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Linda Rogers

Linda Rogers (born 10 October 1944) is a Canadian poet and children's writer based in British Columbia.

Early life and education
Rogers was born October 10, 1944, in Port Alice, British Columbia. Rogers attended the University of British Columbia. She was raised in Vancouver and attended University Hill School. She graduated with BA in English in 1966 and an MA in Canadian Literature in 1970.

Career
Rogers began publishing chapbooks in the 1970s. One of her first full-length titles, Queens of the Next Hot Star (1981), is based on her relationships with First Nations women.

In addition to writing, Rogers has taught at the University of British Columbia, the University of Victoria, Malaspina College and Camosun College. Rogers served as president of the League of Canadian Poets (1997) and the Federation of BC Writers (1990). From 1 December 1988, Rogers served as the second Poet Laureate of the City of Victoria.

Personal life
Rogers married musician Rick Van Krugel. She has three sons from a previous marriage.

Poetry

 * Some Breath (1976)
 * Queens of the Next Hot Star (1981)
 * Witness (1985)
 * Singing Rib (1987)
 * Woman at Mile Zero (1990)
 * Letters from the Doll Hospital (1992)
 * Hard Candy (1994)
 * Love in the Rainforest (1995)
 * Heaven Cake (1997)
 * The Broad Canvas (1999)
 * The Saning (1999)
 * 2000: Shaunt Basmajian Chapbook Award, Grief Sits Down ISBN 0-9686018-2-0
 * The Bursting Test (2002)

Children's books

 * Worm Sandwich (1989)
 * Kestrel and Leonardo (1990)
 * Brown Bag Blues (1991)
 * The Magic Flute (1991)
 * Frankie Zapper and the Disappearing Teacher (1994)
 * Molly Brown is Not a Clown (1996)

Fiction

 * The Half Life of Radium (1994)
 * Say My Name: The Memoirs of Charlie Louie (2000)
 * Friday Water (2003)
 * The Empress Letters (2007)

Non-fiction

 * The Broad Canvas: Portraits of Women Artists (1999)

Anthologies

 * Breaking the Surface: Five Canadian Poets Introduce New Voices (2001)
 * P.K. Page: Essays on Her Works (2001)
 * Bill Bissett: Essays on His Works (2002)
 * Al Purdy: Essays on His Works (2002)
 * Joe Rosenblatt: Essays on His Works (2005)
 * George Fetherling and His Work (2005)

title: Linda Rogers


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Domenico Modugno

Domenico Modugno (9 January 1928 – 6 August 1994) was an Italian singer, actor and, later in life, a member of the Italian Parliament. He is known for his 1958 international hit song "Nel blu dipinto di blu", for which he received the first Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. He is considered the first Italian cantautore.

Early life
The youngest of four children, Modugno was born at Polignano a Mare, in the province of Bari (Apulia), on 9 January 1928. His father, Vito Cosimo Modugno, was a municipal police commander, while his mother, Pasqua Lorusso, was a housewife.

At the age of 9, his family moved to San Pietro Vernotico, in the Province of Brindisi, where his father was transferred for a new job position. Here Domenico attended primary school and learned San Pietro Vernotico's dialect, which belongs to the linguistic area of Salentino dialect, similar to Sicilian. He attended secondary school in Lecce.

Career
While still studying, Modugno had a role in a cinematographic version of Filumena Marturano by Eduardo De Filippo as well as some other films. In 1957, his song "Lazzarella", sung by Aurelio Fierro, came second in the Festival della Canzone Napoletana, bringing him his first taste of popularity.

In 1958, Modugno took part in Antonio Aniante's comedy La Rosa di Zolfo at the Festival della Prosa in Venice. Also in 1958, he discovered the Italian comedy duo of Franco and Ciccio, became their manager and got them into a long-running film career. The turning point of his career came in that year, when he also participated in the Sanremo Music Festival, presenting, together with Johnny Dorelli, the song "Nel blu dipinto di blu." Co-authored by Modugno and Franco Migliacci, the song won the contest and became an enormous success worldwide. It received two Grammy Awards with sales above 22 million copies, and represented Italy in the 1958 Eurovision Song Contest, where it came in third.

Modugno reportedly used the money gained with "Nel blu dipinto di blu" to purchase a Ferrari, however, his car was totalled in an accident, which included his fenders being smashed. This was mentioned in the Allan Sherman song "America's a nice Italian Name".

In 1959, Modugno won the Sanremo Music Festival for the second time in a row, with "Piove" (also known as "Ciao, ciao bambina"), and received second place in 1960 with "Libero". This was a successful period of time for Modugno who again represented Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest of 1959. Later his hit song "Io" was sung by Elvis Presley in English with the title "Ask Me".

In 1962, Modugno won the Sanremo Music Festival a third time with "Addio..., addio...." Four years later, he again represented Italy at Eurovision with "Dio, come ti amo". Sergio Franchi recorded it in Italian (titled "Oh How Much I Love You (Dio, come ti amo!)) on his 1967 RCA Victor album, From Sergio-with Love. Jack Jones recorded it in English for his 1967 album, Our Song, under the title "Oh How Much I Love You". Shirley Bassey also recorded it with the title Oh God How Much I Love You, on her album Keep the Music Playing in 1991.

Modugno was an actor in 44 movies (such as Appuntamento a Ischia), and was a film producer of two (Tutto è musica of 1963 was his own biographical production).

In 1970, Modugno focused on more classic music genres and profiles, as a singer and as a musician, adapting poetry, acting on television and in lead singing roles in modern operas.

Final years
In 1984, Modugno suffered a severe stroke and remained partially paralyzed; this forced him to abandon his artistic career and devote himself to rehab.

From 1986, he worked for the rights of disabled people, and in June 1987, he was elected congressman for Turin in the Italian Parliament, in the ranks of the Radical Party, a liberal-social political group. In the past he had supported the campaigns of the Italian Socialist Party and one for divorce, in addition to criticizing the human rights violations by the regime of Augusto Pinochet, that cost him a denial of entry in Chile, where he had been scheduled to hold a concert. In this last stage of his life, instead, he was very active in social issues, fighting against the inhumane conditions of patients in the Agrigento psychiatric hospital.

Modugno returned to the music scene, definitively (he already held a concert for former inmates of Agrigento's mental asylum, in 1989), in 1992–1993. His last song was Delfini (Dolphins), in 1993 with his son, Massimo.

On 6 August 1994, Modugno died at the age of 66, from a heart attack, on the island of Lampedusa, south of Sicily, while he was in his home by the sea. His beach villa was put up for sale in 2020. It is located on Rabbits' Islet beach, the location is part of a natural protected reserve with limestones and crags.

Discography

 * "Lu pisce spada"
 * "Lazzarella"
 * "Nel blu dipinto di blu" – also known as "Volare" (Sanremo winner song, 1958), co-authored with Franco Migliacci
 * Buon Natale A Tutto Il Mondo (1958, with Ennio Morricone)
 * "La lontananza"
 * "Piove" – also known as "Ciao, ciao bambina" (Sanremo winner song, 1959)
 * "Sopra i tetti azzurri del mio pazzo amore"
 * "Vecchio frac"
 * "Non piangere Maria"
 * "Amara terra mia"
 * "Stasera pago io"
 * "Il maestro di violino"
 * "Tu si 'na cosa grande"
 * "Questa è la mia vita"
 * "Addio...addio..."
 * "Piange... il telefono"

Sanremo Festival

Modugno was the winner four times (in 1958, 1959, 1962 and 1966).
 * 1956 "Musetto"
 * 1958 "Nel blu dipinto di blu" (winner)
 * 1959 "Piove (Ciao, ciao bambina)" (winner)
 * 1960 "Libero" (second place)
 * 1962 "Addio... addio..." (winner)
 * 1964 "Che me ne importa a me" (second place)
 * 1966 "Dio, come ti amo" (winner)
 * 1967 "Sopra i tetti azzurri del mio pazzo amore"
 * 1968 "Il posto mio"
 * 1971 "Come stai?"
 * 1972 "Un calcio alla città"
 * 1974 "Questa è la mia vita" (second place)

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

title: Domenico Modugno


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Calder Cup

The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars.

The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its current shape, the trophy has a two-tiered square base with commemorative plaques for each of the AHL's 20 most recent champions: 12 on the bottom tier and 8 on the top tier. Each time a new championship plaque is added, the oldest plaque is retired and joins a display at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

The Hershey Bears have won the Cup more times than any other team, with thirteen victories in franchise history. The Cleveland Barons come in second with nine; the Springfield Indians/Kings are third with seven. Eight teams have won back-to-back championships; the Springfield Indians of 1960–62 are the only team to have won three straight Calder Cup championships.

On three occasions an AHL club has won the Calder Cup coincidentally with its NHL affiliate winning the Stanley Cup: in 1976 and 1977 when the Montreal Canadiens and their AHL affiliate, the Nova Scotia Voyageurs both won, and in 1995, when the New Jersey Devils and Albany River Rats both won. this also occurred with its ECHL affiliate the South Carolina Stingrays won the Kelly Cup coincidentally with its AHL affiliate Hershey Bears both won.

The Calder Cup was not awarded in 2020 and 2021 as the AHL did not hold a playoff due to effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

History
The trophy is named after Frank Calder, who was the first president of the National Hockey League. The Calder Memorial Trophy, which is awarded annually to the Rookie of the Year in the National Hockey League, was also named after Calder.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2019–20 AHL season was cancelled and the Calder Cup was not awarded in 2020. Previously, it had been the oldest continuously awarded professional ice hockey playoff trophy, having been presented annually from 1936–37 to 2018–19.

title: Calder Cup


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Northalsted Market Days

Northalsted Market Days is an annual two-day festival in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Established in 1982, it's the Midwest's largest street festival with annual attendance exceeding 300,000 people over the two-day event.

Description
The festival takes place in the Boystown section of Lakeview along North Halsted Street from Belmont Avenue to Addison Avenue and is a half-mile long. The festival consists of 3 music stages, 2 local band stages and a dance floor. The festival showcases food and merchandise tents. There are also Halsted business establishment tents, as well as those of radio stations, public service organizations & companies (SAAB in 2008). Many give away small souvenir items.

The overall flavor of the event is decidedly geared toward the LGBT community, but is open to all. The street remains closed from Saturday at 7am to Monday at 1am. Most of the businesses along Halsted Street are open during the day and stay open late each night when the festival ends for the day. Most notably the 20+ bars and restaurants see a significant increase in patronage.

History
2006 was the 25th Anniversary for North Halsted Market Days, and helping celebrate were such performers as Billie Myers, Brazilian Girls, Powder, East Village Opera Company and Michael McDermott.

2008 performers included '80s pop group Exposé and Broadway singer Jennifer Holliday. In 2011, singers Darren Criss and Gloria Gaynor performed at the festival. In 2012, Olivia Newton-John, Sheena Easton, and the Pointer Sisters performed. In 2015, headliners included Salt-N-Pepa, En Vogue and Aaron Carter, among other notable performers.

There was no Market Days in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Notable performers

 * 10,000 Maniacs
 * A Flock of Seagulls
 * Aaron Carter
 * Adam Barta
 * Alex Newell
 * Alexis Jordan
 * All-4-One
 * Andy Bell
 * Betty Who
 * Belinda Carlisle
 * Berlin
 * Big Freedia
 * Billie Myers
 * Blake Lewis
 * Blu Cantrell
 * Blush
 * Bonnie McKee
 * Brian Justin Crum
 * C + C Music Factory
 * CeCe Peniston
 * Charice
 * Cherie Currie
 * Chi Chi LaRue
 * Crystal Waters
 * Darren Criss
 * David Cassidy
 * David Hernandez
 * Deborah Cox
 * Diana King
 * En Vogue
 * Erika Jayne
 * Exposé
 * Ferras
 * Frenchie Davis
 * Gina Glocksen
 * Gloria Gaynor
 * Icona Pop
 * Inaya Day
 * Jack & Jack
 * Jake Miller
 * Jennifer Holliday
 * Jessica Sutta
 * Jill Sobule
 * Joan Jett
 * Jody Watley
 * Jon Secada
 * Judy Tenuta
 * Karmin
 * Kat Graham
 * Kerli
 * Kimberley Locke
 * Kristine W
 * La Bouche
 * Leslie Jordan
 * Linda Clifford
 * Lisa Lisa
 * Lynda Carter
 * Manila Luzon
 * Margaret Cho
 * Martha Wash
 * Mary Lambert
 * MAX
 * Maxine Nightingale
 * Mimi Imfurst
 * Neon Trees
 * Nina Flowers
 * Olivia Newton-John
 * Paris Bennett
 * Prince Poppycock
 * RJD2
 * Robin S.
 * Rockell
 * Salt-N-Pepa
 * Sheena Easton
 * Shiny Toy Guns
 * Sir the Baptist
 * Steve Grand
 * Taylor Dayne
 * The Cover Girls
 * The Pointer Sisters
 * Thea Austin
 * Tiffany
 * Todrick Hall
 * Tony Hadley
 * Trenyce
 * Trixie Mattel
 * Ty Herndon
 * Ultra Nate
 * The Village People
 * (We Are) Nexus
 * Who Is Fancy
 * Wilson Phillips
 * Wynter Gordon

title: Northalsted Market Days


text:
Volunteer fire department

A volunteer fire department (VFD) is a fire department of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction. Volunteer and retained (on-call) firefighters are expected to be on call to respond to emergency calls for long periods of time, and are summoned to the fire station when their services are needed. They are also expected to attend other non-emergency duties as well (training, fundraising, equipment maintenance, etc.).

Volunteer firefighters contrast with paid firefighters who work full or part-time and receive a salary. Some volunteer firefighters may be part of a combination fire department that employs both full-time and volunteer firefighters. On-call firefighters who receive some pay for their work are known as call firefighters in the United States, and retained firefighters in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

International
The earliest firefighting organizations were made up of volunteers. The first large organized force of firefighters was the Corps of Vigiles, established in ancient Rome in 6 AD.

Argentina
The first volunteer fire department in Argentina was Bomberos Voluntarios de La Boca (La Boca Volunteer Firemen) founded on June 2, 1884, by Italian immigrant Tomas Liberti in the neighborhood of La Boca, Buenos Aires. June 2 is the Day of Volunteer Firefighters. The Argentina Federation of Volunteer Firefighters was founded in 1954. In 2018, 80% of the country is covered by volunteers.

Australia
Throughout Australia, there are many volunteer firefighting agencies that are set up by individual states or territories. New South Wales is serviced by two statutory firefighting authorities. These are the New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSWRFS) and Fire and Rescue NSW. Fire and Rescue NSW has firefighting and rescue responsibilities for the major cities, metropolitan areas, and several other towns in NSW. It also has the responsibility for all land-based HAZMAT incidents as well as inland waterway-based HAZMAT incidents. The NSWRFS is the volunteer firefighting service in NSW and consists of over 70,000 volunteers and has responsibility for over 90% of the land area in NSW. Although most of this is bush and grassland, the NSWRFS also serves smaller and regional communities that are not covered by Fire and Rescue NSW.

In Victoria, there are three main fire fighting organizations, Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Board (MFB), Country Fire Authority (CFA) and The Department of Environment, Water, Land, and Planning (DEWLP). The CFA is a volunteer and community-based fire and emergency services organization that is made up of around 61,000 members. Of these members, some 59,000 are volunteers. Their roles range from fire, rescue, HAZMAT, to non-operational support roles.

In Western Australia, fire fighting is organized by the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) together with Local Councils. DFES operates the Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service Brigades (VFRS) and some Bush Fire Service Brigades (BFS), while the remainder of the Bush Fire Service Brigades is trained by DFES, but operated and administered by the Council of the associated area. VFRS Brigades are generally more involved in Structural Fire fighting, Asset Protection, and Road Crash Rescue depending on their location, whereas the BFS Brigades are generally more involved in Wildfire Fighting. In Western Australia, there is an estimated 31,000 BFS Members among 585 Brigades, and 2,000 VFRS Members among 88 Brigades.

In South Australia, there are two legislated fire fighting organizations. The South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service (SAMFS) and the South Australian Country Fire Service (SACFS). The SACFS is staffed by approximately 13,500 volunteer firefighters and around 120 paid employees.

Austria and Germany
Volunteer fire departments (Freiwillige Feuerwehr) provide the majority (97% of all German firefighters) of Austria's and Germany's civil protection services, alongside other volunteer organizations like the German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW), voluntary ambulance services and emergency medical or rescue services like German Red Cross or Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe. In most rural fire departments, the staff consists only of volunteers. The members of these departments are usually on-call 24/7 and working in other professions.

The alarm can be performed by different alarm systems, such as by sirens or pager sometimes combined with an app on the mobile phone. In Germany, the alarm via radio pager is on the frequencies of the BOS radio. In Austria, the fire departments have their own frequencies.

In medium-sized cities and communities, fire departments will often be partially staffed by career firefighters. They ensure the rapid availability of some of the department's fire apparatus, with the remaining apparatus staffed and brought to the scene of the emergency by volunteers as soon as they arrive at the department.

Larger cities, typically those with 100,000 inhabitants or more, will operate fire departments staffed entirely by career firefighters. However, they also typically have several volunteer fire departments, who are called upon in case of larger emergencies.

Municipalities are the support of volunteer fire departments. Additional funding may include, for example, contributions from support organizations, donations made in fundraising, or income from various events.

Canada
While wholly volunteer fire departments are mostly found in rural and remote areas of Canada, "composite" departments composed of both career and volunteer or "call" firefighters can be found in more urbanized municipalities. For example, in the city of Kingston Ontario (population 130,000), of the ten stations operated by the Kingston Fire and Rescue Service, three are staffed with career firefighters, two are composite and five are wholly volunteer. There are an estimated 127,000 volunteer firefighters across the country. Most urban and larger fire services began as volunteer service and evolved into full-time members. Volunteer departments are necessary for areas that cannot afford to staff a full-time department. Unlike the United States where volunteer fire companies may operate independently of local government with limited tax base support, or as semi-private organizations, in Canada volunteer fire departments are normally operated by municipalities or by counties. Provinces establish standards of equipment and training that volunteer departments must meet.

Chile
Chile is one of the few countries in the world in which all firefighters are unpaid. The local fire departments are part of the National Board of Firefighters (Junta Nacional de Bomberos).

Croatia
There are 1,768 volunteer fire departments in Croatia, as well as 33 units of what is officially called "volunteer fire department in economy".

Some Croatian volunteer fire departments include:

 * Zaprešić Volunteer Fire Department

Estonia
The first volunteer fire team in Estonia was created in 1788 by the Brotherhood of Blackheads, the first organization of volunteer firemen in 1862, also being the first such organization in Imperial Russia. Volunteer fire organizations existed throughout all political systems in Estonia since then, although the cause saw significant setbacks in the political purges following Soviet occupation. Volunteer fire brigades were the backbone of the rescue services before re-independence, owning around 3/4ths of rescue equipment, personnel, and also handling around 3/4ths of all fires, primarily in rural areas. In 2010, the nation's volunteer fire brigades were united under an umbrella organization, the Rescue Union (Estonian: Päästeliit), also including chimney sweeping, water rescue and similar organizations.

In 2021, there were 117 volunteer fire brigades (comprising 62% of all fire brigades) with a total of 2 319 volunteer firemen (comprising around half of Estonian rescue personnel). Volunteer fire brigades are placed in rural areas or the satellite areas of cities and towns. On smaller islands such as Naissaar or Abruka, the volunteer fire brigades are the only rescue brigades. In a few cases, volunteer brigades are attached to national ones. Due to being placed in primarily rural areas, they are often the first to arrive at the scene.

Volunteer organizations are funded through support via the national or local municipal budget, companies and donations.

Finland
In Finland, the firefighting in the countryside mostly depends on volunteer fire departments, nearly always with a contract with the regional emergency authorities (or, formerly and in Åland, the municipality). There are also volunteer fire departments in cities, but they have a minor role.

There are also junior firefighters in the volunteer fire departments.They are usually 10–17 years old but some fire departments also have "early juniors" that are 7–9 years old.

France
In France, 80% of the firefighters are volunteers.

Indonesia
In Indonesia, the city with the largest number of volunteer fire brigades is in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan province. The city is also sometimes nicknamed "Kota seribu pemadam kebakaran" (The city with a thousand fire brigades). Water access is also relatively easy as rivers are easily founded at the city to be the source of water for fire fighting. The need for more fire brigades in the city emerged when people realized the very frequent incidents of fire, especially structure fire because houses are traditionally made out of wood. Due to high temperatures near the equator, fire incidents are common; thus, many people started or joined volunteer fire brigades to assist the existing government fire brigade (the Dinas Pemadam Kebakaran). These volunteer fire brigades are paid Rp 0.000,- but in some cases, some people give them money for charitable reasons.

Israel
In Israel, volunteer firefighters function alongside paid firefighters in the Israel Fire and Rescue Services. Adult volunteers work either out of the fire stations, in the same vehicles as the paid firefighters or in independent units that operate out of their own fire truck. Young volunteers (ages 15-18) work only out of the stations.

Republic of Ireland
The Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS) in the Republic of Ireland is a branch of Civil Defence Ireland. The service is usually only called upon for flooding incidents, emergency water supply and large-scale incidents where the resources of front-line fire brigades are stretched.

Nicaragua
In Nicaragua, there are three different groups of firefighters, one commanded by the Direccion General de Bomberos 18 fire station, which has government support; the second is commanded by the Federación de Cuerpos de Bomberos de Nicaragua Benemeritos 8 fire station; the third is commanded by the Asociacion civil Cuerpo de BOMBEROS Voluntarios de Nicaragua 24 fire station.

Peru
Peru's bomberos are all unpaid volunteers that extinguish fires, clear up hazardous materials, provide aid and assistance during natural disasters, and transport the sick to hospitals, in a 150-year tradition. Citizens apply to enter a training program they must pay for with their own money. During training sessions, they are taught how to put out fires, provide first aid, and use specialized equipment. Upon successful completion of the program, they enter a probation period where they have to prove they are capable of dealing with real-life emergencies.

Philippines
Volunteer fire services in the Philippines began during the 1960s, a time when fires were a frequent occurrence. Member proficiency for these services has improved since the 1960s due to self-education, training, and experience.

Poland
The State Fire Service (Państwowa Straż Pożarna) is a professional firefighting service that covers the whole territory from their stations in cities and towns. In rural areas, however, local inhabitants may create a Voluntary Fire Service (Ochotnicza Straż Pożarna) under proper law. Such volunteer fire services may receive financial assistance from the government for the equipment and staff training. In certain areas of Poland, almost every village has a volunteer fire service, because members enjoy high respect in their community. Volunteer fire services are fully integrated with the emergency system. Any call to the fire emergency number is routed to the nearest state fire service station, which first deploys the nearest volunteer fire service, followed by the State Fire Service.

Slovenia
The Firefighting Association of Slovenia is an independent, non-profitable, humanitarian, non-political and the highest form of association of voluntary fire brigades and their associations. It operates on the basis of the Associations law and the Firefighting law. It is a union of all voluntary fire brigades, all voluntary industrial fire brigades and their fire brigades, which are organized at the municipal, inter-municipal and regional level.

The Firefighting Association of Slovenia was founded in 1949 in Ljubljana, as the successor to all previous associations of fire brigade organizations. Since then, it has been performing the duties of the umbrella fire organization in the Republic of Slovenia and has been a member of CTIF since 1992. There are over 165000 members in 1341 volunteer fire brigades.

United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, it is standard for smaller, rural stations to be staffed by retained firefighters, part-time firefighters who are paid for attending incidents and for spending long periods of time on-call known as a retainer fee. A few fire services have volunteer units, including the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service and North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, Where they only get paid their retainer fee, but are not paid for attending incidents The only autonomous volunteer fire service is the Peterborough Volunteer Fire Brigade, which is contracted to provide operations for Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service. Other voluntary fire brigades existed in the past, but no others have existed since the disbanding of the Auxiliary Fire Service in 1968.

United States
According to the National Fire Protection Association, 54 percent of firefighters in the United States are volunteers. The Volunteer Firefighter Alliance represents Volunteer Firefighters across the U.S. The National Volunteer Fire Council represents fire and emergency services on a national level, providing advocacy, information, resources, and programs to support volunteer first responders. The NVFC includes 49 state-based firefighter associations, such as the Firemen's Association of the State of New York (FASNY), which provides information, education, and training for the volunteer fire and emergency medical services throughout New York State.

Volunteer firefighters go through some or all of the same training that career personnel does, although the training varies among jurisdictions. When volunteers join a department, they often enroll in firefighting classes and other certifications that teach them how to become volunteer firefighters. Examples of these certifications include Firefighter I, Firefighter II, S-130/S-190, Emergency Medical Responder, and Emergency Medical Technician. Some departments also require recruits to complete a specified amount of in-house training. During this time, often called the probationary period, the recruit is known as a probationary firefighter, or 'probie'. Once the probationary period is completed, the member is eligible to become a fully qualified firefighter.

In the United States, the Department of Labor classifies volunteer firefighters as firefighters that receive no compensation or nominal fees up to 20% of the compensation a full-time firefighter would receive in the same capacity. The DOL allows volunteer firefighters to receive benefits such as worker's compensation, health insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, pension plans, length of service awards, and property tax relief. DOL-defined volunteer firefighters may be paid nominal fees on a per-call basis, per-shift basis, or various service requirements, but they may not be compensated based on productivity or with an hourly wage.

The terms 'part paid' and 'paid on-call' refer to firefighters who are receiving some compensation, but less than the compensation a full-time firefighter would receive. The terms may refer to volunteer firefighters who do not qualify as volunteers under the United States Department of Labor. These individuals may also volunteer time for training, public education, fund-raising, and other non-emergency department-related activities.

In late 19th and early 20th century American slang, volunteer firefighters were referred to as 'vamps', although the origin of this is obscure.

Financial support
A VFD may be financially supported by taxes raised in a city, town, county, fire district, or other governmental entity, as well as corporate and other private donations, federal grants, and other assistance from auxiliary members, or firefighters' associations.

With these funds, the VFD acquires and operates the firefighting apparatus, equips and trains the firefighters, maintains the firehouse, and possibly also covers insurance, worker's compensation, and other post-injury or retirement benefits. A VFD (or its governing entity) may also contract with other nearby departments to cover each other in a mutual aid (or automatic aid) pact as a means of assisting each other with equipment and manpower as necessary.

Germany
The material and extraordinary training of the Federal Agency for technical Relief(THW) is funded as a federal agency by the federal government of Germany. 99.7755% of the members volunteer their time.

Expanded duties
Depending upon the location and availability of other services, a VFD may be responsible for controlling structure fires as well as forest fires. Because it may be the only emergency services department for some distance, a rural VFD may also include community first responders, emergency medical technicians, Hazardous Materials Response, and other specially qualified rescue personnel. Law enforcement officers may also be trained in these related duties and overlap with the VFD. The VFD may also have duties as the local fire inspectors, arson investigators, and as fire safety and prevention education, in addition to being the local civil defense or disaster relief liaison.

Emergency response

A volunteer fire department is normally reached the same way as other emergency services, such as by calling 9-1-1 or 1-1-2. A central dispatcher then calls out the VFD, often through equipment such as pagers, radios, phone apps, or loud signals, such as a fire siren. Average response times are longer than with full-time services because the members must come from different distances to the station or to the incident. Such departments often have a fixed number of firefighters on staff at any given point in time, which sometimes equals the minimal numbers recommended. Some states allow the use of Length of Service Award Programs (LOSAPS) to provide these volunteer departments with a tool to assist in recruiting and retaining members. LOSAPS are simple programs that can be implemented with minimal taxpayer expense. Some volunteer fire departments allow the use of courtesy lights or emergency lights and sirens by their members. In most states that allow both lights and sirens, this is a red light and siren that gives the responding member the same privileges as other emergency vehicles. In other jurisdictions, this may be a green or blue light without a siren. The use of such equipment varies from fire district to fire district based on the need for fast response, the distance that members live from the fire station, the size and amount of other traffic in the fire district as well as local and state law. Some departments restrict or prohibit the use of such emergency lights, even when allowed by state law, due to the increased risk of traffic accidents involving volunteers responding in emergency mode. In some states, volunteer firefighters and EMTs are eligible to receive specialty license plates for personal vehicles that identify them as trained emergency services personnel.

Training
Operational volunteer fire department members receive some form of training, either in a formal or informal setting, depending on the state and regulatory authority. The level and type of basic and specialty training vary across the country. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has several published standards for firefighter qualifications and training, including Standard for Fire Service Professional Qualifications Accreditation and Certification Systems, and Fire Fighter Professional Qualifications. These standards apply to both volunteer and career firefighters.

New members are referred to as "recruits," "rookies," "probies" (short for "probationary"), or even "red hats" in some departments that require the recruit to wear special gear or markings (such as a red helmet in some departments) to denote their ranking. Some departments allow (or even require) new recruits to ride along on fire apparatus as observers before undergoing the rigors of further fire training.

Firefighters typically progress through formal Fire Fighter I and Fire Fighter II training in accordance with national standards.

Specialty training can include wildland firefighting, technical rescue, swift water rescue, hazardous materials response, vehicle extrication, FAST team, fire instructor, fire officer, and others.

Open house
A VFD may hold an "open house" at their station. The event serves many purposes including demonstration, training, drill, fundraising, and recruitment. There is no particular format for the VFD open house. It can be formal or informal. The goal is to get public involvement in the VFD efforts. It is recommended that the open house should include demonstrations of equipment and show and tell. This allows the public to understand how the volunteers are organized in their local community and it is used as a public relations tool. The combination of demonstrations and drills allows the public and prospective volunteers to see volunteer firefighters in action while they are participating in the practices.

title: Volunteer fire department


text:
User:Kz~enwiki

http://kz.mpecc.com/

Just a beginner for WikiPedia, thou I like doing wiki.

title: User:Kz~enwiki


text:
Talk:Lists of cathedrals

"Cathédrale Notre-Dame" (in Strasbourg)
Not sure about the name "Cathédrale Notre-Dame" (in Strasbourg). That's definitely the usual name, yet it's ambiguous - there seems to be many "Notre-Dame" cathedrals in France... OlivierM 19:54, 8 Aug 2003 (UTC)
 * It's merely a question of who they're consecrated to. Wetman 07:42, 14 Jan 2004 (UTC)

Taiwan
I relisted Taiwan as it's own post, instead of having it sorted under "China". Although I understand the technicalities of statehood are a bit diffuse, it seems unfair to put it as belonging to the People's Republic. --Sintji (talk) 21:40, 4 July 2009 (UTC)

Names
What to do about naming? For example, the "St Louis Cathedral" is the common name, but the official name is (I believe) "The Cathedral Basilica of St Louis". This is only a list of links, so it might be cluttered to list both, so, which is preferable ?
 * Regarding names, see cathedral and scroll down a little on the right. It says "In this sense therefore, the word cathedral, though grammatically used as a noun, is originally the adjective in the phrase cathedral church, from the Latin ecclesia cathedralis." So, for example, we might call a church Saint Matthew's Episcopal Church, but we should call it the Episcopal Church of Saint Matthew. And if it becomes a cathedral, its proper full name is the Episcopal Cathedral Church of Saint Matthew. Still, however, in this example, most people are simply going to call it Saint Matthew's Cathedral. Sarum blue 22:13, 22 February 2006 (UTC)

Not every big church is a cathedral. A cathedral is the seat of a bishop. That is why St. Peter's is technically a basilica, I believe. The cathedral of Rome is Saint John Lateran.

So there are as many cathedrals as there are bishops. There are Anglican cathedrals but no Baptist cathedrals. This list would be more focused and useful if it were Cathedrals of outstanding architectural merit or suchlike (IMO)... Wetman 07:42, 14 Jan 2004 (UTC)

Indian cathedrals
http://www.ca-catholics.net/churches/data/cathINX.htm has a nice list. Anyone interested in adding? = Nichalp ( Talk )= 09:02, Jun 12, 2005 (UTC)

Lebanon
I'm sorry, but how in the world could the person who wrote this article include countries like Iran or Mynamar but forget Lebanon which is 40% Christian and definatly has many cathedrals. I'm going to try and add some myself.

oddness
and a few prominent churches from non-episcopal denominations that have the word "cathedral" in their names.

 * Aren't these mostly churches which were Cathedrals in the Catholic Church before the Reformation? If so, wouldn't that be the appropriate way to describe them, rather than this oddness?  Or am I missing something? john k 02:25, 20 September 2006 (UTC)
 * well, in the USA, we have the Crystal Cathedral, not to mention the Northland Cathedral. Cathedral has become something of a synonym for Megachurch.

Ireland
If no one has any objections I relisted "Ireland(Republic & Northern) as simply Ireland. Everytime 16:41, 19 April 2007 (UTC).

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New Discussion
A discussion has been started at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Countries/Lists of countries which could affect the inclusion criteria and title of this and other lists of countries. Editors are invited to participate. Pfainuk talk 13:37, 17 December 2008 (UTC)

Correction needed
As a result of a ref desk query: The entry on Linz / Austria has to be corrected. The two entries are referring to the same cathedral wich is either called St Mary´s C. (Mariendom) or New C. (Neuer Dom). In theory, there are, indeed, two cathedrals there, the old cathedral (Alter Dom) being the church of St Ignatius (no entry on the en WP, but well known as Anton Bruckner was the organist there for 12 years or so). The old cathedral was the seat of the bishop until 1909 and is now a "plain church" of the Jesuits. It was replaced in the former function by the "New Cathedral". --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 20:53, 25 October 2009 (UTC)

Correction needed
As a result of a ref desk query: The entry on Linz / Austria has to be corrected. The two entries are referring to the same cathedral wich is either called St Mary´s C. (Mariendom) or New C. (Neuer Dom). In theory, there are, indeed, two cathedrals there, the old cathedral (Alter Dom) being the church of St Ignatius (no entry on the en WP, but well known as Anton Bruckner was the organist there for 12 years or so). The old cathedral was the seat of the bishop until 1909 and is now a "plain church" of the Jesuits. It was replaced in the former function by the "New Cathedral". --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 20:53, 25 October 2009 (UTC)

Countries without cathedrals
Can we have a section named "Countries without cathedrals" (or so) to enum that countries? Then we can create redirects to that section, like List of cathedrals in Saudi Arabia, etc. emijrp (talk) 10:24, 30 September 2015 (UTC)

Correction needed
The picture of Saint Peter's Basilica should be removed as Saint Peter's is not the mother church of the Roman Catholic church, whereas the Cathedral of Saint John Lateran is. I suggest someone replaces this as to not cause confusion. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Cummingsliam38 (talk • contribs) 21:23, 29 November 2020 (UTC)

title: Talk:Lists of cathedrals


text:
Leon Rooke

Leon Rooke, CM (born September 11, 1934) is a Canadian novelist. He was born in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina in the United States. Educated at the University of North Carolina, he moved to Canada in 1969. He now lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Rooke helped to found the Eden Mills Writers' Festival in 1989. In 2002, Rooke championed The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence in that year's edition of Canada Reads. Rooke's work also appears in Blackbird: an online journal of literature and the arts.

In 2007, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada.

title: Leon Rooke


text:
Talk:Freethought

Removed info:

 * One may be viewed a freethinker by simply not conforming to an area's dominant religion, while still believing in (some form of) god or  divinity (neither capitalized, as existence is not assumed).

 * In that context, in the predominantly Christian nation of the United States, one may be a freethinker simply by being a pagan. Some think all pagan religions cults, and thus pagans are not freethinkers.

because rationality is not different in America than elsewhere. A freethinker should be free to accept the dominant view if that happens to coincide with its own. See also the text I wrote in the article to replace the above. --FvdP 19:58, 8 Aug 2003 (UTC)

 * I want to know the dictionary defintion too and not just the POV self definition. Here is the Merriam Webster definition
 * one that forms opinions on the basis of reason independently of authority; especially : one who doubts or denies religious dogma
 * Andries 21:49, 3 Jun 2004 (UTC)

 * the is not a predominantly "Christian" nation. This is primarily a Deist and Agnostic nation, persuaded by a media and peer pressures of atheism, naturalism, materialism, fascism, relativism, open theism, and political correctness. Freethinking is an illusion. Whether aware of it or not, you are molded, conditioned, and told what to believe. The choice is either go with the flo or just say no. Truth exists. Right and Wrong exist. People like to think that the way they perceive reality is right, even when it may not agree with reality at all. Is freethinking really freethinking?

North Texas Church of Freethought already mentioned in text
As of 27 dec 2005, the article began with " Freethought is a religion of the North Texas Church of Freethought."

Article already refers to "1994 ... founding of the Church of Freethought, which now exists as two active congregations of freethinkers: the North Texas Church of Freethought and the Houston Church of Freethought", so I've removed this inappropriate beginning. -- 27 december 2005

Introduction and Overview
Please keep the introduction and overview simple and concise, instead of convoluted and redundant (example: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Freethought&diff=356082516&oldid=356010234). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.242.166.185 (talk) 00:01, 22 April 2010

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misses the mark
Sorry; an essay, but attempting to work out why I've yet been unable to reshape this article.

My great-great-grandfather was an avid Freethinker and quite proud of it, a calm and reasonable non-churchly man in the early 20th century, a voracious reader and organizer. We were never proselytized, much less steeped in Freethought (I don't recall learning the term until I was off to college), yet my generation remains much the same. But when I cruise around the Internet, I find that "Freethought" is dominated by "skeptics" (who often show up to angrily defend their own sacred preconceptions) and "libertarians" (who, past an unshakeable and unexaminable faith that the Koch-funded vision of absolute free trade will solve all problems, often seem to have no thoughts at all). As much as I dislike that… repurposing, it ought to be more clearly reflected in the article.

This article appears to date "modern" Freethought from about 1600 CE. This when it'd be silly to apply such a date to (say) "modern China" though that civilization has existed since at least 2100 BCE. I'll come up with a more appropriate section head.

Though I respect the Unitarian-Universalists and have had rewarding interactions with them, it's widely believed in the U.S. that they're just another Christian church, so citing UU as support obscures the eventual deistic core (often "cold") of Freethought. Weeb Dingle (talk) 22:44, 25 December 2018 (UTC)

thanks. 2600:1700:B5A1:6860:90BA:7BE:179A:1AD4 (talk) 21:45, 17 July 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Freethought


text:
Talk:Timeline for September following the September 11 attacks

Defense agencies personnel

 * "The original estimate for Defense Agencies was 10, which inadvertently included one DoD employee on American Airlines Flight 77, Mr. Bryan C. Jack."

What does this mean? With the previous sentence, it sounds like he was on the flight but lived. — Tempshill 14:06, 8 August 2003 (UTC)

Giuliani items
The following paragraph only needs its 3 first sentences; the remainder is not germane:

 * Rudy Giuliani press briefing: 49,553 tons removed to Fresh Kills Landfill in 3,788 trucks. 218 confirmed dead, 152 identified. 37 uniformed officers, 32 firefighters, 2 E.M.T.'s, 2 Port Authority Police officers and one New Jersey Fire Department firefighter. For small businesses: http://sba.gov/disaster or FEMA at 1.800.462.9029. 17,000 people took the Staten Island Ferry, 1,037 took Sunset Park Ferry, 8,200 came to Pier 11. The phone number for the Twin Towers Fund for the search and recovery effort is 1.877.870.4278. [4]

Similarly, this paragraph needs cutting:

 * Rudy Giuliani and George Pataki press briefing: two lanes of Brooklyn Bridge into city to open Thursday. That morning, there were 1000 people on the Brooklyn ferry and 10,000 people on Pier 11 ferry. The government is opening up 5.5 million sq. feet of real estate for business. Individual family grants of up to $14,000 are availabe from the Dept. of Labor (1.800.462.9029). Unemployment assistance is also available at (1.888.209.8124). The State Dept. of Health is giving $60 million to NYC hospitals. The business assistance center at 633 Third Ave. has received 5000 calls and 700 visitors (1.800.ILOVENY). The city is hoping to get Battery Park North and South open in the next two days. The prayer service Sunday 9/23 at Yankee Stadium will be by ticket for families and the uniformed services (fire, police, etc.), and simulcast at Jumbotrons at Staten Island and Brooklyn baseball stadiums. The city has determined it would be too early for the Central Park memorial service originally planned.

— Tempshill 14:21, 8 August 2003

Pro-wrestling observance
I thought the item on the observance by World Wrestling Entertainment on Sept. 14 was interesting and appropriate. It was indeed perhaps the first by professional athletes (or entertainers if you want), and it was broadcast nationally to a huge following in North America. Is there a bit of snobbery in the removal of this item? If the resumption of major league baseball is allowed, this should be too. — Walloon 00:37, 18 September 2007 (UTC)
 * Seemed insignificant in the scheme of the events, there were hundreds of observances, they don't all merit mention. I don't care if it's included or not, it struck me as fancruft, so I was bold. I do not, however, think the status of the WWE is even remotely comparable to the iconic status of Major League Baseball in the United States. As far as cultural significance I think baseball takes it hands down. IvoShandor 00:46, 18 September 2007 (UTC)
 * Nevertheless, if you want to include Major League Baseball, you have to credit the WWE as well since they held the first event in the aftermath. If you want to delete the WWE reference, you have to delete the baseball one too. In the interests of fairness, I've included both back in the article. Kyle C Haight 07:29, 28 September 2007 (UTC)
 * Personally, I don't like the all or nothing scenario you propose here. The claim isn't sourced anyway (as much of this article isn't). Deleting one reference to the WWE doesn't suddenly translate into removing all references to all sports. If the relevance of this event could be proven, I might be more apt to include it. Comparing it to baseball isn't helping its case, if it were football, the fairness argument might work. But comparing the MLB and the WWE isn't really fair to the WWE. The assertion that it was first is what is notable about the event, unless this can be sourced, the WWE isn't significant enough in the scheme of events to be included in my opinion.IvoShandor 08:33, 28 September 2007 (UTC)

~ I'm not a fan of Baseball or WWE, but I see Walloons point. Who are you (Ivo) to decide the importance of one form of entertainment over another? WWE has a large following possible as large as MLB. Just because you do not like one event over the other does not mean it is less important. --Paragoalie (talk) 14:16, 29 December 2010 (UTC)

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"Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, beginning a ten day period to consider the sins of the past year and do better." Why is this included? The Holiday has no real connection to the attacks and seems to imply some sort of conspiracy —Preceding unsigned comment added by User:- Dunbar714 -- Dunbar714 - (User talk:- Dunbar714 -talk • Special:Contributions/- Dunbar714 -contribs) 15:41, 13 July 2009 (UTC)

"96,000 tips" ?
See Timeline_for_September_following_the_September_11_attacks, 2:50pm. In almost any other article I'd have dropped in a clarify, but I don't want to seem disrespectful of this article. I'm a native speaker of British English, and I just haven't a clue what this means! Is it saying that there were 96,000 pieces of information giving tip-offs about 9/11? Or what? I'm just genuinely puzzled, and hope that someone can clarify it. Thanks. (I was led to read this moving article after the note in Signpost about the 9/11 day timeline - read that one, and this as a follow-on). Pam D  10:34, 14 September 2011 (UTC)

External links modified
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Suzhou

Suzhou (Suzhounese: sou¹ tseu¹, Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major prefecture-level city in Jiangsu province, China. As part of the Yangtze Delta megalopolis, it is a major economic center and focal point of trade and commerce.

Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou rapidly grew in size by the Eastern Han dynasty, mostly due to emigration from northern China. From the 10th century onwards, it has been an important economic, cultural, and commercial center, as well as the largest non-capital city in the world, until it was overtaken by Shanghai. Since economic reforms began in 1978, Suzhou attained GDP growth rates of about 14% in 35 years. In 2023, Suzhou had 5 million registered residents in total. Suzhou is listed as the 48th cities by scientific output according to the Nature Index 2022. The city is home to universities, including Soochow University, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong–Liverpool University, and Changshu Institute of Technology.

The city's tourist attractions include canals, stone bridges, pagodas, and gardens. The Classical Gardens of Suzhou were added to the list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1997 and 2000.

Names
During the Zhou dynasty, a settlement known as Gusu after nearby Mount Gusu became the capital of the state of Wu. From this role, it also came to be called Wu as well. In 514BC, King Helü of Wu established a new capital nearby at Helü City and this grew into the modern city. During the Warring States period, Helü City continued to serve as the local seat of government. From the areas it administered, it became known as Wuxian (lit. "Wu County") and Wujun ("Wu Commandery"). Under the Qin, it was known as Kuaiji after its greatly enlarged commandery, which was named for the reputed resting place of Yu the Great near modern Shaoxing in Zhejiang.

The name "Suzhou" was first officially used for the city in AD 589 during the Sui dynasty. Su ( or ) in its name is a contraction of the old name Gusu. It refers to "Satisfied place" in the Old Yue language. The zhou originally meant something like a province or county (cf. Guizhou), but often came to be used metonymously for the capital of such a region (cf. Guangzhou, Hangzhou, etc.). Suzhou is the Hanyu Pinyin spelling of the Putonghua pronunciation of the name. Prior to the adoption of pinyin, it was variously romanized as Soo-chow, Suchow, or Su-chow.

History
Suzhou, the cradle of Wu culture, is one of the oldest towns in the Yangtze Basin. By the Spring and Autumn period of the Zhou, local Baiyue tribes named the Gou Wu are recorded living in the area which would become the modern city of Suzhou. These tribes formed villages on the edges of the hills above the wetlands surrounding Lake Tai.

Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian records traditional accounts that the Zhou lord Taibo established the state of Wu at nearby Wuxi during the 11th centuryBC, civilizing the local people and improving their agriculture and mastery of irrigation. The Wu court later moved to Gusu within the area of modern Suzhou. In 514BC, King Helü of Wu relocated his court nearby and called the settlement Helü City after himself. His minister Wu Zixu was closely involved with its planning and it was this site that grew into present-day Suzhou. The height of his tower on Gusu Hill (Gusutai) passed into Chinese legend. In 496BC, King Helü was buried at Tiger Hill. In 473BC, Wu was defeated and annexed by Yue, a kingdom to its southeast; Yue was annexed in turn by Chu in 306BC. Remnants of the ancient kingdom include pieces of its 2,500-year-old city wall and the gate through it at Pan Gate.

The city was originally laid out according to a symbolic three-by-three grid of nine squares, with the royal palace occupying the central position.

During the Warring States period, Suzhou was the seat of Wu County (吳縣, Wú xiàn) and Commandery (, Wú jùn). Following the Qin Empire's conquest of the area in 222BC, it was made the capital of Kuaiji Commandery, including lands stretching from the south bank of the Yangtze to the unconquered interior of Minyue in southern Zhejiang. Amid the collapse of the Qin, Kuaiji's governor Yin Tong attempted to organize his own rebellion only to be betrayed and executed by Xiang Liang and his nephew Xiang Yu, who launched their own rebellion from the city.

When the Grand Canal was completed, Suzhou found itself strategically located on a major trade route. Suzhou served as the regional metropolis of industry and foreign commerce on the southeastern coast of China. During the Tang dynasty, the great poet Bai Juyi constructed the Shantang Canal (better known as "Shantang Street") to connect the city with Tiger Hill for tourists. In AD1035, the Suzhou Confucian Temple was founded by famed poet and writer Fan Zhongyan. It became a venue for the imperial civil examinations and then developed into the modern Suzhou High School in the 1910s.

After February 1130, riots and unrest disrupted Suzhou. In 1356, Suzhou became the capital of Zhang Shicheng, King of Wu. In 1367, Zhang's rival Zhu Yuanzhang took the city after a 10-month siege. Zhu – who was soon to proclaim himself the first emperor of the Ming dynasty – demolished the old city walls at the center of Suzhou's walled city and imposed crushing taxes on the city and prefecture's powerful families. Despite the heavy taxation and the forced exile of some prominent citizens' south, Suzhou was soon prosperous again. During the early Ming, Suzhou Prefecture supervised the Yangtze shoals which later became Shanghai's Chongming Island. For centuries the city, with its surroundings as an economic base, represented an extraordinary source of tax revenue.

When the shipwrecked Korean official Choe Bu had a chance to see much of Eastern China from Zhejiang to Liaoning on his way home in 1488, he described Suzhou in his travel report as exceeding every other city. Under the Ming, Suzhou was a prosperous center of the Nanzhili area controlled by the secondary capital at Nanjing; scholar-officials constructed the area's most famous private gardens during this period in a "Jiangnan style" copied at the time by Shanghai's Yu Garden and later by parts of the empress dowager Cixi's Summer Palace.

After the Qing occupied the area in 1644 and 1645, it was reorganized as Jiangnan Province, whose "Right" Governor controlled its eastern prefectures from Suzhou until the division of Jiangnan into the separate provinces of Jiangsu and Anhui at some point during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. The Taipings captured the city in 1860. Many of its former buildings and gardens were "almost... a heap of ruins" by the time of their recovery by Charles Gordon's Ever-Victorious Army in November 1863. Nonetheless, by 1880, its population was estimated to have recovered to about 500,000, which remained stable for the next few decades. In the late 19th century, the town was particularly known for its wide range of silks and its Chinese-language publishing industry. The town was first opened to direct foreign trades by the Treaty of Shimonoseki ending the First Sino-Japanese War and by the most favored nation clauses of earlier unequal treaties with the Great Powers. The new expatriates opened a European-and-Chinese school in 1900 and the Suzhou railway station, connecting it with Shanghai, opened on 16 July 1906. Just prior to the World War I, there were 7000 silk looms in operation, as well as a cotton mill and a large trade in rice.

As late as the early 20th century, much of the city consisted of islands connected by rivers, creeks, and canals to the surrounding countryside. Prior to their demolition, the city walls ran in a circuit of about 10 mi with four large suburbs lying outside. The Japanese invaded in 1937, and many gardens were again devastated by the end of the war. In the early 1950s, restoration was done on the Humble Administrator's Garden and the Lingering Garden.

Administrative divisions
The urban core of Suzhou is informally called the "Old Town." It is Gusu District. Suzhou Industrial Park is to the east of the old town, and Suzhou High & New Technology Development Zone is to the west. In 2000, the original Wu County was divided into two districts, Xiangcheng and Wuzhong. They now form the northern and southern parts of the city of Suzhou. In 2012, the original Wujiang City became Wujiang District of Suzhou City.

Suzhou is one of the most prosperous cities in China. Its development has a direct correlation with the growth of its satellite cities, including Kunshan, Taicang, Changshu, and Zhangjiagang, which together with the city of Suzhou form the Suzhou prefecture. The Suzhou prefecture is home to many high-tech enterprises.

Geography
Suzhou is on the Lake Tai Plain south of the Yangtze River, about 100 km to the west of Shanghai and just over 200 km east of Nanjing.

Climate
Suzhou has a four-season humid subtropical climate with hot, humid summers and cool, cloudy, damp winters with occasional snowfall (Köppen climate classification Cfa). Northwesterly winds blowing from Siberia during winter can cause temperatures to fall below freezing at night, while southerly or southwesterly winds during the summer can push temperatures above 35 °C. The hottest temperature recorded since 1951 was at 41.0 °C on 7 August 2013, and the lowest at −9.8 °C on 16 January 1958.

Classical Gardens of Suzhou
Suzhou is famous for its over 60 Classical Gardens, collectively a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city has the most UNESCO-recognized gardens in the world. The Humble Administrator's Garden and Lingering Garden are among the four most famous classical gardens in China. The Canglang Pavilion, Lion Grove Garden, Humble Administrator's Garden and Lingering Garden, respectively representing the garden styles of traditional architecture are called the four most famous gardens in Suzhou. Other gardens inscribed on the World Heritage List include the Couple's Retreat Garden, the Garden of Cultivation, and the Retreat and Reflection Garden. Five Peaks Garden which dates to the Ming dynasty (1522–1566) is also located in the Suzhou. Ming painter Wen Boren established his home on the site. The original name was Qiayin Shanfang and the garden is located at Changmin West Street.

Temples

 * Hanshan Temple
 * Xiyuan Temple
 * Xuanmiao Temple
 * Lingyanshan Temple
 * Chongyuan Temple

Canals and Historic Districts
The Suzhou section of the Jiangnan Canal, Grand Canal (China), includes ten city gates and over 20 stone bridges of traditional design and historic areas that have been well preserved, as well as temples and pavilions. There are a full 24 waterways in Suzhou near the Grand Canal.

In 2015, both 800-year-old Pingjiang Road Historical Block (平江路) and 1,200-year-old Shantang Street Scenic Area (山塘街) were added to the list of China's "National Historic and Cultural Streets".

Pingjiang Road runs parallel to the Pingjiang River for 1.5 kilometers and is lined with homes and some teahouses. Shantang Street, over twice as long at 3.8 km, is described by the BBC as retaining "the alluring qualities of an old canal-side street: whitewashed buildings are completed by red-tasseled lanterns that swing softly in the breeze, adding to the charm of the river bank". Boat tours are offered on the waterways of this city that was dubbed the "Venice of the East" by Marco Polo because of its criss-crossing canals and stone bridges. The Grand Canal (from Beijing to Zhejiang province) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Resorts and natural reserves
Suzhou Taihu National Tourism and Vacation Zone (苏州太湖国家旅游度假区) is in the western part of Suzhou, 15 km from the city center.

Skyscrapers
Gate to the East is a 301.8 meter, 74-story skyscraper in Suzhou's central business district, built in 2015 at a cost of 700 million USD and is currently the tallest building in Suzhou.

Suzhou IFS is a 450 meter tall building home to 95 floors near Gate to the East. You can see the tower from Huqiu which is a special tourist attraction in Suzhou.

Pan Gate
Pan Gate is on the southwest corner of the Main Canal or encircling canal of Suzhou. Originally built during the Warring States period in the state of Wu, historians estimate it to be around 2,500 years old. It is now part of the Pan Gate Scenic Area. It is known for the "three landmarks of Pan Gate". They are the Ruiguang Pagoda, the earliest pagoda in Suzhou built in 247BC, the Wu Gate Bridge, the entrance to the gate at that time over the water passage and the highest bridge in Suzhou at the time, and the Pan Gate. The Ruigang Pagoda is constructed of brick with wooden platforms and has Buddhist carvings at its base.

Baodai Bridge
Baodai Bridge stretches across the Tantai Lake in the suburbs of Suzhou. To raise money to finance the bridge, the magistrate donated his expensive belt, hence the name. The bridge was first built in 806 A.D. in the Tang dynasty and has 53 arches with a length of 317 meters. It was made out of stone from Jinshan Mountain and is the longest standing bridge of its kind in China. The bridge was included on the list of national monuments (resolution 5–285) in 2001.

Tiger Hill
Tiger Hill is known for its natural environment and historical sites. The hill is so named because it is said to look like a crouching tiger. Another legend states that a white tiger appeared on the hill to guard it following the burial The hill has been a tourist destination for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, as is evident from the poetry and calligraphy carved into rocks on the hill. The Song dynasty poet, Su Shi said, "It is a lifelong pity if having visited Suzhou you did not visit Tiger Hill."

Pagodas
Yunyan Pagoda (or Huqiu Tower), built in 961, is a Chinese pagoda built on Tiger Hill in Suzhou. It has several other names, including the "Leaning Tower of China" (as referred to by historian O.G. Ingles) and the Yunyan Temple Tower. The tower rises to a height of 47 m (154 ft). It is a seven-story octagonal building built with blue bricks. In more than a thousand years the tower has gradually slanted due to forces of nature. Now the top and bottom of the tower vary by 2.32 meters. The entire structure weighs some 7000000 kg, supported by internal brick columns. However, the tower leans roughly 3 degrees due to the cracking of two supporting columns.

Beisi Pagoda or North Temple Pagoda is a Chinese pagoda at Bao'en Temple in Suzhou. It rises nine stories in a height of 76 m. It is the tallest Chinese pagoda south of the Yangtze river.

Twin Pagodas lie in the Dinghui Temple Lane in the southeastern corner of the city proper of Suzhou. They are artistic and natural as they are close at hand. One of them is called "Clarity-Dispensing Pagoda," and the other, the "Beneficence Pagoda"; they are in the same form of architecture. There are many legends about this one-thousand-year-old pagodas. It is charming that the exquisite and straight Twin Pagoda look like two inserted writing brushes. There was originally a single-story house with three rooms just like a writing brush holder with the shadows of the two pagodas reclining on its roof at sunset. To the east of the pagoda is a square five-story bell building built in the Ming dynasty which appears exactly like a thick ink stick. So there is a saying that "the Twin Pagodas are as writing brushes while the bell building as ink stick".

Museums
The city's major museums include the Suzhou Museum (designed by I. M. Pei), Suzhou Silk Museum, and the China Kunqu Museum.

Hospitals
As a result of its recent rapid population increase, healthcare demand in Suzhou is increasing rapidly. In July 2019, Washington University School of Medicine announced a collaboration with Huici Health Management Co., and the Xiangcheng District, to open the new Huici Medical Center, which will include a 1,000-bed hospital for adult and pediatric patients. Once the hospital is unveiled, Washington University doctors in St. Louis will be able to provide long-distance health-care services to patients in China through a telemedicine program.

Demographics
The population of Suzhou is predominantly Han Chinese. The official language of broadcast, instruction, etc. is Mandarin Chinese, although many speak a local dialect known as Suzhounese, a member of the Wu language family. In addition to American and European expatriates, there is a large Korean community in Suzhou. The Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) estimated that there were 15,000 Koreans in the municipality in 2014. That year 850 Korean companies operated in Suzhou, and the Koreans made up the largest number of students at the Suzhou Singapore International School.

Economy
Suzhou's economy is based primarily on its large manufacturing sector—China's first largest(from 2020)—including iron and steel, IT and electronic equipment, and textile products. The city's service sector is notably well-developed, primarily owing to tourism, which brought in a total of RMB 152 billion of revenue in 2013. Suzhou's overall GDP exceeded RMB 1.3 trillion in 2013 (up 9.6 percent from the year previous).

The city is also one of China's foremost destinations for foreign investment, based on its relative proximity to Shanghai and comparatively low operating costs. The municipal government has enacted various measures to encourage FDI in a number of manufacturing (e.g. pharmaceutical, electronic goods, automobile) and service (e.g. banking, logistics, research services) sectors. Included among these measures is a preferential tax policy for limited partnership venture capital enterprises in the Suzhou Industrial Park.

Suzhou is a highly developed economic region in China and is the economic centre, industrial, commercial and logistical hub city of Jiangsu province, as well as an important financial, cultural, artistic, educational and transportation centre.

 Agriculture

In 2013, total grain production reached 1,311,200 tonnes, a decrease of 2.9%. Grain supply was effectively guaranteed through the vigorous construction of commodity grain production bases, wholesale grain markets and reserve systems.

 Traditional handicrafts

Suzhou has a long history of reeling silkworms and has always been an important base for silk production in China. Since the Song and Yuan dynasties, Suzhou has been one of the centres of silk weaving and dyeing in the country, and in the Ming dynasty, Suzhou silk was praised as the "clothing of the world".

Suzhou Industrial Park
The Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) is the largest cooperative project between the Chinese and the Singaporean government. It is beside Jinji Lake, which lies to the east of the Suzhou Old City. On 26 February 1994, Vice Premier Li Lanqing and Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew represented China and Singapore respectively in signing the Agreement to jointly develop Suzhou Industrial Park (originally called the Singapore Industrial Park). The project officially commenced on 12 May in the same year. SIP has a jurisdiction area of 288 km2, of which, the China-Singapore cooperation area covers 80 km2 with a planned residential population of 1.2 million.

SIP is home to the Suzhou Dushu Lake Science and Education Innovation District, an area of universities and higher education institutions, including Soochow University and Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University. Suzhou Industrial Park is also a popular residential district for many foreigners who work and live in Suzhou, as well as 'new Suzhou' residents who migrated to the area in search of work opportunities.

Suzhou Industrial Park Export Processing Zone
The Suzhou Industrial Park Export Processing Zone was approved to be established by the government in April 2000, with a planning area of 2.9 km2. It is in Suzhou Industrial Park set up by China and Singapore. Inside the Export Processing Zone, all the infrastructures are of high standard.

Suzhou New District
The Suzhou New District was established in 1990. In November 1992, the zone was approved to be the national-level hi-tech industrial zone. By the end of 2007, foreign-invested companies had a registered capital worth of US$13 billion, of which US$6.8 billion was paid in. SND hosts now more than 1,500 foreign companies. Some 40 Fortune 500 companies set up 67 projects in the district.

Sports
Suzhou Dongwu currently play in China League One, the second highest level of Chinese professional football competition. The 13,000 seat Suzhou Industrial Park Sports Arena was one of the venues for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Railway
Suzhou is on the Shanghai-Nanjing corridor which carries three parallel railways. Suzhou railway station, near the city center, is among the busiest passenger stations in China. It is served by the Beijing–Shanghai railway (mostly "conventional" trains to stations throughout China) and the Shanghai-Nanjing intercity railway (high-speed D- and G-series trains providing frequent service primarily between Shanghai and Nanjing). It takes only 25 minutes to reach Shanghai railway station on the fastest G-series trains and less than 1 hour to Nanjing.

The Suzhou North railway station, a few kilometers to the north, is on the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway (opened 2011), served by high-speed trains to Beijing, Qingdao, etc.

Other stations on the Beijing–Shanghai railway and the Shanghai–Nanjing intercity railway serve other points in the same corridor within Suzhou Prefecture-level city, such as Kunshan. In between Suzhou and Kunshan South railway station, Suzhou Industrial Park railway station is also an important station for people visiting and living in the areas.

The northern part of the prefectural area, including Zhangjiagang, Changshu and Taicang, were the last areas to be connected by rail; the Shanghai–Suzhou–Nantong railway reached there in 2020.

Highways
The Nanjing-Shanghai Expressway connects Suzhou with Shanghai, alternatively, there is the Yangtze Riverine Expressway and the Suzhou-Jiaxing-Hangzhou Expressway. In 2005, the Suzhou Outer Ring was completed, linking the peripheral county-level cities of Taicang, Kunshan, and Changshu. China National Highway 312 also passes through Suzhou.

Water transport
Port of Suzhou, on the right bank of the Yangtze River, dealt with 428 million tons of cargo and 5.86 million TEU containers in 2012, which made it the busiest inland river port in the world by annual cargo tonnage and container volume.

Metro
The Suzhou Rail Transit currently has five lines in operation and five other lines under construction. The masterplan consists of nine independent lines. Line 1 started operation on 28 April 2012, Line 2 started operation on 28 December 2013, and Line 4 started operation in 2017, Suzhou Railway Line 5 began operation in June 2021. Line 6, Line 7 and Line 8 and Line 11 are under construction. The Suzhou rail system is expected to connect to the Shanghai Metro system by June 2023.

Tram

The Suzhou Tram system has two routes in the Suzhou New District.

Bus
Suzhou has public bus routes that run into all parts of the city. Fares are flat rated, usually 1 Yuan for a non-air-conditioned bus and 2 Yuan for an air-conditioned one. The Suzhou BRT, a 25 km-long bus rapid transit system opened in 2008, operates 5 lines using elevated busways and bus-only lanes throughout the city.

Culture

 * Opera: Kunqu originated in the Suzhou region, as does the much later Suzhou Opera. Ballad-singing, or Suzhou pingtan, is a local form of storytelling that mixes singing (accompanied by the pipa and sanxian) with portions in spoken dialect.
 * Silk: throughout China's Imperial past, Suzhou silk has been associated with high-quality silk products, supplying silks to ancient royal families. By the 13th century, Suzhou was already the center of the profitable silk trade.
 * Song brocade: Suzhou Song-style brocade is one of China's three famous brocades, together with Nanjing Yun brocade and Sichuan Shu brocade. This Song-style brocade, made of silk, has a thin yet strong material with flashy colors, exquisite patterns, and soft texture. Suzhou's brocade production can be traced back to the Five Dynasties. It prospered in the Song dynasty. After the government moved the capital southward, the country's political and cultural center moved to the Yangtze River area.
 * Cuisine: Suzhou Cuisine (苏帮菜), which is part of the Jiangsu cuisine, including Yangcheng Lake large crab, Squirrel fish, etc.
 * Handicrafts: Suzhou embroidery, fans, Chinese musical instruments, scroll mounting, lanterns, mahogany furniture, jade carving, silk tapestry, traditional painting pigments of Jiangenxutang Studio, the New Year's wood-block prints of Taohuawu Studio.
 * Paintings
 * Calligraphic art
 * Suzhou Silk Hand Embroidery Art
 * Suzhou is the original place of "Jasmine", a song sung by Chinese singers or actresses thousands of times on the occasions of almost every important meetings or celebrations. Jasmine is the symbol of Suzhou as well as Tai Hu Lake.
 * Suzhou Gardens: Gardens in Suzhou have an ancient history. The first garden in Suzhou belonged to the emperor of Wu State in Spring and Autumn period (600 BC). More than 200 gardens existed in Suzhou between the 16th and 18th centuries. Gardens in Suzhou were built according to the style of Chinese Paintings. Every view in a garden can be seen as a piece of Chinese Painting and the whole garden is a huge piece of Chinese Paintings. At present, the Humble Administrator's Garden, built in 16th, is the largest private garden in Suzhou. It belonged to by Wang Xianchen, an imperial censor.
 * Suzhou embroidery together with embroidery of Hunan, Sichuan and Guangdong are called as the "Four Famous Embroideries". Suzhou tapestry method is done in fine silks and gold thread. Other art forms found in this area are sculpture, Song brocade, jade and rosewood carving. Suzhou embroidery, acknowledged as a cultural heritage, has involved many cultural practitioners in advancing technology and skills with ICH-resources to better engage in economic pursuits.
 * The Suzhou Museum has a rich collection of relics from many eras. The collection includes revolutionary records, stele carving, folk customs, drama and verse, Suzhou embroidery, silk cloth, gardens, coins and Buddhist artifacts.
 * Wedding gowns

Notable people
Lu Xun (陆逊) (183–245) military general and politician of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms era, most famous for his defeat of Liu Bei in the Battle of Xiaoting.

Feng Menglong (冯梦龙) (1574–1645) famous vernacular writer and poet of the late Ming dynasty.

Tang Yin (唐寅) (1470–1524) one of the most renowned painter in China history, calligrapher, and poet of the Ming dynasty, better known by his courtesy name Tang Bohu

Wen Zhengming (文徵明) (1470–1559) Painter and poet of the Ming dynasty, the founder of Wu School, one of Four Masters of the Ming Dynasty

Weng Tonghe (翁同龢) (1830–1904) Chinese Confucian scholar and imperial tutor of the Tongzhi and Guangxu emperors in the late Qing dynasty, who is one of the most obdurate old guard defending the traditional Confucianism practices while being stubbornly against reform efforts to westernise the country.

I. M. Pei (贝聿铭) (1917–2019) One of the best architects in China history, being recognised as the 'last master of high modernist architecture', famous for his design of Louvre Pyramid, Hong Kong Bank of China tower, Singapore OCBC Centre, East Building of National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., Germany Historical Museum, etc.

Cheng Kaijia (程开甲) (1918–2018) A nuclear physicist and engineer. One of the key figure in China's nuclear weapons development and a founding father of the Two Bombs, One Satellite project.

Tsung-Dao Lee (李政道) (1926–) Physicist, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1957 at the age of 30, for his work on the violation of the parity law in weak interactions.

Meng Jianzhu (孟建柱) (1947–) Politician, former member of the Politburo and Secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission

Universities and colleges

 * Changshu Institute of Technology
 * Duke Kunshan University
 * KEDGE Business School
 * Jiangnan Social University
 * Jiangsu University Zhangjiagang Campus
 * Renmin University of China Suzhou Campus
 * Skema Business School – Chinese campus of the French business school
 * Soochow University
 * Suzhou Polytechnic Institute of Agriculture
 * Suzhou University of Science and Technology
 * Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University
 * Suzhou City University

Under construction

 * Nanjing University Suzhou Campus
 * Northwestern Polytechnical University Taicang Campus

High schools

 * Changshu High School
 * Dulwich College Suzhou
 * Dulwich International High School Suzhou
 * Kunshan Senior High School
 * SIP Experimental Middle School
 * Suzhou Experimental High School
 * Suzhou High School
 * Suzhou Singapore International School
 * Suzhou No.1 High School
 * Suzhou No.10 High School
 * Suzhou Wuxian High School (苏州吴县中学)
 * Taicang Senior High School
 * United World College (UWC) Changshu China
 * Zhenze Middle School
 * Jiangsu Province Mudu senior High School

Postgraduate institutions

 * Southeast University-Monash University Joint Graduate School
 * Suzhou Dushu Lake Higher Education Town (National University of Singapore and Fudan Joint Graduate School, Nanjing University Graduate School, etc.)

Others

 * Japanese School of Suzhou
 * Overseas Chinese Academy Chiway Suzhou (苏州工业园区海归人才子女学校)

External sources

 * Economic profile for Suzhou at HKTDC

 * Official Resource for English-speaking travelers
 * Official website for Suzhou's municipal government
 * Suzhou city guide with open directory (Jiangsu Network)

title: Suzhou


text:
GNU Mailman

GNU Mailman is a computer software application from the GNU Project for managing electronic mailing lists. Mailman is coded primarily in Python and currently maintained by Abhilash Raj. Mailman is free software, licensed under the GNU General Public License.

History
A very early version of Mailman was written by John Viega while a graduate student, who then lost his copy of the source in a hard drive crash sometime around 1998. Ken Manheimer at CNRI, who was looking for a replacement for Majordomo, then took over development. When Manheimer left CNRI, Barry Warsaw took over. Mailman 3—the first major new version in over a decade—was released in April 2015.

Features
Mailman runs on most Unix-like systems, including Linux. Since Mailman 3.0 it has required python-3.4 or newer. It works with Unix-style mail servers such as Exim, Postfix, Sendmail and qmail. Features include:

 * A customizable publicly-accessible web page for each maillist.
 * Web application for list administration, archiving of messages, spam filtering, etc. Separate interfaces are available for users (for self-administration), moderators (to accept/reject list posts), and administrators.
 * Support for multiple administrators and moderators for each list.
 * Per-list privacy features, such as closed-subscriptions, private archives, private membership rosters, and sender-based posting rules.
 * Integrated bounce detection and automatic handling of bouncing addresses.
 * Integrated spam filters
 * Majordomo-style email based commands.
 * Support for virtual domains.
 * List archiving. The default archiver provided with Mailman 2 is Pipermail, although other archivers can be used instead. The archiver for Mailman 3 is HyperKitty.

Reviews

 * Mailing List Management Made Easy

Other resources

 * List Administrator's Guide
 * "Mailman – An Extensible Mailing List Manager Using Python"; Ken Manheimer, Barry Warsaw, John Viega; presented at the 7th International Python Conference, Nov 10–13, 1998
 * "Mailman: The GNU Mailing List Manager"; John Viega, Barry Warsaw, Ken Manheimer; presented at the 12th Usenix Systems Administration Conference (LISA '98), Dec 9, 1998
 * GNU Mailman chapter in The Architecture of Open Source Applications Volume 2
 * Barry Warsaw presentation on Mailman 3 at PyCon US 2012

title: GNU Mailman


text:
FFA

FFA may refer to:

Aviation and military

 * First Flight Airport, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, United States
 * Free-fire area in U.S. military parlance
 * Flug- und Fahrzeugwerke Altenrhein, a Swiss aircraft and railway vehicle manufacturer
 * Feldflieger Abteilung, of the German army's air service in World War I

Business and commerce

 * Ferrara Fire Apparatus, a builder of fire trucks and other emergency vehicles
 * Forward freight agreement
 * Field force automation
 * Furniture, fixtures and equipment (accounting), sometimes "furniture, fixtures and accessories" (FF&A)

Entertainment

 * Final Fantasy Adventure, Game Boy game that is actually part of the Mana series
 * Final Fantasy Anthology, a computer role-playing game compilation
 * Far from Alaska, a Brazilian stoner rock group
 * Food for Animals, an American hip-hop group
 * Festival du film francophone d'Angoulême, an annual festival in France

Finance

 * FFA Private Bank
 * Fellow of the Faculty of Actuaries
 * Financial Fraud Action UK
 * Forward-forward agreement
 * Free File Alliance in the United States
 * Full fiscal autonomy for Scotland
 * Fellow member of the Institute of Financial Accountants

Sport

 * Fédération française d'athlétisme, the governing body for the sport of athletics in France
 * FFA Centre of Excellence, a defunct Australian football club
 * Florida Football Alliance, an amateur American football league
 * Football Federation Australia
 * Football Federation of Armenia
 * First free ascent, in climbing and mountaineering

Science and computing

 * Fast folding algorithm
 * Finite field arithmetic
 * Fixed-Field alternating gradient Accelerator
 * Flash flood watch, issued by the United States National Weather Service
 * Ford–Fulkerson algorithm
 * Free fatty acid
 * Fusiform face area
 * Fundus fluorescein angiography; see fluorescein angiography

Other uses

 * Federal Firearms Act
 * Ffairfach railway station, in Wales
 * Free for All (disambiguation)
 * Fugitive Felon Act
 * National FFA Organization, an American student organization
 * Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency
 * Fatima Family Apostolate, a U.S.-based Roman Catholic organization

title: FFA


text:
Sisaket province

Sisaket province (ศรีสะเกษ,, ; Northern Khmer: ซีซะเกด) is one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces (changwat). It lies in lower northeastern Thailand, a region called Isan. Neighboring provinces are (from west clockwise): Surin, Roi Et, Yasothon, and Ubon Ratchathani. To the south it borders Oddar Meancheay and Preah Vihear of Cambodia.

Geography
The province is in the valley of the Mun River, a tributary of the Mekong. The Dângrêk mountain chain, which forms the border with Cambodia, is in the south of the province. The total forest area is 1,025 km² or 11.5 percent of provincial area. Khao Phra Wihan National Park covers an area of 130 km2 of the Dângrêk mountains in the southeast of the province. Established on 20 March 1998, it is named after a ruined Khmer Empire temple Prasat Preah Vihear (anglicised in Thailand as Prasat Khao Phra Wihan), now in Cambodia, which had been the focus of boundary dispute. The temple faces north and was built to serve the Sisaket region. Earlier maps had shown it as inside Thailand. However, a boundary survey conducted by the French for the Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1907 deviated from the agreed-upon international divide by watershed in order to place the temple on the French (Cambodian) side.

The Thai government ignored the deviation and continued to regard the temple as being in Sisaket province. In the mid-1950s, newly independent Cambodia protested the Thai "occupation" of what the French map showed as theirs. Since the French map was clearly incorrect, in 1962 the Thai government agreed to submit the dispute to the International Court of Justice. The court voted nine to four to confirm the border as shown in 1907 map and awarded the temple to Cambodia. Access to the temple is still principally from the Thai side, as the ruins are difficult to reach from the Cambodian plains at the bottom of a sheer cliff several hundred meters below. The Cambodian government has expressed interest in building a cable car to carry tourists to the site, though this has yet to happen, pending resolution of the ownership of other areas in the Cambodian–Thai border dispute.

National park
There is one national park, along with five other national parks, make up region 9 (Ubon Ratchathani) of Thailand's protected areas.
 * Khao Phra Wihan National Park, 130 km2

Wildlife sanctuaries
There are two wildlife sanctuaries, along with four other wildlife sanctuaries, make up region 9 (Ubon Ratchathani) of Thailand's protected areas.
 * Huai Sala Wildlife Sanctuary, 380 km2
 * Phanom Dong Rak Wildlife Sanctuary, 316 km2

History
The many Khmer ruins found in the province show the area must have been important to the Khmer empire at least by the 12th century, although it was apparently sparsely populated. According to local tradition, it was known as Sri Nakorn Lamduan (ศรีนครลำดวน.) It was later called Khukhan, after a town built in the late-15th century CE during the reign of King Boromaratcha III of Ayutthaya. Ethnic Laos began settling the northern portion of the province, and in 1786 the town Sisaket was formed, subject to Khukhan. In 1904, Sisaket was renamed Khukhan, while the original Khukhan was designated Huai Nua.Monthon Udon Thani was created in 1912, and assumed the administration of the most of region. In 1933 the monthon system was ended, and the province of Khukhan was administered directly from Bangkok. Five years later, the name of the town and province were restored to Sisaket, with the district containing Huai Nua being called Khukhan. The Rasi Salai Dam built here in 1994 was unofficially decommissioned in July 2000, following devastation of local farming villages.

Demographics
The province is populated by four main ethnic groups: Kui, Lao, Khmer, and Yer. Sisaket is one of the provinces where there is a sizable northern Khmer population. In the 2000 census it was reported that 26.2 percent of the population are capable of speaking Khmer. This is down from the 1990 census when it was reported that 30.2 percent of the population were capable of speaking Khmer. The majority are Lao speaking people.

Symbols
The provincial seal shows Prasat Hin Ban Samo, a Khmer temple about 1,000 years old, in the Prang Ku District.

The provincial tree and flower of the province is the lamduan. The six leaves of the flower symbolise the six original districts of the province: Khukhan, Kantharalak, Uthumphon Phisai, Kanthararom, Rasi Salai, and Khun Han.

Economy
Sisaket is largely agricultural. Among other agricultural produce, it is known for its garlic and its shallots, for which it was rewarded with GI registration in 2020.

Provincial government
The province is divided into 22 districts (amphoes). The districts are further subdivided into 206 sub-districts (tambons) and 2,411 villages (mubans).

Local government
As of 26 November 2019 there is one Sisaket Provincial Administration Organisation (ongkan borihan suan changwat) and 37 municipal (thesaban) areas in the province. Sisaket and Kantharalak have town (thesaban mueang) status. There are a further 35 subdistrict municipalities (thesaban tambon). The non-municipal areas are administered by 179 Subdistrict Administrative Organisations, SAO (ongkan borihan suan tambon).

Transportation
Sisaket is on the northeastern railway line from Bangkok (กรุงเทพอภิวัฒน์) to Warin Chamrap (วารินชำราบ). Sisaket's main station is Sisaket Railway Station. Sisaket has frequent bus service to and from Bangkok's Northern Bus Terminal (หมอชิดใหม่; )

Health
Sisaket's main hospital is Sisaket Hospital, a regional hospital operated by the Ministry of Public Health.

Human achievement index 2022
Since 2003, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Thailand has tracked progress on human development at sub-national level using the Human achievement index (HAI), a composite index covering all the eight key areas of human development. National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) has taken over this task since 2017.

title: Sisaket province