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Mswati III

Mswati III (born Makhosetive; 19 April 1968) is Ngwenyama (King) of Eswatini and head of the Swazi royal family. He heads Africa’s last absolute monarchy, as he has veto power over all branches of government and is constitutionally immune from prosecution.

He was born in Manzini in the Protectorate of Swaziland to King Sobhuza II and one of his younger wives, Ntfombi Tfwala. He was crowned as Mswati III, Ingwenyama and King of Swaziland, on 25 April 1986 at the age of 18, thus becoming the youngest ruling monarch in the world at that time.

With unrestricted political power and able to rule by decree, Mswati III (together with his mother, Ntfombi Tfwala, now Queen Mother (Ndlovukati)) is the last remaining absolute monarch in Africa and one of the only 12 remaining absolute national or subnational monarchs in the world. Under the constitution, the king is the commander-in-chief of the defence force and commissioner-in-chief of police and correctional services and Mswati III exercises ultimate authority over all branches of the national government and effectively controls local governance through his influence over traditional chiefs.

Under his reign, political dissent and civic and labor activism are subject to harsh punishment under sedition and other laws. Political parties have been banned in Eswatini since 1973 when King Sobhuza II declared a state of emergency that has continued ever since. Pro-democracy protests from 2021 onwards have been violently dispersed and political activists have been arrested, subjected to torture and other ill-treatment and their homes were raided by security forces. The government exercises total control over the broadcast media, including the only privately owned TV channel, which belongs to the royal family. Almost all media outlets are controlled, directly or indirectly, by Mswati III.

Mswati III lives an opulent and lavish lifestyle which stands in sharp contrast to the lives of most Emaswazi people. In 2022, an estimated 32% of the population lived below the $2.15/day international poverty line (measured by price-purchasing parity (PPP) in 2017) while 55% of the population was under the lower-middle-income country poverty line of $3.65/day. Mswati III is known for his practice of polygamy (although at least two wives are appointed by the state) and currently has 15 wives. Formerly named Swaziland, in 2018 Mswati III renamed the country Eswatini (formally the Kingdom of Eswatini) by decree.

Early life
Mswati III was born on 19 April 1968 at Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital, Manzini, the son of Sobhuza II (who had 70 wives during his reign of 82 years), and the only child of Ntfombi Tfwala, also known as Inkhosikati LaTfwala, one of Sobhuza's younger wives. He was born four months before Swaziland attained independence from the United Kingdom. When he and his mother were discharged from the hospital, they went to live at one of Sobhuza's residences, Etjeni, near the Masundwini royal residence. His birth name was Makhosetive (lit. "Kings of Nations", in reference to the heads of state who visited Eswatini that year for the independence celebrations), and his half-siblings included Mantfombi, a future queen of the South African Zulus.

As a young prince, Makhosetive attended Masundwini Primary School and later Lozitha Palace School. He sat for the Swaziland Primary Certificate examination in December 1982 at Phondo Royal Residence and received First Class with merit in Mathematics and English. He developed a great interest in the royal guard, becoming the first young cadet to join the Umbutfo Swaziland Defence Force (USDF).

When King Sobhuza II died on 21 August 1982, the Great Council of State (the Liqoqo) selected the 14-year-old prince Makhosetive to be the next king. For the next four years, two wives of Sobhuza II, Queen Dzeliwe Shongwe (1982–1983) and Queen Ntfombi Tfwala (1983–1986), served as regent while he continued his education in the United Kingdom, attending Sherborne School (International College), before he was called back to ascend to the throne.

Reign period
Mswati was introduced as crown prince in September 1983 and was crowned king on 25 April 1986, aged 18 years and 6 days, thus making him one of the youngest reigning monarchs of the late 20th century, The king and his mother, whose title is Indlovukati ("Great She-Elephant"), rule jointly.

Today King Mswati III is Africa's last absolute monarch in the sense that he has the power to choose the prime minister, other top government posts and top traditional posts. Even though he makes the appointments, he still has to get special advice from the queen mother and council, for example when he chooses the prime minister. In matters of cabinet appointments, he gets advice from the prime minister. He ruled by decree, but did restore the nation's Parliament, which had been dissolved by his father in order to ensure concentration of power remained with the king. Parliamentarians are appointed by himself (two-thirds of the senators and ten deputies) or elected by traditional chiefs close to power. Close to the evangelical churches, he banned divorce and the wearing of miniskirts.

In 2006, Mswati promulgated a new constitution that allows freedom of speech and assembly. However, Amnesty International criticizes that freedoms are restricted in practice.

In an attempt to mitigate the HIV and AIDS pandemic in 2001, the king used his traditional powers to invoke a time-honoured chastity rite (umcwasho) under the patronage of a princess, which encouraged all Swazi maidens to abstain from sexual relations for five years. This was last done under Sobhuza II in 1971. This rite banned sexual relations for Swazis under 18 years of age from 9 September 2001 to 19 August 2005, but just two months after imposing the ban, he violated this decree when a 17-year-old liphovela (royal fiancée) was chosen, who became his 13th wife. As per custom, he was fined a cow by members of her regiment, which he duly paid.

Mswati has visited Taiwan seventeen times as of June 2018, and has promised to continue recognizing Taiwan instead of the People's Republic of China.

Eswatini is predominantly rural and is one of the poorest countries in the world (63% of its population lives below the poverty line). An economic circle of 15,000 businessmen takes most of the country's wealth. This circle includes South African investors who have come to Eswatini to find labour at one-third the cost and a group of white businessmen who are heirs to the British settlers.

In January 2021, Mswati contracted COVID-19, and later thanked Taiwan for providing antiviral medication that helped with his recovery. Mswati did not disclose that he had been hospitalized until after his recovery.

In June 2021, the 2021 Eswatini protests broke out against authoritarianism and the suppression of opposition. The Communist Party of Swaziland alleged he had fled to South Africa on the night of 28–29 June, whereas the Swaziland Solidarity Network claimed he fled to Mozambique. Both of these claims were denied by acting prime minister Themba Nhlanganiso Masuku.

Wives and succession

The king currently has 15 wives and 45 children. An Eswatini king's first two wives are chosen for him by the national councillors. There are complex rules on succession. Traditionally the king is chosen through his mother as represented in the Swazi saying Inkhosi, yinkhosi ngenina, meaning "a king is king through his mother". According to tradition, he can marry his fiancées only after they have become pregnant, proving they can bear heirs. Until then, they are termed liphovela, or "concubines".

Controversies
Mswati's reign has brought some changes in the government and political transformation. However, critics such as the People's United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) believe that these changes are solely aimed at strengthening and perpetuating the traditional order. His attendance at the May 2012 Sovereign Monarchs lunch, to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, caused some controversy, given criticisms of his regime's human rights record.

Eswatini has been described as having been gripped by years of fiscal indiscipline, government corruption, and lavish lifestyles of the royal family. The nation has also been described as being on the brink of economic disaster due to these factors.

Mswati's reign has been criticized for its several alleged human rights violations. His regime has been accused of using torture and excessive force to control the masses as well as blatant discrimination against various dissenting groups. His regime has been accused of extrajudicial killings by his forces, along with arbitrary arrests, detentions, and unwarranted searches and seizures of homes and property. His government has restricted freedom of speech, assembly and association, and has harassed activists and journalists. The government has reportedly targeted the LGBT community, labour leaders, and activists against child labour, among other groups. The courts took little or no action to punish Mswati's actions or the officials who committed the abuses.

Mswati has been accused of kidnapping women he desires to marry. In addition, in 2000 he allegedly called for a parliamentary meeting to debate if HIV-positive people should be "sterilized and branded".

Wealth
Mswati has been criticized for his lavish lifestyle, especially by the media; in one report he was accused of living a luxurious lifestyle while the people of his country starve. In the 2014 national budget, parliament allocated $61 million (US) for the King's annual household budget, while 63% of Swazis live on less than $1.25 per day. Mswati banned photography of his automobiles after he was criticized for purchasing luxury cars, such as a $500,000 DaimlerChrysler Maybach 62. According to the Forbes 2009 list of the World's 15 Richest Royals, King Mswati is worth a reported $200 million. In January 2004 the Times of Swaziland reported that the king asked his government to spend about $15-million to redecorate three main palaces and build others for each of his 11 wives. The Prime Minister's Office issued a press statement saying the article in the Times of Swaziland was "reckless and untrue" and that the proposal was for the construction of 5 State Houses, not Palaces, and the cost was only €19.9 million. Later that year the go-ahead was given to build five new buildings at a cost of more than $4-million out of public funds. In August 2008, hundreds of Swazi women marched through the capital to protest the cost of a shopping spree taken abroad by nine of the King's thirteen wives. The demonstration was organised by Positive Living, a non-governmental organisation for Swazi women with AIDS, and protesters submitted a petition to the finance minister arguing that the money should have been differently spent.

Mswati owns a collection of bespoke watches worth millions of dollars.

Mswati has a personal stake in a large portion of Eswatini's economy which is a factor in its below-average economic growth for a Sub-Saharan nation. As an absolute monarch, he holds the power to dissolve parties, and can veto any legislation parliament passes.

LaMahlangu controversy
According to accusations by Amnesty International, Zena Mahlangu, an 18-year-old high school student, disappeared from her school in October 2002. Her mother, Lindiwe Dlamini, learned that her daughter had been taken by two men, Qethuka Sgombeni Dlamini and Tulujani Sikhondze, and she reported the matter to the police. Some time later, she was told that her daughter was at Ludzidzini Royal Village and was being prepared to be the next wife of the king. She demanded that her daughter be returned to her custody, and threatened to sue.

Among the criteria for a liphovela (future bride) is that the girl must not be a twin; Zena Mahlangu was half of a brother-sister twin set, and therefore not eligible. The matter went to the High Court, but Swaziland's Attorney-General Phesheya Dlamini intervened. She has since had two children, and formally became the king's wife in 2010.

Amnesty International said: "The king and his agents have violated the internationally recognized human rights of women and girls, including their right not to be arbitrarily detained and the right not to be subjected to forced marriage."

Country name change
On 19 April 2018, King Mswati III changed the name of the country from Swaziland to Eswatini to mark its 50th anniversary of independence. The name change coincided with the king's birthday. The actual anniversary took place on 6 September, though in the same year. Eswatini is the ancient, original name for the country, chosen as a departure from its colonial past.

National

 * Eswatini: Grand Master of the Royal Order of King Sobhuza II (1986).
 * Eswatini: Grand Master of the Royal Order of the Great She-Elephant (2002).
 * Eswatini: Grand Master of the Royal Order of the Crown (2002).
 * Eswatini: Grand Master of the Royal Family Order of Mswati III (2002).
 * Eswatini: Grand Master of the Military Order of Swaziland (2002).
 * Eswatini: Grand Master of the Order of the Elephant (2018).

Foreign

 * 🇬🇧 United Kingdom: Knight of the Venerable Order of St John (11 November 1991).
 * 🇿🇦 South Africa: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Good Hope (August 1995).

title: Mswati III


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Frogger

Frogger (フロッガー) is a 1981 arcade action game developed by Konami and published by Sega. In North America, it was distributed by Sega/Gremlin. The object of the game is to direct five frogs to their homes by dodging traffic on a busy road, then crossing a river by jumping on floating logs and alligators.

Frogger was positively received as one of the greatest video games ever made. It was followed by numerous clones and several home-only sequels in the Frogger series. The 1982 Atari 2600 version from Parker Brothers sold 4 million cartridges, making it one of the best-selling Atari 2600 games. By 2005, 20 million copies of its various home video game incarnations had been sold worldwide.

Gameplay
The objective of the game is to guide a frog to each of the empty homes at the top of the screen. The game starts with three, five, or seven frogs, depending on the machine's settings. Losing all frogs is game over. The player uses the 4-direction joystick to hop the frog once. Frogger is either single-player or two players alternating turns.

The frog starts at the bottom of the screen, which contains a horizontal road occupied by speeding vehicles such as race cars, dune buggies, trucks, and bulldozers. The player must guide the frog between opposing lanes of traffic to avoid becoming roadkill and losing a life. After crossing the road, a median strip separates the two major parts of the screen. The upper half consists of a river with logs, alligators, and turtles, all moving horizontally across the screen in opposite directions. By jumping on swiftly moving logs and the backs of alligators and turtles, the player can guide the frog to safety. The player must avoid snakes, otters, and the open mouths of alligators. A brightly colored female frog is sometimes on a log and may be carried for bonus points. The very top of the screen contains five "frog homes", and at least one is always open and available. These sometimes contain bonus insects or deadly alligators.

When all five frogs are in their homes, the game progresses to the next level with increased difficulty. After five levels, the difficulty briefly eases and yet again progressively increases after each level. The timer gives 30 seconds to guide each frog into one of the homes, and resets back to 60 ticks whenever a life is lost or a frog reaches home safely.

In 1982, Softline stated that "Frogger has earned the ominous distinction of being 'the arcade game with the most ways to die'." There are many different ways to lose a life (illustrated by a skull and crossbones symbol where the frog was), including being run over by a road vehicle; jumping into the river; running into snakes, otters, or an alligator's jaws; sinking while on top of a diving turtle; riding a log, alligator, or turtle off the side of the screen; jumping into a home already occupied by a frog or alligator; jumping into the side of a home or the bush; or running out of time.

The opening tune is the first verse of a Japanese children's song called "Inu No Omawarisan" ("The Dog Policeman"). Other Japanese tunes include the themes to the anime series Hana no Ko Lunlun and Rascal the Raccoon. The American release has the same opening song plus "Yankee Doodle".

Scoring
Every forward step scores ten points, and every frog arriving safely home scores 50 points. Ten points are also awarded per each unused ½ second of time. Guiding a lady frog home or eating a fly scores 200 points each, and when all five frogs reach home to end the level the player earns 1,000 points. A single bonus frog is given at 20,000 points. 99,990 points is the maximum high score that can be achieved on an original arcade cabinet. Players may exceed this score, but the game "rolls over" and only keeps the last 5 digits.

Release
The game was developed by Konami. On July 22, 1981, Sega gained the exclusive rights to manufacture the game worldwide.

North America
Sega/Gremlin was skeptical about Frogger's earning potential in North America. This was because no other company licensed the game. Also, an earlier game called Frogs that was developed there had flopped. It was believed that Eliminator would be the company's next big hit. Elizabeth Falconer, a market researcher at Sega/Gremlin, was tasked by Gremlin founder Frank Fogleman to check Gremlin's library of video presentations to see if there was anything worth licensing, and she stumbled across Frogger.

Thinking the game deserved a chance though being "cute", she requested a licensing window for playtesting. She persuaded executives who denigrated Frogger as a "women and kids game" by reminding them of Pac-Man. Sega/Gremlin agreed to pay Konami $3,500 per day for a 60-day licensing window. A prototype was playtested in a San Diego bar and was so successful that distributors agreed to resell the game based on the test alone.

Wanting to broaden the player base demographics, Jack Gordon, the director of video game sales at Sega/Gremlin, noted that women shied away from the "shoot em' ups" on the market and that games like Frogger "filled the void".

Ports
Frogger was ported to many contemporary home systems. Several platforms such as the Commodore 64 support both ROM cartridges and magnetic media, so they received multiple versions of the game.

Sierra On-Line gained the magnetic media rights and sublicensed them to developers who published for systems not normally supported by Sierra. Cornsoft published the official TRS-80/Dragon 32, Timex Sinclair 1000, and Timex Sinclair 2068 ports. Because of that, even the Atari 2600 received multiple releases: a standard cartridge and a cassette for the Starpath Supercharger. Sierra released disk or tape versions for the Commodore 64, Apple II, original Macintosh, IBM PC and Supercharger-equipped 2600, and cartridge versions for the TRS-80 Color Computer

Parker Brothers received the license from Sega for cartridge versions which it released for the Atari 2600, Intellivision, Atari 5200, ColecoVision, Atari 8-bit computers, TI-99/4A, VIC-20 and Commodore 64. Parker Brothers spent $10 million on advertising Frogger. The Atari 2600 version was programmed by Ed English.

Coleco released stand-alone Mini-Arcade tabletop versions of Frogger, which, along with Pac-Man, Galaxian, and Donkey Kong, had three million sales combined.

The game was ported to systems such as the PC-6001 and Game Boy (with two separate releases for the Game Boy and Game Boy Color in 1998). Frogger is one of the 6 launch games for the 1983 Gakken Compact Vision TV Boy.

Reception
Frogger's appeal was seen to lack barriers of age or sex. Its success increased production, becoming one of the top-grossing arcade games in North America during 1981. The arcade game earned over US$135 million (equivalent to $ in ) for Sega/Gremlin in US cabinet sales, becoming the most successful Sega/Gremlin release. In Japan, Frogger was the 12th highest-grossing arcade game of 1981.

Home versions of Frogger had high sales. The 1982 Atari 2600 version earned its publisher Parker Brothers US$40 million in orders upon launch. By the end of the year, 4 million Atari 2600 cartridges were sold with US$80000000 1982 in wholesale revenue. It became the company's most successful first-year product, beating the sales and revenues of its previous best-seller, Merlin. By 2005, 20 million copies of the various home versions had been sold worldwide, including 5 million in the United States.

In 1981, Computer and Video Games reviewed the arcade game as "one of the popular new generation of arcade games which are getting way from space themes". In his 1982 book Video Invaders, Steve Bloom described Frogger as a "climbing game" along with Space Panic (1980) and Nintendo's Donkey Kong (1981). He said it was one of the "most exciting variations" on Pac-Man's maze theme along with Donkey Kong due to how players need to "scale from the bottom of the screen to the top" which make them "more like obstacle courses than mazes" since "you always know where you're going—up." Brett Alan Weiss of AllGame later reviewed the arcade game, calling it one of "the most beloved videogames ever created" and "pure, undiluted gaming at its finest". He said the "graphics are cute and detailed, the sound effects are crisp and clear, and the controls are sharp and responsive".

Arcade Express reviewed the Atari VCS version in 1982, calling it "a highly authentic translation of the coin-op hit" that combines "great graphics with sophisticated play action". Ed Driscoll reviewed the Atari VCS version in The Space Gamer, commenting: "All in all, if you liked the arcade version, this should save you a lot of quarters. The price is in line with most cartridges. It also proves that Atari isn't the only one making home versions of the major arcade games for the VCS." Danny Goodman of Creative Computing Video & Arcade Games wrote in 1983 that the Atari 2600 version "is one of the most detailed translations I have seen", noting the addition of the wraparound screen. In 2013, Entertainment Weekly named Frogger one of the top ten games for the Atari 2600.

Reviews

 * Games

Remakes and sequels
In 1997, Hasbro Interactive released Frogger, a vastly expanded remake of the original for Windows and the PlayStation. Unlike the original, it consists of multiple different levels. It was a commercial success, with Windows sales alone at nearly one million units in less than four months. In 1998, Hasbro released a series of versions of the game for the Sega Genesis, Super NES, Game com, Game Boy and Game Boy Color. Each version has different graphics, with the Genesis version having the same as the original arcade game. The Genesis and SNES versions are the last games released for those consoles in North America. Though using the same box art, they are otherwise unrelated to the 1997 remake.

In 2005, InfoSpace worked with Konami Digital Entertainment to create the mobile game Frogger for Prizes, in which players across the U.S. competed in multiplayer tournaments to win daily and weekly prizes. In 2006, the mobile game version of Frogger grossed over $10 million in the United States. A Java version was released for compatible mobile phones.

Frogger was released on the Xbox Live Arcade for the Xbox 360 on July 12, 2006. It was developed by Digital Eclipse and published by Konami. It has two new gameplay modes: versus speed mode and co-op play. Some of the music was replaced, including the familiar Frogger theme. This version is in the compilation Konami Classics Vol. 1.

The original 1981 arcade version joined the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 Arcade Archives on December 12, 2019.

Clones
Video game clones include Ribbit for the Apple II (1981), Acornsoft's Hopper (1983) for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron, A&F Software's Frogger (1983) for BBC Micro and ZX Spectrum, PSS's (Personal Software Services) Hopper for the Oric-1 in the UK (1983) and a later release for the ORIC Atmos, Froggy for the ZX Spectrum released by DJL Software (1984), Solo Software's Frogger for the Sharp MZ-700 (1984) in the UK, and Leap Frog for the NewBrain.

Several clones retain the basic gameplay of Frogger and change the style or plot. Pacific Coast Highway (1982), for the Atari 8-bit computers, splits the gameplay into two alternating screens: one for the highway, one for the water. Preppie! (1982), for the Atari 8-bit changes the frog to a preppy retrieving golf balls at a country club. Frostbite (1983), for the Atari 2600, uses the Frogger river gameplay with an arctic theme. Crossy Road (2014), for iOS, Android and Windows Phone, has a randomly generated series of road and river sections in one endless level, with only one life and a single point given for each forward hop.

In popular culture

 * In 1983, Frogger made its animated television debut as a segment on CBS's Saturday Supercade cartoon lineup. Frogger, voiced by Bob Sarlatte, worked as an investigative reporter.
 * On the 1984 Bad Religion album "Back to the Known", the song "Frogger" describes Los Angeles traffic as "playing Frogger with my life". The song uses a sample from the game as its intro.
 * In the 1998 Seinfeld episode "The Frogger", Jerry and George visit a soon-to-be-closed pizzeria they frequented as teenagers and discover the Frogger machine still in place, with George's decade-old high score still recorded.
 * Frogger appears in the films Wreck-It Ralph, Pixels and Ralph Breaks the Internet.
 * A scene in the Teen Titans episode "Cyborg the Barbarian" parodies the game.
 * In 2006, a group in Austin, Texas, used a modified Roomba dressed as Frogger to play a real-life version of the game.
 * In science, Frogger is the name given to a transposon ("jumping gene") family in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster.
 * In 2008, the City of Melbourne created a spin-off called Grogger as part of a public service campaign to encourage people to take safe transportation home after a night of drinking.

Game show
Konami announced that a Frogger game show was in production for Peacock, produced by Konami Cross Media NY and Eureka Productions. It debuted on September 9, 2021.

Competition
On November 26, 1999, Rickey's World Famous Sauce offered $10,000 to the first person who could score 1,000,000 points on Frogger or $1,000 for a new world record prior to January 1, 2000. On March 25, 2005, Robert Mruczek offered $1,000 for beating the fictitious world record of 860,630 as set by George Costanza in an episode of Seinfeld or $250 for a new world record by the end of that year. On December 1, 2006, John Cunningham offered $250 for exceeding the same fictitious world record of 860,630 points by February 28, 2007. These scores were surpassed only after the bounties had all expired.

On December 22, 2009, Pat Laffaye scored a Frogger world record high score of 896,980 points. No other Frogger gamer has been verified as having beaten the fictional George Costanza Seinfeld score of 860,630 points on official Konami hardware.

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

title: Frogger


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Acanthus, Ontario

Acanthus is an unincorporated place and former railway point in geographic Deacon Township in the Unorganized South Part of Nipissing District in northeastern Ontario, Canada. Acanthus is located within Algonquin Provincial Park on Cedar Lake on the Petawawa River.

It lies on the now abandoned Canadian National Railway Beachburg Subdivision, a section of track that was originally constructed as the Canadian Northern Railway main line, between the divisional point Brent to the west and Odenback to the east; it had a passing track.

title: Acanthus, Ontario


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Achray, Ontario

Achray is an unincorporated place and former railway point in geographic Stratton Township in the Unorganized South Part of Nipissing District in northeastern Ontario, Canada. It lies in northern Algonquin Provincial Park on the northern shore of Grand Lake, part of the Barron River system, and functions today as a campground site.

It was originally a station with a passing track on the main line of the Canadian Northern Railway, between Hydro to the west and Kathmore to the east, later taken over by Canadian National Railway as the CN Beachburg Subdivision and now abandoned in the park. Once a major centre for park administration, only a small complement of backcountry rangers still operates out of Achray. The old park operations centre is now a cinema/interpretive centre and the bunk house is now a tourist lodge at the canoe rental place on the Achray Road.

Tom Thomson's painting, The Jack Pine, was inspired by the scenery in this area. Thomson worked as a fire ranger at Achray in 1916. The cabin in which Thomson is reputed to have lived in now has some exhibits on the park history and Tom Thomson.

The campground has 45 campsites without electricity. Facilities are considered to be primitive compared to other campgrounds located in the park. The central park store is the former Deputy Chief Ranger Headquarters that was built in the 1930s by park rangers, Claude McFarland, an expert stonemason, and William Mooney, a skilled carpenter. It was built with stone quarried on the opposite shore of Grand Lake.

Achray has two hiking trails, including the small interpretive Berm Lake Trail, and the longer Eastern Pines Backpacking Trail that leads to a waterfall on the Barron River as it exits Stratton Lake.

The campground is a common starting point for multiday canoe trips on the Barren River to the Barron Canyon.

title: Achray, Ontario


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Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints—usually distinguished with a parenthetical (Strangite)—is one of the several organizations that claim to be the legitimate continuation of the church founded by Joseph Smith on April 6, 1830. It is a separate organization from the considerably larger and better known Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Both churches claim to be the original organization established by Smith. The Strangite church is headquartered in Voree, Wisconsin, just outside Burlington, and accepts the claims of James Strang as successor to Smith. It had approximately 300 members in 1998. An undated FAQ on the church's official website reports there are around 130 active members throughout the United States.

After Smith was murdered in 1844 with no clear successor, several claimants sought to take leadership of the church which Smith founded. Among them was Strang, who competed with other prominent members, notably Brigham Young and Sidney Rigdon.

At its peak, the Strangite Church had about 12,000 members, making them noteworthy rivals to the larger faction led by Young. Strang was murdered in 1856, after which most of his followers joined Joseph Smith III and his Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, now called the Community of Christ.

Before Strang
Strangites share the same history with other Latter Day Saint denominations up until the assassination of Joseph Smith. During the resulting succession crisis, several early Mormon leaders asserted claims to succeed Smith, including Sidney Rigdon, Brigham Young and James Strang. Rigdon's claim rested on his status as the senior surviving member of Smith's First Presidency, the church's highest leadership quorum. Rejected by the main church body in Nauvoo, Illinois, Rigdon and his followers moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where his organization faltered. A descendant of the Rigdonite church lives on today as The Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite), which is not recognized as legitimate by Strangites.

Brigham Young initially argued that Smith could have no immediate successor, but rather that the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (of which he was president) should be sustained as the presiding body of the church. Young and his followers migrated west to the Salt Lake Valley, in what became Utah Territory, continuing to use Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints as their name until incorporating in 1851, when the spelling was standardized as "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints".

James Strang's appointment letter and the Voree plates
Although he was a relatively recent convert at the time of Smith's death, James Strang posed a formidable—and initially quite successful—challenge to the claims of Young and Rigdon. Strang was a Mormon elder charged with establishing a stake or "place of refuge" in Wisconsin, should the Mormons be forced to abandon their headquarters in Nauvoo. He possessed a document that came to be known as the "letter of appointment", alleged to have been written by Smith prior to his death. Critics assert the handwriting of the letter does not graphologically resemble any extant letters written by Smith. Furthermore, wording in the letter was ambiguous; some insist that it only appointed Strang to be president of the new Voree Stake of the church, while Strang and his followers interpreted it as a call to follow Smith as President of the Church. Strang also claimed at the moment of Smith's death, he was visited by angels who ordained him to be Smith's successor, though he claimed no other witnesses to the event.

Strang's assertion appealed to many Latter Day Saints who were attracted to Mormonism's doctrine of continuing revelation through a living prophet. In the face of protracted Mormon anguish at Smith's death, Strang insisted that there still was, indeed, a Mormon seer who communed with God and conversed with angels. Strang's claim was bolstered by his discovery of the Voree plates, purporting to contain the last testament of an ancient Native American, one "Rajah Manchou of Vorito". These plates were found in the Hill of Promise, which would become the temple site in the new Strangite town of Voree. This event was reminiscent of Smith's translations of the golden plates (the Book of Mormon) and the Book of Abraham, and may have encouraged some Latter Day Saints to accept Strang over any of his competitors, who had not produced any such "records".

Early successes and losses

Many prominent Latter Day Saints believed in Strang's "letter of appointment" and accepted him as Mormonism's second "Prophet, Seer, Revelator and Translator"—at least in the short term. These included the church's Presiding Patriarch and apostle William Smith (Smith's only surviving brother); Book of Mormon witness Martin Harris (who left and later rejoined the LDS Church in Utah); Nauvoo Stake President William Marks; second Bishop of the Church and church trustee-in-trust George Miller; apostle John E. Page; former apostle William E. McLellin; Smith's mother Lucy Mack Smith; and other members of the Smith family.

Another adherent was John C. Bennett, former mayor of Nauvoo and a former member of the First Presidency. Bennett had been in Smith's innermost circle but had broken with the founding prophet and had written an anti-Mormon exposé. Bennett founded a secretive Strangite fraternal society known as the "Order of Illuminati", but his presence disrupted Strang's church and ultimately led to his excommunication. Bennett's "order" fell by the wayside and no longer exists among the Strangites.

All of these persons—with the exception of Miller, who would remain loyal to Strang until death—left the Strangite church by 1850. Many of these defections were due to Strang's seemingly abrupt "about-face" on the turbulent subject of polygamy. Vehemently opposed to the practice at first, Strang reversed course in 1849 to become one of plural marriage's strongest advocates. Since many of his early disciples had looked to him as a monogamous counterweight to Young's polygamous version of Mormonism, Strang's decision to embrace plural marriage proved costly to him and his church.

Strang found his greatest support among the scattered outlying branches of Mormonism, which he frequently toured. His followers may have numbered as many as 12,000, at a time when Young's group had just over 50,000. After Strang won a debate at a conference in Norway, Illinois, he converted the entire branch. While in Voree, the Strangites published a periodical known as the Voree Herald. Strang's church also fielded a mission to England, one of the primary sources of converts to Mormonism. This mission was led by Martin Harris, the financier of the Book of Mormon and one of its Three Witnesses. Harris proved a poor spokesman, however, and the English missions sided with the LDS Church led by Young.

Establishing a kingdom on Beaver Island
Because the high price of land in the Voree area made it difficult for Latter Day Saints to "gather" there, Strang moved his church headquarters to Beaver Island in Lake Michigan. Here his disciples founded a town known as St. James (now St. James Township), and in 1850, openly established an ecclesiastical monarchy with Strang as the spiritual "king" of his church. The date of his coronation, July 8, is still mandated as one of the two most important days in the Strangite church calendar (the other is April 6, the anniversary of the founding of Smith's church).

Contrary to popular belief, Strang never claimed to be king over Beaver Island, or any other geographical entity. Rather, he asserted that he was king over his church, which he saw as the one, true "Kingdom of God" prophesied in scripture and destined to spread over all the earth. The constitution of this kingdom was contained within the Book of the Law of the Lord, which Strang claimed to have translated from the Plates of Laban mentioned in the Book of Mormon. Originally published in 1851, this new book of Strangite scripture would be republished in a greatly expanded edition in 1856, just after Strang's murder. The book is still revered by Strangites today, remaining a vital part of their canon of scripture.

In addition to printing religious materials, the Strangite printing press on Beaver Island became the source of a new periodical, the Northern Islander, which was the first real newspaper in all of northern Michigan. As St. James became an entrepôt for Great Lakes shipping, the Strangites began to compete with more established commercial lake ports such as Mackinac Island. Tensions grew between Mormons on Beaver Island and their non-Mormon neighbors, which frequently exploded into violence. Accusations of thuggery and thievery were leveled by both parties against each other, compounded by ever-increasing dissension among some of Strang's own disciples, who chafed at what they saw as his increasingly tyrannical rule.

In 1854, Strang published Ancient and modern Michilimackinac, including an account of the controversy between Mackinac and the Mormons. Dale Morgan, a historian of the Latter Day Saint movement, writes: "Strang surveys the geography and history of Mackinac and the surrounding region, particularly the islands of Lake Michigan, and after giving an account of the Mormon settlement upon Big Beaver Island, addresses himself to the bitter controversies between the people of Mackinac and the Mormons. Although dealing with controverted matters and colored by Strang's indignation at the outrages he and his people had to endure, the pamphlet is a responsible source on the events of which it treats, and is also interesting for the considerable measure of learning it reveals in Strang".

Tensions finally came to a head on June 20, 1856, when two Strangite malcontents shot Strang in the back, leading to his death three weeks later. Since Strang refused to appoint a successor, and insisted that the next Strangite prophet must be chosen and ordained by angels just as he and Smith had been, Strang's church was left leaderless and vulnerable. One day before his death, vigilantes from Mackinac Island and other Lake Michigan communities converged on Beaver Island. The Strangites were rounded up, forced onto hastily commandeered steamships, and removed from the island. Most were simply dumped onto docks in Chicago and Green Bay, destitute and deprived of all their property.

After Strang
Strang's death and the loss of his Beaver Island settlement were twin catastrophes for his church. Despondent and spiritually adrift after the Strangite organization failed to provide a successor for Strang, most Strangites eventually chose to join what was then known as the "New Organization" of Latter Day Saints. This group had chosen not to follow Young and would eventually accept the leadership of Joseph Smith III, eldest son of Smith. This "New Organization" was later incorporated as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, becoming the second-largest body in the Latter Day Saint movement.

A few congregations of Strangites, however, remained loyal to their prophet's memory. Wingfield W. Watson, a high priest who had known and served under Strang, kept the Strangite church alive into the 20th century. Strang's disciples today are divided into two main factions; one is led by a Presiding High Priest, who does not claim to have the authority or office possessed by Smith or Strang. The other claims that this first assemblage is in error, and that by incorporating in 1961 and allegedly organizing a new order of the priesthood to rule them and a new man-made set of laws to govern them, it lost its identity as a faithful continuation of Strang's organization. This second group claims that it is the sole true remnant of Strang's church.

The first group no longer emphasizes missionary work, as they tend to believe that after three murdered prophets (Smith, Hyrum Smith, and Strang), God closed his dispensation to the "gentiles" of the West. Consequently, this group's congregation remains small. Current membership figures vary between 50 and 300 persons, depending upon the source consulted.

There are two groups among the second. One group has a website based in Independence, Missouri, and the second has a website based in Shreveport, Louisiana. Both conduct missionary work on the Internet.

Scriptures
The Strangites "believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; [and] also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God," just as do most other Latter Day Saint denominations. They consider editions of the Doctrine and Covenants published prior to Smith's death (which contained the Lectures on Faith) to be scripture.

Strangites hold the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible to be inspired, but do not believe modern publications of the text are accurate, so they "cautiously use the publication of his earliest corrections published as the 'Inspired Version' or 'Joseph Smith Translation' by the sons of Joseph Smith in Plano, Ill., 1867." Strangites do not have any official stance on the Book of Abraham.

Strang's Book of the Law of the Lord is accepted as scripture in its expanded 1856 form; it is believed to be the same "Book of the Law of the Lord" mentioned in the Bible, and Strang claimed to have translated it from the Plates of Laban mentioned in the Book of Mormon.

The Strangites also hold as scripture several prophecies, visions, revelations, and translations printed by Strang, and published in the Revelations of James J. Strang. This text contains his purported "letter of appointment" from Smith and his translation of the Voree plates. The Book of Jasher was consistently used by both Smith and Strang, but as with other Latter Day Saint denominations, there is no official stance on its authenticity and it is not considered canonical.

Monarchy and priesthood
One distinctive difference between Strangites and other Latter Day Saints concerns the singular subdivisions Strang makes within the Melchizedek priesthood, which his Book of the Law refers to as "The Priesthood of an endless life," and the Aaronic priesthood, referred to as "the Priesthood of life."

In the Melchizedek priesthood, Strang enumerates two "orders," that of "Apostles," and that of "Priests."

Apostles are subdivided into four "degrees":
 * The Prophet/President of the Strangite church is openly referred to throughout the book as a "King," rather than as a "President".
 * The President's Counselors are designated as "Viceroys." Viceroys are referred to as "kings," too, though this does not indicate a share in the unique royal dignity accorded to the President/King.
 * Strang's Twelve Apostles are named as "Princes in his Kingdom forever." The leader of Strang's Apostles is designated as "Prince and Grand Master of the Seventies."
 * A quorum of "Evangelists" (not to be confused with the office of Patriarch) is established, to be Apostles to a single "nation, kindred, tongue or people"—unlike the Twelve, who were sent to all nations. Seven Evangelists form a quorum, and Strang noted that such a body had never been organized "in this dispensation" (and nor did Strang organize one). This is a unique priesthood office in the Latter Day Saint movement.

Priests are subdivided into two "degrees":
 * High Priests are to include "all inferiour Kings, Patriarchs, or heads of tribes, and Nobles, or heads of clans." Furthermore, Strang continued, "They who hold it are called Sons of God." From this group, said the Book of the Law, the king is to select "counsellors, judges and rulers." Furthermore, the Book of the Law limits consecration of the Eucharist to High Priests and Apostles, as opposed to other Latter Day Saint sects, who follow the Doctrine and Covenants in permitting Elders and Priests also to do so.
 * The "degree" of Elder includes both the offices of Seventy and Elder as generally constituted in Smith's church.

In the Aaronic priesthood, Strang enumerates three "orders":
 * Priests are subdivided into two "courses": Sacrificators and Singers. The course of Singers is opened to women. Each temple is to have a Chief Priest, assisted by a first and second High Priest. Strangite "Sacrificators" are to kill sacrifices in accordance with appropriate provisions of the Book of the Law. Female priests are specifically barred from killing sacrifices.  The Doctrine and Covenants functions of preaching and baptizing are retained as well.
 * Teachers are subdivided into five "degrees": Rabboni, Rabbi, Doctor, Ruler, and Teacher. This office, like that of Priest, is open to women. Teachers are not merely to instruct in spiritual matters, but in secular ones as well. They are to staff schools throughout the kingdom.
 * Deacons are subdivided into three "degrees": Marshals, Stewards and Ministers. They are to serve as "Stewards and keepers of the King's prisons, and Stewards of the King's Courts."

In addition, a "King's Council" and a "King's Court" are established, though none function within the Strangite church today. While no direct link is made between the King's Court and the "High Council" established in the Doctrine and Covenants, certain parallels exist, such as requiring all members to hold the High Priesthood, and limiting their number to twelve.

Although Strang briefly retained the services of Apostle William Smith as "Chief Patriarch" of his church, he makes no mention of this office anywhere in his book.

No Apostles (of any degree) exist within the Strangite organization today, as all must be appointed by a Strangite prophet, and the prophet himself must be appointed by God through the direct ministry of angels. The "incorporated" group of Strangites has high priests, but the "non-incorporated" group does not, insisting that the first body does not currently possess authority to ordain any. Both factions enjoy the ministry of Elders and Aaronic Priesthood offices.

The Decalogue
Another unique feature of Strangite doctrine is its singular version of the Ten Commandments. The Strangite Decalogue differs from any other Jewish, Catholic, Islamic or Protestant version, by including the commandment: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."

While not in the list of commandments, this admonition appears in the Hebrew Bible in Leviticus 19:18, and five times in the New Testament. In his "Note on the Decalogue," Strang asserted that no other version of the Decalogue contains more than nine commandments and speculated that his fourth commandment was lost perhaps as early as Josephus' time (circa 37–100 AD). Strang's version of the Decalogue (together with the rest of his teaching) are rejected by all non-Strangite Mormon factions, including the mainline LDS Church. The full text of the fourth commandment according to the Strangites reads: "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: thou shalt not revile him, nor speak evil of him, nor curse him: thou shalt do no injustice unto him; and thou shalt maintain his right, against his enemy: thou shalt not exact rigorously of him, nor turn aside from relieving him: thou shalt deliver him from the snare and the pit, and shalt return his ox when he strayeth: thou shalt comfort him when he mourns, and nurture him when he sickens: thou shalt not abate the price of what thou buyest of him, for his necessity; nor shalt thou exact of him, because he leaneth upon thee: for in so doing thousands shall rise up and call thee blessed, and the Lord thy God shall strengthen thee in all the work of thy hand."

Ordination of women
As noted above, the Strangite organization opens two priesthood offices to women: Priest and Teacher. While only the "course" of "Singer" in the office of Priest (as opposed to "Sacrificator") is permitted to females, all five "degrees" in the office of Teacher are available. Women may serve as "leaders" of the Singers. Strang ordained women to these ministries as early as 1851, and allowed them to lecture in his School of the Prophets by 1856. Another denomination, the Community of Christ, began ordaining women to the priesthood in 1984, while most other Latter Day Saint churches do not ordain women to the priesthood.

Animal sacrifice
Animal sacrifice was instituted in the Strangite church under Strang's leadership, primarily as a part of Strangite celebration rituals. Though the chapter on "Sacrifices" in Strang's Book of the Law of the Lord speaks of them as being offered for sins, the prohibition on such sacrifices contained in 3 Nephi 9:19–20, meant that Strang focused instead on sacrifice as an element of religious festivities, especially the commemoration of his own coronation as king (July 8, 1850). The head of every house, from the king to his lowest subject, was to offer "a heifer, or a lamb, or a dove. Every man a clean beast, or a clean fowl, according to his household."

The killing of sacrifices was a prerogative of Strangite Priests, but female Priests were specifically barred from participating in this aspect of the priestly office. "Firstfruits" offerings were also demanded from all Strangite agricultural harvests.

Animal sacrifices are no longer practiced by the Strangites, but belief in their correctness is still required.

Monotheism and the vocation of Jesus Christ
Strangites reject both the traditional Christian doctrine of the virgin birth of Jesus Christ and the Mormon doctrine of plurality of gods. They insist that there is but one eternal God, the Father, and that alleged progression to godhood (a doctrine supposedly taught by Smith, but Strangites reject that assertion) is impossible. They believe that God has always been God, and he is one Person (not three, as in the traditional Christian Trinity).

Jesus Christ, Strangites believe, was the natural-born son of Mary and Joseph, who was chosen from before all time to be the Savior of mankind, but who had to be born as an ordinary mortal of two human parents (rather than being begotten by the Father or the Holy Spirit) to be able to truly fulfill his Messianic role. Strang claimed that the earthly Christ was in essence "adopted" as God's son at birth, and fully revealed as such during the transfiguration. After proving himself to God by living a perfectly sinless life, he was thus enabled to provide an acceptable sacrifice for the sins of men, prior to his resurrection and ascension.

Free agency
Musing at length on the nature of sin and evil, Strang wrote that of all things that God could give to man, he could never give him experience. Thus, if "free agency" were to be real, humanity must be given the opportunity to fail and to learn from its own mistakes. The ultimate goal for each human being, according to Strangites, is to willingly conform oneself to the revealed character of God in every way, preferring good to evil not out of any fear of punishment or desire for reward, but rather "on account of the innate loveliness of undefiled goodness; of pure unalloyed holiness."

Sabbatarianism
Strangites observe the seventh-day Sabbath—i.e., Saturday—as the Book of the Law commanded it, in lieu of Sunday.

Baptism for the dead
Strangites believe in baptism for the dead and practiced it to a limited extent in Voree and on Beaver Island. However, rather than simply baptizing for anyone whose name can be located, Strang required a revelation for those seeking to have a baptism done for someone outside of a close relative "within the fourth degree of consanguinity". This could come through dreams, angelic appearances, or other means listed within Strang's revelation on the subject. While still believed in, baptisms for the dead are not currently performed in the Strangite church due to the lack of a temple and prophetic leadership.

Eternal marriage
Eternal marriage is taught in the Strangite church, but unlike in the LDS Church, it is not required to be performed in a temple. Strangite Priests, Elders, High Priests or Apostles (of all four degrees) may perform this ceremony. Eternal marriages are still contracted among the Strangites today.

Same-sex marriage and homosexuality in general are not permitted within the Strangite organization.

Conservation of resources
Conservation of forests and resources is mandated by the Strangites. Within Strang's Beaver Island kingdom and other places where Strangites were numerous, groves of trees were to be maintained upon each farm, village and town. Farms and cities without trees were required to plant them, and to establish parklands so that "the aged and the young may go there to rest and to play." Although Strang's kingdom has disappeared, his followers still endeavor to practice basic conservation measures.

Polygamy
Plural marriage is sanctioned but not expressly commanded, in the Book of the Law. The applicable text reads: "Thou shalt not take unto thee a multitude of wives disproportioned to thy inheritance, and thy substance: nor shalt thou take wives to vex those thou hast; neither shalt thou put away one to take another." Any wife already married to the prospective polygamist was given the right to express her opinion, and even to object, but not to veto the marriage. This passage seems to offer any aggrieved wife an appeal to the "Judges," but how this was to be carried out is not made clear.

Strang's defense of polygamy was rather woman-centered. He claimed that far from enslaving or demeaning women, it liberated and "elevated" them by allowing them to choose the best possible mate based upon any factors deemed important to them even if that mate were already married to someone else. Rather than being forced to wed "corrupt and degraded sires" from the scarcity of more suitable men, a woman could wed the one she saw as the most compatible to herself, the best candidate to father her children and the man who could give her the best possible life, no matter how many other wives he might have.

The practice of plural marriage has never been officially proscribed in the Strangite church, unlike in the LDS Church. Only twenty-two men entered into polygamy, and most of them took only one additional wife. Strang took four additional wives, the most of any member in his church.

Polygamy was apparently practiced by a few Strangites up to 1880 or so, including by Wingfield W. Watson, a Strangite High Priest who knew and served under Strang. However, with federal and state bans on the practice, and a divine injunction to obey "the law of the land," plural marriage has been given up in the contemporary Strangite organization, though belief in its correctness is still required and affirmed.

Strangites reject Section 132 of the LDS Church's Doctrine and Covenants, regarding it as a forgery from 1852 that was never received or approved by Smith.

Temples
Strang began to construct a temple in Voree, but was prevented from completing it because of the poverty and the lack of co-operation of his followers. No "endowment" rituals comparable to those in the LDS Church appear to have existed among his followers, and Strangites believe that only a prophet of God has the ability to receive a revelation to direct the building of a Temple. Because there is no current prophet of the church, there are no current plans for the creation of a Temple.

African Americans
Strangites welcomed African Americans into their church when some other factions (such as the LDS Church, until 1978) denied them the priesthood or certain other benefits of membership. Strang ordained at least two African Americans to the eldership during his lifetime.

Websites
Three different websites exist for various branches of the Strangite church:
 * Official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite)
 * Mormon Beliefs, unincorporated Strangites based in Shreveport, Louisiana
 * Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite)

Publications
These publications are believed in by all Strangites, regardless of faction:
 * The Voree Plates A detailed description of the "Voree Plates" and the story behind them, from a Strangite point of view.
 * Book of the Law of the Lord, Edition of 1851 First Edition, without Strang's commentary.
 * Book of the Law of the Lord, Edition of 1856 Second Edition of this work; contains Strang's commentary and notes, also considered to be scripture by Strangites.
 * The Revelations of James J. Strang contains text of "Letter of Appointment", together with translation of the "Voree Plates" and other revelations given by Strang. Includes a facsimile of the "plates".

Other

 * "A Strangite Time" backstoryradio.org


text:
Venedic language

Venedic (Wenedyk, lęgwa wenedka) is a naturalistic constructed language, created by the Dutch translator Jan van Steenbergen (who also co-created the international auxiliary language Interslavic). It is used in the fictional Republic of the Two Crowns, based on the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, in the alternate timeline of Ill Bethisad. Officially, Venedic is a descendant of Vulgar Latin with a strong Slavic admixture, based on the premise that the Roman Empire incorporated the ancestors of the Poles in their territory. Less officially, it tries to show what Polish would have looked like if it had been a Romance instead of a Slavic language. On the Internet, it is well-recognized as an example of the altlang genre, much like Brithenig and Breathanach.

The idea for the language was inspired by such languages as Brithenig and Breathanach, languages that bear a similar relationship to the Celtic languages as Venedic does to Polish. The language itself is based entirely on (Vulgar) Latin and Polish: all phonological, morphological, and syntactic changes that made Polish develop from Common Slavic are applied to Vulgar Latin. As a result, vocabulary and morphology are predominantly Romance in nature, whereas phonology, orthography and syntax are essentially the same as in Polish. Venedic uses the modern standard Polish orthography, including (for instance) $\langlew\rangle$ for and $\langleł\rangle$ for.

Venedic plays a role in the alternate history of Ill Bethisad, where it is one of the official languages of the Republic of the Two Crowns. In 2005 Venedic underwent a major revision due to a better understanding of Latin and Slavic sound and grammar changes. In the process, the author was assisted by the Polish linguist Grzegorz Jagodziński.

The dictionary on the WWW page linked below contains over 4000 entries.

The language has acquired some media attention in Poland, including several online news articles and an article in the monthly Knowledge and Life.

Spelling and pronunciation
Venedic uses the Polish alphabet, which consists of the following 32 letters :

 * A Ą B C Ć D E Ę F G H I J K L Ł M N Ń O Ó P R S Ś T U W Y Z Ź Ż

Also, there are seven digraphs, representing five phonemes (ch being identical with h, and rz with ż):

 * Ch Cz Dz Dź Dż Rz Sz

Pronunciation is exactly as in Polish. Stress almost always falls on the penultimate syllable. A preposition and a pronoun are generally treated as one word, and therefore, when the pronoun has only one syllable, the preposition is stressed.

(In theory, the construction of Venedic enables relatively easy construction of other "Slavo-Romance" languages. The Romance "mirror" for Czech, for example, is called "Šležan"; another for Slovak, although somewhat looser than the other two as it uses a partially Hungarian orthography, is called "Slevan". )

Nominals
Venedic does not have articles. This is a feature that distinguishes Venedic from all natural Romance languages. The reason for this is that Vulgar Latin showed only a rudimentary tendency toward the formation of articles, and they are absent in Polish and most other Slavic languages.

Nouns, pronouns and adjectives can have three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter), two numbers (singular, plural), and three cases: Venedic also has a vocative case. In most cases it has the same form as the direct case, but there are exceptions: O potrze! "Oh father!" In earlier version of Venedic, it used to have nominative and accusative cases, but later merged to form the direct case.
 * the direct case: used for both the subject and the direct object of a sentence. In the sentence: Miej poterz leże libier "My father reads a book", Miej poterz "my father" and libier "a book" are both in the direct case.
 * the genitive case: used to indicate possession, for example: siedź potrze "my father's chair", rzejna Anglie "the queen of England".
 * the dative case: used to indicate the indirect object of a sentence, for example: Da mi ił libier "Give me that book", Da mi łu "Give it to me".

Nouns can be subdivided into four declensions. They are similar to the declension system in Latin:
 * The first declension are all words on -a, the vast majority of which are feminine;
 * the second declension are mostly masculine and neuter words ending with a consonant. It is a mixture of the second and fourth declension in Latin;
 * the third declension are mostly feminine words ending with a soft consonant;
 * the fourth declension are words on -ej, it matches the Latin fifth declension. However, the author treated the nouns with the 4th declension ending as irregular, see also the sections below.

Declension endings

 * 1) The ending -i is used for male persons, while -ie is used for objects or animals instead.
 * 2) In some cases, -iar is used in the place of -i, and sometimes both endings is used.

Hard and soft in this context are suffixes that are decided by final consonants, either hard (remaining consonants, like -n, -c, or -d) or soft (postalveolars or palatal-like sounds, like -l, -ń, or -rz). Endings in -ia-, -ie-, and -i- are always affected by regular changes below:

Irregular nouns
There is a number of irregular nouns. Not just completely irregular nouns on the table below, some nouns have less predictable oblique stems (the rest stem other than nominative singular), as in above moszkieł, gen. moszklu. However, nouns with the last vowel ó regularly shorten to o (sórz, sorze).
 * 1) There are some other nouns that follow these irregular nouns' patterns (krzymię "crime" < numię, fiodu "treaty" < ciępu, marmr "marble" < fołgr). Some treat these nouns are separate patterns of the third declension, while others consider them irregular.
 * 2) Like the plural suppletion of "person" in many Slavic languages, the plural form ludzie is suppletive and it is borrowed from Proto-Slavic ľudьje.

Adjectives
Adjectives always agree in gender, number and case with the noun they modify. They can be placed both before and after it. Unlike nouns, the adjective declension are always consistent and there is no distinctions in declension classes.

Further derivatives of adjectives
The comparatives and superlatives are formed by the suffixes -ierzy and -ieśmy, respectively, to the adjective's stem. However, the adjectives below have irregular comparative (second row) and superlative (third row) forms:
 * bony "good", mielerzy, oćmy
 * mały "bad", piejerzy, pieśmy
 * grędzy "big", mojerzy, mośmy
 * łonięcy "far", łonierzy, łonieśmy
 * pieskły "small", mnierzy, mnieśmy
 * wiekły "old", wieszczerzy, wieszcześmy
 * jałty "high", sprzerzy, sprześmy
 * mołt "many/much", pły "more", płerześmy "most"

Adverbial forms are either done by removing the -y/-i from the root or adding the suffix -mięć into the root (kłary, kłar/kłaramięć "warmly"). There are no rules which forms are preferred, but the latter usually expresses how something is done.

For the longer form, -amięć is used after hard consonants while -iemięć used after soft consonants. Adjectives in -ły use the suffix -lemięć (i.e. -ł- + -iemięć), except for the adjectives biały, mały, miły, siegły which are always suffixed with the former (biały → białamieć). The adjective bony "good" has an irregular adverbial derivation: bień. The comparatives and superlatives can also have adverbial forms, by substituting -ierzy and -ieśmy with -iu and -ieśmie. Verbal participles always remove their last vowels.

The predicative forms are the same as masculine and neuter direct singular forms, except that sometimes the suffix -y/-i is removed, but this predicative forming is somewhat archaic and the resulting forms should not be confused with adverbs.

Pronouns
Unlike nouns, adjectives and other pronouns, personal pronouns do not use the direct case, but preserve the distinction between the nominative and accusative instead. They are displayed in the following chart:

Verbs
Verbs are inflected for person, number, mood and tense. Because Latin and Proto-Slavonic had virtually identical person/number inflections, Venedic and Polish do also.

Venedic verbs have the following moods and tenses:
 * infinitive – jemar "to love"
 * present tense – jemu "I love, I am loving"
 * imperfect – jemawa "I loved"
 * perfect – jemie " I have loved"
 * future tense (imperfective) – joru jemar "I will love, I will be loving"
 * future tense (perfective) – jemaru "I will have loved"
 * conditional mood – jemarsi "I would love, I would have loved"
 * imperative mood – jem "love!"
 * present active participle – jemęć "loving"
 * perfect passive participle – jematy "beloved"

Word list
Venedic vocabulary as published on the internet consists of over 4000 words. Because of how it was developed from Vulgar Latin, Venedic words are closest to Italian, but with phonologic differences from Italian which may be compared to those distinguishing Portuguese from Spanish. The following charts of 30 shows what Venedic looks like in comparison to a number of other Romance languages; note that unlike Brithenig, where one-quarter of the words resembled Welsh words, only four Venedic words (not counting szkoła, borrowed into Polish from Latin) resemble Polish words, due to the Slavic languages' greater distance from the Romance languages compared to the Celtic languages:

Sample text
The Lord's Prayer in Venedic:

Potrze nostry, kwały jesz en czałór, sąciewkaty si twej numię. Owień twej rzeń. Foca si twa włątać, komód en czału szyk i sur cierze. Da nów odzej nostry pań kocidzany. I dziemieć nów nostrze dziewta, komód i nu dziemiećmy swór dziewtorzór. I nie endycz nosz en ciętaceń, uta liwra nosz dzie mału. ''Nąk twie są rzeń i pociestać i głurza, o siąprz. Amen.''

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Venedic:
 * Tuci ludzie noszczę sie liwrzy i jekwali z rześpiece świej dzińtacie i swór drzecór. Li są dotaci ku rocenie i koszczęce i dziewię ocar piara wyniałtru en jenie frotrzeńtacie.

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in English:
 * All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Similar languages
In the Ill Bethisad universe, there are two other languages which are related to Venedic: Slevan, which is spoken in that universe's counterpart of Slovakia; and Šležan, or Silesian, spoken in Silesia. Šležan mirrors Czech  in much the same way Venedic does Polish, whereas Slevan, despite being located in Slovakia, is more similar to Hungarian and Croatian in its orthography. (The Romance "mirror" of Slovak is a dialect of Slevan spoken in Moravia called Moravľaňec.) (As if in compensation, Croatian in Ill Bethisad is forced to be noticeably different from Serbian by being made to resemble the now-virtually-missing Czech and Slovak. )

Additionally, in the famous The Adventures of Tintin series, the pseudo-Slavic fictional language Syldavian may be thought of as a Germanic counterpart of Venedic. The nearly extinct Wymysorys language provides another real-life example of this. Ill Bethisad also has such a "Slavo-Germanic" language: Bohemian, spoken in that universe's Czech Republic, developed by amateur Czech linguist Jan Havliš.

title: Venedic language


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Actinolite, Ontario

Actinolite is a compact rural community within geographic Elzevir Township in the Municipality of Tweed, Hastings County in Central Ontario, Canada. It is on Ontario Highway 37, just south of Ontario Highway 7 and north of the village of Tweed. The community also lies on the Skootamatta River just north of that river's mouth at the Moira River.

History
When Actinolite was first founded in 1853, it was called Troy. A number of Billa Flint's sawmills were built on the Skootamatta River here. In 1859, it became Bridgewater. In 1895, it was renamed Actinolite after a form of asbestos (actinolite) that was being extracted from open-pit mines near the town.

A branch line of the Bay of Quinte Railway (BQR) was built through Actinolite opening in 1903 that connected the BQR main line to the southeast to the Central Ontario Railway to the northwest. The line was abandoned in 1935. Ontario Highway 7 arrived in 1932.

title: Actinolite, Ontario


text:
Talk:Paul Paray

Untitled

 * In 1935 he wrote his Symphony No. 1 in C major, which was premiered at the Concerts Colonne in 1931,

How can something be premiered before it's written?

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title: Talk:Paul Paray


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User:UtherSRG

Please do not edit this page. If you need to leave me a comment, please put it on my talk page.

Ok. So I never know what to put in these things. Luckily, this is a Wiki, so y'all can give me lots of feedback. :)

 * Real name: Stacey Robert Greenstein
 * Aliases: Uther Locksley, Brother Molotov Cocktail of the Love of Smiley Faces
 * Occupation: Software Engineer
 * Interests (in no particular order): taxonomy (particularly primatology), Where's George, geocaching, bookcrossing, Science Fiction, submarines (and subsequently anything about the US Navy), mathematics, science, sexuality, Unitarian Universalism, smiley faces, bird watching (usually while hiking) and whale watching
 * Astrological sign: Aquarius
 * Birth date: January 29

Mission
My mission on Wikipedia comes from a habit I have in places like bookstores. My habit is that when I see something that needs fixing (books out of order) I fix it.

My current watchlist is over 9000 entries long!

Todo list

 * 1) Fix galago (genus) - needs non-Galago species information removed, and a taxonomic history section created.
 * 2) Moustached guenon
 * 3) Black-tufted marmoset - inline refs
 * 4) Homininae - several refs issues
 * 5) Sooty_mangabey - split off C. lunulatus
 * 6) Colobus - split off C caudatus from C. guereza - also update genus with C guereza ssp.
 * 7) Surili - split off Presbytis comata fredericae as P. fredericae
 * 8) Missing_mammal_species needs some attention again.
 * 9) Silky_anteater needs to be split into 6 new species articles and a genus article

Reminders
I really need to make a page of handy things that I keep forgetting how to do, but I keep forgetting to do it.

Multitasking
I'm one given to multitasking; I do more than one thing at the same time, such as Wiki while watching TV.

While geocaching, I'll also bird watch. I've decided to keep track of the birds that I've identified. My other watching lists are whales, military vessels, and military aircraft. I also will now be trying to keep track of the primates I've seen in zoos; I don't expect to ever see any in the wild, but I'll keep my fingers crossed!

User boxes
Please do not edit this page, unless it is to fix a userbox which has moved. If you need to leave me a comment or would like to suggest I adopt other userboxes, please use my talk page.

License
I agree to multi-license all my contributions, with the exception of my user pages, as described below:

title: User:UtherSRG


text:
Yūrakuchō Station

Yūrakuchō Station (有楽町駅) is a railway station in the Yūrakuchō district of Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and the Tokyo subway operator Tokyo Metro. It is Tokyo Metro's fifteenth busiest station in 2016.

Lines
Yūrakuchō is served by the JR East Keihin-Tōhoku Line and Yamanote Line, and the Tokyo Metro Yūrakuchō Line subway. On Tokyo subway maps, nearby Hibiya Station is marked as an interchange and is linked to Yurakucho by underground passages.

History
The elevated JR station opened on June 25, 1910. The subway station opened on October 30, 1974.

Chest-high platform edge doors were installed on the Yamanote Line platforms in July 2014, with operation scheduled to begin on 30 August 2014.

Passenger statistics
In fiscal 2013, the JR East station was used by an average of 167,365 passengers daily (boarding passengers only), making it the fourteenth-busiest station operated by JR East. In fiscal 2013, the Tokyo Metro station was used by an average of 158,809 passengers per day (exiting and entering passengers), making it the sixteenth-busiest station operated by Tokyo Metro. The average daily passenger figures for each operator in previous years are as shown below.

 * Note that JR East figures are for boarding passengers only.

title: Yūrakuchō Station


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Canada Cup

The Canada Cup (Coupe Canada) was an invitational international ice hockey tournament held on five occasions between 1976 and 1991. The brainchild of Toronto lawyer Alan Eagleson, the tournament was created to meet demand for a true world championship that allowed the best players from participating nations to compete regardless of their status as professional or amateur. It was sanctioned by the International Ice Hockey Federation, Hockey Canada and the National Hockey League. Canada won the tournament four times, while the Soviet Union captured the championship once. It was succeeded by the World Cup of Hockey in 1996.

History
Due to National Hockey League (NHL) players' ineligibility in the Winter Olympics and the annual World Championships, both amateur competitions, Canada was not able to send its best players to top international tournaments. While the top players in Europe qualified as amateurs, all the best Canadian players competed in the professional NHL or World Hockey Association.

Following the 1972 and 1974 Summit Series, in which Canadian players from the NHL and WHA competed against the top players from the Soviet Union, there was interest in a world hockey championship where each country could send its best players. In a combined effort from Doug Fisher of Hockey Canada and Alan Eagleson of the NHL Players' Association, plans for such a tournament soon began.

After successful negotiations with hockey officials from the Soviet Union in September 1974, Eagleson began arranging the Canada Cup tournament, which debuted in 1976. Eagleson would later plead guilty to embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars of Canada Cup proceeds.

Taking place in the NHL off-season, it was the first international hockey tournament in which the best players, professional and amateur alike, from the best ice hockey nations in the world could compete against one another. Six teams competed in each edition. In addition to Canada and the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Sweden and the United States were regular competitors (with the exception of West Germany replacing Finland in 1984). The tournaments, held every three to five years, took place in North American venues. Of the five Canada Cup tournaments, four were won by Canada, while the Soviet Union won once, in 1981.

Canada won the inaugural Canada Cup in 1976, defeating recent 1976 World Championship gold medalists Czechoslovakia in the best-of-three final. The clinching game was won by a 5–4 score with Darryl Sittler scoring the game-winner in overtime. Five years later, the Soviets won their first and only Canada Cup with an 8–1 win over Canada in the one-game final. The Canadians then re-captured the championship in the third edition of the tournament in 1984. After Canadian Mike Bossy scored an overtime game-winner to defeat the Soviets in the semi-finals, Canada won their second Canada Cup in a victory over Sweden in the final.

The 1987 Canada Cup was particularly noteworthy as Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, widely considered two of the greatest hockey players of all-time, joined as linemates on Team Canada to capture the country's third championship. All three games in the final between Canada and the Soviets ended in 6–5 scores, with two games going to overtime. Lemieux dramatically scored the championship-winning goal on a 2-on-1 pass from Gretzky in the final minutes of the deciding game at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario.

The final Canada Cup was held in 1991 with Canada defeating the United States in the tournament's first all-North American final, for their third straight championship and fourth overall. Five years later, the Canada Cup was replaced by the World Cup of Hockey in 1996.

Trophy
The Canada Cup trophy is shaped like half of a maple leaf and is made of solid nickel (120 lb worth). It was refined by Inco Ltd in Sudbury Ontario, commissioned by D. Scott McCann (at the time President of Teledyne Canada). Donna Scott (Queen's University, Bachelor of Fine Arts, 1985) designed the cup, citing as her inspiration Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon album cover.

Controversy
The 1981 win by the Soviet Union caused controversy when Canadian officials found the trophy in the Soviets' luggage and announced that the trophy would not actually go home with the winning team. Feeling this was unsportsmanlike, Canadian fans led by George Smith of Winnipeg, Manitoba raised money to produce a duplicate trophy to give to the Soviet team. $32,000 was raised. Three weeks later the trophy was presented to the Soviet Union's ambassador Vladimir Mechulayev in Winnipeg. Most of the companies that made the trophy did the work for free and almost all of the money raised went to minor hockey in Winnipeg and Winkler, Manitoba.

title: Canada Cup


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Fast Product

Fast Product was an independent record label, established in Edinburgh by Bob Last, his partner, Hilary Morrison and Tim Pearce in December 1977. Its first release was also the first single by the Mekons, released on 20 January 1978.

The label issued the first records by a number of early and influential post-punk bands from Northern England, including the original Human League, Gang of Four and the Mekons. Fast Product also released the first singles by the Scottish punk bands Scars and The Flowers. The label also released compilations of various new bands called 'ear comics' or Earcom. Many of the label's releases were also produced by Bob Last with Morrison producing photographs and visuals for the record sleeves.

Fast Product's releases challenged pop music conventions (hence the label's early monikers: "difficult fun" and "mutant pop"), and through its releases and marketing invoked a DIY punk spirit and generally socialist political outlook. Often packaging records with a caustic yet subtle sideswipe at consumerism (for example, the image of a wall of gold discs on the cover of the Mekons' second single), Fast Product attempted to show that all aspects of the record business, from musicianship to design to distribution, could be taken out of the hands of the major labels.

Lloyd Cole also name-checked Fast Product in his song Women's Studies, from the 2013 album Standards.

Later, the pair also established the Pop Aural label, releasing singles by such acts as The Flowers, Boots For Dancing and The Fire Engines.

The label was profiled in depth in the 2015 documentary film Big Gold Dream.

The story of Fast Product was extensively covered in the 2022 book Hungry Beat written by Douglas MacIntyre and Grant McPhee with Neil Cooper, published by White Rabbit Books

Bob Last has joked that Factory Records is "Fast 13" - the label's final release - saying "I just never told them they had a catalogue number."

Discography
The source for the information below is the website vinylnet.co.uk.

Singles

 * FAST 1 The Mekons - "Never Been In A Riot" / "32 Weeks" / "Heart & Soul" 7-inch  (1978)
 * FAST 2 2.3 - "Where To Now?" / "All Time Low" 7-inch (1978)
 * FAST 4 The Human League - "Being Boiled" / "Circus Of Death" 7-inch (June 1978)
 * FAST 5 Gang of Four - "Damaged Goods" / "Love Like Anthrax" / "Armalite Rifle" 7-inch (December 1978)
 * FAST 7 The Mekons - "Where Were You?" / "I'll Have To Dance Then (On My Own)" 7-inch (November 1978)
 * FAST 8 Scars - "Adult/ery" / "Horrorshow" 7-inch (1979)
 * FAST 9a Earcom One (The Prats, The Flowers, Blank Students, Graph, Simon Bloomfield and Tim Pearce) 12-inch
 * FAST 9b Earcom Two (Joy Division, Thursdays & Basczax) 12-inch
 * FAST 9c Earcom Three (DAF, Noh Mercy, Middle Class, Stupid Babies, From Chorley) double 7-inch (1979)
 * FAST 10 The Human League - "The Dignity of Labour" 12-inch (some with flexi-disc) (1979)
 * FAST 12 Dead Kennedys - "California Uber Alles" / "Man with the Dogs" 7-inch (1980)

Albums

 * FAST 11 The First Year Plan - Compilation of single releases, licensed to EMI, so also has catalogue number EMC 3312)
 * Mutant Pop - US reissue of early Fast Product and Pop Aural singles by the Mekons, the Gang of Four, the Human League, The Flowers, 2.3 and Scars (PVC/JEM Records 1980)

Miscellaneous

 * FAST 3 Fast Product The Quality Of Life No.1 (zine issued March 1978)
 * FAST 6 Fast Product The Quality Of Life No.2 (zine issued April 1979)
 * Virgin VS300 The Mekons - "Work All Week" / "Unknown Wrecks" 7-inch (1979) - FAST Logo on label, 'Produced for Fast Product' credit
 * Fast Product America FPA 002 Fire Engines - "Aufgeladen Und Bereit Fur Action Und Spass" LP (1981)

Pop:Aural Discography
The source for the information below is the website discogs.com

Singles

 * POP001 The Flowers - "Confessions" / "(Life) After Dark" 7-inch  (1979)
 * POP002 Boots For Dancing - "Boots For Dancing" 12-inch (1980)
 * POP003 The Flowers - "Ballad Of Miss Demeanour"  7-inch  (1980)
 * POP004 Drinking Electricity - "Shaking All Over" / "China" 7-inch  (1980)
 * POP005 Drinking Electricity - "Shake Some Action"  7-inch  (1980)
 * POP006 Boots For Dancing - "The Rain Song" / "Hesitate" 7-inch  (1980)
 * POP007 Restricted Code - "First Night On" / "From The Top" 7-inch  (1980)
 * POP008 Drinking Electricity - "Cruising Missiles" / "Shaking All Over (dub) 7-inch  (1980)
 * POP009 Restricted Code - "Love To Meet You"  7-inch  (1980)
 * POP010 Fire Engines - "CandySkin" / "Meat Whiplash" 7-inch  (1981)
 * POP011 Marching Girls - "1"  7-inch  (1981)
 * POP012 Jo Callis / S.H.A.K.E. Project- "Woah Yeah!"  7-inch EP (1981)
 * POP013 Fire Engines - "Big Gold Dream" 7-inch  (1981)

Albums (on the Accessory label)

 * ACC001 Fire Engines - "Lubricate Your Livingroom" LP  (1981)
 * ACC002 Frank Hannaway and Michael Barclay - "At Home" Mini LP  (1981)

title: Fast Product