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Oakland University

Oakland University (OU or Oakland) is a public research university in Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills, Michigan. Founded in 1957 through a donation of Matilda Dodge Wilson and husband Alfred G. Wilson, it was initially known as Michigan State University-Oakland, operating under the Michigan State University Board of Trustees, before gaining institutional independence from the board in 1970.

Oakland University is one of the eight research universities in the State of Michigan and is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity." The university offers 132 bachelor's degree programs and 138 professional graduate certificate, master's degree, and doctoral degree programs, including those offered by the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine. It had a total enrollment of more than 16,108 students in Fall of 2022.

The university's site comprises the Main Campus, Meadow Brook Estate, and two nationally ranked golf courses spread across 1,443 acres (5.84 km2). Meadow Brook Hall, a U.S. National Historic Landmark and the fourth-largest historic house museum in the United States, is located on the site.

Previously known as the Pioneers, Oakland's athletic teams were renamed the Golden Grizzlies in 1998. They compete in the NCAA Division I Horizon League.

History

In 1908, John Francis Dodge and his wife Matilda purchased a farmhouse and 320 acre of land known as Meadow Brook Farms, located in central Oakland County.

In 1920, Matilda inherited John's fortune upon his death, soon remarrying to a lumber baron, Alfred G. Wilson. Between 1926 and 1929, the couple built Meadow Brook Hall on the land.

Oakland University was created in 1957 when Matilda Dodge Wilson and her second husband, Alfred Wilson, donated their 1443 acre estate to Michigan State University, including Meadow Brook Hall, Sunset Terrace and all the estate's other buildings and collections, along with $2 million. Main campus buildings were completed on Squirrel Road in Pontiac Township (now the city of Auburn Hills). Originally known as Michigan State University–Oakland, the university enrolled its first students in 1959, was renamed Oakland University in 1963, and has been officially independent of Michigan State University since 1970.

Wilson demanded that U.S. Postmaster General Arthur Summerfield let the university use a Rochester, Michigan, mailing address (201 Meadow Brook Rd., Rochester, Michigan 48309 ), even though the main campus was in Pontiac Township (now the city of Auburn Hills). After Wilson reminded him that she had contributed to his administration, Summerfield granted her request.

In September 2009, tenured faculty members represented by the Oakland University chapter of the American Association of University Professors went on strike. Issues of contention included the university claiming ownership of professors' copyrights and patents, refusing to allow faculty input into matters of class size and curricula, reduction of health benefits and a three-year salary freeze. The salary freeze was in contrast to university president Gary Russi, who had just received a $100,000 raise. The university's board of trustees maintained that the strike was illegal and filed a lawsuit against the Oakland AAUP. After a week's strike, the faculty and administration came to an agreement on a three-year contract, which was implemented.

During the 2012 Republican presidential primaries, Oakland University hosted a debate between Republican presidential candidates on 9 November 2011. CNBC televised the debate nationally, and the Michigan Republican Party co-sponsored the debate with CNBC. Eight candidates participated: Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Mitt Romney, and Rick Santorum.

In 2013, the Oakland University Board of Trustees approved a $65 million investment in campus expansion and improvement projects. Completed in the fall of 2014, projects included: construction of a nearly $30 million student housing complex; dramatic enhancement of outdoor recreation and athletic fields; construction of a 1,240-space parking structure, and; construction of new headquarters for facility and grounds maintenance operations. Longtime supporters of the university, Hugh and Nancy Elliott, made a donation to construct the Elliott Tower on the campus. The 151-foot carillon tower was completed in fall 2014 and houses the last bells to be cast by the Royal Bellfoundry Petit & Fritsen of the Netherlands.

On 4 May 2017, the board announced Ora Hirsch Pescovitz as Oakland University's seventh president. Her tenure began on 1 July 2017, under a 5-year contract. In 2021, her contract was extended to June, 2025.

For the fall 2022 semester, Oakland University had an enrollment of 16,108 students. Oakland University is the 6th largest of the 4-year universities in Michigan.

Undergraduate
Oakland University is considered "selective" by U.S. News & World Report. For the Class of 2025 (enrolled fall 2021), Oakland University received 10,475 applications and accepted 9,661 (92.2%). Of those accepted, 2,025 enrolled, a yield rate (the percentage of accepted students who choose to attend the university) of 21.0%. Oakland University's freshman retention rate is 73.1%, with 56% going on to graduate within six years.

The enrolled first-year class of 2025 had the following standardized test scores: the middle 50% range (25th percentile-75th percentile) of SAT scores was 990-1220, while the middle 50% range of ACT scores was 21-29.

Academic divisions
Oakland University offers 132 bachelor's degree programs and 138 graduate programs (professional certificates, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees). The main academic units of the university are the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Business Administration, the School of Education and Human Services, the School of Engineering and Computer Science, the School of Health Sciences, School of Nursing, and the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine. Additionally, Oakland University supports an Honors College and various study abroad programs. Its most popular undergraduate majors, by 2021 graduates, were:
 * Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse (458)
 * Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences (285)
 * Psychology (161)
 * Mechanical Engineering (160)
 * Human Resources Development (149)
 * Communication (128)
 * Biology/Biological Sciences (124)
 * Elementary Education and Teaching (121)

In 2007, plans were established to start a medical school on the Oakland University campus in partnership with William Beaumont Hospital, called the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine (OUWB or OUWBSM) came to fruition. The medical school was founded in 2008 with classes starting in fall of 2011. OUWB is the fourth medical school in the state of Michigan to offer the M.D. degree, received over 3,200 applications for the inaugural class of 50 students. OUWBSM has 225 students as of Fall 2013 and 500 were planned for 2017. The founding dean of the medical school is Robert Folberg, M.D.

The Oakland University – Beaumont Nurse Anesthesia Graduate Program started in 1991. In 2011, U.S. News & World Report ranked the program tied for 17th in the United States.

Oakland University's School of Business Administration (SBA) is accredited by the AACSB-International accreditation in both business and accounting. It also offers Michigan's only Executive MBA program with concentrations in Health Care and IS Leadership. In 2009, the SBA celebrated its 40th anniversary.

Research centers and institutes
As part of its research mission, Oakland University also supports a number of major research centers and institutes, including the Center for Biomedical Research, the Center for Robotics and Advanced Automation, the Fastening and Joining Research Institute, the Human Systems Initiative, and the renowned Eye Research Institute. Furthermore, Oakland University's Smart Zone Business Incubator provides entrepreneurial resources and expertise to support and foster new technology-based and life science businesses.

Some Oakland University Research Centers and Institutes include:
 * Center for Applied Research in Musical Understanding
 * Center for Biomedical Research
 * Center for Creative and Collaborative Computing
 * Center for Data Science and Big Data Analytics
 * Center for Integrated Business Research and Education
 * Center for Public Humanities
 * Center for Robotics and Advanced Automation
 * Eye Research Institute
 * Fastening and Joining Research Institute
 * Lowry Center for Early Childhood Education
 * Nanotech Research & Development Institute
 * Oakland University Center for Autism Research, Education and Support (OUCARES)
 * Pawley Learning Institute
 * Product Development and Manufacturing Center
 * Public Affairs Research Laboratory

Campus
In addition to its location in the cities of Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills, Oakland University maintains an official "hometown" relationship with the nearby but not adjacent city of Rochester, Michigan. University and city officials signed a partnership agreement in 2003 to officially recognize the relationship between Rochester and Oakland University. In 1959, Rochester Village (now city) officials renamed the 1 miles Fifth Street in downtown Rochester "University Drive" to showcase Rochester as a "college town". The road is called Walton Boulevard adjacent to the University in Rochester Hills and Auburn Hills. This is often confused with University Drive in Auburn Hills, which originates at Oakland University's main entrance in Auburn Hills, and continues west into downtown Pontiac. In 2005, the Rochester area was ranked 39th in the CNN/Money Magazine list of the Top 100 American cities in which to live.

Oakland University's campus, which encompasses 1443 acre, includes trails and biking paths and two nationally ranked golf courses.

Oakland County
The university's land in Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills is divided into the Main Campus, Meadow Brook Estate, and two golf courses.

Main Campus
Meadow Brook Theatre, which was founded in 1967, is the largest non-profit professional theater in Michigan, and presents a wide variety of award-winning productions throughout the year. Additionally, the Oakland University Art Gallery, which was formerly known as the Meadow Brook Art Gallery, presents at least six different exhibitions each academic year, in addition to hosting a variety of lectures, performances and symposia.

Kresge Library is the main library of Oakland University. It consists of four floors of study rooms and open-area tables. It also contains the Oakland University Archives, the Historical Abraham Lincoln Collection, the Jane M. Bingham Historical Children's Collection, and a tech center. The library is named after Stanley and Sebastian Kresge who were both present for the library's opening in 1962.

In 2009, an 18-hole disc golf course opened. Grizzly Oaks was co-designed by student Jarrett Schlaff and licensed by the Professional Disc Golf Association.

Oakland University's student union, the Oakland Center, was renovated and expanded in 2018. The Oakland Center houses the offices of student organizations, a large food court with multiple restaurants, the student bookstore, a cafe, a pool hall and gaming center, a Student Technology Center, the campus newspaper The Oakland Post, computer labs, conference rooms, as well as the offices of the university radio station, WXOU (88.3 FM). Oakland University also has its own television station (OU TV) which is broadcast on-campus and to the local community.

The campus has recreational facilities for intramural sports and for Oakland University's 16 NCAA Division I athletic teams, including the lighted Upper Athletic Fields, the indoor Sports Dome, fields for varsity baseball, softball, and soccer, and facilities for basketball, handball, track, and weight training. The campus recreation center houses Oakland University's natatorium, and the Athletics Center O'rena, a 4,000-seat field house, is the home court for Oakland University basketball and volleyball.

Near the center of campus is the Elliot Tower (above). This clock tower was finished in 2014 after many delays to its construction that began toward the end of 1945 just after the end of WWII, making it both the oldest and one of the newest structures simultaneously at Oakland University.

Meadow Brook Estate
This portion of Oakland University consists of the historic Meadow Brook Hall and the land and buildings surrounding it. The hall, which is a 110-room Tudor revival–style mansion completed in 1929 as Oakland University founder Matilda Dodge Wilson's Oakland County estate, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Meadow Brook Hall is the fourth-largest historic house museum in the United States, and houses a vast collection of historically significant art and furniture, including paintings by Rembrandt, Anthony van Dyck, Rosa Bonheur, Gilbert Stuart, Joshua Reynolds, John Constable, and Thomas Gainsborough, as well as sculptures by Antoine-Louis Barye, Frederic Remington, Cyrus Edwin Dallin, and Herbert Haseltine. Meadow Brook Hall is frequently utilized as a site for select university functions, including the Meadow Brook Ball, a popular student event. Until 2010, Meadow Brook Hall and its grounds were the site of the annual Meadow Brook Concours d'Elegance, one of the largest collector car shows in the world.

The Meadow Brook Music Festival is an outdoor entertainment venue with an on-site pavilion which accommodates close to 8,000 people. In addition to being the site of spring-time graduation ceremonies, Meadow Brook Music Festival also hosts comedians and musical acts. Meadow Brook Music Festival is managed by 313 Presents.

Golf courses
Oakland University has two nationally ranked golf courses that make up most of the southern portion of its land. Katke-Cousins sits on 320 acres. Some of the course's 18 holes remain from the 9-hole course John Dodge built when he lived at the estate. The other course, opened in 2000, is the R & S Sharf course.

Macomb County
An office plaza in downtown Mount Clemens, in Macomb County, was donated to the university in 2010 by Gebran Anton and Stuart Frankel. It was repurposed and opened for the fall 2011 semester as the Anton/Frankel Center. It offers several undergraduate and graduate programs.

Oakland University is also among the 12 colleges and universities offering programs at Macomb Community College's University Center.

Oakland University Art Gallery, and art collection
The Oakland University Art Gallery is a civic art exhibition venue in Rochester Hills, Michigan. Founded in 1966, it is part of Oakland University and occupies a portion of the University’s Wilson Hall. The gallery’s exhibitions have garnered national and international attention, and have been reviewed in publications including Art in America, Sculpture and W Magazine.

Art collection
The collection has over 1,500 art objects. The gallery collection includes twentieth and twenty-first century paintings and sculptures by artists Richard Artschwager, Fernando Botero, Alex Katz, Malcolm Morley, Carlos Rolón, and Terry Winters.

Other contemporary artworks in the collection include Detroit artists Michael Luchs, Gordon Newton, Robert Sestok, and Gilda Snowden.

Former Professor of Art History and Archeology Carl F. Barnes Jr., and Anna M. Barnes donated their collection of over 500 prints in 1999. Collections highlights include the print oeuvre of English print maker and portrait painter Gerald Brockhurst. Other artist highlights from this collection include William Blake, Eugène Delacroix, Albrecht Dürer, William Hogarth, John Sloan, and James Abbott McNeill Whistler.

The Tagore Collection was donated by Dr. Abanindranath Tagore in 1989. It contains calligraphy, rubbings, and scrolls. Among the scrolls, include works by Qi Baishi, Xu Beihong, Zhang Daqian, Li Keran, and Qigong, among others.

G. Mennen Williams, the 41st Governor of Michigan, donated his collection in to the gallery in 1968. Williams held the position of Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs during the Kennedy administration and bequeathed objects acquired during his tours of duty. A majority of the objects originate from West Africa in what is now Nigeria, Mali, Côte d'Ivoire, Burkino Faso, Ghana and Benin.

Exhibitions and programming
The Oakland University Art Gallery hosts at least five exhibitions per year, in addition to hosting a variety of lectures, performances, and symposium. Although the gallery published catalogues for select exhibitions throughout its history, since 1999 each exhibition has had an accompanying catalogue.

Operations
Oakland University Art Gallery is wholly part of Oakland University. Its exhibitions and operations are funded through a variety of university, foundation, and individual contributions.

The gallery is open to the public. There is no general admission fee or special charge for exhibitions.

Athletics

"OU Fight" is the Oakland University fight song. Previously known as the Pioneers, the school's teams were renamed the Golden Grizzlies in 1998.

Oakland University was used as a training camp for the Detroit Lions in 1989.

Oakland University's men's soccer team became the first Oakland team to move past the first round of their sport's respective NCAA tournament in 2007. The men's basketball team defeated Kentucky in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

Student life
Although many of Oakland's students commute from surrounding areas, there are more than 3,000 who live on campus in a variety of residence halls and student apartments. The residence halls include Hillcrest Hall, Oak View Hall, Hamlin Hall, and Vandenberg Hall. Residential learning communities on Oakland University's campus include Scholars Tower and the Residential Honors College community. Eight additional buildings make up the George T. Matthews student apartments, and six major Tudor-style buildings house the Ann V. Nicholson student apartments, which were completed in 2002.

Campus life is enhanced by more than 200 registered student organizations, ranging from cultural and religious groups to Greek organizations. Fraternities at Oakland University include Theta Chi, Sigma Pi, Tau Kappa Epsilon, Alpha Phi Alpha, Alpha Sigma Phi, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and Iota Phi Theta. Sororities include Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Sigma Tau, Gamma Phi Beta, Phi Sigma Sigma, Sigma Alpha Iota, Sigma Sigma Sigma, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Zeta Phi Beta, and Sigma Gamma Rho. The so-called Cottage District of campus, which consists of homes originally built for workers employed at the old Meadow Brook Estate, now contain fraternity and sorority houses. Additionally, the university owns an adjoining tract of land to the east of the main university campus, which was developed into a neighborhood in which many faculty members currently live.

Alumni
Arts and entertainment
 * Curtis Armstrong – film and TV actor
 * Regina Carter – jazz violinist, winner of MacArthur Fellowship
 * Robert Englund – film and TV actor (attended)
 * David Hasselhoff – actor (attended)
 * Jayne Houdyshell – Broadway actress, Tony Award winner
 * Karen Newman – singer and actress
 * Elizabeth Reaser – film and TV actress (attended)

Law
 * Karen Batchelor – attorney and first African-American member of the Daughters of the American Revolution
 * Deborah Servitto – judge, Michigan Court of Appeals

Government and politics
 * Fran Amos – state representative, Michigan House of Representatives
 * Deborah Cherry – senator, Michigan Senate
 * David J. Doyle – Michigan politician
 * Renee Ellmers – Member of Congress from North Carolina
 * Ruth Johnson – Michigan politician
 * Nancy Lenoil – State Archivist of California
 * Michael W. Michalak – United States Ambassador to Vietnam
 * Adolph Mongo – political consultant (attended)
 * Gary Yourofsky – animal rights activist

Business
 * Howard Birndorf – co-founder, Hybritech
 * John G. Denison – CEO of ATA Airlines
 * Maximiliano Larroquette – designer of Chevrolet Volt
 * James E. Schrager – professor, Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago

Education
 * Janet L. Holmgren (BA, Oakland; PhD, Princeton) – president, Mills College
 * James E. Schrager (BA, Oakland; PhD, Chicago) – professor, business, University of Chicago
 * Richard T. Sullivan (BA, Oakland; PhD, Harvard) – associate professor, history, University of Notre Dame
 * Steven D. Townsend (BS, Oakland; PhD, Vanderbilt) – assistant professor, chemistry, Vanderbilt University
 * Thomas J. Volgy (BA, Oakland; PhD, Minnesota) – professor, political science, University of Arizona

Sports and media
 * Keith Benson – professional basketball player
 * Mike Brosseau – professional baseball player
 * Kay Felder – professional basketball player
 * Andrew Good – professional baseball player
 * Brian Gregory – college basketball coach
 * Seb Harris – professional footballer
 * Mike Helms – professional basketball player
 * Don Kirkwood – professional baseball player (attended)
 * Rawle Marshall – professional basketball player
 * Kendrick Nunn - professional basketball player
 * Gbemi Olateru-Olagbegi – professional radio personality, Lagos, Nigeria
 * Jasna Rather – Olympic table tennis player
 * Tom Stanton – author and journalist
 * Brian Stuard – professional golfer
 * Jennifer Valoppi – TV journalist
 * Kelly Williams – professional basketball player

title: Oakland University


text:
Sun Yee On

Sun Yee On, or the New Righteousness and Peace Commercial and Industrial Guild, is one of the leading triads in Hong Kong and China. It has more than 25,000 members worldwide. It is also believed to be active in the UK, the United States, France, and Belgium.

History
Sun Yee On was founded by Heung Chin, originally from Teochew (Chaozhou), in 1919. Yee On (義安) is a historical name for Chaozhou. Mainly through ethnic Chinese diaspora, it is thought to extend to the United States, Canada, Thailand, Australia, South Africa and Central America. The founder was deported to Taiwan in the early 1950s and continued to lead the organization from there. Sun Yee On was allegedly taken over by his eldest son Heung Wah-yim, who ostensibly worked as a law clerk. The triad is also noted as being founded by "Teochew and Hokkien immigrants" to Hong Kong.

1980s spill
In February 1986, a former Hong Kong police officer, Anthony Chung, who had become a member of Sun Yee On, asked the police for protection. He identified Heung Wah-yim as the leader of the triad, and this led to the police arresting eleven members of the Triad on 1 April 1987. Whilst searching Heung Wah-yim's law office, they found a list of 900 numbered names, which appeared to be a membership list of Sun Yee On. In October, Heung Wah-yim was brought to trial, along with five accomplices who all pleaded guilty. Heung Wah-yim professed his innocence throughout the trial, claiming to be the president of a local chapter of the Lions Club and that the list found in his office consisted of potential donors. Chung and another former member were the main prosecution witnesses. On 20 January 1988, the jury found five of the defendants guilty, including Heung Wah-yim who was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison, acquitting the sixth.

2000s
The triad operates several vice establishments in Tsim Sha Tsui and Yau Ma Tei, or at least did in November 2010 when a 29-year-old alleged office-bearer or "red pole" of the triad, named "Sai B" Chan, was arrested for vice offences and money laundering.

Lee Tai-lung, a Sun Yee On boss in Tsim Sha Tsui, was murdered in front of the Kowloon Shangri-La hotel on 4 August 2009 by members of the Wo Shing Wo gang. It was supposedly a revenge attack ordered by Leung Kwok-chung, a senior member of a Wo Shing Wo crew in Tai Kok Tsui who was injured by Lee during a bar fight in July 2006 in Prat Avenue. Following Lee's death, three of his former followers stepped in to defend his lucrative entertainment empire from other triads. In 2011(?), Lee's three followers were tracked by "Ko Tat", another "red pole" in Wan Chai, who failed to spread his influence across the harbour. Tai Hau, leader of another Sun Yee On faction active in Tuen Mun, tried to encroach upon Lee's West Kowloon and Tsim Sha Tsui operations. His attempts were thwarted by an undercover police operation, as a result of which 222 people were arrested in January 2012. The Organised Crime and Triad Bureau suspects that "Ko Chun" may be the latest kingpin of Lee's original turf.

On 22 March 2012, police arrested 102 members of Sun Yee On in Shenzhen, China.

In popular culture

 * In the anime adaptation of Black Lagoon, the Thailand branch of Sun Yee On is based in the fictional city of Roanapur and competes with the other organized crime syndicates in the city. In Black Lagoon, Sun Yee On's branch leader in Thailand is a man named Wan, and it is one of various Triad organizations in Thailand alongside the 14K.
 * The 2012 video game Sleeping Dogs focuses on Wei Shen, an undercover police officer transferred from San Francisco to Hong Kong and the HKPD as part of a joint operation to infiltrate a fictional version of the Sun Yee On, the "Sun On Yee" and eliminate or incarcerate their most powerful members. What makes Wei the most likely candidate, but also the most dangerous one is that he grew up with some members in the Sun On Yee, giving him a way to integrate within the triad but has his superiors concerned that he might eventually become too attached and possibly forget his duties to law enforcement.

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

title: Sun Yee On


text:
User:Omland

Welcome to Omland

Omland is a new Democracy in Space and hopefully sometime on earth !

Homepage http://sknkwrks.dyndns.org:1957/writewiki/wiki.pl?Omland

Sisterhomepage http://sknkwrks.dyndns.org:1957/writewiki/wiki.pl?OmWiki

.oOMMm. .edoomeee.. .oooommmoP"" Omland zoooooooooommmmmmmeeooommm"       .do~Peace~oooommmmmooommmmmm" .ooooommmmmooooom~and~oooommmmme.. .oo****""""***oooooommmooOmwikioommmmmbe. ""**oooommmmoooommmmoooommp zooooommmmmoo~democracy~mm .ooooommmm**ooooommmmmooommm doooommm"             4ooomm                  zooooommmm                oomP" dooooommmmF               om"                 ooooommmmF                   *oooommm" "oom"

New International Wiki Coffee http://www.wikid.de/WikiCoffee/

title: User:Omland


text:
Minister for Finance (Ireland)

The Minister for Finance (An tAire Airgeadais) is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland. The Minister for Finance leads the Department of Finance and is responsible for all financial and monetary matters of the state; and is considered the second most important member of the Government of Ireland, after the Taoiseach.

The current office holder is Jack Chambers, TD. He is assisted by one Minister of State Neale Richmond, TD.

Overview
The Minister for Finance holds the second most important ministerial position in the Irish Cabinet after that of the Taoiseach. The minister is in charge of the Department of Finance responsible for all financial matters in Ireland. It is one of three positions in the government which the Constitution requires to be held by a member of Dáil Éireann, the other two being Taoiseach and Tánaiste. Ministers for finance who later became Taoiseach include Jack Lynch, Charles Haughey, Albert Reynolds, John Bruton, Bertie Ahern and Brian Cowen.

The department and minister are occasionally called the Irish Exchequer (or simply the Exchequer), a term previously used under the Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland (disestablished in 1817).

Budget
One of the most important aspects of the Minister's work is the creation of the annual budget which is delivered to the Dáil in a speech, which must be given before 15 October due to the Two-Pack agreement. In the budget, the minister details the government's spending programme for the coming year. The budget consists of:
 * a financial statement to the Dáil,
 * Budgetary measures (a list of budgetary changes detailing the cost/yield of same),
 * Budget statistics, and
 * financial resolutions.

Minister for Finance since 1919
{{legend|#E6E6AA|Denotes acting Minister for Finance}}

title: Minister for Finance (Ireland)


text:
Talk:Doom 3

Game Engine
The game engine is id Tech 4, which is Open GL. Then why is it require to have DX-9c? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.108.198.50 (talk) 22:54, 25 July 2011 (UTC)

BFG Infoxbox
How about adding what "BFG" stands for?!? Encyclopedia, yeah right... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.225.28.185 (talk) 20:34, 22 October 2012 (UTC)
 * There is already a proper link to the article about BFG - BFG 9000. Sir Lothar (talk) 10:44, 29 October 2012 (UTC)

I don't see the need for an extra infoxbox here, the minimal information that is covered by the infobox can easily be placed into one box. The argument that the game has changes and new features seems irrelevant to me, none of those things are covered by the infobox. Either way, a consensus should be gained before one is used per WP:BRD.  Я ehevkor ✉  14:42, 2 June 2012 (UTC)

 * Agree completely. New graphics and features are not things that we cover in the infobox, and are therefore entirely irrelevant. The only fields that would be different between the infoboxes at the end of the day are "platform", "release date", and "publisher", the latter only because the franchise has switched hands since the original release. These can easily be covered in the existing infobox by just adding to the relevant fields. The rest of the fields would simply be duplicating what has already been said. Such redundancy looks quite unprofessional and inefficient; the Witcher 2 EE infobox pointed to is a good example of this: all information is the same, except for "publisher", "platform" and "release date". -- Sabre (talk) 16:13, 2 June 2012 (UTC)
 * I agree with Rehevkor. There's no need for separate infobox - changes introduced in BFG edition can be easily put in existing infobox. Sir Lothar (talk) 22:25, 2 June 2012 (UTC)

Regards BFG Edition info: Found this interview article - http://battleclubgaming.com/2012/08/17/doom-3-bfg-edition-preview-interview-competition/ with the games producer Eric Webb. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.181.199.236 (talk) 23:43, 18 August 2012 (UTC)

Science Fiction or Science Fantasy?
Well, the previous two games are science fantasy video games since they take place on colonized mars (science fiction) and feature supernatural elements such as hell (which therefore makes science fiction into science fantasy). So why do people keep reverting Doom 3 back to science fantasy to science fiction even though it clearly has supernatural elements such as hell (which is a supernatural element and if science fiction has fantasy and/or supernatural elements in it, it is therefore science fantasy)? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.23.234.106 (talk) 04:21, 2 September 2012 (UTC)

 * While the whole game could be considered science fiction only certain elements could be considered science fantasy (we'd need sources too, a quick Google search didn't give me anything usable). Fiction and fantasy can be interchangeable in most respects here, but only fiction covers everything. If anything it could be "science fiction with fantasy elements", which may as well just say "science fiction" as there are large parts which don't fall anywhere near the fantasy element. I'm sure there's an Arthur C. Clarke quote out there which is appropriate about now.  Я ehevkor ✉  10:34, 2 September 2012 (UTC)
 * Hell, demons, supernatural artifacts. Those are fantasy elements. Science fantasy explicitly states that it's science fiction with fantasy and/or supernatural elements. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.23.234.106 (talk) 21:44, 3 September 2012 (UTC)

The very idea of Demons and unholy artifacts on Mars is a little fantastic in itself, but a Marine goes to hell and kills a huge cybernetic minotaur that is basically the Devil in this game. That sounds like science fantasy to me. 50.195.51.9 (talk) 14:32, 4 September 2012 (UTC)

Doom is not science fantasy. It's science fiction. See: "The meaning is that science fiction describes unlikely things that could possibly take place in the real world under certain conditions, while science fantasy gives a scientific veneer of realism to things that simply could not happen in the real world under any circumstances." -Rod Serling.

In doom 3 they don't scientifically explain (or even explain it at all) how this portal opened up and demons start pouring out. It just happens. It's science fiction. Plus, the original doom for dos is still labeled as science fiction. Given the fact they both share the exact same plot, the genre doesn't change simply because the game looks prettier. -A guy who actually played doom. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 198.203.175.175 (talk) 08:26, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

There's an awful lot of personal analysis going on here, so I'm going to weigh in. The relevant guideline here is WP:V: can the case for "science fantasy" be backed by any reliable sources? Until references are produced to the contrary, it should remain as "science fiction", which frankly includes science fantasy in its definition. id themselves describe Doom 3 as a "sci-fi horror", while, as Rehevkor points out, there's no indication in a brief search of the web that "science fantasy" is the prevalent term for the game's thematic genre. -- Sabre (talk) 15:03, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

System requirements
The system requirements for PC play aren't included in the article. Could someone add these please? Axl ¤  [Talk]  12:43, 2 March 2013 (UTC)

Oculus Rift
Carmack's use of Doom 3: BFG as a demo platform and Kickstarter reward surely had some influence on the success of the Oculus Rift, no?  Seems like that would be worth mentioning here.--137.254.4.13 (talk) 18:47, 22 April 2013 (UTC)

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Nintendo Switch
Hello, when I was reverting the IP edit, I mistakenly thought that this article is Doom 3: BFG Edition! |: sometimes such mistakes happens for editors due to lack of enough sleep and low focus; my mean is that I knew that Doom 3: BFG Edition is an standalone game and is different than original Doom 3, thanks for you attention.--Editor-1 (talk) 11:28, 22 April 2020 (UTC)

title: Talk:Doom 3


text:
Green Party of Saskatchewan

The Saskatchewan Green Party is a Green political party in Saskatchewan, Canada. The party was founded in 1998 as the New Green Alliance by a coalition of environmental and social justice activists. In the twenty-first century, only the New Democratic Party and the Saskatchewan Party have fielded more candidates than the Greens in provincial elections, yet no Greens have been elected to the Legislature. The current party leader is Naomi Hunter.

Foundations and the New Green Alliance
In the mid-1990s, a number of environmental and social justice activists began to organize against the perceived rightward drift of the governing New Democrats (NDP) under Premier Roy Romanow, who were seen to have embraced Third Way politics. In April 1998, organizers held a news conference, stating their intention "... to create a political party committed to protect the environment from corporate plunder and to advance a social justice agenda," before officially registering the New Green Alliance (NGA) with Elections Saskatchewan in January 1999. Early on, the party debated focusing on community activism over electoralism—future party leader Victor Lau stated in 1998 that in his opinion, "... 20 per cent of the energy of the new party should be devoted to electoral politics and 80 per cent to promoting community projects like low-cost housing, new transit systems, or solar energy." Others looked to revive the democratic socialist politics of Tommy Douglas, the first CCF/NDP Premier of Saskatchewan, which they argued the NDP had drifted away from.

The party's first leader was anti-nuclear activist Neil Sinclair. In the 1999 provincial election, the NGA ran 16 candidates province-wide, earning 1% of the vote and approximately 4% of the vote on average where they ran. The NGA, whose platform was characterized as "counter-ideological" in contrast to the NDP and Saskatchewan Party, who were competing to form government, found it difficult to garner media attention during the campaign. In the 2003 election, under the leadership of Ben Webster, the party ran 27 candidates but actually lost support compared to 1999, earning only 0.6% of the vote province-wide.

Saskatchewan Green Party
In 2005, the NGA changed its name to come in line with the federal Greens, becoming the Green Party of Saskatchewan; however, the party maintained that it was only loosely affiliated with the Green Party of Canada. The party had several short-term leaders between 2005 and 2006, when antiwar and anti-vaccination activist Sandra Finley became leader ahead of the 2007 provincial election. The Greens ran a much larger campaign in 2007, fielding candidates in 48 out of 58 ridings. The party was able to capture 2.0% of the vote; Harold Johnson, running in the Cumberland riding, received 6.2% of the vote and secured the first third-place finish for the Greens.

On 6 September, 2011—the unofficial kickoff for the 2011 provincial election campaign—Green leader Larissa Shasko resigned her position to join the campaign of Regina South NDP candidate Yens Pedersen. Upon her resignation, Shasko cited frustrations with the "inner workings" of the party and concerns about a potential candidate. Her resignation triggered a visit to Saskatoon by federal Green leader Elizabeth May, who also announced that deputy leader Victor Lau had been elevated to become the provincial party's new leader —a decision that was reinforced by party members at a special leadership convention held on 25 September. Lau and the party ran a full slate of 58 candidates—a first for the party—and 43% of which were women. Although no Green candidates were elected, the party increased its vote share and emerged from the election as the third largest party in the province, surpassing the Liberals for the first time.

After the 2011 election, the party began an effort to organize on a constituency basis across the province. In March 2015, the party was rebranded as the Saskatchewan Green Party and ran a nearly full slate again in the 2016 provincial election under Lau, though fell back in vote share across the province, finishing in fourth place.

In March 2020, former federal Green candidate Naomi Hunter was named leader of the Greens ahead of the 2020 provincial election. In the election, the party increased its vote share, finishing with its second highest total after 2011, but again finished fourth, this time finishing behind the fledgling Buffalo Party.

Party leaders
† Denotes interim leader

title: Green Party of Saskatchewan


text:
Talk:University Library

Comment
I undeleted this. The University Library is known simply as the "University Library" like Oxford's is simply known as the "Bodleian (sp) Library". So for the time being is a valid redirect. Of course I can comtemplate it being used as a disambiguation page for other significant libraries called by that name, if there are any. Pete/Pcb21 (talk) 12:10, 23 Dec 2003 (UTC) (updated Feb.2004)

 * Please discuss at Redirects for deletion. Currently, there are no votes to keep and the 5 day period has passed. --Jiang 00:31, 24 Dec 2003 (UTC)

 * It got recreated, so I undeleted this talk page too. The redirects for deletion talk was not archived, as far as I can see, so I can't tell if there were any valid reasons for deletion. I personally don't count reasons limited to "but the University Library could be any university library because of its generic-sounding name, so delete" as valid - they ignore the point I raised above. Pete/Pcb21 (talk) 11:28, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * Ok I looked up the RfD page. The entry was removed at this diff http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=Wikipedia:Redirects_for_deletion&diff=2104935&oldid=2104907 with the summary comment with the summary comment Ownage & AOLiza kept. Jet Li (Martial Arts Masters) deleted - i.e. a totally misleading comment - probably just a mistake on Angela's part because it is the same as the previous comment.

From Redirects for deletion: - ** Inappropriate redirect as Cambridge University Library isn't the only University library. Angela. 20:41, 15 Dec 2003 (UTC) - **delete, unless there's a list being made. --Jiang | Talk 01:47, 16 Dec 2003 (UTC) - ***At most universities, the main library is called the "university library". Thus, the redirect is inappropriate. --Jiang 00:32, 24 Dec 2003 (UTC) - **delete or write a useful article. The redirect is misleading and pointless. -- HappyDog 01:39, 19 Dec 2003 (UTC)
 * University Library --> Cambridge University Library.

Surely more university libraries both deserve an article and are called the University Library, so that this page can be become a list type page? Pete/Pcb21 (talk) 11:43, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

This disambiguation page seems messed up
Per WP:DAB: "Do not add a link that merely contains part of the page title, or a link that includes the page title in a longer proper name, where there is no significant risk of confusion. For example, Baltimore Zoo is not included at Zoo (disambiguation) because people outside Baltimore would not readily identify it as the 'Zoo', and including all zoos in the world in the disambiguation page is impractical."

This article could be converted into a list of all university libraries, but there's already a category that pretty much takes care of it. See Category:Academic libraries. So I will convert it into a redirect. This article might have been okay if it listed libraries that are actually called "University Library" without further wording (e.g. "University Library, Oxford"), but that's not what this page did, and I'm not aware of libraries that are named simply "University Library".108.18.174.123 (talk) 01:52, 17 August 2012 (UTC)
 * Changed to redirect.108.18.174.123 (talk) 01:59, 17 August 2012 (UTC)

title: Talk:University Library


text:
6th Division (Continuation War)

The 6th Division (6. Divisioona) was a unit of the Finnish Army during the Continuation War. Subordinated to the German XXXVI Corps, the division took part in the German-led Operation Arctic Fox in 1941. In 1943, the division was moved to Eastern Karelia, from where it was moved to the Karelian Isthmus following the start of the 1944 Soviet Vyborg–Petrozavodsk offensive. Following the Moscow armistice, the division also took part in the Lapland War against the German forces remaining in Finnish Lapland.

History
Originally a part of the Finnish V Corps, the 6th Division was attached to the German XXXVI Corps in Northern Finland in 1941. As part of Operation Arctic Fox, the division attacked alongside the SS Division Nord and German 169th Infantry Division against Salla with the goal of reaching Kandalaksha on the White Sea coast. The town of Salla was captured, but the division suffered 405 casualties in the process. Following the capture of Salla, the division continued towards river Verman, reaching it on October 18, 1941. By this point, both increasingly difficult logistics and the losses suffered forced Operation Arctic Fox to be halted. The 6th division was considered unfit for attack. During these actions, the division also fought alongside a small German tank unit, the Panzer-Abteilung 211, which consisted of captured French tanks.

Following the failure of Operation Arctic Fox, the Finnish general headquarters wanted to reduce the division to a brigade-sized element to help both a labor shortage on the home front, as well as for foreign political reasons related to attacking beyond the pre-Winter War borders. The division was reorganized as the 12th Brigade in early 1942. In January 1943, the brigade was re-expanded to divisional size, again taking the name 6th Division, and assigned to the Aunus Group. In July 1943, it was reassigned to the isthmus north of Lake Onega as part of the Maaselkä Group.

After the Soviet Vyborg–Petrozavodsk offensive started in 1944, the 6th Division was moved to the Karelian Isthmus as a component of the Finnish IV Corps. There it took part in the decisive Battle of Tali-Ihantala, where its arrival prevented the breaking of the Armored Division and enabled the Armored Division and the 11th Division to be moved out of the line to act as a reserve.

After the Moscow armistice, the division also took part in the Lapland War against the German forces still in Lapland. On September 30, 1944, the division was subordinated to the Armored Division, with the resulting formation being named Group Lagus. As a part of this formation, the division participated in the capture of Rovaniemi, after which it was disbanded.

Commanders

 * Colonel Werner Viikla (1941)
 * Major General Einar Vihma (1943–1944)
 * Colonel A. Puromaa (1944)

Organization
The 6th Division was organised from men from the Far-North Military Province (Perä-Pohjolan Sotilaslääni). It lacked the Heavy Artillery Battalion.

The division consisted of the following subordinate units:
 * Infantry Regiment 12 (Rovaniemi)
 * Infantry Regiment 33 (Sodankylä)
 * Infantry Regiment 54 (Western Lapland)
 * Field Artillery Regiment 14 (Tornio)
 * Light Battalion 3
 * Engineer Battalion 36
 * Signal Battalion 36

title: 6th Division (Continuation War)


text:
Illingen

Illingen may refer to:

 * Illingen, Saarland in the Neunkirchen district, Germany
 * Illingen, Baden-Württemberg in the Enz district, Germany

title: Illingen


text:
Ron Delany

Ronald Michael Delany (born 6 March 1935) is an Irish former athlete who specialised in middle-distance running. He won a gold medal in the 1500 metres event at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. He later earned a bronze medal in the 1500 metres event at the 1958 European Athletics Championships in Stockholm.

Delany also competed at the 1954 European Athletics Championships in Bern and the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, though he was less successful on these occasions. He retired from competitive athletics in 1962. Delany is one of Ireland's most recognisable Olympians and international ambassadors.

Early life
Born in Arklow, County Wicklow, Delany moved with his family to Sandymount, Dublin 4 when he was six. Delany later went to the Christian Brothers' O'Connell School, North Richmond Street (where there are all-weather, floodlit sports facilities named in his honour), to Sandymount High School and to Catholic University School. At Catholic University School (CUS), Delany was first coached by Jack Sweeney (mathematics teacher), to whom he sent a telegram from Melbourne stating "We did it Jack". Delany in 2008 said about Sweeney, "Other people would have seen my potential but he was the one who in effect helped me execute my potential".

Delany studied commerce and finance at Villanova University in the United States. While there he was coached by the well-known track coach Jumbo Elliott.

Career
Delany's first achievement of note was reaching the final of the 800 metres at the 1954 European Athletics Championships in Bern. In 1956, he became the seventh runner to join the club of four-minute milers, but nonetheless, he struggled to make the Irish team for the 1956 Summer Olympics, held in Melbourne.

Delany qualified for the Olympic 1,500 metres final, in which local runner John Landy was the favourite. Delany kept close to Landy until the final lap, when Delany started a crushing final sprint, winning the race in a new Olympic record. Delany thereby became the first Irishman to win an Olympic gold medal in athletics since Bob Tisdall and Pat O'Callaghan in 1932. The Irish people learned of its new champion at breakfast time. Delany was Ireland's last Olympic champion for 36 years, until Michael Carruth won the gold medal in boxing at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

Delany won the bronze medal in the 1,500 metres event at the 1958 European Athletics Championships. He went on to represent Ireland once again at the 1960 Summer Olympics held in Rome, this time in the 800 metres. He finished sixth in his quarter-final heat.

Delany continued his running career in North America, winning four successive AAU titles in the mile, adding to his total of four Irish national titles, and three NCAA titles. He was next to unbeatable on indoor tracks over that period, which included a 40-race winning streak. He broke the World Indoor Mile Record on three occasions. In 1961 Delany won the gold medal in the World University games in Sofia, Bulgaria. He retired from competitive running in 1962.

Retirement
After retiring from competition, Delany first worked in the United States for the Irish airline Aer Lingus. After that, for almost 20 years, he was Assistant Chief Executive of B&I Line, responsible for marketing and operations of the Irish ferry company based in Dublin. In 1998, he established his own company focused on marketing and sports consultancy.

Honours
In 2006, Delany was granted the Freedom of the City of Dublin. He was also conferred with an honorary Doctor of Laws Degree by University College Dublin in 2006. In 2019, a housing scheme in Arklow, where Delany was born, was named Delany Park in his honour. He attended the opening in person. Similarly, two streets in Strabane in Northern Ireland were named Delaney Crescent and Olympic Drive in the 1950s in his honour – however, Delany was not aware of these until it was pointed out that his surname had been spelt wrongly.

title: Ron Delany


text:
Finnish Cannabis Association

The Finnish Cannabis Association (FCA; Suomen kannabisyhdistys; Finlands Cannabisförening, commonly referred to by the acronym SKY) is a Finnish non-governmental organisation whose purpose is to advocate legalisation or decriminalisation of cannabis.

The FCA started operating in 1990 and was officially established in 1991. According its mission statement, the purpose of the association is to influence the Finnish legislation so that adults could legally use, obtain and cultivate cannabis for personal use. The FCA also studies the use of cannabis in different cultures during different times.

The association had 36 members in 1991, and about 650 in 2000.

Background
Over the years the FCA has faced many hardships in Finland, where a lot of the population do not make practically any distinction between different illegal drugs (huumeet), such as cannabis and heroin. Reasons for this include the fact that the use of cannabis has generally been much less common in Finland than in other EU countries, and that the tradition of "drug education", based mainly in intimidation and modeled after practices from the United States and Sweden, is still quite strong in schools and the media. According to the traditional Finnish mindset, it is preferable to lose control with alcohol or to even use it excessively over long periods of time, than to experiment with cannabis, which is seen both as very dangerous in itself and as a "gateway drug".

Legal status
The Finnish Cannabis Association first applied for the status of a registered association (rekisteröity yhdistys, ry) in 1991, but the association register office maintained by the Finnish Ministry of Justice, and later the Supreme Administrative Court have rejected the application. The ministry based their rejection, in 1993, on the grounds that the purpose of FCA is "against good customs so that the expressed purpose is contrary to the views about justice and morality prevailing in our society". As of 2005, the FCA still has not obtained the status of a registered association.

In 1991 two members of the Finnish parliament representing the Finnish Agrarian Party (now True Finns) made an inquiry on the legality of the operation of FCA, with the aim of putting an end to the cannabis organisation. The Ministry of the Interior, which carried out the inspection, responded that "the association has not operated fundamentally against the law or good customs".

Activities
The FCA has attained some credibility, by e.g. taking part in public drug policy discussions and debates, and occasionally co-operating governmental health sector organisations as well as with other harm reduction groups. However, a long-standing problem for the association has been that it is not always taken seriously, and instead is dismissed by many as a "bunch of drugged-out hippies".

In recent years perhaps the most visible FCA activity has been the annual cannabis march (Hamppumarssi, part of the global Million Marijuana March demonstrations) in Helsinki. (Similar marches in other Finnish cities have been organised by other loose pro-cannabis groups, perhaps reflecting a Helsinki-centric nature of the FCA.) However, among the rising, largely internet-based, cannabis "subculture" in Finland, the FCA has sometimes been criticised for stagnating and lack of activity.

In April 2024 a citizens' initiative with 54 000 signatures was delivered to the Parliament of Finland by deputy chairman Coel Thomas.

title: Finnish Cannabis Association


text:
Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical

The Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical has been awarded since 1959. The award had several minor name changes:
 * In 1959, the award was known as Best Engineered Record – Non-Classical
 * In 1960, it was awarded as Best Engineering Contribution – Other Than Classical or Novelty
 * From 1961 to 1962, it was awarded as Best Engineering Contribution – Popular Recording
 * In 1963, it was awarded as Best Engineering Contribution – Other Than Novelty and Other Than Classical
 * In 1964, it was awarded as Best Engineered Recording – Other Than Classical
 * From 1965 to 1991, it returned to the title Best Engineered Recording – Non-Classical
 * Since 1992, it has been awarded as Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical

This award is presented alongside the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Classical. From 1960 to 1965 a further award was presented for Best Engineered Recording – Special or Novel Effects.

Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were presented, for works released in the previous year. The award is presented to the audio engineer(s) (and, since 2012, also to the mastering engineer[s]) on the winning work, not to the artist or performer, except if the artist is also a credited engineer.


text:
Fernsehturm Berlin

The Fernsehturm (Television Tower) in central Berlin was constructed between 1965 and 1969 by the government of the German Democratic Republic, or East Germany, as both a functional broadcasting facility and a symbol of Communist power.

It remains a landmark today from its position next to Alexanderplatz in the city's Marien Quarter, part of the district of Mitte, visible across most suburban districts of Berlin. With its height to 368 m (including antenna) it is the tallest structure in Germany, and the third-tallest structure in the European Union. When built it was the fourth-tallest freestanding structure in the world after the Empire State Building and 875 North Michigan Avenue, then known as The John Hancock Center.

Of the four tallest structures in the European Union, the Fernsehturm is 2 m shorter than the Torreta de Guardamar, 0.5 m shorter than the Riga Radio and TV Tower, and 8 m taller than the Trbovlje Power Station. The structure is also more than 220 m higher than the old Berlin Radio Tower in the western part of the city, which was built in the 1920s.

In addition to its main function as the location of several radio and television transmitters, the building – internally known as "Fernmeldeturm 32" – serves as a viewing tower with observation deck including a bar at a height of 203 m, as well as a rotating restaurant. Also, the Berlin TV Tower can be booked as a venue for events. The distinctive city landmark has undergone a radical, symbolic transformation: After German reunification, it changed from a politically charged, national symbol of the GDR into a citywide symbol of a reunited Berlin. Due to its universal and timeless design, it has increasingly been used as a trademark and is identified worldwide with Berlin and Germany. In 1979, the Berlin TV Tower received official monument status by the East German government, a status which was perpetuated after the German reunification.

The tower has become one of the most prominent symbols of the country and is often in the establishing shot of films set in Berlin, alongside monuments such as the Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin Victory Column and the Reichstag building. It is also one of the ten most popular attractions in Germany with more than 1,000,000 visitors every year.

Overview
The original total height of the tower was 365 m, but it rose to 368 m after the installation of a new antenna in 1997. The Fernsehturm is the fourth tallest free-standing structure in Europe, after Moscow's Ostankino Tower, the Kyiv TV Tower and the Riga Radio and TV Tower. The sphere is a visitor platform and a revolving restaurant in the middle of the sphere. The visitor platform, also called panoramic floor, is at a height of about 203 m above the ground and visibility can reach 42 km on a clear day. The restaurant "Sphere", which rotates once every 30 minutes, is a few metres (yards) above the visitors platform at 207 m. When first constructed, it turned once per hour; the speed was later doubled following the tower's 1997 renovation.

Two lifts transport visitors to the sphere of the tower within 40 seconds. There is also a stairway with 986 steps. Wheelchair users cannot visit the tower due to fire regulations.

To mark the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, for which the final match was played in the Berlin Olympic Stadium, the sphere was decorated as a football with magenta-coloured pentagons, reflecting the corporate colour of World Cup sponsor and owner of the Fernsehturm, Deutsche Telekom.

Location and surroundings
The Berlin TV Tower is located southwest of the Alexanderplatz station and northeast of the Marx-Engels Forum. The structure is often erroneously described as being part of the Alexanderplatz that lies to the northeast.

In addition to the Berlin U-Bahn and S-Bahn lines, several tram and bus lines stop at Alexanderplatz station, from which the middle exit leads to the entrance building of the TV Tower.

The Interhotel Stadt Berlin on Alexanderplatz, planned concurrently to the TV Tower and completed in 1970, is 125 m high and is now operated as a Park Inn by Radisson Berlin Alexanderplatz. Between 1967 and 1972, the Rathauspassagen shopping arcade was built next to the Rotes Rathaus, directly south of the TV Tower.

Background
At the European Broadcasting Conference in Stockholm in 1952, which was responsible for the coordination of frequency waves in Europe, the GDR – not recognised politically by most countries at the time – was only allocated two frequency channels. Under these circumstances, it was impossible to cover Berlin's urban area by multiple small broadcasting stations without interference and thus disturbances or gaps in the broadcasting signals. For comprehensive and continuous coverage, a powerful large broadcasting facility at the highest possible location was required. In the 1950s, this task was fulfilled in Berlin by the fragile makeshift stations of Deutscher Fernsehfunk (East German broadcasting organisation).

As early as 1952, GDR's Deutsche Post began planning a TV tower for Berlin. The plans initially involved a location in the southeast of Berlin. However, the project was interrupted after construction had started, when it transpired that the site was only eight kilometres (5 miles) away from the Berlin Schönefeld Airport (now part of Berlin Brandenburg Airport) and the tower threatened to jeopardise flight operations due to its height and location at the edge of an airport corridor. After various compromise solutions failed, the construction project was discontinued in 1956. In the following years, alternatives were sought and several sites were discussed, including in Berlin Friedrichshain, but these plans also fell victim to austerity measures triggered by the high costs of building the Berlin Wall.

In the next few years, the search for a new location was continued. Alongside its actual purpose of providing the best possible broadcasting services, the role of the tower as a new landmark of Berlin was increasingly gaining significance. For this reason, in 1964 the government demanded that the tower be built at a central location, an appeal that was supported by the SED leadership. Ultimately, the choice of location was a political decision. Walter Ulbricht, leader of the Socialist Unity Party which governed East Germany, decided to allow the construction of a television tower modelled on the Fernsehturm Stuttgart and the first artificial Earth satellite, Sputnik.

Various architects were involved in the planning and implementation of the tower between 1965 and 1969, including Hermann Henselmann and Jörg Streitparth, Fritz Dieter, Günter Franke and Werner Ahrendt, as well as Walter Herzog, Gerhard Kosel and Herbert Aust. The construction of the Tower and the surrounding Pavilion building at its base resulted in the razing and clearing of a huge section of the historic centre of the capital of Germany. A medieval church stands next to the tower as a testament to the destruction of the old city.

Construction of the Tower
Work on the foundation began on 4 August 1965 and was finished by the end of 1965. The concreting of the tower foot began on 15 March 1966. The concreting progressed rapidly, so that the 100-metre (300-foot) mark was exceeded on 4 October 1966. The shaft reached its final height on 16 June 1967. A total of 8,000 cubic metres (10,000 cu. yd.) of concrete was used to build the shaft, which was 248.78 m high and weighed 26,000 tons.

While the shaft was being erected, the preliminary work for the tower ball progressed. The working group VEB Ipro had worked out the procedure for assembling the ball on the reinforced concrete shaft, according to which the ball could be pieced together from 120 separate segments on the ground. In April 1967, a 35-metre (115-foot) high replica of the shaft was erected on the construction site between Marienkirche and the Red Town Hall on which the ball segments were pre-assembled. This work lasted until November 1967. The construction costs had meanwhile skyrocketed from an estimated 33 million to 95 million marks, caused mainly by components and materials that had to be paid in foreign currencies, some of which were imported from West Germany. In February 1968, the assembly of the ball on the shaft was started. The last segment of the ball was finally installed on October 7. A spike was mounted on the tower structure and the antenna structure above the ball, so that work on the interior could be started the following year.

At the beginning of 1969, water trickled into the interior of the tower, causing considerable damage; the ball had to be sealed again. Until 3 October 1969, the interior was expanded, and the entrance pavilion was completed. After 53 months of actual construction work, the tower was completed in "record-breaking" time in spite of all the adversities. The costs amounted to over 132 million marks.

The building, officially called the Fernseh- und UKW-Turm Berlin (Television and VHF Tower Berlin), was the world's second highest television tower in October 1969. The only TV tower that was taller was the Ostankino in Moscow. It was also the third-highest freestanding building of its time, after the tower in Moscow and the Empire State Building in New York.

Since the inauguration
On 3 October 1969 Walter Ulbricht, together with his wife Lotte and a delegation of high-ranking companions, including Günter Mittag, Herbert Warnke, Paul Verner, Rudolph Schulze, Erich Honecker, Werner Lamberz and Erich Mielke, inaugurated the television tower and gave the starting signal for GDR's second state channel, DFF 2, thus launching colour TV on two channels in the GDR. The tower has been accessible to the public since 7 October 1969, Republic Day.

From 16 February 1970, five FM programmes were broadcast from the tower; a first television programme followed on 4 April 1970. At the beginning of 1972, the two planned pavilions for exhibitions, the Berlin Information Centre, a cinema and gastronomic facilities were completed. Overall, the restaurants offered space for around 1000 guests. After the establishment of a legal basis for the preservation of monuments in 1975, the Berlin TV Tower was awarded this status in 1979. After the fall of the GDR, the Federal Republic of Germany enshrined the building's monument status.

After German reunification in 1990, voices were raised favouring the demolition of the tower. The Federal Republic of Germany decided to keep the building. As the new operator, Deutsche Telekom finally invested more than 50 million marks to overhaul the broadcasting facilities, and a number of renovations were also undertaken on the building. Among other things, the antenna received a new, more powerful tip from the height of 327 m, increasing the tower's height from originally 365 m to 368 m in summer 1997.

The TV Tower is one of the buildings in Berlin that is illuminated by a special light installation for several days during the Festival of Lights held every year in October since 2004. On the occasion of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the tower ball was covered to make it look like a magenta football as part of an advertising campaign by the operator Telekom.

"Pope's Revenge"
When the sun shines on the Fernsehturm's tiled stainless-steel dome, the reflection usually appears in the form of a Greek cross. Berliners nicknamed the luminous cross Rache des Papstes, or the "Pope's Revenge", believing the Christian symbol a divine retaliation for the government's removal of crosses from East Berlin's churches. For the same reasons, the structure was also called "St. Walter" (from Walter Ulbricht). U.S. President Ronald Reagan mentioned this in his Tear down this wall speech on 12 June 1987.

Visitors and tourism
The Berlin TV Tower is not only a broadcasting tower, but also a landmark, tourist attraction and venue. The TV Tower's observation deck and revolving restaurant are run by Magnicity, a group based in France that operates attractions at the top of the Montparnasse Tower in Paris and 360 CHICAGO at the former John Hancock Center in Chicago, among others. The Berlin TV Tower is the highest publicly accessible building in Europe and was the highest publicly accessible observation platform in Germany until 2017, when the TK Elevator Test Tower in Rottweil has overtaken this rank. In the first three years after its inauguration, as many as four million people visited the structure. After the German reunification, the visitor average has levelled off to approximately 1.2 million from some 90 countries a year. Of these, around 60 per cent come from abroad, with Spaniards being the biggest group, accounting for 8.1 per cent, followed by Italians (7.6 per cent) and Danes (6.7 per cent). The maximum admissible number of persons inside the ball is 320 persons. Of the up to 5,000 visitors daily, about 1,500 visit the tower restaurant. In GDR times, the duration of a stay in the Tele-Café was limited to 60 minutes and in the observation deck to 30 minutes.

The two visitor elevators carry 12 people each in about 40 seconds to the observation platform at 203 m, where Berlin's highest bar is also located. From 60 windows there is a panoramic view over the whole of Berlin and the surrounding areas. The restaurant, which is located 21 steps above the observation platform at 207 m altitude, rotates 360 degrees in an hour. For fire protection reasons, the main kitchen is located at the foot of the tower. The meals are transported by lift to the restaurant floor, where they are prepared in a small satellite kitchen. Apart from the two evacuation platforms below the tower basket, the fire protection concept includes a strict smoking ban throughout the entire structure. Wheelchair users and persons with current walking disabilities cannot visit the Berlin TV Tower, as they would not be able to use the escape route in case of emergency. Animals, prams and large luggage are also not admitted for safety reasons.

On 14 June 2011 – almost 42 years after the inauguration – the then Governing Mayor Klaus Wowereit welcomed the 50 millionth visitor. The entire city can be viewed from the observation deck of the TV Tower. If there is good visibility, the view reaches as far as the recreational park Tropical Islands Resort, at a distance of almost 60 kilometres (40 miles).

The TV Tower, which is open all year to the public, has seasonal opening times. The last ascent to the observation platform is daily at 11.30 pm, whereas the last admission to the restaurant is at 11 pm. The public area can be rented for special events, parties, receptions and other events with a maximum of 200 guests. Civil weddings can also be celebrated on the TV Tower. In this case, the bar area on the observation deck is reserved for an hour for the bridal couple and a wedding party of up to 30 guests.

Technical details

 * 1 tuned mass damper
 * Entrance of observation deck is 6.25 m above ground
 * 2 Kone lifts for transport of visitors
 * 1 lift for transport of technical equipment and staff of technical facilities
 * Steel stairway with 986 steps
 * Evacuation platforms at 188 m and 191 m high
 * Observation deck at 203.78 m
 * Restaurant at 207.53 m
 * Height of the tower: 368.03 m
 * Weight of the shaft: 26000 t
 * Weight of the sphere 4800 t
 * Diameter of the sphere 32 m
 * Foundation depth: between 2.7 m and 5.8 m
 * Outer diameter of the foundation: 42 m
 * Diameter of the tower ball: 32 m
 * The transmission systems for television and radio broadcasting and the operating rooms of the technicians are located at 216 m, 220 m and 224 m
 * The air-conditioning system is located on the ground floor at 200 m, the fire-gas control centre for fire fighting is located on the top floor
 * 150 different antennas for TV and radio transmission on the antenna carrier
 * 20,000 square kilometres (8000 sq. mi.) of transmission area

Digital television (DVB-T)

 * UHF 25 (506 MHz) – RTL Group
 * RTL
 * RTL II
 * Super RTL
 * VOX
 * UHF 27 (522 MHz) – ARD national programming
 * Das Erste
 * rbb Fernsehen Berlin
 * Phoenix
 * tagesschau24/rbb Fernsehen (Brandenburg)
 * UHF 33 (570 MHz) – ZDFvision
 * ZDF
 * 3sat
 * ZDFinfokanal
 * ZDFneo/KiKa
 * UHF 39 (618 MHz) – Mixed Berlin 4
 * QVC
 * Disney Channel Germany
 * Bibel TV
 * Bayerisches Fernsehen
 * n-tv
 * RTL Shop/Euronews
 * 5 radio stations
 * UHF 44 (658 MHz) – ProSiebenSat.1
 * ProSieben
 * Sat.1
 * kabel eins
 * N24
 * UHF 47 (682 MHz) – ARD regional programming
 * MDR Fernsehen (Sachsen/Sachsen-Anhalt/Thüringen)
 * arte
 * NDR Fernsehen (Bremen/Hamburg/Mecklenburg-Vorpommern/Niedersachsen/Schleswig-Holstein)
 * hr-fernsehen
 * UHF 50 (706 MHz) – Mixed Berlin 1
 * WDR Fernsehen (Köln)
 * SWR Fernsehen (Baden-Württemberg/Rheinland-Pfalz)
 * HSE24
 * Tele 5
 * UHF 56 (754 MHz) – Mixed Berlin 2
 * iMusic1
 * sixx
 * Eurosport
 * TV.Berlin
 * UHF 59 (778 MHz) – Mixed Berlin 3
 * Servus TV
 * Anixe
 * Juwelo TV

Analogue TV stations
The analogue TV service was shut down on 4 August 2003.

title: Fernsehturm Berlin


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User talk:17purple

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Dersonlwd Talk 11:41, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Hong Kong Shopping Centres
Hello 17purple. I know you've been doing a work creating articles such as Oi Tung Shopping Centre, and that's great -- but I'm afraid that they aren't really written or formatted the way we ask people to write. Because our goal is to create an encyclopedia, we don't have articles like those -- they are more like listings, and they don't describe them. There are guidelines at What Wikipedia is not

Please edit them into articles, or I'm afraid that they may soon be listed on the Votes for deletion page.

Please see How to edit a page and How to start a page for more information.

Thanks, BCorr ¤ Брайен 16:23, 25 Feb 2004 (UTC)

title: User talk:17purple