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Camisards

Camisards were Huguenots (French Protestants) of the rugged and isolated Cévennes region and the neighbouring Vaunage in southern France. In the early 1700s, they raised a resistance against the persecutions which followed Louis XIV's Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, making Protestantism illegal. The Camisards operated throughout the mainly Protestant Cévennes and Vaunage regions including parts of the Camargue around Aigues Mortes. The revolt broke out in 1702, with the worst of the fighting continuing until 1704, then skirmishes until 1710 and a final peace by 1715. The Edict of Tolerance was not finally signed until 1787.

Etymology
The name camisard in the Occitan language may derive from a type of linen smock or shirt known as a camisa (chemise) that peasants wear in lieu of any sort of uniform. Alternatively, it might come from the camus, meaning paths (chemins). Camisada, in the sense of "night attack", is derived from a feature of their tactics.

History
In April 1598, Henry IV had signed the Edict of Nantes and the religious wars that had ravaged France ended. Protestants had been given limited civic rights and the liberty to worship according to their convictions. This "fundamental and irrevocable law" was maintained by Henry's son, Louis XIII. In October 1685, Henry's grandson, Louis XIV (The Sun king), revoked the Edict of Nantes, issuing his own Edict of Fontainebleau. Louis was determined to impose a single religion on France: that of Rome. As early as 1681 he instituted the dragonnades which were conversions enforced by dragoons, labelled "missionaries in boots". They were billeted in the homes of Protestants to help them decide to convert back to the official church or alternatively to emigrate. The Cévennes was a centre of resistance, and the policy did not work.

The Edict of Fontainebleau removed all rights and protections from the Huguenots. There followed about twenty years of persecutions. Reformed worship and private Bible readings were outlawed. Within weeks of the new edict over 2000 Protestant churches were burned, under the direction of Nicholas Lamoignon de Basville, the royal administrator of Languedoc, and entire villages were massacred and burnt to the ground in a series of stunning atrocities. The pastors and worshippers were captured and later exiled, sent to the galleys, tortured or killed. Seventy-five missionary priests under the command of Abbot François Langlade were sent to the Cévennes. Soldiers carrying crosses on their muskets forced the peasants to sign papers to say they were converting, and forced them to attend mass. The peasants continued to attend illicit meetings. Huguenots with a trade fled to neighboring countries. The King responded by closing the borders.

The Protestant peasants of the Vaunage and the Cévennes, led by a number of teachers known as "prophets", notably François Vivent and Claude Brousson, resisted. Vivent encouraged his followers to arm themselves in case they were set upon by Royalist soldiers. Several leading prophets were tortured and executed, François Vivent in 1692 and Claude Brousson in 1698. Many more were exiled, leaving the abandoned congregations to the leadership of less educated and more mystically oriented preachers, such as the wool-comber Abraham Mazel. The Catholic church was likened to the Beast of the Apocalypse and the clandestine prophets claimed to have seen it in the prophetic dreams. Mazel, in a dream, saw black oxen in his garden and heard a voice telling him to chase them away. From 1700 the clandestine prophets and their armed followers were hidden in houses and caves in the mountains.

Abraham Mazel
Open hostilities began on 24 July 1702, with the assassination at le Pont-de-Montvert of a local embodiment of royal oppression, François Langlade, the Abbé of Chaila. Langlade had recently arrested and tortured a group of seven Protestants accused of attempting to flee France. The band of Camisards were led by Abraham Mazel, who peacefully asked for the release of the prisoners, but when this was refused, they commenced the killing. The abbé was quickly lionized in print by the Catholic State as a martyr of his faith.

The Camisards worked independently of each other and during the day most merged back into their village communities. They were predominantly agricultural workers or artisans and had no aristocratic leaders. They knew the paths and the sheep tracks intimately. They called themselves the Children of God – they were inspired by religion, not by patronage or politics.

Jean Cavalier
Led by the young Jean Cavalier and Pierre Laporte (Rolland), the Camisards met the ravages of the royal army with irregular warfare methods and withstood superior forces in several pitched battles.

Violence increased as atrocities were committed on both sides: massacres in Catholic villages such as Fraissinet-de-Fourques, Valsauve and Potelières by camisards. Basville, a government administrator with a reputation founded on torture, deported the entire populations of Mialet and Saumane. Then in the autumn of 1703, with the king's consent, the systematic "Burning of the Cévennes" destroyed 466 hamlets and exiled their populations.

Other Protestants, like those of Fraissinet-de-Lozère, under the influence of village elites, chose a loyalist attitude and fought the Camisards. They were nevertheless equally victims, losing their homes during the "Burning of the Cévennes".

White Camisards, also known as "Cadets of the Cross" ("Cadets de la Croix", from a small white cross which they wore on their coats), were Catholics from neighboring communities such as St. Florent, Senechas and Rousson who, on seeing their old enemies on the run, organized into companies to loot and to hunt the rebels down. They committed atrocities, such as killing 52 people at the village of Brenoux, including pregnant women and children.

Other opponents of the Protestants included six hundred miquelet marksmen from Roussillon hired as mercenaries by the King.

In 1704, Claude Louis Hector de Villars, the royal commander, offered vague concessions to the Protestants and the promise to Cavalier of a command in the royal army. Cavalier's acceptance of the offer broke the revolt, although others, including Laporte, refused to submit unless the Edict of Nantes was restored. Scattered fighting went on until 1710, but the true end of the uprising was the arrival in the Cévennes of the Protestant minister Antoine Court and the reestablishment of a small Protestant community that was largely left in peace, especially after the death of Louis XIV in 1715.

The people
Of the Camisards, 42% were Cévennes peasants, and 58% were rural craftsmen, of whom 75% worked as wool-combers, wool-carders and weavers. All spoke Occitan. There were no noblemen involved, none had been trained in the art of war. There was no concept of a single army, there was no single leader but every region had its permanent organisers and occasional soldiers.

The leaders of note were:

 * Gédéon Laporte
 * Salomon Couderc with Abraham Mazel in Le Bougès and Mont Lozère.
 * Henri Castanet (1674–1705) in charge of Mont Aigoual.
 * Pierre Laporte (Rolland) (1680–1704) in the Basses-Cévennes, Mialet and Lassalle.
 * Jean Cavalier (1681–1704) in the plains of Bas-Languedoc between Uzès and Sauve.

Religiously, ordained pastors were rounded up, and a series of prophets ministered secretly. Notable among them were:

 * Esprit Séguier
 * Abraham Mazel
 * Elie Marion
 * Jean Cavalier

The visions of the prophets inspired the operations of the war, and encouraged the peasants to feel invincible. The peasants marched singing Psalms — which unnerved the opposition.

1701

 * June: the Vallérargues affair, when people seized back captured prophets from priests.

1702

 * 24 July: assassination of François Langlade, Abbé du Chayla, two priests and Catholic family at Dévèze.
 * 12 August: Execution of Esprit Séguier. Traditional start of the War.
 * 11 September: Battle at Champdomergue, a hill near (Le Collet-de-Dèze) with no clear outcome.
 * 22 October: Battle at Témélac. Gédéon Laporte killed and his head displayed at Barre-des-Cévennes, Anduze, Saint-Hippolyte and Montpellier.
 * 24 December: Jean Cavalier took the 700 strong garrison town of Alès. He led 70 Camisards.
 * 28 December: The Camisards took Sauve.

1703

 * 12 January: Jean Cavalier took Val de Barre (Nîmes) from royalist Count de Broglie.
 * February: Count de Broglie relieved of his duties and replaced by Field-Marshal de Montrevel. More troops deployed.
 * 26 February: The Camisards under Castenet massacred the inhabitants of Fraissinet-de-Fourques.
 * 6 March: Battle of Pompignan – the Camisards lost.
 * 1 April: The royalist Moulin de l'Agau massacre.
 * April: the deportation of Mialet and Saumane to Perpignan in Roussillon.
 * 29 April: Jean Cavalier defeated at Tour de Billot (Alès).
 * 18 May: Battle of Bruyès.
 * 12 September: massacre of Catholics at Potelières.
 * 20 September: massacre of Catholics at Saturargues (Lunel) and Saint-Sériès.
 * Autumn: The Burning of the Cévennes policy-villagers were deported from 466 villages which were then torched.
 * Autumn: emergence of the Catholic Cadets of the Cross (White Camisards) who looted and pillaged.
 * 20 December: Battle of the Madeleines (Tornac).

1704

 * 15 March: the battle of Devès de Martignargues (Vézénobres). Jean Cavalier defeated a Catholic regiment
 * March: Field-marshal de Montrevel was relieved of his duties and replaced by Field-marshal de Villars.
 * 16 April: de Montrevel defeated Cavalier at the Battle of Nages (while waiting for de Villars arrival)
 * 19 April: Cavalier's stores discovered in caves at Euzet
 * 20 April: de Villars assumes command and suggests negotiation
 * May: negotiations start, Cavalier accepts unconditional surrender and a command in the royal army
 * 13 August: Pierre Laporte (Rolland) dies at Castelnau-les-Valence
 * October: Other leaders leave France.

Heritage
Jean Cavalier later went over to the British, who made him governor of the island of Jersey.

A millenarian group of ex-Camisards under the guidance of Elie Marion emigrated to London in 1706, and were said to have links with the Alumbrados. They were generally treated with scorn and some official repression as the "French Prophets". Their example and their writings had some influence later, both on the spiritual outlook of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and on Ann Lee, founder of the Shaker movement.

Role in the survival of Protestantism in France
After the main active Camisard groups had been subdued in various ways, the French authorities were keen not to re-ignite the revolt and took a more moderate approach to anti-Protestant repression. Many former Camisards came back to a more peaceful approach and from 1715 onwards helped re-establish a still illegal but now much better organised Protestantism. They were under the leadership of Antoine Court and of the numerous travelling pastors who were permitted to re-enter the country.

"The Camisards' legend"
In his book with the title La légende des Camisards, Philippe Joutard, a professor of history, registered the very lively oral tradition about the Camisards which has prevailed to this day in the Cévennes region. He also observed the "attractive power" of this striking period of history where many unrelated episodes have been integrated through the oral tradition. As this oral transmission is mainly done through the families, it often highlights more of their own ancestors who were faithful to their convictions than the heroic leaders of the revolt. In so doing it develops beyond the original religious question to a general attitude of resistance and non-conformity which determines a whole philosophical, political and human culture and way of life. Philippe Joutard also noted that even the minority of Catholics living in this Protestant part of the country tend to reconstruct their history in the same way as their former religious opponents. The footprint of the Camisards in Cévennes is thus particularly deep and lasting.

Notes and references

 * Notes

 * References

title: Camisards


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USS Vandegrift

USS Vandegrift (FFG-48) was an Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate of the United States Navy. The ship was named for General Alexander A. Vandegrift (1887–1973), 18th Commandant of the Marine Corps.

Vandegrift was laid down on 13 October 1981 at Todd Pacific Shipyards, Seattle, Washington. She was launched on 15 October 1982 – cosponsored by Ms. Courtney A. Vandegrift, Ms. Stephanie S. Vandegrift, and Ms. Daphne L. Vandegrift, three of the late Gen. Vandegrift’s granddaughters, and Ms. Serina N. S. Vandegrift, his great granddaughter. Vandegrift was commissioned on 24 November 1984 and, after over 30 years of service, decommissioned on 19 February 2015.

1980s
The ship's inaugural cruise began on 5 January 1987. During the course of this around-the-world cruise, she sailed three oceans, seven seas and visited four continents. The plank owners also crossed the International Date Line, Equator, Greenwich Meridian, and sailed through the Strait of Gibraltar, and the Suez and Panama Canals. Vandegrift conducted operations with USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) in the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean. These operations were highlighted by an air and sea power demonstration for president Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq of Pakistan. Port visits included Pearl Harbor; Subic Bay in the Republic of the Philippines; Karachi, Pakistan; Mombasa, Kenya; Maxime, France; Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico; and St. Croix and St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Vandegrift returned home to Long Beach in June 1987.

The ship's second deployment began in June 1988, returning her to operations in the Persian Gulf shortly after the cease-fire between Iran and Iraq. Vandegrift's mission while on patrol in the northern Persian Gulf focused on providing protection and logistic support for joint forces in the area. Vandegrift also participated in numerous Earnest Will missions, escorting U.S. and reflagged Kuwaiti tankers. Port visits included Pearl Harbor; Subic Bay, Republic of the Philippines; Bahrain; Pattaya Beach, Thailand and Hong Kong. Vandegrift returned home in December 1988.

1990s
The ship's third deployment to the Persian Gulf began in March 1990. Vandegrift patrolled the Northern Persian Gulf and conducted Earnest Will escort missions. As the senior ship on station in the Persian Gulf during the invasion of Kuwait, Vandegrift served as the Anti-Air Warfare Commander and Electronic Warfare Coordinator. Vandegrift participated in Operation Desert Shield's Maritime Interception Operations with units from United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and France. Ports of call included Pearl Harbor; Subic Bay; Phuket, Thailand; Singapore and Hong Kong. Vandegrift returned home after an extended deployment in October 1990.

On 22 April 1992, Vandegrift began her fourth deployment to the Persian Gulf. Vandegrift participated in exercises with India, Qatar and Pakistan, helping to strengthen U.S. relations in that area. Ports of call included Doha, Qatar; Dubai, Jebel Ali and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Karachi, Pakistan; Phuket, Thailand; Goa, India; Bahrain; Hong Kong; Singapore and Guam, and earned the Chief of Naval Operations LAMPS Helicopter Safety Award. Vandegrift returned home on 22 October 1992.

From 1 January to 3 February 1993, Vandegrift was homeported in Long Beach, CA. Due to extensive shipyard time and the closing of Naval Station Long Beach, from 3 February 1993, Vandegrift was homeported in San Diego, CA. From 1 January to 2 April, Vandegrift was commanded by Commander Theodore L. Kaye. From 2 April to 31 December, Vandegrift was commanded by Commander David C. Harrison. From 1 January to 31 July, Vandegrift was under the administrative command of Commander, Destroyer Squadron 9. From 31 July to 31 December, Vandegrift was under the administrative command of Commander, Destroyer Squadron 33.

The ship earned the COMNAVSURFPAC Food Service Award in March 1994. The fifth deployment to the Persian Gulf began on 25 October 1994. Vandegrift's mission was the enforcement of UN sanctions against Iraq in the Northern Persian Gulf. The most memorable event was conducting a non-permissive boarding of a sanctions violator on 25 December. During the return transit, Vandegrift played host to a major diplomatic reception in Muscat, Oman, to better diplomatic relations. Ports of call included Sasebo, Japan; Manila, Republic of the Philippines; Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates; Bahrain; Singapore and Hong Kong. Vandegrift returned home on 25 April 1995.

In 1998, the ship shifted homeports to Yokosuka, Japan. Between 1998 and 2000, the ship performed numerous cruises to South Korea, Thailand, China, Singapore, the Marianas Islands, Australia, and conducted a RIMPAC deployment to Hawaii in company with the Japanese Navy. In 1999, the vessel was visited by Admiral Jay L. Johnson, then Chief of Naval Operations (CNO).

2000s
In January 2003, Vandegrift deployed for the eighth time to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom. Assigned escort operations in the Straits of Hormuz, Vandegrift conducted over 180 transits, safely escorting over 78 vessels carrying over 1 million tons of hardware in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Additionally, Vandegrift seized two Iraqi mine-laying vessels in the Southern Persian Gulf and was credited with protecting the Coalition’s flank from planned mine-laying operations.

On 19 November 2003, the frigate became the first US warship to enter Vietnamese waters since April 1975.

The ship's decorations include the Meritorious Unit Commendation, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal; Southwest Asia Service Medal, and five Sea Service Ribbons.

As of 2006, Vandegrift was based in San Diego, California.

2010s
In March 2014, Eric and Charlotte Kauffman, and their daughters, three-year-old Cora and one-year-old Lyra, set sail from San Diego, California, to circumnavigate the globe in their 36-foot sailboat, Rebel Heart. Lyra fell sick, however, and on 3 April the family sent a distress call, from a position hundreds of miles off the Mexican coast. A Lockheed MC-130P Combat Shadow of the California Air National Guard’s 130th Rescue Squadron, 129th Rescue Wing, flew out to the area and four pararescuemen jumped into the water, climbed on board the sailboat and medically treated and stabilized Lyra. Vandegrift reached the area on 5 April, and at about 0800 the following morning, she lowered a team in a rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB), and the sailors brought the family and the pararescuemen on board the frigate. The rescuers provided the Kauffmans with food, water, and medical assistance, but instructed the castaways that because of the limited room on board the RHIB and ship, they could only retrieve three bags of their personal belongings in a single trip before Vandegrift sank Rebel Heart as a hazard to navigation. Some of the Kauffmans' neighbors in the San Diego area therefore raised funds and donated goods to help the family recover from their ordeal when they returned ashore.

From 1 May to 28 November 2012 Vandegrift participated in a CARAT deployment, visiting Russia, Japan, Cambodia, Malaysia, and other Pacific nations.

Vandegrift returned from its final deployment on 12 December 2014, where she operated in the U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR). During this final deployment, Vandegrift was part of the counter-transnational organized crime (C-TOC) mission Operation Martillo, a joint, combined operation involving the U.S. and 14 European and Western Hemisphere partner nations, that targets illicit trafficking routes in the waters off Central America. While participating in Operation Martillo, Vandegrift intercepted approximately 8,996 kg of cocaine. The ship also participated in three community relations (COMREL) projects in Panama City during which 36 sailors helped build a workshop for the blind, assist an outreach group in refurbishing their building and spent time with children in the Aid for AIDS community.

After returning from her last deployment, the crew began to make preparations for decommissioning. After over 30 years of service, Vandegrift was decommissioned on 19 February 2015 at Naval Base San Diego.

She was sunk as a target in a SINKEX as a part of the Valiant Shield 2022 training exercise.

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

title: USS Vandegrift


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DeadAIM

DeadAIM (originally De-Ad AIM) was a program created by James Dennis to add new features such as tabbed conversations (which ended up being available in standard AIM until its shutdown) and to disable the advertising in AOL Instant Messenger (AIM). The last release of DeadAIM was version 4.5 in 2003.

In mid-2003, the rights to DeadAIM were sold to America Online effectively ending the development of the program.

JDennis was able to modify the framework of AIM with the use of API hooking. DeadAIM used an OCM file, similar to a DLL, to load into AIM. JDennis had benefited greatly by creating somewhat of a partnership with AOL. This allowed him to add several features more easily and also allowed him to create DeadAIMRegIn, an official AOL bot, to confirm registration information and prevent software piracy.

title: DeadAIM


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USS Antrim

Two ships of the United States Navy have been named Antrim:

 * USS Antrim (AK-159)
 * USS Antrim (FFG-20)

title: USS Antrim


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USS Doyle

USS Doyle has been the name of at least three ships in the United States Navy.

 * USS Doyle (DMS-34), a Gleaves-class destroyer, from 1943 to 1945, then a fast minesweeper until 1955.  Named for Richard Doyle, who fought during the Barbary Wars and was killed while in service in 1807.
 * USS Cecil J. Doyle (DE-368), a John C. Butler-class destroyer escort from 1944 to 1946. Named for USMC aviator Lt. Cecil J. Doyle, posthumous recipient of the Navy Cross for heroism during 18 to 25 October 1942 in the Solomon Islands campaign.
 * USS Doyle (FFG-39), an Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate guided missile frigate from 1983 to 2011. Named for Vice Admiral James Henry Doyle.

title: USS Doyle


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Photoshop contest

A Photoshop contest, or sometimes Photoshop battle (often abbreviated to PS Battle), is an online game, in which a website or user of an Internet forum will post a starting image — usually a photograph — and ask others to manipulate the image using some graphics editing software, usually Adobe Photoshop, however other editors are commonly allowed, such as Corel Photo-Paint, GIMP, PaintShop Pro, Paint.NET or even Microsoft Paint. People can also use video editing software to create these images, such as Adobe Premiere Pro, Kdenlive, OpenShot, or NCH VideoPad.

While Photoshop is the industry standard image editing program, Adobe Systems, the publisher of Photoshop, discourages use of "Photoshop" to refer to anything other than their photo editing software, to prevent their trademark from becoming generic.

Humor
A large part of the humor in many of these contests involves the use of internet memes.

Such contests have recently seen increasing participation on many blogs and forums. The popular internet community Reddit has a community called r/photoshopbattles devoted to the contests.

A more "underground" variety of these image manipulation jokes involves the blending of celebrity faces with nude or pornographic images commonly known as fake nudes, often combined with references to movies, music, magazines and other forms of related popular culture.

Photoshop tennis
Photoshop tennis (also known as Photoshop Pong or Photoshop battle (similar in its function to a "DJ battle" or "rap battle" in hip hop music) is a game played through sequential alternating photoshopping of an image. Photoshop tennis originated in graphics-related internet forums in the late-1990s/early-2000s, and shares an earlier history with online image games such as SITO's "PANIC" (started January, 1994). The game was made popular by art director Jim Coudal in 2001 as "Photoshop Tennis". The matches on coudal.com were later renamed Layer Tennis after enabling the use of other software, and continued through four seasons of competition.

Each match tennis is generally played with two competing players. The players pick a starting image, or one is "served" by a player, then another player makes some sort of alteration to the image in any chosen image editor (matches are not exclusive to Adobe Photoshop). They then send the altered image to the other player or players, usually via e-mail or by posting the image to a Photoshop tennis forum, who then edits that image and sends it back to the first player. This process goes back and forth until a predetermined number of rounds have elapsed, or the players otherwise wish to end the game. When the final round is over, there may be an independent judge who determines who has played the best shots, and declares that person the winner, or players may play without a clear winner. Sometimes extra rules can be enforced, such as sticking to one particular software package, or keeping to a particular theme.

title: Photoshop contest


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Estonian Centre Party

The Estonian Centre Party (Eesti Keskerakond, EK) is a populist political party in Estonia. It was founded in 1991 as a direct successor of the Popular Front of Estonia, and it is currently led by Mihhail Kõlvart. The party was founded on 12 October 1991 from the basis of the Popular Front of Estonia after several parties split from it. At that time, the party was called the People's Centre Party (Rahvakeskerakond) to differentiate from the smaller centre-right Rural Centre Party (Maa-Keskerakond). It is a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) and Renew Europe. From 3 June 2022, the party has been in opposition to the second and third Kallas government.

History
In the parliamentary elections of March 1995, the Centre Party was placed third with 14.2% of votes and 16 seats. It entered the coalition, Edgar Savisaar taking the position of the Minister of Internal Affairs, and four other ministerial positions (Social Affairs, Economy, Education and Transportation & Communications). After the "tape scandal" (secret taping of talks with other politicians) in which Savisaar was involved, the party was forced to go to opposition. A new party was formed by those who were disappointed by their leader's behaviour. Savisaar became the Chairman of the City Council of the capital city Tallinn. In 1996, Siiri Oviir ran for the presidency of Estonia. In the parliamentary elections of March 1999, the Centre Party, whose main slogan was progressive income tax, gained 23.4% of votes (the first result) and 28 seats in the Riigikogu. Party members are active in its 26 branches – eight of them are active in Tallinn, 18 in towns and counties. The Centre Party became a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (then known as the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party) at the organisation's July 2003 London Congress. The party also applied for the membership of the Liberal International (LI) in 2001, but the LI decided to reject the party's application in August 2001, as Savisaar's conduct was adjudged to "not always conform to liberal principles".

In 2001, Kreitzberg unsuccessfully ran for the presidency of Estonia. Savisaar was the Mayor of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, from 2001 to fall 2004, when he was forced to step down after a vote of no confidence. He was replaced by Tõnis Palts of Res Publica. In January 2002, the Centre Party and the Estonian Reform Party formed a new governmental coalition where Centre Party got 8 ministerial seats (Minister of Defense, Education, Social Affairs, Finances, Economy & Communications, Interior, Agriculture and Minister of integration and national minorities). The coalition stayed until the new elections in 2003, in which the party won 28 seats. Though the Centre Party won the greatest per cent of votes, it was in opposition until March 2005 when Juhan Parts' government collapsed. In 2003, the majority of the party's assembly did not support Estonia's joining the European Union (EU). Savisaar did not express clearly his position. A number of Centre Party members exited the party in autumn 2004, mostly due to objections with Savisaar's autocratic tendencies and the party's EU-sceptic stance, forming the Social Liberal group. Some of them joined the Social Democratic Party, others the Reform Party and others the People's Party. One of these MPs later rejoined the Centre Party. Since Estonia's accession to the EU, the party has largely revised its formerly EU-sceptic positions.

In 2004, the Centre Party gained one member in the European Parliament – Siiri Oviir. The Centre Party gathered 17.5% share of votes on the elections to the European Parliament. Oviir joined the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) Group. The Centre Party participated in government with the Estonian Reform Party and the People's Union of Estonia from 12 April 2005 until a new government took office after the March 2007 elections. The Centre Party had five minister portfolios (Edgar Savisaar as Minister of Economy, also Minister of Social Affairs, Education, Culture and Interior). Local elections on 16 October 2005 were very successful to the Centre Party. It managed to win 32 seats out of 63 in Tallinn City Council, having now an absolute majority in that municipality. One of the factors behind this success in Tallinn was probably the immense popularity of Centre Party among Russian speaking voters. The controversial contract of co-operation between the Estonian Centre Party and the Russia's dominant political party of power United Russia has probably contributed to the success in ethnic Russian electorate as well.

The Centre Party formed a one-party administration in the City of Tallinn led by Jüri Ratas, a 27-year-old politician elected the Mayor of Tallinn in November 2005. He was replaced by Savisaar in April 2007. The Centre Party is also a member of coalitions in 15 other major towns of Estonia like Pärnu, Narva, Haapsalu and Tartu. In the 2007 Estonian parliamentary election, the party received 143,528 votes (26.1% of the total), an improvement of +0.7%. They took 29 seats, a gain of one seat compared to the 2003 elections, though due to the 2004 defections which had decreased their strength, they actually gained 10 seats. They are now the second largest party in Parliament and the largest opposition party. In 2008, the party criticised Andrus Ansip's policies, that in Centre Party's opinion have contributed to Estonia's economic problems of recent times. On 16 June 2007, Edgar Savisaar and Jaan Õmblus published a proposal of how to improve what they regard as Estonia's economic crisis.

In the European Parliament elections of 2009, the Centre Party gained the most votes and 2 out of 6 Estonian seats, which were filled by Siiri Oviir and Vilja Savisaar. In local elections of 2009, the party strengthened its absolute majority in the Tallinn city council. Despite their absolute majority, they formed a coalition with the Social Democratic Party. Recent polls suggest the party is especially popular amongst Estonia's Russophone minority. On 9 April 2012, eight prominent Centre Party members decided to leave the party citing frustration of their attempts to bring openness and transparency into party leadership. Previously MP Kalle Laanet was expelled on 21 March for his criticism of the party leadership. The leaving politicians included MEPs Siiri Oviir and Vilja Savisaar-Toomast, MPs Inara Luigas, Lembit Kaljuvee, Deniss Boroditš and Rainer Vakra, and also Ain Seppik, Toomas Varek. In the local elections of 20 October 2013, the Center Party and its leader Edgar Savisaar were successful, obtaining the absolute majority in the city of Tallinn with 53% of votes, winning 46 seats out of 79 (2 more than the 2009 results), considerably more than the second party, the Pro Patria and Res Publica Union, which received 19% of votes and 16 seats.

The Estonian Centre Party obtained a good result in the 2015 election, obtaining 24.8% of votes and electing 27 MPs. The party remained in opposition to the new government of Taavi Rõivas, which was supported by the Estonian Reform Party, the Social Democratic Party and the Pro Patria and Res Publica Union. In Autumn 2016, Savisaar stepped down as party leader and Jüri Ratas was elected in his place. In November 2016, the Social Democratic Party and the Pro Patria Union withdrew from the government coalition and entered a no-confidence motion against the government, together with the Estonian Centre Party. On 9 November 2016, the Riigikogu approved the motion with a 63–28 vote and Rõivas was forced to resign; in a following coalition talk, the Centre Party, SDE and IRL formed a new coalition led by Center Party's chairman Jüri Ratas. The new government was sworn in on 23 November.

Parliamentary elections of 2019
In the 2019 parliamentary election, the Centre Party lost support while the opposition Estonian Reform Party gained support and won a plurality in election. After the election, the head of the Centre Party, Jüri Ratas turned down an offer by the Reform Party for coalition talks and entered into talks with Isamaa and Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE), the latter widely considered a far-right party. Ratas had previously ruled out forming a coalition with EKRE during the election campaign because of its hostile views. The inclusion of EKRE in coalition talks after the elections was met with local and international criticism. In a poll conducted after the start of the coalition talks, the party of Jüri Ratas further lost support.

The critics of the decision have claimed that Ratas is willing to sacrifice his party's values, the confidence of his voters and the stability and reputation of the country to keep his position as prime minister. Ratas has countered that his first duty is to look for ways to get his party included in the government to be able to work in the benefit of his voters and that the coalition would continue to firmly support the EU, NATO and would be sending out messages of tolerance.

Some key members and popular candidates of the party have been critical of the decision, with Raimond Kaljulaid leaving the board of the party in protest. Yana Toom, a member of the Centre Party and its representative in the European Parliament expressed criticism of the decision. Mihhail Kõlvart, popular among the Russian-speaking voters, has said the Centre Party cannot govern with EKRE's approach. On 5 April 2019, Raimond Kaljulaid announced his decision to quit the party, deciding to sit as an independent member of the Parliament.

Coalition government (2021–2022)
In January 2021, after the resignation of Jüri Ratas as Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas formed a Reform Party-led grand coalition government with the Estonian Centre Party. However, on 3 June 2022, Kallas dismissed the seven ministers affiliated with the Centre Party, governing as a minority government until a new coalition without the Centre Party was formed on 8 July.

In opposition (2022–present)
In the 2023 parliamentary election, the Centre Party received 15.3% of the vote and 16 seats in the Riigikogu. The party remained in opposition. Following a donation from businessman Parvel Pruunsild that split the party's board and led to a special congress, party leader Jüri Ratas announced his intention to not run for leadership again. Following the announcement, he endorsed Tanel Kiik as his successor while Tallinn mayor Mihhail Kõlvart declared his candidacy for leadership. Pundits speculated the election to be the most important in the party's history, with Kiik being perceived as representing the liberal and Estonian-speaking wing of the party while Kõlvart was seen as the representation of the conservative and Russian-speaking wing. Kõlvart won the leadership election with 543 votes against Kiik's 489, being elected the third leader in the party's history.

In September 2023, Kõlvart won the Centre Party's leadership election. His victory marked a significant change in the party's direction, choosing to focus more on its Russophone electoral base and shifting to socially conservative and economically syncretic positions, with the party becoming seen as one specifically of the niche Russian minority concentrated in the capital Tallinn and Ida-Viru County. As a result, in the following months the previous party leader Jüri Ratas and several other party members defected to other political forces, leaving Centre Party with one third of its initial parliamentary representation (down to only 6 MPs) and with an increasingly weaker position in the following opinion polls.

Ideology
The Estonian Centre Party has been described as a social-liberal, or left-conservative, party that is in favour of the social market economy, and it has been also described as populist. It is the main stronghold for Russian-speaking citizens. Its political position has been described as either centrist, centre-left,    or left-wing,   since it combines left-wing populist elements and social liberalism. This is despite the fact that the party holds positions considered contrary to social liberalism on a number of issues. For example, the party suggests that Estonia should deliberate re-establishing criminal punishments for the possession of even small amounts of illegal substances, and the Centre Party's parliamentary faction did not agree on its stance in regards to same-sex marriage, which is traditionally supported by social liberals. Party leader Jüri Ratas opposes same-sex marriage, while his preferred successor in the 2023 leadership election, Tanel Kiik, stated his support for it. Political scientist Martin Mölder labelled the party as left-conservative, adding that the party's voter base is "equally as conservative as Isamaa". Former Prime Minister Andrus Ansip also pointed to the party's conservative voter base. The potential alliance of Isamaa, EKRE, and the Centre Party has often been labelled as the "conservative camp", "conservative wing", or "conservative alliance",     while many experts regard the party as having a notable liberal and conservative wing, highlighted by the 2023 leadership election.

The party claims that its goal is the formation of a strong middle class in Estonia. The Centre Party declares itself as a "middle class liberal party"; however, against the backdrop of Estonia's economically liberal policies, the Centre Party has a reputation of having more left-leaning policies. In an Estonian Public Broadcasting program Foorum, Estonian Reform Party parliamentarian Remo Holsmer listed the ideologies of the other three political parties represented in the Riigikogu but could not name the ideological position of the Centre Party. Centre Party parliamentarian Kadri Simson then tried to clarify that the ideology of the party is "Centre Party", meaning a unique ideology independent of other established ones. The party is often described as populist,  and critics have accused its long-time leader Edgar Savisaar of authoritarianism until a new leader was elected in 2016. Historically, the party has been the most popular party among Russian-speaking citizens. In 2012, it was supported by up to 75% of ethnic non-Estonians.

European representation
In the European Parliament, the Estonian Center Party sits in the Renew Europe group with one MEP. In the European Committee of the Regions, the Estonian Center Party sits in the Renew Europe CoR group, with one alternate member for the 2020–2025 mandate.

Leadership
On 10 September 2023, Mihhail Kõlvart was elected party leader at a special party conference in Paide. He received 543 votes (51.91%), defeating Tanel Kiik who received 489 votes (46.75%).
 * Edgar Savisaar (1991–1995)
 * Andra Veidemann (1995-1996)
 * Edgar Savisaar (1996-2016)
 * Jüri Ratas (2016–2023)
 * Mihhail Kõlvart (2023–)

title: Estonian Centre Party


text:
Freestyle rap

Freestyle is a style of hip hop music where an artist improvises an unwritten verse from the head, with or without instrumental beats, in which lyrics are recited with no particular subject or structure. It is similar to other improvisational music, such as jazz, where a lead instrumentalist acts as an improviser with a supporting band providing a beat. Freestyle originally was simply verse that is free of style, written rhymes that do not follow a specific subject matter, or predetermined cadence. The newer style with the improvisation grew popular starting in the early 1990s. It is now mainly associated with hip hop.

Original definition
In the book How to Rap, Big Daddy Kane and Myka 9 note that originally a freestyle was a spit on no particular subject – Big Daddy Kane said, "in the '80s, when we said we wrote a freestyle rap, that meant that it was a rhyme that you wrote that was free of style... it's basically a rhyme just bragging about yourself." Myka 9 adds, "back in the day, freestyle was bust[ing] a rhyme about any random thing, and it was a written rhyme or something memorized". Divine Styler says: "in the school I come from, freestyling was a non-conceptual written rhyme... and now they call freestyling off the top of the head, so the era I come from, it's a lot different". Kool Moe Dee also refers to this earlier definition in his book, There's A God On The Mic:

"There are two types of freestyle. There's an old-school freestyle that's basically rhymes that you've written that may not have anything to do with any subject or that goes all over the place. Then there's freestyle where you come off the top of the head."

In old school hip-hop, Kool Moe Dee claimed that improvisational rapping was instead called "coming off the top of the head", and Big Daddy Kane stated, "off-the-top-of-the-head [rapping], we just called that 'off the dome' – when you don't write it and [you] say whatever comes to mind".

Referring to this earlier definition (a written rhyme on non-specific subject matter), Big Daddy Kane stated, "that's really what a freestyle is" and Kool Moe Dee refers to it as "true" freestyle, and "the real old-school freestyle". Kool Moe Dee suggests that Kool G Rap's track "Men At Work" is an "excellent example" of true freestyle, along with Rakim's "Lyrics of Fury".

Newer definition
Since the early 1990s onwards, with the popularization of improvisational rapping from groups and artists such as Freestyle Fellowship through to fresh fest competitions, "freestyle" has come to be the widely used term for rap lyrics that are improvised on the spot. This type of freestyle is the focus of Kevin Fitzgerald's documentary, Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme, where the term is used throughout by numerous artists to mean improvisational rapping.

Kool Moe Dee suggests the change in how the term is used happened somewhere in the mid to late 1980s, saying, "until 1986, all freestyles were written", and "before the 1990s, it was about how hard you could come with a written rhyme with no particular subject matter and no real purpose other than showing your lyrical prowess."

Myka 9 explains that Freestyle Fellowship helped redefine the term – "that's what they say I helped do – I helped get the world to freestyle, me and the Freestyle Fellowship, by inventing the Freestyle Fellowship and by redefining what freestyle is... We have redefined what freestyle is by saying that it's improvisational rap like a jazz solo".

Although this kind of freestyling is very well respected today, Kool Moe Dee states that this was not the case previously:

"A lot of the old-school artists didn't even respect what's being called freestyle now... any emcee coming off the top of the head wasn't really respected. The sentiment was emcees only did that if they couldn't write. The coming off the top of the head rhymer had a built-in excuse to not be critiqued as hard."

Methodology of improvised freestyle
Many rappers learn to rap through improvised freestyling, and by making freestyling into a conversation or a rhyming game which they play frequently as a way to practice, as described in the book How to Rap. Reasons for freestyling include entertainment, as a therapeutic activity, to discover different ways of rapping, promoting oneself, increasing versatility, or as a spiritual activity. Improvised freestyling can also be used in live performances, to do things such as giving something extra to the crowd and to cover up mistakes. To prove that a freestyle is being made up on the spot (as opposed to something pre-written or memorized), rappers will often refer to places and objects in their immediate setting, or will take suggestions on what to rhyme about.

Freestyles are performed a cappella, over beatboxing (as seen in Freestyle ), or over instrumental versions of songs. Freestyling is often done in a group setting called a "cypher" (or "cipher") or as part of a "freestyle battle". Due to the improvised nature of freestyle, meter and rhythm are usually more relaxed than in conventional rapping. Many artists base their freestyle on their current situation or mental state, but have a ready supply of prepared lyrics and rhyme patterns they can use as filler. Freestyling can also be used as a songwriting method for albums or mixtapes.

Types of freestyles
A freestyle battle is a contest in which two or more rappers or MCs compete or "battle" each other using improvised lyrics. It is a prominent part of contemporary Hip Hop culture and originated in the African-American community. In a freestyle battle, each competitor's goal is to "diss" their opponent through clever lyrics and wordplay, with heavy emphasis being placed upon the rapper's improvisational ability. Many battles also include metaphorically violent imagery, complementing the "battling" atmosphere. It is considered dishonorable or shameful to recite pre-written or memorized raps during a freestyle battle, because it shows the rapper to be incapable of "spitting" spur-of-the-moment lyrics. A live audience is key, as a large part of "winning" a battle is how an audience responds to each rapper. Appointed judges may be used in formal contests, but in most cases, the rapper who receives the largest audience response is viewed as the victor.

In modern times, with the rise of leagues such as King of the Dot and Ultimate Rap League, most battles are written, with some freestyling incorporated into the verses. This allows for more intricate rhymes and insults.

As hip-hop evolved in the early 1980s, many rappers gained their fame through freestyle battles. Battles can take place anywhere: informally on street corners, on stage at a concert, at a school, or at events specifically meant for battling (such as Scribble Jam or the Blaze Battle).

A cypher or cipher is an informal gathering of rappers, beatboxers, and/or breakdancers in a circle, in order to jam musically together. The term has also in recent years come to mean the crowd that forms around freestyle battles, consisting of spectators and onlookers. This group serves partly to encourage competition and partly to enhance the communal aspect of rap battles. The cypher is known for "making or breaking reputations in the Hip Hop community; if you are able to step into the cypher and tell your story, demonstrating your uniqueness, you might be more accepted". These groups also serve as a way for messages about Hip Hop styles and knowledge to be spread, through word-of-mouth and encouraging trends in other battles.

Longest freestyle
On May 6, 2020, American rapper and slam poet George Watsky, best known for his rapid delivery, set the world record for longest freestyle at 33 hours, 33 minutes and 19 seconds. He held this record for 3 years until Japanese rapper PONEY beat it in April 2023 at 48 hours.

title: Freestyle rap


text:
Musical form

In music, form refers to the structure of a musical composition or performance. In his book, Worlds of Music, Jeff Todd Titon suggests that a number of organizational elements may determine the formal structure of a piece of music, such as "the arrangement of musical units of rhythm, melody, and/or harmony that show repetition or variation, the arrangement of the instruments (as in the order of solos in a jazz or bluegrass performance), or the way a symphonic piece is orchestrated", among other factors. It is, "the ways in which a composition is shaped to create a meaningful musical experience for the listener."

""Form refers to the largest shape of the composition. Form in music is the result of the interaction of the four structural elements described above [sound, harmony, melody, rhythm].""

These organizational elements may be broken into smaller units called phrases, which express a musical idea but lack sufficient weight to stand alone. Musical form unfolds over time through the expansion and development of these ideas. In tonal harmony, form is articulated primarily through cadences, phrases, and periods. "Form refers to the larger shape of the composition. Form in music is the result of the interaction of the four structural elements," of sound, harmony, melody, and rhythm.

Although, it has been recently stated that form can be present under the influence of musical contour, also known as Contouric Form. In 2017, Scott Saewitz brought attention to this concept by highlighting the occurrence in Anton Webern's Op.16 No.2.

Compositions that do not follow a fixed structure and rely more on improvisation are considered free-form. A fantasia is an example of this. Composer Debussy in 1907 wrote that, "I am more and more convinced that music is not, in essence, a thing that can be cast into a traditional and fixed form. It is made up of colors and rhythms."

Labeling
To aid in the process of describing form, musicians have developed a simple system of labeling musical units with letters. In his textbook Listening to Music, professor Craig Wright writes: "The first statement of a musical idea is designated A. Subsequent contrasting sections are labeled B, C, D, and so on. If the first or any other musical unit returns in varied form, then that variation is indicated by a superscript number—A1 and B2, for example. Subdivisions of each large musical unit are shown by lowercase letters (a, b, and so on)."

Some writers also use a prime label (such as B′, pronounced "B prime", or B″, pronounced "B double prime") to denote sections that are closely related, but vary slightly.

Levels of organization
The founding level of musical form can be divided into two parts:
 * The arrangement of the pulse into unaccented and accented beats, the cells of a measure that, when harmonized, may give rise to a motif or figure.
 * The further organization of such a measure, by repetition and variation, into a true musical phrase having a definite rhythm and duration that may be implied in melody and harmony, defined, for example, by a long final note and a breathing space. This "phrase" may be regarded as the fundamental unit of musical form: it may be broken down into measures of two or three beats, but its distinctive nature will then be lost. Even at this level, the importance of the principles of repetition and contrast, weak and strong, climax and repose, can be seen. Thus, form may be understood on three levels of organization. For the purpose of this exposition, these levels can be roughly designated as passage, piece, and cycle.

Passage
The smallest level of construction concerns the way musical phrases are organized into musical sentences and "paragraphs" such as the verse of a song. This may be compared to, and is often decided by, the verse form or meter of the words or the steps of a dance.

For example, the twelve bar blues is a specific verse form, while common meter is found in many hymns and ballads and, again, the Elizabethan galliard, like many dances, requires a certain rhythm, pace and length of melody to fit its repeating pattern of steps. Simpler styles of music may be more or less wholly defined at this level of form, which therefore does not differ greatly from the loose sense first mentioned and which may carry with it rhythmic, harmonic, timbral, occasional and melodic conventions.

Piece (or movement)
The next level concerns the entire structure of any single self-contained musical piece or movement. If the hymn, ballad, blues or dance alluded to above simply repeats the same musical material indefinitely then the piece is said to be in strophic form overall. If it repeats with distinct, sustained changes each time, for instance in setting, ornamentation or instrumentation, then the piece is a theme and variations. If two distinctly different themes are alternated indefinitely, as in a song alternating verse and chorus or in the alternating slow and fast sections of the Hungarian czardas, then this gives rise to a simple binary form. If the theme is played (perhaps twice), then a new theme is introduced, the piece then closing with a return to the first theme, we have a simple ternary form.

Great arguments and misunderstanding can be generated by such terms as 'ternary' and 'binary', as a complex piece may have elements of both at different organizational levels. A minuet, like any Baroque dance, generally had a simple binary structure (AABB), however, this was frequently extended by the introduction of another minuet arranged for solo instruments (called the trio), after which the first was repeated again and the piece ended—this is a ternary form—ABA: the piece is binary on the lower compositional level but ternary on the higher. Organisational levels are not clearly and universally defined in western musicology, while words like "section" and "passage" are used at different levels by different scholars whose definitions, as Schlanker points out, cannot keep pace with the myriad innovations and variations devised by musicians.

Cycle
The grandest level of organization may be referred to as "cyclical form". It concerns the arrangement of several self-contained pieces into a large-scale composition. For example, a set of songs with a related theme may be presented as a song-cycle, whereas a set of Baroque dances were presented as a suite. The opera and ballet may organize song and dance into even larger forms. The symphony, generally considered to be one piece, nevertheless divides into multiple movements (which can usually work as a self-contained piece if played alone). This level of musical form, though it again applies and gives rise to different genres, takes more account of the methods of musical organisation used. For example: a symphony, a concerto and a sonata differ in scale and aim, yet generally resemble one another in the manner of their organization. The individual pieces which make up the larger form may be called movements.

Common forms in Western music
Scholes suggested that European classical music had only six stand-alone forms: simple binary, simple ternary, compound binary, rondo, air with variations, and fugue (although musicologist Alfred Mann emphasized that the fugue is primarily a method of composition that has sometimes taken on certain structural conventions).

Charles Keil classified forms and formal detail as "sectional, developmental, or variational."

Sectional form
This form is built from a sequence of clear-cut units that may be referred to by letters but also often have generic names such as introduction and coda, exposition, development and recapitulation, verse, chorus or refrain, and bridge. Sectional forms include:

Strophic form
Strophic form – also called verse-repeating form, chorus form, AAA song form, or one-part song form – is a song structure in which all verses or stanzas of the text are sung to the same music

Medley or "chain" form
Medley, potpourri or chain form is the extreme opposite, that of "unrelieved variation": it is simply an indefinite sequence of self-contained sections (ABCD...), sometimes with repeats (AABBCCDD...).

Binary form
The term "Binary Form" is used to describe a musical piece with two sections that are about equal in length. Binary Form can be written as AB or AABB. Using the example of Greensleeves provided, the first system is almost identical to the second system. We call the first system A and the second system A′ (A prime) because of the slight difference in the last measure and a half. The next two systems (3rd and 4th) are almost identical as well, but a new musical idea entirely than the first two systems. We call the third system B and the fourth system B' (B prime) because of the slight difference in the last measure and a half. As a whole, this piece of music is in Binary Form: AA′BB′.

Ternary form
Ternary form is a three-part musical form in which the third part repeats or at least contains the principal idea of the first part, represented as ABA. There are both simple and compound ternary forms. Da capo arias are usually in simple ternary form (i.e. "from the head"). A compound ternary form (or trio form) similarly involves an ABA pattern, but each section is itself either in binary (two sub-sections which may be repeated) or (simple) ternary form.

Rondo form
This form has a recurring theme alternating with different (usually contrasting) sections called "episodes". It may be asymmetrical (ABACADAEA) or symmetrical (ABACABA). A recurring section, especially the main theme, is sometimes more thoroughly varied, or else one episode may be a "development" of it. A similar arrangement is the ritornello form of the Baroque concerto grosso. Arch form (ABCBA) resembles a symmetrical rondo without intermediate repetitions of the main theme.

Variational form
Variational forms are those in which variation is an important formative element.

Theme and Variations: a theme, which in itself can be of any shorter form (binary, ternary, etc.), forms the only "section" and is repeated indefinitely (as in strophic form) but is varied each time (A,B,A,F,Z,A), so as to make a sort of sectional chain form. An important variant of this, much used in 17th-century British music and in the Passacaglia and Chaconne, was that of the ground bass—a repeating bass theme or basso ostinato over and around which the rest of the structure unfolds, often, but not always, spinning polyphonic or contrapuntal threads, or improvising divisions and descants. This is said by Scholes (1977) to be the form par excellence of unaccompanied or accompanied solo instrumental music. The Rondo is often found with sections varied (AA1BA2CA3BA4) or (ABA1CA2B1A).

Sonata-allegro form
Sonata-allegro form (also sonata form or first movement form) is typically cast in a greater ternary form, having the nominal subdivisions of exposition, development and recapitulation. Usually, but not always, the "A" parts (exposition and recapitulation, respectively) may be subdivided into two or three themes or theme groups which are taken asunder and recombined to form the "B" part (the development)—thus, e.g. (AabB[dev. of a and/or b]A1ab1+coda).

The sonata form is "the most important principle of musical form, or formal type from the classical period well into the twentieth century." It is usually used as the form of the first movement in multi-movement works. So, it is also called "first-movement form" or "sonata-allegro form" (because usually the most common first movements are in allegro tempo).

Each section of sonata form movement has its own function:

 * It may have an introduction at the beginning.
 * Following the introduction, the exposition is the first required section. It lays out the thematic material in its basic version. There are usually two themes or theme groups in the exposition, and they are often in contrasting styles and keys and connected by a transition. In the end of the exposition, there is a closing theme which concludes the section.
 * The exposition is followed by the development section in which the material in the exposition is developed.
 * After the development section, there is a returning section called recapitulation where the thematic material returns in the tonic key.
 * At the end of the movement, there may be a coda, after the recapitulation.

Forms used in Western popular music
Some forms are used predominantly within popular music, including genre-specific forms. Popular music forms are often derived from strophic form (AAA song form), 32-bar form (AABA song form), verse-chorus form (AB song form) and 12-bar blues form (AAB song form).

Sectional forms
See
 * AABA a.k.a. American Popular
 * AB a.k.a. Verse/Chorus
 * ABC a.k.a. Verse/Chorus/Bridge
 * ABAB
 * ABAC a.k.a. Verse/Chorus/Verse/Bridge
 * ABCD a.k.a. Through-composed
 * Blues Song forms
 * AAB a.k.a. Twelve-bar blues
 * 8-Bar Blues
 * 16-Bar Blues

Extended forms
Extended form are forms that have their root in one of the forms above, however, they have been extended with additional sections. For example:

 * AAAAA
 * AABABA

Compound forms
Also called Hybrid song forms. Compound song forms blend together two or more song forms.

Section names in popular music

 * Introduction a.k.a. Intro
 * Verse
 * Refrain
 * Pre-chorus / Rise / Climb
 * Chorus
 * Post-chorus
 * Bridge
 * Middle-Eight
 * Solo / Instrumental Break
 * Collision
 * CODA / Outro
 * Ad Lib (Often in CODA / Outro)

Cyclical forms
In the 13th century the song cycle emerged, which is a set of related songs (as the suite is a set of related dances). The oratorio took shape in the second half of the 16th century as a narrative recounted—rather than acted—by the singers.

title: Musical form


text:
People's Union of Estonia

The People's Union of Estonia (Eestimaa Rahvaliit) was a political party in Estonia. Its last leader was Margo Miljand.

In the 2003 parliamentary election, the party collected 64,463 votes, which made 13.0% share of all votes and 13 mandates out of 101. In 2007's election, this dropped to 39,211 votes (7.1% of the total, a drop of 5.9%), and six seats in the Riigikogu, a loss of 7. It has dropped from fourth to sixth place among parties, having been bested by the Social Democratic Party and (narrowly) by the Greens.

History
The party was founded on 29 September 1994 in Tallinn under the name of Estonian Country People's Party (Eesti Maarahva Erakond, EME). On 18 October 1999 the party was renamed to People's Union of Estonia. On 10 June 2000 the People's Union merged with the Estonian Country Union (Eesti Maaliit, EML) and with the Estonian Party of Pensioners and Families (Eesti Pensionäride ja Perede Erakond, EPPE), becoming the largest political party in Estonia. Another merger with the New Estonia Party (Erakond Uus Eesti) in 2003 resulted in further growth of membership. In 2010, there were more than 9,000 official members in the People's Union of Estonia.

The People's Union of Estonia was an agrarian party with populist, social democratic influences. Consequently, the party experienced difficulties in gaining wider support in cities and big towns. The last couple of years brought along some changes. The representation of the People's Union in towns (including the capital Tallinn) grew and they started to work on involving Russian-speaking minority in political activities. Russian Association of the People's Union was founded in 2005. The People's Union had a youth organisation called the Youth of the People's Union (Rahvaliidu Noored), which had approximately 3000 members.

On the European level the People's Union was a member of the Alliance for Europe of the Nations, but did not have any representatives in the European Parliament. The official organ of the Union was The Caring Estonia (Hooliv Eesti).

The first Chairman of the party was the previous President of the Republic of Estonia, Arnold Rüütel. On 10 June 2000 Villu Reiljan became the new Chairman of the People's Union. He served also as the Minister of Environment when the People’s Party participated in the Reform Party’s coalition government.

The Union was a member of Estonian government coalitions from 1995 to 1999 and from 2003 to 2007. From 2003 to 2005 they were in government together with the Estonian Reform Party and the Union for the Republic - Res Publica. Following a vote of no confidence against the government of Prime Minister Juhan Parts and Parts' subsequent resignation from the post of Prime Minister, they took part in formation of the new coalition where Res Publica was replaced with the Estonian Centre Party (see Andrus Ansip's cabinet).

In 2003 Estonian parliamentary election the party collected 64,463 votes, which made 13% share of all votes and 13 mandates out of 101. In comparison with previous election in 1999 they gained 6 additional seats in the Estonian Parliament. The representation of the party grew to 16 seats in 2005 when Toomas Alatalu, Robert Lepikson and Jaanus Marrandi, former members of the Estonian Centre Party decided to join the People's Union. After Robert Lepikson's death on 1 July 2005 the People’s Party lost a seat, because he was elected in Centre Party list, and his replacement came therefore from the CPE list.

In local elections on 16 October 2005 the People's Union was also rather successful, winning 4 seats in Tallinn City Council and becoming part of coalitions in Tartu, Pärnu and Viljandi. In Tallinn the candidates of the People's Union ran in the list of the Social Democratic Party which has fueled speculations about the possible merger of the two parties. Chairmen of both parties have declared those speculations groundless.

Following the People’s Party’s poor performance in the March 2007 parliamentary elections, it was not reappointed to the coalition government, which continued to be led by the Reform Party. The Center Party and the People’s Party were replaced by the Social Democrats and Pro Patria/Res Publica.

After continued worsening of election results, ERL started to look for a possible merging partner; in 2010, talks with the Social Democratic Party were successfully concluded, and a special congress on merging ERL into the SDE was to be held on 23 May 2010. However, at the party congress, only 172 delegates out of 412 supported the deal; it was considered likely that the ERL would merge with the Centre Party instead. Following the failed merger attempt, leading ERL members left the party and joined the SDE. Since defections (three MPs joined the SDE, one the Reform Party and one Center Party) the ERL had only 1 MP left, which means that it did not have a faction status.

In the 2011 parliamentary election, the ERL did not pass 5% threshold and became an extra-parliamentary party.

Finally, on 24 March 2012, the party merged with the Estonian Patriotic Movement into the Conservative People's Party of Estonia. In an earlier 2006 press release, the Patriotic Movement had characterized the People's Union (and Center Party) as traitors. According to surveys carried out by TNS Emor, the party has lost all its support (0% in April and May 2012).

title: People's Union of Estonia


text:
Wilmer McLean

Wilmer McLean (May 3, 1814 – June 5, 1882) was an American wholesale grocer from Virginia. His house, near Manassas, Virginia, was involved in the First Battle of Bull Run in 1861. After the battle, he moved to Appomattox, Virginia, to escape the war, thinking that it would be safe. Instead, in 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant in McLean's house in Appomattox. His houses were, therefore, involved in one of the first and one of the last encounters of the American Civil War.

First Battle of Bull Run
The initial engagement on July 21, 1861, of what would become the First Battle of Bull Run (First Manassas) took place on McLean's farm, the Yorkshire Plantation, in Manassas, Prince William County, Virginia. Union Army artillery fired at McLean's house, which was being used as a headquarters for Confederate Brigadier General P. G. T. Beauregard, and a cannonball dropped through the kitchen fireplace. Beauregard wrote after the battle, "A comical effect of this artillery fight was the destruction of the dinner of myself and staff by a Federal shell that fell into the fire-place [sic] of my headquarters at the McLean House."

McLean was a retired major in the Virginia militia but, at age 47 he was too old to return to active duty at the outbreak of the Civil War. He made his living during the war as a sugar broker supplying the Confederate States Army. He decided to move because his commercial activities were centered mostly in southern Virginia and the Union army presence in his area of northern Virginia made his work difficult. He undoubtedly was also motivated by a desire to protect his family from a repetition of their combat experience. In the spring of 1863, he and his family moved about 120 mi south to Appomattox County, Virginia, near a dusty, crossroads community called Appomattox Court House.

Appomattox Court House
On April 9, 1865, the war revisited McLean. Confederate General Robert E. Lee was about to surrender to Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant. He sent a messenger to Appomattox Court House to find a place to meet. On April 8, 1865, the messenger knocked on McLean's door and requested the use of his home, to which McLean reluctantly agreed. Lee surrendered to Grant in the parlor of McLean's house, effectively ending the Civil War. Later, McLean is supposed to have said, "The war began in my front yard and ended in my front parlor."

Once the ceremony was over, members of the Army of the Potomac began taking the tables, chairs, and various other furnishings in the house — essentially, anything that was not tied down — as souvenirs. They simply handed money to the protesting McLean as they made off with his property. Major General Edward Ord paid $ (equivalent to $ in today's dollars) for the table Lee had used to sign the surrender document, while Major General Philip Sheridan took the table on which Grant had drafted the document for $ (equivalent to $ in today's dollars) in gold. Sheridan then asked George Armstrong Custer to carry it away on his horse. The table was presented to Custer's wife and is now on exhibit at the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian. An authentic recreation of McLean's second home is now part of the Appomattox Court House National Historical Park operated by the National Park Service of the United States Department of the Interior.

After the war
After the war, McLean and his family sold their house in 1867, unable to keep up the mortgage payments, and returned to their home in Manassas. They later moved to Alexandria, Virginia. He worked for the Internal Revenue Service from 1873 to 1876.

Wilmer McLean died in Alexandria and is buried there at St. Paul's Episcopal Cemetery.

title: Wilmer McLean


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Dutch Schultz

Dutch Schultz (born Arthur Simon Flegenheimer; August 6, 1901 – October 24, 1935) was an American mobster based in New York City in the 1920s and 1930s. Schultz made his fortune in organized crime-related activities, including bootlegging and the numbers racket. Schultz's rackets were weakened by two tax evasion trials led by prosecutor Thomas Dewey, and also threatened by fellow mobster Lucky Luciano.

Schultz asked the Commission for permission to kill Dewey, in an attempt to avert his conviction, which they refused. When Schultz disobeyed them and made an attempt to kill Dewey, the Commission ordered his murder in 1935. Schultz was shot at a restaurant in Newark and died the next day.

Early life
Arthur Simon Flegenheimer was born on August 6, 1901, to German Jewish immigrants Herman and Emma (Neu) Flegenheimer, who had married in Manhattan on November 10, 1900. He had a younger sister, Helen, born in 1904. Herman Flegenheimer apparently abandoned his family, and Emma is listed as divorced in the 1910 US census. In her 1932 petition for U.S. citizenship, however, she wrote that her husband had died in 1910–though it is unclear whether he died before or after the 1910 US census.

The event traumatized young Flegenheimer, who spent the rest of his life denying that his father had abandoned his family. Flegenheimer dropped out of school in the eighth grade to help support himself and his mother. He worked as a feeder and pressman for the Clark Loose Leaf Company, Caxton Press, American Express, and Schultz Trucking in the Bronx between 1916 and 1919.

Criminal beginnings
Before turning to burglary, Flegenheimer worked at a neighborhood night club owned by a small-time mobster, where he robbed craps games. Eventually he was caught breaking into an apartment and sent to the prison on Blackwell's Island (now called Roosevelt Island). Flegenheimer's mugshot, aged 18, was published in the 2010 book New York City Gangland. He proved to be such an unmanageable prisoner that he was transferred to a work farm in Westhampton, Long Island. After he was recaptured following an escape, he had two months added to his sentence.

Flegenheimer was released on parole on December 8, 1920, and went back to work at Schultz Trucking. With the enactment of the Volstead Act and the start of Prohibition in the United States, the shipping company began smuggling liquor and beer into New York City from Canada. This led Flegenheimer to start associating with known criminals. It was also during this time that Flegenheimer became better known as "Dutch" Schultz. Following a disagreement, he left Schultz Trucking and went to work for their Italian competitors.

Bootlegger
In the mid-1920s, Schultz had begun work as a bouncer at the Hub Social Club, a small speakeasy in the Bronx owned by a gangster named Joey Noe. Noe was impressed with Schultz's ruthlessness and reputation for brutality when he lost his temper, and he made him a partner. Together they soon opened more illegal drinking joints around the Bronx. Using their own trucks to reduce high delivery costs, they brought in beer made by Frankie Dunn, a brewer in Union City, New Jersey. Schultz often rode shotgun to guard the trucks from hijackers.

Schultz and Noe soon had to deal with the brothers John and Joe Rock, who were already running a bootlegging operation in the Bronx. Initially the brothers refused to buy beer from Noe and Schultz, but eventually John, the elder brother, agreed to cooperate; however, his younger brother Joe refused. One night the Noe-Schultz gang kidnapped Joe, beat him and hung him by his thumbs from a meat hook. They then allegedly wrapped a gauze bandage smeared with discharge from a gonorrhea infection over his eyes. His family reportedly paid $35,000 for his release. Shortly after his return, he went blind. From then on, the Noe-Schultz gang met little opposition as they expanded across the entire Bronx. Bootlegging during Prohibition made Schultz very wealthy.

Gang wars
The Noe-Schultz operation, which had begun to flourish in the Bronx, soon became the only gang able to rival the network of Italian crime syndicates that became the Mafia's Five Families. When the gang expanded from the Bronx over to Manhattan's Upper West Side and the neighborhoods of Washington Heights, Yorkville and Harlem, they moved their headquarters to East 149th Street in The Bronx. However, this brazen move led to a bootleg war with New York's Irish Mob, led by Jack "Legs" Diamond.

In the early hours of October 16, 1928, Noe was shot several times outside the Chateau Madrid, a speakeasy at 231 West 54th. Although seriously wounded, he managed to return fire. A blue Cadillac was seen hitting some parked cars and losing one of its doors before speeding away. When police found the car an hour later, they discovered the body of a Louis Weinberg (no relation to Schultz gang members Abraham "Bo" Weinberg and George Weinberg) in the back seat. Noe's wounds became infected and he died on November 21. Schultz was left angry and distraught by the loss of his friend and mentor.

Retaliation started a few weeks later when Arnold Rothstein, a kingpin in the Jewish mob, was found fatally shot near the service entrance to the Park Central Hotel on November 6, 1928. Although George "Hump" McManus supposedly killed Rothstein over a bad gambling debt, Schultz is believed to have ordered the killing in retribution for Noe's death. This theory is supported by the fact that the first person McManus rang after the killing was Schultz's attorney, Dixie Davis. Schultz's trusted lieutenant, Bo Weinberg, then picked up McManus and drove him away from the murder scene. McManus was later cleared of the killing.

On October 12, 1930, Legs Diamond was shot and wounded at the Hotel Monticello on Manhattan's West Side. Two gunmen forced their way into Diamond's room and shot him five times before fleeing. Still in his pajamas, Diamond staggered into the hallway and collapsed. When asked later by the New York Police Commissioner how he managed to walk out of the room, Diamond said he drank two shots of whiskey first. Diamond was rushed to the Polyclinic Hospital in Manhattan, where he eventually recovered. On December 30, 1930, Diamond was discharged from Polyclinic. During his absence, his gang was forced to leave the city. When he returned home, Diamond began carving out a new territory for himself in Albany. He was killed in a cheap Albany rooming house at 67 Dove Street by two gunmen in December 1931.

Schultz also had to deal with internecine conflicts within his own gang. In 1930, one of Schultz's enforcers, Vincent Coll, demanded to be made an equal partner. This was because Schultz gang members received a flat salary instead of the customary percentage from the take—a unique arrangement compared to other major gangs in organized crime. When Schultz refused, Coll formed his own crew with the ultimate goal of murdering Schultz and taking over his territory.

In the bloody gang war that followed, Coll lost his older brother Pete and earned the nickname "Mad Dog" from the press after a child was killed during a botched assassination attempt committed by his gang. In February 1932, Coll was lured into a trap. While he was taking a call in a drugstore phone booth, gunmen entered the store and machine-gunned him to death. The killers may have included Edward "Fats" McCarthy and the brothers Bo and George Weinberg.

Racketeer
Along with the policy rackets, Schultz began extorting New York restaurant owners and workers. Schultz, working through a hulking gangster named Jules Modgilewsky, also known as Julie Martin, made deals with the leaders of Waiters Local 16 and Cafeteria Workers Local 302 to extort money by forcing restaurant owners to join the Metropolitan Restaurant & Cafeteria Owners Association, an employer association that Schultz had founded. Those who refused to join the Association were faced with exorbitant wage demands from the unions, followed by strikes and stink bomb attacks. The Metropolitan Association then stepped in to arrange a settlement of the strike with a sweetheart contract for low wages contingent on the employer joining the Association. Martin/Modgilewsky successfully extracted thousands of dollars of tributes and "dues" from the terrorized restaurant owners for Schultz.

During Schultz's tax trial (see below) he began to suspect that Martin was skimming from the shakedown operation; Schultz had recently discovered a $70,000 disparity in the books. On the evening of March 2, 1935, Schultz invited Martin to a meeting at the Harmony Hotel in Cohoes, New York. At the meeting, at which chief enforcer Bo Weinberg and mob lawyer Dixie Davis were also present, Martin belligerently denied Schultz's charges and began arguing with him. Both men were drinking heavily as the argument continued, and Schultz sucker-punched Martin. Finally, Martin admitted that he had taken $20,000, which he believed he was "entitled to" anyway. Dixie Davis related what happened next:

"Dutch Schultz was ugly; he had been drinking and suddenly he had his gun out. Schultz wore his pistol under his vest, tucked inside his pants, right against his belly. One jerk at his vest and he had it in his hand. All in the same quick motion he swung it up, stuck it in Jules Martin's mouth and pulled the trigger. It was as simple and undramatic as that—just one quick motion of the hand. Dutch Schultz did that murder just as casually as if he were picking his teeth."

As Martin contorted on the floor, Schultz apologized to Davis for killing someone in front of him. When Davis later read a newspaper story about Martin's murder, he was shocked to find out that the body was found on a snow bank with a dozen stab wounds to the chest. When Davis asked about this, Schultz replied, deadpan, "I cut his heart out."

Trials for tax evasion
In the early 1930s, U.S. Attorney Thomas Dewey had set his sights on convicting Schultz for non-payment of federal taxes. Schultz was indicted in New York in January 1933 and became a fugitive. (Dewey subsequently left the Justice Department, first for private practice, then as a state-appointed Special Prosecutor and D.A.) Schultz surrendered in Albany, New York, in November 1934. This was part of his plan to have his trials moved from New York City to upstate. His first tax evasion trial, in Syracuse, ended in a hung jury, with many speculating he'd bribed the jurors. He would face retrial in Malone, New York.

With the case going to a second trial, Schultz quickly set about presenting himself to the townspeople of Malone as a country squire and good citizen. He donated cash to local businesses, gave toys to sick children, and performed other charitable deeds. The strategy worked, as he was acquitted of tax evasion in late summer 1935. The mayor of New York, Fiorello La Guardia, was so outraged at the verdict that he issued an order that Schultz should be arrested on sight should he return to the city. As a result, Schultz was forced to relocate his base of operations across the Hudson River to Newark.

Betrayal
As his defense costs to fight his tax case mounted, Schultz had found it necessary to reduce the commission he paid to those running his policy rackets to bolster what he called the "Arthur Flegenheimer Defense Fund." That tactic angered the runners and the games' controllers, who, despite being threatened with violence for showing any dissent, hired a hall, held a mass protest meeting, and declared a strike of sorts. Very quickly the cash flow dried up, and Schultz was forced to back down, which permanently damaged the relationship between his gang and their associates.

Bo Weinberg, Schultz's chief lieutenant, was so concerned about the amount of money that Schultz was taking from the rackets to fund his legal defense that he sought advice from New Jersey mob boss Longy Zwillman, who put him in touch with the Sicilian-born gangster Charlie "Lucky" Luciano. The deal that Weinberg wanted was to retain a percentage and keep overall control of the Schultz gang. However, Luciano planned to break up the gang's rackets and territory among his own associates once Schultz was convicted of tax evasion. Believing that a guilty verdict was a foregone conclusion at the second trial, Luciano and his allies implemented their plan to take control. Their plan met little resistance because of the ongoing bad feelings over the attempted pay cuts and the support of Weinberg.

However, after Schultz was acquitted, he quickly arranged a meeting with Luciano through the Commission to clarify the situation. Luciano explained to Schultz that they were just "looking after the shop" while he was away to ensure that everything ran smoothly and that full control of his rackets would be returned to Schultz once the heat died down. Publicly, Schultz was forced to accept that version of events because of the ongoing attention from law enforcement agencies and Thomas Dewey, now a Special Prosecutor appointed by LaGuardia. A month after his acquittal, his own chief lieutenant Bo Weinberg was never seen again after he had walked out of a midtown Manhattan nightclub.

Schultz had proposed to the National Crime Syndicate, a confederation of mobsters, that Dewey be murdered. Luciano argued that a Dewey assassination would precipitate a massive law enforcement crackdown. The Commission later voted unanimously against the proposal. An enraged Schultz said he would kill Dewey anyway and walked out of the meeting. The Murder, Inc. leader Albert Anastasia approached Luciano with information that Schultz had asked him to stake out Dewey's apartment building on Fifth Avenue. Upon hearing the news, the Commission held a discreet meeting to discuss the matter. After six hours of deliberations, the Commission ordered Louis Buchalter to eliminate "The Dutchman."

Shooting
Schultz was shot on October 23, 1935 at the Palace Chop House restaurant at 12 East Park Street in Newark, New Jersey, with Otto Berman, his accountant; Abraham “Abe” Landau, his new chief lieutenant; and his personal bodyguard, Bernard "Lulu" Rosenkrantz. While Schultz was in the men's room, two Murder, Inc. hitmen named Charles "The Bug" Workman and Emanuel "Mendy" Weiss entered the establishment. Workman walked the length of the bar and opened the door to the men's room, where he encountered Schultz. Workman shot Schultz, who dropped to the floor. Workman then entered the back dining room with Weiss. Both men fired numerous times at the Schultz gang members.

Berman collapsed immediately after he was shot. Landau's carotid artery was severed by a bullet passing through his neck, and Rosenkrantz was hit repeatedly at point-blank range. Despite their injuries, both gangsters rose to their feet, returned fire, and drove the assassins out of the restaurant. Weiss jumped into the getaway car and ordered the driver to abandon Workman. Landau chased Workman out of the bar and emptied his pistol at him but missed. After Workman had fled on foot, Landau collapsed onto a nearby trash can.

Witnesses say Schultz staggered out of the bathroom, clutching his side, and sat at his table. He called for anyone who could hear him to get an ambulance. Rosenkrantz rose to his feet and demanded that the barman, who had hidden during the shootout, give him some change. Rosenkrantz called for an ambulance before he lost consciousness.

When the first ambulance arrived, medics determined Landau and Rosenkrantz were the most seriously wounded and needed to be taken immediately to Newark City Hospital. A second ambulance was called to take Schultz and Berman. Berman was unconscious, but Schultz was drifting in and out of lucidity, as police attempted to comfort him and get information. Because the medics had no pain relievers, Schultz was given brandy to relieve his suffering.

When a second ambulance arrived from Newark City Hospital, Schultz gave an intern in the ambulance $3,000 in cash because he thought he was dying and said that it was not going to do him any good where he was going. After surgery, when it looked as if Schultz might live, the intern was so worried that Schultz would come back for his cash that he handed in the money. Landau and Rosenkrantz refused to say anything to the police until Schultz had given them permission after he had arrived in the second ambulance. Even then, they provided the police with only minimal information.

At 2:20 am, Otto Berman, the oldest and least physically fit of the four men, was the first to die. Abe Landau died of blood loss at 6 am. When Rosenkrantz was taken into surgery, the surgeons were so incredulous that Rosenkrantz was still alive despite his blood loss and ballistic trauma that they were unsure of how to treat him. He eventually died from his injuries 29 hours after the shooting.

Death
Schultz received the last rites from a Catholic priest at his request just before he went into surgery. He reportedly believed Jesus enabled him to beat an indictment and had promised to convert. He lingered for almost one day, speaking in various states of lucidity with his wife, mother, a priest, police, and hospital staff, before he died of peritonitis on October 24, 1935.

Schultz was permitted interment in the Roman Catholic Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, Westchester County, New York, but at the request of his Orthodox Jewish mother, Schultz's body was draped with a talit, a traditional Jewish prayer shawl.

In 1941, Charles Workman was convicted of killing Schultz and was sentenced to life imprisonment. He was paroled in 1964. The building that housed the Palace Chop House was torn down in 2008.

Final words and legacy

Schultz's last words were a strange stream-of-consciousness babble spoken in his hospital bed to police officers who attempted to calm him and question him for useful information. Although the police were unable to extract anything coherent from Schultz, his rambling was fully transcribed by a police stenographer. These include:

 * A boy has never wept...nor dashed a thousand kim.
 * You can play jacks, and girls do that with a soft ball and do tricks with it.
 * Oh, Oh, dog Biscuit, and when he is happy he doesn't get snappy.

Schultz's last words have inspired a number of writers to devote works related to them. Beat Generation author William S. Burroughs published a screenplay in novel form titled The Last Words of Dutch Schultz in the early 1970s, while Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson connected Schultz's words to a global Illuminati-related conspiracy, making them a major part of 1975's The Illuminatus! Trilogy. In Wilson's and Shea's story, Schultz's ramblings are a coded message.

In his 1960 anthology Parodies, Dwight Macdonald presents Schultz's last words as a parody of Gertrude Stein. In E. L. Doctorow's novel Billy Bathgate, the title character uses clues from Schultz's deathbed ramblings to locate his hidden money.

Although Schultz's gang was meant to be crippled, several of his associates survived the night. Martin "Marty" Krompier, whom Schultz left in charge of his Manhattan interests while he hid in New Jersey, survived an assassination attempt the same night as the shootings at the Palace Chop House. No apparent attempt was made on the life of Irish-American mobster John M. Dunn, who later became the brother-in-law of mobster Edward J. McGrath and a powerful member of the Hell's Kitchen Irish mob.

After Schultz's death, it was discovered that he and his wife had never gone through an official marriage ceremony, and the possible existence of another wife emerged with the discovery of letters and pictures of another woman and children among his effects at the hotel where he was staying in Newark. This was never resolved, as his common-law wife refused to talk about it and the mystery woman never came forward. Two other women also called at the morgue to receive his effects, but their identities were never established. Though he was estimated to be worth $7 million when he died, no trace of the money was ever found.

Shortly before his death, fearing that he would be incarcerated as a result of Dewey's efforts, Schultz commissioned the construction of a special airtight and waterproof safe into which he placed $7 million in cash and bonds. Schultz and Rosenkrantz then drove the safe to an undisclosed location somewhere in upstate New York and buried it. At the time of his death, the safe was still interred.

As no evidence existed to indicate that either Schultz or Rosenkrantz had ever revealed the location of the safe to anyone, the exact place where the safe was buried died with them. Schultz's enemies are said to have spent the remainder of their lives searching for the safe. As the safe has never been recovered, treasure hunters have annually returned to look for it in the Catskills. One such meeting became the documentary film Digging for Dutch: The Search for the Lost Treasure of Dutch Schultz.

In popular culture
Several actors have portrayed Dutch Schultz in film and television: Vic Morrow in Portrait of a Mobster (1961), Vincent Gardenia in Mad Dog Coll (1961), James Remar in The Cotton Club (1984), Dustin Hoffman in Billy Bathgate (1991), Lance Henriksen in The Outfit (1993), and Tim Roth in Hoodlum (1997).

On television, in the 1959 The Untouchables episodes "Vincent 'Mad Dog' Coll", "The Dutch Schultz Story" and "Jack 'Legs' Diamond", Schultz was played by Lawrence Dobkin. In the 1993–1994 series The Untouchables, he was portrayed by Si Osborne in the 1993 episode "Attack on New York".

On November 18, 2020, a PBS Secrets of the Dead episode entitled "Gangster's Gold" premiered which detailed the investigation and the hunt for Schultz's lost treasure. In July 2022, an episode of Expedition Unknown, titled "The Bootlegger's Millions", focused on Schultz and his treasure.

title: Dutch Schultz


text:
USS Lewis B. Puller

USS Lewis B. Puller may refer to:

 * USS Lewis B. Puller (FFG-23) was an Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate launched 1980 and transferred to Egypt 1998.
 * USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB-3) is the first expeditionary mobile base (ESB) variant of expeditionary transfer dock ships, launched in 2014 and in active service

title: USS Lewis B. Puller


text:
Talk:Gostak

I have a copy of the book right here with me and Ogden/Richards did not "coin the phrase" as the article states. Instead, they cited a teaching book and made the phrase popular. === If you're wondering what the point of this is, run a Google search. Despite the lack of a referent for these terms, yes -- a Gostak is that which distims the doshes. - Adam Conover, 22:26, 25 November 2003

 * Incidentally, I'm wondering about that sample dialogue exploring the phrase's syntactical space. Is it a direct quote from somewhere? DS 13:55, 28 November 2006 (UTC)
 * I wonder the same thing; if only an Ogden-wise lungpung would nibblefutz this. --Lenoxus 18:17, 20 December 2006 (UTC)
 * For some reason, I immediately assumed that to "Distim" something was to wash it. Anyone else? DrownedSeraph (talk) 15:16, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

Supposed sonata
Under the ‘music’ section, there is discussion of a sonata, “The Gostak Distims the Doshes”, supposedly composed by “Hiawatha” (Hiawatha who?) in 1984. The only reference is a library call number, which could easily have been made up with the expectation that no one would check it. Is this just ten-year-old vandalism? Vorziblix (talk) 03:13, 21 October 2017 (UTC)

title: Talk:Gostak