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Sion, Switzerland

Sion is a Swiss town, a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Valais and of the district of Sion. it had a population of (known as Sédunois(es)).

On 17 January 1968, the former municipality of Bramois merged into the municipality of Sion. On 1 January 2013, the former municipality of Salins merged into the municipality of Sion, and on 1 January 2017, Les Agettes did the same.

Landmarks in Sion include the Basilique de Valère and the Château de Tourbillon. Sion has an airfield for civilian and military use, which serves as a base for air rescue missions.

Prehistoric settlement
Sion is one of the most important prehistoric sites in Europe. The alluvial fan of the river Sionne, the rocky slopes above the river and, to a lesser extent, Valeria and Tourbillon hills have been settled nearly continuously since antiquity. The oldest trace of human settlement comes from 6200 BC during the late Mesolithic. Around 5800 BC early Neolithic farmers from the Mediterranean settled in Sion. The settlements remained small until about 4500 BC, during the middle Neolithic, when the number of settlements increased sharply. To support the population increase, farming and grazing spread throughout the valley. They also began burying their dead in Chablandes-type stone burial cists with engraved anthropomorphic stelae. The individual graves changed at the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC in large, dry stone wall communal tombs (such as the Dolmen of Le Petit-Chasseur). During the Beaker culture period in the second half of the third Millennium, dolmens were built once again, but they were smaller and had no podium. Stelae continued to be carved, though these were rich with geometric patterns and sometimes built out of old dolmen. At the beginning of the Early Bronze Age (around 2300 BC) the last stelae were erected.

The early settlements have been well documented. There are huts from the Middle Neolithic period found near Le Petit Chasseur and under Ritz Avenue. Late Neolithic sites have been found at Bramois and the early Early Bronze Age site is at Le Petit Chasseur. The Middle Bronze Age, however, is poorly documented. From the subsequent epochs, the great necropolis of Don Bosco (the "aristocrat" tumulus of the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age) and the necropolis of Sous-le-Scex from the La Tène culture.

Celtic and Roman town
At the end of the 1st century BC, Sion was the capital of the Seduni, one of the four Celtic tribes of the Valais. Julius Caesar mentions them as Nantuates Sedunos Veragrosque. They were conquered by the Romans in the 10s BC. By 8–7 BC, Emperor Augustus praised the tribe (civitas) of the Seduni with an inscription. The town-hall is said to contain several Roman inscriptions, one of which found at Sion commemorates the Roman presence: Civitas Sedunorum Patrono. Under the Romans it was known as Sedunum.

The Roman settlement stretched mainly from what is now St. Theodul, between the Sionne and to the west side of the hill, Valeria. Under the church, a large bath complex was discovered and partially excavated. Near La Sitterie, Sous-le-Scex and in the upper part of the Avenue du Petit Chasseur, portions of several villae suburbanae were found. In the 1st century AD, the Claudii Vallensium Forum, in what is now Martigny, became the capital of the civitas Vallensium. Sedunum lost political importance, but still remained the home of many notable families. Grave stelae attest to the presence of duumviri (magistrates of the civitas), of flamines (priests of the imperial cult), a Roman knight and a former consul in the town. In the 4th century praesides (provincial governors) are mentioned living in Sedunum, including a man named Pontius Asclepiodotus, who rebuilt an imperial building and, according to an inscription, converted to Christianity in 377.

Seat of a Catholic bishop
The Roman Catholic diocese of Sion is the oldest in Switzerland and one of the oldest north of the Alps. At first, the see was sited at Octodurum, now called Martigny/Martinach. The first authentically historical bishop was Saint Theodore or Theodolus (died 391), who was present at the Council of Aquileia in 381. He founded the Abbey of Saint-Maurice in Agaunum, with a small church in honor of Saint Maurice, martyred there c. 300, when he united the local hermits in a common life, thus beginning the Abbey of Saint-Maurice, the oldest north of the Alps. Theodore rebuilt the church at Sion, which had been destroyed by Emperor Maximinus at the beginning of the 4th century. At first the new diocese was a suffragan of the archdiocese of Vienne; later it became suffragan of Tarentaise.

In 589 the bishop, St. Heliodorus, transferred the see to Sion, leaving the low-lying, flood-prone site of Octodurum, where the Drance joins the Rhône. Though frequently the early bishops were also the abbots of Saint-Maurice, the community of canons was jealously watchful that the bishops should not extend their jurisdiction over the abbey. Several of the bishops united both offices: Wilcharius (764–780), previously archbishop of Vienne, whence he had been driven by the Moors; Saint Alteus, who received from the pope a bull of exemption in favor of the abbey (780); Aimo II, son of Count Humbert I of Savoy, who entertained Leo IX at Saint-Maurice in 1049.

The first cathedral probably dates from the 6th century. It was halfway up the hill, where later the church of St. Peter stood, until the 19th century when that church was demolished.

The fortunes of the city grew when the bishop settled there. In 999, King Rodolphe III of Burgundy granted the entire County of Valais to the bishop, and Sion became the capital of this county. The prince-bishop had the rights of high and low justice, the right to his own regalia and to appoint his own vassals. The residents of Sion were ruled by three appointees of the bishop, the maior, the vice dominus or Viztum and the salterus.

Medieval Sion
As a result of the decline of the feudal social order and thanks to privileges and concessions granted by the bishop, the citizens of Sion had a limited independence in the Middle Ages. A contract between Bishop Kuno and his maior William of Turn from 1179, is seen as the first step in the creation of an independent city government. An agreement between the bishop, the collegiate church of St. Viztums and William of Turn in 1217 is the first written charter of freedom for the city. It includes civil and criminal laws and punishments as well as trade and market regulations. In 1269, the burghers of the town had their own council with its own statutes. The council governed the use and management of the common lands through twelve councilors led by the Viztum. These administrators later became syndics and were known by this title in 1323. In 1338, the vicar general confirmed the existing rights and freedom of the citizens of Sion in a document. The document was renewed by the bishop in 1339 and was presented to each successive bishop to reconfirm after his election. In the same year, Emperor Louis the Bavarian raised Sion to a free imperial city and collected the surrounding lands into a barony. In 1346, the episcopal Viztum and the citizenry collectively wrote the police regulations. Sion was now a city with city walls, documented freedoms and the market right.

From the Late Middle Ages to the end of the ancien régime
From the middle of the 14th century to 1475, the history of Sion was filled with wars and destruction. Bishop Witschard Tavel tried to reduce the privileges of the cathedral collegiate chapter and the citizenry with the support of the Count of Savoy. In 1352, Sion was conquered, pillaged and plundered by an army from Savoy. In 1373, the bishop bought back the majority of the fief of Sion from the de Greysier family. Majorie Castle became the bishop's residence and the maior was now appointed by the bishop every year. Sion was attacked and looted in 1384, again during the Raron affair in 1418 and finally in 1475 during the Burgundian Wars.

During this period, the citizenry strove to defend their acquired privileges and whenever possible to expand those rights. In 1414, the city council approved a new set of statutes for the citizens. In 1433, Bishop Andreas dei Benzi approved a strict set of regulations concerning the granting of citizenship rights to applicants. Two years later, in 1435, he allowed the city council to appoint the bishop's representative to Sion. He retained only the right to approve or reject the council's choice. In 1560, the citizenry bought the office of Viztum from the feudal landholder, the de Chevron family. A year earlier the bishop assigned the office of salterus to the citizenry. Thus, by the mid 16th century, the city enjoyed a nearly total autonomy.

In the 16th century, due to a strong immigration from the German-speaking Upper Valais, Sion/Sitten became almost totally German speaking. The town council minutes were written in Latin until 1540, when they changed to German. Official invoices changed to German in 1600.

The 17th and 18th centuries were a peaceful time in Sion. The new city hall was built on Grand-Pont between 1657 and 1665. In 1788, a fire broke out in the city. It damaged Majoria and Tourbillon castles and destroyed 115 of the 284 inhabited houses.

In the High Middle Ages, the residents of Sion were homines episcopi or people of the bishop. This was true both for the staff at the court as well as the serfs who tilled the land, and the craftsmen and traders. As the civic community gradually began to organize, they were no longer willing to automatically grant every new arrival the same rights as citizens. Those who were unwilling or unable to purchase citizenship, which cost about 60 shillings in 1326, but wished to live in Sion were classed as permanent residents and their descendants held the same status until they could buy their citizenship. The permanent residents were mainly workers, craftsmen (often originating from the Swiss Confederation and the Germanies) and traders (mostly from Savoy and northern Italy). An outbreak of the plague in 1348 wiped out many citizens. In addition to the citizens' deaths, the restrictive attitude of the citizenry toward new members led to citizens becoming a minority in Sion. In the first population census in 1610 the town had 1,835 inhabitants, of whom 412 were citizens and 1,423 were permanent residents. In the 18th century, a third category, the tollerati, was added. On the eve of the revolution the city's population was 19% citizen, 30% permanent resident and 51% tollerati and other marginalized groups. There were only 41 citizen families, of which twelve were nobility and nine belonged to the patrician class.

Starting in the 13th century and the first half of the 14th century, long-distance trade began to pick up from northern Italy via the Simplon Pass and through the Valais into the Champagne region. Sion became an important relay station on this route. The station at Sion included a Sust or warehouse that also provided additional animals to help haul wagons over the pass. Many local nobles and farmers were involved in animal husbandry to support the Sust and pastured their animals, during the summer, in pastures on the other side of the Rhône. The Sust's barns are stables were still in operation until the 19th century. Along the river Sionne, there were mills, sawmills and other industries that needed water power. In addition, there were many tanneries in the same area. In 1466, the smiths, bricklayers and stonemasons' guilds arose from an ecclesiastical fraternity. Those three guilds were followed by the butchers' guild in 1512, the bakers' guild in 1525, the tailors and drapers' guild in 1527 and in 1602 the guild of shoemakers and tanners. These guilds played a major economic role in Sion until the end of the Ancien Régime. The Inn of the White Cross opened in 1550 for merchants and wealthy travelers, followed in 1688 by the inn of the Golden Lion, which was built beside the town hall.

Very little is known about the early churches in Sion since written sources are meager before the 12th century. The predecessor of the present cathedral, the church of Notre-Dame-du-Glarier in the Palacio district served both as the bishop's church and the parish church in the 12th century. It was destroyed in the 14th century during one of the wars between the bishop of Sion and the House of Savoy. It was rebuilt in the second half of the 15th century. In the meantime, St. Peter's church took over as the bishop's and parish church. It was demolished in 1806. The Valeria Church was built in the 11th century and originally consecrated to St. Catherine. This church was probably the first church for the cathedral chapter. St. Theoduls church was first mentioned in the 13th century. It was probably built in 1100 on the ruins of Roman baths and a Carolingian era church. This church was probably built as a grave and pilgrimage church with a shrine in Theodul's Crypt. It was destroyed in the wars with the House of Savoy in the 14th century. Construction began on a new church in 1510–1516 under Bishop Matthew Schiner and continued until the 17th century. St. Theodul's served the French-speaking urban population as a parish church until 1798. In the 17th century, citizens claimed the right to choose their parish priest, over objections of the ecclesiastical authorities. The dispute eventually required mediation through the Papal Nuncio. The resolution allowed the citizens to choose the pastor from one of four proposed by the archbishop.

In the second half of the 16th century a large Protestant community grew in Sion under the leadership of renowned burghers, who had learned of the new doctrine while students in Bern, Basel, Zürich, Lausanne or Geneva. After 1604, the Valais government had clearly decided to remain part of the old faith. Some individuals or families emigrated to reformed areas, while others went back to the old faith. The Counter-Reformation, led by the Capuchin friars of Savoy and the Jesuits destroyed the last hopes of the Protestants to establish a foothold in the cathedral town. The Capuchins founded a monastery in 1631 and started construction of the monastery church in 1636, and the Jesuits started missionary activity in the 17th century and established a school in 1734.

From the Helvetic Republic to 1848
During the anti-patrician unrest in the Lower Valais at the end of the 18th century, Sion remained a bastion of the aristocracy. The leaders of the Les Crochets conspiracy were executed in 1791 in Sion to avoid riots. After the French invasion of Switzerland on 5 March 1798, Sion was caught between the revolutionary spirit of a portion of its population (who established a liberty pole in town on 10 March) and conservative elements who wanted to prevent any change in the Valais. Following the creation of the Helvetic Republic in May 1798, a counter-revolutionary rebellion erupted in the upper Valais. This short-lived rebellion was crushed on 17 May by French and Vaudois troops and Sion was plundered.

Under the Helvetic Republic, Sion was source of conflict between supporters and opponents of the new regime. In May 1799 counter-revolutionary forces from Upper Valais looted the city again. In order to ensure peace in the Valais, the French General Louis Marie Turreau de Garambouville occupied Sion in 1801 and in 1802 Napoleon Bonaparte declared the independent Rhodanic Republic. It then remained independent until 1810 when it was annexed into France as the département of Simplon. Between 1798 and 1801 the representative of the Helvetic government resided in Sion. Under the French occupation, Joseph du Fay de Lavallaz was appointed by the emperor to be the mayor of the district of Sion.

After Napoleon's defeats during the War of the Sixth Coalition the Valais was occupied by Austria at the end of December 1813. Under the Austrians, the citizenry received many of their rights back. During the following year, the government was split between supporters of the Ancien Régime and the supporters of the independent republic, with each party forming a council. When the two councils combined, the number of Council members was set to 20. Between 1815 and 1839, the patrician class gradually took more and more of the rights and duties of the citizenry back on themselves, gaining more and more power. In response to this, Alexandre de Torrente founded a liberal party in 1830. In the cantonal government, Sion agreed most often with the German-speaking Upper Valais. Which gave the Upper Valais a majority of the Zenden in the council, to the detriment of the French-speaking Lower Valais. However, after the vote on the constitution of 1839, the Upper Valais broke away from the rest of the canton. Sion was chosen as the capital of the Valais, while the breakaway Upper Valais chose Sierre. In 1840, the Upper and Lower Valais were reunited. But four years later, Sion was occupied by Upper Valais troops during the beginning of the Sonderbund War. Federal troops occupied Sion in November 1847.

Modern Sion
Sion lost to Turin, Italy in its bid to host the 2006 Winter Olympics. Sion also bid for the 2002 Winter Olympics, which it lost to Salt Lake City, and the 1976 Winter Olympics, which it lost to Denver (the games were reassigned to Innsbruck when Denver residents voted down additional funding). On 10 June 2019, Sion withdrew its bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics after rejection in the referendum.

Archaeological findings
Archaeologists found six aligned standing stones in La Petit district in Sion in July 2019. These standing stones were found accidentally during the construction work of a residential building, in the same area where 30 such stones and the dolmens were found in 1960.

"This discovery is of prime importance to help us understand social rituals at the end of the Neolithic period (around 2,500BC) in central Europe," was announced from the canton of Valais. According to the press release, a number of stones were noticed to have been intentionally broken.

Three of the standing stones were carved with markings. The largest of the stones assumed to be a male figure wearing geometrically decorated clothes with a sun-like motif around his face is about two tonnes.

Geography
After the 2017 merger Sion had an area of.

Before the merger Sion had an area (as of the September 2004 survey) of 29.69 km2. Of this area, about 38.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 15.5% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 38.4% is settled (buildings or roads) and 7.2% is unproductive land. In the 2004/09 survey a total of 505 ha or about 17.0% of the total area was covered with buildings, an increase of 148 ha over the 1980 amount. Over the same time period, the amount of recreational space in the municipality increased by 66 ha and is now about 4.47% of the total area. Of the agricultural land, 859 ha is used for orchards and vineyards, 337 ha is fields and grasslands and 17 ha consists of alpine grazing areas. Since 1980 the amount of agricultural land has decreased by 330 ha. Over the same time period the amount of forested land has increased by 8 ha. Rivers and lakes cover 164 ha in the municipality.

The Medieval chroniclers report the occurrence of severe flood events, and during the Little Ice Age (or LIA, 1350–1850 AD) the Upper Rhône had certainly a torrential regime as other rivers in the Western Alps. During the second half of the nineteenth century, the anthropogenic activities had a crucial impact on the Rhône basin. The river was channelized twice in the periods of 1863–1894 and 1930–1960 (the so-called ‘Corrections of the Rhone’, which reduced the length of the river and gave to the river the present-day aspect. In the 2000s, after severe flood events, the ‘Third Correction’ began following the ‘Room-for-River’ flood management strategy and aims to: (1) widen the river, (2) increase the capacity, (3) secure levees and (4) improve the general environmental quality.

Climate
One of the driest and sunniest areas of Switzerland, Sion has an average of 82.1 days of rain or snow per year and on average receives 603 mm of precipitation. The wettest month is December during which time Sion receives an average of 64 mm of rain or snow. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 7.4 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is August, with an average of 7.9, but with only 57 mm of rain. The driest month of the year is April with an average of 35 mm of precipitation over 5.2 days. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Sion has a (warm humid) temperate climate, abbreviated "Cfb" on climate maps.

Coat of arms
The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Per fess Argent two Mullets of Five Gules and Gules.

Demographics
Sion has a population of. , 26.9% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over years 2000–2010 the population changed at a rate of 10%. It has changed at a rate of 10.1% due to migration and at a rate of 2.3% due to births and deaths.

Most of the population speaks French (22,338 or 82.2%) as their first language, German is the second most common (1,523 or 5.6%) and Portuguese is the third (912 or 3.4%). There are 855 people who speak Italian and 19 people who speak Romansh.

, the population was 47.8% male and 52.2% female. The population was made up of 10,128 Swiss men (34.1% of the population) and 4,089 (13.8%) non-Swiss men. There were 11,642 Swiss women (39.2%) and 3,859 (13.0%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality, 9,542 or about 35.1% were born in Sion and lived there in 2000. There were 7,481 or 27.5% who were born in the same canton, while 2,939 or 10.8% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 6,285 or 23.1% were born outside of Switzerland.

, children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 24.8% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 60.7% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 14.5%.

, there were 11,846 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 12,335 married individuals, 1,509 widows or widowers and 1,481 individuals who are divorced.

, there were 11,326 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.3 persons per household. There were 4,114 households that consist of only one person and 703 households with five or more people. , a total of 10,670 apartments (88.3% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 1,072 apartments (8.9%) were seasonally occupied and 345 apartments (2.9%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 4.7 new units per 1000 residents.

the average price to rent an average apartment in Sion was 919.42 Swiss francs (CHF) per month (US$740, £410, €590 approx. exchange rate from 2003). The average rate for a one-room apartment was 473.25 CHF (US$380, £210, €300), a two-room apartment was about 679.12 CHF (US$540, £310, €430), a three-room apartment was about 854.95 CHF (US$680, £380, €550) and a six or more room apartment cost an average of 1075.25 CHF (US$860, £480, €690). The average apartment price in Sion was 82.4% of the national average of 1116 CHF. The vacancy rate for the municipality,, was 0.53%.

Historic population
The historical population is given in the following chart:

Politics
The municipal council is the executive power in the commune. Its 15 members, non-permanent except the president, are elected every 4 years by the people.

The commune of Sion comprises also of a counsel of public rights of the medieval commune, the Bourgeoisie, who protect the rights of the original inhabitants against new inhabitants. The counsel is made up of 7 people : a president, a vice-president and five counsellors.

Elections
In the 2015 federal election the most popular party was the CVP with 31.3% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP (19.9%), the SVP (18.7%) and the SP (17.9%). In the federal election, a total of 11,541 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 57.7%.

In the 2011 federal election the most popular party was the CVP with 29.8% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP (22.2%), the SP (20.0%) and the SVP (16.9%). In the federal election, a total of 10,750 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 58.3%.

In the 2009 Conseil d'État/Staatsrat election a total of 8,663 votes were cast, of which 907 or about 10.5% were invalid. The voter participation was 49.1%, which is much less than the cantonal average of 54.67%. In the 2007 Swiss Council of States election a total of 9,688 votes were cast, of which 835 or about 8.6% were invalid. The voter participation was 55.8%, which is similar to the cantonal average of 59.88%.

In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the CVP which received 34.5% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP (19.08%), the SVP (15.52%) and the FDP (13.9%). In the federal election, a total of 9,828 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 55.6%.

Economy
The tertiary sector is the main economic sector in Sion, mainly due to the presence of the canton's administration, the Valaisan parliament and the canton's courthouse. Tourism is also an important sector due to its historic châteaux and museums.

Sion is the third largest wine making region in Switzerland, however, the valuable agricultural land and vineyards are undergoing constant regression due to the process of urbanisation.

Sion has also become an important medical site. The Sion-Region hospital is situated here next to the central institute of Valaisan hospitals and the Suva clinic for physical rehabilitation.

Finally the commune hosts a waste incinerator which disposes of the waste from 44 surrounding communes. This incinerator is equipped with a catalytic converter which lowers the levels of NOx emissions below acceptable levels. In addition, the heat created from the combustion is converted into electrical energy which is then provided to local communes.

Sion is a medium-sized regional center. The municipality is the center of its own agglomeration.

, there were a total of 33,228 people employed in the municipality. Of these, a total of 494 people worked in 93 businesses in the primary economic sector. A majority (54.0%) of the primary sector employees worked in very small businesses (less than ten employees). The remainder worked in 7 small businesses with a total of 227 employees. The secondary sector employed 5,638 workers in 466 separate businesses. In 2014 a total of 3,405 employees worked in 447 small companies (less than 50 employees). There were 17 mid sized businesses with 1,614 employees and 2 large businesses which employed a total of 619 people. Finally, the tertiary sector provided 27,096 jobs in 3,134 businesses. In 2014 a total of 16,599 employees worked in 3,068 small companies (less than 50 employees). There were 60 mid sized businesses with 7,289 employees and 6 large businesses which employed 3,208 people.

In 2014 a total of 8.1% of the population received social assistance.

In 2015 local hotels had a total of 61,402 overnight stays, of which 22.6% were international visitors.

the total number of full-time equivalent jobs was 21,338. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 245, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 4,830 of which 1,976 or (40.9%) were in manufacturing, 51 or (1.1%) were in mining and 2,323 (48.1%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 16,263. In the tertiary sector; 3,356 or 20.6% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 858 or 5.3% were in the movement and storage of goods, 968 or 6.0% were in a hotel or restaurant, 685 or 4.2% were in the information industry, 1,566 or 9.6% were the insurance or financial industry, 1,357 or 8.3% were technical professionals or scientists, 1,249 or 7.7% were in education and 2,989 or 18.4% were in health care.

, there were 13,194 workers who commuted into the municipality and 2,857 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 4.6 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. Of the working population, 10.4% used public transportation to get to work, and 57.1% used a private car.

Heritage sites of national significance
There are 14 buildings or sites in Sion that are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance. The secular buildings include the Archives de l’État du Valais, the Archives and Museum of the Bishop of Sion and the cathedral, the town hall (with its astronomical clock), Majorie Castle, La Majorie on Rue des Châteaux 19, Le Vidomnat on Place de la Majorie 15, the Maison Supersaxo, the Médiathèque Valais Sion, the Cantonal Fine Arts and History Museums and the ruins of Tourbillon Castle. The religious buildings on the list are the Cathédrale Notre-Dame, the Capuchin monastery and library, the church of the Notre-Dame de Valère and the church of St-Théodule. The remains of a neolithic settlement and the modern city of Sion are also on the list. The entire town of Sion and the village of Bramois are both part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

A characteristic of Sion is its medieval townscape, dominated by the hills Valère (610 m) with the Basilique de Valère (12th–13th century), and Tourbillon (658 m) with the ruins of the Tourbillon Castle. The Valère Basilica is the church on top of the southern of the two mottes, at the east end of the old town. It houses the oldest playable organ in the world, which was built in the 1430s.

Airshows
Public Airshows have been held at the airfield of Sion. Aerobatic teams such as the Frecce Tricolori from Italy and the Patrouille de France have performed there.

Sport
The football club FC Sion plays in the Swiss Super League. Their stadium is the Stade Tourbillon.

HCV Sion is the city's main Ice hockey team. They play in the Swiss Premiere League, the third tier of Swiss hockey. Their arena is the Ancien Stand which has a seating capacity of 1,200.

On 1 May 2021, the Alaia Bay surfing wave pool made by Wavegarden opened in Sion. It is the first surf pool open to the public in mainland Europe.

Sion has never previously hosted the Olympics but bid for the Olympics in 1976, 2002, 2006 and 2026.

Media

Sion is host to a number of newspapers, television and radio stations:

 * Le Nouvelliste, a daily Valais paper printed in Sion;
 * Canal 9, regional Valais television;
 * Rhône FM, private Valaisan radio;
 * TSR, retransmission of public Swiss television.

Education
In Sion about 8,560 or (31.5%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 3,670 or (13.5%) have completed additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule). Of the 3,670 who completed tertiary schooling, 54.9% were Swiss men, 32.0% were Swiss women, 7.5% were non-Swiss men and 5.6% were non-Swiss women.

, there were 3,122 students in Sion who came from another municipality, while 261 residents attended schools outside the municipality.

Sion is home to 4 libraries. These libraries include; the Médiathèque Valais Sion, the Bibliothèque municipale de Sion, the HES-SO Valais Médiathèque santé-social and the HES-SO Valais, Domaine Sciences de l'ingénieur. There was a combined total of 690,513 books or other media in the libraries, and in the same year a total of 294,320 items were loaned out.

Schools
Sion has two high schools (colleges)

 * the Lycée-Collège des Creusets (LCC);
 * the Lycée-Collège de la Planta (LCP).

Sion is also host to the :

 * Ecole d’agriculture du Valais, situated in Châteauneuf, Sion;
 * A circus school;
 * A jazz school;
 * HES-SO Valais, a technical college;
 * HEM Valais (Conservatoire Supérieur et Académie de Musique Tibor Varga).

The HES-SO Valais offers education in Sciences, Engineering, Economics, Information Technology and Health Sciences.

 * There is a Business and Tourism university situated near Sion Institut Universitaire Kurt Bösch.

Transport
Sion is situated on the main railway line and the motorway, and also has an airport (Sion Airport).

Religion
From the, 21,220 or 78.1% were Roman Catholic, while 1,198 or 4.4% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there were 212 members of an Orthodox church (or about 0.78% of the population), there were 18 individuals (or about 0.07% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church, and there were 453 individuals (or about 1.67% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 16 individuals (or about 0.06% of the population) who were Jewish, and 1,360 (or about 5.01% of the population) who were Islamic. There were 86 individuals who were Buddhist, 52 individuals who were Hindu and 22 individuals who belonged to another church. 1,371 (or about 5.05% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 1,385 individuals (or about 5.10% of the population) did not answer the question.

Crime
In 2014 the crime rate, of the over 200 crimes listed in the Swiss Criminal Code (running from murder, robbery and assault to accepting bribes and election fraud), in Sion was 72.2 per thousand residents, which is slightly higher than the national average. During the same period, the rate of drug crimes was 20.6 per thousand residents, over twice the national rate. In contrast, the rate of violations of immigration, visa and work permit laws was 0.9 per thousand residents, which is only 18.4% of the rate for the entire country.

Notable people
People associated with Sion include:
 * Saint Theodore of Octodurum (Ger: Theodor von Sitten), 4th century Patron Saint of Valais and the Walser
 * Saint Guarinus of Sitten (1065–1150), Bishop of Sion
 * Hildebrand of Riedmatten, Bishop of Sion in 1594, whencefrom comes the coat of arms of Sitten/Sion
 * Ignaz Venetz (1788–1859), Swiss civil engineer, botanist and glaciologist
 * Anton von Riedmatten (1811–1897), Swiss politician
 * Leo Luzian von Roten (1824–1898), Swiss politician, poet and editor of the Walliser Wochenblatt
 * Ernest von Stockalper (1838–1919) was a Swiss civil engineer, foreman for the Gotthard tunnel
 * Fritz de Quervain (1868–1940), a Swiss surgeon, authority on thyroid disease.
 * Walther Ritz (1878–1909), theoretical physicist
 * Charles Oser (1902–1994), a Swiss politician
 * Maurice Zermatten (1910–2001), a French-speaking Swiss writer
 * Hermann Geiger (1914–1966), a Swiss aviator and search and rescue pilot
 * Dr Hywel Davies (1924–2016), a cardiologist and writer, lived in Sion
 * Micheline Calmy-Rey (born 1945), politician, president of the Confederation in 2007 and 2011
 * Carole de Kalbermatten (1945–2009), Swiss film director and feminist who grew up in Sion
 * Jean Zermatten (born 1948), lawyer, chairman of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
 * Madeleine Carruzzo (born 1956), a Swiss violinist, plays for the Berlin Philharmonic
 * Oskar Freysinger (born 1960), Swiss politician, studied at a German-speaking school in Sion
 * Brigitte Fournier (born 1961), Swiss operatic soprano
 * Stéphane Udry (born 1961), an astronomer at the Geneva Observatory, searches for extra-solar planets
 * Jean-Pierre Siggen (born 1962), a Swiss politician
 * Christelle Luisier (born 1974), politician
 * Nicolas Steiner (born in 1984), Swiss film director, screenwriter and film producer
 * Samael, extreme metal band, formed in 1987 in Sion
 * Noémie Schmidt (born 1990), a Swiss actress on TV and film

 * Sport
 * Toni Branca (1916–1985), a Swiss racing driver
 * Jean-Claude Rudaz (born 1942), a Swiss racing driver
 * Umberto Barberis (born 1952), a former Swiss-Italian footballer, over 400 club games and 54 for national team
 * Marco Pascolo (born 1966), a retired Swiss international football goalkeeper, 406 club games and 55 for national team
 * Björn Bregy (born 1974), a Swiss super heavyweight kickboxer
 * Johnny Leoni (born 1984), a football goalkeeper over 250 club games and 54 for the national team
 * Sophie Lamon (born 1985), a Swiss fencer, silver medallist in the women's team épée event at the 2000 Summer Olympics
 * Gelson Fernandes (born 1986), footballer, over 350 club games and 57 for the national side
 * Tiffany Géroudet (born 1986), a Swiss épée fencer, competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics
 * Estelle Balet (1994–2016), a Swiss freeride snowboarder and two-time world champion
 * Edimilson Fernandes (born 1996), footballer, on loan to West Ham United F.C.

Twin towns
Sion is twinned with:

title: Sion, Switzerland


text:
Talk:Wallace Fard Muhammad

Efforts to trace Fard's history
This article tries to create a mystery around his "disappearance". He was simply deported, or fled America to Fiji to avoid prosecution (he was also being investigated for being a spy and helping the Japanese) around 1934, then returned as "Muhammad Abdullah".

Sources: Finding W.D. Fard: Unveiling the Identity of the Founder of the Nation of Islam By John Andrew Morrow link

^Escanaba Daily Press (November 24, 1932) on the murder committed by Robert Harris. It says that Wallace Fard "is awaiting an immigration hearing. Officials said he came to the United States from Asia." link.

^His two findagrave.com profiles link, link

From his findagrave.com profile: "What is certain, is that he was in Fiji from 1934 until roughly 1959"

^Warith Deen Muhammad claimed that Fard had returned to the United States under the name Muhammad Abdullah. In 1976, W.D. had appointed Muhammad Abdullah as imam of Muhammad's Mosque #77 in Oakland, California. The November 26, 1976, issue of the NOI journal Bilalian News reports Muhammad Abdullah's first khutbah at the mosque and shows a photo. W.D. Mohammad did not state that Muhammad Abdullah was Fard until after Abdullah's death in 1992.

Here he is with Louis Farrakhan and Jim Jones in 1976:

https://calisphere.org/item/7c7690dd7f54dc713239e1a824301a26/ (source album: https://calisphere.org/collections/27519)

Video of him using the name Muhammad Abdullah in 1977:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cgu33pkLsis&feature=emb_title (original source: https://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/sfbatv/bundles/229337)

Video of him using the name Muhammad Abdullah in 1989:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZ0lnqQPybM

Wallace Fard Jr & Wallace Elija Ford
I'm new to this topic -- what do we know about these men / this man. Was the 1910 census a one-time spelling glitch by a white census-taker who didn't understand an accent? At minimum, it's a hell of a coincidence if a person born in 1894, listed in a 1910 census as Wallace Fard Jr, would die in 1939 using the middle name name Elija. Feoffer (talk) 09:27, 7 July 2023 (UTC)

 * @Feoffer I think Resume Byron finally solved the case of the origin place of Fard. Watch his clip more than once. I'm convinced to 80% that Wallace Fard Jr. from Jasper, Texas is the savior of the NOI.
 * I have no clue why my user page doesn't appear, if you click on my name. I joined Wikipedia 14 years ago.
 * https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benutzer:KingOfRay KingOfRay (talk) 07:56, 10 July 2023 (UTC)
 * Fixed the user page issue for ya.
 * Based just on the census data alone, I agree with skeptics that it's quite unlikely the man from Jasper is part of this story.  However, he makes and excellent figurehead for a possibility that should be taken more seriously -- namely that Fard could have been African-American.
 * When 18th-century European archaeologists first discovered sophisticated architecture in Kush, they wrote whole journals arguing about who built it : The Romans? the Phoenicians?  The Egyptians or the Persians?
 * But their racists minds didn't consider even the real answer.  Who built the structures of Kush?   The Nubians, duh.
 * This article (or a future sub article dedicated just to Fard's origin and fate) absolutely should mention the possibility that could have just someone just like the man from Jasper.
 * Meanwhile, I expect researchers will keep digging.  If the man from Jasper is the same person who died in 1939 under the Wallace Elija Ford, well, now you have two data points suggesting that's Master Fard.   But biggest problem I see with the Jasper hypothesis is that we know Fred Dodd is in Oregon in 1910, not Texas.  Feoffer (talk) 01:47, 14 July 2023 (UTC)
 * “Fred Dodd” is not found in Oregon until 1913 where he sold food from a lunch wagon in Salem Oregon. In April of 1914, 20 year-old Wallace Fard ( as “Fred Dodd” ) married 17-year-old native-American, Pearl Allen Enouf, and later that same year he filed for divorce from her in November. There is no documented proof that Wallace Fard, the NOI founder ( as “Fred Dodd” ) was ever in Oregon prior to 1913.
 * Ghostwriter, AK Arian claims that Fard arrived in America in 1904 from Afghanistan aboard a Chinese ship as 21-year-old “Khan Alam” but his name later changed to Khanialam Khan, then Zardad Khan, and finally to a host of other names based on non-logical rational. Mind you, Fard spoke perfect English with no detection of a foreign accent.  This would be highly unlikely for a poor young uneducated foreigner coming to America for the first time.
 * Resume Byron ( "resume" as in a job application ) 2600:1700:72EA:E880:919C:230B:E39:39D (talk) 04:48, 20 July 2023 (UTC)
 * Hi, ResumeByron, welcome to Wikipedia! I'm so happy to see you.  Thank you for your excellent youtube videos which really helped me get up to speed.  Inspired by your overview, I now have copies of Evanszzz, Bowen, and  Morrow, with a copy of Arian's work on the way.   While I don't yet know how to properly source it to meet Wikipedia's requirements and guidelines, but I am keeping my eyes open for a way to incorporate the hypothesis you present;   One way might be to get someone like Bowen or Fanusie to comment on your hypothesis, even if only to explain why they don't share it.  In such a case, we could probably get it into the article.
 * I hope you'll make an account here so that we can recognize you regardless of what your current ip-address might be, and send you notifications.
 * This page is desperately in need of a subject matter expert, so welcome!  Some of my questions include:
 * When did Fard begin giving new names -- in 1930, or only later?
 * Elijah Muhammad and Muhammad Ali both made allusions to having telephone calls with God -- is there recordings / footage / sourcing of them making such a claim?
 * Did Fard really introduce the Mother Plane, or was that Elijah Muhammad? What's the earliest record of the Mother Plane?   What language did they use to describe it?
 * What did Elijah Muhammad say about Muhammad Abdullah being Fard and when?  What did Wallace (Warith Deen) say about Abdullah and when??
 * Any help would be greatly appreciated, again thank you for your video. I've been meaning to improve this article for a long time and after seeing your video, I just couldn't resist digging into it.
 * Feoffer (talk) 05:31, 20 July 2023 (UTC)
 * Elijah Muhammad claimed that Fard told him about the Mother Plane and how it was built in Japan. Elijah claimed it was a large circular-like spacecraft that carried 15k smaller “planes” that were specifically created to kill white people, lol.  What a racist “God”.  It was the perfect language for oppressed black Americans of that time in the 1930s.
 * There is no documented exact date as to when Fard began “selling” so-called holy names.  Fard did not “give away” names to those poor black people.  He “sold” them names ($10 per person), cheap note paper, pencils, and even the gaudy yellow ID cards ($2 per card) on which the holy names were printed.  When he was arrested in 1932, he told police that was his only source of income.  There is also no exact date of when he arrived in Detroit, although he claimed it was July 4, 1930.  By the way, July 4th was the birth date of Wallace Fard Sr, of Jasper, Texas.  As I pointed out in my YouTube video, the NOI founder created folklore from real-life events surrounding his life.
 * Warrith Deen, Elijah’s son, made statements that he “literally” talked to Fard on the telephone. Of course, Warrith Deen was referring to Muhammad Abdullah who was not Fard.  I doubt seriously that Elijah and surely not Muhammad Ali talked to Fard after 1934.  Fard was likely dead shortly after abruptly disappearing in 1934.
 * Muhammad Abdullah of Pakistan said he came to America for the first time in his life in 1959 to visit his son who was a student at UC Berkeley and stumbled on a group called the Nation of Islam. Delighted to see young black men proclaiming to be Muslims, Abdullah wanted to know more about the group and questioned a member who introduced him to Wallace (Warrith) Muhammad who arranged a meeting between Abdullah and his father, Elijah.  Muhammad Abdullah flew to Chicago later that year in 1959 and had dinner with Elijah and his new young Muslim friend, Wallace who changed his name to Warithuddin Mohammed.  Before this dinner engagement, the two men, Elijah Muhammad and Muhammad Abdullah had never met.  However, after this meeting, Elijah would later tell lies to certain members that Muhammad Abdullah was actually Master Fard Muhammad.  Warrith Mohammed even began telling that same lie but later changed his story before he died in 2008.  Resume Byron 2600:1700:72EA:E880:CD2C:202:B1BD:3FB6 (talk) 02:47, 8 February 2024 (UTC)
 * Thank you for this info, Bryon! I really appreciate your insight!
 * If you can pin down when the "Mother Plane" was first taught, please let us known.   I've read it started with a UFO report that they read about in a newspaper?  But UFOs weren't a big thing until 1947.   At the same time, the idea that the motherplane would be JAPANESE is not something that would have been added after Japan's defeat in WW2, suggesting the Mother Plane really does date back to before Pearl Harbor.   One of my other interests is early 20th century UFO reports, so I'd love if I could ever someday pin down the specific newspaper report that led to the motherplane mythos.   Feoffer (talk) 23:58, 9 February 2024 (UTC)
 * There is no name with the exact spelling of "Fred Dodd" listed in Oregon in 1910. As tamale street peddlers, Fred the Greek and Fred the Turk are listed in Oregon newspaper clippings as early as 1908. But the exact spelling (Fred Dodd) does not appear nowhere in Oregon until 1913 in a Daily Capital Journal newspaper article dated September 12, 1913. Present one incident of the exact spelling "Fred Dodd" a tamale vendor, listed in Oregon in 1910 or anytime before. Simply because those tamale street peddlers' went by the name "Fred" does not mean their last names was Dodd and moreover aliases of the NOI founder. The mysterious person who created this theory and put it in a book, A.K. Arian (whom we now know is actually Karl Evanzz who has other origin stories for Fard) did so anonymously because he did not truly believe the story himself and was trying to make up a believable connection. Resume Byron 2600:1700:72EA:E880:CD2C:202:B1BD:3FB6 (talk) 00:46, 8 February 2024 (UTC)
 * Post the public record showing the name "Fred Dodd" in Oregon in 1910. Not Fred the Turk, Fred the Greek, or Fred Walldad.  Again, Fred Dodd does not appear in any public record until 1913.  Please show us otherwise. 2600:1700:72EA:E880:CD2C:202:B1BD:3FB6 (talk) 01:00, 8 February 2024 (UTC)
 * Thank you for this info.  I have updated the section heading to reflect the name Dadd as well as Dodd.  Covering the Fred Dodd of Oregon theory doesn't imply an endorsement of it, we note in the article the identification is disputed.  If you can think of specific changes we could make to help readers understand that, please propose them.  Feoffer (talk) 01:43, 8 February 2024 (UTC)
 * “But biggest problem I see with the Jasper hypothesis is that we know Fred Dodd is in Oregon in 1910, not Texas.” - Copied and pasted verbatim. -
 * What I am addressing is the part of the above sentence stating “…we know Fred Dodd is in Oregon in 1910, not Texas.” Fred Dodd was one of many aliases the NOI founder used.  How he came across the name, Fred Dodd, we do not know.  We do know he used many aliases; 56 to be exact, according to FBI records.
 * Assuming “Fred Dodd” is the NOI founder, Wallace Fard; he would not be in Oregon in 1910 according to the 1910 census report of Jasper, Texas. However, we can safely argue that a person named “Fred Dodd” appearing in Oregon “AFTER 1910” could possibly be the NOI founder.
 * That said, there was a Fred Dodd who DID live in Oregon in 1910, but he was Frederick Arthur Dodd and went by simply, “Fred Dodd”. However, this Fred Dodd was not our Fred Dodd (the NOI founder), because this Fred Dodd lived in Oregon his entire life and was married to Mary Dodd.  Our Fred Dodd was married to Pearl Allen Enouf Dodd whom he divorced in 1914, changed his name, moved to California, and subsequently to Chicago and Detroit. - RESUME BYRON - 2600:1700:72EA:E880:CD2C:202:B1BD:3FB6 (talk) 03:59, 8 February 2024 (UTC)
 * I am in the process of making a video where I fully analyze the undeniable similarities between Wallace Fard of the NOI, Wallace Fard Jr of Jasper, TX, and Wallace Elija Ford of Colmesneil, TX. Wallace Elija Ford was a mulatto just as the NOI founder and Wallace Fard Jr. Multiple public records were changed regarding Wallace Elija Ford after his death on January 6, 1939. RESUME BYRON -- 2600:1700:72EA:E880:CD2C:202:B1BD:3FB6 (talk) 05:19, 8 February 2024 (UTC)

Elijah Muhammad: "I can talk to Fard any time I want"?
I'm pretty sure I recently saw footage of Elijah Muhammad in the 1960s or 70s talking how he can talk to his mentor any time he wants. And then he clarifies that he doesn't mean spiritually communicate, he means that he can pick up a telephone can call him. Sadly, I can't remember where I saw this footage (beyond Youtube). I presume it's related to the later identification of Muhammad Abdullah as Fard. , do you know where Elijah Muhammad said that? Feoffer (talk) 08:54, 19 July 2023 (UTC)

 * @Feoffer I think that was Muhammad Ali. Who once said he can call God (referring to Fard) anytime by picking up the telephone. I think his daughter also claims that he had met him as a child.
 * I don't remember Elijah Muhammad making such a statement.
 * There have always been rumors that Fard still lives somewhere close to Elijah Muhammad. Being protected by him. But I think that those are really just rumours.
 * Other people said that Muhammad Abdullah, the Iman of the Mosque #26 in Oakland was actually Fard in hiding. There're many YouTube clips and websites with this topic. But I think nothing of this has any real encyclopedic value at all. KingOfRay (talk) 08:50, 28 July 2023 (UTC)

Congratulations!
I don't know if this is the right place to leave this comment but:

The article has improved vastly over a small period. Thanks to many of you guys. I also did my best to close existing gaps.

While only a while a ago, this man was "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma", by now the Wikipedia article gives you informations about his vita, unknown even to people interested in his person and work.

The NOI might not be very amused about it but this article helps a lot in taking the sovereignty of interpretation about him, from their hands into the public's.

Thanks a lot!

(To the mods: Feel free to move my comment to were it actually belongs, by the rules of Wikipedia) KingOfRay (talk) 08:38, 5 September 2023 (UTC)

 * Thanks for the kind words; Hopefully all parties benefit from a good article on an important individual.    Feoffer (talk) 09:13, 5 September 2023 (UTC)

Excessive detail in Efforts to trace Fard's origin and fate section
It seems to me that there is an excessive amount of detail about the lives of people who have been speculated to be Fard. For example, I don't see how it is relevant to the article or useful to the reader to know about the vacation which Fred Dodd took. In addition, there is nothing in the article explaining a link between Fred Walldad and Fard, and I can't find anything online.

I'm not an expert and I don't want to unilaterally remove information, but it seems to me that this section could use some cleaning up. Other input would be appreciated. LemonOrangeLime (talk) 14:00, 7 September 2023 (UTC)

 * I actually anticipated this concern. Whole books have been written about Fard's origins, and our readers should be able to learn about the contents of those books -- but on the other hand, even if Fard really was a Tamale vendor in Oregon earlier in life, what does it matter to his legacy?
 * I didn't know if anyone would have this concern but myself, but now that you have shared it, my proposal would be to split off this content in to a subarticle about Fard's origins, so that the casual reader of the biography doesn't have to get mired down in details that the historians document.   Does that plan sound good to you? Feoffer (talk) 23:21, 7 September 2023 (UTC)

Lead image
The arguments for replacing the mugshot with the unfree image are “never been confirmed to be him” and “considered offensive”. “Offensive” isn’t a valid reason per WP:NOTCENSORED so that leaves “never confirmed to be him” which is presented without evidence. Plus another apparently public domain image (file:WDFardcloseup.jpg) exists so if it’s really an issue we can just crop that one. Dronebogus (talk) 23:02, 12 September 2023 (UTC)
 * It would violate NPOV to lead the article with an obscure mugshot to represent the founder of a religion which uses a historic photo for veneration. Additionally, we need the NoI official portrait so readers can do facial comparisons themselves between the NoI founder and the various photographs of people purported to be Fard.   NOTCENSORED doesn't enter into it -- the mug shots are all still in the article.  Feoffer (talk) 00:35, 13 September 2023 (UTC)
 * You failed to explain why either image supposedly isn’t him. Also NPOV doesn’t apply at all to what is essentially a copyright problem, unless you’re specifically arguing for a more flattering portrait for its own sake (which would be NPOV on your part) Dronebogus (talk) 16:29, 13 September 2023 (UTC)
 * You failed to explain why either image supposedly isn’t him. Well that's because I tend to think all the images likely are of the same subject -- but that's a controversial statement, even amongst historians. NoI members have historically rejected as a matter of faith that the other images are of Fard.
 * unless you’re specifically arguing for a more flattering portrait for its own sake
 * Not 'flattering', per se -- but a historic image of the subject in his role as religious leader is a more informative and higher-quality depiction than a mere mug shot or newspaper clipping. Mug shots are rarely used as primary image for individuals who have notability outside of crimes.  Feoffer (talk) 23:44, 13 September 2023 (UTC)
 * The latter isn’t an excuse to violate fair use rules and quite frankly I don’t care what the NoI thinks because they also think white people are evil devils created by a mad scientist. Dronebogus (talk) 00:41, 14 September 2023 (UTC)
 * The official portrait is completely valid under our fair use rules. I don’t care what the NoI thinks because they also think white people are evil devils created by a mad scientist.
 * You're free not to care, but NPOV requires us to lead with a representative image of the subject as he is typically shown -- that's the NoI portrait. The lead image of Muhammad is caligraphy, since that's how he's typically depicted.  Joseph Smith's lead image is his historic portrait, not the recently-discovered photograph of him.  Feoffer (talk) 01:39, 14 September 2023 (UTC)
 * Regrettably to some, but police mug shots and newspaper photo clippings are the only true photographs of the NOI founder. According to Elijah Muhammad's son, Wallace (Warithuddin) Mohammed, the official NOI portrait of the NOI founder was a "cosmetic or doctored" photo of Wallace Fard. Elijah Muhammad's son said the NOI founder used a perming application to straighten his curly wavy-like hair before sitting for the portrait that became the official NOI portrait of Wallace Fard. This description of Fard with curly hair is in line with every mug shot of the criminal Wallace Ford of California who is actually Wallace Fard. Elijah's son added that his father, Elijah Muhammad had many other pictures of the NOI founder which he did not allow members to see.  RESUME BYRON 2600:1700:72EA:E880:CD2C:202:B1BD:3FB6 (talk) 04:37, 8 February 2024 (UTC)

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

title: Talk:Wallace Fard Muhammad


text:
The Slackers

The Slackers are an American ska band, formed in Manhattan, New York in 1991. The band's sound is a mix of ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub, soul, garage rock, and jazz. The Slackers' notability is credited to their prolific career, tours of North and South America, Europe, and elsewhere, and signing to notable punk label Hellcat Records.

The members of the Slackers have also been known to perform in other bands and musical projects, including Reggae Workers of the World, David Hillyard & The Rocksteady Seven, Crazy Baldhead Sound System, Da Whole Thing, The Hall Trees, Stubborn All-Stars, and the SKAndalous All Stars. Vic Ruggiero performs as a solo act performing both original compositions as well as reworked Slackers songs, and has also played keyboards and piano on several Rancid albums.

Career
The band's second album, Redlight, released on September 23, 1997, was ranked number seven in Billboard editor Carrie Bell's "The Year in Music (1997)" list. The album's track with the same name charted at number 116 on the week of November 10, 1997—the song's third week—in CMJ Radio Top 200.

Current lineup

 * Vic Ruggiero – keyboards, vocals
 * Jay "Agent Jay" Nugent – guitar
 * Dave Hillyard – saxophone
 * Glen Pine – trombone, vocals
 * Marcus Geard – bass
 * Ara Babajian – drums

Former members and contributors

 * Marc "Q-Maxx 4:20" Lyn – vocals
 * TJ Scanlon – guitar
 * Luis "Zulu" Zuluaga – drums
 * Jeremy "Mush One" Mushlin – trumpet, vocals
 * Allen Teboul – drums
 * Dunia Best- vocals, flute
 * Jeff "King Django" Baker – trombone
 * Tobias Fields – congas
 * Eric "Erok" Singer – alto saxophone, baritone saxophone
 * Dave Hahn – lead guitar
 * Ben Lewis – trumpet
 * Justin Redekop – trumpet

Former producers and collaborators

 * Victor Rice – producer and bass
 * Zack Levine – producer
 * Eric Sierra – songwriter
 * David Lindome – producer

Studio albums

 * Better Late Than Never (1996)
 * Redlight (1997)
 * The Question (1998)
 * Wasted Days (2001)
 * The Slackers and Friends (2002)
 * Close My Eyes (2003)
 * An Afternoon in Dub (2005)
 * Slackness (with Chris Murray) (2005)
 * Peculiar (2006)
 * The Boss Harmony Sessions (2007)
 * Self Medication (2008)
 * The Great Rocksteady Swindle (2010)
 * The Radio (2011)
 * The Slackers (2016)
 * Don’t Let The Sunlight Fool Ya (2022)

EPs

 * International War Criminal (2004)
 * The Slackers/Pulley Split (2004)
 * My Bed Is A Boat (2013)

Singles

 * "2-Face" (1996)
 * "International War Criminal" (2004)
 * "Pully Split" (2004)
 * "You Must Be Good" (2006)
 * "Little Joe" (2006)
 * "Minha Menina" (2007)
 * "Dreidel" (2009)
 * "New Years Day" (Urban Pirate Records, 2010)
 * "Xmas Every Day" (2011)
 * "Crazy Baldhead" (2012)
 * "Sarah" (2012)
 * "My Bed Is A Boat" (2013)
 * "By You With You For You" (2013)
 * "Heroes b/w Always On My Mind" (2015)
 * "I Can't Hide" (2016)
 * "The Boss" (2016)
 * "Wrongfull Suspension" (2018)
 * "Peculiar" (2019)
 * "The Way Of A Woman" (2019)
 * "Baba Roots" (2019)
 * "Sleep Outside" (2020)
 * "Nobody Listening" (2020)
 * "Blue" (2020)
 * "Widowland" (2021)
 * "Watch This" (2021)
 * "人にやさしく / Wicked Must Survive" (2021)
 * "Don't Let The Sunlight Fool Ya"(2022)
 * "New York Berlin" (2022)
 * "Kill You". (2023)

Demo cassettes

 * Do the Ska with The Slackers (1992)
 * The Slackers (1993)

Live albums

 * Live at Ernesto's (2000)
 * Upsettin' Ernesto's (2004)
 * Slack in Japan (2005)
 * NYC Boat Cruise 2009 (digital only, 2009)
 * Slackfest NYC 2009 (digital only, 2009)
 * Holiday Party With... (digital only, 2009)
 * Live On the West Side 4/6/10 (digital only, 2010)
 * Live In San Francisco 12/31/10 (digital only, 2011)

Collections

 * Before There Were Slackers There Were... (1999)
 * Big Tunes! Hits & Misses from 1996 to 2006 (2007)
 * Lost and Found (2009)
 * Stash Box (2011)
 * Before Hellcat (2011) (USB flash drive release)
 * Ganbare! (2011) (Japan only release)

Compilations

 * Give 'Em the Boot
 * Give 'Em the Boot II
 * Give 'Em the Boot III
 * Give 'Em the Boot IV
 * Give 'Em the Boot V
 * Give 'Em the Boot VI
 * This Is Special Potatoe Vol. 1
 * From New York to Luxembourg (Live @ the Kufa) (with P.O. Box, Kunn & the Magic Muffins and Toxkäpp)
 * New York Beat: Breaking and Entering Volume 2

DVDs

 * Give 'Em the Boot (2005): "And I Wonder"
 * The Slackers: A Documentary (2007)
 * The Flamingo Cantina Series with The Slackers (2009)
 * The Slacker Live On Video (2014)

title: The Slackers


text:
Regnery Publishing

Regnery Publishing is a politically conservative book publisher based in Washington, D.C. The company was founded by Henry Regnery in 1947. In December 2023, Regnery was acquired from Salem Media Group by Skyhorse Publishing, with Skyhorse president Tony Lyons becoming Regnery's publisher.

Regnery has published books by Haley Barbour, Ann Coulter, Ted Cruz, Newt Gingrich, Josh Hawley, David Horowitz, Michelle Malkin, Barbara Olson, Sarah Palin, Mike Pence, Robert Spencer, and others.

20th century
Regnery Publishing has existed as a series of companies associated with Henry Regnery. The first, Henry Regnery Company, was founded in Chicago in 1947 and split in 1977, forming Regnery Gateway Inc. and Contemporary Books Inc. Under the leadership of Henry Regnery's son, Alfred Regnery, Regnery Gateway became the present-day Regnery Publishing.

After helping to found Human Events as a weekly newsletter, Regnery began publishing monthly pamphlets and books. Some of the first pamphlets he published, including a reprint of a speech by University of Chicago president Robert M. Hutchins, criticized the harsh treatment of Germans and Japanese both in popular attitudes and in postwar administration of the former Axis countries.

Regnery published the pamphlets and some books under the name Human Events Associates in 1946. He began publishing under his own name in September 1947. The first book published by the Henry Regnery Company was by socialist Victor Gollancz, who ran the Left Book Club in Great Britain. A man of Jewish heritage, Gollancz was appalled at the bombing of German civilians late in the war and by the treatment of the country afterward. Gollancz published In Darkest Germany in Britain but was unable to find an American publisher for his ideas. He approached Regnery, who agreed to publish it. Regnery subsequently published the U.S. edition of Our Threatened Values by Gollancz.

Regnery's third book was  The Hitler in Our Selves, by Max Picard. Other early books included The German Opposition to Hitler by the German nationalist Hans Rothfels and The High Cost of Vengeance (1949) by Freda Utley which was critical of the Allies' air campaign and post-war occupation. Utley's book was the first Regnery book to be reviewed in The New York Times, where it was excoriated. Reinhold Niebuhr gave it a positive review in The Nation magazine.

The company was founded as a nonprofit corporation. Regnery later wrote that it was initially organized that way, "not because I had any ideological objection to profits, but because, as it seemed to me then, and does still, in matters of excellence the market is a poor judge. The books that are most needed are often precisely those that will have only a modest sale." The Internal Revenue Service forced the company to be reorganized as a for-profit concern on March 1, 1948. Regnery hired his first few employees that year.

Regnery published some of the first and most important books of the postwar American conservative movement. "[I]t was a measure of the grip that liberal-minded editors had on American publishing at the time that Regnery, which was founded in 1947, was one of only two houses known to be sympathetic to conservative authors," according to Henry Regnery's 1996 obituary in The New York Times.

In the early 1950s, Regnery published two books by Robert Welch, who went on to found the John Birch Society in 1958. In May God Forgive Us, Welch criticized influential foreign-policy analysts and policymakers and accused many of working to further Communism as part of a conspiracy. In 1954, Regnery published Welch's biography of John Birch, an American Baptist missionary in China who was killed by Chinese Communists after he became a U.S. intelligence officer in World War II.

In 1951, Regnery published God and Man at Yale, the first book written by William F. Buckley, Jr. At that time, Regnery had a close affiliation with the University of Chicago and published classics for the Great Books series at the University, but he lost the contract as a result of publishing Buckley's book.

In 1953, Regnery published Russell Kirk's work The Conservative Mind, a seminal book for post-World War II American conservatism, as well as books by Albert Jay Nock, James J. Kilpatrick, James Burnham and Whittaker Chambers. He also published paperback editions of literary works by authors such as novelist Wyndham Lewis and the poets T. S. Eliot and Ezra Pound.

In 1954, Regnery published McCarthy and His Enemies by William F. Buckley and L. Brent Bozell Jr. "Although Mr. Buckley [...] had criticized the senator for 'gross exaggerations,' Mr. McCarthy said he would not dispute the merits of the book with the authors," according to a news article in The New York Times. While criticizing McCarthy, the book was sympathetic to him (and in fact was harsher on McCarthy's critics than it was on the senator for making false allegations ), and McCarthy attended a reception for the authors.

In 1977, the Henry Regnery Company split, with Henry Regnery moving to Washington D.C. to form Regnery Gateway Inc. He took with him many of the Henry Regnery Company's rights to political, philosophical, psychological, and religious books along with a few select titles from other genres and the trademark for the Gateway Editions series. The original Henry Regnery Company remained in Chicago and was renamed Contemporary Books. Contemporary was purchased by Tribune Company and merged with Compton's Multimedia Publishing Group to form Tribune Education, which was acquired in 2000 by McGraw-Hill.

In the 1980s, Alfred S. Regnery, son of Henry Regnery, took control of Regnery Gateway.

In 1993, the Regnery family sold the publishing company to Phillips Publishing International, which put the book publishing company into its Eagle Publishing subsidiary, which also published the weekly Human Events. At that time, Regnery Gateway was renamed Regnery Publishing Inc. Alfred Regnery left his post as president of Regnery Publishing in the 2000s to become the publisher of The American Spectator magazine. Alex Novak, son of political columnist Robert Novak, is associate publisher of Regnery's history imprint.

21st century
One of Regnery's publishing lines is the Politically Incorrect Guide (P.I.G.) series of books, introduced in 2004 to present conservative views of historical or current events, such as the American Civil War, the British Empire, the Roman Catholic Church, Islam, immigration, and climate change.

In November 2007, Jerome Corsi, Bill Gertz, Robert "Buzz" Patterson, Joel Mowbray, and Richard Miniter, five authors whose works had been published by Regnery, filed a lawsuit over royalties claiming that Regnery had been self-dealing by diverting book sales away from retail outlets and to book clubs and other channels owned by Regnery's then-parent company, Eagle Publishing. On January 30, 2008, a federal judge dismissed all eight counts of the lawsuit because the authors had signed contracts with Regnery which included a mandatory arbitration clause in their contracts, and three of the authors later sought arbitration (Miniter, Corsi, and Mowbray). In December 2011, the American Arbitration Association released its decision on the arbitration case, ruling in favor of Regnery on all counts.

In January 2014, Regnery was acquired along with other Eagle Publishing properties by Salem Communications.

On July 18, 2018, Simon & Schuster issued a press release announcing an international distribution agreement with Regnery Publishing to begin July 2018. According to the terms of the agreement, Regnery retained responsibility for sales of its titles in the United States while Simon & Schuster began to handle distribution in the United States and both sales and distribution in Canada and export markets around the world.

After U.S. Senator Josh Hawley lost a publishing contract with Simon & Schuster in the aftermath of the 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol for his role in objecting to the certification of the Electoral College results in the 2020 presidential election, Regnery Publishing said it would publish Hawley's book.

In early 2023, Regnery acquired ISI Books, the publishing division of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute.

In December 2023, Skyhorse Publishing announced that it was purchasing Regnery, with Skyhorse president Tony Lyons becoming publisher of Regnery. In January 2024, Skyhorse announced the phasing out of Regnery's religious imprint, Salem Books, in favor of Skyhorse's existing Good Books imprint.

Reception
In November 2001, Nicholas Confessore, then a writer for the American Prospect, wrote the following about Regnery's position in the publishing world:
 * Welcome to the world of Regnery Publishing—lifestyle press for conservatives, preferred printer of presidential hopefuls, and venerable publisher of books for the culture wars. Call it—gracelessly but more accurately—a medium-sized, loosely linked network of conservative types, with few degrees of separation and similar political aims. Just don't call it a conspiracy.

Some reviewers have criticized the Politically Incorrect Guide books for their accuracy. In March 2005, historian David Greenberg wrote that The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History was "incorrect in more than just its politics" and that "it would be tedious to debunk."

In August 2006, one critic called The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design "not only politically incorrect but incorrect in most other ways as well: scientifically, logically, historically, legally, academically, and morally."

In May 2008, Chris Mooney criticized The Politically Incorrect Guide to Science as "The Incorrect Guide to Science." Peter Bacon of Harvard Political Review took issue with The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Civil War for its "cherry-picked research and one-sided judgments of figures."

title: Regnery Publishing


text:
Definition (disambiguation)

A definition is a statement of the meaning of a term.

Definition may also refer to:

Science, mathematics and computing

 * In computer programming languages, a declaration that reserves memory for a variable or gives the body of a subroutine
 * Defining equation (physical chemistry), physico-chemical quantities defined in terms of others, in the form of an equation
 * Dynamical system (definition), description of a mathematical model, determined by a system of coupled differential equations
 * Circular definition, lexicographic, linguistic and logical aspects
 * Mathematics:
 * Intensional definition
 * Elementary definition
 * Algebraic definition
 * Recursive definition
 * Field of definition
 * A continuous function
 * A well-defined function

Music and TV

 * High-definition television, a television format with higher resolution
 * Definition (album), a 1992 studio album by American crossover thrash band Dirty Rotten Imbeciles
 * Definition (TV series), a long-running Canadian game show of the 1970s and 1980s
 * Definition (Jersey EP), 2001
 * Definition (Diaura EP), 2019
 * "Definition" (song), a 1998 song by Black Star
 * "Definition", a song by Mabel from About Last Night..., 2022
 * "Definitions" (How I Met Your Mother), a 2009 television episode

Other

 * #define, a macro in the C programming language
 * Defined (album), a 2005 operatic pop album
 * Definitions (Plato), a dictionary of about 185 philosophical terms sometimes included in the corpus of Plato's works
 * Dogmatic definition, the pronunciation of religious doctrine by a Pope or an ecumenical council

title: Definition (disambiguation)


text:
User talk:Isol8d

Hello, welcome to Wikipedia.

You might find these links helpful in creating new pages or helping with the above tasks: How to edit a page, How to write a great article, Naming conventions, Manual of Style. You should read our policies at some point too.

If you have any questions, see the help pages, add a question to the village pump or ask me on my talk page. I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian!

 * If you made any edits before you got an account, you might be interested in assigning those to your username.

 * You can sign your name using three tildes, like this: . If you use four, you can add a datestamp too.

 * If you ever think a page or image should be deleted, please list it at the votes for deletion page. There is also a votes for undeletion page if you want to retrieve something that you think should not have been deleted.

Again, welcome! - Mark Richards 18:55, 15 Mar 2004 (UTC)

BTW, do you have any more information on The Slackers? Thanks, Mark Richards 18:55, 15 Mar 2004 (UTC)

title: User talk:Isol8d


text:
What Liberal Media?

What Liberal Media?: The Truth About Bias and the News is a book by columnist Eric Alterman that challenges the widespread conservative belief in a liberal media bias. Alterman argues that the media, as a whole, is not biased liberally, but conservatively.

Critical response
The Los Angeles Times called the book, "A well-documented, even-tempered and witty answer, I might say antidote, to such toxic recent bestsellers as Bernard Goldberg's 'Bias.'"

Ted Widmer of the New York Times Book Review said "'What Liberal Media' is bold, counterintuitive and cathartic".

The New Yorker said of the book, "A polemic is nothing without passion, and Alterman's argumentative vigor is engaging [and]... the meticulous care with which his arguments are sourced and footnoted is in commendable contrast to the efforts of some of his more fire-breathing opponents."

title: What Liberal Media?


text:
User talk:Nayrki4055

Please see my comments on Talk:Popular sovereignty -- Jmabel 18:55, 15 Mar 2004 (UTC)

title: User talk:Nayrki4055


text:
Sri Lanka Cricket

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is the governing body for cricket in Sri Lanka. It was first registered with the Sri Lankan Ministry of Sports as the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka on 30 June 1975 as a national sports body. The board was renamed in 2003.

The SLC operates all of the Sri Lankan national representative cricket sides, including the Men's, Women's and Under-19 sides. The SLC is also responsible for organising and hosting Test tours and one day internationals with other nations, and scheduling the home international fixtures.

History
Cricket was brought to the nation when it was colonized by the British. As everywhere that the British arrived in numbers, cricket soon followed and it is reasonable to assume that the game was first played on the island by 1800. The earliest definite mention of cricket in Ceylon was a report in the Colombo Journal on 5 September 1832 which called for the formation of a cricket club. The Colombo Cricket Club was formed soon afterwards and matches began in November 1833 when it played against the 97th Regiment.

Throughout the 20th century, the game became increasingly popular in Sri Lanka. It was in the 1975 inaugural Cricket World Cup that they made their international debut. They lost to the West Indies by 9 wickets. They did however turn heads at the same tournament with an excellent display in their match against Australia. The national team won the ICC Trophy in 1979. On 21 July 1981, Sri Lanka was admitted to full membership of the ICC and was awarded Test Match status. The inaugural Test was played at the Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium in Colombo in February 1982 against England but Sri Lanka lost by 8 wickets. Sri Lanka won the 1996 Cricket World Cup by defeating Australia. Sri Lanka won the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 by defeating India.

In 2023, SLC faced accusations of corruption and declining standards, with Minister for Sports Roshan Ranasinghe having considered its board to be "traitorous and corrupt". After being eliminated from the 2023 Cricket World Cup, Ranasinghe called for the resignation of the SLC board. On 6 November 2023, after the board's secretary Mohan De Silva resigned, Ranasinghe removed the entire SLC board and replaced them with a seven-member interim committee led by Arjuna Ranatunga—captain of Sri Lanka's 1996 World Cup team. The next day, in response to a petition by the board's president Shammi Silva, the Appeal Court ruled that the previous board was to be reinstated for a period of two weeks pending hearings.

On 10 November 2023, the ICC suspended SLC for failing to meet "the requirement to manage its affairs autonomously and ensure that there is no government interference in the governance, regulation and/or administration". While the board of the ICC ruled that the suspension would not affect Sri Lanka's day-to-day participation in international cricket, the country was stripped of its rights to host the 2024 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. On 28 January 2024, the ICC lifted the suspension, after its board ruled that SLC were no longer in breach of membership obligations.

Domestic competitions
Sri Lanka Cricket oversees the progress and handling of the major domestic competitions in the country:
 * T20

 * Lanka Premier League
 * Major Clubs T20 Tournament
 * First Class

 * Major League Tournament (Sri Lanka)
 * National Super League 4-Day Tournament
 * List A

They also organize and host the Inter-Provincial Cricket Tournament, a competition focusing on provincial-level teams with pooled talent rather than on individual cricket clubs.
 * Major Clubs Limited Over Tournament
 * National Super League Limited Over Tournament
 * 2024 Major Clubs T20 Tournament

Former Competitions

 * Premier Limited Overs Tournament
 * SLC Invitational T20 League
 * Sri Lanka Premier League(2012)
 * SLC T20 League(2018)
 * Super T20 Provincial Tournament
 * Sri Lanka Cricket Super 4's T20(2013-2014)

Vice-Presidents

 * Killi Rajamahendran (Early 1980s)
 * Shelley Wickramasinghe (mid-1980s )

 * Thilanga Sumathipala
 * Aravinda de Silva (2003–2004)
 * K. Mathivanan
 * Asanga Seneviratne
 * Jayantha Dharmadasa (2016–Present)
 * K. Mathivanan (2016–2019)
 * Ravin Wickramaratne (2019–Present)

Secretaries

 * Kushil Gunasekara (2002)
 * Mohan de Silva (2003)
 * Lourence Amarasena (2004)
 * S. Liyanagama
 * Michael de Zoysa
 * Nishantha Ranatunga (March 2009 – July 2011)
 * Nishantha Ranatunga (2012–2015)
 * Mohan de Silva (2016–2023)

Assistant Secretaries

 * Ravin Wickramaratne (2004)
 * Hirvanamuthu Kulendran
 * Ravin Wickramaratne (2016–2019)
 * Chryshantha Kapuwatta (2019-Present)

Treasurers

 * Tryphon Mirando (2002)
 * Nuski Mohamed (2004)
 * Sujeewa Rajapakse (January 2008 – July 2011)
 * Nuski Mohamed (2012–2013)
 * Shammi Silva (2016–2019)
 * Lasantha Wickramasinghe (2019-2022)
 * Sujeewa Godaliyadda (2023-Present)

Assistant Treasurers

 * Lucien Merinnage (2004)
 * Ajith Sivasamy (2012–2013)
 * Shammi Silva (2014–2015)
 * Lalith Rambukwella (2016–2019)
 * Sujeewa Godaliyadda (2019-2022)
 * Lasantha Wickramasinghe (2023-Present)

title: Sri Lanka Cricket


text:
Bifenthrin

Bifenthrin is a pyrethroid insecticide. It is widely used against ant infestations.

It is not a restricted chemical in the United States and is commonly sold in hardware stores to control pests in homes.

Chemical properties
Bifenthrin is poorly soluble in water and often remains in soil. Its residual half-life in soil is between 7 days and 8 months, depending on the soil type, with a low mobility in most soil types. Bifenthrin has the longest known residual time in soil of insecticides currently on the market. It is a white, waxy solid with a faint sweet smell. It is chemically synthesized in various forms, including powder, granules and pellets. However, it is not naturally occurring.

Like other pyrethroids, bifenthrin is chiral; it has different enantiomers which can have different effects. Bifenthrin is found in two enantiomers: 1S-cis-bifenthrin and 1R-cis-bifenthrin. 1S-cis-Bifenthrin is 3-4 times more toxic to humans than 1R-cis-bifenthrin, while the latter is more than 300 times more effective as a pesticide.

Toxicodynamics
There are two types of pyrethroids: those with and without α-cyanogroup. The neurotoxicity of bifenthrin is based on the affinity to the voltage-gated sodium channels (in insects as well as mammals). The pyrethroids with an α-cyanogroup block the sodium-channel permanently, causing the membrane to be permanently hyperpolarized. The resting potential will not be restored, and no further action potential can be generated. The pyrethroids without an α-cyanogroup, to which bifenthrin belongs, are only able to bind to the sodium channel transiently. This will result in after potentials and eventual continuous firing of axons. The resting potential is not affected by these pyrethroids.

Bifenthrin will open the sodium channel for a shorter period than other pyrethroids. The mechanism in mammals and invertebrates is not different, but the effect on mammals is much less due to higher body temperature, higher body volume, and lower affinity of bifenthrin to sodium channels.

Toxicokinetics
Numerous studies have been conducted on the half life of bifenthrin in soil, water, and air under different conditions, such as aerobic or anaerobic, and at different temperatures and pH. It is more likely to remain in the soil and not so much in water (it is hydrophobic), nor in the air (it is unlikely to volatilize because of its physical properties). Because of the water-insolubility of bifenthrin, it will not rapidly cause contamination of ground water. However, some contamination might occur by soil bound bifenthrin to surface water through runoff. For an overview of the environmental degradation of bifenthrin, see figure below. The main path of degradation results in 4’-hydroxy bifenthrin.

Biotransformation
Pyrethroids are much less toxic in mammals than they are in insects and fish, because mammals have the ability to rapidly break the ester bond in bifenthrin and break the substance into its inactive acid and alcohol components. In humans and rats, bifenthrin is degraded by the cytochrome p450-family.

Toxicity in animals
Bifenthrin is an effective pesticide to use against malaria and filaria vector mosquitoes. It is still effective when a resistance to other pyrethroids is found. Mosquito nets and indoor walls can be treated with bifenthrin to keep more mosquitoes away. Bifenthrin is an effectively used insecticide, but the risk is high of it working only for a short time. Mosquitoes can develop a resistance to it, as well.
 * Mosquitoes

Bifenthrin is hardly soluble in water, so nearly all bifenthrin will stay in the sediment, but it is very harmful to aquatic life. Even in small concentrations, fish and other aquatic animals are affected by bifenthrin. One of the reasons for the high sensitivity of fish is fish have a slow metabolism. Bifenthrin will stay longer in the system of the fish. Another reason for the high sensitivity of fish is the effect of bifenthrin as ATPase-inhibitor. The gills need ATP to control the osmotic balance of oxygen. If the fish is no longer capable of taking up oxygen because ATP can no longer be used, the fish will die. In cold water, bifenthrin is even more dangerous. pH and calcium concentration are also factors that influence the toxicity. Vertebrates are less sensitive to the effects of bifenthrin as ATPase-inhibitor.
 * Aquatic life

In bees, the lethal concentration (LC50) of bifenthrin is about 17 mg/L. At sublethal concentrations, bifenthrin reduces the fecundity of bees, decreases the rate at which bee larvae develop into adults, and increases their immature periods.
 * Bees

 * Table of LD50 values

Toxicity in humans
Bifenthrin and other synthetic pyrethroids are being used in agriculture in increasing amounts because of the high efficiency of these substances in killing insects, the low toxicity for mammals, and good biodegradability. However, because of its success, they are being used more often (also indoors) and high exposure of bifenthrin to humans can occur.

Carcinogenicity
The U.S. EPA classified bifenthrin as a Category C, possible human carcinogen. This rating is based on an increased rate of urinary bladder tumors in mice, adenoma and adenocarcinoma of the liver in male mice, and bronchoalveolar adenomas and adenocarcinomas of the lung in some female mice.

Potential for neurotoxicity
Bifenthrin can be absorbed by humans either by skin contact or ingestion. Skin contact is not toxic, causing only a slight tingling sensation at the point of contact. Ingestion in concentrations below 10−4 M is not toxic. However, commercially available bifenthrin products formulated for household use (such as Ortho Home Defense Max, sold as a liquid pump spray), can induce toxic effects due to other chemicals added to improve the sustainability of bifenthrin or are toxic on their own. Symptoms of excessive exposure are nausea, headaches, hypersensitivity for touch and sound, and irritation of the skin and the eyes.

Regulation
The EPA monitors and regulates the use of pesticides in the United States. Because of its high toxicity to aquatic organisms, bifenthrin is classified as a restricted-use pesticide, meaning it may only be sold to certified pesticide applicators. However, the EPA allows lower concentrations of bifenthrin to be sold to the general public.

Bifenthrin has been approved for use against the Rasberry crazy ant in the Houston, Texas, area, under a special "crisis exemption" from the Texas Department of Agriculture and the EPA. The chemical is only approved for use in Texas counties experiencing "confirmed infestations" of the newly imported, invasive ant species.

The EPA has classified bifenthrin as a class C carcinogen, a possible human carcinogen based on a test with mice, which showed increased development of certain tumors.

An acute and chronic reference dose (RfD) for bifenthrin has been established, based on animal studies. The reference dose resembles the estimated quantity of a chemical which a person could be exposed to every day (or a one-time exposure for the acute RfD) without any appreciable risk of adverse health effects. The acute reference dose (RfD) for bifenthrin is 0.328 mg/kg bodyweight/day. The chronic reference dose (RfD) for bifenthrin is 0.013 mg/kg bodyweight/day.

Bifenthrin was included in a biocide ban proposed by the Swedish Chemicals Agency, because of its carcinogenic effect. This was approved by the European Parliament in 2009. Pesticides containing bifenthrin were withdrawn from use in the European Union. They have since been reinstated.

Bifenthrin is banned for agricultural use in European union countries since July 2019 but is still approved for the preservation of chopped wood.

Use
On a large scale, bifenthrin is often used against invasive red fire ants. It is also effective against aphids, worms, other ants, gnats, moths, beetles, earwigs, grasshoppers, mites, midges, spiders, ticks, yellow jackets, maggots, thrips, caterpillars, flies, fleas, spotted lanternflies and termites. It is mostly used in orchards, nurseries, and homes. In the agricultural sector, it is used in great amounts on certain crops, such as corn. About 70% of all hops and raspberries cultured in the United States are treated with bifenthrin.

Bifenthrin is used by the textile industry to protect woollen products from insect attack. It was introduced as an alternative to permethrin-based agents, due to greater efficacy against keratinophagous insects, better wash-fastness, and lower aquatic toxicity.

Products
Products containing bifenthrin include Sevin, Transport, Talstar, Maxxthor, Biforce, Capture, Brigade, Bifenthrine, DuoCide insect control, Ortho Home Defense Max, Bifen XTS, Bifen IT, Bifen L/P, Torant, Zipak, Scotts Turf Builder SummerGuard, Wisdom TC Flowable, FMC 54800, Allectus, Ortho Max Pro and OMS3024 and mega wash from green planet and in Australia, Fortune Ultra, Hovex Ultra Low Odor and Surefire Fivestar.

title: Bifenthrin


text:
Raynham Hall

Raynham Hall is a country house in Norfolk, England. For nearly 400 years it has been the seat of the Townshend family. The hall gave its name to the five estate villages, known as The Raynhams, and is reported to be haunted, providing the scene for possibly the most famous ghost photo of all time, the famous Brown Lady descending the staircase. However, the ghost has been allegedly seen infrequently since the photo was taken. Its most famous resident was Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend (1674–1738), leader in the House of Lords.

Architecture
Raynham Hall is one of the most splendid of the great houses of Norfolk. After a false start in 1619 and the accumulation on site of a large quantity of Ketton stone in 1621 it was rebegun in 1622, and by the time of Sir Roger Townshend's death in 1637 it was substantially complete, though apparently some rooms had not been fitted out, for when the architect Sir Roger Pratt saw it a few years after Townshend's death, he recalled later "Not long after it was built... I was some while in it, while it had no ornament at all... There was somewhat in it divine in the symmetry of proportions of length, height and breadth which was harmonious to the rational soul."

Whether or not Raynham Hall was "the first of its kind in England" as the genealogist G. E. Cokayne averred, it was certainly "one of the outstanding country houses of the period." Perhaps because of the three-year grand tour of Europe which Sir Roger had undertaken, accompanied by his mason, William Edge of Raynham, whom he paid in 1620 for twenty-eight weeks accompanying him "in England and out of England". Raynham was built in an entirely new style, abandoning native tradition and following the Italian form and plan. Except for its hipped roof and Dutch gables, Raynham could easily be mistaken for a house built nearly a century later.

Raynham's indications that it may have been influenced by Inigo Jones have superseded earlier optimistic attributions to Jones himself: Sir John Summerson summarized his view of its design, "We do not know who designed it, but may infer that Townshend had the assistance of somebody who had worked in proximity to Inigo Jones, possibly at Newmarket." Nicholas Cooper finds it "a medley of up-to-date elements, largely Jonesian and derived from London and probably also from the Prince's Lodging at Newmarket," Howard Colvin finds Raynham "a remarkable epitome of motifs that appear in Jones's earlier drawings... an intelligent reflection of his style rather than a personal work."

Legend
In 1713, Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend, married Robert Walpole's prettiest sister, Dorothy. She was his second wife, and is reputed in the gossip of the time to have been previously the mistress of Lord Wharton, "whose character was so infamous, and his lady's complaisant subserviency so notorious, that no young woman could be four and twenty hours under their roof with safety to her reputation." Lady Townshend was buried in 1726. Walpole was Townshend's neighbour in Norfolk as well as his brother-in-law, but political and personal rivalry between them was exacerbated by Walpole's building of Houghton Hall. As Lord Hervey observed, "Lord Townshend looked upon his own seat at Raynham as the metropolis of Norfolk, and considered every stone that augmented the splendour of Houghton, as a diminution of the grandeur of Raynham."

Additions by William Kent
Later extensions and interiors were designed for the 2nd Viscount Townshend by William Kent, who brought details of its frontispiece on the North Front more closely in line with the manner of Inigo Jones, whose style formed the pattern for Palladianism in Britain. Working at Raynham from 1725 to 1732, Kent added the north wing to Raynham and decorated the interior, where much of Kent's finest work can be seen, especially in the elaborately carved architectural chimneypieces, the architectural doorcases and the painted staircase imitating niches and sculpture in trompe-l'œil and the painted ceiling imitating mosaic in the 'Belisarius' Room. The impressive and beautiful ceiling of the Marble Hall (completed 1730) with its motif of Lord Townshend's coat-of-arms was sometimes attributed in the 19th century to Inigo Jones himself. In the State Dining Room Kent introduced a screen in the manner of a Roman triumphal arch that particularly irritated Lord Oxford, who saw it in 1732: "the Arch of Severus, surely a most preposterous thing to introduce a building in a room, which was designed to stand in a street."

Paintings
In spite of a series of 20th-century sales, many fine portraits still adorn Kent's splendid rooms at Raynham. Hanging beside his lovely black and white marble chimney-piece in the Princess' Room is a painting which is believed to be a preliminary sketch for the famous van Dyck portrait "Children of Charles I." Until 1904, there were many more paintings at Raynham, including several fine family portraits by Kneller and Reynolds. The most famous and valuable was "Belisarius" by Salvator Rosa, which was presented to the 2nd Viscount Townshend by King Frederick William I of Prussia. This was valued at £5,000 in 1804, but was disposed of a hundred years later for £273.

Charles Townshend, 8th Marquess Townshend, is the present owner of the Hall.

Gallery
Gallery of images of Raynham Hall featured in In English Homes in December 1909:

title: Raynham Hall


text:
List of leaders of the Official Opposition of Quebec

This is a list of the leaders of the opposition party of Quebec, Canada since Confederation (1867).

Note that the leader of the Opposition is not always the leader of the political party with the second-largest number of seats, in cases where the leader of that party does not have a seat.

There was no Leader of the Official Opposition until March 1869, when the government's second budget was introduced.


text:
1764 in music

Events

 * April 10 – The Mozart family set out for London, where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart meets Johann Christian Bach.
 * Autumn – Following the death of his patron Keyserlingk, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach leaves his post as organist at Halle.
 * date unknown – The castrato Domenico Annibali retires from the stage.
 * Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf becomes Kapellmeister at the court of Adam Patachich in Großwardein, replacing Michael Haydn and restructuring the orchestra of the bishop's palace.

Popular music

 * The Temple of Comus or Every Gentleman and Lady's Beard, Brent and Lowe: Being Songs for the Year 1764

Classical music

 * Johann Christian Bach – 6 Keyboard Trios, Op. 2
 * Michel Corrette – Carillon, ajouté à la Messe des Morts de Gilles
 * Joseph Haydn
 * Symphony No.14 in A major
 * Symphony No.15 in D major
 * Symphony No.21 in A major
 * Symphony no 22 ("Philosopher")
 * Symphony No.23 in G major
 * Symphony No.24 in D major
 * Divertimento in C major Hob. XIV:4
 * Qual dubbio o(r)mai
 * Michael Haydn – Trumpet Concerto
 * Ignacio de Jerusalem – Matins for the Virgin of Guadalupe
 * Joseph Kelway – 6 Harpsichord Sonatas
 * Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
 * Violin Sonata in B-flat major, K.8
 * Violin Sonata in C major, K.14
 * Symphony No.1 in E-flat major, K.16
 * Johann Baptist Georg Neruda – 6 Trio Sonatas
 * Giuseppe Antonio Paganelli - Six sonates d'un goût agréable..., published posthumously
 * Johann Schobert – 3 Harpsichord Quartets, Op. 7

Opera

 * Florian Leopold Gassmann – L'Olimpiade
 * Christoph Willibald Gluck – La rencontre imprévue
 * Pietro Guglielmi – Siroe re di Persia
 * Andrea Luchesi – L'Isola della Fortuna
 * Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny – Rose et Colas
 * Niccolò Piccinni – Gli stravaganti
 * Johann Adolph Hasse – Egeria

Methods and theory writings

 * Daniel Bayley – A New and Compleat Introduction to the Grounds and Rules of Musick
 * L'Abbé Duval – Principes de la musique pratique
 * Jean-Philippe Rameau – Traité des accords et de leur succession selon le système de la Basse-fondamentale
 * Valentin Roeser – Essai d'instruction à l'usage de ceux qui composent pour la clarinette et le cor
 * Francisco Inácio Solano – Nova instrucção musical, ou theorica pratica da musica rythmica

Births

 * January 13 – Franz Lauska, Moravian pianist, composer and teacher (died 1825)
 * March 1 – Jeremiah Ingalls, composer of the First New England School (died 1838)
 * March 2 – Hélène de Montgeroult, composer and pianist (died 1836)
 * May 15 – Johann Nepomuk Kalcher, composer (died 1827)
 * September 11 – Valentino Fioravanti, composer (died 1837)
 * October 21 – János Bihari, Hungarian Romani violinist (died 1827)
 * November 30 – Franz Xaver Gerl, composer (died 1827)
 * unknown date
 * Alexander Campbell, musician and writer (died 1824)
 * Vincenzo Fabrizi, composer
 * probable
 * Bernard Lorenziti, French composer (died after 1815)
 * Jan Šťastný, cellist and composer (died c.1830)

Deaths

 * March 30 – Pietro Locatelli, violinist and composer (born 1695)
 * April 17
 * Johann Balthasar Christian Freislich, composer (born 1687)
 * Johann Mattheson, German musicologist (born 1681)
 * buried June 6 – Wilhelm Hieronymus Pachelbel, German composer, son of Johann Pachelbel (born c.1686)
 * September 10 – Giovanni Antonio Giay, composer (born 1690)
 * September 12 – Jean-Philippe Rameau, composer (born 1683)
 * October 22 – Jean-Marie Leclair, composer (born 1697; murdered)
 * October 23 – Pierre-Charles Roy, librettist and poet (born 1683)
 * date unknown
 * Josep Mir i Llussà, Catalan composer and maestro de capilla (born 1700)
 * Lorenzo Zavateri, violinist and composer (born 1690)

title: 1764 in music