text:
Hierarchy of precious substances

In popular culture, sets of precious substances may form hierarchies which express conventional perceived relative value or merit. Precious metals appear prominently in such hierarchies, but as they grow, gems and semi-precious materials may be introduced as part of the system. The sequences can provide interesting examples of the arbitrariness of semiotic signs.

Traditional manifestations
Jubilees have a hierarchy of years: Wedding anniversaries extend the jubilee hierarchy with various sequences of substances filling in many of the gaps between the same major milestones. In 2017 the 65th anniversary of the accession of Elizabeth II was widely referred to as her "sapphire jubilee" or more specifically as her blue sapphire jubilee (see Sapphire Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II) but more traditionally the sapphire anniversary is considered to be the 45th. In general usage no precious stone is considered to outrank the diamond.

Ancient Greek mythic-cultural cosmology depicted a decline from a golden age to a silver age followed by an Iron Age. In some variants there is a Bronze Age, an interim between the Iron Age and Silver Age.

In Japan, the traditional Sho Chiku Bai (松竹梅) ranking system has a hierarchy of pine 松 (matsu), bamboo 竹 (take), and plum 梅 (ume). This is commonly used by restaurants to indicate how elaborate (and expensive) set meals are.

Modern adaptations
The measurement of sales of popular music starts high relative to the wedding anniversary scale, concentrating on gold and platinum (see gold album). Likewise, credit card companies usually have a "gold card" and a "platinum card" (many formerly had a "silver card" then followed by a "gold card", but due to similarity in appearance between silver and platinum these were often discontinued with the rise in popularity of platinum as a precious metal).

Sports events have a well-established convention (introduced into the Olympic tradition at the 1904 Summer Olympics), of a hierarchy of medals: bronze medal* silver medal* gold medal. This presumably echoes conventional coinage systems, in which cheap bronze or copper denominations could aggregate to intermediate silver coins, then to gold money. The archetypal British designations (penny, shilling and pound) parallel and reflect this hierarchy.

Events-sponsorship in sport or in the arts may involve (for example) silver, gold and/or platinum sponsors.

Fantasy role playing games often have a hierarchy of materials, following the relative strengths of pre-modern metals, bronze, iron and steel, for example, at the lower end, and moving up through fantastic or legendary materials such as mithril and adamant.

The "golden age" metaphor is extended to a number of disciplines, for example the golden age of science fiction.

Some multiplayer video games feature a hierarchy of players that uses precious metal names to distinguish the various levels of skill, often progressing from Bronze to Silver, to Gold, to Platinum, then to Diamond.

title: Hierarchy of precious substances


text:
WBEZ

WBEZ (91.5 FM) – branded WBEZ 91.5 – is a non-commercial educational radio station licensed to Chicago, Illinois, and primarily serving the Chicago metropolitan area. It is owned by Chicago Public Media and is financed by listener contributions, corporate underwriting and some government funding. WBEZ is affiliated with both National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Radio Exchange (PRX). It also broadcasts content from American Public Media and the BBC World Service. It produces several nationally syndicated shows for public radio stations, including This American Life and has a co-production credit for Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, which is produced by NPR.

WBEZ has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 5,700 watts with its transmitter atop the John Hancock Center on North Michigan Avenue. It broadcasts over two HD Radio digital subchannels. It operates full-power repeaters WBEK (91.1 FM) in Kankakee and WBEQ (90.7 FM) in Morris, as well as several FM translators. WBEZ-HD2, carrying a user-generated content format focused on "urban alternative music" and branded Vocalo.org, is also relayed over WBEW (89.5 FM) in Chesterton, Indiana.

Classroom instruction
WBEZ was among the earliest FM stations in Chicago. first went on the air on April 7, 1943, carrying instructional programming for the Chicago Public Schools. However, initially only a few classrooms were able to tune in, because most did not have FM receivers. It originally broadcast at 42.5 MHz, before moving to 91.5 MHz in 1947.

Its transmitter was located atop Chicago's Morrison Hotel and its studios were in the Builders Building. In 1949, the station's transmitter was moved to Marshall Metropolitan High School in Chicago's East Garfield Park neighborhood. As of 2021, it is atop the John Hancock Center.

NPR affiliation
In 1970, WBEZ joined National Public Radio as a charter member and began general programming outside of school hours. Initially, most programming outside of the instructional programs and NPR programs was jazz music. The Board of Education sold the station to the current license holders, the not-for-profit WBEZ Alliance, Inc., in 1990. In September 1995 the parent company and station moved from its old offices to its current location at Navy Pier.

The corporate name was changed in 2010 to Chicago Public Media, Inc. Torey Malatia, the general manager, stepped down in July 2013 after 20 years with the station. Goli Sheikholeslami, formerly of The Washington Post, was appointed as CEO. She took office in April 2014. Goli Sheikholeslami left WBEZ to head New York Public Radio in fall 2019; Steve Edwards, back on staff at WBEZ since 2017, was named interim CEO as of the end of September 2019.

WBEZ broadcasts at 5,700 watts, which on paper is somewhat modest for an NPR member on the FM band. However, with its transmitter being located atop Chicago's second tallest building, its coverage area is largely comparable to Chicago's major commercial FM stations. Even so, some inner suburbs such as Waukegan, Aurora and Elgin only get a grade B signal.

Reduction in music programming
On January 4, 2007, the station's long-time overnight jazz programming was eliminated. The music program remaining on the schedule was the world music program Radio M (formerly Passport and in 2019 re-titled Radio Z) on Friday nights. All other music hosts were to be reassigned to other positions at the station, according to a March 2006 article in the Chicago Reader. The replacement of music programming, which management said was due to the prevalence and popularity of other music delivery systems, caused outrage amongst many in the Chicago jazz scene. Protest sites were organized but were unsuccessful. Legendary jazz disc jockey Dick Buckley retained a time slot Sunday afternoons until mid-2008.

Station management announced a five-year plan for Chicago-oriented programs to cover all seven hours between the national news programs.

Other program changes happened in October 2012, with various programs being reshuffled. At the same time, Smiley and West from PRI was dropped from the Sunday afternoon line-up.

Midday program change
The last day WBEZ aired locally-produced international programming was October 4, 2019, with the final broadcast of Worldview with host Jerome McDonnell, which aired weekdays since 1994. The news on the hour at noon stopped being BBC news October 4, and started being NPR news on Monday October 7, 2019, the start of a week of transition.

A daytime hour of Newshour from the BBC World Service began Monday October 7, 2019, replacing The Morning Shift. Beginning Monday October 14, 2019, a new local talk show called Reset started. It was originally hosted by Jenn White. This was considered a shake-up of midday programs, which had not drawn as large an audience as the NPR morning and afternoon news programs, Morning Edition and All Things Considered.

Programming

Programming on WBEZ includes international news and local news including Curious City, world music, and quiz shows. Notable national programs offered by WBEZ include All Things Considered, Marketplace, Morning Edition, Weekend Edition, PRI's The World and Live From Here. Generally, news and talk programming is heard weekdays and evenings with music and entertainment talk programming on the weekends.

WBEZ is best known nationally as the producer of This American Life through Public Radio Exchange. This American Life began in 1995 as the local show Your Radio Playhouse; it was renamed in March 1996 and has been national since June 1996.

In addition, Chicago Public Media founded Third Coast International Audio Festival, a showcase for independent radio producers, and the producer of the weekly program Re:sound. WBEZ stopped broadcasting Re:sound circa 2019.".

WBEZ was also the flagship station of The Annoying Music Show!, a 3-minute program that showcased generally annoying songs. The program was produced by former WBEZ program director Jim Nayder. Nayder Communications also produced the somewhat more serious Magnificent Obsession, a program of interviews with persons who have overcome various addictions. The station was also once the flagship station of Steve Cushing's nationally distributed Saturday night blues music program Blues Before Sunrise, which started in 1979 and has been independently produced and distributed by Cushing since 1995. Blues Before Sunrise, was eliminated from WBEZ's lineup in the 2007 restructuring, but was taken over by public radio station WDCB in nearby Glen Ellyn.

Its morning magazine program Eight Forty-Eight was initially named after the postal address of the station, 848 East Grand Avenue. The show was renamed to The Morning Shift, and was dropped in October 2019 in favor of a two-hour local talk show midday, called Reset.

The corresponding afternoon program was called The Afternoon Shift. WBEZ touted the program as "a live talk show featuring in-depth interviews and conversations with [mostly local] newsmakers, artists, writers, and innovators". Original host Steve Edwards left the station after a few months, and longtime Chicago Tribune journalist Rick Kogan temporarily replaced him. As of 2013 and the conclusion of Kogan's interim stint, WBEZ introduced Niala Boodhoo as the show's permanent on-air host. In 2015, WBEZ canceled "The Afternoon Shift"; the final episode aired on June 5, 2015.

Another local program heard Monday-through-Friday was Worldview, a global issues program that began in 1986 as Midday with Sondra Gair. After Gair's death in 1994, her producer Jerome McDonnell took over the program and hosted it since. It was heard nationally on Sirius Satellite Radio's now-defunct PRI channel from Sirius' inception until 2006. Worldview aired its last program after 25 years on October 4, 2019.

Chicago Public Media is a founding member of the Public Radio Exchange (PRX), a programming cooperative for public radio stations and independent producers. The rock music talk show Sound Opinions, which moved from WXRT in 2005, was distributed nationally by American Public Media until 2010, when its distribution was transferred to PRX. PRX also distributes the film show Filmspotting.

News and news discussion/documentary programs aired on a weekly basis include Latino USA from NPR; Canadian CBC Radio shows Q, Ideas, and Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly; and Radio Netherlands: The State We're In. Other programs that air weekly include Snap Judgment with Glynn Washington, a story-telling show from PRX and NPR.

Satellites and translators
In addition to its main transmitter on 91.5 FM, WBEZ extends its signal by operating full-power satellite WBEQ/Morris, Illinois (90.7 FM). The station also formerly operated a low-power translator in Elgin, Illinois (W217BM at 91.3). In 2013, Chicago Public Media purchased 91.7 W219CD in Elgin from LifeTalk Radio for $52,500, and W217BM moved to Chicago the following year and changed its frequency to 91.1 as W216CL.

Listeners can also receive the broadcast online with streaming audio, MP3 download or by podcast. , the station drew an estimated 400,000 listeners each week.

Several other radio stations also are or were affiliated with Chicago Public Media.

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

title: WBEZ


text:
John Taylor Gatto

John Taylor Gatto (December 15, 1935 – October 25, 2018 ) was an American author and school teacher. After teaching for nearly 30 years he authored several books on modern education, criticizing its ideology, history, and consequences. He is best known for his books Dumbing Us Down: the Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling, and The Underground History of American Education: A Schoolteacher’s Intimate Investigation Into the Problem of Modern Schooling which criticize the modern education system and promote the concept of unschooling and a return to homeschooling.

Biography
Gatto was born to Andrew Michael Mario and Frances Virginia ( Zimmer) Gatto in Monongahela, Pennsylvania, a steel town near Pittsburgh. In his youth he attended public schools throughout the Pittsburgh Metro Area including Swissvale, Monongahela, and Uniontown as well as a Catholic boarding school in Latrobe. He did undergraduate work at Cornell, the University of Pittsburgh, and Columbia, then served in the U.S. Army medical corps at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Following army service he did graduate work at the City University of New York, Hunter College, Yeshiva University, the University of California, Berkeley, and Cornell.

By the late 1950s he worked as a copywriter scripting commercials in New York City. In the spring of 1960, he borrowed his roommate's teaching license, went into Harlem to work as a substitute teacher. Gatto earned his teaching certificate in the summer of 1960. In 1963, he was hired as a fulltime 8th grade English teacher at Intermediate School 44 on New York City's Upper West Side. Gatto moved on to Lincoln Academy (now Horizons Middle School) in 1981, which was considered a dumping ground for kids with behavior problems. Eventually Gatto found a position teaching predominantly poor, at-risk kids 8th grade students at Booker T. Washington Junior High in Spanish Harlem.

Gatto also ran for the New York State Senate, 29th District in 1985 and 1988 as a member of the Conservative Party of New York against incumbent David Paterson. He was named New York City Teacher of the Year in 1989, 1990, and 1991  and New York State Teacher of the Year in 1991. In 1991, he wrote a letter announcing his retirement, titled I Quit, I Think, to the op-ed pages of the Wall Street Journal, saying that he no longer wished to "hurt kids to make a living." He then began a public speaking and writing career, and has received awards from libertarian organizations, including the Alexis de Tocqueville 1997 Award for Excellence in Advancement of Educational Freedom.

Gatto promoted homeschooling, and specifically unschooling and open source learning.

Gatto was featured in the 2011 Evangelical Christian film IndoctriNation: Public Schools and the Decline of Christianity in America.

In 2011, Gatto had two major strokes which occurred after he completed the filming of The Ultimate History Lesson: A Weekend with John Taylor Gatto which was released in early 2012 by Tragedy and Hope Communications.

Personal life
Gatto was married to Janet (Gatto) with whom he spent half the year in New York City and the other half of the year at their farmhouse in upstate New York.

Main thesis
Gatto asserts the following regarding what school does to children in Dumbing Us Down:

 * 1) It confuses the students. It presents an incoherent ensemble of information that the child needs to memorize to stay in school. Apart from the tests and trials, this programming is similar to the television; it fills almost all the "free" time of children. One sees and hears something, only to forget it again.
 * 2) It teaches them to accept their class affiliation.
 * 3) It makes them indifferent.
 * 4) It makes them emotionally dependent.
 * 5) It makes them intellectually dependent.
 * 6) It teaches them a kind of self-confidence that requires constant confirmation by experts (provisional self-esteem).
 * 7) It makes it clear to them that they cannot hide, because they are always supervised.

Gatto's thesis contained neither sources nor evidence to support these claims. Wade A. Carpenter, associate professor of education at Berry College, has called his books "scathing", "angry" "one-sided and hyperbolic, [but] not inaccurate". Ron Paul endorsed Gatto's work.

Gatto drew a contrast between communities and "networks", with the former being healthy, and schools being examples of the latter. He says networks have become an unhealthy substitute for community in the United States.

He aimed to inspire education advocates and the inception of Praxis tests. This testing measured academic competence and knowledge of specific subjects required for teaching. Praxis tests are taken by potential educators as part of certification required by state and professional licensing entities.

In his essay Against School, Gatto purports to explain the apparent confusion and meaninglessness of public schooling system by exposing its alleged real purpose and function. Gatto references the six functions Alexander Inglis proposes in his 1918 book Principles of Secondary Education, though Gatto does not quote Inglis directly, instead giving his own interpretation of Inglis's meaning.

Articles and essays

 * "Against School." Harper’s Magazine (September 2003), pp. 33–38. "How public education cripples our kids, and why."

Books

 * Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: A Critical Commentary. New York: Monarch Press (1975). ISBN 978-0671009663..
 * Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling. Philadelphia: New Society Publishers (1992). Foreword by Thomas Moore. ISBN 0865714487..
 * The Exhausted School: The First National Grassroots Speakout on the Right to School Choice: Carnegie Hall, New York City. New York: Oxford Village Press (1993). Preface by Patrick Farenga. ISBN 978-0945700029..
 * A Different Kind of Teacher: Solving the Crisis of American Schooling. Berkeley, Calif.: Berkeley Hills Books (2002). ISBN 978-1893163218..
 * The Underground History of American Education. New York: Oxford Village Press (2001). ISBN 978-0945700043..
 * Revised edition (2017) by Oxford Scholars Press (New York) features a foreword is by U.S. Congressman Ron Paul, an introduction by David Ruenzel, and an afterword by Richard Grove of Tragedy and Hope Media.
 * Weapons of Mass Instruction: A Schoolteacher's Journey Through the Dark World of Compulsory Schooling. Gabriola Island, B.C. (Canada): New Society Publishers (2008). ISBN 978-0865716315..
 * The Adventures of Snider, the CIA Spider. Lost Tools Press (2017). Illustrated by Anne Yvonne Gilbert. ISBN 978-0989280037.

Documentaries

 * Human Resources (2010)
 * IndoctriNation: Public Schools and the Decline of Christianity (2011)
 * Thrive: What on Earth Will It Take? (2011)
 * The Ultimate History Lesson: A Weekend with John Taylor Gatto (2012)
 * Sourced transcript.
 * Bibliography and references.

title: John Taylor Gatto


text:
Talk:WBEZ

Article title
Please move this article to either WBEZ-FM or WBEZ-AM, whichever one is correct. 66.32.109.248 01:24, 5 May 2004 (UTC)
 * The station does not have an -FM suffix, according to the FCC, so WBEZ-FM should redirect here (it does now) —User:Mulad (talk) 19:26, May 14, 2005 (UTC)
 * Then, see Category:Atlanta FM radio stations for Radiojon's rule about how to distinguish stations by whether FCC assigns the suffix. (Any disagreements with this rule please explain on Radiojon's talk page. Georgia guy 19:28, 14 May 2005 (UTC)
 * His method has been the exception rather than the rule for Wikipedia. —User:Mulad (talk) 19:36, May 14, 2005 (UTC)
 * Since this page is about a radio station and not a callsign, shouldn't it in fact be at "Chicago Public Radio", and have a separate paragraph introducing the various callsigns? Do the continuity announcers and presenters describe it as "Chicago Public Radio", "WBEZ", "WBEZ, Chicago Public Radio"... ?  Either way, I'm uncomfortable with the wording "WBEZ is the callsign of a radio station" rather than "WBEZ is a radio station" - Wikipedia articles are primarily about things, etymology of the names comes second. Joe D (t) 00:47, 30 November 2005 (UTC)
 * I agreed, so I moved the page. Tedernst | talk 09:14, 10 December 2005 (UTC)
 * "Chicago Public Radio" is correct. To answer Joe D's question further, the continuity announcers always identify the station's three broadcast frequencies and corresponding call signs. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.79.1.42 (talk) 2006-06-22 08:42:26

I've moved this article back to WBEZ after 5 years. The station no longer seems to use the branding Chicago Public Radio for WBEZ/WBEQ specifically, instead using the name Chicago Public Media for all of its projects, including 89.5 WBEW, which is now a separate project named Vocalo. Also, in the last 4 years, naming conventions for radio station articles have become more steady, and are now explained in a separate Naming conventions (broadcasting); note that WBEQ exists primarily as a rebroadcasting station. --Closeapple (talk) 10:22, 1 November 2010 (UTC)

neutrality flag
"Its morning magazine program 848 was perplexingly named after the postal address of the station, 848 East Grand Avenue, although the program originally aired at 9:30. Despite being a 90 minute show, this enterprise also long and weirdly insisted upon the conceit that it had a "second hour."

This paragraph seems to be fairly subjective and opinionated. How could it go about being fixed? | Sommermt 21:02, 5 April 2006 (UTC)

 * I rewrote the "originally aired at 9:30" part, and removed the 90 minute / second hour part.  If it's important enough, and can be written in an NPOV manner, feel free to reinstate a rewritten sentence about the "second hour".  --Interiot 14:02, 14 April 2006 (UTC)

From where does WBEZ broadcast?
Other articles on radio stations give a physical location for broadcasting. This article says instead, broadcasts in HD, in the lead. I came to the article wondering if WBEZ broadcasts from Sears Tower, like WFMT. I still do not know. Once here, I edited the History section, adding information from the current program changes and the change in CEO, also current at the start of October 2019. Does anyone the place from which WBEZ broadcasts?. —Prairieplant (talk) 09:35, 6 October 2019 (UTC)
 * Perhaps WBEZ and/or the building keeps the transmitter & antenna location out of the public eye on purpose, to foil any possible sabotage. It appears that WBEZ once used a broacast antenna on the Sears/Willis Tower.  This source - https://radio-locator.com/info/WBEZ-FM - indicates, without giving any proof or source, that WBEZ broadcast from the top of the John Hancock Center, as of 2021. The Wikipedia article on the John Hancock Center gives no details about its "antenna farm"; ditto for the Center's website. Acwilson9 (talk) 04:29, 22 January 2022 (UTC)

WBEZ article and Chicago Public Media article: possible redundancies
Presently, the WBEZ article and Chicago Public Media article are partially redundant with each other. This causes problems for keeping both of the articles up to date, especially with respect to the radio programs produced and aired. (As of several days ago, both articles had stale text discussing, as if they still airing, several programs that were discontinued several years ago; I corrected these sentences as best I could, while lacking exact-year sources.)

I propose that we move all text about radio programs produced and aired to only one of these two articles. I'm thinking, but could be convinced otherwise, that that would be in the Chicago Public Media article. I solicit the thoughts of other Wikipedia editors about this. To keep this discussion all in one place, please add all of your comments on this proposal to Talk:Chicago_Public_Media, and NOT to Talk:WBEZ.

(Notes:
 * I'm not sure hwo to incorporate, or not, the Vocalo/WBEW programming into my proposal.)
 * I do NOT propose that we combine the two articles, most especially because non-profit Chicago Public Media is about to expand into the newspaper business via a "white knight" acquisition of the Chicago Sun-Times, which until now has been nominally for-profit.) Acwilson9 (talk) 05:20, 22 January 2022 (UTC)

title: Talk:WBEZ


text:
United Nations Human Rights Council

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. The headquarters of the Council are at the United Nations Office at Geneva in Switzerland.

The Council investigates allegations of breaches of human rights in United Nations member states and addresses thematic human rights issues like freedom of association and assembly, freedom of expression, freedom of belief and religion, women's rights, LGBT rights, and the rights of racial and ethnic minorities.

The Council was established by the United Nations General Assembly on 15 March 2006 to replace the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR, herein CHR). The Council works closely with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and engages the United Nations special procedures. The Council has been strongly criticized for including member countries that engage in human rights abuses.

Structure
The members of the General Assembly elect the members who occupy 47 seats of the Human Rights Council. The term of each seat is three years, and no member may occupy a seat for more than two consecutive terms. The previous CHR had a membership of 53 elected by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) through a majority of those present and voting.

Sessions
The UNHRC holds regular sessions three times a year, in March, June, and September. The UNHRC can decide at any time to hold a special session to address human rights violations and emergencies, at the request of one-third of the member states. , there have been 36 special sessions.

Members
The Council consists of 47 members, elected yearly by the General Assembly for staggered three-year terms. Members are selected via the basis of equitable geographic rotation using the United Nations regional grouping system. Members are eligible for re-election for one additional term, after which they must relinquish their seat.

The seats are distributed along the following lines:
 * 13 for the African Group
 * 13 for the Asia-Pacific Group
 * 6 for the Eastern European Group
 * 8 for the Latin American and Caribbean Group
 * 7 for the Western European and Others Group

Suspensions
The General Assembly can suspend the rights and privileges of any Council member that it decides has persistently committed gross and systematic violations of human rights during its term of membership. The suspension process requires a two-thirds majority vote by the General Assembly. The resolution establishing the UNHRC states that "when electing members of the Council, Member States shall take into account the contribution of candidates to the promotion and protection of human rights and their voluntary pledges and commitments made thereto", and that "members elected to the Council shall uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights".

Under those provisions, and in response to a recommendation made by the Council's members, on 1 March 2011 the General Assembly voted to suspend Libya's membership in the light of the situation in the country in the wake of Muammar Gaddafi's "violent crackdown on anti-government protestors"; Libya was reinstated as a Council member on 18 November 2011.

On 7 April 2022, just days after photographic and video material of the Bucha massacre emerged, the eleventh emergency special session of the General Assembly suspended Russia from the council due to the gross and systematic violations of human rights committed during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Deputy Permanent Representative Gennady Kuzmin said that Russia had withdrawn from the council earlier in the day in expectation of the vote. Russia was only the second Human Rights Council member to be suspended from the UN body, after Libya in 2011, and it was the first permanent member of the UN Security Council to be suspended from any United Nations body.

Universal Periodic Review Working Group
An important component of the Council consists of a periodic review of all 193 UN member states, called the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). The mechanism is based on reports coming from different sources, one of them being contributions from non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Each country's situation will be examined during a three-and-a-half-hour debate.

The first cycle of the UPR took place between 2008 and 2011, the second cycle between 2012 and 2016, and the third cycle began in 2017 and is expected to be completed in 2021.

The General Assembly resolution establishing the Council provided that "the Council shall review its work and functioning five years after its establishment". The main work of the review was undertaken in an Intergovernmental Working Group established by the Council in its Resolution 12/1 of 1 October 2009. The review was finalized in March 2011, by the adoption of an "Outcome" at the Council's 16th session, annexed to Resolution 16/21.

First cycle: The following terms and procedures were set out in General Assembly Resolution 60/251:
 * Reviews are to occur over a four-year period (48 countries per year). Accordingly, the 193 countries that are members of the United Nations shall normally all have such a Review between 2008 and 2011;
 * The order of review should follow the principles of universality and equal treatment;
 * All Member States of the Council will be reviewed while they sit at the Council and the initial members of the Council will be first;
 * The selection of the countries to be reviewed must respect the principle of equitable geographical allocation;
 * The first Member States and the first observatory States to be examined will be selected randomly in each regional group to guarantee full compliance with the equitable geographical allocation. Reviews shall then be conducted alphabetically.

Second cycle: HRC Resolution 16/21 brought the following changes:
 * Reviews are to occur over a four-and-a-half-year period (42 countries per year). Accordingly, the 193 countries that are members of the United Nations shall normally all have such a Review between 2012 and 2016;
 * The order of review will be similar to the 1st cycle;
 * The length of each Review will be extended from three to three-and-a-half hours;
 * The second and subsequent cycles of the review should focus on, inter alia, the implementation of the recommendations.

Similar mechanisms exist in other organizations: International Atomic Energy Agency, Council of Europe, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States, and the World Trade Organization.

Advisory Committee
The Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights was the main subsidiary body of the CHR. The Sub-Commission was composed of 26 elected human rights experts whose mandate was to conduct studies on discriminatory practices and to make recommendations to ensure that racial, national, religious, and linguistic minorities are protected by law.

In 2006, the newly created UNHRC assumed responsibility for the Sub-Commission. The Sub-Commission's mandate was extended for one year (to June 2007), but it met for the final time in August 2006. At its final meeting, the Sub-Commission recommended the creation of a Human Rights Consultative Committee to provide advice to the UNHRC.

In September 2007, the UNHRC decided to create an Advisory Committee to provide expert advice with 18 members, distributed as follows: five from African states; five from Asian states; three from Latin American and Caribbean states; three from Western European and other states; and two members from Eastern European states.

Complaint procedure
The UNHRC complaint procedure was established on 18 June 2007 (by UNHRC Resolution 5/1) for reporting of consistent patterns of gross and reliably attested violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms in any part of the world and under any circumstances.

The UNHRC set up two working groups for its Complaint Procedure:

 * the Working Group on Communications (WGC) – consists of five experts designated by the Advisory Committee from among its members, one from each regional group. The experts serve for three years with the possibility of one renewal. The experts determine whether a complaint deserves investigation, in which case it is passed to the WGS.
 * the Working Group on Situations (WGS) – has five members, appointed by the regional groups from among its members on the Council for one year, which is renewable once. The WGS meets twice a year for five working days to examine the communications transferred to it by the WGC, including the replies of states thereon, as well as the situations which are already before the UNHRC under the complaint procedure. The WGS, on the basis of the information and recommendations provided by the WGC, presents the UNHRC with a report on consistent patterns of gross and reliably attested violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms and makes recommendations to the UNHRC on the course of actions to take.

 * Filing a complaint

The Chairman of the WGC screens complaints for admissibility. A complaint must be in writing, and cannot be anonymous. Examples provided by the UNHRC of cases that would be considered consistent patterns of gross human rights violations include alleged deterioration of human rights of people belonging to a minority, including forced evictions, racial segregation and substandard living conditions, and alleged degrading situation of prison conditions for both detainees and prison workers, resulting in violence and death of inmates. Individuals, groups, or NGOs can claim to be victims of human rights violations or that have direct, reliable knowledge of such violations.

Complaints can be regarding any state, regardless of whether it has ratified a particular treaty. Complaints are confidential and the UNHRC will only communicate with the complainant, unless it decides that the complaint will be addressed publicly.

The interaction with the complainant and the UNHRC during the complaints procedure will be on an as-needed basis. UNHRC Resolution 5/1, paragraph 86, emphasizes that the procedure is victims-oriented. Paragraph 106 provides that the complaint procedure shall ensure that complainants are informed of the proceedings at the key stages. The WGC may request further information from complainants or a third party.

Following the initial screening a request for information will be sent to the state concerned, which shall reply within three months of the request being made. WGS will then report to the UNHRC, which will usually be in the form of a draft resolution or decision on the situation referred to in the complaint.

The UNHRC will decide on the measures to take in a confidential manner as needed, but this will occur at least once a year. As a general rule, the period of time between the transmission of the complaint to the state concerned and consideration by the UNHRC shall not exceed 24 months. Those individuals or groups who make a complaint should not publicly state the fact that they have submitted a complaint.

To be accepted complaints must:
 * be in writing and submitted in one of the six UN official languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish);
 * contain a description of the relevant facts (including names of alleged victims, dates, location, and other evidence), with as much detail as possible, and shall not exceed 15 pages;
 * not be manifestly politically motivated;
 * not be exclusively based on reports disseminated by mass media;
 * not be already dealt with by a special procedure, a treaty body, or other United Nations or similar regional complaints procedure in the field of human rights;
 * be after domestic remedies have been exhausted, unless it appears that such remedies would be ineffective or unreasonably prolonged;
 * not use a language that is abusive or insulting.

The complaint procedure is not designed to provide remedies in individual cases or to provide compensation to alleged victims.

 * Effectiveness

Due to the confidential manner of the procedure, it is almost impossible to find out what complaints have passed through the procedure and also how effective the procedure is.

There is a principle of non-duplication, which means that the complaint procedure cannot take up the consideration of a case that is already being dealt with by a special procedure, a treaty body or other United Nations or similar regional complaints procedure in the field of human rights.

On the UNHRC website under the complaints procedure section there is a list of situations referred to the UNHRC under the complaint procedure since 2006. This was only available to the public as of 2014, however generally does not give any details regarding the situations that were under consideration other than the state that was involved.

In some cases the information is slightly more revealing, for example a situation that was listed was the situation of trade unions and human rights defenders in Iraq that was considered in 2012, but the UNHRC decided to discontinue that consideration.

The complaints procedure has been said to be too lenient due to its confidential manner. Some have often questioned the value of the procedure, but 94% of states respond to the complaints raised with them.

The OHCHR receives between 11,000 and 15,000 communications per year. During 2010–11, 1,451 out of 18,000 complaints were submitted for further action by the WGC. The UNHRC considered four complaints in their 19th session in 2012. The majority of the situations that have been considered have since been discontinued.

History shows that the procedure works almost in a petition like way; if enough complaints are received then the UNHRC is very likely to assign a special rapporteur to the state or to the issue at hand. It has been said that an advantage of the procedure is the confidential manner, which offers the ability to engage with the state concerned through a more [diplomatic] process, which can produce better results than a more adversarial process of public accusation.

The procedure is considered by some a useful tool to have at the disposal on the international community for situations where naming and shaming has proved ineffective. Also another advantage is that a complaint can be made against any state, regardless of whether it has ratified a particular treaty.

Due to the limited information that is provided on the complaints procedure it is hard to make comments on the process itself, the resources it uses versus its effectiveness.

Other subsidiary bodies
In addition to the UPR, the Complaint Procedure, and the Advisory Committee, the UNHRC's other subsidiary bodies include:

 * Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which replaced the CHR's Working Group on Indigenous Populations
 * Forum on Minority Issues, a platform for promoting dialogue and cooperation on issues pertaining to national or ethnic, religious, and linguistic minorities
 * Social Forum, a space for dialogue between the representatives of Member States, civil society, including grass-roots organizations, and intergovernmental organizations on issues linked with the national and international environment needed for the promotion of the enjoyment of all human rights by all. It was established in 1997 in response to concerns regarding the impact of globalization on the realization of economic, social, and cultural rights. The appointment of Iran as Chair of the 2023 HRC Social Forum, which focused on "the contribution of science, technology, and innovation to promoting human rights, including in the context of post-pandemic recovery", drew condemnation.

Special procedures
"Special procedures" is the general name given to the mechanisms established by the Human Rights Council to gather expert observations and advice on human rights issues in all parts of the world. Special procedures are categorized as either thematic mandates, which focus on major phenomena of human rights abuses worldwide, or country mandates, which report on human rights situations in specific countries or territories. Special procedures can be either individuals (called "special rapporteurs" or "independent experts"), who are intended to be independent experts in a particular area of human rights, or working groups, usually composed of five members (one from each UN region). As of August 2017 there were 44 thematic and 12 country mandates.

The mandates of the special procedures are established and defined by the resolution creating them. Various activities can be undertaken by mandate-holders, including responding to individual complaints, conducting studies, providing advice on technical cooperation, and engaging in promotional activities. Generally the special procedures mandate-holders report to the Council at least once a year on their findings.

Special procedures mandate-holders
Mandate-holders of the special procedures serve in their personal capacity, and do not receive pay for their work. The independent status of the mandate-holders is crucial to be able to fulfill their functions in all impartiality. The OHCHR provides staffing and logistical support to aid each mandate-holders in carrying out their work.

Applicants for Special Procedures mandates are reviewed by a Consultative Group of five countries, one from each region. Following interviews by the Consultative Group, the Group provides a shortlist of candidates to the UNHRC President. Following consultations with the leadership of each regional grouping, the President presents a single candidate to be approved by the Member states of the UNHRC at the session following a new mandate's creation or on the expiration of the term of an existing mandate holder.

Country mandates must be renewed yearly by the UNHRC; thematic mandates must be renewed every three years. Mandate-holders, whether holding a thematic or country-specific mandate, are generally limited to six years of service.

The list of thematic special procedures mandate-holders can be found here: United Nations special rapporteur

Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression

The amendments to the duties of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, passed by the Human Rights Council on 28 March 2008, gave rise to sharp criticism from western countries and human rights NGOs. The additional duty is phrased thus:

 * (d) To report on instances in which the abuse of the right of freedom of expression constitutes an act of racial or religious discrimination, taking into account articles 19 (3) and 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and general comment No. 15 of the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which stipulates that the prohibition of the dissemination of all ideas based upon racial superiority or hatred is compatible with the freedom of opinion and expression

(quoted from p. 67 in the official draft record of the council). The amendment was proposed by Egypt and Pakistan and passed by 27 votes to 15 against, with three abstentions with the support of other members of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, China, Russia, and Cuba. As a result of the amendment over 20 of the original 53 co-sponsors of the main resolution – to renew the mandate of the Special Rapporteur – withdrew their support, though the resolution was carried by 32 votes to 0, with 15 abstentions. Inter alia the delegates from India and Canada protested that the Special Rapporteur now has as his/her duty to report not only infringements of the rights to freedom of expression, but in some cases also employment of the rights, which "turns the special rapporteur's mandate on its head".

Outside the UN, the amendment was criticised by organizations including Reporters Without Borders, Index on Censorship, Human Rights Watch, and the International Humanist and Ethical Union, all of whom share the view that the amendment threatens freedom of expression.

In terms of the finally cast votes, this was far from the most controversial of the 36 resolutions adapted by the 7th session of the Council. The highest dissents concerned combating defamation of religions, with 21 votes for, 10 against, and 14 abstentions (resolution 19, pp. 91–97), and the continued severe condemnation of and appointment of a Special Rapporteur for North Korea, with votes 22–7 and 18 abstentions (resolution 15, pp. 78–80). There were also varying degrees of dissent for most of the various reports criticising Israel; while on the other hand a large number of resolutions were taken unanimously without voting, including the rather severe criticism of Myanmar (resolutions 31 and 32), and the somewhat less severe on Sudan (resolution 16).

Israel and Palestine
The special rapporteur on the question of Palestine to the previous UNCHR, the current UNHRC and the General Assembly was, between 2001 and 2008, John Dugard. Bayefski quotes him as saying that his mandate is to "investigate human rights violations by Israel, not by Palestinians".

2006 creation of Agenda Item 7
A particular criticism is its focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at each session as Agenda Item 7 (out of 10), the Council voting on 30 June 2006 to review the "Human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories".

"Item 7. Human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories
 * Human rights violations and implications of the Israeli occupation of Palestine and other occupied Arab territories
 * Right to self-determination of the Palestinian people"

The council voted on 30 June 2006 to make a review of alleged human rights abuses by Israel a permanent feature of every council session. The council's special rapporteur on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict is its only expert mandate with no year of expiry. The resolution, which was sponsored by Organisation of the Islamic Conference, passed by a vote of 29 to 12 with five abstentions. Human Rights Watch urged it to look at international human rights and humanitarian law violations committed by Palestinian armed groups as well. Human Rights Watch called on the Council to avoid the selectivity that discredited its predecessor and urged it to hold special sessions on other urgent situations, such as that in Darfur.

None of the nine other items deals exclusively with a specific conflict. The council's special rapporteur on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the council's only expert mandate with no year of expiry. In 2006, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan argued that the Commission should not have a "disproportionate focus on violations by Israel. Not that Israel should be given a free pass. Absolutely not. But the Council should give the same attention to grave violations committed by other states as well".

On 20 June 2007, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement that read: "The Secretary-General is disappointed at the council's decision to single out only one specific regional item given the range and scope of allegations of human rights violations throughout the world."

Former president of the council Doru Costea, the European Union, Canada, and the United States have accused the UNHRC of focusing disproportionately on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and Israel's occupation of the West Bank. Many allege an anti-Israel bias – the Council has resolved more resolutions condemning Israel than the rest of the world combined.

British politician Boris Johnson, then serving as Foreign Secretary, said on 18 June 2018: "We share the view that a dedicated agenda item focused solely on Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories is disproportionate and damaging to the cause of peace."

January 2008 decree
UNHRC released a statement calling on Israel to stop its military operations in the Gaza Strip and to open the Strip's borders to allow the entry of food, fuel and medicine. UNHRC adopted the resolution by a vote of 30 to 1, with 15 states abstaining.

"Unfortunately, neither this resolution nor the current session addressed the role of both parties. It was regretful that the current draft resolution did not condemn the rocket attacks on Israeli civilians," said Canada's representative Terry Cormier, the lone voter against.

The United States and Israel boycotted the session. U.S. ambassador Warren Tichenor said the Council's unbalanced approach had "squandered its credibility" by failing to address continued rocket attacks against Israel. "Today's actions do nothing to help the Palestinian people, in whose name the supporters of this session claim to act," he said in a statement. "Supporters of a Palestinian state must avoid the kind of inflammatory rhetoric and actions that this session represents, which only stoke tensions and erode the chances for peace", he added. "We believe that this council should deplore the fact that innocent civilians on both sides are suffering", Slovenian Ambassador Andrej Logar said on behalf of the seven EU states on the council.

At a press conference in Geneva on Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon responded when asked about its special session on Gaza, that "I appreciate that the council is looking in-depth into this particular situation. And it is rightly doing so. I would also appreciate it if the council will be looking with the same level of attention and urgency at all other matters around the world. There are still many areas where human rights are abused and not properly protected", he said.

March 2008: appointment of Richard Falk as special rapporteur
Dugard was succeeded in 2008 by Richard Falk, who has compared Israel's treatment of Palestinians with the Nazis' treatment of Jews during the Holocaust. Like his predecessor, Falk's mandate only covers Israel's human rights record. The Palestinian Authority has informally asked Falk to resign, among other reasons due to viewing him as "a partisan of Hamas". Falk disputes this and has called the reasons given "essentially untrue". In July 2011, Richard Falk posted a cartoon that critics have described as anti-Semitic onto his blog. The cartoon depicted a bloodthirsty dog with the word "USA" on it wearing a kippah, or Jewish headcovering. In response, Falk was heavily criticized by world leaders in the United States and certain European countries. The United States called Falk's behavior "shameful and outrageous" and "an embarrassment to the United Nations", and officially called on him to resign. Former U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the former chairwoman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, called on Falk to resign as well. The Anti-Defamation League described the cartoon as a "message of hatred". According to a UN press release, then Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Itzhak Levanon strongly criticized the appointment of Falk as the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. Ambassador Levanon stated that Falk had written in an article that it was not "an irresponsible overstatement to associate the treatment of Palestinians with the criminalized Nazi record of collective atrocity," arguing that "someone who had publicly and repeatedly stated such views could not possibly be considered independent, impartial or objective". The Israeli government announced it would deny Falk a visa to Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, at least until the September 2008 meeting of the Human Rights Council.

The U.S. and Canadian representatives also criticized the appointment, while a Palestinian representative approved of it.

The rapporteur between 2008 and 2014, Richard A. Falk, has been accused of being antisemitic.

April 2009: Gaza report
On 3 April 2009, South African Judge Richard Goldstone was named as the head of the independent United Nations Fact-Finding Mission to investigate international human rights and humanitarian law violations related to the Gaza War. The Mission was established by Resolution S-9/1 of the United Nations Human Rights Council.

On 15 September 2009, the UN Fact-Finding mission released its report which found that there was evidence "indicating serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law were committed by Israel during the Gaza conflict, and that Israel committed actions amounting to war crimes, and possibly crimes against humanity". The mission also found that there was evidence that "Palestinian armed groups committed war crimes, as well as possibly crimes against humanity, in their repeated launching of rockets and mortars into Southern Israel". The mission called for referring either side in the conflict to the UN Security Council for prosecution at the International Criminal Court if they refuse to launch fully independent investigations by December 2009.

Goldstone has since partially retracted the report's conclusions that Israel committed war crimes, as new evidence has shed light upon the decision making by Israeli commanders. He said, "I regret that our fact-finding mission did not have such evidence explaining the circumstances in which we said civilians in Gaza were targeted, because it probably would have influenced our findings about intentionality and war crimes."

Goldstone acknowledged that Israel has "to a significant degree" implemented the report's recommendations that "each party to investigate [the incidents] transparently and in good faith," but "Hamas has done nothing". The Palestinian Authority has also implemented the report's recommendations by investigating "assassinations, torture and illegal detentions, perpetrated by Fatah in the West Bank", but Goldstone noted that "most of those allegations were confirmed by this inquiry".

July 2015: resolution
On 3 July 2015, UNHRC voted Resolution A/HRC/29/L.35 "ensuring accountability and justice for all violations of international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem". It passed by 41 votes in favor including the eight sitting EU members (France, Germany, Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Latvia and Estonia), one against (the United States) and five absentions (India, Kenya, Ethiopia, Paraguay and the Republic of Macedonia). India explained that its abstention was due to the reference to International Criminal Court (ICC) in the resolution whereas "India is not a signatory to the Rome Statute establishing the ICC".

2018 onwards
On 19 June 2018, the United States pulled out of the UNHRC accusing the body of bias against Israel and a failure to hold human rights abusers accountable. Nikki Haley, US Ambassador to the UN, called the organisation a "cesspool of political bias". At UNHRC's 38th Session on 2 July 2018, Western nations de facto boycotted Agenda Item 7 by not speaking to it. Israel had been condemned in 78 resolutions by the Council since its creation in 2006—more resolutions condemning Israel than the rest of the world combined. By April 2007, the Council had passed eleven resolutions condemning Israel, the only country which it had specifically condemned. Conversely, towards Sudan, a country with human rights abuses documented by the Council's working groups, it has expressed "deep concern".

On 9 July 2021, Michael Lynk, the Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, addressing a session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva said that Israeli settlements in the West Bank amount to a war crime, and calling on countries to inflict a cost on Israel for its illegal occupation. Israel, which does not recognize Lynk's mandate, boycotted the session.

On 21 March 2022, Lynk submitted a report, stating that Israel's control over the West Bank and Gaza Strip amounts to apartheid, an "institutionalised regime of systematic racial oppression and discrimination". The Israeli Foreign Ministry and other Israeli and Jewish organizations labelled Lynk as hostile to Israel and the report baseless.

Following the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis, the council voted on 27 May 2021 to set up a United Nations fact-finding mission to investigate possible war crimes and other abuses committed in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. The commission will report to the Human Rights Council annually from June 2022. Unlike previous fact finding missions the inquiry is open ended and will examine "all underlying root causes of recurrent tensions, instability and protraction of conflict, including systematic discrimination and repression based on national, ethnic, racial or religious identity."

Accusations of bias against Israel
Speaking at the IDC's Herzliya Conference in Israel in January 2008, Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen criticized the actions of the Human Rights Council actions against Israel. "At the United Nations, censuring Israel has become something of a habit, while Hamas's terror is referred to in coded language or not at all. The Netherlands believes the record should be set straight, both in New York and at the Human Rights Council in Geneva", Verhagen said.

At UNHRC's opening session in February 2011, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticized the council's "structural bias" against the State of Israel: "The structural bias against Israel – including a standing agenda item for Israel, whereas all other countries are treated under a common item – is wrong. And it undermines the important work we are trying to do together."

In March 2012, the UNHRC was criticized for facilitating an event in the UN Geneva building featuring a Hamas politician. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu castigated the UNHRC's decision stating, "He represents an organization that indiscriminately targets children and grown-ups, and women and men. Innocents – is their special favorite target". Israel's ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor denounced the speech stating that Hamas was an internationally recognized terrorist organization that targeted civilians. "Inviting a Hamas terrorist to lecture to the world about human rights is like asking Charles Manson to run the murder investigation unit at the NYPD", he said.

The United States urged UNHRC in Geneva to stop its anti-Israel bias. It took particular exception to the council's Agenda Item 7, under which at every session, Israel's human rights record is debated. No other country has a dedicated agenda item. The US Ambassador to UNHRC Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe said that the United States was deeply troubled by the "Council's biased and disproportionate focus on Israel." She said that the hypocrisy was further exposed in the Golan Heights resolution that was advocated by the Syrian regime at a time when it was murdering its own citizens.

Indigenous peoples (EMRIP)
The Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) was established by the Human Rights Council, in 2007, with its mandate amended in September 2016. This body provides the HRC with expert advice on the rights of indigenous peoples, and helps member states to achieve the goals of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

United States and UNHRC President
The Council's charter preserves the watchdog's right to appoint special investigators for countries whose human rights records are of particular concern, something many developing states have long opposed. A Council meeting in Geneva in 2007 caused controversy after Cuba and Belarus, both accused of abuses, were removed from a list of nine special mandates. The list, which included North Korea, Cambodia and Sudan, had been carried forward from the defunct Commission. Commenting on Cuba and Belarus, the UN statement said that Ban noted "that not having a Special Rapporteur assigned to a particular country does not absolve that country from its obligations under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

The United States said a day before the UN statement that the Council deal raised serious questions about whether the new body could be unbiased. Alejandro Wolff, US Deputy Permanent Representative at the United Nations, accused the council of "a pathological obsession with Israel" and also denounced its action on Cuba and Belarus. The UNHRC President Doru Costea said that he agreed with Wolff, saying that the functioning of the Council needed continuous improvement. He added that the Council must examine the behaviour of all parties involved in complex disputes and not place just one state under the magnifying glass.

Defamation of religion
From 1999 to 2011, the CHR and the UNHRC adopted resolutions in opposition to the "defamation of religion".

Climate change
The Human Rights Council has adopted the Resolution 10/4 about human rights and climate change. At its 48th the Council in Resolution 13 (A/HRC/48/13) recognized the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.

2006: Lebanon conflict
At its Second Special Session in August 2006, the Council announced the establishment of a High-Level Commission of Inquiry charged with probing allegations that Israel systematically targeted and killed Lebanese civilians during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict. The resolution was passed by a vote of 27 in favour to 11 against, with 8 abstentions. Before and after the vote several member states and NGOs objected that by targeting the resolution solely at Israel and failing to address Hezbollah attacks on Israeli civilians, the Council risked damaging its credibility. The members of the Commission of Inquiry, as announced on 1 September 2006, were Clemente Baena Soares of Brazil, Mohamed Chande Othman of Tanzania, and Stelios Perrakis of Greece. The Commission noted that its report on the conflict would be incomplete without fully investigating both sides, but that "the Commission is not entitled, even if it had wished, to construe [its charter] as equally authorizing the investigation of the actions by Hezbollah in Israel", as the Council had explicitly prohibited it from investigating the actions of Hezbollah.

2015: Eritrea
In June 2015, a 500-page UNHRC report accused Eritrea's government of widespread human rights violations. These were alleged to include extrajudicial executions, torture, indefinitely prolonged national service and forced labour, and widespread sexual harassment, rape and sexual servitude by state officials. The Guardian said that the report "catalogues a litany of human rights violations by the 'totalitarian' regime of President Isaias Afwerki 'on a scope and scale seldom witnessed elsewhere. The report also asserted that these serial violations might amount to crimes against humanity.

The Eritrean Foreign Ministry responded by describing the Commission's report as "wild allegations", "totally unfounded and devoid of all merit", and countercharged the UNHRC with "vile slanders and false accusations".

The vice chairperson of the subcommittee on human rights at the European Parliament said the report detailed "very serious human rights violations", and said that EU funding for development would not continue as at present without change in Eritrea.

August 2018: Myanmar
In August 2018, the UNHRC released a research report concluding that six generals in Myanmar armed forces should be prosecuted for war crimes as related to the genocide against the Rohingya Muslims. The UNHRC conducted 875 individual interviews as part of this research, confirming that the Myanmar army led a pogrom that claimed the lives of more than 10,000 Rohingyas.

2018–2019: Yemen
A 2019 report for the UNHRC has said the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have committed war crimes during the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen.

November 2020: Egypt
The United Nations condemned the November 2020 arrest of three Egyptian human rights advocates of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR). The activists were charged and detained for having a connection to terror groups. EIPR said the detention was a "clear and co-ordinated response" of their work against human rights violations in the country and the detention of the head of EIPR, Gasser Abdel-Razek, was an attempt to end the human rights work in Egypt.

2022: Russia's invasion of Ukraine
The United Nations Human Rights Council voted 32–2 on 4 March 2022, with 13 abstentions, to create the International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, an independent committee of three human rights experts with a mandate to investigate alleged violations of human rights and of international humanitarian law in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

At its eleventh emergency special session, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution, with the required two-thirds majority of voting members, to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council over reports of gross and systematic violations and abuses of human rights in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The measure required a two-thirds majority of the countries present and voting, not counting abstentions. The measure passed with 93 in favor, 24 against and 58 abstentions. After the suspension, Russia's Deputy Permanent Representative, Gennady Kuzmin, announced that Russia had decided to withdraw its Human Rights Council membership altogether. Doing so, Russia restored its rights as an observer to participate in the council's proceedings, while it lost the possibility to have its membership reinstated and to vote or present motions.

November 2022: Iran
On November 24, 2022, the council held a special session on the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran, in particular with regard to women and children.

April 2024: Israel
On April 5, 2024, the council held a special session on the deteriorating possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip, in particular with regard to genocide in Gaza. The council voted in favour of a halt in all arms sales to Israel.

Syria
In July 2012, Syria announced that it would seek a UNHRC seat. This was while there was serious evidence (provided by numerous human rights organizations including the UN itself) that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had authorised and funded the slaughter of thousands of civilians, with estimates of 14,000 civilians being killed as of July 2012 during the Syrian civil war. According to UN Watch, Syria's candidacy was virtually assured under the prevailing election system. Syria would have been responsible for promoting human rights if elected. In response, the United States and European Union drafted a resolution to oppose the move. In the end, Syria was not on the ballot for the 12 November 2012 election to UNHRC.

Sudan and Ethiopia
In July 2012, it was reported that Sudan and Ethiopia were nominated for a UNHRC seat, despite being accused by human rights organizations of grave human rights violations. UN Watch condemned the move to nominate Sudan, pointing out that Sudan's President Omar Al-Bashir was indicted for genocide by the International Criminal Court. According to UN Watch, Sudan was virtually assured of securing a seat. A joint letter of 18 African and international civil society organizations urged foreign ministers of the African Union to reverse its endorsement of Ethiopia and Sudan for a seat, accusing them of serious human rights violations and listing examples of such violations, and stating that they should not be rewarded with a seat. Sudan was not on the ballot for the 12 November 2012 election to UNHRC, but Ethiopia was elected.

Saudi Arabia

In September 2015, Faisal bin Hassan Trad, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the UN in Geneva, was elected Chair of the UNHRC Advisory Committee, the panel that appoints independent experts. UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer said: "It is scandalous that the UN chose a country that has beheaded more people this year [2015] than ISIS to be head of a key human rights panel. Petro-dollars and politics have trumped human rights." Saudi Arabia also shut down criticism, during the UN meeting. In January 2016, Saudi Arabia executed the prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr who had called for free elections in Saudi Arabia.

On 13 October 2020, Saudi Arabia lost its bid to win a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council. Saudi Arabia and China were competing for membership in a five-way race for four spots with Pakistan, Uzbekistan, and Nepal. China received 139 votes, Uzbekistan 164, Pakistan 169 votes, and Saudi Arabia came in fifth with 90 votes, beaten by Nepal with 150 votes. Human Rights Watch condemned the candidacy filed by China and Saudi Arabia, calling them "two of the world's most abusive governments".

Venezuela
When the UN General Assembly voted to add Venezuela to the UN Human Rights Council in October 2019, US Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft wrote: "I am personally aggrieved that 105 countries voted in favor of this affront to human life and dignity. It provides ironclad proof that the Human Rights Council is broken, and reinforces why the United States withdrew." Venezuela had been accused of withholding from the Venezuelan people humanitarian aid delivered from other nations, and of manipulating its voters in exchange for food and medical care. The council had been criticized regularly for admitting members who were themselves suspected of human rights violations.

Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka came under increasing scrutiny in early 2012 after a presentation of a draft UNHRC resolution addressing their accountability with regard to their reconciliation activities, a resolution which was subsequently tabled by the United States. The original draft resolution from the United States noted the UNHRC "concern that the LLRC [Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission] report [did] not adequately address serious allegations of violations of international law". The UNHRC resolution then:
 * "1. Calls on the Government of Sri Lanka to implement the constructive recommendations in the LLRC report and take all necessary additional steps to fulfill its relevant legal obligations and commitment to initiate credible and independent actions to ensure justice, equity, accountability and reconciliation for all Sri Lankans,
 * 2. Requests that the Government of Sri Lanka present a comprehensive action plan as expeditiously as possible detailing the steps the Government has taken and will take to implement the LLRC recommendations and also to address alleged violations of international law,
 * 3. Encourages the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and relevant special procedures to provide, and the Government of Sri Lanka to accept, advice and technical assistance on implementing those steps and requests the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to present a report to the Council on the provision of such assistance at its twenty-second session."

Sri Lankan Ambassador in Geneva Tamara Kunanayakam pointed out that 80% of the UNHRC's funding requirements are supplied by powerful nations such as the United States and its allies. Also, key positions in the UNHRC are mostly held by those who have served in the foreign services of such countries. Sri Lanka's position is that this fact is significantly detrimental to the impartiality of the UNHRC activities, especially when dealing with the developing world. As a result, Sri Lanka, along with Cuba and Pakistan, sponsored a resolution seeking transparency in funding and staffing the UNHRC, during its 19th session starting in February 2012. The resolution was adopted on 4 April 2012.

The original US UNHRC draft resolution that prompted the Sri Lankan, Cuban, and Pakistani transparency initiative was thereafter significantly modified, and passed in 2013. Narayan Lakshman, writing from Washington, D.C. for The Hindu, said the United States "watered down" the resolution, while UN Watch described the revised resolution as "toned down". Lakshman noted that "an entire paragraph calling for 'unfettered access'... by a host of external observers and specialists was deleted", and the reworded resolution's demand for international investigation into "alleged human rights violations" was elevated but then "veer[ed] off towards an apparent preference for Sri Lanka to conduct its own internal investigation". He noted that in general "weaker language has been inserted in place of more condemnatory tone". The revised resolution remained entitled "Promoting Reconciliation and Accountability in Sri Lanka" and was assigned UN code "A/HRC/22/L.1/Rev.1". As finally submitted, the U.S. resolution was co-sponsored by 33 countries, including three other members of the U.N. Security council at that time (the UK, France, and Germany), and four other European nations (Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, and Switzerland). By a vote of 25 in favor—which included the resolution sponsors and other EU countries, as well as South Korea—and 13 against, the resolution was adopted on 21 March 2013 (with nine countries abstaining or absent).

United States
The 43rd U.S. President George W. Bush declared that the United States would not seek a seat on the Council, saying it would be more effective from the outside. He did pledge, however, to support the Council financially. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said, "We will work closely with partners in the international community to encourage the council to address serious cases of human rights abuse in countries such as Iran, Cuba, Zimbabwe, Burma, Sudan, and North Korea".

The U.S. State Department said on 5 March 2007 that, for the second year in a row, the United States had decided not to seek a seat on the Human Rights Council, asserting the body had lost its credibility with repeated attacks on Israel and a failure to confront other rights abusers. Spokesman Sean McCormack said the council had had a "singular focus" on Israel, while countries such as Cuba, Myanmar and North Korea had been spared scrutiny. He said that though the United States will have only an observer role, it will continue to shine a spotlight on human rights issues. The most senior Republican member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the U.S. House of Representatives, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, supported the administration decision. "Rather than standing as a strong defender of fundamental human rights, the Human Rights Council has faltered as a weak voice subject to gross political manipulation," she said.

Upon passage of UNHRC's June 2007 institution-building package, the U.S. restated its condemnation of bias in the institution's agenda. Spokesman Sean McCormack again criticised the Commission for focusing on Israel in light of many more pressing human rights issues around the world, such as Sudan or Myanmar, and went on to criticise the termination of special rapporteurs to Cuba and Belarus, as well as procedural irregularities that prevented member-states from voting on the issues; a similar critique was issued by the Canadian representative. In September 2007, the US Senate voted to cut off funding to the council.

The United States joined with Australia, Canada, Israel, and three other countries in opposing the UNHRC's draft resolution on working rules citing continuing misplaced focus on Israel at the expense of action against countries with poor human-rights records. The resolution passed 154–7 in a rare vote forced by Israel including the support of France, the United Kingdom, and China, although it is usually approved through consensus. United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, spoke about the "council's relentless focus during the year on a single country – Israel," contrasting that with failure "to address serious human rights violations taking place in other countries such as Zimbabwe, DPRK (North Korea), Iran, Belarus and Cuba." Khalilzad said that aside from condemnation of the crackdown of the Burmese anti-government protests, the council's past year was "very bad" and it "had failed to fulfill our hopes".

On 6 June 2008, Human Rights Tribune announced that the United States had withdrawn entirely from the UNHRC, and had withdrawn its observer status.

The United States boycotted the Council during the George W. Bush administration, but reversed its position on it during the Obama administration. Beginning in 2009 however, with the United States taking a leading role in the organization, American commentators began to argue that the UNHRC was becoming increasingly relevant.

On 31 March 2009, the administration of Barack Obama announced that it would reverse the country's previous position and would join the UNHRC; New Zealand indicated its willingness not to seek election to the council to make room for the United States to run unopposed, along with Belgium and Norway for the WEOG seats.

On 19 June 2018, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley announced that the United States, under President Donald Trump, was pulling out of the United Nations Human Rights Council, accusing the council being "hypocritical and self-serving"; in the past, Haley had accused it of "chronic anti-Israel bias". "When the Human Rights Council treats Israel worse than North Korea, Iran, and Syria, it is the Council itself that is foolish and unworthy of its name. It is time for the countries who know better to demand changes," Haley said in a statement at the time, pointing to the council's adoption of five resolutions condemning Israel. "The United States continues to evaluate our membership in the Human Rights Council. Our patience is not unlimited."

In December 2020, US Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft said that the UN Human Rights Council was "a haven for despots and dictators, hostile to Israel, and ineffectual on true human rights crises".

On 8 February 2021, following the election of Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the Biden administration would reengage with the UN Human Rights Council.

China
On 1 April 2020, China joined the United Nations Human Rights Council.

China's Xinjiang policies
In July 2019, UN ambassadors from 22 nations, including Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Spain, Germany, and Japan, signed a joint letter to the UNHRC condemning China's mistreatment of the Uyghurs and other minority groups, urging the Chinese government to close the Xinjiang re-education camps.

In response, UN ambassadors from 50 countries including Russia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, UAE, Sudan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Angola, Algeria, and Myanmar signed a joint letter to the UNHRC praising China's "remarkable achievements in Xinjiang" and opposing the practice of "politicizing human rights issues".

In August 2019, Qatar told the UNHRC president that it had decided to withdraw from the response letter. Human rights activists praised Qatar's decision.

In October 2022, 17 countries voted in favor, 19 were against, and 11 abstained in a vote to hold a debate on Xinjiang at its next session, rejects Western bid to debate China’s Xinjiang Abuses.

Indonesia
In March 2017, at the 34th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council, Vanuatu made a joint statement on behalf of Tonga, Nauru, Palau, Tuvalu, the Solomon Islands and Marshall Islands raising human rights violations in the Western New Guinea, declared which has been occupied by Indonesia since 1963, and requested that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights produce a report. Indonesia rejected Vanuatu's allegations. Also, a joint NGO statement was made. More than 100,000 Papuans have died during a 50-year Papua conflict.

The UNHRC expressed grave concern over ongoing human rights violations against the Papuan people in Indonesia, citing a lack of accountability and transparency in investigations, hindering reparations for victims. Recommendations were made to intensify efforts to combat impunity and prioritize investigations and reparations for victims.

Criticism
The United States opposed the creation of the UNHRC during the George W. Bush administration to protest the repressive states among its membership. In March 2009 the Obama administration reversed that position and decided to "reengage" and seek a seat on the UNHRC. With the United States taking a leading role in the organization, American commentators began to argue that the UNHRC was becoming increasingly relevant.

The UNHRC has been criticised for the repressive states among its membership. Countries with questionable human rights records that have served on the UNHRC include Pakistan, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, China, Indonesia, and Russia.

On 12 October 2021, the Human Rights Watch criticised UNHRC elections and stated that UN member countries should refrain from voting for Cameroon, Eritrea, United Arab Emirates, and other candidates as they hold abysmal rights records. These countries were alleged not to meet the qualifications for membership on the board. The UN director at Human Rights Watch, Louis Charbonneau said that electing such serious rights abusers sends a terrible message that the UN member states do not take the council's fundamental mission to protect human rights seriously.

Bloc voting
A Reuters report in 2008 said that independent human rights groups say that UNHRC is being controlled by some Middle East and African nations, supported by China, Russia and Cuba, which protect each other from criticism. This drew criticism from the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at the ineffectiveness of UNHRC, saying it had fallen short of its obligations. He urged countries to "drop rhetoric" and rise above "partisan posturing and regional divides" and get on with defending people around the world. This follows criticism since UNHRC was set up, where Israel has been condemned on most occasions, while the situation in other places such as Darfur, Tibet, North Korea, Pakistan and Zimbabwe have not been discussed at the council.

Of the 53 countries which defended China's imposition of the Hong Kong National Security Law following the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, at least 43 were participants in the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative, with one Axios reporter noting that "Beijing has effectively leveraged the UN Human Rights Council to endorse the very activities it was created to oppose."

Ban Ki-Moon also appealed for the United States to fully join the council and play a more active role.

The UNHRC was criticized in 2009 for adopting a resolution submitted by Sri Lanka praising its conduct in Vanni that year, ignoring pleas for an international war crimes investigation.

Accountability programme
On 18 June 2007, one year after holding its first meeting, the UNHRC adopted its Institution-building package, to guide it in its future work. Among its elements was the Universal Periodic Review, which assesses the human rights situations in all 193 UN member states. Another element is an Advisory Committee, which serves as the UNHRC's think tank and provides it with expertise and advice on thematic human rights issues. A further element is a Complaint procedure, which allows individuals and organizations to bring complaints about human rights violations to the attention of the council.

title: United Nations Human Rights Council


text:
Talk:Gordon Bennett

Untitled
I heard elsewhere that the expression came from the name of a factory foreman who banned swearing in his factory, so his workers starting using his own name in vain instead. Anyone verify/deny? Robin Johnson 16:52, 14 Nov 2004 (UTC)

The reason that the expression Gordon Bennet is in an expression in the English Language was the fact that he used to drive a coach and four around central park in the nude.

Nothing about Coupe Gordon Bennett!

Tried to tidy up the page a bit, not sure I totally succeeded. PiCo 07:16, 24 October 2005 (UTC)

I always thought the explanation was much simpler. It's just a way of breaking of from blasphemy, vulgarity or profanity in polite company, in the same vein as "Crikey", "Shoot" and "Darn". So rather than "GOD!" it becomes "GO--ORDON BENNETT!"

"exclamation common in some parts of the United Kingdom"... Would someone like to clarify which parts? Elcalen (talk) 10:55, 19 September 2009 (UTC)

title: Talk:Gordon Bennett


text:
Inverted roller coaster

An inverted roller coaster is a type of steel roller coaster in which the train runs under the track with the seats directly attached to the wheel carriage. Riders are seated in open cars, letting their feet swing freely. The inverted coaster was pioneered by Swiss roller coaster manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard in the early 1990s with the development of Batman: The Ride, which opened at Six Flags Great America on May 9, 1992.

Versions of inverted coasters have since been produced by other major coaster manufacturers such as Vekoma and Intamin. Intamin has few designs classified as inverted coasters, although they do install inverted coaster trains on some of their launched designs. Vekoma, however, predominantly mass-produced the same design (Suspended Looping Coaster) with 41 identical coasters installed around the world, though Vekoma now markets a newer style of inverted coaster, the Suspended Thrill Coaster, which utilises lap-bar restraints instead of the traditional over-the-shoulder restraints. Vekoma was also the first manufacturer to install a family-friendly inverted roller coaster with the opening of Flying Ace Aerial Chase at Kings Island in 2001. Giovanola also has a single inverted coaster operating, which uses the box-track design, also used by Bolliger & Mabillard.

The inverted coaster differs from the older suspended coaster, which runs under the track, but features cars that enclose the rider's legs and lower body and are attached to the track above by a pivoting bar, whereas the trains on inverted coasters are directly attached to the track. This direct attachment facilitates inversions, which aren't possible on suspended coasters. Inversions typically featured on inverted coasters include vertical loops, zero-g rolls, Immelmann loops, cobra rolls, and corkscrews, though Vekoma's suspended loopers typically feature sidewinder and in-line twist elements.

History
The inverted coaster was developed in the early 1990s by engineers Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard of the Swiss roller coaster manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard in cooperation with engineer Robert Mampe and Jim Wintrode, at the time the general manager of Six Flags Great America, who first envisioned a suspended coaster capable of inversions. The result of this partnership, Batman: The Ride, soft opened at Six Flags Great America as the first inverted coaster in the world on May 2, 1992, officially opening on May 9, 1992. With the coaster's success, Time Warner, Six Flags' parent company at the time, moved to construct a series of duplicates of the ride at various Six Flags parks. In 1993, a second installation of Batman: The Ride at Six Flags Great Adventure opened as the second inverted coaster in the world. Six Flags has since gone on to construct five additional duplicates of the ride.

The second unique inverted coaster was Flight Deck which opened in 1993 at California's Great America as Top Gun. Nemesis Reborn was the first inverted coaster constructed outside the United States when it opened at Alton Towers in Staffordshire, England in 1994. That same year, Raptor opened at Cedar Point. With a 3,790-foot (1,160 m) track layout, Raptor was far larger and featured a less compact layout than its predecessors. It also featured the first cobra roll on an inverted coaster.

Installations
231 inverted roller coasters have been installed at various theme parks, some of which have been relocated. The following list is not exhaustive and only shows the most notable installations.

title: Inverted roller coaster


text:
August Spies

August Vincent Theodore Spies (, ; December 10, 1855 – November 11, 1887) was an American upholsterer, radical labor activist, and newspaper editor. An anarchist, Spies was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder following a bomb attack on police in an event remembered as the Haymarket affair. Spies was one of four who were executed in the aftermath of this event.

Background
Spies was born on December 10, 1855, in a ruined castle converted into a government building on the mountain Landeckerberg in the Electorate of Hesse, Germany. His father was a government forestry official.

Spies later recalled that he had a pleasant and privileged childhood, one filled with recreation and study. He was educated by private tutors and trained for a career following in his father's footsteps as a government forester. His father died suddenly in 1871, however, ending the comfortable financial situation for his mother, and August determined to set out for a new life in America, a country in which he already had a number of financially successful relatives.

In Chicago
Spies settled in Chicago, where he became an upholsterer, involving himself in trade union activities. Due to the injustices he witnessed, Spies joined the Socialist Labour Party in 1877. He emerged as a leader of the SLP's radical faction; this faction provoked a split in the party by parading through the streets in military uniforms and shouldering muskets. After the English-speaking section of the SLP attempted to combine with the reformist Greenback Labor Party in 1880, Spies helped engineer a takeover of the party's executive committee and ousted the compromisers. When the national leadership of the SLP denounced the Chicago radicals and removed their newspaper the Arbeiter-Zeitung from its list of party organs, Spies led the formation of a revolutionary alternative to the SLP. In 1883, Spies was a leader in the Revolutionary Congress held in Pittsburgh that formally launched the International Working People's Association in America.

Spies had joined the staff of the Arbeiter-Zeitung in 1880, becoming editor in 1884.

Haymarket Square
Speaking to a rally outside the McCormick Harvesting Machine Plant on May 3, 1886, Spies advised the striking workers to "hold together, to stand by their union, or they would not succeed." Well-planned and coordinated, the general strike to this point had remained largely nonviolent. When the end-of-the-workday bell sounded, however, a group of workers surged to the gates to confront the strikebreakers. Despite calls by Spies for the workers to remain calm, gunfire erupted as police fired on the crowd. In the end, two McCormick workers were killed (although some newspaper accounts said there were six fatalities). Spies would later testify, "I was very indignant. I knew from experience of the past that this butchering of people was done for the express purpose of defeating the eight-hour movement."

The next day, May 4, Spies spoke at the Haymarket Square rally. Violence erupted and a bomb was thrown. The blast and ensuing gunfire resulted in the deaths of eight police officers and an unknown number of civilians. Seven men were arrested, including Spies. Later, Albert Parsons turned himself in.

Witnesses testified that none of the eight men charged threw the bomb. According to The Press on Trial, Spies had finished his speech but was still on stage when the bomb went off. However, all eight were found guilty, and seven were sentenced to death. One, Oscar Neebe, was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Trial

Spies was put on trial for conspiracy in the murder of Officer Mathias Degan with seven other men. The defense initially sought to split the defendants into two groups. Spies was to stand trial with three others (Michael Schwab, Samuel Fielden and Oscar Neebe), separated from the "Monday Night Conspirators" (Louis Lingg, George Engel and Adolph Fischer), the more extreme defendants alleged to have attended a planning meeting in the Greif's Hall basement the night before the bombing. However, defense attorney William A. Foster shocked his colleagues and Spies by telling the judge the motion of severance musn't delay the trial and was merely perfunctory. Spies passed a note to another attorney that read, "What in the hell does Foster mean? I thought our motion was meant seriously."

Albert Parsons would later turn himself in and all eight defendants were tried as a group. Spies would maintain his innocence and, despite the costly courtroom mistake, showed solidarity with his comrades through the trial, appeals, and at the gallows. Spies was one of three defendants, along with Lingg and Fischer, who were implicated in the possession of bombs. Spies testified he first obtained the dynamite out of curiosity. "I wanted to experiment with dynamite just the same as I would take a revolver and go out and practice." He kept the explosives on hand to impress reporters. "The reporters used to bother me a good deal, and they were always up for a sensation and when they came to the office I would show them these Giant cartridges…they would go away and write up some big sensational article." (Giant Powder was a brand of dynamite.)

During the trial, the jury was allowed by the judge to consider as evidence articles written by the defendants in support of political violence, conversations about their desire for revolution, and other past materials. On the stand, Spies confirmed he had received an 1884 letter from Johann Most, an anarchist author of a how-to pamphlet on dynamite. Most's letter said he would proxy Spies 20 or 25 lbs. of "medicine," which prosecutors said was code for dynamite. In their appeal, the defense argued that police seized the letter from Spies' desk without a warrant, but the appellate judge said he could not pursue the matter because defense lawyers had not objected to the letter's admission during the trial.

Gottfried Waller, a fellow anarchist, testified that at the meeting at Greif's Hall, two of the Monday Night Conspirators agreed that the code word "Ruhe" would be published in the Arbeiter Zeitung to call anarchists to arms. The word appeared in the newspaper's "Letterbox" section on May 4, the day of the bombing. Theodore Fricke, the Arbeiter Zeitung's bookkeeper, testified that Ruhe was written in the hand of August Spies. Malvern Thompson, a grocer, testified he observed Spies preparing for the Haymarket rally in Crane's alley, where he heard Spies ask Michael Schwab, "Do you think one is enough or hadn't we better go and get more?" and a reference to "pistols" and "police." Thompson said he heard Schwab tell Spies, "Now, if they come, we will give it to them."

Thompson said the two were joined by a third man who Thompson later identified as Rudolph Schnaubelt, the lead suspect as the bomb thrower and Schwab's brother in law. Spies handed something to Schnaubelt, who stuffed it in his pocket, Thompson testified. Witness Harry Gilmer testified he saw Spies climb down from the wagon and light the fuse for the bomb thrown by Schnaubelt.

At his sentencing, Spies denounced the police and prosecution witnesses. "There was no evidence produced by the State to show or even indicate that I had any knowledge of the man who threw the bomb, or that I myself had anything to do with the throwing of the missile, unless, of course, you weight the testimony of the accomplices of the State's Attorney and (Inspector John) Bonfield, the testimony of Thompson and Gilmer, by the price they were paid for it."

Spies also charged that one witness, Gustav Legner, could prove his alibi but was threatened by police and paid to leave Chicago. (Legner sued the Arbeiter Zeitung for libel for repeating Spies' claim of bribery, denying he was told to leave town. Legner said he asked Spies before leaving the city if he should testify and was told he would not be needed. The Arbeiter Zeitung agreed to print a retraction.)

In 1887, Spies and his co-defendants appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court (122 Ill. 1), then to the Supreme Court of the United States, where they were represented by John Randolph Tucker, Roger Atkinson Pryor, General Benjamin F. Butler and William P. Black. The U.S. Supreme Court denied the petition for certiorari (writ of error) by unanimous decision (123 U.S. 131).

In January 1887, while still in prison, Spies married Nina van Zandt (1862–1936). She was a graduate of Vassar College and the only child of a wealthy Chicago chemist. She published an article on the trial for the Chicago Knights of Labor. After Spies' death she married Stephen A. Malato, an attorney, in 1895. They divorced in 1902, and she reverted to the surname Spies. Nina Spies died on April 12, 1936.

Death and legacy
Two of the defendants, Michael Schwab and Samuel Fielden, asked for clemency and their sentences were commuted to life in prison on November 10, 1887, by Governor Richard James Oglesby. They were pardoned and released on June 26, 1893, by John Peter Altgeld, the governor of Illinois.

Of the remaining five, Louis Lingg killed himself in his cell with a blasting cap concealed in a cigar on November 10, 1887. Spies, Albert Parsons, Adolph Fischer, and George Engel were hanged the next day, November 11, 1887.

As he faced his demise on the gallows, Spies shouted, "The day will come when our silence will be more powerful than the voices you strangle today." The words are engraved on the Haymarket Martyrs' Monument in Forest Home Cemetery in Forest Park, Illinois, where Spies and the other Haymarket martyrs are buried.

May 1 was selected to celebrate International Workers' Day to commemorate the Haymarket affair.

Works

 * August Spies' Auto-Biography; His Speech in Court and General Notes. Chicago: Niña van Zandt, 1887.
 * "Pages from an Editor's Sketchbook," Corvallis, OR: 1000 Flowers Publishing, 2012. —Excerpt from 1887 autobiography.
 * The Accused the Accusers: The Famous Speeches of the Chicago Anarchists in Court: On October 7th, 8th, and 9th, 1886, Chicago, Illinois. Chicago: Socialistic Publishing Society, n.d. [1886].

title: August Spies


text:
Dezhnev

Dezhnev may refer to:
 * Cape Dezhnev
 * Semyon Dezhnyov
 * 3662 Dezhnev
 * Icebreaker Semyon Dezhnev

title: Dezhnev