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VDARE

VDARE is an American far-right website promoting opposition to immigration to the United States. It is associated with white supremacy, white nationalism, and the alt-right. Anti-Immigration in the United States: A Historical Encyclopedia describes VDARE as "one of the most prolific anti-immigration media outlets in the United States" and states that it is "broadly concerned with race issues in the United States". Established in 1999, the website's editor is Peter Brimelow, who once stated that "whites built American culture" and that "it is at risk from non-whites who would seek to change it".

The Southern Poverty Law Center describes VDARE as "an anti-immigration hate website" that "regularly publishes articles by prominent white nationalists, race scientists, and anti-Semites", including Steve Sailer, Jared Taylor, J. Philippe Rushton, Samuel T. Francis, John Derbyshire and Pat Buchanan. Brimelow acknowledges that VDARE published writings by white nationalists but has said that VDARE is not a "white nationalist Web site".

History
Peter Brimelow, who edits VDARE, is a former editor at the National Review and Fortune. The English-born Brimelow founded the website in 1999 under the auspices of the Center for American Unity, a Virginia-based organization that he also founded in 1999. VDARE was founded as an outgrowth of Brimelow's anti-immigration activism and the publication of his book Alien Nation: Common Sense About America's Immigration Disaster. The website says it is concerned with the "racial and culture identity of America" and "honest consideration of race and ethnicity, the foundations of human grouping, that human differences can be explained and their social consequences understood, whether those differences are philosophical, cultural or biological."

Brimelow was president of the center, which funded VDARE.com until 2007, when the center announced an intent to focus on litigation. The VDARE Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, was formed by Brimelow to take the place of the center as the website's sponsor. Brimelow's wife, Lydia Brimelow, is VDARE's advancement officer.

The name VDARE and the site's logo, the head of a white doe, refer to Virginia Dare, the first child born to English settlers in the New World in the late 16th century. Dare disappeared along with every other member of the Roanoke Colony. Anti-Immigration in the United States: A Historical Encyclopedia explains that "For Brimelow, Anglo-Saxon Americans and their culture are in danger of disappearing like Virginia Dare; he writes that he considered adding a fictional vignette at the end of his book Alien Nation (1995), in which the last white family flees Los Angeles, which had been overrun by the crime and pollution caused by its non-white residents."

Brimelow has written on the site that United States immigration policy constitutes "Adolf Hitler’s posthumous revenge on America". In a radio interview with Alan Colmes, he said he wished to return to the US immigration policies before 1965, when restrictions to non-whites were lifted, as "the US is a white nation."

New York Attorney General investigation
In February 2020, the VDARE Foundation purchased the Samuel Taylor Suit Cottage (also known as the Berkeley Castle or Berkeley Springs Castle), a Medieval-style castle located on a hill above Berkeley Springs, in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, for $1.4 million. New York Attorney General (NYAG) Letitia James alleged that VDARE had violated New York law by misusing non-profit resources while residing on the castle grounds since March 2020.

In March 2024, a New York state judge found the VDARE Foundation in civil contempt for failing to turn over evidence related to the investigation. The organization is required to pay a $250-per-day fine until it complies with a subpoena issued by the NYAG in 2022.

Designation as a hate website
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which tracks extremist groups in the United States, wrote that VDARE was "once a relatively mainstream anti-immigration page" but had become "a meeting place for many on the radical right" by 2003. The SPLC describes VDARE as "an anti-immigration hate website" which "regularly publishes articles by prominent white nationalists, race scientists and anti-Semites". The SPLC cited examples such as a column concerning immigration from Mexico that warned of a "Mexican invasion" where "high teenage birthrates, poverty, ignorance and disease will be what remains", and an essay complaining how the U.S. government encourages "the garbage of Africa" to come to the United States.

The SPLC has described VDARE's contributor list as "a Rolodex of the most prominent pseudo-intellectual racists and anti-Semites. They include people such as Jared Taylor and Kevin MacDonald. Taylor (who Brimelow acknowledges is a "white nationalist") once wrote that black people are incapable of sustaining any kind of civilization, while MacDonald is a retired professor who wrote a trilogy claiming that Jews are genetically driven to undermine the Christian societies they live in. Another (former contributor), Sam Francis, was the editor of a newspaper published by the Council of Conservative Citizens, a white supremacist group. Francis died in 2005.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) similarly concludes that "VDARE posts, promotes, and archives the work of racists, anti-immigrant figures, and anti-Semites".

Attempted domain name delisting
In June 2020, the domain registrar Network Solutions announced plans to terminate the account for VDARE. An attorney for Network Solutions cited a policy prohibiting customers using its domains from "display[ing] bigotry, racism, discrimination, or hatred in any manner whatsoever", and stated that VDARE had until June 26 to transfer its domain name to a different registrar before it would be deleted. An update to its WHOIS data was made on June 26, 2020. , the domain exists under a different registrar.

Social media presence and bans
In August 2019, VDARE's YouTube channel was banned. The ban was later reversed. The channel was permanently banned in August 2020 for violating YouTube's policies against hate speech.

In November 2019, The Guardian identified VDARE as one of several white nationalist websites which had remained active on Facebook, contrary to Facebook's stated intention to ban such material. In May 2020, VDARE and the similar website The Unz Review were banned by Facebook. According to Facebook, the sites formed a network of "coordinated inauthentic behavior" intended to influence the 2020 election via fake accounts.

As of October 2023, VDARE operates a verified Twitter account.

White nationalist writings
VDARE is regarded as a white nationalist website. David Weigel wrote in 2010 that the site "is best known for publishing work by white nationalists while maintaining that it is not a white nationalist site".

Brimelow "denies that the organization itself is white nationalist, but he admits that VDARE.com provides a forum for a variety of viewpoints, including white nationalism". Of individuals like Taylor, Brimelow has written they "aim to defend the interests of American whites. They are not white supremacists. They do not advocate violence. They are rational and civil." As immigration from the developing world increases, he believes "this type of interest-group 'white nationalism' will inexorably increase." Brimelow has participated on panels multiple times with Taylor and Richard Spencer on the aims of the alt-right.

title: VDARE


text:
Talk:Lawrence J. DeLucas

Untitled
anybody know how to eliminate the spaces in the experience section? -Frazzydee 20:51, 2 May 2004 (UTC)

You can use breaks or bullets instead of starting new paragraphs -- aibyou_chan 18:42, 9 May 2004 (UTC) break
 * bullet1
 * bullet2

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

title: Talk:Lawrence J. DeLucas


text:
Liu Zhang

Liu Zhang may refer to:

 * Liu Zhang (prince) 劉章, Western Han imperial clan member involved in overthrowing the Lü clan during the Lü Clan Disturbance
 * Liu Zhang (warlord) 劉璋, warlord in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, who controlled Yi Province
 * Liu Zhang (writer) (劉章, c. 1095–1177), writer

(NB: The 7th son of Liu Bang, Liu Chang (刘长) does not belong in this list, since the accepted reading of the given name in this case is not Zhang)

title: Liu Zhang


text:
HMS Collingwood

Three ships and one shore establishment of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS Collingwood, after Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood:
 * HMS Collingwood (1841), an 80-gun second-rate ship of the line, converted to screw propulsion in 1861, and sold in 1867
 * HMS Collingwood (1882), the lead ship of the Admiral-class battleship in service from 1882 to 1909
 * HMS Collingwood (1908), a St Vincent-class battleship battleship, in action at Jutland, and sold for breaking up in 1922
 * HMS Collingwood (shore establishment), the shore establishment of this name was formed in 1940 as an entry camp for new recruits. Since World War II it has housed a number of Royal Navy training units.

Battle honours

 * Jutland, 1916
 * Atlantic, 19441

1: Awarded to the Royal Canadian Navy vessel HMCS Collingwood; this relates to previous practice where honours awarded to one ship were presented to ships of the same name in other Commonwealth royal navies.

title: HMS Collingwood


text:
User talk:Mike Storm

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title: User talk:Mike Storm


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Atmospheric diffraction

Atmospheric diffraction is manifested in the following principal ways:

 * Optical atmospheric diffraction
 * Radio wave diffraction is the scattering of radio frequency or lower frequencies from the Earth's ionosphere, resulting in the ability to achieve greater distance radio broadcasting.
 * Sound wave diffraction is the bending of sound waves, as the sound travels around edges of geometric objects. This produces the effect of being able to hear even when the source is blocked by a solid object.  The sound waves bend appreciably around the solid object.

However, if the object has a diameter greater than the acoustic wavelength, a 'sound shadow' is cast behind the object where the sound is inaudible. (Note: some sound may be propagated through the object depending on material).

Optical atmospheric diffraction

When light travels through thin clouds made up of nearly uniform sized water or aerosol droplets or ice crystals, diffraction or bending of light occurs as the light is diffracted by the edges of the particles. This degree of bending of light depends on the wavelength (color) of light and the size of the particles. The result is a pattern of rings, which seem to emanate from the Sun, the Moon, a planet, or another astronomical object. The most distinct part of this pattern is a central, nearly white disk. This resembles an atmospheric Airy disc but is not actually an Airy disk. It is different from rainbows and halos, which are mainly caused by refraction.

The left photo shows a diffraction ring around the rising Sun caused by a veil of aerosol. This effect dramatically disappeared when the Sun rose high enough until the pattern was no longer visible on the Earth's surface. This phenomenon is sometimes called the corona effect, not to be confused with the solar corona.

On the right is a 1/10-second exposure showing an overexposed full moon. The Moon is seen through thin vaporous clouds, which glow with a bright disk surrounded by an illuminated red ring. A longer exposure would show more faint colors beyond the outside red ring.

Another form of atmospheric diffraction or bending of light occurs when light moves through fine layers of particulate dust trapped primarily in the middle layers of the troposphere. This effect differs from water based atmospheric diffraction because the dust material is opaque whereas water allows light to pass through it. This has the effect of tinting the light the color of the dust particles. This tinting can vary from red to yellow depending on geographical location. the other primary difference is that dust based diffraction acts as a magnifier instead of creating a distinct halo. This occurs because the opaque matter does not share the lensing properties of water. The effect is to make an object visibly larger while being more indistinct as the dust distorts the image. This effect varies largely based on the amount and type of dust in the atmosphere.

Radio wave propagation in the ionosphere
The ionosphere is a layer of partially ionized gases high above the majority of the Earth's atmosphere; these gases are ionized by cosmic rays originating on the sun. When radio waves travel into this zone, which commences about 80 kilometers above the earth, they experience diffraction in a manner similar to the visible light phenomenon described above. In this case some of the electromagnetic energy is bent in a large arc, such that it can return to the Earth's surface at a very distant point (on the order of hundreds of kilometers from the broadcast source. More remarkably some of this radio wave energy bounces off the Earth's surface and reaches the ionosphere for a second time, at a distance even farther away than the first time.  Consequently, a high powered transmitter can effectively broadcast over 1000 kilometers by using multiple "skips" off of the ionosphere.  And, at times of favorable atmospheric conditions good "skip" occurs, then even a low power transmitter can be heard halfway around the world.  This often occurs for "novice" radio amateurs "hams" who are limited by law to transmitters with no more than 65 watts.  The Kon-Tiki expedition communicated regularly with a 6 watt transmitter from the middle of the Pacific. For more details see the "communications" part of the "Kon-Tiki expedition" entry in Wikipedia.

An exotic variant of this radio wave propagation has been examined to show that, theoretically, the ionospheric bounce could be greatly exaggerated if a high powered spherical acoustical wave were created in the ionosphere from a source on earth.

Acoustical diffraction near the Earth's surface
In the case of sound waves travelling near the Earth's surface, the waves are diffracted or bent as they traverse by a geometric edge, such as a wall or building. This phenomenon leads to a very important practical effect: that we can hear "around corners". Because of the frequencies involved considerable amount of the sound energy (on the order of ten percent) actually travels into this would be sound "shadow zone". Visible light exhibits a similar effect, but, due to its much shorter wavelength, only a minute amount of light energy travels around a corner.

A useful branch of acoustics dealing with the design of noise barriers examines this acoustical diffraction phenomenon in quantitative detail to calculate the optimum height and placement of a soundwall or berm adjacent to a highway.

This phenomenon is also inherent in calculating the sound levels from aircraft noise, so that an accurate determination of topographic features may be understood. In that way one can produce sound level isopleths, or contour maps, which faithfully depict outcomes over variable terrain.

title: Atmospheric diffraction


text:
Sick man of Europe

"Sick man of Europe" is a label given to a state located in Europe experiencing economic difficulties, social unrest or impoverishment. It is most famously used to refer to the Ottoman Empire whilst they were in a state of decline.

Emperor Nicholas I of the Russian Empire is considered to be the first to use the term "Sick Man" to describe the Ottoman Empire in the mid-19th century. The characterization existed during the "Eastern question" in diplomatic history, which also referred to the decline of the Ottoman Empire in terms of the balance of power in Europe. After the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century, the term has been applied to other states. In modern usage, the term has faced criticism due to its origins and arguable over-usage.

Throughout the 1960s to the 1980s, the term was also most notably used for the United Kingdom when it lost its superpower status as the Empire crumbled and its home islands experienced significant deindustrialization, coupled with high inflation and industrial unrest – such as the Winter of Discontent – including having to seek loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Since the mid-2010s and into the 2020s, the term being used for Britain began to see a resurgence after Brexit, a cost-of-living crisis and industrial disputes and strikes becoming more commonplace.

Early usage
Russian Tsar Nicholas I ((r. 1825 – 1855)), seeking to expand into parts of the Ottoman Empire during the Eastern Question, had described Turkey as "sick" or "sick man" during his meeting with Austrian Prince Metternich ((r. 1809 – 1848)) in Münchengrätz, two months after the Treaty of Hünkâr İskelesi in September 1833. In his own writing, Metternich said he had argued against this characterization. Conventionally, foreign minister Metternich was opposed to the characterization of the Ottoman Empire as "sick man of the Bosphorus" because this could lead to his country, the Austrian Empire, becoming the "sick man of the Danube". Other historians, evaluating the conservative "Holy Alliance" of the time, have seen Metternich's foreign policy as aligned with Nicholas, including the policy towards the Ottoman Empire.

Crimean War
British statesman John Russell in 1853, in the run-up to the Crimean War, reported that Nicholas I of Russia described the Ottoman Empire as "a sick man—a very sick man", a "man who has fallen into a state of decrepitude", and a "sick man ... gravely ill".

There has been some degree of debate about the source of the quotation, which often relies on historical documents held or communicated personally. Historian Harold Temperley (1879–1939) gave the date for the first conversation as 9 January 1853, like Goldfrank. According to Temperley, Seymour in a private conversation had to push the Tsar to be more specific about the Ottoman Empire. Eventually, the Tsar stated, "Turkey seems to be falling to pieces, the fall will be a great misfortune. It is very important that England and Russia should come to a perfectly good understanding ... and that neither should take any decisive step of which the other is not apprized [sic]." And then, closer to the attributed phrase: "We have a sick man on our hands, a man gravely ill, it will be a great misfortune if one of these days he slips through our hands, especially before the necessary arrangements are made."

Different interpretations existed between the two countries on the "Eastern Question" by the time of the Crimean War. The British Ambassador G. H. Seymour agreed with Tsar Nicholas's diagnosis, but he very deferentially disagreed with the Tsar's recommended treatment of the patient; he responded, "Your Majesty is so gracious that you will allow me to make one further observation. Your Majesty says the man is sick; it is very true; but your Majesty will deign to excuse me if I remark, that it is the part of the generous and strong man to treat with gentleness the sick and feeble man."Temperley then asserts, "The 'sickliness' of Turkey obsessed Nicholas during his reign. What he really said was omitted in the Blue Book from a mistaken sense of decorum. He said not the 'sick man' but the 'bear dies … the bear is dying … you may give him musk but even musk will not long keep him alive.'"

Christopher de Bellaigue argued that neither Nicholas nor Seymour completed the epithet with the prepositional phrase "of Europe".

The first appearance of the phrase "sick man of Europe" appears in The New York Times (12 May 1860): "The condition of Austria at the present moment is not less threatening in itself, though less alarming for the peace of the world, than was the condition of Turkey when the Tsar Nicholas invited England to draw up with him the last will and testament of the 'sick man of Europe.' It is, indeed, hardly within the range of probability that another twelvemonth should pass over the House of Habsburg without bringing upon the Austrian Empire a catastrophe unmatched in modern history since the downfall of Poland." The author of this article can be seen to be using the term to point to a second "sick man" of Europe, the Habsburg monarchy.

World War One
Later, this view led the Allies in World War I to underestimate the Ottoman Empire, leading in part to the disastrous Gallipoli Campaign. However, the "sick man" eventually collapsed after defeat in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I.

Post-World War I usage
After the demise of the Ottoman Empire, writers have described many countries as the "sick men" of Europe or the Old World.

France
During the 1950s, France was characterized as the "sick man of Europe," due to a combination of economic issues and a fading optimism since the country was reestablished after World War II. In 1953, Paul Reynaud described France as such to the National Assembly.

A 2007 report by Morgan Stanley referred to France as the "new sick man of Europe". This label was reaffirmed in January 2014 by European newspapers such as The Guardian and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. They justified this with France's high unemployment, weak economic growth and poor industrial output.

Germany
In the late 1990s, Germany was often labeled with this term because of its economic problems, especially due to the costs of German reunification after 1990, which were estimated to amount to over €1.5 trillion (statement of Freie Universität Berlin). It continued to be used in the early 2000s, and as Germany slipped into recession in 2003. In contrast, a 2016 article by The Guardian described the German economy under Angela Merkel as a "revival" from the country's previous "sick man" status. However, when Germany was experiencing economic issues again in the 2020s, concerns about the "sick man" characterisation reemerged, with Kiel Institute President Moritz Schularick saying: "If Germany does not want to become the 'sick man of Europe' once again, it must now courageously turn its attention to the growth sectors of tomorrow instead of fearfully spending billions to preserve yesterday's energy-intensive industries."

Italy
In 1972, PSDI politician Luigi Preti wrote a book titled Sick Italy (Italia malata). In it, he says that Italy was at risk of becoming "the sick man of Europe who has proved unable to keep in step as soon as he reached the first milestone on the road to well‐being."

In May 2005, this title was again attributed to Italy, with The Economist describing it as "the real sick man of Europe". This refers to Italy's structural and political difficulties thought to inhibit economic reforms to relaunch economic growth. In 2018, Italy was again referred to as the "sick man of Europe" following post-election deadlock. In 2008, in an opinion piece criticizing the country's approach to economic reform, The Daily Telegraph also used the term to describe Italy, as did a CNBC op-ed in 2020.

Russia
The Russian Empire in 1917 was described as the "Sick Man of Europe" in an edition of The New York Times from that year. In the 1917 article by Charles Richard Crane, the illness metaphor is used more directly, with the empire described as "Suffering From Overdose of Exaggerated Modernism in Socialist Reform Ideas", and "the danger for the patient lay in the fact that too many quacks and ignorant specialists were contending for the right to be admitted to the bedside and administer nostrums."

Post-Soviet Russia has also been referred to as such in the 2007 book Kremlin Rising: Vladimir Putin's Russia and the End of Revolution by Peter Baker and Susan Glasser, and by Mark Steyn in his 2006 book America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It.

In the aftermath of the Wagner Group rebellion during the Russian invasion of Ukraine (and Vladimir Putin's perceived weakness in confronting it), political scientist Aleksandar Đokić said in 2023 that the "sick man of Europe" moniker "seem[ed] fitting for Putin’s Russia." While acknowledging the term itself to be simplistic, Đokić stated that:

United Kingdom
Throughout the late 1960s and 1970s, the United Kingdom was sometimes characterized as the "sick man of Europe", first by commentators, and later at home by critics of the third Wilson/Callaghan ministry due to industrial strife and poor economic performance compared with other European countries. Some observers consider this era to have started with the devaluation of the pound in 1967, culminating with the so-called Winter of Discontent of 1978–79. At different points throughout the decade, numerous countries such as Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, and Greece were cited by the American business press as being "on the verge of sickness" as well.

In the summer of 2017, the United Kingdom was again referred to as the "sick man of Europe" due to the immediate impact of the EU referendum results. The term was used frequently by the early 2020s with regards to the economic effects of Brexit, ongoing industrial action in the public sector, leadership turmoil within the Conservative party, and the cost of living crisis. As of June 2023, the label is still frequently applied to the United Kingdom as inflation and price increases continue to generate economic uncertainty within the country.

The term was also more literally applied during the COVID-19 pandemic after a new strain of coronavirus, the Alpha variant, led to a number of countries closing their borders to UK air travel.

Other uses
Swedish Diplomat and former Prime Minister Carl Bildt once referred to Serbia under the rule of Slobodan Milošević as a candidate for the new "sick man of Europe" in 1997. This is due to political instability in Yugoslavia and its former territories caused by Yugoslav Wars that rocked the Balkan region from 1991 until 2001.

In 2007, The Economist described Portugal as "a new sick man of Europe".

In July 2009, the pejorative was given by EurActiv to Greece in view of the 2008 Greek riots, rising unemployment, and political corruption.

In spring 2011, Eurozine suggested that the European Union was the "sick man of Europe" by entitling an event focusing on the Eurozone crisis, "The EU: the real sick man of Europe?"

In 2015 and 2016, Finland was called the "sick man of Europe" due to its recession and lacklustre growth, in a time when virtually all other European countries had recovered from the Great Recession.

title: Sick man of Europe


text:
Pang De

Pang De (died 219), courtesy name Lingming, was a Chinese military general who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He started his career under the warlord Ma Teng, who was based in Liang Province. In 211, Ma Teng's son Ma Chao, along with a coalition of warlords from Liang Province, started a rebellion against the Han central government, which was controlled by the warlord Cao Cao. After Cao Cao defeated Ma Chao and the coalition at the Battle of Tong Pass, Ma Chao fled to Hanzhong Commandery and took shelter under the warlord Zhang Lu. Pang De accompanied him to Hanzhong. When Ma Chao defected from Zhang Lu's side in order to join the warlord Liu Bei, Pang De remained in Hanzhong and eventually came to serve Cao Cao after Cao Cao defeated Zhang Lu at the Battle of Yangping and took over Hanzhong. In 219, Pang De fought at the Battle of Fancheng under Cao Ren's command against Liu Bei's forces led by Guan Yu. Pang De was captured in battle and eventually executed by Guan Yu when he refused to surrender.

Biography
Pang De was from Huandao County (狟道縣), Nan'an Commandery (南安郡), Liang Province, which is located east of present-day Longxi County, Gansu. In his youth, he served as an Assistant Officer (從事) in the local commandery office.

Early military career
During the Chuping era (190–193) in the reign of Emperor Xian, the Liang Province Rebellion broke out. Pang De joined the warlord Ma Teng in suppressing the revolts by the Qiang and Di tribes, and was promoted to Colonel (校尉) for his contributions in battle.

In 202, the warlord Cao Cao, who controlled the Han central government, led his forces to attack rival warlords Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang at the Battle of Liyang. When Yuan Tan ordered his subordinates Guo Yuan and Gao Gan to lead a separate force to attack Hedong Commandery, Cao Cao ordered Zhong Yao to recruit forces from Liang Province to deal with Guo Yuan and Gao Gan. Ma Teng responded to Zhong Yao's call and sent his son Ma Chao and Pang De to assist Zhong Yao in attacking Guo Yuan and Gao Gan at Pingyang County (平陽縣; west of present-day Linfen, Shanxi). Pang De led the vanguard, slew Guo Yuan in the midst of battle and took his head, without knowing that the man he killed was Guo Yuan. After the battle, when Zhong Yao's men searched the battlefield, they found Guo Yuan's headless body. Shortly after, Pang De went to meet Zhong Yao and he threw Guo Yuan's head in front of him. Zhong Yao cried when he recognised Guo Yuan's head because Guo was actually his maternal nephew. Pang De immediately apologised to Zhong Yao, who replied, "Even though Guo Yuan was my nephew, he was an enemy of the state. Why do you apologise?" For his contributions, Pang De was appointed as a General of the Household (中郎將) and made a Marquis of a Chief Village (都亭侯).

Later, Pang De followed Ma Teng to suppress a rebellion by Zhang Baiqi (張白騎) at Yao County (殽縣; present-day Luoning County, Henan). He was famous for his bravery in Ma Teng's army as Pang De recorded always personally charged inside the enemy formation during battles. When Ma Teng was recalled to the imperial capital, Xu (許; present-day Xuchang, Henan), to serve as Minister of the Guards (衛尉), Pang De remained behind in Liang Province with Ma Chao.

Battle of Tong Pass & submitting to Cao Cao
Around 211, Ma Chao started a rebellion against the Han central government and led a coalition of warlords from Liang Province to attack Cao Cao, leading to the Battle of Tong Pass. Cao Cao defeated Ma Chao and his allies at the battle and caused the coalition to break up. Despite his defeat, Ma Chao, with assistance from the Qiang tribes and the warlord Zhang Lu in Hanzhong Commandery, continued to ravage the lands in Liang Province and even seized control of the provincial governorship at one point. However, he was eventually driven out of Liang Province and forced to take shelter under Zhang Lu in Hanzhong. Pang De accompanied Ma Chao to Hanzhong and became one of Zhang Lu's subordinates.

In 215, Ma Chao defected to the warlord Liu Bei and aided him in seizing control of Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing) from its provincial governor, Liu Zhang. Pang De remained in Hanzhong with Zhang Lu. Later that year, Cao Cao led his forces to attack Hanzhong and defeated Zhang Lu at the Battle of Yangping. Pang De joined Zhang Lu in surrendering to Cao Cao. As Cao Cao had heard of Pang De's valour, he immediately recruited Pang De as his subordinate and appointed him as General Who Establishes Righteousness (立義將軍). Pang De was also enfeoffed as the Marquis of Guanmen Village (關門亭侯) and given 300 taxable households to form his marquisate.

Battle of Fancheng & death
In 219, when Hou Yin (侯音) and Wei Kai (衛開) started a rebellion in Wan (宛; present-day Wancheng District, Nanyang, Henan), Cao Cao sent Pang De and Cao Ren to quell the uprising. After accomplishing their mission, they garrisoned at Fan (樊; also called Fancheng, in present-day Fancheng District, Xiangyang, Hubei) to defend Cao Cao's territories in northern Jing Province from advances by Liu Bei's general Guan Yu, who guarded Liu Bei's territories in southern Jing Province. As Ma Chao (Pang De's previous lord) and Pang Rou (龐柔; Pang De's cousin) both served under Liu Bei, many of Cao Cao's other subordinates were suspicious of Pang De's allegiance towards their lord. Pang De often said, "I've received grace from the State and I'm willing to serve the State with my life in the name of righteousness. I'll personally slay Guan Yu. If I don't kill Guan Yu within this year, he'll kill me."

As Pang De arrived in Fan, he battled the rebel forces and managed to slay the rebel leaders under Hou Yin (侯音) and Wei Kai (衛開) who conspired with Guan Yu. As Pang De often rode gray horse during the battle, so Guan Yu's men nicknamed him as "white-horse general" (baima jiangjun 白馬將軍), which he famous for, and feared him. Pang De later engaged Guan Yu in battle and fired an arrow which hit Guan's forehead at one time, nearly killing the Shu general.

Cao Ren ordered Pang De to set up a separate camp ten li north of Fan. At the time, there were heavy rains for more than ten days and the Han River next to Fan burst its banks, with the water level reaching up to five-six zhang. Pang De and his subordinates retreated to the top of a dam. Guan Yu then led his marines to attack Fan and fired arrows from their warships at the dam. Pang De donned his armour, armed himself with a bow and arrows, and returned fire at the enemy, with not a single arrow missing its target. When Dong Heng (董衡) and Dong Chao (董超), two of Pang De's colleagues, wanted to surrender to Guan Yu, Pang De executed them on the spot. The battle dragged on from morning until afternoon, with Guan Yu's attacks increasing in intensity as time passed. By afternoon, Pang De and his men had expended all their arrows but they continued to engage the enemy in close quarters combat with short weapons. Pang De told his subordinate Cheng He (成何), "I heard a good general doesn't fear death, nor does he hope to be spared. A martyr won't violate his principles for the sake of preserving his life. Today is the day I die." The battle raged on as the water level rose higher. By then, many of Pang De's men had surrendered, leaving Pang with only three men. They boarded a small boat and attempted to escape and return to Cao Ren's main camp. However, the boat capsized and Pang De fell into the water. While grabbing on to the boat to stay afloat, he was surrounded and captured by Guan Yu's soldiers.

When brought before Guan Yu, he refused to kneel down and surrender. Guan Yu told Pang De, "Your cousin is serving in Hanzhong, and I want to recruit you as a subordinate. Why don't you surrender now?" Pang De retorted angrily, "Mean fellow, what is surrender? The King of Wei has thousands of troops and his might trembles the Empire. Liu Bei is an inferior man. How can he hope to resist (the King of Wei)? I'd rather be a ghost of the State than be a servant of my enemy." An angered Guan Yu then had Pang De executed.

Cao Cao was deeply grieved when he learnt of Pang De's death and he shed tears. In 220, after Cao Pi – Cao Cao's son and successor – forced Emperor Xian to abdicate the throne to him and established the state of Cao Wei, he granted Pang De the posthumous title "Marquis Zhuang", which literally means "robust marquis". He ordered an emissary to read out the imperial edict at Pang De's tomb. According to the Shu Ji (蜀記; Records of Shu) by Wang Yin (王隱), when the state of Shu Han (founded by Liu Bei) was conquered by the state of Cao Wei in 263, the Wei general Zhong Hui had Pang De's body transported from Shu to Ye (鄴; in present-day Handan, Hebei) in Wei territory. Pang De seemed alive inside the tomb. However, Pei Songzhi, who annotated Pang De's biography in the Sanguozhi, dismissed this account as nonsense. He wrote: "Pang De died in Fancheng. After Cao Pi ascended the throne, he sent an emissary to read out an imperial edict at Pang De's tomb, so Pang's body should not be in Shu. What Wang Yin wrote was nonsense."

Appraisal
Chen Shou, the author of Records of the Three Kingdoms, has likened Pang De defiance towards Guan Yu with Zhou Kao, a minister of Liu Bang, who stands and defying Xiang Yu even when he facing death.

According to Fu Xuan, Jin dynasty historian and politician, there is record that before the battle of Tong Pass, or more known as battle of Weinan, against Cao Cao, Ma Chao and Pang De broke into a stable which contained hundred horses. Pang De were said taking the low quality horse while Ma Chao taken the finest horse, which caused Pang De being laughed at. However, it is said that Pang De horse were the fastest running during the battle of Tong Pass.

According to Longxi County Chronicle and Shanxi tong zhi (chronicle of Shanxi), there are "White Horse General Temple" on the top of Chishan Mountain which commemorate the bravery of two Chinese warrior, the first were Li Guang and the second are Pang De, whose bravery were praised well during the battle of Fancheng against Guan Yu.

Descendants
After Pang De's death, two of his sons were granted marquis titles in recognition of their father's contributions. When Cao Pi ascended the throne, he granted the title of a Secondary Marquis (關內侯) to each of Pang De's four sons and gave them each 100 taxable households as their marquisates. The names of Pang De's sons were not recorded in history, except for one – Pang Hui (龐會).

Pang Hui resembled his father in personality and served as a general in the Cao Wei state. The highest position he reached was Commandant-General of the Capital (中尉將軍). He was also enfeoffed as a marquis. The Shu Ji (蜀記) recorded that he participated in the conquest of Wei's rival state, Shu Han, in 263. After the fall of Shu, he exterminated Guan Yu's family and descendants to avenge his father.

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Pang De appears as a character in the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which romanticises the historical events before and during the Three Kingdoms period.

Serving under Ma Chao
Pang De made his first appearance in chapter 58 as a trusted general under Ma Teng. At that time, Ma Teng had left Liang Province and travelled to the imperial capital Xu (許; present-day Xuchang, Henan) while Ma Chao remained in the province. One night, Ma Chao had a dream about being attacked by a pack of tigers in a snowy land so he consulted his subordinates about it. Pang De told him that it was not a good omen. Later, Ma Chao received news that his father Ma Teng was lured into a trap in Xu and had been killed by Cao Cao's men. This led to the Battle of Tong Pass, but in the novel, the order of events related to the battle had been reversed and some fictional stories were included.

Later, According to Zhang Chaoju, Pang De participated in Cao Cao campaign against Shu, where faced against Shu general named Wei Yan. Pang De managed to overpower Wei Yan in this battle and forced the latter to retreat.

Battle of Fancheng
Pang De's role in the Battle of Fancheng (mentioned in chapter 70) was largely exaggerated for dramatic effect. Prior to the battle, Pang De volunteered to lead the vanguard of a reinforcement army to relieve Cao Ren's forces, who were besieged in Fan by Guan Yu's army. Cao Cao was delighted and he granted Pang De the post. However, when others advised Cao Cao against granting Pang De command of the vanguard due to Pang's past associations with Ma Chao (who had become one of the Five Tiger Generals under Liu Bei), Pang knelt down in front of Cao and kowtowed until his face was covered in blood. Cao Cao was moved by Pang De's sincerity and he no longer doubted Pang's allegiance towards him, so he appointed Pang as the vanguard. Pang De later ordered a wooden coffin to be built and he told his men to place Guan Yu's body inside if he succeeded in killing Guan, or place his body inside if he died in battle.

Before Pang De left to fight at the Battle of Fancheng, he told his wife to take care of their son, Pang Hui, and said that if he died, his son would avenge him in the future.

Pang De later engaged Guan Ping in a duel and neither of them managed to defeat his opponent after fighting for 30 rounds. The following day, he fought with Guan Yu but neither of them won after duelling for more than 100 rounds. Pang De later duelled with Guan Yu again and he feigned defeat and retreated after about 50 rounds. When Guan Yu pursued him, he suddenly turned around and fired an arrow, which hit Guan in the left arm. Pang De wanted to use the opportunity to attack but Yu Jin (who was his superior) stopped him.

The descriptions of Pang De's final moments at the Battle of Fancheng were generally similar to those mentioned in his historical biography. He attempted to flee towards Cao Ren's main camp on a small boat, but his boat was knocked over by a large raft steered by Guan Yu's subordinate Zhou Cang. Pang De's boat capsized and he fell into the water and was captured by Zhou Cang, who was a good swimmer. Before his death, Pang De refused to kneel before Guan Yu and he firmly rejected surrender, and was thus executed on Guan's order. Guan Yu later pitied Pang De and had the latter properly buried.

Modern era depiction
Pang De is featured as a playable character in Koei's Dynasty Warriors and Warriors Orochi video game series.

Primary & secondary sources

 * Chen, Shou (3rd century). Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi).
 * Luo, Guanzhong (14th century). Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguo Yanyi).
 * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi zhu).
 * Sima, Guang (1084). Zizhi Tongjian.
 * Sima, Guang (1084). Zizhi Tongjian.

title: Pang De


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Scuderia

Scuderia means stable (noun) in the Italian language. It has entered English usage mainly through professional auto racing, in which many Italian teams incorporate the term in their names.

"Scuderia" may refer to:

 * Scuderia Ferrari, a current Italian Formula One team
 * Any of a number of other racing teams:
 * Scuderia AlphaTauri
 * Scuderia Ambrosiana
 * Scuderia Bizzarrini
 * Scuderia Centro Sud
 * Scuderia Coloni
 * Scuderia Colonia
 * Scuderia Corsa
 * Scuderia Enrico Plate
 * Scuderia Famà
 * Scuderia Filipinetti
 * Scuderia Finotto
 * Scuderia Italia
 * Scuderia Lavaggi
 * Scuderia Milano
 * Scuderia Playteam
 * Scuderia Serenissima
 * Scuderia Toro Rosso
 * Scuderia Vittoria
 * Scuderia Volpini
 * A version of the Ferrari F430
 * Scuderia, a streamliner dragster
 * Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus SCG 003, an American sportscar

title: Scuderia


text:
Woolf (surname)

Alternate spellings include Wolfe, Wolff, Wulf and Wolf.

Woolf is a name that is used as a surname, given name, and a name among Germanic-speaking peoples: see Wolf, Wulf. This name is particularly popular in England especially in the south due to strong Saxon influence: see Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain. Historians on Anglo Saxon Britain such as Barbara Yorke, have commented that the Woolf name originated from Oswelf the 'Wolf', who was a famous Saxon lord who in legend fought King Horsa. He supposedly changed his name to 'Woolf' from the more Germanic spelling of Wolf. This is the first recording of the Woolf name, although according to Yorke it is most likely that other Saxon families changed their name to this translation.

Notable people with the name include:
 * Aida Woolf (1886–1967) was a British dress designer
 * Arthur Woolf (1766–1837), English engineer, best known for invention of a compound steam engine
 * Benjamin Edward Woolf (1836–1901), British-American playwright, composer and journalist
 * Cecil Woolf (1927–2019), English author and publisher
 * Daniel Woolf (b. 1958), principal of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario
 * Edgar Allan Woolf (1881–1943), American playwright and co-author of the script for The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
 * Dame Fiona Woolf (b. 1948), Lord Mayor of London
 * Gabriel Woolf (b. 1932) British film, radio and television actor
 * George Woolf (1910–1946), Canadian horse-racing jockey
 * Harry Woolf (1923–2003), American historian of science, provost of Johns Hopkins University and Director of the Institute for Advanced Study
 * Harry Woolf, Baron Woolf, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
 * Herbert M. Woolf (1880–1964), American businessman and racehorse owner
 * Jack Woolf (1924–2014), American academic
 * Jimmy Woolf (1916–2003), South African footballer who played for Southampton F.C.
 * Leonard Woolf (1880–1969), author and husband of Virginia
 * Meg Woolf (1923–2023), English artist
 * Peter Wolff, English musician, drummer in the band The Echoes
 * Raphael Woolf, British philosopher
 * Russell Woolf, Western Australian media personality
 * Virginia Woolf (1882–1941), English author and feminist

title: Woolf (surname)


text:
John J. Williams

John J. Williams may refer to:

 * John J. Williams (baseball) (born 1916), American baseball player
 * John J. Williams (politician) (1904–1988), American politician
 * John J. Williams (soldier) (1843–1865), last soldier to die in the American Civil War
 * John James Williams (poet) (1869–1954), Welsh poet
 * John James Williams (rugby) or J. J. Williams (1948–2020), Welsh rugby player
 * John Joseph Williams (1822–1907), American Roman Catholic bishop
 * John Joseph Williams (actor) or Grant Williams (1931–1985), American actor

title: John J. Williams


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Thad Starner

Thad Eugene Starner is a founder and director of the Contextual Computing Group at Georgia Tech's College of Computing, where he is a full professor. He is a pioneer of wearable computing as well as human-computer interaction, augmented environments, and pattern recognition. Starner is a strong advocate of continuous-access, everyday-use systems, and has worn his own customized wearable computer continuously since 1993. His work has touched on handwriting and sign-language analysis, intelligent agents and augmented realities. He also helped found Charmed Technology.

Education
Starner graduated from Dallastown Area High School in York PA in 1987 with honors. He won a talent show in technological science for one of the first AI puzzle-solving PC computer simulations in 1986 before high school graduation gaining him early recognition. Starner graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Brain and Cognitive Science (1991), a B.S. in Computer Science (1991), a M.S. in Media Arts and Science, and finally a Ph.D. in Media Arts and Sciences (1999) from the MIT Media Laboratory. His doctoral work was entitled "Wearable Computing and Contextual Awareness," dealing with pattern recognition and how wearable computing can be utilized for purposes such as recognizing hand motions used in American Sign Language.

Wearable computing
Starner is probably most well known for being a strong advocate for wearable computing. During his time at the MIT Media Lab, Starner, already responsible for helping create one of the earliest high-accuracy online cursive handwriting recognition systems in 1993 as an associate scientist with BBN's Speech Systems Group, became one of the world's leading experts on the subject. Starner is also a co-founder of the IEEE International Symposium on Wearable Computers (ISWC) and co-founder and first member of the MIT Wearable Computing Project, where he was one of the first 6 cyborgs involved. Since 1993, Starner has been wearing his own customized wearable computer system full-time, arguably one of the longest, if not the longest, such instances. He designed the hardware for his system, dubbed "The Lizzy", based on designs of the wearable "hip PC" designed by Doug Platt, who built Starner's original wearable. The original system consisted of custom parts from a kit made by Park Enterprises, a Private Eye display, and a Twiddler chorded keyboard. As of January 29, 2008, Starner's setup has evolved to include a heads-up display showing 640x480 screen resolution, a Twiddler, and an OQO Model 1 Ultra-Mobile PC (though the specifications listed suggest an OQO Model 01+) with a GHz processor, 512 MB of RAM, 30GB hard disk, USB2, Firewire, and Wi-Fi built in, as well as a mobile phone with cellular Internet access as well.

Some of the benefits he receives from wearing a computer include being able to type and access the Internet while walking around or talking to others, allowing him to take notes on a conversation in real-time, opening up notes on a certain subject and e-mailing them at any time or even having two conversations at once, one online and one face to face, and if he comes across something he doesn't know or recognize, he can instantly find out. In addition to augmenting the outside world, having a computer on at all times improves Starner's nerves while giving talks; Starner has a speech impediment but is able to speak more clearly when prompted by a computer.

Starner is a Technical Lead/Manager on Google's Project Glass wearable computing project.

Other research
One of his prominent research focuses is the involvement of wearable computing with American Sign Language (ASL). His work intends to create a bridge between the deaf and hearing communities that will facilitate communication between the two using an ASL-to-English one-way translator. Starner is also researching dual-purpose speech, where a wearable computer will be able to interpret certain speech patterns and bring up appropriate programs, such as a calendar for scheduling appointments. In addition, Starner has been involved in the Aware Home project, which uses technology to create an interactive and personalizable environment within the home that would benefit individuals who wouldn't normally be able to live independently.

Starner's preeminence in his field earned him a spot among Technology Review's TR100 top 100 remarkable innovators (now renamed TR35 and limited to thirty-five winners) in 1999. His work has featured on CBS's 60 Minutes, CNN, BBC, and The Wall Street Journal and has been demonstrated to a number of Fortune 500 companies including Merrill Lynch, IBM, and Motorola.

title: Thad Starner


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Special Republican Guard (Iraq)

The Iraqi Special Republican Guard (SRG) (الحرس الجمهوري الخاص), also known as the Special Forces Brigade of the Presidential Palace, Republican Guard Special Protection Forces, or the Golden Division, was an Iraqi personal security force founded in either early 1992 or March 1995 in Ba'athist-era Iraq. The Special Republican Guard was controlled by the Special Security Organization and charged with protecting President Saddam Hussein, presidential sites, Baghdad, and responding to any rebellion, coup, or other threat to his power.

History
In order to prevent a coup d'état, Saddam Hussein forbade the Special Republican Guard (SRG) from coordinating with other forces, even the regular Republican Guard or any other units were ever allowed near the SRG.

The Special Republican Guard received better pay and benefits than members of the normal Republican Guard and the regular Iraqi Army. By 2002, there were reportedly 12,000 members of the SRG, drawn primarily from clans loyal to Saddam Hussein and his regime. As many as five brigades containing 14 battalions of 1,300–1,500 men each, and also included air defense, armored, and artillery were reported to be in existence at that time. In May 2003, the SRG was officially dissolved per Order 2 of the Coalition Provisional Authority under Administrator L. Paul Bremer, in the wake of the invasion of Iraq by a U.S.-led international coalition.

Former members of the Special Republican Guard were later suspected of carrying out insurgent attacks on Coalition forces in Iraq after the invasion, while others went on to join Sons of Iraq or Anbar Awakening home guard militias, funded, trained, equipped and operated by American forces.

Structure
The SRG had 13 or 14 battalions and ranged in troop strength from 15,000 to 26,000. This may have fallen to only 12,000 by 2002.
 * 1st Brigade
 * 2nd Brigade
 * 3rd Brigade
 * 4th Brigade
 * Air Defense Command
 * Tank Command

title: Special Republican Guard (Iraq)


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Robert Culliford

Robert Culliford (c. 1666 – unknown; last name occasionally reported as Collover) was a pirate from Cornwall who is best remembered for repeatedly checking the designs of Captain William Kidd.

Early career and capture
Culliford and Kidd first met as shipmates aboard the French privateer Sainte Rose in 1689; there were only six other Britons aboard. After the War of the Grand Alliance broke out, Kidd, Culliford, and their British comrades mutinied against a French prize crew, taking the ship from French Captain Jean Fantin and renaming it the Blessed William, with Kidd put in command. In February 1690, Culliford led his own mutiny and deprived Kidd of his command. The pirates elected William Mason as captain.

Culliford sailed with the pirates through the Caribbean, sacking ships and attacking a town. They went to New York to sell their booty. Mason was granted a letter of marque by Jacob Leisler, then acting governor of New York, and Culliford accompanied the pirates as they ransacked and laid waste two French Canadian towns. The pirates also captured a French frigate named L'Esperance. Mason granted this ship to Culliford, who renamed it the Horne Frigate, Culliford's first pirate command. However, the pirates lost most of their booty when the two ketches they sent to bring their wealth to New York fell into the hands of French privateers. The disappointed Culliford returned to New York with Mason, where they returned aboard a single ship, the Jacob, another captured French vessel, and set sail in December 1690. Culliford served as captain's quartermaster, one of two quartermasters aboard the Jacob.

Culliford and his fellow pirates eventually made their way to India, landing at Mangrol in 1692, where they robbed and abused the local population. The Gujaratis eventually captured Culliford and seventeen of his comrades, and Culliford spent the next four years in a Gujarati prison.

Escape and new adventures
In the spring of 1696, Culliford and some of his comrades escaped and made their way to Bombay, where they signed aboard the East India Company ketch Josiah. In Madras they commandeered the ship, returned to piracy, and sailed for the Bay of Bengal.

Near the Nicobar Islands, the crew retook the ship and marooned Culliford. He was rescued by Ralph Stout, captain of the Mocha. When Stout was killed in 1697, Culliford became captain, briefly sailing alongside the Charming Mary (formerly captained by Richard Glover, then Richard Bobbington, and later John Ireland). Cullingford then pursued the British ship Dorill, but the Dorill opened fire and severed the Mocha mainmast. Culliford retreated to St. Mary's Island (Île Sainte-Marie) off eastern Madagascar, plundering ships along the way. At Saint Mary's, Culliford plundered a French ship with £2,000 worth of cargo.

Meanwhile, William Kidd, hunting pirates, found Culliford at St. Mary's Island. While plotting to capture Culliford's ship most of Kidd's crew (who had grown angry with their captain) abandoned Kidd and signed on with Culliford. Culliford and his new crew then set off in late June 1698, leaving Kidd and his ransacked ship to fend for themselves on St. Mary's Island.

Shortly after departing Saint Mary's Island, Culliford met up with Dirk Chivers. They joined forces with Joseph Wheeler and captured the Great Mohammed in the Red Sea in September 1698. The Great Mohammed carried £130,000 in cash. While returning to Saint Mary's Island they plundered another ship in February 1699.

In June 1699 Culliford was living at Edward Welch settlement on Ile Ste. Marie near Madagascar with fellow Captain John Swann; while there, Swann was referred to as “a great consort of Culliford’s, who lives with him.” Because of this, Culliford is occasionally cited as a bisexual or homosexual pirate. But lack of evidence leaves the exact nature of their relationship unclear.

At St. Mary's a number of his sailors elected to return to America, paying Giles Shelley to take them on as passengers aboard the Nassau. While at Saint Mary's Island, four British warships under Commodore Thomas Warren arrived. The pirates were offered a royal pardon under the 1698 Act of Grace, which Culliford accepted despite its expiration. He was arrested despite the pardon, and taken to the Marshalsea prison on 1 August 1700. He was tried for piracy of the Great Mohammed and his pardon was ruled invalid. He was saved from hanging, because he was needed in Samuel Burgess' trial. Following the trial, Culliford disappeared from record, and rumour has it that he next served on a naval ship, after which he disappears from the records like another famous pirate - Henry Every.

title: Robert Culliford


text:
Talk:Woolf (surname)

I am going to go ahead and move Virginia Woolf above George Woolf. Goingtoalaska 02:40, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

Do we really need/want redirects for last names of famous people?--Samuel J. Howard 21:15, 2 May 2004 (UTC)

Possibly not - but certainly when there are two Wikipedia entries for different people with the same surname, the surname should bring up a disambiguation page rather than a redirect to just one. ;)

That depends on how notable the two are; if one is well-known and the other obscure, one can be the main entry with a see also... header pointing to the other - if both are equally well-known, it is customary to disambiguate AFAIK. --carlb 20:44, 1 April 2006 (UTC)

title: Talk:Woolf (surname)


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List of North Carolina state parks

The State of North Carolina has a group of protected areas known as the North Carolina State Park System, which is managed by the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation (NCDPR), an agency of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (NCDNCR). Units of the system can only be established by an act of the General Assembly of North Carolina. The park system began in 1916 when the summit of Mount Mitchell became first state park in the Southeastern United States. According to the Division of Parks & Recreation, "the State Parks Act of 1987 lists six types of units included in the NC State Parks System." These are State Parks, State Recreation Areas, State Natural Areas, State Lakes, State Trails, and State Rivers. All units of the system are owned and/or managed by the division, and the division leases some of the units to other agencies for operation. Most units of the park system are also components of State Nature and Historic Preserve.

State Parks
State Parks are the principle unit of the state park system. The NC Division of Parks & Recreation describes its parks as follows:

"Generally, State Parks are expected to possess both significant natural resource values and significant recreational values. State Parks are expected to accommodate the development of facilities, but may vary in the extent of development depending upon what can be provided without damage to the scenic or natural features. Facilities are planned and constructed to keep disturbance of natural resources to a minimum and to leave a 'liberal portion' of each park undisturbed and free from improvements and structures, except for trails."

Several of the State Parks are new and are still being planned and developed. A few of the older state parks were greatly expanded in size in the 2000s adding trails and bike paths open to the public.

State Recreation Areas
State Recreation Areas are more intensely developed units than State Parks, and they largely encompass lands less sensitive to human activities than State Parks. According to the NC Division of Parks & Recreation:

"State Recreation Areas are sites where the primary purpose is outdoor recreation, rather than preservation. More intensive development of facilities is provided than in State Parks. Protection and enjoyment of the natural resources are still important, and the sites are expected to contain scenic and attractive natural features. Development is planned and constructed to keep a 'reasonable amount' of each area undisturbed and free from improvements and structures."

State Natural Areas
State Natural Areas protect areas more sensitive to human activities than State Parks. Most of the State Natural Areas are undeveloped and have limited to no facilities, and some of them are closed to the general public to protect rare, fragile ecosystems. A few have developed facilities for low intensity, passive recreation, as well as facilities for public interpretation and education of the natural area. The NC Division of Parks & Recreation states:

"The purpose of State Natural Areas is focused on preserving and protecting areas of scientific, aesthetic, or ecological value. Facilities are limited to those needed for interpretation, protection, and minimum maintenance. Generally, recreational and public use facilities such as camping, swimming, picnicking, and the like are not provided in State Natural Areas."

State Lakes
State Lakes are all large, naturally formed bodies of water in the state's Coastal Plain. Most of the lakes are Carolina Bays. The NC Division of Parks & Recreation describes its State Lakes as follows:

"Chapter 165 of the Laws of 1929 specified that 'all lakes now belonging to the State having an area of 50 acres or more' should be 'administered as provided for other recreational areas now owned by the State.' This allowed the then-Department of Conservation and Development to assume management authority for seven Coastal Plain lakes that became units of the State Parks System known as State Lakes. Most of these are administratively included as part of an adjoining State Park, but one of the lakes (White Lake) has no public ownership on its shoreline."

State Trails
State Trails are one of the principal components of the State Trail System. State Trails may be either long-distance, hiking trails or paddle trails. State Trails may have land components for providing a trail corridor or for protecting significant features or resources along the trail. Most of these lands are leased to other land management agencies. All of the State Trails are joint projects with other government agencies and nonprofit organizations. The following is the NC Division of Parks & Recreation description of State Trails:

The North Carolina Trails System Act was passed in 1973 to help provide for the state's outdoor recreation needs and to promote public access to natural and scenic areas. The act prescribed methods for establishing a statewide system of scenic trails, recreation trails, and connecting or side trails. The Trails System includes "park trails", which are designated and managed as units of the State Parks System known as State Trails, and "designated trails", which are managed by other governmental agencies or corporations.

State Rivers
State Rivers are components of the state's Natural and Scenic Rivers System, which is the state's equivalent to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Most of the state's National Wild and Scenic Rivers, are also State Rivers and vice versa. The NC Division of Parks & Recreation states that:

"The Natural and Scenic Rivers System was created by the 1971 General Assembly to preserve and protect certain free flowing rivers, their water quality and their adjacent lands for the benefit of present and future generations. The Natural and Scenic Rivers Act established criteria and methods for inclusion of components to the system. Components of the Natural and Scenic Rivers System are State Rivers, and are also units of the State Parks System."

Former units
Some units have been formally removed from the NC State Park System and transferred to other agencies for management.

When the State Historic Site system was established in 1955, the system's first six components were historic properties transferred from the State Park System.

One unit, Rendezvous Mountain, was transferred back to the park system, after 66 years in the state forest system.

title: List of North Carolina state parks