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Civil solidarity pact

In France, a civil solidarity pact (pacte civil de solidarité), commonly known as a PACS, is a contractual form of civil union between two adults for organising their joint life. It brings rights and responsibilities, but less so than marriage. The PACS was voted for by the French Parliament in October 1999, largely to offer some legal status to same-sex couples.

From a legal standpoint, a PACS is a contract drawn up between the two individuals, which is stamped and registered by the clerk of the court. In some areas, couples signing a PACS have the option of undergoing a formal ceremony at the city hall identical to that of civil marriage. Since 2006, individuals who have registered a PACS are no longer considered single in terms of their marital status; their birth records will be amended to show their status as pacsé.

PACS remain available to both same and opposite-sex couples despite the introduction of marriage and adoption rights for same-sex couples in May 2013.

History
The French National Assembly failed to pass PACS in October 1998. The law was proposed by the left-of-center government of Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, and was very vocally opposed by people, mostly on the right-wing, who opposed LGBT rights. Those, such as Christine Boutin and Philippe de Villiers, argued that PACS and the recognition of homosexual unions would be disastrous for French society. Only one right-wing deputy, Roselyne Bachelot, declared herself in favour of PACS.

The law (Loi n°99-944 du 15 novembre 1999 relative au pacte civil de solidarité ) was voted by the French Parliament in November 1999 following some controversy. The debate is remembered for a few incidents, such as when Christine Boutin attempted to filibuster the bill by speaking for five hours in the French National Assembly, and at some point waved a Christian Bible in the direction of the speaker of the Assembly—a surprising gesture in a country where laïcité (implying no intervention of religion into political matters) is specified in the Constitution. Christine Boutin also said, "All civilizations that recognized and justified homosexuality as a normal lifestyle met decadence." Anti-PACS proponents also staged a series of street protests, but the turnout, by their own admission, was disappointingly low. At its creation, Jacques Chirac described PACS as "not adapted to the needs of families". However, most initial opponents now widely accept the PACS (including Jacques Chirac and Christine Boutin, who publicly changed their minds).

It was to be a marked improvement and alternative over the previous certificat de concubinage notoire, which had minimal rights (and responsibilities) and had been seen as having pejorative overtones. The situation of concubinage only made certain benefits extend to the other partner in a union, and did not settle any issue regarding property, taxes, etc.

Initially, PACS offered the right to file joint income taxes only after three years. As of 2005, all PACS couples are required to file joint taxes, in the same manner as married couples. Due to the way that the progressive tax is applied in France, a couple filing joint income taxes, in almost all cases, pays less tax than they would filing separately if one of the partners earns substantially more than the other.

Wealth tax (the Impôt de solidarité sur la fortune) has been applied to the combined assets of both partners since the introduction of the PACS in 1999.

In 2004, PACS was described in a report to the Garde des Sceaux (minister for justice) as "a new way of conjugality, answering many needs and inscribed in continuity".

In December 2004, the French Government began preparations for expanding the rights granted in PACS. French LGBT groups considered it a tactic for avoiding debate on same-sex marriage.

A parliamentary "Report on the Family and the Rights of Children" was released on 25 January 2006. Although the committee recommended increasing some rights given in PACS in areas such as property rights, laws of succession and taxation, it recommended maintaining prohibitions against marriage, adoption, and access to medically assisted reproduction for same-sex couples. Because of this, left-wing members of the committee rejected the report. The report also argued that the differences in rights between concubinage, PACS and marriage reflect different levels of commitment and obligations on the part of the couples who enter into them. The committee renewed its support for this tiered system and recommended that the various rights and obligations of each type of union be clearly explained to couples when they register for a PACS, marry, or have a child.

Figures
According to the 2004 Demographic Report by the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee), the number of marriages in France had fallen each year since 2000.

266,000 civil marriages took place in 2004, a decline of 5.9% from 2003. However, the report found that the number of couples getting PACS had increased every year except 2001. There was a 29% increase in PACS between 2001 and 2002 and a 25% increase between 2002 and 2003. For the first 9 months of 2004, 27,000 PACS were signed compared to 22,000 in 2003. The report found that one PACS in 10 had been dissolved (less than divorces for couples married for the same period, for which one marriage in three will be dissolved by divorce or separation after the first 3 years during which most signed PACS are dissolved before becoming more stable than marriages).

A parliamentary report released in January 2006 said a total of around 170,000 PACS had been signed.

New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna
In April 2009, the French National Assembly voted to approve the extension of PACS to two French overseas collectivities: New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna. Thus, couples in New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna are able to enter a PACS in the same way as couples in Metropolitan France. Given their autonomous status, these collectivities did not automatically begin performing PACS when they were introduced in Metropolitan France in 1999. French Polynesia is the only collectivity where PACS cannot be performed.

Current trends
Although the law was passed with same-sex couples in mind, the great majority of couples taking advantage have been heterosexual couples who, for one reason or another, choose civil union rather than marriage; moreover, more heterosexual couples are opting for civil union rather than marriage. In fact, this trend was already in place in 2000, with 75% of unions between heterosexual couples (42% the previous years) and 95% in 2009. The process is commonly referred to as se pacser (, getting PACSed).

title: Civil solidarity pact


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Howie Mandel

Howard Michael Mandel (born November 29, 1955) is a Canadian comedian, television personality, actor, and producer. Mandel is known for voicing Gizmo in the 1984 film Gremlins and the 1990 sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch, playing rowdy ER resident Dr. Wayne Fiscus on the NBC medical drama St. Elsewhere, and creating and starring in the Fox children's cartoon Bobby's World. He has also been a judge on NBC's America's Got Talent since 2010, and Citytv's Canada's Got Talent since 2022. He hosted the American NBC and later CNBC game show Deal or No Deal, as well as the show's daytime and Canadian-English counterparts.

Early life and education
Mandel was born in Toronto and raised in the Willowdale neighborhood. He is Jewish, and his ancestors emigrated from Romania and Poland. Mandel is a distant cousin of Israeli violinist Itzhak Perlman. His father was a lighting manufacturer and a real estate magnate. Mandel attended William Lyon Mackenzie Collegiate Institute, where he was expelled for impersonating a school official and hiring a construction company to build an addition to the school. Afterwards, Mandel worked as a carpet salesman. He was a stand-up comedian at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, and by September 1978 he had a week-long booking as a featured act, which was billed as "a wild and crazy borderline psychotic."

On a trip to Los Angeles, Mandel performed a set at The Comedy Store, which resulted in his being hired as a regular performer. A producer for the syndicated comedy game show Make Me Laugh saw him there, and booked Mandel for several appearances during the show's run in 1979 and 1980. He was booked to open for David Letterman at shows in the summer of 1979. CBC-TV's head of variety programming saw his performance in October 1979 and immediately signed him for a TV special. In 1980, he won the lead role in the Canadian movie Gas, co-starring Susan Anspach and Donald Sutherland. Mandel was one of the first "VeeJays" to appear on Nickelodeon's music video series PopClips.

Television and film career

Mandel came to national attention in the United States during a six-year run on St. Elsewhere, starting in 1982 and playing the role of Dr. Wayne Fiscus, opposite Ed Flanders and Norman Lloyd. He also appeared on a week's worth of episodes of the short-lived NBC game show Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour in March 1984. While working as Dr. Fiscus and continuing to work as a comedian, Mandel also worked in films, including providing the voice of Gizmo in the 1984 hit Gremlins and its 1990 sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch. In 1985, Mandel made a cameo in the Michael J. Fox directed short "The Iceman Hummeth," which was subsequently broadcast on Late Night with David Letterman in November 1985. In 1986, he starred in A Fine Mess alongside Ted Danson. He performed his stand-up comedy act in several cities (the Watusi Tour), which was followed by his Watusi music video in 1987. For the first two seasons of Muppet Babies, he voiced Bunsen Honeydew, Animal, and Skeeter. He starred alongside Amy Steel in the 1987 comedy film Walk Like a Man. He was also "Maurice" in the 1989 movie Little Monsters. In 1990, he starred in the short-lived sitcom Good Grief on Fox. He was also the creator and executive producer of the Emmy-nominated children's animated series Bobby's World (1990–1998) to which he supplied the voices of the title character and his father. Bobby's World ran for seven seasons on Fox and was later syndicated.

1992 saw the weekly airing of his self-titled comedy show Howie, with multiple guest stars such as Gilbert Gottfried and Little Richard and Lita Ford as the in-house band guitarist. His character Bobby made a regular appearance on the show. In 1994, Mandel voiced the lead character, Little Howie, of the video game Tuneland. He starred in the sketch comedy series Howie Mandel's Sunny Skies in 1995 on Showtime. Mandel appeared in the 1995 Clint Black music video "Summer's Comin'." He played the lead role of the professor in the short-lived TV series The Amazing Live Sea Monkeys, and he guest-starred on a 1996 episode of the ABC TV series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman as DC Comics supervillain Mister Mxyzptlk. In 1998, he hosted his syndicated talk show, The Howie Mandel Show, which was canceled after one season. From 1999 to 2000, he played Jason in the film Apocalypse III: Tribulation, was the voice of Jack in the movie The Tangerine Bear in 2000, and 2002 he played the Sand Man in the movie Hansel and Gretel. In 2006, he appeared as himself as a guest host in a parody of Deal or No Deal in the show-within-a-show of the TV series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. In 2007, he guest-starred as himself in an episode of NBC's Medium and made a dream cameo of himself on Deal or No Deal. In that episode, he booted the nighttime drama's protagonist off for "cheating" since in the show, he is a psychic medium and appeared to "know" the contents of the cases. Mandel plays his alter ego, Phil Skorjanc, in most of his comedy shows, which are a fan favorite. Bobby also made a cameo appearance in a February 2007 episode of Deal or No Deal. On a special two-hour Christmas episode, first aired on December 25, 2007, Mandel delivered one line with Bobby's voice, as requested by the contestant.

Mandel's signature stunt as a stand-up comedian (besides his Bobby alter ego) was stretching a latex glove over his head, inflating it with his nostrils, and filling it until it suddenly propelled itself off his head. That trick also lent itself to the title and cover photo of his comedy album Fits Like a Glove (1986). He eventually gave up the routine under doctor's orders after being diagnosed with a perforated sinus. However, in a cameo role as himself on My Name Is Earl, he did the routine. He guest-starred in two episodes of Monk ("Mr. Monk Joins a Cult" and "Mr. Monk's 100th Case").

Additional appearances

Mandel is known for his frequent appearances as a comedian and for his hidden camera segments on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He has appeared in many television commercials for Boston Pizza as their hired spokesperson. In April 2004, he appeared as number 82 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest stand-up comedians of all time. In October 2005, he was named to be the host of the US version of Deal or No Deal, which debuted on December 19, 2005, on NBC, and became a popular program in early 2006. Mandel also hosts Deal or No Deal Canada; originating from Toronto, Deal or No Deal Canada debuted in January 2007 on Global, which made him one of the few game show hosts (Weakest Links Anne Robinson, The Chairs John McEnroe, Pyramids Donny Osmond, The Singing Bees Joey Fatone, and Minute to Win It's Darren McMullen being others) to host both a domestic and an international version of the same game show. Mandel joins Alex Trebek, Jim Perry, and Geoff Edwards on the list of game show hosts who emceed one game show simultaneously in Canada and the United States.

In 2007, Mandel made an appearance in an episode of Sesame Street 38th season. That same year, he was parodied on the show as Howie Eats well, the Muppet host of Sesame's game show segment "Meal or No Meal." Mandel has hosted the DVD game version of Deal or No Deal, "Fact or Crap Beat Da Bomb", and "Would You Rather" for Imagination Games.

Mandel had a cameo appearance as himself on the NBC show My Name Is Earl in the episode where Earl's roommates robbed an Indian casino at which Mandel was performing. While stealing money, they also kidnapped Mandel. In the episode, Mandel performed his old routine of inflating a rubber glove over his head with his nostrils.

Mandel is a notable alumnus of Beth David B'nai Israel Beth Am's Hebrew School located in Toronto, as well as three other Toronto high schools. Mandel is currently performing a variety/comedy act at the MGM Grand Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Starting in 2007, Mandel became a spokesperson for Internet retailer buy.com. He is sometimes featured in a section called "What's Shakin'?" with Mandel. On September 8, 2008, Mandel began hosting a five-day-a-week syndicated daytime version of Deal or No Deal, with a top prize of $500,000. On January 9, 2009, Mandel's reality show Howie Do It premiered on NBC.

On March 31, 2011, Mandel premiered a flash-mob show on Fox called Mobbed. Originally a presentation pilot, the ratings after American Idol prompted Fox to pick up the show for eight to ten episodes.

On November 30, 2012, he hosted the NASCAR Sprint Cup Awards Ceremony. On December 10, 2012, his six-night special game show Take It All premiered.

He appeared in one episode of the animated series Fugget About It as the voice of FBI Agent Rick Chickmagnet in 2013. From 2013 to 2014, Mandel executive-produced the TBS hidden-camera show Deal with It. He also regularly made appearances and co-hosted the show along with main host Theo Von.

In 2023, Mandel competed in season nine of The Masked Singer as "Rock Lobster". He was eliminated on "ABBA Night" alongside Debbie Gibson as "Night Owl".

Deal or No Deal
In 2003, while Mandel was deciding whether or not to quit show business, the executive producers at NBC asked him to host the show, but he declined many times. They then mailed him a tape of the overseas version and he finally accepted. In 2007, he hosted a five-episode run of the Canadian-English version Deal or No Deal Canada. The show then went to daytime with Mandel remaining as host, although Arsenio Hall was originally intended to host the show. In a January 2009 interview on Anytime with Bob Kushell, Mandel expressed mild, jovial frustration over how some of his contestants hold out during the game show, even though the grand prize is many times what they would make in a year.

On March 12, 2018, it was announced that Mandel would host the 2018 CNBC revival of the game show and also become an executive producer. The show premiered on December 3, 2018.

Mandel is one of three game show hosts to host the same game show in two different countries, the others being Donny Osmond for Pyramid in the US and the UK and Anne Robinson for The Weakest Link in the US and the UK.

In 2024, Mandel produced the reality game spin-off of Deal or No Deal titled Deal or No Deal Island. In the finale of the series, it was also revealed that he is the secretive banker who made offers to the contestants over the course of the game.

Got Talent
In January 2010, it was announced that Mandel would replace David Hasselhoff as one of the judges on NBC's America's Got Talent after Hasselhoff announced that he was leaving to work on a new television series. Out of all judges on the show, Mandel currently has the longest tenure than any other judge or host, spanning fifteen consecutive seasons (season 5–present).

In October 2021, it was announced that Mandel will be a judge on the second season of Canada's Got Talent, which aired in 2022.

Howie Mandel Does Stuff
Since February 2021, Mandel has hosted the Howie Mandel Does Stuff Podcast with his daughter, Jackelyn Shultz, as co-host. According to the Apple Podcasts preview: "Together, these two make prank calls, discuss pop culture, interview interesting people, say weird things, chat with listeners, get deep..."

Bullsh*t: The Game Show
On April 27, 2022, Netflix released the 10-episode debut season of Bullsh*t: The Game Show with Mandel as the host of the program. It was Mandel's first game show since the cancellation of the Deal or No Deal revival on CNBC in 2019. In this game show contestants have a chance to win up to $1,000,000 by answering a series of trivia questions but have to also be able to convince ("bullshit") a group of prospective challengers that the answer they give is right, even if it's not. (The contestant is shown whether or not their answer is correct as soon as they choose it.) After explaining their reasoning, the judges will vote on whether they think the contestant is "bullshitting" (lying), or telling the truth. At a certain time after they are done convincing the judges, Mandel will ask the contestant if their answer is correct, or if they were "bullshitting." If the contestant's answer is correct (or if it's incorrect, but they successfully convinced at least one judge that they were telling the truth), they win and move on to the question. If they lie and none of the three judges buy it, they are removed from the game. The next contestant is the judge who most accurately guessed whether or not the contestant was truthful during each question.

Personal life and health

Mandel has been married to Terry Mandel (née Soil) since 1980. Together, they have three children: daughters Jackie and Riley and son Alex.

On September 4, 2008, Mandel received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and Comedy Central listed him as No. 82 on their list of the 100 greatest stand-up comedians of all time.

Mandel received a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto. The induction ceremony was held on September 12, 2009.

In October 2008, Mandel revealed that he has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) on the morning talk show Live with Regis and Kelly, adding that he is currently working to raise adult ADHD awareness among the general public. On January 12, 2009, Mandel was reportedly sent to St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto suffering from chest pains and what was reported as a minor heart attack. According to various news reports, he was experiencing an irregular heartbeat, but the reports were later revealed as inaccurate. He was later discharged. Mandel has written and published an in-depth autobiography which details his life with OCD, ADHD, and comedy called Here's the Deal: Don't Touch Me.

Mandel is a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team.

Mandel is colorblind and a germaphobe. He contracted COVID-19 at the 2022 Kids' Choice Awards, which caused him to miss parts of the third, eighth, and tenth episodes, and the entire seventh episode of the seventeenth season of America's Got Talent. It also led to physical and mental health struggles, including drug and substance abuse.

Mandel lives in the Hollywood Hills area of Los Angeles.

Obsessive compulsive disorder
Mandel has spoken publicly about having obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), which can take many forms, including mysophobia. Mandel's anxiety affects him to the point that he does not shake hands with anyone, including enthusiastic contestants on Deal or No Deal unless he is wearing latex gloves. Instead of shaking contestants' hands when they offer them, Mandel often opts to exchange fist bumps, put his hands on contestants' shoulders, or give an occasional hug. He once kissed a female contestant on the show for good luck despite his disorder. He now takes medicine to control his condition and even pokes fun at himself for it. On March 24, 2006, he revealed on The Howard Stern Show that his shaved head is not related to natural hair loss but OCD. He stated that the lack of hair makes him feel cleaner. In the back yard of Mandel's house is a second, smaller house which he had built especially to live in solitude when a family member is sick. During his appearance on Mad TV, Mandel and cast member Bobby Lee made fun of Mandel's condition. Mandel also confronted his germophobia in Season 4, Episode 1 of the Comedy Central series This Is Not Happening. The show aired on February 3, 2018.

Mandel has reported a pivotal childhood experience during a family vacation in Florida that may have caused the manifestation of his mysophobia. During this trip, a sandfly laid its eggs in him, leading to the development of larvae that could be seen moving around just beneath the surface of his skin. The removal process was accompanied by considerable discomfort, with a dermatologist using liquid nitrogen to eliminate some of the larvae, and the rest being scrubbed out by his mother at home. The ordeal of discovering organisms growing beneath his skin left a profound impact on Mandel, who was only seven or eight years old at the time. Mandel says that recalling the event often evokes the sensation of organisms attempting to crawl underneath his skin.

While guest-hosting on Live with Regis and Kelly in 2005, Mandel had an altercation in which his hand was seized by guest Rob Schneider, who condescendingly teased Mandel, stating he needed to 'get over' his phobia. Host Kelly Ripa admonished Schneider on-air, while also obtaining hand sanitizer for Mandel from an audience member.

In September 2007, Mandel interviewed former NFL running back Marshall Faulk on NFL Network. Faulk asked him to shake hands, but Mandel refused, noting he would rather have the fist tap, as he does with Deal or No Deal contestants. Seconds later, Faulk subjected him to a "sneak attack" and shook his right hand. Mandel screamed and walked away from Faulk. He then washed his hands several times. On a guest appearance on Free Radio, Mandel explained that not only is he afraid of public bathrooms, but he is unable to use any bathroom other than his own.

During the ninth episode of season 5 of America's Got Talent in Chicago, contestant Zach Carty attempted an act involving sneezing. Mandel pressed his X button at the beginning of the act and ran into an aisle until the act was over. Carty was unable to perform the act. Mandel kept yelling at the other judges, Piers Morgan and Sharon Osbourne, to press their X buttons and for the audience to turn in his direction. Morgan eventually pressed the X button, but Osbourne refused, so Mandel promptly ran over and pressed her button, ending the act. In a backstage interview, he expressed to the television audience that he receives therapy to help him cope.

In another America's Got Talent season 5 incident, Dan Sperry, a contestant on the YouTube quarterfinal depicted in episodes 21 and 22, dropped some dental floss that he had run through his neck as part of a magic act. He dropped the floss in Mandel's vicinity, prompting him to get up and run to the other side of the judges' table. Just before Sperry's next performance in the semifinals, Mandel admitted that it was "the most horrified" he'd been on the show and that his therapist "loves [Dan Sperry]" because there had been two extra sessions that week.

During the premiere of season 6, juggler Frank Olivier grabbed Mandel's head to balance himself during a unicycle act. Despite receiving a buzzer from Mandel, Olivier moved on to the next round. Mandel refused to give Olivier any feedback during the judge's voting process.

During AGT 10th-season premiere, contestant Chris Jones directly utilized Mandel's fear of germs as the subject of his hypnotism act. Under the post-hypnotic suggestion that Jones and the other judges were wearing latex gloves, Mandel shook the bare hands of all involved, which elicited shouts of amazement. After viewing the video of the act, Mandel said that he was "upset" and "somewhat betrayed" by the act, but his therapist subsequently said it was a good thing. Jones progressed to the Judge's Cuts where he was eliminated from the competition.

Mandel commented in 2011 that he has struggled with the condition since childhood but did not seek help until he was an adult: I don't remember a time when I didn't feel there was an issue, but I wasn't diagnosed until adulthood. I've always felt a little bit different, and I always knew I wasn't as comfortable with life as everybody else seemed to be, but I didn't know what I could do about it. When I was a kid, I didn't know anybody who went to a psychiatrist. There was always a stigma attached to mental health issues. I think there still is. But now I'm taking care of myself.

Philanthropy
Mandel started his charitable foundation called Breakout the Masks, which helps provide personal protective equipment to healthcare workers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. He is also involved in Bell's Let's Talk Day initiatives to help people struggling with mental health issues.

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

title: Howie Mandel


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Johan Jørgen Holst

Johan Jørgen Holst (29 November 1937 – 13 January 1994) was a Norwegian politician representing Labour, best known for his involvement with the Oslo Accords.

Holst was Minister of Defence from 1987 to 1989 and from 1990 to April 1993. He then became Minister of Foreign Affairs, a position he held to his death. During his time in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs he was heavily involved in the process that led to the Oslo Accords. He suffered a minor stroke in December 1993 and was admitted to a hospital. He never fully recovered and died a month later. His wife Marianne Heiberg later said that he had worked himself to death with the peace process.

In his memory, the city of Gaza created the Holst Park, an activity center for children of Gaza from 6 to 16. Holst was educated at Oslo Cathedral School, where he completed his examen artium in 1956. He then completed his mandatory military service at the prestigious Russian language program of the Norwegian Armed Forces. He then studied at Columbia College of Columbia University, where he obtained his A.B. in 1960 and where he was honored with its John Jay Award for Distinguished Professional Achievement shortly after his death—the first time the prize had been given posthumously. Through his marriage Mr. Holst was the uncle of Jens Stoltenberg, the prime minister of Norway throughout central parts of the 2000s. Friends of Israel in the Norwegian Labour Movement (Norwegian: Venner av Israel i Norsk Arbeiderbevegelse), planted a forest to his memory in Israel.

title: Johan Jørgen Holst


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Talk:Media imperialism

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Amelia Albanese.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 00:47, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

Untitled
Tabloids are lumped with legitimate news sources, that are accused of ignoring and perverting events without any proof thereof. -Julius

This page helped me very much Thanks -- Anon reader

 * You're welcome. -- Derek Ross

The content of this page is ironic as it states ideas/opinions as fact while at the same time saying accuracy and fairness of information that is provided is being compromised. The page states as if it were fact that freedom of information remains slim instead of offering something along the lines of critics argue that freedom of information is slim. It also condones censorship without giving any positives, thus resulting in a bias. --anonymous

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available on the course page.

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bias tag
I've added a bias tag to this article. The concept of media imperialism is a complicated and controversial one, which is not properly reflected in this article. I do appreciate the inclusion of references to prominent theorists in the field, but the article is wanting both of a dispassionate breakdown of the theory as well as from lacking a neutral point of view. It could be that most people reading this article tend to agree on a pernicious consequence of growing 'multinational media conglomerates', but the article should approach the subject from a neutral point of view. As is, readers are immediately given a biased impression of the subject. I'm hoping to contribute to the article this weekend to improve things. Cuffeparade (talk) 09:58, 9 May 2008 (UTC)

Notability
Not clear that this term is in sufficiently wide use to meet GNG or be regarded as encyclopedic.E.M.Gregory (talk) 20:12, 9 May 2017 (UTC)

Propose Merge to cultural imperialism

 * Possible condense and merge to cultural imperialism of which this is a subtopic.E.M.Gregory (talk) 20:21, 9 May 2017 (UTC)

title: Talk:Media imperialism


text: User talk:81.208.74.189

title: User talk:81.208.74.189


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Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier II

Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier II, billed as Super Fight II, was a professional boxing match contested on January 28, 1974, for the NABF heavyweight title. The second of the three Ali–Frazier bouts, it took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Background
On January 17, 1974, Ali and Frazier appeared together on The Dick Cavett Show, where there was both humor and obvious tension – which included the removing of jackets and mock blows between the pair. Things dramatically escalated, however, on January 23, when Ali and Frazier visited the ABC studios in New York City 5 days before the rematch to review their first fight for ABC's Wide World of Sports. During their critique of 11 Ali began trash talking Frazier and calling him "ignorant" for mentioning Ali had visited the hospital after the bout, as he had put Frazier in one for a full month afterwards. This denigration enraged Frazier, who stood up from his seat and squared up to a seated Ali, repeating, "Why you call me ignorant? How am I ignorant?" While Frazier was not looking at Ali and studio crew and his entourage tried to calm him down, Ali grabbed Frazier by the neck to force him to sit down, which broke out into a fight on the studio floor. Both boxers were subsequently fined for their outburst, and significant drama added to the countdown to their rematch in the ring. Ali was a slight favorite going in.

The fight
The fighting was uneven, with flashes of excellence marred by Ali initiating 133 clinches, many by holding Frazier's head and pushing down on his neck, which referee Tony Perez did not regard as a violation under the rules. Ali's clinching dominated the fight. Many rounds were close and difficult to score and punch volume was unusually low for the two fighters, and for heavyweight boxers in general. Ali ended up landing 181 punches to Joe Frazier's 172, with Ali leading on jabs 37 to 5 and Frazier on power punches 167 to 144; by contrast, in their first bout Frazier landed 378 punches (365 power) and Ali 330 (195 power). Frazier and Ali each landed more punches than the other in 5 of the 12 rounds, with 2 rounds even. Frazier was the more accurate puncher, landing 42% of his blows to Ali's 25%. In the opinion of sportswriters Bob Cannobio and Lee Groves: "Had they fought this way three years earlier, boxing would have been greatly harmed and the world probably never would have seen a second fight, much less a third."

Tactically, instead of fighting flat-footed in the middle of the ring and "fighting Frazier's fight" as in their first, meeting, Ali came out dancing in his traditional "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" form. In the three years since he had been stripped of his titles and banned from the sport he had been able to recover much of the ringmanship on his toes he had lost since his 1967 professional ban. Still, he was older, heavier, and slower...as was Frazier. In hopes of making more contact with the relentlessly bobbing and weaving Frazier, he often employed a new punching style, flurries of a half-hook half-upper cuts coming from both sides. As in the first fight, Ali attempted to prevent Frazier from working inside, tying up the shorter man by holding him behind the neck with his left hand while keeping Frazier's vaunted left tied up with the other. This pattern of Ali punching in flurries followed by clinching, and stifling Frazier's advances and leaving him no room to throw his punches through neck-grabs and half-headlocks, dominated most of the fight, at times earning rounds of boos from fight fans. Explaining why he did not even warn Ali, referee Tony Perez explained, "The only violation is if you [hold] and hit at the same time. Ali was holding but he wasn't hitting."

Ali won a close but unanimous decision, with referee Tony Perez scoring it 6–5–1, judge Tony Castellano 7–4–1, and judge Jack Gordon 8–4–0.

Aftermath
Held in between their two major title bouts (the Fight of the Century in 1971 and The Thrilla in Manila in 1975, each for the then-reigning WBA and WBC professional boxing championships), this twelve round fight was promoted as Super Fight II. At stake was a chance for Ali to avenge his loss to Frazier in their first fight, and set up a shot for the world title against then Heavyweight champion George Foreman, who in between had dethroned Frazier. While some fans and experts then and now consider to be the least interesting and hyped of their three fights, it provided flashes of excellence by both fighters, and was described by the Associated Press as "...another great match between two different types of fighter, the slugger versus the master craftsman". Extremely anticipated at the time, it lacked the absolute drama of the first bout, but, evening the score at one win apiece, served to set the stage for the now iconic tie-breaker between the two historic champions a year later in Manilla, once again for World Championship recognition after Ali's electric dismantling of Foreman in Zaire.

Undercard
Confirmed bouts:

title: Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier II


text:
Melolontha

Melolontha is a genus of beetles in the family Scarabaeidae. The European cockchafers belong to this genus.

Taxonomy
Linnaeus called the European cockchafer Scarabaeus melolontha. Étienne Louis Geoffroy used Melolontha as a genus name (1762), but his book has been suppressed by the International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature, and the authority for the name is the later (1775) publication by Johan Christian Fabricius.

Species

The following is a list of species within the genus Melolontha:
 * Melolontha aceris Faldermann, 1835
 * Melolontha afflicta Ballion, 1870
 * Melolontha albida Frivaldszky, 1835
 * Melolontha anita Reitter, 1902
 * Melolontha argus Burmeister 1855
 * Melolontha bifurcata (Brenske, 1896)
 * Melolontha chinensis (Guerin, 1838)
 * Melolontha ciliciensis Petrovitz
 * Melolontha flabellata Sharp, 1876
 * Melolontha frater Arrow, 1913 – Indonesia
 * Melolontha fuscotestacea Kraatz, 1887
 * Melolontha guttigera Sharp, 1876
 * Melolontha hippocastani Fabricius, 1801 – European forest cockchafer
 * Melolontha incana Motschulsky, 1853
 * Melolontha insulana Burmeister, 1939
 * Melolontha japonica Burmeister, 1855
 * Melolontha kraatzi Reitter 1906
 * Melolontha melolontha (Linnaeus, 1758) – common European cockchafer
 * Melolontha papposa Illiger, 1803
 * Melolontha pectoralis Megerle von Mühlfeld, 1812 – European large cockchafer
 * Melolontha rubiginosa
 * Melolontha rufocrassa Fairmaire, 1889
 * Melolontha satsumaenis Niijima & Kinoshita
 * Melolontha taygetana Rey, 1999
 * Melolontha virescens Brenske, 1896

title: Melolontha


text:
Cockchafer

The common cockchafer (Melolontha melolontha), also colloquially known as the Maybug, Maybeetle, or doodlebug, is a species of scarab beetle belonging to the genus Melolontha. It is native to Europe, and it is one of several closely-related and morphologically similar species of Melolontha called cockchafers, alongside Melolontha hippocastani (the forest cockchafer).

The adults and larvae feed on plants, and are regarded as serious agricultural pests of crops such as grasses and fruit trees. Adults have harmful effects for the crop when they aggregate in large groups. The larvae can cause severe damage and kill the plant by gnawing the plant roots. The cockchafer develops via metamorphosis, in which the beetle undergoes stages of egg, larvae, pupae and adults.

The mating behaviour is controlled by pheromones. The males usually swarm during the mating season while the females stay put and feed on leaves. The leaves release green leaf volatiles when they are fed on by females, which the male can sense and thus locate the female for mating opportunity. The larvae use both the plant volatiles and CO2 to locate the plant root for food.

The number of cockchafers increased over the past few years due to the decrease in pesticide usage. Soil tilling can be used to remove larvae hatching. Entomopathogenic fungi and nematodes can effectively remove beetles at the larval stage.

Distribution
Cockchafers are prevalent across Europe, including in Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. They are particularly prevalent in temperate regions with suitable soil conditions for larval development. However, they have also been reported in parts of Asia, including Turkey and the Caucasus region. Geographical barriers, climatic conditions, and ecological factors may limit their dispersal to other continents.

Adults
Adults of M. melolontha reach sizes of 25 to 30 mm in length. Behind their heads they have a black pronotum covered with short hairs. This black coloration distinguishes them from their close relative M. hippocastani, whose pronotum is brown. The top of their bodies have hard, brown elytra and a black thorax, while their underside is black and partly white on the sides. They have a dark head with two antennae with ten segments each. Male cockchafers have seven "leaves" on their antennae, whereas the females have only six.

Larvae
Larvae have 3 stages of development over the course of 3-4 years. In the first stage, they are 10-20 mm long, then grow to 30-35 mm in the second year of development, and finally reach their full size of 40-46 mm in their final year of development before emerging. In some areas of Eastern Europe the larvae develop for a fourth year. They have white bodies that curve into an arc with a black coloration at the abdomen and long, hairy, and well developed legs. They have large orange heads with strong, grabbing mandibles. On their heads they have 2 small antennae which they use to smell and taste their surroundings while underground.

Food resources
Cockchafer feeds on deciduous plant and fruit tree leaves, including oaks, maple, sweet chestnut, beech, plum, and walnut trees. The feeding behaviour of larvae can cause severe damage to the plants. They feed on both the small roots of field plants such as grain, grass, tree, beet roots and the large part of crop rootlets. Larvae can gnaw the root for 30cm each day, which quickly kills the plant.

Life cycle
Adults appear at the end of April or in May and live for about five to seven weeks. After about two weeks, the female begins laying eggs, which she buries about 10 to 20 cm deep in the earth. She may do this several times until she has laid between 60 and 80 eggs. Most typically, the female beetle lays its eggs in fields. The preferred food for adults is oak leaves, but they will also feed on conifer needles.

The larvae, known as "chafer grubs" or "white grubs", hatch four to six weeks after being laid as eggs. They feed on plant roots, for instance potato roots. The grubs develop in the earth for three to four years, in colder climates even five years, and grow continually to a size of about 4–5 cm, before they pupate in early autumn and develop into an adult cockchafer in six weeks.

The cockchafer overwinters in the earth at depths between 20 and 100 cm. They work their way to the surface only in spring.

Because of their long development time as larvae, cockchafers appear in a cycle of every three or four years; the years vary from region to region. There is a larger cycle of around 30 years superimposed, in which they occur (or rather, used to occur) in unusually high numbers (10,000s).

Predators
The European mole is a natural predator of cockchafers. Moles are known to feed on cockchafer larvae. They can detect them using their keen sense of smell and specialised digging behaviour. This predation can help regulate cockchafer populations in mole-inhabited areas.

M. melolontha adults are predated by ground beetles and ants. Larvae are predated by click beetles while underground. Starlings, crows, and gulls also predate M. melolontha larvae, often after a field has been plowed.

Parasites
Dexia rustica is a parasitic fly that uses M. melolontha larvae as their hosts. D. rustica eggs hatch underground and look for cockchafer larvae to hibernate within over the winter. Their presence will ultimately kill the beetle larvae in the spring. One to six fly larva can parasitise a single host.

Mating behaviour
Males leave the soil when the temperature is favourable in April or May. Sexual dimorphism is observed as male beetles, at dusk, will begin to swarm and locate around groups of trees at forest edges. On the other hand, females will stay in place and feed on leaves until they reach sexual maturity. Males primarily fly around the branches looking for females to mate with. This behaviour occurs for several hours until darkness for about 10-20 days. These swarms typically have minimal damage to the trees, but they are occasionally harmful in cherry or plum orchards because of their consumption of blossoms. Once the females have matured and mated, they return to the fields to lay their eggs in the soil. Only a third of females will survive this trip, but any survivors will make a second, and occasionally third, swarming trip and return to the field to lay eggs again.

Green leaf volatiles (GLVs) are a series of saturated and monounsaturated six-carbon aldehydes, alcohols, and esters released by vascular plants in response to stresses. GLVs have been found to act as a kairomone, which is a compound released by an organism that only benefits the receiver. This enhances the attractiveness of toluquinone, a sex pheromone in scarab beetles. Only male M. melolontha are attracted to GLVs, using its release to identify leaves that female beetles are feeding on. Females have the ability to detect GLV, but any change in behaviour that it may cause is unclear. M. melolontha males are more sensitive to lower GLV concentrations, possibly due to the anatomical differences between male and female antennae. Due to this phenomenon, sexual dimorphism can be observed in flight behaviour. During swarming behaviour, males will hover around the foliage while females remain on twigs and branches to feed. Males then use GLVs to identify which leaves have females that they can mate with. GLVs are being investigated as a possible pest control technique to attract males and prevent mating.

Pest behaviour
Though adults can damage some fruit trees, M. melolontha larvae are the primary agricultural pests. Larva hatch from their eggs 4-6 weeks after being laid and develop into adults over the course of 3-4 years. Immediately after hatching, larvae will gnaw on small roots. It will continue feeding on roots, particularly grasses, cereals, and other crops, during its three larval stages, only pausing to burrow deep into the soil for winter hibernation.

In their first stage, M. melolontha larvae identify roots by CO2 release. They will only do damage at extreme densities. In their second stage, larva will cause the most damage to crops. In their third stage, larva will do less but still severe damage to crops. They most prominently use structures on their antennae called pore plates to smell. This structure is a thin layer of cells that covers a number of sensory units consisting of dendrite bundles. These and other olfactory organs on the head of the larva can identify CO2 and plant volatiles. They've also been found to push their heads into the walls of their burrows and probe with their antennae, likely to taste the soil with bristle-like sensilla.

Middle Ages
In the Middle Ages, pest control was rare, and people had no effective means to protect their harvest. This gave rise to events that seem bizarre from a modern perspective. In 1320, for instance, cockchafers were brought to court in Avignon and sentenced to withdraw within three days onto a specially designated area, otherwise they would be outlawed. Subsequently, since they failed to comply, they were collected and killed. (Similar animal trials also occurred for many other animals in the Middle Ages.)

19th century
Both the grubs and adults have a voracious appetite and thus have been and sometimes continue to be a major problem in agriculture and forestry. In the pre-industrialised era, the main mechanism to control their numbers was to collect and kill the adult beetles, thereby interrupting the cycle. They were once very abundant: in 1911, more than 20 million individuals were collected in 18 km2 of forest. Collecting adults was an only moderately successful method.

In some areas and times, cockchafers were served as food. A 19th-century recipe from France for cockchafer soup reads: "roast one pound of cockchafers without wings and legs in sizzling butter, then cook them in a chicken soup, add some veal liver and serve with chives on a toast". A German newspaper from Fulda from the 1920s tells of students eating sugar-coated cockchafers. Cockchafer larvae can also be fried or cooked over open flames, although they require some preparation by soaking in vinegar in order to purge them of soil in their digestive tracts. A cockchafer stew is referred to in W. G. Sebald's novel The Emigrants.

In Sweden the peasants looked upon the grub of the cockchafer as furnishing an unfailing prognostic whether the ensuing winter will be mild or severe; if the animal has a bluish hue (a circumstance which arises from its being replete with food), they affirm it will be mild, but if it is white, the weather will be severe: and they carry this so far as to foretell, that if the anterior be white and the posterior blue, the cold will be most severe at the beginning of the winter. Hence they call this grub Bemärkelse-mask—prognostic worm.

Modern times
Only with the modernisation of agriculture in the 20th century and the invention of chemical pesticides did it become possible to effectively combat the cockchafer. Combined with the transformation of many pastures into agricultural land, this has resulted in a decrease of the cockchafer to near-extinction in some areas in Europe in the 1970s.

Since the 1970s, agriculture has generally reduced its use of pesticides. Because of environmental and public health concerns (pesticides may enter the food chain and thus also the human body) many chemical pesticides have been phased out in the European Union and worldwide. In recent years, the cockchafer's numbers have been increasing again, causing damage to agricultural use of over 1000 km2 of land all over Europe (0.001% of land).

Due to legal provisions from the European Union for the sustainable use of pesticides, aerial treatment, which had been used to successfully control M. melolontha populations, is now banned. Light traps have been successful in attracting M. melolontha adults, particularly males, when put at height (4 m). If a peak swarming time can be identified, shaking isolated trees and collecting feeding adults can reduce population, though it is time consuming. Azadirachtin is a chemical that inhibits maturation feeding and egg development, but low persistence and difficulty spraying it high enough in trees prevents widespread use. Soil tilling has been a historically successful method, particularly in early June when larvae are first hatching. Pre-cropping is also a promising possibility, with buckwheat being of particular interest because it can reduce grub weight and population density before the crop of interest is planted. Sex pheromones have been used for mass trapping, mating disruption, and “Attract and Kill” methods. The unlikelihood of developing resistance due to the sex pheromones being produced by the beetles makes this a promising method of pest control.

Entomopathogens
Entomopathogenic organisms—organisms that produce disease in insects—are an active area of research for the control of M. melolontha grub populations. Entomopathogenic fungi is currently being studied as a way to control M. melolontha grub populations. Beauveria brongniartii has been found to work on the Melolontha species, and B. bassiana has been successful with other agricultural pests. There have been difficulties with determining the best strategy to apply the fungi to the fields. Entomopathogenic nematodes have been found to be particularly successful ways of reducing populations, particularly when larva are in the first and second stage. Entomopathogenic bacteria from the genera Steinernema and Heterorhabditis are also being investigated, but they have been difficult to apply to fields as opposed to laboratory settings. The focus on entomopathogenic bacteria has been on its symbiosis with entomopathogenic nematodes and their ability to act together as a larval control strategy. Poor results with the application of these methods have stemmed intensive research into the gut enzymes and microbiome of M. melolontha to determine if they are acting as defense against entomopathogenic organisms.

Intestinal components and microbiome
The gut enzymes and microbiota of M. melolontha larvae allow them to exploit a variety of ecological niches unique to their phylogenetic family. These are low energy foods such as grass roots and rotting organic matter in the soil. There are two major compartments in the scarabaeid larvae intestinal tract. The first is a tubular midgut that secretes hydrolytic enzymes for macromolecule breakdown, and the second is a bulbous hindgut used for fermentation. High bacterial diversity between individuals of M. melolontha in the intestinal tract reflects the diversity of food sources.

In the midgut, glucose is broken down and absorbed by the epithelium. It has been shown that proteolytic breakdown of toxins is a common resistance mechanism for agricultural pests. Proteolytic activity of enzymes in the midgut is hypothesised to increase resistance to entomopathogenic bacteria in the beetle larvae. Trypsin-like enzymes from the midgut of M. melolontha have been found to break down certain bacterial toxins and inactivate them.

The hindgut has a high density of bacteria that ferment recalcitrant residues such as cellulose, with the byproducts being absorbed by the beetle. Acetate is a major product of this fermentation, suggesting that much of the bacteria in the hindgut is homoacetogenic. High abundance of species in the bacterial genus Desulfovibrio in the hindgut suggests that sulphate reduction is an important process, but the source of this sulphate in the diet is unknown.

Some research on the M. melolontha microbiome has been focused on increasing the entomopathogenic properties of nematodes used as pest control due to their symbiosis. Bacteria such as Xenorhabdus nematophila are transported by nematodes and released into the insect's midgut. The bacteria will release lytic enzymes and other antimicrobial substances to decrease competition from the beetle's native microbiome. This creates an optimal environment for nematode development. Bacterial species in the midgut of M. melolontha such as Pseudomonas chlororaphis have been found to fight back, acting as antagonists to entomopathogenic bacteria. These bacteria have been identified differentially in different larval stages, with P. chlororaphis usually being found in the third and final larval stage.

Ecological impact
Environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, and plant type have a considerable impact on the existence and behaviour of cockchafers in wooded environments. It indicates that cockchafer populations are strongly influenced by climatic conditions, with warmer temperatures and higher humidity level favouring their occurrence. Additionally, specific vegetation types, including deciduous trees and shrubs, provide suitable habitats for cockchafers, facilitating their survival and reproduction within forest stands.

Etymology
The name "cockchafer" derives from the late-17th-century usage of "cock" (in the sense of expressing size or vigour) + "chafer" which simply means an insect of this type, referring to its propensity for gnawing and damaging plants. The term "chafer" has its root in Old English ceafor or cefer, of Germanic origin and is related to the Dutch kever, all of which mean "gnawer" as it relates to the jaw. As such, the name "cockchafer" can be understood to mean "large plant-gnawing beetle" and is applicable to its history as a pest animal.

In culture
Children since antiquity have played with cockchafers. In ancient Greece, boys caught the insect, tied a linen thread to its feet and set it free, amusing themselves to watch it fly in spirals. English boys in Victorian times played a very similar game by sticking a pin through one of its wings. Nikola Tesla recalls that as a child he made one of his first "inventions", an "engine" made by harnessing four cockchafers in this fashion.

Cockchafers appear in the fairy tales "Thumbelina" by Hans Christian Andersen and "Princess Rosette" by Madame d'Aulnoy.

The cockchafer is featured in a German children's song similar to the English Ladybird, Ladybird:

The verse dates back to the Thirty Years' War in the first half of the 17th century, in which Pomerania was pillaged and suffered heavily. Since World War II, it is associated in Germany with the closing months of that war as well, when Soviet troops advanced into eastern Germany.

According to one source, the dumbledore in Thomas Hardy's 1899 poem An August Midnight is a cockchafer. However, in his novel The Mayor of Casterbridge, Hardy uses the dialect word dumbledore to mean a bumble bee.

There have been four Royal Navy ships named HMS Cockchafer.

title: Cockchafer


text:
1964 Greater London Council election

The first election to the Greater London Council (GLC) was held on 9 April 1964.

Background
The election happened at a time of very high political tension, with a general election due in a few months. The GLC did not come into its powers until 1 April 1965, but spent the first year setting up its committee structure and arranging with its predecessor authorities to take over.

Electoral arrangements
New constituencies to be used for elections to Parliament and also for elections to the GLC had not yet been settled, so the London boroughs were used as multi-member 'first past the post' electoral areas. Westminster was joined with the City of London for this purpose. Each electoral area returned between 2 and 4 councillors.

The first election to the Greater London Council took place a month before the first election to the 32 London borough councils on 7 May 1964.

General election of councillors
The Labour Party won a majority of seats at the election.

When the GLC was being planned, it was expected to produce Conservative majorities. However, many suburban Conservative-voting areas had successfully campaigned to be excluded from the Greater London boundaries.

The large constituencies where the winner took all exaggerated Labour's win in votes into a near two-to-one lead in terms of seats. It also made it extremely difficult for the Liberal Party to win any seats.

With an electorate of 5,466,756, there was a turnout of 44.2%. Labour did particularly well to win Bexley and Havering, but performed poorly in Enfield which they might have expected to win. In Tower Hamlets, the Communist Party of Great Britain came in as runners-up with 8% of the vote.

Aldermanic election
In addition to the 100 councillors, there were sixteen aldermen elected by the council. The eight aldermen with the least votes were elected to serve until 1967 and the other eight until 1970. The aldermen were elected on 27 April 1964.

Aldermen elected in 1964, to retire in 1967:

Aldermen elected in 1964, to retire in 1970:

The aldermen divided 11 to Labour and 5 to the Conservatives, and so the overall strength of the parties on the council was 75 Labour to 41 Conservatives after the aldermanic election.

By-elections 1964-1967
Less than a month after the election, Marjorie McIntosh (Labour, Hammersmith) died and precipitated a byelection; however, given that the voters had elected the GLC and the new London boroughs, the parties were short of money and the Conservatives decided not to oppose the Labour candidate who was returned unopposed on 18 June. Oliver Galley (Conservative, Harrow, died in October 1965 and the Conservatives retained his seat at a byelection on 27 January 1966. By the end of the term, there were two seats vacant due to the resignations of Sir Joseph Haygarth (Conservative, Barnet) and Mrs Mavis Webster (Labour, Waltham Forest).

There was one aldermanic by-election in 1965 caused by the resignation of Donald Soper (Labour). Frederick Lionel Tonge (Labour) was elected by the council on 6 July 1965, to serve until 1967.

title: 1964 Greater London Council election


text: User talk:66.161.251.114

title: User talk:66.161.251.114


text:
Melolontha hippocastani

Melolontha hippocastani, the northern cockchafer, is a species of scarab beetle native to Eurasia, with its range spanning from Western Europe to the Pacific coast of China. It is one of several species in the genus Melolontha known as cockchafers, alongside the common cockchafer (Melolontha melolontha) and Melolontha pectoralis, but generally at more northern latitudes, or at higher altitudes in upland woods further south. The adults are around 20–29 mm in length. It is distinguished from Melolontha melolontha by the shape of its pygidium, which is primarily black in colour. It primarily dwells in forests, and as such is also known as the forest cockchafer. The mate-finding behaviour in M. hippocastani is facilitated by plant volatiles and sex pheromones. Mating activities primarily takes place during the evening flight periods. Females lay their eggs in soil, and the larvae feed on decaying organic matter and later small plant roots, including the roots of young trees like pines and firs. The larvae usually develop between 3 and 5 years. They emerge between late April and the end of June. Like other cockchafers, they have been considered a serious pest of crops and trees.

Geographic range
Melolontha hippocastani primarily resides in forest ecosystems in northern Eurasia. Its distribution range spans across most of Europe, excluding the northernmost and southernmost regions. This species extends its habitat into Mongolia, parts of Central Asia, and Siberia. Unlike its counterpart, the common cockchafer, which occupies diverse environments including forested and open areas, M. hippocastani is primarily a forest species, often in taiga forest.

Genetics
Research has probed the genetic diversity in M. hippocastani. Researchers analysed microsatellite loci in over 200 individuals from three primary outbreak areas in Poland, and found significant genetic diversity within subpopulations. This research compared the genetic makeup of M. hippocastani to a different cockchafer beetle, the Melolontha melolontha. They demonstrated that both M. hippocastani and M. melolontha show considerable genetic diversity within subpopulations within sampling sites with minor effects of past bottlenecks possibly masked by current population sizes, which genetic similarities between the species. The estimates of effective population sizes indicated a large number of individuals contributing to further generations of the population, indicating a limited impact of forest management practices on M. hippocastani and M. melolontha alike. However, while genetic differentiation was observed in M. melolontha populations, M. hippocastani populations were genetically similar across populations suggesting a possible historical divergence between the two species. Further research is required to understand M. hippocastani genetic population structure.

Mate searching
Mating behaviour primarily occurs during flight periods at dusk, during which beetles hover around tree tops. During this time, females and males mate several times, and mating lasts for several hours. Then the females oviposit in the soil, which causes severe tree damage from their feeding on tree roots. The swarming flights are mainly performed by males, while females stay in their host trees and continue feeding. Males are subsequently drawn towards damage-induced green leaf volatiles allowing location of mechanically damaged foliage, which allows males to locate females based on the leaves they have eaten. In order to distinguish between nonspecific leaf damage and damage caused by feeding females, male cockchafers orientate by a sex attractant. Research has investigated the role of sex pheromones of the scarab beetle on mating behaviour.

Volatiles and sexual dimorphism
One study demonstrates that male M. hippocastani are attracted to volatiles emitted by damaged leaves and conspecific females. Although both male and female beetles showed a physiological response to these volatiles, only males exhibited behavioural responses, suggesting that the volatile response reflects a mate-finding strategy rather than a search for feeding resources.

A variety of compounds have been analysed in research to identify which compound serves as a sex pheromone in M. hippocastani, and the mechanism by which it takes action. One research study determined that mate-finding behaviour in M. hippocastani is driven by males locating females using olfactory cues such as green leaf volatiles and 1,4-benzoquinone, along with the species' sexual dimorphism. Both males and females contain 1,4-benzoquinone; however studies showed that female extracts provoked a higher number of landings than male extracts. This finding led to further analysis on the quantities of 1,4-benzoquinone in each sex, which were found to be higher in females, suggesting its role in attracting males. This compound, known for its defense function in arthropods, is hypothesised to have evolved into a sex pheromone in M. hippocastani. Thus, research suggests a dual function of benzoquinones as both mate attractants and defense compounds. Further research is exploring other compounds' roles to develop semiochemical-based methods for controlling M. hippocastani populations.

The role of (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol
Additional research investigated whether volatiles from freshly damaged leaves are more attractive to males than those from older damaged leaves. Analysis of volatiles from freshly damaged leaves revealed typical leaf aldehydes, while older damaged leaves predominantly emitted (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol and (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate. Surprisingly, males were equally attracted to volatiles from both fresh and old damaged leaves, with a preference for the latter in synthetic mixture experiments. Further experiments identified (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol as highly attractive to male beetles, while other tested compounds were behaviourally inactive. However, all tested compounds elicited comparable electrophysiological responses on male antennae. Thus, (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol plays a vital role in the sexual communication of M. hippocastani, attracting both sexes of an insect.

Thus, a combination of plant volatiles and sex pheromones allow for males to find feeding females in the trees, facilitating mating behaviour.

Physiology
The mate finding technique performed by these beetles using sex pheromones are performed using specific physiologies. Melolonthinae sex pheromone glands are everted from the abdominal tip. M. hippocastani show sexual dimorphism within the antenna. Male antennae consist of seven large lamellae, while female clubs have only six smaller lamellae, which suggests different olfactory abilities between sexes and the presence of a female derived sex pheromone. Pheromone-degrading enzymes are present in the antennae of M. hippocastani and show considerable substrate specificity.

Life cycle
Once adult female M. hippocastani lay their eggs in the soil, the larvae spend 36 months underground feeding on plant roots. During this time, their growth phase is divided into three distinct phases. They pupate in summer, the year before swarming, and spend their last winter as adults. The following year, in late April to early May, the adult insects emerge from the soil and feed on tree foliage. About 2 weeks after emergence, oviposition flights are observed. Females land on the ground at dusk and burrow into the soil to lay eggs in clusters. The females prefer sandy soils because they facilitate the females' digging, allow for larval movement, and allow volatile compounds from host to spread, facilitating the larval orientation and survival in the soil. Females lay an average of 24 eggs during their first egg-laying phase and 15 during their second egg-laying phase.

Microbiome
Diet and digestion in M. hippocastani are facilitated by microbial symbionts residing in their guts. M. hippocastani larvae guts consist of two large compartments-- a tubular midgut and an enlarged hindgut. The midgut releases hydrolytic enzymes into an alkaline and oxidative environment, which threaten the development of bacterial species. The hindgut is an expanded organ specialised for anaerobic fermentation. Both regions have diverse bacterial communities, which are responsible for gut pH modification, the detoxification of plant allelochemicals and the maintenance of the microbial community structure.

Specifically, these microbes play a crucial role in breaking down woody food components such as lignocelluloses and xylans. When comparing the larvae and adult microbiotes of M. hippocastani, the larvae microbiotes had harsher conditions, yet harboured a richer and more diverse bacterial community compared to adult guts. A core group of bacterial phylotypes was shared between larvae and adults, indicating some degree of stability despite different feeding habits. Little overlap was observed between bacterial species from food or soil contamination and those in the gut, suggesting minimal alteration of bacterial diversity upon ingestion. Some isolates from larvae exhibited enzymatic properties related to digestion. This symbiotic relationship underscores the importance of microbes in the digestive processes across organisms.

Further research on the reactions of M. hippocastani to high manganese (Mn) content in their diet revealed significant effects on their activity and fertility. As the Mn content in their food increased, the activity of adult cockchafers decreased, and females fed on high Mn diets showed zero fertility. Despite the cockchafers' ability for self-detoxification, the presence of Mn in their diet still influenced their activity. It was found that expelling Mn through the digestive system serves as the primary mechanism for the cockchafers' self-detoxification process, showing the relationship between diet, digestion, and physiological responses in M. hippocastani.

Interactions with humans
The parasitic nature of these beetles has caused damage on a wide variety of foliage, which has demanded an abundance of research for strategies to understand M. hippocastani in order to mitigate their harmful impacts and protect the forests in which these beetles are local. For example, in parts of southern Germany, specifically in the states of Hessen, Rheinland-Pfalz, and Baden-Württemberg, mass breeding of M. hippocastani has been observed every 30–40 years, which causes damage from adults feeding on the foliage between April and May. However, this damage can be compensated during a secondary sprouting period in June. Contrarily, grubs that develop within 3–4 years in the forest soil cause severe, long-term damage on young trees by feeding on roots. In northeastern France, specifically in the Vosges Mountains, M. hippocastani populations have been at epidemic levels since 2007, and high larval densities have been recorded, which induces a high mortality risk for forest plantations. Thus, these beetles can cause vast economic and ecological losses in oak-dominated forest. Extensive research continues to be performed on management of these pests. Specifically, research has shown that forests with a dense shrub layer have a negative effect on the density of egg clusters and the number of eggs in the soil, while forests with a canopy openness and the proportion of oak basal area have positive effects. Some theories for the destructive impacts of dense shrubbery on the ability of M. hippocastani to lay eggs in the soil include: the shrub acting as an impenetrable barrier, flight imprecision of the beetle, and the use of olfaction to sense the environment as methods with which the shrubbery could impact the egg laying behaviour. These techniques have potential to understand egg laying patterns to mitigate forest damage.

title: Melolontha hippocastani


text:
Yemassee

Yemassee may refer to:

 * Yamasee, a Native American people
 * Yemassee, South Carolina
 * Yemassee (journal), a literary journal
 * The Yemassee, an 1835 novel by William Gilmore Simms

title: Yemassee