 10 December 1959, Nujoma was arrested and charged for organising the resistance and faced threats of deportation to the north of the country. By the directive of OPO leadership and in collaboration with Chief Hosea Kutako, it was decided that Nujoma join the other Namibians in exile who were lobbying the United Nations on behalf of the anti-colonial cause for Namibia. In 1960, Nujoma petitioned the UN through letters and eventually went into exile in February of that year. He left Namibia on 29 February, crossing into Bechuanaland and from there travelling to Bulawayo in Southern Rhodesia by train. He flew from Bulawayo to Salisbury and on to Ndola in Northern Rhodesia. With the assistance of a member of the Northern Rhodesian United National Independence Party (UNIP) he crossed into the Katanga Province of Belgian Congo. There Nujoma met Moise Tshombe from the Conakat Party of Congolese. Crossing back over the border to Ndola he boarded a flight to Mbeya. In Mbeya, he was treated for malaria and escaped from the hospital after being threatened with arrest by the colonial authorities. From Mbeya, Nujoma travelled with the assistance of officials of the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) via Njombe, Iringa and Dodoma to Dar-Es-Salaam. With the assistance of Julius Nyerere, then president of TANU, he received a passport. While in Tanganyika, he received permission to address the UN Committee on South West Africa in New York. In April 1960, Nujoma travelled from Tanganyika to Khartoum, Sudan, and from there to Accra, Ghana, where he attended the All African People's Conference organised by Kwame Nkrumah against the French atom bomb test in the Sahara Desert. Nujoma met with other African nationalist leaders such as Patrice Lumumba, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Joseph Kasa-Vubu and Frantz Fanon at the conference. His early encounters with other African nationalist leaders left a lasting impression and informed his Pan-African outlook. Kwame Nkrumah assisted Nujoma to travel to United States and later to Liberia, where a case on South West Africa was being presented to the International Court of Justice.

After breaking away from SWANU, OPO reconstituted itself as the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) in New York on 19 April 1960, Nujoma was elected president in absentia. He arrived in New York in June 1960 where he petitioned before the Sub Committee of the Fourth Committee of the General Assembly of the United Nations. Nujoma demanded that South West Africa be given its independence by 1963 at the latest. He then returned to Tanganyika in 1961, from where he and a small group of activists would develop SWAPO into an international force. He received support from other African nationalists and received strong backing from Julius Nyerere. Nujoma established SWAPO's Provisional headquarters in Dar es Salaam and arranged scholarships and military training for Namibians who had started to join him there. Among the first arrivals were Mzee Kaukungwa, Mosé Tjitendero and Hifikepunye Pohamba.

In 1962, SWAPO founded its armed wing, the South West African Liberation Army (SWALA), later renamed the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN). Nujoma himself procured the first weapons from Algeria via Egypt, Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia, from where they were taken to Omugulugwombashe in Ovamboland. On 21 March 1966, in a bid to test South Africa's claims at the International Court of Justice at the Hague that Namibians in exile were free to return and its assertion that they were in self-imposed exile, Nujoma, accompanied by Hifikepunye Pohamba, chartered a plane to Windhoek. On arrival at the airport, they were arrested and deported to Zambia the next day. On 26 August 1966 the first armed clash between SWALA and the South African security forces took place when paratroopers and police attacked SWALA combatants who had set up a camp at Omugulugwombashe. The attack would mark the beginning of the Namibian War of Independence which would last more than 25 years. In 1969, Nujoma was re-affirmed as SWAPO President at the Tanga Consultative Conference in Tanzania.

In the late 1960s Nujoma continued his diplomatic rounds as SWAPO set up offices across Africa, Europe and the Americas. He represented SWAPO at the founding of the Non-Aligned Movement on 1 September 1961 in Belgrade, Yugoslavia as well as at the founding of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 25 May 1963. In 1965, the OAU recognised SWAPO as the only lawful representative of the Namibian people.

In 1974, the Portuguese Empire collapsed and Namibia's border with Angola became much more susceptible to guerrilla infiltration. Nujoma recognised that this paved the way for major changes in the way the war was being fought and over the next two years SWAPO's military campaign shifted its base from Zambia to Angola. The opening of the border enabled thousands of SWAPO supporters to stream out of Namibia to join the movement in exile. Nujoma's son Utoni Nujoma and his two brothers were among those who arrived in Zambia. At the 1977 World Conference Against Apartheid in Lisbon Nujoma underlined the necessity to destroy the colonial system and institutions of the apartheid regime in Namibia in order to build those which will serve the interest of people irrespective of race, religion or origin. He also warned of the danger of installation of neocolonialist marionettes who would superficially change the visible colonial regime while the position of the majority of people would stay the same. In the late 1970s Nujoma led the SWAPO negotiations team between the Western Contact Group (WCG), which consisted of West Germany, Britain, France, the US and Canada, and South Africa on the one hand, and the Frontline States and Nigeria on the other, about proposals that would eventually become United Nations Security Council Resolution 435, passed in September 1978. While agreement on Resolution 435, which embodied the plan for free and fair elections in Namibia, was undoubtedly a diplomatic coup, its implementation became bogged down for another ten years. South African delaying tactics and the decision by American president Ronald Reagan's administration to link a Cuban withdrawal from Angola to Namibian independence frustrated hopes of an immediate settlement. On 19 March 1989, the signing of the cease-fire agreement with South Africa took place, which resulted in the implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 435.

After 29 years in exile, Nujoma returned to Namibia in September 1989 to lead SWAPO to victory in the UN-supervised elections that paved the way for independence. Nujoma returned a day before the UN deadline for the Namibia people to register to vote for an election that would draft a constitution when it received its Independence from South Africa. The Constituent Assembly, elected in November 1989, chose him as Namibia's first president. Nujoma was sworn in on 21 March 1990, in the presence of Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Secretary-General of the UN, Frederik de Klerk, president of South Africa, and Nelson Mandela, just released from prison.

President of SWAPO
In 1959 Nujoma co-founded the Ovamboland People's Organization (OPO) and became its first president. The next year in 1960 he became the first president of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO). At the time South Africa administered the land under a policy of apartheid, in which the best resources were reserved for those classified white, while other Namibians were treated as inferior. After years of asking the United Nations to ensure the occupying power South Africa released control of South West Africa, he authorised armed resistance in 1966. This began the Namibian War of Independence, which lasted 24 years. During the struggle, Nujoma took the combat name "Shafiishuna", meaning "lightning", as the name was in his family on his father's side. During the liberation struggle Nujoma was also the commander-in-chief of the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) and the chairman of the Swapo Military Council, which was the biggest decision making body of PLAN.

After serving 47 years as leader of SWAPO, he was succeeded by Hifikepunye Pohamba in 2007. There was speculation that he would be re-elected as SWAPO leader in 2007 and that he was planning to run for president again in 2009. In early October 2007, however, Nujoma said that he had no intention of seeking re-election as SWAPO President and would stand aside in favour of Pohamba. Pohamba was accordingly elected unopposed as SWAPO president on 29 November 2007 at a party congress. Nujoma said that he was "passing the torch and mantle of leadership to comrade Pohamba". The congress also decided to give Nujoma the title of Leader of the Namibian Revolution, in addition to his existing title, Founding Father of the Namibian Nation. Choosing to leave active politics, Nujoma was not re-elected to the SWAPO Central Committee nor the Politburo, but the congress granted him permission to attend meetings of the Central Committee and Politburo "at his discretion". He may also receive the title of National Chairman of SWAPO.

President of Namibia
As head of SWAPO, Nujoma was unanimously declared president upon the victory of SWAPO in a United Nations-supervised election in 1989, and was sworn in by UN Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar on 21 March 1990.

At independence, Namibia was gravely divided as a result of a century of colonialism, dispossession, and racial discrimination, compounded by armed struggle and propaganda. For instance, SWAPO had been so demonised by the colonial media and by official pronouncements that most white people, as well as many members of other groups, regarded the movement with the deepest fear, loathing, and suspicion. One of Nujoma's earliest achievements was to proclaim the policy of "national reconciliation", which aimed to improve and harmonise relations amongst Namibia's various racial and ethnic groups. Under his presidency, Namibia made steady if unspectacular economic progress, maintained a democratic system with respect for human rights, observed the rule of law, and worked steadily to eradicate the heritage of apartheid in the interests of developing a non-racial society. Nujoma successfully united all Namibians into a peaceful, tolerant and democratic society governed by the rule of law.

In 1992 Norway decided to stop drought relief to Namibia in response to the purchase of an expensive new presidential jet and two new VIP helicopters. The planes were bought a few weeks after Nujoma had appealed to the international community for drought aid.

In 1990 Nujoma initiated a plan for land reform, in which land would be redistributed from whites to blacks. Some 12% of the total commercial farmland in the country was taken away from white farmers and given to black citizens by 2007. However, according to a 1998 statement made by the Cabinet of Namibia "the agricultural base is too weak to offer a sustainable basis for prosperity" and 38% of Namibia's rural population continue to live beneath the poverty line as of 2010. Nujoma was re-elected as President of Namibia in December 1994 with 76.3% of the vote. The constitution of Namibia was changed to allow Nujoma to run for a third five-year term in 1999; this was justified on the grounds that he had not been directly elected for his first term, and the change applied only to Nujoma. He won the 1999 election with 76.8% of the vote. The constitution did not allow Nujoma to run in November 2004 for a fourth term, and there was not much enthusiasm even within SWAPO to change it again. Hifikepunye Pohamba, described as Nujoma's "hand-picked successor", was elected as the candidate for the presidential election during the SWAPO congress held on 30 May 2004, defeating two other candidates, Nahas Angula and Hidipo Hamutenya. The latter had been dismissed from his post of Foreign Affairs minister by Nujoma barely two days before the congress. Pohamba was elected with a large majority and was sworn in as second President of Namibia on 21 March 2005. In 1998 Nujoma came to the defence of the Democratic Republic of Congo President Laurent Kabila when his rule came under threat from rebels backed by Rwanda and Uganda during the Second Congo War. Namibia became involved in the war on behalf of its commitment to the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Namibian, Angolan and Zimbabwean troops helped Kabila fend off the attacks – a move which Nujoma saw as defending the DRC's sovereignty against outside interference. Nujoma was the international patron and a strong supporter of the Cheetah Conservation Fund, based in Namibia.

In 2001, Nujoma announced purges against gays and lesbians in Namibia, saying "the police must arrest, imprison and deport homosexuals and lesbians found in Namibia."

Post-presidency
Despite stepping down from a formal role, Nujoma is still active in the political sphere, regularly campaigning for SWAPO at various rallies and functions across the country. In 2009, Nujoma attained a master's degree in geology from the University of Namibia.

The director of the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) in Namibia stated that Nujoma had connections to the CIA. The organisation has asked the International Criminal Court to investigate Nujoma and what they say is his role in disappearances during his term. To date, these claims have not been substantiated.

Despite his commitment and actions during his presidency to foster racial reconciliation and harmony between the various ethnic groups of Namibia, Nujoma has made controversial and violent remarks after his presidency. In mid- June 2009, he called on the SWAPO party youth to take up arms and, as he put it, "drive the colonists out of the country". In the same month in 2009, Sam Nujoma attacked the German-speaking Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (DELK), accusing it of having "collaborated with the enemy before independence and possibly still being an enemy". He also said: "We tolerate them. But if they don't behave, we will attack them. And when they call their white friends from Germany, we will shoot them in the head”. In September 2009, during a speech in northern Namibia defending Robert Mugabe, Nujoma repeatedly verbally attacked Americans, Britons and Germans and urged his supporters: “as soon as you see an Englishman, hit him with a hammer in the head.” He further added, as he had done previously in June 2009: “...that Germans who are unwilling to cooperate should be shot in the head.”

Marriage and personal life
Nujoma married Kovambo Theopoldine Katjimune on 6 May 1956. The couple had three sons and one daughter; Utoni Daniel (born 1952), John Ndeshipanda (1955–1993), Sakaria "Zacky" Nujoma (born 1957), and Nelago Nujoma (born 1959), who died at 18 months while Nujoma was in exile. Two decades elapsed before his wife joined him abroad. Nujoma's first-born son, Utoni, is a high ranking politician and member of SWAPO who is both a member of Cabinet and National Assembly of Namibia. His youngest son, Zacky, is a geologist by profession who has interest in business and mining.

Nujoma's father, Daniel Uutoni Nujoma, whose sole "crime" was being Nujoma's father, was arrested at Okahao and sent to Pretoria prison in 1966. There he developed tuberculosis from which he later died in 1968. Nujoma's mother, Kuku Helvi Mpingana Kondombolo, lived to an exceptionally old age, dying in November 2008; she was reportedly more than 100 years old.

Sakaria "Zacky" Nujoma, youngest son of Nujoma, has been named in association with the Panama Papers.

In July 2024, Nujoma was hospitalized in Windhoek after feeling ill. He was hospitalized the month prior due to an illness and had to miss a public engagement.

In book and film

 * Sam Nujoma, Where Others Wavered, The Autobiography of Sam Nujoma, London 2001
 * Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation, epic film by Charles Burnett, the Namibian independence movement through the eyes of Nujoma

title: Sam Nujoma


text:
Dynamic positioning

Dynamic positioning (DP) is a computer-controlled system to automatically maintain a vessel's position and heading by using its own propellers and thrusters. Position reference sensors, combined with wind sensors, motion sensors and gyrocompasses, provide information to the computer pertaining to the vessel's position and the magnitude and direction of environmental forces affecting its position. Examples of vessel types that employ DP include ships and semi-submersible mobile offshore drilling units (MODU), oceanographic research vessels, cable layer ships and cruise ships.

The computer program contains a mathematical model of the vessel that includes information pertaining to the wind and current drag of the vessel and the location of the thrusters. This knowledge, combined with the sensor information, allows the computer to calculate the required steering angle and thruster output for each thruster. This allows operations at sea where mooring or anchoring is not feasible due to deep water, congestion on the sea bottom (pipelines, templates) or other problems.

Dynamic positioning may either be absolute in that the position is locked to a fixed point over the bottom, or relative to a moving object like another ship or an underwater vehicle. One may also position the ship at a favorable angle towards wind, waves and current, called weathervaning.

Dynamic positioning is used by much of the offshore oil industry, for example in the North Sea, Persian Gulf, Gulf of Mexico, West Africa, and off the coast of Brazil. There are currently more than 1800 DP ships.

History
Dynamic positioning began in the 1960s for offshore drilling. With drilling moving into ever deeper waters, Jack-up barges could not be used any more, and anchoring in deep water was not economical.

As part of Project Mohole, in 1961 the drillship Cuss 1 was fitted with four steerable propellers. The Mohole project was attempting to drill to the Moho, which required a solution for deep water drilling. It was possible to keep the ship in position above a well off La Jolla, California, at a depth of 948 meters.

After this, off the coast of Guadalupe, Mexico, five holes were drilled, the deepest at 183 m (601 ft) below the sea floor in 3,500 m (11,700 ft) of water, while maintaining a position within a radius of 180 meters. The ship's position was determined by radar ranging to buoys and sonar ranging from subsea beacons.

Whereas the Cuss 1 was kept in position manually, later in the same year Shell launched the drilling ship Eureka that had an analogue control system interfaced with a taut wire, making it the first true DP ship.

While the first DP ships had analogue controllers and lacked redundancy, since then vast improvements have been made. Besides that, DP nowadays is not only used in the oil industry, but also on various other types of ships. In addition, DP is not limited to maintaining a fixed position any more. One of the possibilities is sailing an exact track, useful for cablelay, pipelay, survey and other tasks.

Comparison between position-keeping options
Other methods of position-keeping are the use of an anchor spread and the use of a jack-up barge. All have their own advantages and disadvantages.

Although all methods have their own advantages, dynamic positioning has made many operations possible that were not feasible before.

The costs are falling due to newer and cheaper technologies, and the advantages are becoming more compelling as offshore work enters ever deeper water and the environment (coral) is given more respect. With container operations, crowded ports can be made more efficient by quicker and more accurate berthing techniques. Cruise ship operations benefit from faster berthing and non-anchored "moorings" off beaches or inaccessible ports.

Applications
Important applications include:
 * Servicing aids to navigation (ATON)
 * Cable-laying
 * Crane vessels
 * Cruise ships
 * Diving support vessels
 * Dredging
 * Drillships
 * Floating production storage and offloading units (FPSOs)
 * Flotels
 * Landing platform docks
 * Maritime research
 * Mine sweepers
 * Pipe-laying ship
 * Platform supply vessels
 * Rock dumping
 * Sea Launch
 * Sea-based X-band radar
 * Shuttle tankers
 * Survey ships

Scope
A ship can be considered to have six degrees of freedom in its motion, i.e., it can translate and rotate on three perpendicular axes.

Three of these involve translation:
 * surge (longitudinal axis, forward/astern)
 * sway (lateral axis, starboard/port)
 * heave (vertical axis, up/down)

and the other three rotation:
 * roll (rotation about longitudinal axis)
 * pitch (rotation about lateral axis)
 * yaw (rotation about vertical axis)

Dynamic positioning is concerned primarily with control of the ship in the horizontal plane, i.e. the translation along the two horizontal axes (surge and sway) and rotation on the vertical axis (yaw).

Requirements
A ship that is to be used for DP requires:
 * to maintain position and heading, first of all the position and heading need to be known.
 * a control computer to calculate the required control actions to maintain position and correct for position errors.
 * thrust elements to apply forces to the ship as demanded by the control system.

For most applications, the position reference systems and thrust elements must be carefully considered when designing a DP ship. In particular, for good control of position in adverse weather, the thrust capability of the ship in three axes must be adequate.

Maintaining a fixed position is particularly difficult in polar conditions because ice forces can change rapidly. Ship-borne ice detection and mitigation is not sufficiently developed to predict these forces, but may be preferable to sensors placed by helicopter.

Positioning systems
There are several means to determine a ship's position at sea. Most traditional methods used for ships navigation are not accurate enough for some modern requirements. For that reason, several positioning systems have been developed during the past decades. Producers of DP systems are: Marine Technologies LLC, Kongsberg Maritime, Navis Engineering Oy, GE, SIREHNA, Wärtsilä (ex L-3), MT-div. Chouest, Rolls-Royce plc, Praxis Automation Technology, Brunvoll AS. The term digital anchor has been used to describe such dynamic positioning systems. . The applications and availability depends on the type of work and water depth. The most common position reference systems (PRS) and position measuring systems (PME) are:

 * DGPS, Differential GPS. The position obtained by GPS is not accurate enough for use by DP. The position is improved by use of a fixed ground-based reference station (differential station) that compares the GPS position to the known position of the station. The correction is sent to the DGPS receiver by long wave radio frequency. For use in DP an even higher accuracy and reliability is needed. Companies such as Veripos, Fugro or C-Nav supply differential signals via satellite, enabling the combination of several differential stations. The advantage of DGPS is that it is almost always available. Disadvantages include degradation of the signal by ionospheric or atmospheric disturbances, blockage of satellites by cranes or structures and deterioration of the signal at high altitudes. There are also systems installed on vessels that use various Augmentation systems, as well as combining GPS position with GLONASS.
 * Acoustics. This system consists of one or more transponders placed on the seabed and a transducer placed in the ship's hull. The transducer sends an acoustic signal (by means of piezoelectric elements) to the transponder, which is triggered to reply. As the velocity of sound through water is known (preferably a soundprofile is taken regularly), the distance is known. Because there are many elements on the transducer, the direction of the signal from the transponder can be determined. Now the position of the ship relative to the transponder can be calculated. Disadvantages are the vulnerability to noise by thrusters or other acoustic systems. The use is limited in shallow waters because of ray bending that occurs when sound travels through water horizontally. Three types of HPR systems are commonly used:
 * Ultra- or super- short base line, USBL or SSBL. This works as described above. Because the angle to the transponder is measured, a correction needs to be made for the ship's roll and pitch. These are determined by Motion Reference Units. Because of the nature of angle measurement, the accuracy deteriorates with increasing water depth.
 * Long base line, LBL. This consists of an array of at least three transponders. The initial position of the transponders is determined by USBL and/ or by measuring the baselines between the transponders. Once that is done, only the ranges to the transponders need to be measured to determine a relative position. The position should theoretically be located at the intersection of imaginary spheres, one around each transponder, with a radius equal to the time between transmission and reception multiplied by the speed of sound through water. Because angle measurement is not necessary, the accuracy in large water depths is better than USBL.
 * Short baseline, SBL. This works with an array of transducers in the ship's hull. These determine their position to a transponder, so a solution is found in the same way as with LBL. As the array is located on the ship, it needs to be corrected for roll and pitch.
 * Riser Angle Monitoring. On drillships, riser angle monitoring can be fed into the DP system. It may be an electrical inclinometer or based on USBL, where a riser angle monitoring transponder is fitted to the riser and a remote inclinometer unit is installed on the Blow Out Preventer (BOP) and interrogated through the ship's HPR.

 * Light taut wire, LTW or LWTW. The oldest position reference system used for DP is still very accurate in relatively shallow water. A clumpweight is lowered to the seabed. By measuring the amount of wire paid out and the angle of the wire by a gimbal head, the relative position can be calculated. Care should be taken not to let the wire angle become too large to avoid dragging. For deeper water the system is less favourable, as current will curve the wire. There are however systems that counteract this with a gimbal head on the clumpweight. Horizontal LTW's are also used when operating close to a structure. Objects falling on the wire are a risk here.
 * Fanbeam and CyScan. These are laser based position reference systems. They are very straightforward system, as only a prism cluster or tape target needs to be installed on a nearby structure or ship. Risks are the system locking on other reflecting objects and blocking of the signal. However, the Cyscan Absolute Signature which was released in 2017 was launched to address this issue. It is able to engage in an active lock with the Absolute Signature prism which reduces the chance of a wrong target being tracked. Range depends on the weather, but is typically more than 500 meters. New advancement from Guidance Marine led to the development of the SceneScan sensor which is a target-less laser PRS leveraging on the SLAM algorithm.
 * Artemis. A radar-based system. A unit is placed on a fixed station (FPSO) and the unit on board the mobile station locks on to it to report the range and bearing. The operationalrange is in excess of 4 kilometers. Advantage is the reliable, all-weather performance. Disadvantage is that the unit is rather heavy and costly. Current version is the Artemis Mk6.
 * DARPS, Differential, Absolute and Relative Positioning System. Commonly used on shuttle tankers while loading from a FPSO. Both will have a GPS receiver. As the errors are the same for the both of them, the signal does not need to be corrected. The position from the FPSO is transmitted to the shuttle tanker, so a range and bearing can be calculated and fed into the DP system.
 * RADius and RadaScan. These are radar based systems; while the RADius has no moving parts, the RadaScan has a rotating antenna under the dome. Guidance Marine has improved the miniRadaScan with the RadaScan View which has an added advantage of radar back-scatter. This enhanced the DPO's situational awareness. These systems usually have responders which are active targets that send the signal back to the sensor to report the range and bearing. The range is typically up to 600 meters.
 * Inertial navigation is used in combination with any of the above reference systems, but typically with gnss (Global Navigation Satellite System) and Hydroacoustics (USBL, LBL, or SBL).

Heading systems

 * Gyrocompasses are normally used to determine heading.

More advanced methods are:
 * Ring-Laser gyroscopes
 * Fibre optic gyroscopes
 * Seapath, a combination of GPS and inertial sensors.

Other sensors
Besides position and heading, other variables are fed into the DP system through sensors:
 * Motion reference units, vertical reference units or vertical reference sensors, VRUs or MRUs or VRSs, determine the ship's roll, pitch and heave.
 * Wind sensors are fed into the DP system feedforward, so the system can anticipate wind gusts before the ship is blown off position.
 * Draught sensors, since a change of draught influences the effect of wind and current on the hull.
 * Other sensors depend on the kind of ship. A pipelay ship may measure the force needed to pull on the pipe, large crane vessels will have sensors to determine the cranes position, as this changes the wind model, enabling the calculation of a more accurate model (see Control systems).
 * Some external forces are not directly measured. In these cases, the offset force is deduced over a period of time, allowing an average value of compensating thrust to be applied. All forces not attributable to direct measurement are labeled "current", as this is what they are assumed to be, but in reality this is a combination of current, waves, swell, and any errors in the system. As is traditional in the maritime industry, DP "current" is always recorded in the direction that it is flowing towards.

Control systems
In the beginning PID controllers were used and today are still used in the simpler DP systems. But modern controllers use a mathematical model of the ship that is based on a hydrodynamic and aerodynamic description concerning some of the ship's characteristics such as mass and drag. Of course, this model is not entirely correct. The ship's position and heading are fed into the system and compared with the prediction made by the model. This difference is used to update the model by using Kalman filtering technique. For this reason, the model also has input from the wind sensors and feedback from the thrusters. This method even allows not having input from any PRS for some time, depending on the quality of the model and the weather. This process is known as dead reckoning.

The accuracy and precision of the different PRSs is not the same. While a DGPS has a high accuracy and precision, a USBL can have a much lower precision. For this reason, the PRS's are weighted. Based on variance a PRS receives a weight between 0 and 1.

Power and propulsion systems
To maintain position azimuth thrusters (electric, L-drive or Z-drive) bow thrusters, stern thrusters, water jets, rudders and propellers are used. DP ships are usually at least partially diesel-electric, as this allows a more flexible set-up and is better able to handle the large changes in power demand, typical for DP operations. These fluctuations may be suitable for hybrid operation. An LNG-powered platform supply vessel started operation in 2016 with a 653 kWh/1600 kW battery acting as spinning reserve during DP2, saving 15-30% fuel. The 154-meter North Sea Giant has combined 3 powerpacks, switchboards and 2 MWh batteries to operate in DP3 using only one engine, keeping the engine load between 60% and 80%.

The set-up depends on the DP class of the ship. A Class 1 can be relatively simple, whereas the system of a Class 3 ship is quite complex. On Class 2 and 3 ships, all computers and reference systems should be powered through a UPS.

International Maritime Organization class requirements
Based on IMO (International Maritime Organization) publication 645 the Classification Societies have issued rules for Dynamic Positioned Ships described as Class 1, Class 2 and Class 3.

Loss of position may occur in the event of a single fault. Loss of position should not occur from a single fault of an active component or system such as generators, thruster, switchboards, remote controlled valves etc., but may occur after failure of a static component such as cables, pipes, manual valves etc. Loss of position should not occur from any single failure including a completely burnt fire subdivision or flooded watertight compartment.
 * Equipment Class 1 has no redundancy.
 * Equipment Class 2 has redundancy so that no single fault in an active system will cause the system to fail.
 * Equipment Class 3 which also has to withstand fire or flood in any one compartment without the system failing.

Classification Societies have their own Class notations:

DNV rules 2011 Pt6 Ch7 introduced "DPS" series of classification to compete with ABS "DPS" series.

Norwegian Maritime Authority Guidelines
Where IMO leaves the decision of which class applies to what kind of operation to the operator of the DP ship and its client, the Norwegian Maritime Authority(NMA) has specified what Class should be used in regard to the risk of an operation. In the NMA Guidelines and Notes No. 28, enclosure A four classes are defined:

 * Class 0 Operations where loss of position keeping capability is not considered to endanger human lives, or cause damage.
 * Class 1 Operations where loss of position keeping capability may cause damage or pollution of small consequence.
 * Class 2 Operations where loss of position keeping capability may cause personnel injury, pollution, or damage with large economic consequences.
 * Class 3 Operations where loss of position keeping capability may cause fatal accidents, or severe pollution or damage with major economic consequences.

Based on this the type of ship is specified for each operation:
 * Class 1 DP units with equipment class 1 should be used during operations where loss of position is not considered to endanger human lives, cause significant damage or cause more than minimal pollution.
 * Class 2 DP units with equipment class 2 should be used during operations where loss of position could cause personnel injury, pollution or damage with great economic consequences.
 * Class 3 DP units with equipment class 3 should be used during operations where loss of position could cause fatal accidents, severe pollution or damage with major economic consequences.

Failure
Loss of position, also known as runoff, can be a threat to safe operations and the environment, including possible loss of life, injury, damage to property or the environment, and loss of reputation and time. Incident records indicate that even vessels with redundant dynamic positioning systems are subject to occasional loss of position, which can be due to human error, procedural failure, dynamic positioning system failures, or bad design.

Dynamic positioning failure results in an inability to maintain position or heading control, and can be a drift off caused by insufficient thrust, or a drive off caused by inappropriate thrust.

 * Risk of runoff
 * Consequences – for drilling, diving and other operations. Injury to divers is possible, Damage to diving equipment including cutting of diver's umbilical has occurred.
 * Mitigation – dealing with a runoff; training and competence; emergency drills.

Dynamic positioning alarm and runout response for bell divers
The basic response with a closed bell is similar to wet bell, but after stowing umbilicals, the hatch will be sealed so that internal pressure can be retained. The bell will be recovered as rapidly as possible in a red alert, and may be recovered if there is doubt that a yellow alert will be downgraded.
 * Code amber /Yellow alert – Divers return to the bell immediately, stow umbilicals, and stand by for further developments and instructions.
 * Code red – Divers return to the bell without delaying to retrieve tools and prepare for immediate ascent. The bell can not be recovered until the umbilicals have been safely stowed.

Redundancy
Redundancy is the ability to withstand, while on DP mode, the loss of equipment which is online, without losing position or heading. A single failure can be, amongst others:
 * Thruster failure
 * Generator (power supply) failure
 * Power bus failure (when generators are combined on one power bus)
 * Control computer failure
 * Position reference system failure
 * Reference system failure

For certain operations redundancy is not required. For instance, if a survey ship loses its DP capability, there is normally no risk of damage or injuries. These operations will normally be done in Class 1.

For other operations, such as diving and heavy lifting, there is a risk of damage or injuries. Depending on the risk, the operation is done in Class 2 or 3. This means at least three Position reference systems should be selected. This allows the principle of voting logic, so the failing PRS can be found. For this reason, there are also three DP control computers, three gyrocompasses, three MRU's and three wind sensors on Class 3 ships. If a single fault occurs that jeopardizes the redundancy, i.e., failing of a thruster, generator or a PRS, and this cannot be resolved immediately, the operation should be abandoned as quickly as possible.

To have sufficient redundancy, enough generators and thrusters should be on-line so the failure of one does not result in a loss of position. This is left to the judgment of the DP operator. For Class 2 and Class 3 a Consequence Analysis should be incorporated in the system to assist the DPO in this process.

The redundancy of a DP ship should be judged by a failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) study and proved by FMEA trials. Besides that, annual trials are done and normally DP function tests are completed prior to each project.

DP operator
The DP operator (DPO) judges whether there is enough redundancy available at any given moment of the operation. IMO issued MSC/Circ.738 (Guidelines for dynamic positioning system (DP) operator training) on 24-06-1996. This refers to IMCA (International Marine Contractors Association) M 117 as acceptable standard.

To qualify as a DP operator the following path should be followed:
 * 1) a DP Induction course + On-line Examination
 * 2) a minimum of 60 days seagoing DP familiarisation
 * 3) a DP Advanced course + On-line Examination
 * 4) a minimum of 60 days watchkeeping on a DP ship
 * 5) a statement of suitability by the master of a DP ship

When the watchkeeping is done on a Class 1 DP ship, a limited certificate will be issued; otherwise a full certificate will be issued.

The DP training and certification scheme is operated by The Nautical Institute (NI). The NI issue logbooks to trainees, they accredit training centres and control the issuance of certification.

With ever more DP ships and with increasing manpower demands, the position of DPO is gaining increasing prominence. This shifting landscape led to the creation of The International Dynamic Positioning Operators Association (IDPOA) in 2009. www.dpoperators.org

IDPOA membership is made up of certified DPO's who qualify for fellowship (fDPO), while Members (mDPO) are those with DP experience or who may already be working within the DP certification scheme.

International Marine Contractors Association
The International Marine Contractors Association was formed in April 1995 from the amalgamation of the Dynamic Positioning Vessel Owners Association, founded in 1990, and the International Association of Offshore Diving Contractors, founded in 1972.

While it started with the collection and analysis of DP Incidents, since then it has produced publications on different subjects to improve standards for DP systems. It also works with IMO and other regulatory bodies.

Marine Technology Society Dynamic Positioning Committee
The Marine Technology Society Dynamic Positioning (DP) Committee's mission is to facilitate incident free DP operations through sharing of knowledge. This committee of dedicated volunteers delivers value to the DP community of vessel owners, operators, Marine Class Societies, engineers and regulators through an annual DP Conference, topical workshops and an extensive set of Guidance Documents covering DP Design Philosophy, DP Operations and Professional Development of DP Personnel. In addition, a growing set of unique documents called TECHOP's address specific topics of significant interest and impact. Conference papers are available for download by the public, providing the most comprehensive single source of DP industry technical papers available anywhere.

The DP Guidance documents published by the MTS DP Committee are designed to disseminate the knowledge, methods and unique tools to aid the DP community in achieving incident free DP operations. The documents are free to download from the Committee's website http://dynamic-positioning.com

title: Dynamic positioning


text:
User:Torien

Hey all, most of my personal writings happen elsewhere. but for here:

I am a fan of WikiFun. I havent been playing much but i view pretty much every game

Other than that, I am an Aussie, I love snowboarding and I am a fan of random music and awesome architecture.

And reading, I love to read.

Cheers all :-)

title: User:Torien


text:
Talk:General-purpose machine gun

Untitled
GPMG does not refer specifically to the MAG-58 / L7A1; it can refer to any machine gun that is designed to be able to fulfill the roles of either light machine gun or medium machine gun. Apart from the MAG-58 which fills that role in the British Army, other well known GPMG's include the M60, German MG3 (and once the famous MG42), and the Russian PKM. (However it is widely accpeted that the MAG 58 is the best GPMG ever made!)

- Yes, by the very soldiers that use the FN MAG ;) Any soldier will love theirs best (unless its an early M60)

A full article should discuss the origin of the idea of the GPMG, its tactical role, and why many modern armies are moving away from it back to a LMG/SFMG doctrine. I might do it in a couple of weeks but I am flat out at the moment.

Concerning an article on the MAG-58, it should probably also mention the large number of countries who have adopted it. Also the cyclic rate is actually variable. -- Roger 13 Aug 2003

The absolute best should be the one that originated the concept. In other words, the MG42. 209.221.73.5 15:31, 20 February 2006 (UTC)

The "hip firing" reference is rather 'Arnie' or 'Rambo', isn't it. For a more encyclopedic tone I suggest 'while on the move'. GraemeLeggett 16:14, 11 Feb 2005 (UTC)

 * I think hip firing is possible only with weapons up to light machine guns. After that it's simply unfeasible. Oberiko 20:46, 11 Feb 2005 (UTC)

I would like to request that an image be uploaded to this page. Actually I may do that myself now--131.111.8.103 18:52, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

Hip firing is something that is rarely ever employed except for when firing light machine guns or GPMGS on the move.

"Firing from the Hip" is both taught in several armies as well as a more correct description of the technique, since one doesnt have to be "on the move" to fire from the hip. Just because "Arnie" or "Rambo" fires from the hip, that should not influence technical language.

It seems inaccurate to describe the MK48 as a GPMG, as it is narrowly a .308 adaptation of the MK46, which is a Special Forces weapon therefore used as a small arm by an individual; as opposed to being crew-served and vehicle-mountable — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.203.251.142 (talk) 18:36, 26 February 2019 (UTC)

Same as a Medium Machine Gun?
Isn't MMG pretty much synonymous with GPMG these days? If so, the pages should be merged. If not, notes should be added about how they're different.

My hunch is that GPMG is a British/Commonwealth term, and MMG is a USAian term, although i could be wrong.

-- Tom Anderson 2008-01-28 1819 +000

 * You have a good point but i dont think its right though. Any machine gun could really be a general purpose machine gun. That fact that most Medium machine guns are general purpose machine is just coincident. A light machine gun could be a gneral purpose machine gun also.  Bones Brigade  19:21, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

 * Tom Anderson, I'm not sure where the term GPMG geographically originated, but I am American, and I am familiar with the term, specifically as it refers to a weapon that is designed to fulfill the roles of both an LMG and a MMG, such as the MG42 or M60.Cbmclean (talk) 21:48, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

I agree that it is co-incident that most weapons referred to as GPMGs are MMGs. Not all MMGs are GPMGs. The two major historical GPMG-style weapons are the MG38/42 and BAR, both with their own inherent differences in make and use. I doubt the BAR would ever be referred as an MMG. FWIW GPMG is from the french, but made popular by the British standardisation of the term. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.9.185.137 (talk) 03:52, 4 February 2010 (UTC)

The term MMG was used by the UK, long before the USA. For example the Vickers MK I: i.e. a rifle calibre machine gun, designed to be used on a tripod in the sustained fire role and not on a bipod. In the past the USA had these terms: Large caliber machine gun equaled M2 Browning, heavy machine gun equaled Browning M1917, light machine gun equaled Browning M1919A4 and BAR equaled automatic rifle or machine rifle. A true light machine gun could however in my opinion, not be categorised as a GPMG. In my opinion a true GPMG needs the following: 1. Full calibre, full energy rifle rounds; like the 7.62mmx51mm and 7.62mmx54mmR. 2. Be belt fed. 3. Be capable of being used both on a bipod in the light role and on a tripod or on/in vehicles, helicopters etc in the sustained fire role. Furthermore, it being possible to rapidly change from bipod use to tripod use and vice versa. 4. Have a quick-change barrel. The Bren's service with the UK armed forces overlapped with that of the L7 GPMG and the Bren was always referred to as a LMG. In my opinion a Bren could not be described as a GPMG, because it is magazine fed and therefore could not provide the volume of fire and uninterrupted fire necessary for the sustained fire role on a tripod or on/in vehicles. In the case of small calibre MG's like the 5.56mm Minimi, because their calibre is unsuitable for the long distance fire required for the sustained fire role on a tripod or on/in vehicles. Therefore Bren and 5.56mm Minimi type machine guns, are usually not referred to as GPMG's. In my opinion, true medium machine guns are for example the Goryunnov SG-43/SGM, Browning M1919A4 and Vickers MK I. A rifle calibre machine gun (i.e for example 7.62mmx54mmR, .303in) designed for use on a tripod or on/in vehicles in the sustained fire role and cannot be used on a bipod. The BAR could never be categorised as a GPMG. It is magazine fed, lacks a quick-change barrel and could not be used on a tripod. Sulasgeir (talk) 21:51, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * The Russian term for GPMG this is единый, meaning unified or universal. Someone not using his real name (talk) 21:55, 18 August 2013 (UTC)

FN-MAG in Canadian Service
Article says "In the late 1956, the Canadian military adopted the FN MAG as the C6A1 GPMG along with the purchase of the FNC1 and FNC2's". The Canadians were still using the Browning M1919A4 as late as the mid 1980's. When the Leopard C1 tanks came into service I believe they came with the FN-MAG designated as the C6. The FN-MAG replaced the Browning about the time the FNs were retired. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ibm1130 (talk • contribs) 23:17, 19 April 2010 (UTC)

Problematic to have the M1919 Browning as a "notable example"
I don't think that the M1919 Browning machine gun fits well with the other "notable examples". While the M1919A6 version could be used as a light machine gun (LMG), it was a much later conversion, and in all other aspects the M1919 is a 'pure' medium machine gun (MMG). The Wiki article on the M1919 describes the A6 as a "stopgap measure" by the US Army in response to the "German MG34 and MG42 machine guns they were facing". Contrast this with all of the other weapons on the list which were specifically designed to be used both as LMGs and MMGs. As a minimum the inclusion of the M1919 should contain a qualifier. Otherwise we might also include the MG 08/18 version of the Maxim MG 08 as a "notable example".
 * Mojowiha (talk) 08:33, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
 * Strongly agree. Including the M1919 will only tend to confuse the reader.  Indeed, the M1919 could just as easily be at the top of a list of examples of machine guns that are NOT GPMGs.  The appearance of the M1919A6, a belated attempt to GMPG-ize the M1919 notwithstanding,  it is hard to think of a .30 cal post-WWI belt-fed machine gun that is less like a GPMG than the M1919.  It should be taken off the "notable example" list or, at the dead minimum, the M1919A6 model should be the only variant listed.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.205.156.83 (talk) 08:18, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 1 one external link on General-purpose machine gun. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20130226162750/http://army.mod.uk/equipment/support-weapons/1463.aspx to http://www.army.mod.uk/equipment/support-weapons/1463.aspx

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true to let others know.

Cheers. —cyberbot II  Talk to my owner :Online 06:22, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

POV and Focus on German WWII GPMGs
Is it wise to focus almost solely on german WWII GPMGs as the main and pretty much only GPMGs during the war? It seems (to me at least) that this gives undue weight to the Nazis, and presents them almost as a Wunderwaffe akin to how the StG 44 was the first successful assault rifle, but not solely the basis for every subsequent assault rifle. ShamblingShoggoth (talk) 18:11, 8 September 2022 (UTC)

title: Talk:General-purpose machine gun


text:
Murderecords

Murderecords is an independent record label that releases the music of the Canadian rock band Sloan. Originally formed in 1992 to produce just the records of that band, it later released work of other bands including Eric's Trip, The Hardship Post, Al Tuck, Stinkin' Rich, Hip Club Groove, The Inbreds, Thrush Hermit, and The Super Friendz, and was Canada's best-known indie label in the 1990s. Later, the roster was stripped bare, and released Sloan albums exclusively for nearly a decade. In 2008, however, albums by Will Currie and the Country French and Pony Da Look were released by the label.

Releases and artists

 * mur001 Sloan — Peppermint EP (cd/cass)
 * mur002 Eric's Trip — Peter EP (cd/cass)
 * mur003 Hardship Post — Hack EP (cd/cass)
 * mur004 Thrush Hermit — Smart Bomb EP (cd/cass)
 * mur005 Eric's Trip/Sloan — Stove/Smother b/w Laying Blame (split 7-inch vinyl)
 * mur006 Al Tuck and No Action — Arhoolie (cass only)
 * mur007 Hardship Post — Why Don't You and I Smooth Things Over (7-inch vinyl)
 * mur008 Al Tuck and No Action — Brave Last Days EP (cd/cass)
 * mur009 Stinkin' Rich — Stolen Bass (7-inch vinyl)
 * mur010 Hip Club Groove — Trailer Park Hip Hop EP (cd/cass)
 * mur011 Sloan — Twice Removed (full length 12-inch vinyl only)
 * mur012 The Super Friendz — By Request (7-inch vinyl)
 * mur013 Local Rabbits — Put On Your Snowsuit You're Going To Hell (7-inch vinyl)
 * mur014 Sloan — Stood Up / Same Old Flame (7-inch vinyl)
 * mur015 Stinkin’ Rich — Game Tight (cassette only)
 * mur016 Thrush Hermit — The Great Pacific Ocean EP(CD/cass/vinyl)
 * mur017 The Super Friendz — Mock Up, Scale Down (CD)
 * mur018 Jale — Closed EP (CD/cass/12")
 * mur019 Edgefest Murderecords EP — The Super Friendz — One Day the Warner /Jale — Frightened of / Thrush Hermit -West Island Rockers / Stinkin Rich (Buck 65) — By Design (7-inch vinyl)
 * mur020 Zumpano — The Only Reason Under The Sun (7-inch vinyl)
 * mur021 Local Rabbits — You Can't Touch This (CD/cass)
 * mur022 Richard Davies — There's Never Been A Crowd Like This (CD/cass)
 * mur023 Sloan — One Chord to Another (CD/cass/vinyl)
 * mur024 The Super Friendz — Play the Game, Not Games EP (10-inch vinyl)
 * mur025 The Super Friendz — Slide Show (CD/vinyl)
 * mur026 Sloan — Rhodes Jam (7-inch vinyl)
 * mur026 Thrush Hermit — Giddy With The Drugs / The Ugly Details (7-inch vinyl)
 * mur028 Neco Litteris Mando Excerpta 97–98 (CD sampler of The Super Friendz, Local Rabbits, The Inbreds and Sloan)
 * mur029 The Inbreds — Kombinator (CD)
 * mur030 The Inbreds — It's Sydney or the Bush (CD)
 * mur031 The Inbreds — Moustache/Reason Why I'm Shy (7-inch vinyl)
 * mur032 The Vees — The Vees EP (CD)
 * mur033(a) & * mur033(b) Local Rabbits (a) British Knights Coalition: Consolidation & Strike (Stomp Your BK's Down) (b) Pops & Company (Disco Version) (7-inch vinyl)
 * mur034 The Inbreds — Winning Hearts (CD)
 * mur035 Local Rabbits — Basic Concept (CD)
 * mur036 Sloan — Navy Blues (CD/cass/vinyl)
 * mur037 Sloan — Smeared (CD)
 * mur038 Elevator Through — Original Music From the Motion Picture "The Such" (CD)
 * mur039 Sloan — 4 Nights at the Palais Royale (2×CD/3x vinyl)
 * mur040 Sloan — Between the Bridges (CD/cass/vinyl)
 * mur041 Sloan — Second Hand Views (VHS)
 * mur042 Sloan — Pretty Together (CD/vinyl)
 * mur043 Sloan — Never Hear The End Of It (vinyl)
 * mur044 Sloan — Keepin' The Tour Alive: US Action Pact Tour 2004 (vinyl)
 * mur045 Pony Da Look — Shattered Dimensions
 * mur046 Will Currie & The Country French — A Great Stage
 * mur047 Sloan — Parallel Play (CD/vinyl)
 * mur048 Sloan — Hit & Run EP (Digital)
 * mur049 Sloan — B Sides Win: extras, bonus tracks and b-sides 1992-2008 (digital)
 * mur050 Sloan — The Double Cross (CD/vinyl)
 * mur051 Sloan — Is That All I Get? (1993 September Twentieth - Recorded Live On Patrick's Birthday) (vinyl)
 * mur052 Sloan — Australia 1999 (vinyl)
 * mur053 Sloan — Jenny b/w It's In You, It's In Me (7-inch vinyl & digital)
 * mur054 Sloan — Twice Removed (Vinyl Box/Digital)
 * mur055 V/A — Murderecords 7-inch Singles 1993-1998 (7-inch vinyl, book and digital)
 * mur056 The Super Friendz — Mock Up, Scale Down (vinyl)
 * mur057 Sloan — Japan 2002 (Vinyl/digital)
 * mur058 Sloan — Commonwealth (CD/vinyl/digital)
 * mur059 Sloan — 4 extra songs EP
 * mur060 Sloan — One Chord to Another (Vinyl Box/Digital)
 * mur061 Sloan — Kids Come Back Again at Christmas/December 25 7”
 * mur062 Sloan — 12 LP
 * mur063 Sloan — Navy Blues reissue box set
 * mur064 Matthew Grimson, Prize for Writing
 * mur065 Cola Wars — s/t 12-inch vinyl EP
 * mur066 Sloan — B Sides Win Vol.1 1992-1997 (LP, Comp, Ltd, Blu)
 * mur067 TUNS — Duly Noted (LP/Digital)
 * mur068 ??
 * mur069 Sloan — Silence Trumps Lies (File, MP3, Single)
 * mur070 Sloan — B Sides Win Vol.2 1998-2001 (LP, Comp, Ltd, Pur)
 * mur071 Sloan — This One's An Original... (LP, Ltd, Cle)
 * mur072 - The Flashing Lights - Where The Change Is (LP, Album, Ltd, RE, RM, Blue Translucent)
 * mur073 Sloan — Steady (CD/LP/Digital)
 * mur074 Sloan — Never Heard The Demo Of It (2x7" LP)
 * mur075 Sloan — One Chord to Another - the Demos (cass)
 * mur076 - Sloan — Alive & Alright (2×LP, Album, Ltd)
 * mur077 Sloan — Smeared (3xLP, 1x7"LP, Reissue Box Set, Deluxe Edition, Ltd)

title: Murderecords