text:
.org

The domain name .org is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) of the Domain Name System (DNS) used on the Internet. The name is truncated from 'organization'. It was one of the original domains established in 1985, and has been operated by the Public Interest Registry since 2003. The domain was originally "intended as the miscellaneous TLD for organizations that didn't fit anywhere else." It is commonly used by non-profit organizations, open-source projects, and communities, but is an open domain that can be used by anyone. The number of registered domains in .org has increased from fewer than one million in the 1990s, to ten million in 2012, and held steady between ten and eleven million since then.

History
The domain ".org" was one of the original top-level domains and was established in January 1985. The other early top-level domains were .com, .us, .edu, .gov, .mil and .net. It was originally intended for non-profit organizations or organizations of a non-commercial character that did not meet the requirements for other gTLDs. The MITRE Corporation was the first group to register an .org domain with mitre.org in July 1985. The TLD has been operated since January 1, 2003, by Public Interest Registry, who assumed the task from VeriSign Global Registry Services, a division of Verisign.

In November 2019, the Public Interest Registry (PIR) was to be sold by the Internet Society to shell company Ethos Capital for US$1.135 billion. The PIR also announced it would abandon its non-profit status to become a B Corporation. However, this move was criticized by non-profits and various digital rights groups on concerns that Ethos Capital, a private equity firm, would raise fees or censor the domain. The sale was blocked by Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in April 2020 on the basis that the transfer of control of the domain to the private equity firm would create "unacceptable uncertainty" for non-profits that relied on the .org domain.

Registrations
Registrations of subdomains are processed via accredited registrars worldwide. Anyone can register a second-level domain within org, without restrictions. In some instances subdomains are being used also by commercial sites, such as craigslist.org. According to the ICANN Dashboard (Domain Name) report, the composition of the TLD is diverse, including cultural institutions, associations, sports teams, religious, and civic organizations, open-source software projects, schools, environmental initiatives, social, and fraternal organizations, health organizations, legal services, as well as clubs, and community-volunteer groups. In some cases subdomains have been created for crisis management.

Although organizations anywhere in the world may register subdomains, many countries, such as Australia (au), Canada (ca), Japan (jp), Argentina (ar), Bolivia (bo), Uruguay (uy), Turkey (tr), Somalia (so), Sierra Leone (sl), Russia (ru), Bangladesh (bd), India (in) and the United Kingdom (uk), have established a second-level domain with a similar purpose under their ccTLD. Such second-level domains are usually named org or or.

In 2009, the .org domain consisted of more than 8 million registered domain names, 8.8 million in 2010, and 9.6 million in 2011. The Public Interest Registry registered the ten millionth .ORG domain in June, 2012. When the 9.5 millionth second-level domain was registered in December 2011, org became the third largest gTLD.

As of November 2019, according to the Tranco ranking of the top 1M global domains, domains under .org were about 6 % of the top 1000 and 7 % of the top 100 thousand and 1 million domains.

Internationalized domain names
The .org domain registry allows the registration of selected internationalized domain names (IDNs) as second-level domains. For German, Danish, Hungarian, Icelandic, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, and Swedish IDNs this has been possible since 2005. Spanish IDN registrations have been possible since 2007.

Domain name security
On June 2, 2009, The Public Interest Registry announced that the org domain is the first open generic top-level domain and the largest registry overall that has signed its DNS zone with Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC). This allows the verification of the origin authenticity and integrity of DNS data by conforming DNS clients.

As of June 23, 2010, DNSSEC was enabled for individual second-level domains, starting with 13 registrars.

Cost of registration
Since 2003, the Public Interest Registry (PIR) charged its accredited registrars a capped price of US$9.05 per year for each domain name. The registrars may set their charges to end users without restrictions.

In April 2019, ICANN proposed an end to the price cap of .org domains and effectively removed it in July in spite of having received 3,252 opposing comments and only six in favor. A few months later, the owner of the domain, the Public Interest Registry, proposed to sell the domain to investment firm Ethos Capital. After intense criticism from nonprofit groups and significant figures in Internet history, the proposal was scrapped.

Regulatory positions
In March 2001, the Ethics Committee of the State Bar of Arizona issued Ethics Opinion 01-05, which discussed the limitations to which a law firm is subject when creating or using a website address for its law firm website. Among other conclusions, the Committee opined that a for-profit law firm may not use a domain name that contains the suffix “.org,” on the ground that such use “creates a false impression that the firm either is a non-profit or is in some way specifically affiliated with a non-profit.”

In light of the widespread use of the “.org” suffix by for-profit organizations in the years since Ariz. Ethics Op. 01-05 was issued, the Committee, reconsidering the matter in December 2011, concluded that the possibility that the public will be misled by a for-profit law firm’s use of “.org’ in its website address is remote, as a reasonable person, desiring to verify whether an entity is non-profit, would not rely solely on the entity’s website address.

Therefore, the mere use of “.org” by a for-profit law firm was declared not to be a violation of the Arizona Rules of Professional Conduct, and Opinion 01-05 was modified accordingly. Arizona lawyers were cautioned, however, that a lawyer or law firm may not use a domain name that falsely implies that the lawyer or law firm is affiliated with a particular non-profit organization or with a governmental entity or which otherwise is false or misleading.

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

title: .org


text:
Incendiary device

Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices, incendiary munitions, or incendiary bombs are weapons designed to start fires. They may destroy structures or sensitive equipment using fire, and sometimes operate as anti-personnel weaponry. Incendiaries utilize materials such as napalm, thermite, magnesium powder, chlorine trifluoride, or white phosphorus. Though colloquially often called "bombs", they are not explosives but in fact operate to slow the process of chemical reactions and use ignition rather than detonation to start or maintain the reaction. Napalm, for example, is petroleum especially thickened with certain chemicals into a gel to slow, but not stop, combustion, releasing energy over a longer time than an explosive device. In the case of napalm, the gel adheres to surfaces and resists suppression.

Pre-modern history
A range of early thermal weapons were utilized by ancient, medieval/post-classical and early modern armies, including hot pitch, oil, resin, animal fat and other similar compounds. Substances such as quicklime and sulfur could be toxic and blinding. Incendiary mixtures, such as the petroleum-based Greek fire, were launched by throwing machines or administered through a siphon. Sulfur- and oil-soaked materials were sometimes ignited and thrown at the enemy, or attached to spears, arrows or bolts, and fired by hand or machine. Some siege techniques—such as mining and boring—relied on combustibles and fire to complete the collapse of walls and structures.

Towards the latter part of the period, gunpowder was invented, which increased the sophistication of the weapons, starting with fire lances.

Development and use in World War I
The first incendiary devices to be dropped during World War I fell on coastal towns in the east of England on the night of 18–19 January 1915. The small number of German bombs, also known as firebombs, were finned containers filled with kerosene and oil and wrapped with tar-covered rope. They were dropped from Zeppelin airships. On 8 September 1915, Zeppelin L-13 dropped a large number of firebombs, but even then the results were poor and they were generally ineffective in terms of the damage inflicted. They did have a considerable effect on the morale of the civilian population of the United Kingdom.

After further experiments with 5-litre barrels of benzol, in 1918, the B-1E Elektron fire bomb (German: Elektronbrandbombe) was developed by scientists and engineers at the Griesheim-Elektron chemical works. The bomb was ignited by a thermite charge, but the main incendiary effect was from the magnesium and aluminium alloy casing, which ignited at 650 °C, burned at 1,100 °C and emitted vapour that burned at 1,800 °C. A further advantage of the alloy casing was its lightness, being a quarter of the density of steel, which meant that each bomber could carry a considerable number. The German High Command devised an operation called "The Fire Plan" (German: Der Feuerplan), which involved the use of the whole German heavy bomber fleet, flying in waves over London and Paris and dropping all the incendiary bombs that they could carry, until they were either all shot down or the crews were too exhausted to fly. The hope was that the two capitals would be engulfed in an inextinguishable blaze, causing the Allies to sue for peace. Thousands of Elektron bombs were stockpiled at forward bomber bases and the operation was scheduled for August and again in early September 1918, but on both occasions, the order to take off was countermanded at the last moment, perhaps because of the fear of Allied reprisals against German cities. The Royal Air Force had already used their own "Baby" Incendiary Bomb (BIB) which also contained a thermite charge. A plan to fire bomb New York with new long range Zeppelins of the L70 class was proposed by the naval airship fleet commander Peter Strasser in July 1918, but it was vetoed by Admiral Reinhard Scheer.

Development and use in World War II
Incendiary bombs were used extensively in World War II as an effective bombing weapon, often in a conjunction with high-explosive bombs. Probably the most famous incendiary attacks are the bombing of Dresden and the bombing of Tokyo on 10 March 1945. Many different configurations of incendiary bombs and a wide range of filling materials such as isobutyl methacrylate (IM) polymer, napalm, and similar jellied-petroleum formulas were used, many of them developed by the US Chemical Warfare Service. Different methods of delivery, e.g. small bombs, bomblet clusters and large bombs, were tested and implemented. For example, a large bomb casing was filled with small sticks of incendiary (bomblets); the casing was designed to open at altitude, scattering the bomblets in order to cover a wide area. An explosive charge would then ignite the incendiary material, often starting a raging fire. The fire would burn at extreme temperatures that could destroy most buildings made of wood or other combustible materials (buildings constructed of stone tend to resist incendiary destruction unless they are first blown open by high explosives).

The German Luftwaffe started the war using the 1918-designed one-kilogram magnesium alloy B-1E Elektronbrandbombe; later modifications included the addition of a small explosive charge intended to penetrate the roof of any building which it landed on. Racks holding 36 of these bombs were developed, four of which could, in turn, be fitted to an electrically triggered dispenser so that a single He 111 bomber could carry 1,152 incendiary bombs, or more usually a mixed load. Less successful was the Flammenbombe, a 250 kg or 500 kg high explosive bomb case filled with an inflammable oil mixture, which often failed to detonate and was withdrawn in January 1941.

In World War II, incendiaries were principally developed in order to destroy the many small, decentralised war industries located (often intentionally) throughout vast tracts of city land in an effort to escape destruction by conventionally aimed high-explosive bombs. Nevertheless, the civilian destruction caused by such weapons quickly earned them a reputation as terror weapons with the targeted populations. Nazi Germany began the campaign of incendiary bombings at the start of World War II with the bombing of Warsaw, and continued with the London Blitz and the bombing of Moscow, among other cities. Later, an extensive reprisal was enacted by the Allies in the strategic bombing campaign that led to the near-annihilation of many German cities. In the Pacific War, during the last seven months of strategic bombing by B-29 Superfortresses in the air war against Japan, a change to firebombing tactics resulted in the death of 500,000 Japanese and the homelessness of five million more. Sixty-seven Japanese cities lost significant areas to incendiary attacks. The most deadly single bombing raid in history was Operation Meetinghouse, an incendiary attack that killed some 100,000 Tokyo residents in one night.

The 4 lb incendiary bomb, developed by ICI, was the standard light incendiary bomb used by RAF Bomber Command in very large numbers, declining slightly in 1944 to 35.8 million bombs produced (the decline being due to more bombs arriving from the United States). It was the weapon of choice for the British "dehousing" plan. The bomb consisted of a hollow body made from aluminium-magnesium alloy with a cast iron/steel nose, and filled with thermite incendiary pellets. It was capable of burning for up to ten minutes. There was also a high explosive version and delayed high explosive versions (2–4 minutes) which were designed to kill rescuers and firefighters. It was normal for a proportion of high explosive bombs to be dropped during incendiary attacks in order to expose combustible material and to fill the streets with craters and rubble, hindering rescue services.

Towards the end of World War Two, the British introduced a much improved 30 lb incendiary bomb, whose fall was retarded by a small parachute and on impact sent out an extremely hot flame for 15 ft; This, the Incendiary Bomb, 30-lb., Type J, Mk I, burned for approximately two minutes. Articles in late 1944 claimed that the flame was so hot it could crumble a brick wall. For propaganda purposes the RAF dubbed the new incendiary bomb the Superflamer. Around fifty-five million incendiary bombs were dropped on Germany by Avro Lancasters alone.

Many incendiary weapons developed and deployed during World War II were in the form of bombs and shells whose main incendiary component is white phosphorus (WP), and can be used in an offensive anti-personnel role against enemy troop concentrations, but WP is also used for signalling, smoke screens, and target-marking purposes. The U.S. Army and Marines used WP extensively in World War II and Korea for all three purposes, frequently using WP shells in large 4.2-inch chemical mortars. WP was widely credited by many Allied soldiers for breaking up numerous German infantry attacks and creating havoc among enemy troop concentrations during the latter part of World War II. In both World War II and Korea, WP was found particularly useful in overcoming enemy human wave attacks.

Incendiary weapons after World War II
Napalm was widely used by the United States during the Korean War, most notably during the battle "Outpost Harry" in South Korea during the night of June 10–11, 1953. Eighth Army chemical officer Donald Bode reported that on an "average good day" UN pilots used 70,000 USgal of napalm, with approximately 60,000 USgal of this thrown by US forces. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill privately criticized the use of napalm in Korea, writing that it was "very cruel", as US/UN forces, he wrote, were "splashing it all over the civilian population", "tortur[ing] great masses of people". He conveyed these sentiments to U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Omar Bradley, who "never published the statement". Publicly, Churchill allowed Bradley "to issue a statement that confirmed U.K. support for U.S. napalm attacks".

During the Vietnam War, the U.S. Air Force developed the CBU-55, a cluster bomb incendiary fuelled by propane, a weapon that was used only once in warfare. Napalm however, became an intrinsic element of U.S. military action during the Vietnam War as forces made increasing use of it for its tactical and psychological effects. Reportedly about 388,000 tons of U.S. napalm bombs were dropped in the region between 1963 and 1973, compared to 32,357 tons used over three years in the Korean War, and 16,500 tons dropped on Japan in 1945.

Incendiary bombs used in the late 20th century sometimes contained thermite, made from aluminium and ferric oxide. It takes very high temperatures to ignite, but when alight, it can burn through solid steel. In World War II, such devices were employed in incendiary grenades to burn through heavy armour plate, or as a quick welding mechanism to destroy artillery and other complex machined weapons.

A variety of pyrophoric materials can also be used: selected organometallic compounds, most often triethylaluminium, trimethylaluminium, and some other alkyl and aryl derivatives of aluminium, magnesium, boron, zinc, sodium, and lithium, can be used. Thickened triethylaluminium, a napalm-like substance that ignites in contact with air, is known as thickened pyrophoric agent, or TPA.

Napalm proper is no longer used by the United States, although the kerosene-fuelled Mark 77 MOD 5 Firebomb is currently in use. The United States has confirmed the use of Mark 77s in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.

Incendiary weapons and laws of warfare
Signatory states are bound by Protocol III of the UN Convention on Conventional Weapons which governs the use of incendiary weapons:

 * prohibits the use of incendiary weapons against civilians (effectively a reaffirmation of the general prohibition on attacks against civilians in Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions)
 * prohibits the use of air-delivered incendiary weapons against military targets located within concentrations of civilians and loosely regulates the use of other types of incendiary weapons in such circumstances.

Protocol III states though that incendiary weapons do not include:

 * Munitions which may have incidental incendiary effects, such as illuminates, tracers, smoke or signaling systems;
 * Munitions designed to combine penetration, blast or fragmentation effects with an additional incendiary effect, such as armor-piercing projectiles, fragmentation shells, explosive bombs and similar combined-effects munitions in which the incendiary effect is not specifically designed to cause burn injury to persons, but to be used against military objectives, such as armoured vehicles, aircraft and installations or facilities.

title: Incendiary device


text:
Talk:.org

Countries
Would it be useful to have a complete list of all countries/territories that use the .org.xx system for [non-profit] organizations? I'm sure that there are more countries that do so, not just UK, China, Mexico, and NZ. --seav 12:10, Aug 6, 2003 (UTC)

 * You can add Thailand and Japan for sure, only that it is .or.th and .or.jp respectively. andy 12:12, 6 Aug 2003 (UTC)

Unfortunately used for porn as well
http://www.m3l.org/

Why unfortunately? Is porn too unpure to .org? :P -- EduardoPadoan

Semi-protected edit request on 30 November 2020
In the 'History' section; '.us' was not established in January 1985. 240B:252:381:6800:6486:23FF:FEA7:7CE3 (talk) 12:12, 30 November 2020 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. --TheImaCow (talk) 14:26, 30 November 2020 (UTC)
 * Per the domain was certainly defined a few months before 1985, so it remains to be defined what the term established exactly means. I suppose that it means installed in the DNS, which is reasonable and probably documented, in addition to be the date listed in WHOIS queries. kbrose (talk) 17:33, 30 November 2020 (UTC)
 * The .us page says 'Introduced February 15, 1985', all other domain pages mentioned say 'Introduced  January 1, 1985'. 240B:252:381:6800:6486:23FF:FEA7:7CE3 (talk) 03:12, 1 December 2020 (UTC)
 * Have reworded. – Thjarkur (talk) 11:48, 1 December 2020 (UTC)

The .us page says 'Introduced February 15, 1985', all other domain pages mentioned say 'Introduced January 1, 1985'. 240B:252:381:6800:6486:23FF:FEA7:7CE3 (talk) 03:12, 1 December 2020 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 105.113.10.59 (talk)

Pronunciation
The article mentions "an .org domain" at one point. If one pronounces ".org" as "org" then this is correct. But, if one pronounces the TLD as "dot org", then the phrase should be "a .org domain" instead. I don't know what the most common way of pronouncing it would be. Perhaps the sentence should be rephrased to avoid the issue. CapnPhantasm (talk) 00:45, 10 May 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:.org


text:
Kachelotplate

The Kachelotplate is a sandbar in the North Sea. It lies near the German coast, west of the island of Juist. Since 2003, enough stays above high tide that it can be called an island. Grass and dunes are settling there.

The new island is 2.5 kilometres long and up to 1.3 kilometres wide.

title: Kachelotplate


text:
List of racket sports

Racket sports are games in which players use a racket or paddle to hit a ball or other object. Rackets consist of a handled frame with an open hoop that supports a network of tightly stretched strings. Paddles have a solid face rather than a network of strings, but may be perforated with a pattern of holes, or be covered with some form of textured surface.

Sports that use a netted racket

 * Badminton
 * Ball badminton
 * Battledore and shuttlecock
 * Crossminton (previously "Speedminton")
 * Frontenis
 * Qianball
 * Racketlon (a series of other racket and paddle sports)
 * Rackets
 * Racquetball
 * Real tennis
 * Soft tennis
 * Speed-ball
 * Squash
 * Hardball squash
 * Squash tennis
 * Stické
 * Tennis
 * Tennis polo
 * Touchtennis

Sports that use a non-netted racket, or paddle

 * Basque pelota
 * Beach tennis
 * Downside ball game
 * Four wall paddleball
 * Frescobol
 * Jokari
 * Jombola
 * Matkot
 * Miniten
 * One wall paddleball
 * Paddle ball
 * POP tennis
 * Padel
 * Paleta Frontón
 * Pan Pong
 * Pelota mixteca
 * Pickleball
 * Pitton
 * Platform tennis
 * Road tennis
 * Sphairee
 * Stoolball
 * Table squash
 * Table tennis (Ping Pong)
 * Tamburello
 * Totem tennis
 * Paddle Tennis

title: List of racket sports


text:
Seven Sisters, England

Seven Sisters, England may refer to:

 * Seven Sisters, Sussex: a group of chalk cliffs
 * Seven Sisters, London: an area of north London in the London Borough of Haringey, served by Seven Sisters station

title: Seven Sisters, England


text:
Michael McKevitt

Michael McKevitt (Mícheál Mac Dhaibhéid) (4 September 1949 – 2 January 2021) was an Irish republican and paramilitary leader. He was the Provisional Irish Republican Army's Quartermaster General. Due to the Provisional IRA's involvement in the Northern Ireland peace process, he formed the Real IRA in protest. His role in the Real IRA led to him being convicted of directing terrorism as the leader of the paramilitary organisation.

Provisional Irish Republican Army
McKevitt was a native of County Louth. He joined the Provisional IRA during the outbreak of the Troubles. In February 1975, he was shot in the knees by the Official IRA during a feud between the two organisations. He was a longtime senior member of the Provisional IRA and served as the organisation's Quartermaster General, with oversight of their arms caches. He quit the organisation in protest at the movement's ceasefires and its participation through Sinn Féin in the Northern Ireland peace process, which led to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

Real Irish Republican Army
McKevitt launched a dissident offshoot of the Provisional IRA called the Real IRA, using seized Provisional IRA weaponry.

McKevitt was expelled from the Real IRA after a disagreement between a group of Real IRA prisoners in Portlaoise Prison and the outside leadership. The prisoners issued a statement urging the leadership to stand down, claiming a criminal element had taken over. McKevitt and his supporters went on to form a group called the New Republican Forum.

Omagh bombing
In June 2009, McKevitt was one of four men found by a civil court to be liable for the 1998 Omagh bombing in a case taken by relatives of the victims. In April 2014, The Telegraph revealed that McKevitt and Liam Campbell were appealing against the ruling in the European Court of Human Rights, citing their inability to cross-examine testimony of FBI source David Rupert as a violation of their right to a fair trial.

Arrests, convictions, and appeals
McKevitt was convicted by the Republic of Ireland's non-jury Special Criminal Court on 6 August 2003 of two offences: "membership of an illegal organisation" (the Real IRA) and "directing terrorism" between 29 August 1999 and 23 October 2000. On 7 August 2003 he was sentenced to twenty years in prison. During his trial Mr Justice Richard Johnson said of McKevitt, "The accused played a leading role in the organisation which he directed and induced others to join." Given all possible reductions and remission, it means that the earliest he could have been released was 2016. The prosecution's case was based largely on the testimony of an American FBI informant, David Rupert. According to information revealed in his trial, among his plans was to attempt the assassination of the then British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

McKevitt appealed against his convictions to the Court of Criminal Appeal, arguing that Rupert's testimony was unreliable since he had been paid large sums of money for his role as an informant (a total of £750,000 from the FBI and MI5), and because of Rupert's long criminal record. In December 2005, the court rejected these arguments and said that Rupert was a credible witness. Both of McKevitt's convictions were upheld. In July 2006, McKevitt was given leave to appeal to the Supreme Court. The appeal was rejected on 30 July 2008.

In February 2014, The Court of Criminal Appeal heard a petition from McKevitt arguing that he should receive a new appeal based on a Supreme Court decision in 2012 which ruled an unrelated Garda search of a suspect's home illegal. On 20 May 2014, the Court of Criminal Appeal rejected McKevitt's bid to have his new appeal heard by the Supreme Court.

In August 2014, McKevitt petitioned for release on the grounds that, per Rule 59 (2) of prison rules, McKevitt has not been given proper consideration by prison authorities for a one third remission of sentence taking into account model inmate behavior, due to his conviction being under the Offences Against the State Act. On 1 September 2014, McKevitt withdrew his appeal and was granted release to prepare a new challenge based on judicial review. On 9 December 2014 his challenge was struck down by Dublin's High Court.

Release
In March 2015, McKevitt was granted temporary release in order to treat a cancerous growth on his kidney. Subsequently, McKevitt underwent surgery to have the affected kidney surgically removed in May of the same year.

On Easter Sunday 2016, McKevitt was formally released from prison upon the completion of his sentence.

Personal life
McKevitt was married to Bernadette Sands McKevitt, a sister of 1981 Provisional IRA hunger striker and Member of Parliament (MP), Bobby Sands, who died during his hunger strike. Sands McKevitt was a leading member of the 32 County Sovereignty Movement and had been described in media reports as the third highest ranking Real IRA officer. She left the 32 County Sovereignty Movement following the imprisonment of her husband.

Michael McKevitt died on 2 January 2021, at the age of 71, of cancer.

title: Michael McKevitt


text:
Accidental death and dismemberment insurance

In insurance, an accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) policy provides financial benefits to the insured or their beneficiaries in the event of accidental death, serious injury, or dismemberment resulting from an accident.

Unlike traditional life insurance, which only pays out in the event of death, AD&D insurance provides additional coverage in case the insured experiences a serious injury or loses a limb or other body part due to an accident.

The benefits paid out by an AD&D policy can help cover medical expenses, rehabilitation costs, and other expenses associated with an accidental injury. They can also provide financial assistance to the insured's family in the event of accidental death.

Accidental death
In the event of an accidental death, this insurance will pay benefits in addition to any life insurance but only up to a set amount total regardless of any other insurance held by same insurer, held by the client. This is called double indemnity coverage and is often available even when accidental death insurance is merely an add-on to a regular life insurance plan. Some of the covered accidents include traffic accidents, exposure, homicide, falls, heavy equipment accidents and drowning. Accidental deaths are the fifth leading cause of death in the U.S. as well as in Canada.

Accidental death insurance is not an investment vehicle and thus clients are paying only for sustained protection. Most policies have to be renewed periodically (with revised terms), although the client's consent with renewal is often implicitly assumed.

Common exclusions
Every insurer maintains a list of events and circumstances that void the insured's entitlement to his or her accidental death benefit. Death by illness, suicide, non-commercial aviation, war injury, and natural causes are generally not covered by AD&D. Similarly, death while under the influence of any non-prescribed drugs or alcohol is most likely exempt from coverage. Overdose with toxic or poisonous substances and injury of an athlete during a professional sporting event may void the right to claim too.

Some insurance carriers will tailor their clients' coverage to include some of the above risks, but every such extension will be accompanied by increased premiums.

Due to these restrictions, the process of claiming the benefit may be relatively lengthy; the deceased client may have to undergo autopsy and the accident may have to be officially investigated before a claim is approved by the insurer.

Dismemberment
Fractional amounts of the policy will be paid out if the covered employee loses a bodily appendage or sight because of an accident. Additionally, AD&D generally pays benefits for the loss of limbs, fingers, toes, sight and permanent paralysis. The types of injuries covered and the amount paid vary by insurer and package, and are explicitly enumerated in the insurance policy.

Coverage types
There are four common types of group AD&D plans offered in the United States:

 * 1) Group Life Supplement – the AD&D benefit is included as part of a group life insurance contract, and the benefit amount is usually the same as that of the group life benefit.
 * 2) Voluntary – the AD&D benefit is offered to members of a group.  An example is an AD&D policy provided in an initial nominal amount with premiums paid by another party (such as a small $1,000 AD&D policy offered to credit union members, with the premium paid for by the credit union itself), with higher elective benefits offered to members where the member must pay the additional premiums separately.
 * 3) Travel Accident (Business Trip) – the AD&D benefit is provided through an employee benefit plan and provides supplemental accident protection to workers while they are traveling on company business (the entire premium is usually paid by the employer).
 * 4) Dependents – Some group AD&D plans also provide coverage for dependents.


text:
Christopher Bram

Christopher Bram (born February 22, 1952) is an American author.

Bram grew up in Virginia Beach, Virginia (outside Norfolk), where he was a paperboy and an Eagle Scout. He graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1974 (B.A. in English). He moved to New York City in 1978.

His nine novels range in subject matter from gay life in the 1970s to the career of a Victorian musical clairvoyant to the frantic world of theater people in contemporary New York. Fellow novelist Philip Gambone wrote of his work, "What is most impressive in Bram's fiction is the psychological and emotional accuracy with which he portrays his characters ... His novels are about ordinary gay people trying to be decent and good in a morally compromised world. He focuses on the often conflicting claims of friendship, family, love and desire; the ways good intentions can become confused and thwarted; and the ways we learn to be vulnerable and human." Bram has written numerous articles and essays (a selection is included in Mapping the Territory). He has also written or co-written several screenplays, including feature documentary and short narrative films directed by his partner, Draper Shreeve.

His 1995 novel Father of Frankenstein, about film director James Whale, was made into the 1998 movie Gods and Monsters starring Ian McKellen, Lynn Redgrave, and Brendan Fraser. The film was written and directed by Bill Condon who won an Academy Award for the adapted screenplay.

Bram was made a Guggenheim Fellow in 2001, and is a multiple nominee for the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction, winning for Lives of the Circus Animals. In May 2003, he received the Bill Whitehead Award for Lifetime Achievement from Publishing Triangle, and in 2013 his book Eminent Outlaws: The Gay Writers Who Changed America won the organization's Randy Shilts Award. He lives in Greenwich Village and teaches at New York University.

Novels

 * Surprising Myself (1987)
 * Hold Tight (1988)
 * In Memory of Angel Clare (1989)
 * Almost History (1992)
 * Father of Frankenstein (1995)
 * Gossip (1997)
 * The Notorious Dr. August: His Real Life and Crimes (2000)
 * Lives of the Circus Animals (2003)
 * Exiles in America (2006)

Non-fiction

 * Mapping the Territory (2009)
 * Eminent Outlaws: The Gay Writers Who Changed America (2012)
 * The Art of History: Unlocking the Past in Fiction and Nonfiction (2016)

Essays

 * "Perry Street, West Greenwich Village" in Hometowns: Gay Men Write About Where They Belong edited by John Preston, 1990
 * "Slow Learners" in Boys Like Us: Gay Writers Tell Their Coming Out Stories edited by Patrick Merla, 1996
 * "A Queer Monster: Henry James and the Sex Question" in James White Review, 2003
 * "Delicate Monsters" in I Do, I Don't: Queers on Marriage edited by Greg Wharton and Ian Phillips, 2004
 * "Homage to Mr. Jimmy" in Gods and Monsters (new edition of Father of Frankenstein), 2005
 * "The Zen of Tolstoy," Commonweal Magazine, March 2016
 * "Mr. Smith Goes to Heaven: Remembering Bob Smith," Sessums Magazine, January 2018
 * "Pauline at the Buggy Whip Factory: Our Day with Pauline Kael," Sessums Magazine, February 2019
 * "A Fan's Notes," introduction to Isherwood in Transit, University of Minnesota Press, 2020

title: Christopher Bram


text:
Lodoicea

Lodoicea, commonly known as the sea coconut, coco de mer, or double coconut, is a monotypic genus in the palm family. The sole species, Lodoicea maldivica, is endemic to the islands of Praslin and Curieuse in the Seychelles. It has the largest seed in the plant kingdom. It was also formerly found on the small islets of St Pierre, Chauve-Souris, and Ile Ronde (Round Island), all located near Praslin, but had become extinct there for a time until recently reintroduced.

Taxonomy
The name of the genus Lodoicea is given by Philibert Commerson, it may be derived from Lodoicus, a Latinised form of Louis (typically Ludovicus), in honour of King Louis XV of France. Other sources say that Lodoicea is from Laodice, the daughter of Priam and Hecuba.

Lodoicea belongs to the Coryphoideae subfamily and tribe Borasseae. Borasseae is represented by four genera in Madagascar and one in Seychelles out of the seven worldwide. They are distributed on the coastlands surrounding the Indian Ocean and the existing islands within. Borassus, the genus closest to Lodoicea, has about five species in the "old world," one species in Africa, one in India, South-East Asia and Malaysia, one in New Guinea and two species in Madagascar.

Description

The tree generally grows to 25–34 m (82–111.5 ft) tall. The tallest on record, measured on the ground after felling, was 56.7 m in total height. The leaves are fan-shaped, 7–10 m long and 4.5 m wide with a 4 m petiole in mature plants. However juveniles produce much longer petioles; up to 9 m or even 10 m. It is dioecious, with separate male and female plants. The male flowers are arranged in a catkin-like inflorescence up to 2 m (6.5 ft) long which continues to produce pollen over a ten-year period; one of the longest-living inflorescences known. The mature fruit is 40–50 cm in diameter and weighs 15–30 kg, and contains the largest seed in the plant kingdom. The fruit, which requires 6–7 years to mature and a further two years to germinate, is sometimes also referred to as the sea coconut, love nut, double coconut, coco fesse, or Seychelles nut.

While the functional characteristics of Lodoicea are similar to other trees of monodominant forests in the humid tropics, its unique features include a huge seed, effective funnelling mechanism and diverse community of closely associated animals. These attributes suggest a long evolutionary history under relatively stable conditions. Of the six monospecific endemic palms in Seychelles, Lodoicea is the "only true case of island gigantism among Seychelles flowering plants, a unique feature of Seychelles vegetation". It holds eleven botanical records:

 * It produces the largest wild fruit so far recorded, weighing up to 36 kg (79.2 lbs), and perhaps as much as 99 pounds (45 kilograms). (although domesticated pumpkins and watermelons can be much heavier)
 * The fruit is composed of three carpels which are the largest of any flowering plant (although the carpels of Entada spp. are longer).
 * These fruit are the slowest to mature, requiring 8 to 10 years.
 * The mature seeds weighing up to 17.6 kg ( 29 lbs) are the world's heaviest
 * The seed upon germinating, produces the longest known cotyledon, up to four meters (13 feet). and on occasion as long as ten meters (33 feet).
 * It is the slowest growing of all large trees, although some small to medium-sized desert trees are slower. At the Peradenaya Royal Botanic Gardens, it grew an average of 1.29 inches (33 millimeters) per year over a period of 140 years.
 * The female flowers are the largest of any palm, up to four inches (ten centimeters) in diameter.
 * The male catkins, up to two meters (6.5 feet) in length, are the longest known.
 * The sepals, which grow with the fruit, are the largest known; up to 9 inches (23 centimeters) long by six inches (15 centimeters) wide.
 * The leaves of Lodoicea have the longest lifespan of any monocot, nine years to develop in the terminal spike, and then nine more years as a fully functioning leaf. However, adult Lodoicea can have as many as twenty leaves with a potential lifespan of 24 years.
 * Finally, Lodoicea is the most efficient plant known at recovering nutrients from moribund leaves.

Of the six endemic palms in Seychelles, it is the only dioecious species, with male and female flowers on different plants.

Habit
L. maldivica is robust, solitary, up to 30 m tall with an erect, spineless, stem which is ringed with leaf scars (Calstrom, unpublished). The base of the trunk is of a bulbous form and this bulb fits into a natural bowl, or socket, about 2+1/2 ft in diameter and 18 in in depth, narrowing towards the bottom. This bowl is pierced with hundreds of small oval holes about the size of a thimble with hollow tubes corresponding on the outside through which the roots penetrate the ground on all sides, never, however, becoming attached to the bowl; they are partially elastic, affording an almost imperceptible but very necessary "play" to the parent stem when struggling against the force of violent gales.

Leaves
The crown is a rather dense head of foliage with leaves that are stiff, palmate up to 10 m in diameter and petioles of two to four metres in length. The leaf is plicate at the base, cut one third or more into segments 4–10 cm broad with bifid end which are often drooping. A triangular cleft develops at the petiole base. The palm leaves form a huge funnel that intercepts particulate material, especially pollen, which is flushed to the base of the trunk when it rains. In this way, L. maldivica improves its nutrient supply and that of its dispersal-limited offspring.

Flowers
The clusters of staminate flowers are arranged spirally and are flanked by very tough leathery bracts. Each has a small bracteole, three sepals forming a cylindrical tube, and a three-lobed corolla. There are 17 to 22 stamens. The pistillate flowers are solitary and borne at the angles of the rachis and are partially sunken in it in the form of a cup. They are ovoid with three petals as well as three sepals. It has been suggested that they may be pollinated by animals such as the endemic lizards that inhabit the forest where they occur. Pollination by wind and rain are also thought to be important. Only when L. maldivica begins to produce flowers, which can vary from 11 years to 45 or more, is it possible to visually determine the sex of the plant. The nectar and pollen are also food for several endemic animals e.g. bright green geckos (Phelsuma sp.), white slugs (Vaginula seychellensis) and insects.

Inflorescence
Inflorescences are interfoliar, lacking a covering spathe and shorter than the leaves. The staminate inflorescence is catkin-like, one to two metres long by about three inches (8 centimeters) in width and produces pollen over a period of 8 to ten years. These catkins are generally terminal and solitary, but sometimes two or three catkins may be present. The pistillate inflorescences are also one to two metres long, unbranched, and the flowers are borne on a zig-zagging rachilla.

Fruit
The fruit is bilobed, flattened, 40 to 50 cm long ovoid and pointed, and contains usually one but occasionally two to four seeds. The epicarp is smooth and the mesocarp is fibrous. The endosperm is thick, relatively hard, hollow and homogenous. The embryo sits in the sinus between the two lobes. During germination, a tubular cotyledonary petiole develops that connects the young plant to the seed. The length of the tube is reported to reach about four metres. In the Vallée de Mai, the tube may be up to 10 m long.

L. maldivica was once believed to be a sea-bean or drift seed, a seed evolved to be dispersed by the sea. However, it is now known that the viable nut is too dense to float, and only rotted out nuts can be found on the sea surface, thus explaining why the trees are limited in range to just two islands.

Habitat
Lodoicea maldivica inhabits rainforests where there are deep, well-drained soils and open exposed slopes; although growth is reduced on such eroded soils.

Phylogeny
Despite the Seychelles’ proximity to Africa, the broader diversity of palm life on the islands are considered to be slightly closer phylogenetically to that of south Asia; with members of the palm subtribe Oncospermatinae occurring both in the Seychelles group and in the Mascarene Islands, Sri Lanka, Borneo, the Malay Peninsula, and the Philippines. A genetic sequencing study of the Lodoicea and its palm showed similarity between south Asiatic palms and Lodoicea. Lodoicea are one of four genera in the Lataniieae subtribe of the Borrassae tribe, and sequencing found them to be to be very closely related to the Borassus and Borassodendron genera (although notably the phylogenetic placement of Lodoicea was among the least confident). The Borassus and Borassodendron genera together include species in Southeast Asia, Malaysia, India, New Guinea, and Madagascar; thus this study provided genetic evidence for the suspected close relationships between Lodoicea and south Asian palms.

Dispersal
Genetic similarity between Lodoicea and south-asian palms despite their geographical distance raises questions about ancestral Lodoicea’s historical dispersal to the Seychelles; and this natural history of Lodoicea is further obscured by the geology of the Seychelles, as the entirety of the archipelago (excluding certain Pleistocene and coral reef formations) is composed of non-fossiliferous rock. As such, the prehistoric origins of Seychelles flora is inferred using circumstantial geological and botanical evidence.

Geologic Drift-Dispersal Hypothesis
Coco de Mer’s ancestral dispersal to the Seychelles may have occurred as Tertiary palm relatives native to Gondwonaland rode the Indian subcontinent during its northward continental drift, whereupon populations were deposited on the modern day Seychelles. This hypothesis derives from the geologic formation of the Seychelles themselves, and offers a strong explanation of Lodoicea’s modern day close relation to Asiatic palms. The granite which forms the majority of the Seychelles archipelago was formed within the Indian subcontinent, and was deposited in its modern day location in the Indian ocean following the detachment and northern drift of the subcontinent from Gondwana, before colliding with modern day south-Asia ~50 mya. Divergence between the palm populations would then follow from the isolation of the archipelago from the rest of Gondwonaland. Evidence suggests at least a proportion of the diversity of Flora on the islands are of “very ancient origin”, perhaps being evidence of the persistence of some aboriginal Indian subcontinental species, of which the ancestors to the Lodoicea may have been a member. The plausibility of this hypothesis is dependent on whether the Seychelles remained at least in part above sea-level for the duration of their formation, as a complete inundation with sea water at any point during the formation of the islands would have killed any aboriginal flora. Whether such an inundation ever occurred during the formation of the Seychelles is unknown.

Oceanic Dispersal Hypothesis
A 2020 genetic-sequencing study of palm species found genetic evidence for an oceanic dispersal of the ancestors to modern Lataniieae palms, from south Asia to the Mascarene and Seychelle islands. Though modern viable Coco de Mer fruits are too heavy to float and thus would be unable to disperse oceanically, genetic evidence suggests that ancestors to Lataniieae palms underwent evolutionary periods of relatively rapid increases in seed size, with the Lodoicea serving as the most extreme example. Thus, Lodoicea ancestors may have possessed small-enough seeds for oceanic dispersal to be viable, with an evolutionary increase in seed size occurring in the Seychelles after Lodoicea’s ancestral dispersal. Furthermore, it is likely that at certain points during the geologic formation of the Seychelles, the oceanic gaps between landmasses were much smaller, making oceanic dispersal more viable still. As such, a combination of the two hypotheses, wherein ancestral palms native to the Indian subcontinent rode the subcontinent during continental drift, and then dispersed oceanically to the Seychelles after their formation, but while the rest of the Indian subcontinent was relatively nearby.

Evolution of the coco de mer fruit’s size
Despite their relative recency of this divergence from the common ancestor shared with other palms, Lodoicea are unique across a variety of traits. Though Lodoicea is not the only palm in its tribe that produces very large fruits, the syncarpous clade of palms exhibit wide variation in seed sizes, ranging from the seeds of the Caryoteae palms of only several millimeters, to the seeds of Borasseae which are often several centimeters in length (The Lodoicea is the most extreme example of this group). For this reason, the ecological and genetic factors explaining the large size of Lodoicea’s fruit to such an extreme are of particular interest to evolutionary biologists. The divergence of size in Lodoicea’s fruit subsequent to its isolation from ancestors has been cited as an example of island gigantism, which describes the tendency for traits or organisms to increase in size over evolutionary time subsequent to isolation from a primary population on an island (see also island biogeography). One hypothesis for the ecological driver of the development of Lodoicea’s large seed is the historic lack of ground dwelling mammalian predators on the Seychelles, allowing for large fruits on the ground to avoid predation for long enough for their large energy stores to be effectively utilized by growing offspring. Agricultural surveys of the Seychelles tend to categorize the islands as having very shallow, nutrient-poor soils, and the life-cycle of the coco de mer often involves a very long period of subterranean transversal of the primary apical shoot after fertilization and excision from the parent tree, wherein the growing plant cannot use solar radiation to undergo photosynthesis. These facts may jointly act as evolutionary incentives for the development of large, nutrient rich fruits, to feed the growing plant and increase likelihood of successful reproduction.

Competition may also be the driving factor in the evolution of the size of Lodoicea’s fruit. One hypothesis asserts that competition between parent tree and its progeny, as well as competition between sibling offspring, drove the large size of the Coco de Mer’s fruit. The hypothesis suggests that because Coco de Mer fruits fall directly at the base of their parental tree, there is strong competition between parent and offspring for resources, within which the already-established parent tree has a large asymmetric advantage. Furthermore, as the number of offspring produced by a specific parent increases, the number of individuals growing its immediate surroundings increases, and thus the competition for resources between its offspring worsens. Therefore, there exists a selective pressure favoring the production of fewer offspring, each with a maximal chance of successfully reaching adulthood conferred by large energy reserves in the fruit. A related hypothesis states that low light availability in the rainforest understory favored juveniles which could quickly produce tall and wide initial leaves, to maximize photosynthetic area as quickly as possible; which would be made possible by a large, nutrient-rich seed. This is perhaps corroborated by the Coco de Mer’s noted ability to quickly produce a very large first stem and leaf, perhaps suggesting that fast and robust initial growth is indeed heavily selected towards. It is also noteworthy that many of the hypotheses presented to explain the size of Lodoicea’s fruit are not mutually exclusive, and could act jointly.

History and mythology
The species was formerly known as the Maldive coconut. Its scientific name, Lodoicea maldivica, originated before the 18th century when the Seychelles were uninhabited. In centuries past, the fruits that fell from the trees and ended up in the sea would be carried away eastwards by the prevailing sea currents. The nuts can only float after the germination process, when they are hollow. In this way many drifted to the Maldives where they were gathered from the beaches and valued as an important trade and medicinal item.

Until the true source of the nut was discovered in 1768 by Dufresne, it was believed by many to grow on a mythical tree at the bottom of the sea. European nobles in the sixteenth century would often have the shells of these nuts polished and decorated with valuable jewels as collectibles for their private galleries. The coco de mer tree is now a rare and protected species.

Uses
The species is grown as an ornamental tree in many areas in the tropics (including, for example, botanical gardens in Sri Lanka and Thailand), and subsidiary populations have been established on Mahé and Silhouette Islands in the Seychelles to help conserve the species. The fruit is used in Siddha medicine, Ayurvedic medicine and also in traditional Chinese medicine. In traditional Chinese medicine, it is used to treat inflammation, nausea and abdominal pain. In food, it is typically found as flavor enhancers for soups in southern Chinese cuisine, such as that of Guangdong Province.

The seeds of Lodoicea have been highly prized over the centuries; their rarity caused great interest and high prices in royal courts, and the tough outer seed coat has been used to make bowls such as for Sufi/Dervish beggar-alms kashkul bowls and other instruments.

Threats
Lodoicea maldivica is officially classified as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with only approximately 8,000 wild mature trees left as of 2019. The history of exploitation continues today, and the collection of nuts has virtually stopped all natural regeneration of populations with the exception of the introduced population on Silhouette. This palm has been lost from the wild from three Seychelles islands within its former range. Habitat loss is one of the major threats to the survival of remaining populations, there have been numerous fires on the islands of Praslin and Curieuse, and only immature trees remain over large parts of these islands.

Conservation
The Seychelles is a World Heritage Site, and a third of the area is now protected. The main populations of Lodoicea maldivica are found within the Praslin and Curieuse National Parks, and the trade in nuts is controlled by the Coco-de-mer (Management) Decree of 1995. Firebreaks also exist at key sites in an effort to prevent devastating fires from sweeping through populations. Cultivated palms are grown on a number of other islands and are widely present in botanic gardens; although the collection of seeds in order to recruit these populations may be a further threat to the remaining natural stands. Conservation priorities are the continued protection of populations, enforcement of regulations and effective fire control.

A single cultivated plant at the Botanical Garden of Kolkata, maintained by the Botanical Survey of India, was successfully artificially pollinated in 2015.

title: Lodoicea


text:
Talk:Victor's justice

And the Question Is...
...an encyclopedic article what is Victor's justice. We need a definition here. We do NOT need a comprehensive list of occurrances of the Victor's justice. The real life examples are only needed as an examples of different kind of Victor's justice, and only that. Please keep that in mind. --Whiskey 23:38, 3 April 2006 (UTC)

NPOV
Hey! We need more NPOV here... -- The Anome 13:16, 6 Aug 2003 (UTC)
 * This article has so many problems. flux.books 01:43, 3 February 2006 (UTC)
 * This article needs a segment on Japan after WW2. This is utterly, clearly victors' justice.  Hiroshima, Nagasaki, fire bombing of Tokyo- and Dresden, Germany - to name a few.  Then there is the matter of helping to avoid justice some class A war criminals (from Germany too) so they could come work for the US. One even became Prime Minister of Japan later.  There is more. My research needs more.  That's why I havn't edited article.  But this is just the tip.  This article by Gavin McCormack has in it a clearer laundry list. -SatSun April 3, 2006 C.E. http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/rewriting-an-ugly-past/2005/08/14/1123957950490.html

statements about the U.S.
Removed until it's reworded:

 * Fear that the same juridical standards might be applied to U.S. soldiers as the U.S. government is applying to judge the rest of the world (see also Camp X-Ray or Guantanamo Bay) seems to be the most important point why the present U.S. administration (see also George W. Bush) opposes with all its might the functioning of the International Criminal Court.

For a start, this claim is unattributed. Secondly, it seems to me to be a misstatement of US opposition to the ICC. IMHO the real crux of the matter is that most Americans don't seem to think there is any law superior to their own domestic law (except maybe "God's Law" but that's an entirely different discussion ;) ), they believe any trial not conducted by a US government is not fair, and they don't believe their citizens have ever committed or could ever commit actual war crimes and any prosecution would invariably be a political stunt. Now, all of those are arguable points (and could be stated a great deal more sympathetically than I have), and I think closer to the real US position.  The view from supporters of the court might be that the US is hypocritical, but that's not how the US sees it.--Robert Merkel 23:56, 6 Aug 2003 (UTC)

 * But we're not talking about how Americans think, we're talking about how the American government thinks. --Tothebarricades.tk 04:06, 9 Jan 2005 (UTC)

This is ridiculous: "For the U.S., the main economic beneficiary of WWI and WWII, establishing the Marshall plan was no real problem, was useful in encouraging good relations in Europe and in the end by no doubt they earned much more money than they could have ever obtained from Germany and Europe by conventional reparations." Edited the paragraph, against my usual policy of doing partial edits on profoundly flawed articles. flux.books 01:45, 3 February 2006 (UTC)

argument about article naming
Removed argument about article naming. -- The Anome 13:57, 7 Aug 2003 (UTC)

US vs. ICC
Removed, again:

 * As of 2003, there are concerns about the refusal of the United States to accept the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. Many non-Americans believe that this is due to an American belief that "might makes right", and that they refuse to abide by international law because they feel that, as the world's sole superpower, they can prevail in any conflict by force of arms.

This may be a widely-held view, this may be a related concept, but can we talk directly about the original concept, of which there are any number of more indisputable examples - for instance, what happened to collaborators in France after WWII. If you then must bring this view in, at least it will then be in context.--Robert Merkel 13:54, 7 Aug 2003 (UTC)

Is there any way to prevent victor's justice whithout bringing people accused of war crimes to trial at an international court? If the victorious power's courts decide about these accusations, it is impossible to prevent victor's justice.62.46.183.82

 * The term is in current usage about many other wars, such as Afghanistan, Yugoslavia, Rwanda... see http://www.google.com/search?q=victor%27s.justice and http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&q=victor%27s.justice&sa=N&tab=wn -- The Anome 14:02, 7 Aug 2003 (UTC)

 * I don't see what's wrong with the paragraph. That is certainly how most of the world views it. The fact that the U.S. is almost alone in opposing the ICC while so many other countries seem to have no problem with a "law superior to their own domestic law" suggests that it has to do with the fact that the U.S. is in a position of military dominance that would normally leave it as the victor, so that victor's justice is preferable to a neutral justice. The claims about political stunts are demonstrably bogus; there are sufficiently high hurdles for any case to be accepted by the ICC. And the U.S. government at least (if not the average American) knows better than to think Americans have never committed (or would never again commit) war crimes. While there are of course many other historical examples that could be mentioned, the U.S.-ICC situation seems to be particularly timely and relevant. --Wik 14:14, Aug 7, 2003 (UTC)

 * Hi Wik. I think before we bring in a related, but IMHO slightly different concept the article should discuss a selection of the many examples of "traditional" victor's justice like those the Anome has alluded to.  --Robert Merkel

edit conflicts
Sorry about any edit conflicts. I have copy-edited victor's justice a bit. Also, I redirected Siegerjustiz to victor's justice, because I think the English term victor's justice is more readily understood by our readers than the German word. Hope I'm not stepping any toes here. --Ed Poor

 * Hi Ed. We have a bit of an edit war around this article, with one editor strongly inclining to the opinion that the article should be called Siegerjustiz. The argument descended into name-calling, and has been deleted. -- The Anome 14:16, 7 Aug 2003 (UTC)

 * Hi, Anome. Seems to be a bit of "anomie" and "poor attitude" going around ^_^ -- but it's like water running off a duck's back for me... --Ed

 * By the way, David J. Scheffer, senior vice president of the U.N. Association of the USA and former U.S. ambassador at large for war crimes issues, wrote:
 * "The International Criminal Court can hear only cases relating to crimes committed after July 1, 2002. Thus, even if it could overcome other jurisdictional hurdles, that court would not be able to deal with most of the Iraqi regime's crimes."

 * What is the point of this? The ICC was never particularly designed for Iraq. --Wik 14:39, Aug 7, 2003 (UTC)

Yes, this article needs a lot of NPOV editing, so it represents the opinions of all sides fairly: pro- and anti- German, pro- and anti- U.S., balance of world opinion, yadda yadda. -- The Anome 14:31, 7 Aug 2003 (UTC)

Hi Mr. Scheffer, it honours you that you broke anonymity, so I will do too. My name is Bernhard Reuss, I'm living in the city of Göttingen in Germany. My father was from his 16th year on for four years POW in France and learnt during that time what is considered to be justice by those who call themselves winners. You can believe it was not too pleasant. Indeed many germans believed that with the end of WWII a period of real justice is starting, unforuntately remarking too fast, that in the end again the rule of the right of the stronger has continued. The last prove for this is the Iraq story, where the U.S. again fought a dictator they established themselves or at least strongly supportede as long as he was useful. And now you tell the world you freed that country from a beast, wich your secret services established themselves. Sorry, that I don't keep this for a real honourable way of acting.

Best regards

 * Herr Reuss, I'm sorry your father suffered in an Allied prison camp. Also, I agree that it would be hypocritcal to apply one standard of justice to losers and another standard to victors. --Uncle Ed 14:57, 7 Aug 2003 (UTC)

It is my deep hope and my strong belief that the ICC will come to work properly even under the contribution of the U.S. (and other yet not convinced nations) and our planet thus moving from the age of power to the age of justice.

 * Dear Bernhard, thanks for your note. Where there is controversy about an issue, ee have an "NPOV" policy of simply presenting both sides of the argument, with attribution as to who is saying it. This has let us work on highly controversial topics such as abortion or creationism, by slowly working towards an article that both sets of partisans can accept as fairly stating their positions. We do not intend to ignore the suffering and death of German people during and after World War II, just as we do not ignore the suffering of all the many other people who suffered and died in World War II. We would appreciate any positive contributions you can add to our encylopedia. Please see Welcome, newcomer for a guide. -- The Anome 14:58, 7 Aug 2003 (UTC)

Does anyone have any examples of accusations of victor's justice about countries other than the U.S., or coalitions of which they were a part? -- The Anome 15:19, 7 Aug 2003 (UTC)

 * Communists after the October Revolution
 * Brasilian government after the Canudos inssurection around 1900 Muriel Gottrop 15:29, 7 Aug 2003 (UTC)

There should probably be a note that this is a modern concept; the ancients seemed to have been generally comfortable with the idea of different rules for winners and losers. Dunno if this is 20th-c though; perhaps connects to just war concept? Stan 16:12, 7 Aug 2003 (UTC)

I think the whole thing has to be put into the context of the dichotomy between those who believe:
 * that the US is the best country ever, although not perfect, and should be the chief leader of the world
 * that the US is so corrupt, selfish and hypocritically that it should be condemned rather than followed

Once you recognize that most opinion tends to fall into (or gravitate towards) one of these polar opposites, it's much easier to write a balanced article. (BTW, can you guess which camp I'm in?) --Uncle Ed 19:19, 7 Aug 2003 (UTC)

 * I have to jump in here - it doesn't really help to frame the question with two erroneous alternatives.  flux.books 02:12, 3 February 2006 (UTC)

 * Removed my comments which were veering off-topic: they can be found in the history for this page. We need to keep this article on-topic, and not a vehicle for pro- or anti- American rhetoric: the problem is that of late America has been among the victors in many recent wars, so this article will mention America many times. What about other examples of "victor's justice"? Or is this concept only directed towards the U.S. in current usage, in which case it needs to be said so. -- Karada 09:26, 8 Aug 2003 (UTC)

Im convinced that the U.S. are a free and democratic country for the majority of U.S. americans it is by no doubt a pleasure to live in a country with such a glorious history! However, thinking about the democratic tradition of this land it is the more astonishing that U.S.-americans want to force themselves by pure military and economic power to be the leader of this world.

Due to my idea of democracy leaders should not be determined by violence and warfare, but by free and equal elections. It is therefore hard to understand, why the U.S. weaken and disregard the U.N. as a secondary instrument for their power politics, than to enforce U.N. to be a real forum for a democratic process leading to a fair determination of leaders not only for U.S. americans, but for all people on this planet.

The problem of the american revolution may be, that, although the original concept of the U.S. has been an internationalistic one (immigrants from almost all countries of this planet have contributed to the formation of the U.S.), in the meantime U.S. have trapped themselves in their nationalism making it impossible for people in other nations to take part in their values.

Therefore the present situation for the U.S. and continental Europe may be to a certain extent comparable to that after the german revolution of 1848, where the conflict between the german nationalistic prussia and the multiethnic austrian state have prevented a peaceful solution of the german question which later on lead to the catastrophic developments of WWI and in the end of WWII.

A similar dualism due to particular power interests of the U.S., the EU and other great powers of our planet might lead to a similar tragic development as it has started for Europe two centuries ago. To prevent this there should in the interst of all people an agreement been achieved. The U.N. would provide a forum to discuss this successfully.

--134.76.145.47, 12:05, 8 Aug 2003

Unconditional surrender
Much of what has been written in the article seems to assume that the victor has won an with an unconditional surrender. The looser has to rely much more on the magnanimity and mercy of the victor if there is an unconditional surrender. Otherwise terms can be negotiated as they are in any other international treaty. It seems to me that this needs to be highlighted in the document because there have only been one international war between European nations in the last 100 years which has resulted in the unconditional surrender of one side. Philip Baird Shearer 22:33, 6 Feb 2005 (UTC)

 * That's not actually helpful. The nature of WWII was so profoundly different.  And rather than counting the number of "wars", one might just as readily count the number of fatalities, and conclude that (when measured by total military and civilian deaths) most wars end in unconditional surrender.  flux.books 02:04, 3 February 2006 (UTC)

 * I think the issue is not so much the unique situation with Unconditional Surrender, although that certainly plays a part in what followed. The issue, which helps to define whether the Nürnburg trials were or were not "Victor's Justice" is a better look at the way the International Tribunal was created and the charge it was given.  Many of the crimes did not exist in any treaty or legal system prior to the end of the war so the tribunal was prosecuting crimes that didn't exist before.  I'm not suggesting they weren't "crimes" just that they had no prior "legal basis."  In addition, the creation of the Tribunal specifically stated that only Axis personnel could be tried, effectively denying any chance to look at similar "crimes" committed by the allies.  Collectively they did many of the same things...terror and fire bombing of civilians, the atomic bombing in Japan, the forced relocation of civilians (unrelated to any wartime goal) genocide (in the case of the Cossacks that were forcibly returned to Russian custody where they were promptly killed en mass) and the looting, rapes, and murder committed by Russian troops both during the Battle of Berlin and during the subsequent occupation.  If Germans could be tried for such things and the allies couldn't it clearly smacks of Victor's Justice and not some higher approach.  Wood Artist 07:06, 5 August 2007 (UTC)

Most international wars do not end in unconditional surrender. Apart from the Second World War which other international wars in the modern era have ended in unconditional surrender and a debellation? --Philip Baird Shearer 12:11, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Vae Victis behaviour
In a current form article concentrates too much to war crimes and the legal framework of the victor's justice. The more common way victor's justice has been seen through history is the way victors have interpreted the treaties they made with their opponents contrary to initial agreement, which was discussed or additional demands were presented after the treaty was signed. --Whiskey 13:10, 11 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Eg Treaty of Limerick (1691) it has been said that "the ink was not dry on the treaty before the English started to break it". Philip Baird Shearer 09:52, 19 Mar 2005 (UTC)

SUDDENLY, 2022 REPORTING IN. Please add the very "Vae vitis" saying to the article. 81.89.66.133 (talk) 14:09, 23 June 2022 (UTC)

USA/Iraq; USSR
We should expand the list of examples for victor's justice. The behaviour of the USA in Iraq and Afghanistan towards supporters of the old régime ist also victor's justice. The accusation of the former President Saddam Husayn by a court of a country under US-American occupation is victor's justice.

Additionally, the article needs more NPOV towards the Soviet Union. It depicts the USSR as the only Allied nation committing war crimes, which may be, but isn't necessarily true. The article has a very antagonistic approach to the USSR, which has to be changed. 62.46.183.82, 21 May 2005
 * I don't think its necessarily antagonistic towards the Soviet Union, perhaps in this case - To this day the former East Germany still has not recovered its former prosperity which probably should be removed since thats a very complex issue. However, the article simply cites the cases where the Soviet Union or its forces (allegedly) committed war crimes. If you have sources for the United States committing unpunished war crimes in Iraq or Afghanistan, please add the info and the sources to the article. --kudz75 02:30, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * There's no point in ignoring the fact that the worst of the crimes (and the postwar political actions listed here - which don't really fit in as war crimes, don't belong here, and are thrown into the random list of "war crimes") were committed by the Soviet Union / Stalin. The way the list is presented is really poor.  flux.books 02:18, 3 February 2006 (UTC)

Victor's history
Do we have articles about victor's history, i.e., victors telling History to their benefit? This article is related but not quite it. --Error 00:56, 19 Jun 2005 (UTC)

War crime trials in Finland
The list of occurrances of war crimes Allied Control Comission provided to Finnish government is so called Lista N:o 1 (List No.1) late 1944, which contained only cases which fit to the traditional definition of war crimes, and Finnish military justice system took care of those cases according to existing Finnish laws. These cases and trials had nothing to do with War-responsibility trials in Finland. The War-responsibility trials started at autumn 1945, and major contributor to them was Finnish Communist Party, which proclaimed loudly the necessity of the trials. --Whiskey 22:39, 4 April 2006 (UTC)
 * But surly the War-responsibility trials in Finland were trials of those who had committed crimes against peace and (to quote the article) the "Allied Control Commission that had tight grip over Finland set up an observing committee to observe these trials and interfered on numerous occasions". --Philip Baird Shearer 16:17, 6 April 2006 (UTC)
 * The War Crimes are different than Crimes against peace or Crimes against humanity, like they were defined in the Treaty of London. The War Crimes were NOT judged in War-responsibility trials, but they were judged by normal courts for military personnel, with normal, existing laws and judges. For War responsibility trials a special laws and special court were created. The court had only three jurist members (Presidents of two highest courts in Finland and one professor of law from University of Helsinki) and all the rest were politicians selected by the parliament. So these are two different courts, two different sets of laws and two different methods of working. --Whiskey 00:02, 7 April 2006 (UTC)
 * Pehapse you did not notice that I included the term "crimes against peace" before reinserting the link. As to who sits in the court see Bill of attainder --Philip Baird Shearer 09:28, 7 April 2006 (UTC)

The current wording is totally wrong: War-responsibity trials did NOT handle a SINGLE war crimes charge. On war crimes trials, there were NOT a SINGLE charge of crimes against peace. Current wording (and linking) gives an impression all of these charges were handled in a same court.

What the Bill of attainder has to do with an issue? --Whiskey 08:53, 10 April 2006 (UTC)

Current allegations of victor's justice
This section seems out of date and should be updated to reflect the recent Hamdi Supreme Court decision. Also the wording could use some work to improve clarity of the subject. --Cab88 10:30, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

WWI an example of Victor's Justice?
Wouldnt WWI's resolution be considered an example of victor's justice, seeing that the Allies at the Treaty of Versailles denied Germany and other Central Powers seats to the deliberation and imposed severe fines, reparations, territorial dissections, and federal limitations on the new Weimar Republic, which would lead to public animosity in Germany and the Rise of Hitler and WWII?Xlegiofalco 05:53, 18 December 2006 (UTC)
 * This is in RE to the following from the article;

"Prior to World War II, most international wars ended in a conditional surrender and/or armistice followed by a peace treaty."Xlegiofalco 05:55, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Removed Piece regarding CPA in Iraq
I removed this section

 * The Coalition Provisional Authority passed a law making occupation forces and contractors employed by them immune from Iraqi prosecution, so they can presently only be tried by court martial or their domestic courts. So far several countries have tried some of the military personnel for committing war crimes, for example both the United States and the United Kingdom have tried soldiers for physically abusing prisoners in Iraq.

Immunity from local prosecution is normal in occupation situations following defeat (it's also in effect in Bosnia and Kosovo, for example). Since the people who committed the crimes in the latter example are being punished by their respective nations (and not all cases are from the US or UK), it does not appear to be a case of VJ. CsikosLo (talk) 17:33, 13 February 2009 (UTC)

Victor's Justice means the defeated country had No Honour
Victor's justice can only be administrated where the defeated country had No Honour. A war crime is a war crime. The man who committed the crime broke the law of his own country - there by dishonouring himself, his family, his unit and his country. To regain (some) honour his country has to arrest, try and punish him. Failure to enforce the Laws of War publicly dishonours the police and judges of the country.

Andrew Swallow (talk) 02:18, 13 May 2013 (UTC)
 * On the contrary. In victor's justice the victorious country has no honour, not the defeated one. Victor's soldiers are not prosecuted from the war crimes, victor's politicians are not prosecuted from the same actions the politicians from the defeated country are prosecuted. The victorious country doesn't keep it's part of the peace treaty and commitments agreed there while the defeated one has to fulfill the treaty punctually. --Whiskey (talk) 22:15, 13 May 2013 (UTC)

 * Untrue. In WW2 the British and Americans prosecuted their own troops for rape and looting.  For instance there were 971 convictions for rape in the U.S. military from January 1942 to June 1947.  Reference: Brownmiller, Susan (1993). Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape. p. 81. ISBN 0-449-90820-8.

Andrew Swallow (talk) 04:29, 14 May 2013 (UTC)
 * And the point is? This article is not about WWII or Brits or Americans doing that or not doing this, but this is about the general concept which is known as victor's justice. In victor's justice the basic question is if there is a legal framework which should be followed before, in and after an armed conflict and is there a moral obligation to be followed in such case. --Whiskey (talk) 06:37, 14 May 2013 (UTC)

 * Post WW2 an international legal framework was set up. "Convention (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Geneva, 12 August 1949. Penal sanctions. I. General observations" in ARTICLE 129.

 * "The High Contracting Parties undertake to enact any legislation necessary to provide effective penal sanctions for persons committing, or ordering to be committed, any of the grave breaches of the present Convention defined in the following Article.
 * Each High Contracting Party shall be under the obligation to search for persons alleged to have committed, or to have ordered to be committed, such grave breaches, and shall bring such persons, regardless of their nationality, before its own courts. It may also, if it prefers, and in accordance with the provisions of its own legislation, hand such persons over for trial to another High Contracting Party concerned, provided such High Contracting Party has made out a prima facie case.
 * Each High Contracting Party shall take measures necessary for the suppression of all acts contrary to the provisions of the present Convention other than the grave breaches defined in the following Article.
 * In all circumstances, the accused persons shall benefit by safeguards of proper trial and defence, which shall not be less favourable than those provided by Article 105 and those following of the present Convention."

Ref:

Andrew Swallow (talk) 13:17, 14 May 2013 (UTC)

title: Talk:Victor's justice


text:
Mo Mowlam

Marjorie "Mo" Mowlam (18 September 1949 – 19 August 2005) was a British Labour Party politician. She was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Redcar from 1987 to 2001 and served in the Cabinet of Tony Blair as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

Mowlam's time as Northern Ireland Secretary saw the signing of the historic Good Friday Agreement in 1998. Her personal charisma and reputation for plain speaking led her to be perceived by many as one of the most popular "New Labour" politicians in the UK. When Tony Blair mentioned her in his speech at the 1998 Labour Party Conference, she received a standing ovation.

Early life
Mowlam was born at 43 King Street, Watford, Hertfordshire, England, the middle of three children of Tina and Frank, but grew up in Coventry, where her father progressed to become Coventry's assistant postmaster. She would later be awarded the Freedom of the City in 1999. She was the only one of the family's three children to pass the 11-plus exam. She started at Chiswick Girls' grammar school in West London, then moved to Coundon Court School in Coventry, one of the first comprehensive schools in the country. She then studied at Trevelyan College, Durham University, reading sociology and anthropology. She joined the Labour Party in her first year. She became the Secretary of the Durham Union Society in 1969 and later went on to become the vice-president of the Durham Students' Union. She worked for then-MP (Labour) Tony Benn in London and American writer Alvin Toffler in New York, moving to the United States with her then-boyfriend and studying for a PhD in political science at the University of Iowa on the effects of the Swiss system of referendums.

Mowlam was a lecturer in the Political Science Department at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in 1977 and at Florida State University in Tallahassee from 1977 to 1979. During her time in Tallahassee, her apartment was broken into by someone; she suspected that it was Ted Bundy, a serial killer and rapist who is thought to have murdered at least thirty-five young women and attacked several others. Mowlam returned to England in 1979 to take up an appointment at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. She also worked in adult education at Northern College, Barnsley, with students who had fewer opportunities than traditional university students. In 1981, she organised a series of alternative lectures to the Reith lectures being given that year by Laurence Martin, the university's vice chancellor. These were published as Debate on Disarmament, with their proceeds going to the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.

Personal life
Mowlam married Jonathan Norton, a City of London banker, in County Durham on 24 June 1995; Norton died on 3 February 2009. Mowlam had two step-children from Norton's first marriage to Geraldine Bedell.

Member of Parliament
Having failed to win selection for the 1983 general election, Mowlam was selected as Labour candidate for the safe seat of Redcar after James Tinn stood down. She took the seat in the 1987 general election, becoming the Labour spokesperson on Northern Ireland later that year. Together with Shadow Chancellor John Smith, Mowlam was one of the architects of Labour's "Prawn Cocktail Offensive" dedicated to reassuring the UK's financial sector about Labour's financial rectitude.

Mowlam joined the Shadow Cabinet when John Smith became leader of the Labour Party in 1992, holding the title of Shadow Secretary of State for National Heritage. During this time, she antagonised both monarchists and republicans by calling for Buckingham Palace to be demolished and replaced by a "modern" palace built at public expense. Later, her willingness to speak her mind, often without regard to the consequences, was seen as her greatest strength by her supporters.

Following Smith's death in 1994, Mowlam, alongside Peter Kilfoyle, became a principal organiser of Tony Blair's campaign for the Labour leadership. After his victory, Blair made her Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. She initially resisted being appointed to the position, preferring an economic portfolio, but, after accepting it, she threw her weight into the job.

In government
In 1997, Mowlam was once again re-elected as MP for Redcar with an increased majority of 21,667. With the Labour Party election win in May 1997, she was made Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the first woman to have held the post. A reflection of her personal approach was the organisation of a walk about in Belfast city centre.

Good Friday Agreement
"[Mo Mowlam] was the catalyst that allowed politics to move forward which led to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in April 1998. She cut through conventions and made difficult decisions that gave momentum to political progress."

Mowlam "oversaw the negotiations which led to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement". On 6 August 1997 she met with the Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams to have "their first face to face discussions since the breakdown of the IRA ceasefire in February 1996". She was successful in helping to restore the second IRA ceasefire which eventually led to Sinn Féin being included in the multi-party peace talks. The talks led to the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement achieved on 10 April 1998, bringing an end to conflict in Northern Ireland known as the Troubles.

On 4 January the Ulster Loyalist UDA/UFF prisoners in the Maze prison, voted not to continue supporting the peace process. Gary McMichael of the Ulster Democratic Party, their political representatives quickly flew to London requesting the Secretary of State meet with the prisoners. After consulting with her advisers and the UK Prime Minister Tony Blair on Friday 9 January 1998 she visited the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) prisoners represented political by Gary McMichael. The visit was unprecedented for a Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. "The Maze was a focal point of a troubled peace process today as Mo Mowlam arrived for a visit that had been variously described as mad or brave." The same day she also visited the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) H-block wings of the prison. "The message that I brought was very clear and simple. The only way that we're going to make progress towards a permanent peace in Northern Ireland is by taking a proactive stance and talking to reach the broadest possible agreement." The visit was unprecedented and a political gamble, and was potentially dangerous when she met with prisoners, some of whom had been convicted of murder, face-to-face.

She went on to oversee the Good Friday Agreement signing in 1998, which led to the temporary establishment of a devolved power-sharing Northern Ireland Assembly. However, an increasingly difficult relationship with Unionist parties meant her role in the talks was ultimately taken over by Tony Blair and his staff, prompting Mowlam to remark to then-US President Bill Clinton: "Didn't you know? I'm the new tea lady around here". In 1999, Mowlam referred to paramilitary punishment attacks in Northern Ireland as "internal housekeeping" and maintained that the violence did not count as breaking the ceasefire.

Cabinet Office Minister
Whilst her deteriorating relationship with Unionists was the key reason Mowlam was replaced by Peter Mandelson as Northern Ireland Secretary in October 1999, her move to the relatively lowly position of Cabinet Office Minister may have involved other factors, notably her health and her popularity. Mowlam resented being appointed to the post, having previously disparaged it as "Minister for the Today programme". As Cabinet Office Minister, she was reportedly intended to be Tony Blair's "enforcer".

As head of the Government's anti-drugs campaign, in 2002, she called for international legalisation. She caused some controversy when she admitted in 2000 to having used cannabis as a student: "I tried dope. I didn't particularly like it. But unlike President Clinton, I did inhale".

Retirement
On 4 September 2000, Mowlam announced her intention to retire from Parliament and relinquished her seat at the 2001 general election.

After retirement from the House of Commons, she became a critic of government policy on various issues, especially the 2003 invasion of Iraq. She took part in the anti-Iraq War protests alongside Vanessa Redgrave, Tony Benn, Tariq Ali, Ken Livingstone and Bianca Jagger.

Following her retirement, Mowlam became agony aunt for the men's magazine Zoo. She said she missed her constituency work as an MP. She also set up a charity, MoMo Helps, to help drug users who are successfully completing their rehabilitation and provide support for the parents or carers of disabled children.

Her political memoirs, entitled Momentum: The Struggle for Peace, Politics and the People, were published in 2002.

She was the subject of This Is Your Life in January 2003 when she was surprised by Michael Aspel.

Illness and death
Five months before the 1997 general election which took Labour to office, Mowlam was diagnosed with a brain tumour, which she tried to keep private until the tabloid press started to print jibes about her appearance. Although she claimed to have made a full recovery, the various treatments caused her to lose most of her hair. She often wore a wig, which she would sometimes casually remove in public stating that it was "such a bother".

On 3 August 2005, the BBC reported that she was critically ill at King's College Hospital in London. She appeared to have suffered from balance problems as a result of her radiotherapy. According to her husband, she had fallen over on 30 July 2005, receiving head injuries and never regaining consciousness. Her living will, in which she had asked not to be resuscitated, was honoured.

On 12 August 2005, she was moved to Pilgrims Hospice in Canterbury, Kent, where she died at 8:10 am on 19 August, aged 55. She was survived by her husband Jon Norton and two stepchildren. Her death came just 13 days after the death of Robin Cook, another cabinet minister of the 1997 government.

In January 2010, it was revealed by her ex-doctor that her tumour had been malignant and was the cause of her death. Despite recommendations, she had withheld the true nature of her condition from Tony Blair and the electorate.

Mowlam was an atheist and was cremated in Sittingbourne on 1 September 2005 at a non-religious service conducted by Richard Coles, formerly of the 1980s band The Communards. Half of her ashes were scattered at Hillsborough Castle (the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland's official residence) and the other half in her former parliamentary constituency of Redcar.

Memorials and tributes
A memorial service was held for Mowlam at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, on 20 November 2005, another at Hillsborough Castle on 1 December 2005 and another in Redcar on 3 December 2005.

To honour Mowlam, Redcar and Cleveland Unitary Authority commissioned an official memorial mosaic which was unveiled at Redcar's newly refurbished boating lake on 23 October 2009. An intricate 800-tile mosaic, set in a three-metre raised circle, was created by local artist John Todd to illustrate her life and interests. The mosaic has her portrait as the centrepiece, surrounded by images including the beach where she loved to walk, racehorses at Redcar Racecourse (where she celebrated her wedding), the Redcar steelworks, the Zetland Lifeboat, clasped hands and doves (to symbolise the Northern Ireland peace process) and the Houses of Parliament.

Her archive of personal papers, which was donated in 2006, is held by Teesside Archives.

The postgraduate common room of Trevelyan College, Durham (Mowlam's alma mater) was renamed "The Mowlam Room" in her honour. The room houses a small bust of Mowlam.

A children's play park named after her is on the Stormont Estate.

Docudrama
In 2009, Channel 4 commissioned a docudramatic film, Mo, portraying Mo Mowlam's life from the Labour election victory of 1997 to her death in 2005. The film starred Julie Walters as Mowlam. Mo was broadcast on 31 January 2010 and attracted over 3.5 million viewers, making it Channel 4's highest-rated drama since 2001. The film was also a critical success, with MP Adam Ingram claiming that it "brought home the essence of Mo". Mo was nominated for a BAFTA award for Best Single Drama with Julie Walters and Gary Lewis receiving nominations for, respectively, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor. The Best Actress award was given to Walters.

title: Mo Mowlam