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Airspeed Horsa

The Airspeed AS.51 Horsa was a British troop-carrying glider used during the Second World War. It was developed and manufactured by Airspeed Limited, alongside various subcontractors; the type was named after Horsa, the legendary 5th-century conqueror of southern Britain.

Having been greatly impressed by the effective use of airborne operations by Germany during the early stages of the Second World War, such as during the Battle of France, the Allied powers sought to establish capable counterpart forces of their own. The British War Office, determining that the role of gliders would be an essential component of such airborne forces, proceeded to examine available options. An evaluation of the General Aircraft Hotspur found it to lack the necessary size, thus Specification X.26/40 was issued. It was from this specification that Airspeed Limited designed the Horsa, a large glider capable of accommodating up to 30 fully equipped troops, which was designated as the AS 51.

The Horsa was used in large numbers by the British Army Air Corps and the Royal Air Force (RAF); both services used it to conduct various air assault operations through the conflict. The type was used to perform an unsuccessful attack on the German Heavy Water Plant at Rjukan in Norway, known as Operation Freshman, and during the invasion of Sicily, known as Operation Husky. Large numbers of Horsa were subsequently used during the opening stages of the Battle of Normandy, being used in the British Operation Tonga and American operations. It was also deployed in quantity during Operation Dragoon, Operation Market Garden, and Operation Varsity. Further use of the Horsa was made by various other armed forces, including the United States Army Air Forces.

Background
In the early stages of the Second World War, the German military demonstrated its role as a pioneer in the deployment of airborne operations. These forces had conducted several successful operations during the Battle of France in 1940, including the use of glider-borne troops during the Battle of Fort Eben-Emael. Having been impressed by the performance and capabilities of German airborne operations, the Allied governments decided that they would also form their own airborne formation. As a result of this decision, the creation of two British airborne divisions came about, as well as a number of smaller-scale units. On 22 June 1940, the British airborne establishment was formally initiated when the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, directed the War Office in a memorandum to investigate the possibility of creating a corps of 5,000 parachute troops. During 1941, the United States also embarked on a similar programme.

While the equipment for the airborne forces was under development, it was decided by War Office officials that gliders would be an integral component of such a force. It was initially thought that gliders would be used to deliver paratroops. Transport aircraft would both carry paratroops and tow a glider with a second party of troops. The idea arose as a response to the severe shortage of transport aircraft in the early part of the war, as in this way the number of troops that could be dropped in an operation by a given number of transport aircraft would be greatly enhanced. The empty gliders would be towed back to base.

However, thinking eventually evolved into using gliders to land both troops and heavy equipment in the theatre of operations. The first glider produced was the General Aircraft Hotspur, which first flew on 5 November 1940. Several problems were found with the Hotspur's design, the worst being its inability to carry sufficient troops. It was believed that airborne troops should be landed in larger groups than the eight that the Hotspur could carry, and that the number of towplanes required would prove to be impractical. There were also concerns that the gliders would have to be towed in tandem, which would be extremely hazardous at night or through cloud.

Accordingly, it was decided that the Hotspur would be used only as a training glider, while British industry continued with the development of several different gliders, including a larger 25-seater assault glider, which would become the Airspeed Horsa. On 12 October 1940, Specification X.26/40 was issued, calling for a large assault glider. The specification required the use of wood where possible to conserve critical supplies of metal. Airspeed would designate the Horsa the AS.51.

".. it must have been the most wooden aircraft ever built. Even the controls in the cockpit were masterpieces of the woodworker's skill."

Airspeed assembled a team headed by aircraft designer Hessell Tiltman whose efforts began at the de Havilland technical school at Hatfield, Hertfordshire, before relocating to Salisbury Hall, London Colney. The Horsa was to have had paratroopers jumping from doors on either side of the fuselage, while the glider remained under tow, while combat landings would have been secondary. The widely set doors enabled simultaneous egress, as well as for troops to fire on nearby enemies while still in the glider. For this they were provided with several firing points in the roof and tail. That idea was dropped, and it was decided that the glider would simply land troops.

Production
In February 1941, an initial order was placed for 400 gliders and it was estimated that Airspeed should be able to complete the order by July 1942. Early on, inquiries were made into the possibility of a further 400 being manufactured in India for the use of Indian airborne forces, however, this plan was abandoned when it was discovered the required wood would have to be imported into India. Seven prototypes were ordered with Fairey Aircraft producing the first two prototypes, which were used for flight testing, while Airspeed completed the remaining prototypes that were used in equipment and loading tests. On 12 September 1941, the first prototype (DG597), towed by an Armstrong Whitworth Whitley, made its first flight, 11 months after the specification was issued.

As specified in Specification X3/41, 200 AS 52 Horsas were also to be constructed to carry bombs. A central fuselage bomb bay holding four 2000 lb or two 4000 lb bombs was fitted into the standard Horsa fuselage. The concept of towing bombs was dropped as other bombers became available, resulting in the order for the AS 52 being cancelled.

In early 1942, production of the Horsa commenced; by May 1942, some 2,345 had been ordered by the Army for use in future airborne operations. The glider was designed from the outset to be constructed using components and a series of 30 sub-assemblies required to complete the manufacturing process. Manufacturing was intended primarily to use woodcrafting facilities, which were not needed for more urgent aviation production, and as a result, production was spread across separate factories, which consequently limited the likely loss in case of German attack. The designer A. H. Tiltman said that the Horsa "went from the drawing board to the air in ten months, which was not too bad considering the drawings had to be made suitable for the furniture trade who were responsible for all production."

The initial 695 gliders were manufactured at Airspeed's factory in Christchurch, Hampshire; production of the remainder was performed by an assortment of subcontractors. These included Austin Motors, and a production group coordinated by the furniture manufacturers Harris Lebus. These same contractors would produce an improved model of the glider, designated as the AS.53 Horsa Mk II, while none would be manufactured by Airspeed themselves. The Horsa Mk II had been specifically designed for the carriage of vehicles, featuring a reinforced floor and a hinged nose section in order to accommodate such use. Other changes included the adoption of a twin nosewheel arrangement, a modified tow attachment and an increased all-up weight of 15750 lb.

As a consequence of the majority of subcontractors not having available airfields from which to deliver the gliders, they sent the sub-assemblies to RAF Maintenance Units (MUs), who would perform final assembly themselves; this process has been attributed as being responsible for the widely varying production numbers recorded of the type. Between 3,655 and 3,799 Horsas had been completed by the time production ended.

Design
The Airspeed AS.51 Horsa was a large troop-carrying glider. It was capable of transporting a maximum of 30 seated fully equipped troops; it also had the flexibility to carry a Jeep or an Ordnance QF 6-pounder anti-tank gun. The Horsa Mark I had a wingspan of 88 ft and a length of 67 ft, and when fully loaded weighed 15250 lb. The later AS 58 Horsa II featured an increased fully loaded weight of 15750 lb along with a hinged nose section, reinforced floor and double nose wheels to support the extra weight of vehicles. The tow cable was attached to the nose wheel strut, rather than the dual wing points of the Horsa I. The Horsa was composed largely of wood; it was described by aviation author H. A. Taylor as being: "the most wooden aircraft ever built. Even the controls in the cockpit were masterpieces of the woodworker's skill".

It was considered to be sturdy and very manoeuvrable for a glider. The design of the Horsa adopted a high-wing cantilever monoplane configuration, being equipped with wooden wings and a wooden semi-monocoque fuselage. The fuselage was built in three sections bolted together, the front section held the pilot's compartment and main freight loading door, the middle section was accommodation for troops or freight, the rear section supported the tail unit.

The fuselage joint at the rear end of the main section could be broken on landing to facilitate the rapid unloading of troops and equipment, for which ramps were provided. Initially the tail was severed by detonating a ring of Cordtex around the rear fuselage. But this was thought to be hazardous, especially if detonated prematurely by enemy fire. In early 1944, a method of detaching the tail was devised that used eight quick-release bolts, and wire-cutters to sever the control cables.

The wing carried large "barn door" flaps which, when lowered, made a steep, high rate-of-descent landing possible—this performance would allow the pilots to land in constricted spaces. By employing a combination of the flaps and pneumatic brakes, the glider could be brought to a stop within relatively short distances. The Horsa was equipped with a fixed tricycle landing gear and it was one of the first gliders equipped with a tricycle undercarriage for take off. On operational flights, the main gear could be jettisoned and landing was then made on the castoring nose wheel and a sprung skid set on the underside of the fuselage.

The pilot's compartment had two side-by-side seats and dual controls, all of which being contained within a large Plexiglas nose section. Initially, the cockpit would be outfitted with internal telephone systems that allowed for communication between the pilots of the glider and tug aircraft while connected; however, this was replaced on later-built models by radio sets instead, which had the advantage of being able to maintain contact after detaching. Aft of the pilot's compartment was the freight loading door on the port side; the hinged door could also be used as a loading ramp. The main compartment could accommodate 15 troops on benches along the sides with another access door on the starboard side. Supply containers could also be fitted under the centre-section of the wing, three on each side.

During March 1942, the Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment and 1st Airlanding Brigade commenced loading trials using several of the prototypes, but immediately ran into problems. During an attempt to load a jeep into a prototype, Airspeed personnel present informed the evaluation staff that to do so would break the glider's loading ramp, as it had been designed to hold only a single motorbike. With this lesson learnt, 1st Airlanding Brigade subsequently began sending samples of all equipment required to go into Horsas to Airspeed, and a number of weeks were spent ascertaining the methods and modifications required to fit the equipment into a Horsa. Even so, the loading ramp continued to be considered to be fragile and prone to damage, which would ground the glider if sustained during loading.

Wartime use
The Horsa was first deployed operationally on the night of 19/20 November 1942 in the unsuccessful attack on the German Heavy Water Plant at Rjukan in Norway (Operation Freshman). The two Horsa gliders, each carrying 15 sappers, and one of the Halifax tug aircraft crashed in Norway due to bad weather. All 23 survivors from the glider crashes were executed on the orders of Adolf Hitler, in a flagrant breach of the Geneva Convention which protects prisoners of war (POWs) from summary execution.

In preparation for further operational deployment, 30 Horsa gliders were air-towed by Halifax bombers from bases in Great Britain to North Africa; three of these aircraft were lost in transit. On 10 July 1943, the 27 surviving Horsas were used during Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily, which was the type's first large-scale operation.

The Horsa was deployed in large numbers (estimated to be in excess of 250) during the Battle of Normandy; specifically in the British Operation Tonga and the American airborne landings in Normandy. The first unit to land in France during the battle was a British coup-de-main force, carried by six Horsas, that captured the Caen canal and Orne river bridges. During the opening phase of the operation, 320 Horsas were used to perform the first lift of the 6th Airborne Division, while a further 296 Horsas participated in the second lift. Large numbers of both American and British forces were deployed using the Horsa during the opening phase of the battle.

The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) acquired approximately 400 Horsas in a form of reverse Lend-Lease. Capable of accommodating up to 30 troop seats, the Horsa was much bigger than the 13-troop American Waco CG-4A (known as the Hadrian by the British), and thus offered greater carrying capacity.

In British service, the Horsa was a major component during several major offensives that followed the successful Normandy landings, such as Operation Dragoon and Operation Market Garden, both in 1944, and Operation Varsity during March 1945. The latter was the final operation for the Horsa, and had involved a force of 440 gliders carrying soldiers of the 6th Airborne Division across the Rhine. Operationally, the Horsa was towed by various aircraft: four-engined heavy bombers displaced from operational service such as the Short Stirling and Handley Page Halifax, the Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle and Armstrong Whitworth Whitley twin-engined bombers, as well as the US Douglas C-47 Skytrain/Dakota (not as often due to the weight of the glider). In Operation Market Garden, however, a total of 1,336 C-47s along with 340 Stirlings were employed to tow 1,205 gliders, ) and Curtiss C-46 Commando. The gliders were towed with a harness that attached to points on both wings and also carried an intercom between tug and glider. The glider pilots were usually from the Glider Pilot Regiment, part of the Army Air Corps (AAC), although Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots were used on occasion.

Postwar use
A small number of Horsa Mk IIs were obtained by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and participated in evaluation trials which were held at CFB Gimli, Manitoba. Three of these survivors were purchased as surplus in the early 1950s and ended up in Matlock, Manitoba, where they were scrapped. India also acquired a small number of Horsas for their own evaluation purposes. Due to low surplus prices in the UK, many were bought and converted into trailers, sheds and even holiday cottages.

On 5 June 2004, as part of the 60th anniversary commemoration of D-Day, Prince Charles unveiled a replica Horsa on the site of the first landing at Pegasus Bridge and talked with Jim Wallwork, the first pilot to land the aircraft on French soil during D-Day.

Ten replicas were built for the 1977 film A Bridge Too Far, mainly for static display and set-dressing, although one Horsa was modified to make a brief "hop" towed behind a Dakota at Deelen, the Netherlands. During the production, seven of the replicas were damaged in a wind storm; the contingent were repaired in time for use in the film. Five of the Horsa "film models" were destroyed during filming with the survivors sold as a lot to John Hawke, aircraft collector in the UK. Another mock-up for close-up work came into the possession of the Ridgeway Military & Aviation Research Group and is stored at Welford, Berkshire.

Variants

 * AS.51 Horsa I
 * Production glider with cable attachment points at upper attachment points of main landing gear.

 * AS.52 Horsa
 * Bomb-carrying Horsa; project cancelled prior to design/production

 * AS.53 Horsa
 * further development of the Horsa not taken up.

 * AS.58 Horsa II
 * Development of the Horsa I with hinged nose, to allow direct loading and unloading of equipment, twin nose wheel and cable attachment on nose wheel strut.

Operators

 * Belgian Army – One aircraft only.
 * 🇨🇦 Canada
 * Royal Canadian Air Force
 * Indian Air Force
 * Portuguese Air Force
 * Turkish Air Force
 * Army Air Corps
 * Glider Pilot Regiment
 * Royal Air Force
 * No. 670 Squadron RAF
 * United States Army Air Forces
 * Army Air Corps
 * Glider Pilot Regiment
 * Royal Air Force
 * No. 670 Squadron RAF
 * United States Army Air Forces
 * United States Army Air Forces

Surviving aircraft
An Airspeed Horsa Mark II (KJ351) is preserved at the Museum of Army Flying in Hampshire, England. The Assault Glider Trust built a replica at RAF Shawbury using templates made from original components found scattered over various European battlefields and using plans supplied by BAE Systems (on the condition that the glider must not be flown ). The replica was completed in 2014 and then stored at RAF Cosford until it was transferred to the Overloon War Museum in the Netherlands in June 2019. A fuselage section displayed at the Traces of War museum at Wolfheze, Netherlands, was retrieved from Cholsey, Oxfordshire, where it had served as a dwelling for over 50 years. It was recovered around 2001 by the de Havilland Aircraft Museum, of London Colney, where it was stored until being bought by museum owner Paul Hendriks. The airframe is believed not to have seen active service. A cockpit section is on display at the Silent Wings Museum in Lubbock, Texas.

BAPC.232 Horsa I/II Composite – Nose & Fuselage sections is on display in the Walter Goldsmith Hangar at the de Havilland Aircraft Museum. A full-sized replica stands close to Pegasus Bridge, Normandy, as part of the Memorial Pegasus museum.

title: Airspeed Horsa


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Buddy Rice

Albert Lee "Buddy" Rice (born January 31, 1976) is an American former race car driver. He is best known for winning the 2004 Indianapolis 500 while driving for Rahal Letterman Racing, and the 2009 24 Hours of Daytona for Brumos Racing.

Early years
Born in Phoenix, Arizona, Buddy Rice is the son of a former drag racer. Rice's grandfather was from Indianapolis and passed on his interest in racing to Rice's father. Rice saw his first race when he was six years old. He started racing in go-karts when he was 11. Rice played baseball in high school in Phoenix, Arizona, and attracted the attention of college and professional scouts. However, both Rice and his father decided he would pursue a career in racing instead.

Rice's professional career began in 1996, when he drove in one U.S. F2000 event; he finished eighth after starting second. He also drove in the Dodge Shelby Pro Series, winning from the pole at Las Vegas, Nevada.

In 1997, Rice drove in F2000 for Lynx Racing/DSTP Motorsports, finishing fourth in points and winning at Phoenix. He also won the 1997 Valvoline Team USA Scholarship, where he represented the United States in Europe’s Nations Cup.

In 1998, he won from the pole at Nazareth. He finished seventh in Toyota Atlantic points, and won the Gilles Villeneuve Memorial Award. He finished fifth in the Toyota Atlantic championship in 1999, driving for Lynx Racing.

He won the 2000 Toyota Atlantic Series championship, which gained the attention of Red Bull Cheever Racing. In 2001, he tested with Red Bull Cheever Racing in November at California.

IRL IndyCar Series
In August 2002, Rice had his first race in the IRL for Red Bull Cheever Racing at Michigan International Speedway. Hired initially to replace crash-prone Tomas Scheckter, team owner Eddie Cheever discovered that Scheckter's contract was more iron-clad than first thought. Team Cheever then ran three entries (joined by their team owner), and the best crew and parts were given to Rice. Rice lost the race by inches to Scheckter, but made a mark in the series. He competed in the final five races of the IRL IndyCar Series season with Red Bull Cheever Racing, scoring four top-10 finishes and two top-five finishes in five starts.

In 2003, Rice competed in 13 of 16 races for Red Bull Cheever Racing but was replaced by the more experienced Alex Barron.

In November 2003, he dabbled with a one-off drive in a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at the Homestead circuit before being called by Bobby Rahal to drive the No. 15 Argent Mortgage Honda when Kenny Bräck was injured in a late-race crash at Texas Motor Speedway in 2003.

In 2004, Rice started on pole and won a rain-shortened Indianapolis 500, his first Indycar race victory. He finished 3rd in the IRL championship that year, earning five poles, three wins and leading 342 laps. After his Indy 500 win, his sponsors told him that they would buy him any car he wanted, he chose a 1949 Mercury Eight.

For 2005 he and Vítor Meira were joined by Danica Patrick. However, Rice was injured in a crash at Indianapolis during practice, and was not cleared to race. In an ironic twist, Bräck then substituted for Rice.

The 2006 season began tragically for Rice at the season-opening race at Homestead-Miami Speedway when teammate Paul Dana of Rahal Letterman Racing team was killed in the final practice session. Rice and his other teammate Danica Patrick immediately withdrew from the race. Rice started his 2006 season in the following race at St. Petersburg, Florida. His Indianapolis 500 race ended early in a crash with Hélio Castroneves. After the IRL season ended, he raced in the Champ Car World Series race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez for Forsythe Racing and finished 10th.

For 2007, Rice joined Sarah Fisher at Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. He captured 3 top-five finishes in the first half of the season and finished 9th in points, his best result since 2004. He was retained by the team for the 2008 IndyCar season, the high point of which came with a 4th-place finish at Watkins Glen. He ultimately finished 16th in points.

He did not participate in the 2009 IndyCar Series season after being released from Dreyer & Reinbold Racing at the end of the 2008 season. Further, his long-standing partnership with Red Bull also expired and was not renewed.

He raced for Panther Racing in the 2011 Indianapolis 500 as a teammate to J. R. Hildebrand driving the No. 44 Honda Dallara.

A1 Grand Prix
Starting the 2007-08 season, Rice signed to drive for A1 Team USA in the A1 Grand Prix international racing series. He drove in the first two rounds of the season with a best finish of 13th in the Zandvoort feature race before ceding the seat to Jonathan Summerton for the remainder of the season.

Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series
Rice competed in a few Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series in the early 2000s. In his debut in 2000, he finished second at Watkins Glen on a TRP Lola Nissan. In 2002 he resulted second at the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen and fourth in Homestead and Phoenix, driving a Miracle Riley & Scott Ford.

The driver competed at the 24 Hours of Daytona from 2005 to 2008, with a best result of 9th in 2006. He also raced at Utah from 2006 to 2008, collecting a 7th again in 2006.

In 2009, Rice won the 24 Hours of Daytona on a Brumos Racing Riley Porsche. He spent the second half of the season as teammate of Antonio García in a Spirit of Daytona Coyote Porsche, where he finished 4th at Barber in his only top 10.

Rice raced full-time for Spirit of Daytona in the 2010 Rolex Sports Car Series, joining again García. He helped Spirit of Daytona get the first podium finish for the team at the Six Hours of the Glen in 2010, collecting a third place. He also resulted 5th in three races and ended the season in 11th place.

His last Grand-Am race was the 2011 24 Hours of Daytona, where he finished 9th in an Action Express Racing Riley Porsche.

Personal
In his free time, Rice collects and restores classic cars. He has a child, Mina, who was born on April 9, 2008.

American open–wheel racing results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

IRL IndyCar Series

 * ''1 Rahal-Letterman Racing withdrew both Rice and teammate Danica Patrick from competition when fellow teammate Paul Dana was killed in a race-morning practice session accident.
 * 2 Races run on same day.
 * 3 Non-points-paying, exhibition race.

Complete A1 Grand Prix results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

International Race of Champions
(key) ( Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led. )

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

title: Buddy Rice


text: Category:Fawcett Comics characters

title: Category:Fawcett Comics characters


text:
George Herbig

George Howard Herbig (January 2, 1920 – October 12, 2013) was an American astronomer at the University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy. He is perhaps best known for his contribution to the discovery of Herbig–Haro objects.

Background
Born in 1920 in Wheeling, West Virginia, Herbig received his Doctor of Philosophy in 1948 at the University of California, Berkeley; his dissertation is titled A Study of Variable Stars in Nebulosity.

Career
His specialty was stars at an early stage of evolution (a class of intermediate mass pre–main sequence stars are named Herbig Ae/Be stars after him) and the interstellar medium. He was perhaps best known for his discovery, with Guillermo Haro, of the Herbig–Haro objects; bright patches of nebulosity excited by bipolar outflow from a star being born.

Herbig also made prominent contributions to the field of diffuse interstellar band (DIB) research, especially through a series of nine articles published between 1963 and 1995 entitled "The diffuse interstellar bands."

Honors
Awards Named after him
 * Helen B. Warner Prize for Astronomy of the American Astronomical Society (1955)
 * Foreign Scientific Member, Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Heidelberg
 * Henry Norris Russell Lectureship of the AAS (1975)
 * Médaille, Université de Liège (1969)
 * Bruce Medal of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (1980)
 * Petrie Prize and Lectureship of the Canadian Astronomical Society (1995)
 * Asteroid 11754 Herbig
 * Herbig Ae/Be stars
 * Herbig–Haro objects

Selected publications

 * "High-Resolution Spectroscopy of FU Orionis Stars", ApJ 595 (2003) 384–411
 * "The Young Cluster IC 5146", AJ 123 (2002) 304–327
 * "Barnard's Merope Nebula Revisited: New Observational Results", AJ 121 (2001) 3138–3148
 * "The Diffuse Interstellar Bands", Annu. Rev. Astrophys. 33 (1995) 19–73
 * "The Unusual Pre-Main-Sequence star VY Tauri", ApJ 360 (1990) 639–649
 * "The Structure and Spectrum of R Monocerotis", ApJ 152 (1968) 439
 * "The Spectra of Two Nebulous Objects Near NGC 1999", ApJ 113 (1951) 697

title: George Herbig


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Globalization and Its Discontents

Globalization and Its Discontents is a book published in 2002 by the 2001 Nobel laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz. The title is a reference to Freud's Civilization and Its Discontents.

The book draws on Stiglitz's personal experience as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under Bill Clinton from 1993 and chief economist at the World Bank from 1997. During this period Stiglitz became disillusioned with the IMF and other international institutions, which he came to believe acted against the interests of impoverished developing countries. Stiglitz argues that the policies pursued by the IMF are based on neoliberal assumptions that are fundamentally unsound: "Behind the free market ideology there is a model, often attributed to Adam Smith, which argues that market forces—the profit motive—drive the economy to efficient outcomes as if by an invisible hand. One of the great achievements of modern economics is to show the sense in which, and the conditions under which, Smith's conclusion is correct. It turns out that these conditions are highly restrictive. Indeed, more recent advances in economic theory—ironically occurring precisely during the period of the most relentless pursuit of the Washington Consensus policies—have shown that whenever information is imperfect and markets incomplete, which is to say always, and especially in developing countries, then the invisible hand works most imperfectly. Significantly, there are desirable government interventions which, in principle, can improve upon the efficiency of the market. These restrictions on the conditions under which markets result in efficiency are important—many of the key activities of government can be understood as responses to the resulting market failures." Stiglitz argues that IMF policies contributed to bringing about the 1997 Asian financial crisis, as well as the 1998–2002 Argentine great depression. Also noted was the failure of Russia's conversion to a market economy and low levels of development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Specific policies criticised by Stiglitz include fiscal austerity, high interest rates, trade liberalization, and the liberalization of capital markets and insistence on the privatization of state assets.

Contents of the book
The theories which guide the IMF's policies are empirically flawed. Free market, neoclassical, and neoliberal are all essentially euphemisms for the disastrous laissez-faire economics of the late 19th century. This approach seeks to minimize the role of government—arguing that lower wages solve problems of unemployment, and relying upon trickle-down economics (the belief that growth and wealth will trickle down to all segments of society) to address poverty. Stiglitz finds no evidence to support this belief, and considers the 'Washington Consensus' policy of free markets to be a blend of ideology and bad science.

Joseph Stiglitz was awarded the 2001 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (shared with George Akerlof and Michael Spence) for demonstrating how information affects markets. Without equal access to information between employer and employee, company and consumer, or (in the IMF's case) lender and debtor, there is no chance of "free" markets operating efficiently. (This explanation also owes much to the earlier Nobel work of Kenneth Arrow and Gérard Debreu.)

Stiglitz explains that globalization could be either success or failure, depending on its management. There is a success when it is managed by national government by embracing their characteristics of each individual country; however, there is a failure when it is managed by international institutions such as IMF.

Globalization is beneficial under the condition that the economic management operated by national government and the example is East Asian countries. Those countries (especially South Korea and Taiwan) were based on exports through which they were able to close technological, capital and knowledge gaps. By managing national pace of change and speed of liberalization on their own, those countries were able to achieve economic growth. The countries who received the benefits from the globalization shared their profits equally.

However, Stiglitz believes that if the national economy regulated by international institutions there could be an adverse effect. It is because the international institutions such as IMF, WTO, and World Bank lack transparency and accountability. Without government oversight, they reach decisions without public debate and resolve trade disputes involving "uncompetitive" or "onerous" environmental, labor, and capital laws in secret tribunals—without appeal to a nation's courts.

In East Asia's financial crisis, Russia's failed conversion to a market economy, failed development in sub-Saharan Africa, and financial meltdown in Argentina, Stiglitz argues that IMF policies contributed to a disaster: It failed to promote productive investment opportunities and demand for credit of quality; only well-planned loans, based on high quality economic and sector work, lead to improved design, effective implementation, and lower cost. It is better to spend more time getting the program right than to lend prematurely. However, none of these were done. As a result, loans came with extensive conditions that subverted the growth of democracy, hampered local economic growth, and enriched multinational corporations.

To evaluate his conclusion, it is instructive to look at those cases where Third World development actually succeeded: South Asia and China are the world's two greatest emerging markets. South Asia repeatedly resisted IMF conditions (especially South Korea and Malaysia) and China declined any IMF money whatsoever.

According to Stiglitz, IMF interventions all followed a similar free market formula. The IMF strongly advocated "shock therapy" in a rush to market economies, without first establishing institutions to protect the public and local commerce. Local social, political, and economic considerations were largely ignored. Privatization without land reform or strong competitive policies resulted in crony capitalism, large businesses run by organized crime, and neo-feudalism without a middle class. There is no doubt that monetary aid/lending could have an important and effective role in advocating country efforts to sustain external shocks and improve economic status but without strong forefront progress on the policy, the aid of balance of payments help could very well be counterproductive. The consequence will be escalated levels of debt, weakened policy credibility and a lot more difficult task of adjustment in the future.

The IMF also foisted premature capital market liberalization (free flow of capital) without institutional regulation of the financial sector. This destabilized entire developing economies by causing massive inflows of 'hot' short-term investment capital; then when inflation rose, the IMF's loan conditions imposed fiscal austerity and dramatically rising interest rates. This led to widespread bankruptcies without legal protection, massive unemployment without a social safety net, and the prompt withdrawal of foreign capital. The few remaining solvent owners, with zero opportunity for business growth, stripped assets for any value they could.

With loans defaulted and entire nations thrown into economic and social chaos, the IMF rushed bailouts directed mainly to foreign creditors. This fueled speculative runs on currency, and most of the bailout money soon wound up in Swiss and Caribbean bank accounts. As a result, Third World citizens carried much of the costs and few of the benefits of IMF loans, and a moral hazard ensued among the financial community: foreign creditors made bad loans, knowing that if the debtors defaulted, the IMF would pick up the tab (see Long Term Capital Management, whose overexposure in Southeast Asia might have brought down international financial markets without a massive bailout). Meanwhile, the IMF urged cash-strapped countries to further privatize—in effect selling their assets at a fraction of their value to raise cash. Foreign corporations then bought up the assets at rock-bottom prices.

Predictably, great resentment resulted from the IMF's agenda.

Stabilization is on the agenda; job creation is not. Taxation, and its adverse effects, are on the agenda; land reform is off. There is money to bail out banks but not to pay for improved education and health services, let alone to bail out workers who are thrown out of their jobs as a result of the IMF's macroeconomic mismanagement. Ordinary people as well as many government officials and business people continue to refer to the economic and social storm that hit their nations simply as 'the IMF' — the way one would say 'the plague' or 'the Great Depression' [80-81, 97].

John Maynard Keynes helped conceive of the IMF as a fund to help developing countries grow at full employment. So why the consistent and disastrous failure to live up to this mandate?

The IMF is pursuing not just the objectives set out in its original mandate, of enhancing global stability and ensuring that there are funds for countries facing a threat of recession to pursue expansionary policies. It is also pursuing the interests of the financial community. This means that the IMF has objectives that are often in conflict with each other [206-7].

The global financial community apparently did not see the IMF's track record as one of conflicted interests or consistent failure: IMF managing director Stanley Fischer and Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin both left for multimillion-dollar jobs at Citigroup.

Stiglitz believes the IMF and World Bank should be reformed, not dismantled—with a growing population, malaria and AIDS pandemics, and global environmental challenges, Keynes' mandate for equitable growth is more urgent now than ever. He advocates a gradual, sequential, and selective approach to institutional development, land reform and privatization, capital market liberalization, competition policies, worker safety nets, health infrastructure, and education. Different countries will need to follow different paths. Selective policies would direct funds to programs and governments which had success in the past. He also points out "global governance without global government," and suggests that we need to recognize the inequities of the "global economic architecture." Based on the recognition, there is a need of rectification of the developed nations oriented imbalances, and should focus on developing nations. Lastly, democratic disciplines are needed to ensure that financial institutions serve general interests.

Debt forgiveness should be extended, building on the success of the Jubilee Movement. Since the IMF loans primarily benefited foreigners and government officials, he argues it is unjust and onerous that citizens of developing nations be heavily taxed to pay them off.

Not coincidentally, Stiglitz believes that promoting local and international democracy is fundamental to reforming global economic policy. Democracy aids social stability, empowers the free flow of information, and promotes a decentralized economy upon which efficient and equitable economies rely. Extending IMF and WTO voting rights to developing countries, along with public accountability, would be a good start. For Stiglitz, promoting democracy comes before promoting business.

Global governance without global government
Stiglitz argues current procedures for globalization is "global governance without global government". Unlike states, which separation of powers exists, International financial institutions, IMF, WTO, and World Bank, lack any necessary checks and balances. Those international financial institutions are isolated and sole deciders of financial policies and enforce without hearing any dissenting opinions, generally developing countries. IMF’s reckless liberalization, privatization, and deregulation violate developing countries’ sovereignties. Thus rather than working for equity and extermination of poverty, financial institutions become spokespersons of the financial community. The procedures and rhetoric of financial institutions widen the gap between developed and developing, which resulted from undemocratic paternalism and lack of accountability, transparency. Undemocratic paternalism is inflicted through ideology, assuming the model IMF presents is universally applicable. Moreover, lack of accountability and transparency is pronounced in unfair trade agenda, the Uruguay round. The North, EU and US achieved bilateral conventions called Blair House Agreement to circumscribe the regulations imposed on subsidization of agriculture, leading to the failure of Uruguay round and exposing developing countries to greater risk and volatility. Stiglitz dismisses the current global governance without global government and champions global social justice, global affinity to exterminate poverty and create better environment.

Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
In 2017, Stiglitz published a new edition of the book which explored more recent political developments in the developed world pertaining to the effects of neoliberal globalization. He argues that populist anti-globalization movements such as that of the Trump presidency, while accurately identifying certain negative effects of free trade agreements (e.g. NAFTA, which lowered prices for American consumers at the cost of local manufacturing jobs) other aspects of their critiques are flawed as are their prescriptions.

Stiglitz notes how Trump framed the United States as the victim of globalization, when it fact, many of the specific agreements his campaign took issues with were instigated at the behest of the US, primarily to its benefit, or at least, the benefit of the American business community, who, in the case of NAFTA, offshored large swathes of the US manufacturing base to the developing world, taking advantage of weaker regulatory and taxation regimes and cheap, non-unionized labour. Stiglitz is sympathetic to the grievances of the working classes in the developed world with respect to globalization, but sees right-wing populism as unlikely to provide substantial solutions. He argues that Trump’s proposed rewriting of NAFTA and imposition of 65% tariffs on Chinese goods, in addition to being in practice very difficult to enact, would have worsened the plight of the very groups they were intended to benefit.

Praise
Globalisation and Its Discontents has earned praises from many reviewers. Noted investor George Soros describes the book as "Penetrating, insightful.... A seminal work that must be read."

Will Hutton from the British Guardian wrote: "Stiglitz finishes his book with seven action points for change. He is not a global pessimist, but a realist - and instead of placing him in a neat box labelled 'important contribution to the debate,' we should listen to him urgently."

The influential New York Review of Books stated that "Joseph Stiglitz [...] has made incisive and highly valued contributions to the explanation of an astonishingly broad range of economic phenomena, including taxes, interest rates, consumer behavior, corporate finance, and much else. Especially among economists who are still of active working age, he ranks as a titan of the field," concluding that "Stiglitz’s book will surely claim a large place on the public stage. It certainly stands as the most forceful argument that has yet been made against the IMF and its policies."

Business Week's Michael J. Mandel opined that "Stiglitz had a ringside seat for most of the major economic events of the last decade, including the Asian economic crisis and the transition of the former Soviet economies, as well as the administration of development programs throughout the world… This book recounts Stiglitz’s experiences, opening a window on previously unseen aspects of global economic policy. It is designed to provoke a healthy debate and… shows us in poignant terms why developing nations feel the economic deck is stacked against them."

Criticism
The book has also received criticisms from various opponents of his intellectual work affiliated with libertarian and (neo)conservative schools of thought. For instance, D. W. MacKenzie claims in the libertarian journal Public Choice that Stiglitz mischaracterizes government failures as market failures. Most of Stiglitz's examples refer to government intervention that benefited special interests. Such examples are collective action failures of government through rent seeking.

Kenneth Rogoff, IMF Director of research, called Stiglitz's analysis "at best highly controversial, at worst, snake oil" and stated that "The Stiglitzian prescription (for third world nations in a debt crisis) is to raise the profile of fiscal deficits, that is, to issue more debt and to print more money. You seem to believe that if a distressed government issues more currency, its citizens will suddenly think it more valuable. You seem to believe that when investors are no longer willing to hold a government's debt, all that needs to be done is to increase the supply and it will sell like hot cakes."

Daniel T. Griswold of the libertarian think tank Cato Institute labels the book a "score-settling exercise distorted by the author's own political prejudices and personal animus." Griswold takes issue with what he claims is Stiglitz's assumption "that protectionism enriches those nations that practice it" and notes that "while he is not questioning free trade, Stiglitz is disparaging the free flow of capital. The book blames the East Asian Financial Crisis almost entirely on one factor: capital account liberalisation." Stiglitz demonstrates this belief by "prais[ing] Malaysia for spurning IMF advice ... by imposing capital controls to stem the flight of short term flows." Griswold also states that Stiglitz provided no evidence to support his belief that Malaysia was rewarded for their efforts. He counters that Malaysia's GDP growth rate had fallen much farther than the other countries listed by Stiglitz, down to 6.7% and "recovered less rapidly in 1999 and 2000 even though [others] did not resort to capital controls Stiglitz champions." Griswold concludes by arguing that Stiglitz "distorts the history of the East Asian Miracle", while with Russian privatisation he "ignores the fact that Russia's initial reforms were timid and half baked" and that the IMF with its beliefs in bail outs and non-market exchange rates is not the "great symbol of market fundamentalism".

Literature

 * Enrico Colombatto: Book Review. In: Journal of Libertarian Studies. Volume 18, No. 1, Winter 2004, pp. 89–98 (PDF)
 * Daniel T. Griswold: Book Review. In: Cato Journal. Vol. 22, No. 3, Winter 2003, pp. 566–569 (PDF)
 * D. W. MacKenzie: Book Review. In: Public Choice. Volume 120, Numbers 3-4, September 2004, pp. 234–239 (PDF)
 * James M. Rossi: Book Review: Globalization and Its Discontents. In: Human Nature Review. 2002, Volume 2, pp. 293–296

title: Globalization and Its Discontents


text:
The Land Conservancy of British Columbia

The Land Conservancy of British Columbia (TLC) is a not-for-profit, charitable land trust based in British Columbia, Canada.

The purpose of the Society is to protect plants, animals, natural communities and landscape features that represent diversity of life on earth, by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive, and to protect areas of scientific, historical, cultural, scenic or compatible recreation value. This is accomplished by acquiring protective control of these lands and waters through ownership of the land or conservation covenants. As of 2024, TLC protects 9 properties and 250 conservation covenants across BC, comprising more than 15,000 acres.

The Land Conservancy achieves its conservation objectives by working in a non-confrontational, businesslike manner. TLC works with many partners, all levels of government, other agencies, businesses, community groups and individuals to ensure the broadest support for its activities. The goal of TLC is to protect and restore the biological diversity of British Columbia for present and future generations through action and education

The Land Conservancy draws much of its finances from membership revenue. It is operated by both paid staff and a large network of volunteers. It has an office in Victoria.

History
TLC was formed in 1997 with the help of Briony Penn. TLC has strong influences from The National Trust of England, Ireland and Wales, with whom it partakes in staff exchanges.

South Winchelsea Island, a 25 acre island near Nanaimo, was The Land Conservancy's first acquisition. It is important habitat for Steller sea lions and several migratory bird species. The property has since been transferred to The Nature Trust of British Columbia for continued stewardship.

Music star Nelly Furtado has been a strong supporter of the work of the TLC. The Land Conservancy first contacted Furtado when they discovered her interest in the Sooke Potholes, a place she used to enjoy as a child. The singer has been involved in the campaign to protect and promote the area ever since. In 2015, TLC transferred the three parcels it continued to own at the Sooke Potholes to the Capital Regional District (CRD) to become public parkland.

Mascot
The harlequin duck is the symbol of the Land Conservancy of British Columbia. The harlequin ranges throughout BC, from rocky coastal shores and islets to turbulent inland mountain creeks and calm lakes. A vulnerable species, the harlequin population is endangered due to habitat loss and degradation. The plucky harlequin is said to be an inspiration for the TLC to persevere in overcoming their obstacles.

Creditor protection
On October 7, 2013, TLC filed for protection under the Companies Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) to definitively resolve the organization’s long-standing financial problems. Under CCAA, TLC is working with land consultants to assess all properties and develop a plan consistent with TLC’s conservancy mandate and its objective to repay creditors to the greatest extent possible.

The CCAA process is conducted under the review of an independent, court appointed monitor and under the supervision of a judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia.

On April 2, 2015, The Supreme Court of B.C. approved the Plan of Arrangement and Compromise as agreed upon by The Land Conservancy of B.C. (TLC) and its creditors. The Court-approved Plan of Arrangement will see secured creditors paid in full, have their secured debt assumed by a third party, or receive the mortgaged property in settlement of their secured debt, within six months. Unsecured creditors will receive payouts of the fullest extent possible in multiple tranches.

TLC’s Plan contains a multi-faceted approach to eliminating the debt. It includes innovative approaches such as density transfers, specified donations, heritage revitalization agreements, mortgage transfers, and partnership agreements with other Land Trusts and Societies. The transfers will see the original donor’s intentions upheld and TLC's sites protected.

In an effort to stave off bankruptcy, the Conservancy entered into a sale agreement for property containing the architecturally and historically significant B.C. Binning house in Victoria. In January 2014, a B.C. court blocked the sale. The house has been returned to the original estate and is no longer owned by TLC.

The Conservancy was also looking for a buyer for its Keating Farm Property in 2014. On March 4, 2014, the Supreme Court of B.C. approved the sale of Keating Farm to Georgios and Rebecca Papadopoulos, who have plans to restore the old farm house and work with tenant farmers to continue farming the land currently in the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR).

On December 2, 2016, TLC held its final meeting with creditors to seek approval of its revised Plan of Arrangement and Compromise (POA) and the conclusion of its time under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA). In a supportive vote, creditors approved the non-profit’s POA and subsequent exiting of creditor protection.

Projects and properties
The Land Conservancy accomplishes its work through the use of covenants, land purchases, long-term leases and agreements with local and provincial governments. The land assets of the TLC are valued at over $30 million.

TLC-owned properties include:

TLC's Conservation Covenants include:


text: Category:DC Comics titles

title: Category:DC Comics titles


text:
Skolem–Noether theorem

In ring theory, a branch of mathematics, the Skolem–Noether theorem characterizes the automorphisms of simple rings. It is a fundamental result in the theory of central simple algebras.

The theorem was first published by Thoralf Skolem in 1927 in his paper Zur Theorie der assoziativen Zahlensysteme (German: On the theory of associative number systems) and later rediscovered by Emmy Noether.

Statement
In a general formulation, let A and B be simple unitary rings, and let k be the center of B. The center k is a field since given x nonzero in k, the simplicity of B implies that the nonzero two-sided ideal BxB = (x) is the whole of B, and hence that x is a unit. If the dimension of B over k is finite, i.e. if B is a central simple algebra of finite dimension, and A is also a k-algebra, then given k-algebra homomorphisms

 * f, g : A → B,

there exists a unit b in B such that for all a in A

 * g(a) = b · f(a) · b−1.

In particular, every automorphism of a central simple k-algebra is an inner automorphism.

Proof
First suppose $$B = \operatorname{M}_n(k) = \operatorname{End}_k(k^n)$$. Then f and g define the actions of A on $$k^n$$; let $$V_f, V_g$$ denote the A-modules thus obtained. Since $$f(1) = 1 \neq 0 $$ the map f is injective by simplicity of A, so A is also finite-dimensional. Hence two simple A-modules are isomorphic and $$V_f, V_g$$ are finite direct sums of simple A-modules. Since they have the same dimension, it follows that there is an isomorphism of A-modules $$b: V_g \to V_f$$. But such b must be an element of $$\operatorname{M}_n(k) = B$$. For the general case, $$B \otimes_k B^{\text{op}}$$ is a matrix algebra and that $$A \otimes_k B^{\text{op}}$$ is simple. By the first part applied to the maps $$f \otimes 1, g \otimes1 : A \otimes_k B^{\text{op}} \to B \otimes_k B^{\text{op}}$$, there exists $$b \in B \otimes_k B^{\text{op}}$$ such that
 * $$(f \otimes 1)(a \otimes z) = b (g \otimes 1)(a \otimes z) b^{-1}$$

for all $$a \in A$$ and $$z \in B^{\text{op}}$$. Taking $$a = 1$$, we find
 * $$1 \otimes z = b (1\otimes z) b^{-1}$$

for all z. That is to say, b is in $$Z_{B \otimes B^{\text{op}}}(k \otimes B^{\text{op}}) = B \otimes k$$ and so we can write $$b = b' \otimes 1$$. Taking $$z = 1$$ this time we find
 * $$f(a)= b' g(a) {b'^{-1}}$$,

which is what was sought.

title: Skolem–Noether theorem


text:
Insomniac Games

Insomniac Games, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Burbank, California and part of PlayStation Studios. It was founded in 1994 by Ted Price as Xtreme Software, and was renamed Insomniac Games a year later. The company is most known for developing several early PlayStation mascots, Spyro the Dragon, Ratchet and Clank, as well as the Resistance franchise, 2014's Sunset Overdrive and the Marvel's Spider-Man series with Marvel Games. In 2019, the studio was acquired by Sony Interactive Entertainment, becoming a part of SIE Worldwide Studios (now known as PlayStation Studios).

The company's first project was Disruptor, for PlayStation, whose poor sales almost led to the company's bankruptcy. Insomniac's next project was Spyro the Dragon, a successful video game that spawned two sequels within two years. Insomniac closely collaborated with Sony Computer Entertainment (later renamed Sony Interactive Entertainment) and created two game franchises, Ratchet & Clank, and Resistance. The two franchises proved to be both a critical and financial success for the company. The company began work on its first multiplatform game Fuse in 2013 (with Electronic Arts as its publisher), but the game turned out to become one of Insomniac's worst-reviewed games.

Since 2014, Insomniac has actively expanded its portfolio of games. The company worked with Microsoft Studios on 2014's Sunset Overdrive, partnered with GameTrust to release the underwater Metroidvania game Song of the Deep, and released several mobile games and virtual reality projects. In 2016, Insomniac released a re-imagining of the first Ratchet & Clank, and in 2018 released its first licensed title, Marvel's Spider-Man for the PlayStation 4; an additional game, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, was released for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 in 2020. The studio's most recent project is Marvel's Spider-Man 2 (2023); it is currently developing Marvel's Wolverine for the PlayStation 5.

Before 2019, Insomniac remained as an independent studio working for Sony and other publishers such as Microsoft, EA, and Oculus. In August 2019, Sony announced it had agreed to acquire Insomniac as the 14th internal studio within SIE Worldwide Studios. Over the years, Insomniac Games has received considerable recognition from critics as an acclaimed video game developer. It was named the twentieth-best video game developer by IGN, and one of the best places to work in America by the Society for Human Resource Management.

Founding and Disruptor (1994–1996)
Insomniac Games was founded by Ted Price, who was determined to work in the video game industry since the release of Atari 2600 in 1977, when he was nine years old. The company was incorporated on February 28, 1994.

Price was joined by Alex Hastings, his fellow graduate and an expert in computer programming, in June 1994. Hastings' brother Brian Hastings joined Insomniac shortly afterwards. The studio was named "Xtreme Software" for a year but in 1995 it was forced to rename itself by another company with the same name. The studio shortlisted "The Resistance Incorporated", "Ragnarok", "Black Sun Software", "Ice Nine" and "Moon Turtle" before choosing the name "Insomniac Games". According to Price, the company chose this name because "it suddenly makes sense", even though it was not their first choice.

Shortly after the company's establishment, it began developing its first project. The team took inspirations from the popular Doom, and hoped to capitalize upon the industry's excitement for a first-person shooter. The team lacked experience and considered developing a "Doom clone". The game was developed for the Panasonic 3DO because its developer kit was inexpensive, and the team had high hopes for the console. Using a time frame of one month, the team developed a functional gameplay demo for the game. It was pitched to various publishers and was later shown to Mark Cerny, an executive producer from Universal Interactive Studios, who was impressed by the team's efforts. Universal published the game and helped with funding and marketing. Universal helped the game's development and cutscenes, and hired actors to film real-time sequences. Catherine Hardwicke was hired to lead production design, and inspirations were taken from Warhawk.

Cerny gave input and feedback on the game's level-design. However, the 3DO did not perform as they had expected, and Universal suggested that the team should switch to Sony Computer Entertainment's PlayStation to increase sales of the game. The game originally ran on a custom engine developed by Alex Hastings, and was upgraded and converted for the PlayStation within a month. The debut title was called Disruptor, and was released worldwide in November 1996.

Disruptor was released to positive critical reception, and was named "Dark Horse of the Year" by various gaming publications. John Romero, founder of Doom developer id Software praised the game. Insomniac considered Disruptor a lesson about video game development. According to Price, it was "the best game that nobody ever heard of". With little marketing and advertisement, the game was a commercial failure for Insomniac. Despite the game's poor performance, Universal continued to partner with Insomniac for its next game. The team's morale was low; they decided to develop something new instead of a sequel to Disruptor.

Spyro the Dragon (1996–2000)
At that time, the demographic for the PlayStation shifted, as more children and teenagers started to use the console. As a result, the team decided not to make another violent game like Disruptor and instead develop a family-friendly game that would be suitable for every member of a family, regardless of their age. The family game market was dominated by Sony's competitor Nintendo with games like Super Mario 64, while the PlayStation had no similar exclusives. Cerny pushed Insomniac Games to develop a game with a mascot and mass appeal. Craig Stitt, an environment artist of Disruptor, proposed that the game's theme and story should revolve around an anthropomorphic dragon. At the same time, Alex Hastings began developing an engine that specialized in games with panoramic view, which is suitable for open world games. The engine allowed more gameplay features including the ability for the dragon to glide through air. Spyro the Dragon was released in late 1998.

The game received critical acclaim upon launch and received awards from publications. Sales of the game were relatively low initially, but climbed after Christmas that year, and overall sales of the game exceeded two million. The team was expanded to 13 staff members. Because of Spyro the Dragon's success, the studio was requested to develop a sequel for it. The development of Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! began shortly after the launch of Spyro the Dragon. The team considered developing the sequel a challenge for them; they had to develop new ideas to "revolutionize" the franchise within a short time. The team brainstormed ideas but later chose to expand a mini-game from the original Spyro the Dragon, which they thought had offered a different experience from Spyro. The team designed a mature story and advanced cinematics for the game. It met its target release window, and was released in late 1999. Hastings was worried about the release because the game's development cycle was rushed and truncated.

The studio was asked to develop the third installment in the Spyro the Dragon series upon the release of Ripto's Rage!. To make the game more varied than its predecessors, the team introduced more special moves for Spyro the Dragon and more playable characters. The dragon's personality was made more approachable for players. The company struggled to create new ideas for the sequel. During the game's development, the team expanded to about 20 to 25 people. Brian Allgeier, who would later become Insomniac's games' director, joined the studio at that time. Spyro: Year of the Dragon was released worldwide in late 2000. After releasing three games in three years, the team decided to move on for a new project that had new original characters. Year of the Dragon is the last Insomniac Games-developed Spyro game. Universal retains the intellectual property rights to the Spyro series. This was the end of Insomniac Games' partnership with Universal as the team at Insomniac started to work directly to develop games for the PlayStation consoles.

Ratchet & Clank (2000–2005)
In 2000, Sony released its successor to the PlayStation, the PlayStation 2. Insomniac's ideas for its first PlayStation 2 project included Monster Knight, a concept that was designed in 1999 but the game did not get beyond its planning stage. The canceled project was revealed 13 years after the game's conception. The second title was Girl with a Stick, which took inspirations from The Legend of Zelda and Tomb Raider. It was intended as a serious game, and to prove Insomniac's ability to create games other than platformers. Insomniac spent six months on the project, developing several prototypes and a functional demo. However, most staff members, beside Price, were not passionate about the project, and thought it was "one-dimensional". Sony thought the game would not find a market, and recommended Insomniac to "play to [their] strengths". As a result, Girl with a Stick was scrapped. According to Price, Girl with a Stick is a lesson for Insomniac and its first failure.

A few weeks after the cancellation of Girl with a Stick, Brian Hastings proposed that the company should work on a space adventure game with a science fiction theme. The game originally revolved around a reptilian alien with weapons traveling across planets. The reptile character evolved into a caveman, and eventually became a fictional creature called a "Lombax". They named the creature Ratchet and designed a robot companion called Clank for Ratchet. Inspirations for the game were drawn from manga, Conker's Bad Fur Day and from Spyro the Dragon. To differentiate the project from Insomniac's previous projects, they made the game more complex and included shooting and role-playing gameplay elements. The team was excited about this project; however, the company was unable to develop a demo for the game because it did not have a suitable engine. As a result, they developed "Art Nuevo de Flash Gordon", a Metropolis diorama, for Sony, which decided to help the game's funding and publishing. Jason Rubin, on behalf of Naughty Dog, lent Insomniac the engine used in Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy. The game's title was Ratchet & Clank; it was originally to be a launch title for the PlayStation 2 but it was delayed by two years and was released in November 2002. It was a critical success.

Five months before the launch of Ratchet & Clank, Sony approved the development of its sequel. Insomniac hoped to bring new elements to the franchise; it received feedback from players and improved some features of Ratchet & Clank. About a year later, Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando was released to critical acclaim, at which time Insomniac had finished the prototype of their next game, Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal, which introduced a multiplayer mode and expanded upon Going Commando's arenas. Alex Hastings continued to optimize the engine and increase its processing power to fine-tune the game. The sales of Up Your Arsenal were considerably higher than those of its predecessors; it was the highest-rated game in the franchise's history.

Insomniac released three Ratchet & Clank games within three years. As of 2005, Insomniac intended to change the direction of the franchise after Up Your Arsenal. Hastings hoped the company's next game would have a darker tone than its predecessors. As a result, the plot switched its focus to Ratchet. The developers were inspired by The Running Man and Battle Royale; they developed an action game with no platform elements. While the gameplay of the fourth game in the series is similar to that of its predecessors, Clank's role was significantly diminished and the character's name was removed from the game's title. Ratchet: Deadlocked was released in 2005.

PlayStation 3 era (2006–2012)

While Insomniac was handling the development of the Ratchet & Clank franchise, the team wanted to work on something else. With the launch of the PlayStation 3, the team thought users of the new console would be more mature than those of its predecessors and wanted to develop a game to cater for them. They thought the studio should not specialize in one genre. This new project was part of Insomniac's expansion; the company wanted to have multiple projects in parallel development. This project began development after the completion of Deadlocked. The team agreed to develop something different for a different platform. Inspired by Starship Troopers, Resistance: Fall of Man was Insomniac's first first-person shooter after Disruptor. To make the game stand-out, they experimented with turning it into a squad-based shooter and introducing giant lizard enemies which were later scrapped. Sony recommended Insomniac to change its lizard antagonist because they were not fun to play with. Furthermore, the team disagreed about the game's setting.

Cerny wanted to set the game—proposed as a "space opera" game—during World War I, but this was later changed to World War II because the developers wanted to introduce extreme weaponry to the game. It was shifted to the 1950s because the team considered the market for World War II shooters was over-saturated at that time. Resistance: Fall of Man was a launch title for the PlayStation 3; the team said developing a new game for the console was a challenge because they had to work quickly to meet its target release window. The game was a financial and critical success, despite causing controversy over the use of Manchester Cathedral. The development of the sequel soon began; the team wanted to drastically change the game, leading to internal debate between staff members. The sequel, Resistance 2, was released in 2008.

Meanwhile, development of the Ratchet & Clank franchise continued. The team decided to rewrite the characters when the franchise shifted to the PlayStation 3. They introduced the Future series, which includes Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (2007), Quest for Booty (2008) and A Crack in Time (2009). In 2008, the company established a new studio of 25 to 30 developers, led by Chad Dezern and Shaun McCabe, in North Carolina. The new studio was responsible for some of Insomniac's Ratchet & Clank games.

Both the Resistance franchise and the Ratchet & Clank franchise continued into the 2010s. The team in North Carolina developed Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One, which received mixed reviews. The North Carolina team continued to develop the next game in the series, Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault, which expanded upon levels from previous games in the series and has a structure similar to that of a tower defense game.

Meanwhile, the company developed Resistance 3—the sequel to Resistance 2—which was designed to be similar to Fall of Man. The team at Insomniac reviewed players' feedback regarding the negative aspects of Resistance 2, re-introduced some mechanics from Fall of Man, and focused on narrative. They considered such an approach can differentiate a franchise from other first-person shooters. Resistance 3 was regarded by the team as the best game in the series, but it sold poorly and was a financial failure. According to Price, the team was disappointed but were still proud of the project. In early 2012, Price announced that the company would not be involved in any future Resistance projects. Sony retains the intellectual property rights to the franchise.

Diversifying portfolio (2012–2019)
Insomniac had exclusively developed games for the PlayStation console until in 2010 when Insomniac announced its partnership with Electronic Arts via EA Partners to develop a multi-platform game for the PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360 console. The company hoped to reach a wider audience, while keeping the rights to its IP and retain full control of its franchises. The company revealed nothing about the game. The company established a new subsidiary called Insomniac Click, which focused on casual games and games for Facebook. Its first game was not set in any of Insomniac's existing franchises. Insomniac again partnered with Electronic Arts, which owned the casual game developer Playfish, to help the game to reach a broad audience. Outernauts was announced shortly after; it was released in July 2012 for browsers and mobile platforms. Click was later re-incorporated into Insomniac, and the browser version of Outernauts was canceled.

The EA Partners game was revealed at Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011 as Overstrike. This game was pitched by Ratchet & Clank director Brian Allgeier and it has a direction similar to that of the Ratchet & Clank series. The team thought Overstrike would appeal to teenagers. After several play-testing sessions, they realized their game was too simple for their target group. The company developed many weapons for the game, none of which related to the game's story. The developers retooled the game and changed it to attract older players and make weapons an important part of the game. The game focuses on a co-operative campaign, which the company thought was a popular trend at that time. It was renamed Fuse and was released worldwide in May 2013. Fuse was one of the lowest-rated games developed by Insomniac, and was another commercial failure, debuting in 37th place in the UK in its first week of release. Fuse was considered a learning lesson for Insomniac to understand the type of game they are good at making. The reception to Fuse showed the company it should develop "colorful, playful experiences that's loaded with unusual, sometimes silly weapons". Also in 2013, the Ratchet & Clank Future game, Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus, was released.

Running parallel development with Fuse, and beginning soon after the completion of Resistance 3, Insomniac Games began development on Sunset Overdrive. The game was inspired by Hyena Men of Kenya, Tank Girl, I Am Legend, The Young Ones, Halloween masks from the 1960s, and Lego. Sunset Overdrive was created by Marcus Smith and Drew Murray; their first pitch to Insomniac's head was rejected as being too confusing. They were given one week to re-pitch the title, and they persuaded studio heads to begin the game's development. The game was later pitched to various publishers, which rejected them because Insomniac demanded to retain ownership of the intellectual property. The project was later pitched to Microsoft Studios, which was eager to work with Insomniac. Microsoft allowed Insomniac to own the rights to the game. Sunset Overdrive was made for Microsoft's Xbox One console; it was released on the 20th anniversary of Insomniac, in 2014.

Insomniac announced Slow Down, Bull, a part-commercial and part-charity project for release on Microsoft Windows; it is the company's first game for Windows. Insomniac released a remake of Ratchet & Clank for the PlayStation 4 in 2016. In January 2016, Insomniac announced their next game, Song of the Deep, a water-based video game inspired by Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. The game was published by retailer GameStop.

During E3 2015, the company announced Edge of Nowhere, a third-person action-adventure game for the virtual reality hardware Oculus Rift. In April 2016, the company announced two new virtual reality titles: Feral Rites, a hack and slash game, and The Unspoken, a fantasy multiplayer game, for the Oculus Rift. According to Price, the company began focusing on virtual reality projects as the team is enthusiastic about the technology, and that it allows the company to develop an expertise in creating VR games. The studio signed an exclusive deal with Oculus VR as Insomniac believed that both companies shared the same passion to "[bring] games to life", and that they allowed Insomniac to retain the rights of their intellectual properties. Price compared the agreement to their previous first-party deals, and added that having the opportunity to develop games for the first generation of VR platforms is something the team could not reject. Despite the new direction, Price added that they will not give up on making console AAA video games. At E3 2016, Insomniac announced their next AAA title, Marvel's Spider-Man, developed for the PlayStation 4 in conjunction with Marvel Entertainment. Bryan Intihar, producer of Sunset Overdrive, was the game's creative director.

In September 2017, Insomniac Games revealed its new brand logo, which replaced the moon image standing in for the "O" with a more stylized iconograph. The company said that part of their rebranding was to "think beyond the moon". Insomniac chief brand officer Ryan Schneider said part of the rebranding was to prevent the studio being pigeonholed; while the moon-based logo had well-represented the company for its Spyro and Ratchet & Clank cartoon-like games, it did not reflect well on the expanded directions they had moved in recent years, such as the Spider-Man game. Schneider said that along with the brand change, the company plans to be engaging with players, offering live-streaming of their work, and re-establishing a new identity, without completely eschewing their past. Schneider said they effectively "blew up the moon" to establish this new direction.

Sony acquisition (2019–present)
In August 2019, Sony announced a definitive agreement to acquire Insomniac as one of its first-party developers. This would make Insomniac the 14th internal studio with Sony's SIE Worldwide Studios division. Sony's Shawn Layden stated they had been evaluating the option of acquiring Insomniac for some time, and the success of their Spider-Man game contributed significantly towards this end, demonstrating that Insomniac was an "impact maker" and a "style-setter". Layden believed that Insomniac's working relationship with Sony would not change significantly in the acquisition, leaving the studio in its own creative control, but would allow Insomniac to have closer access to other innovative technologies throughout SIE Worldwide Studios. The acquisition, for which Sony paid ¥24,895 million (equivalent to US$229 million), was completed on November 15, 2019.

At the PlayStation 5 reveal event on June 11, 2020, Insomniac announced two new games: Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, a spin-off to Marvel's Spider-Man, and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. The former was a launch title for the PS5, released alongside a remaster of the original Marvel's Spider-Man for the console in November 2020. The latter released on June 11, 2021, exclusively for the PS5.

On September 9, 2021, at the PlayStation showcase event, Insomniac announced a sequel to Marvel's Spider Man entitled Marvel's Spider-Man 2 would be released in 2023 for PlayStation 5. The company also announced the development of a standalone game, Marvel's Wolverine, likewise for the PS5.

December 2023 leak
In December 2023, hackers from ransomware group Rhysida targeted Insomniac, threatening to release information if they did not pay 2 million dollars in bitcoin. Insomniac refused to pay, and as a result, over 1.67 terabytes of data was leaked containing files, including an early release build of Marvel's Wolverine. The leak also contained Insomniac and Sony Interactive Entertainment data such as employees' personal information, past sales information, and plans for Insomniac through 2032. These included additional titles from Marvel, including a Venom-based game, as well as possible X-Men titles that would remain exclusive to the PlayStation platform through 2035. Players, developers, and publishers expressed sympathy for the leak, and Insomniac stated on social media that "We’re both saddened and angered about the recent criminal cyberattack on our studio and the emotional toll it’s taken on our dev team. We have focused inwardly for the last several days to support each other." The studio intends to continue work on Wolverine, stressing that the leaked version was still from early in development. According to Rhysida, only 98% of the data they acquired was leaked, with the other 2% being sold, and their only motivation for the attack was for money.

Spyro (1998–2000)
Insomniac is the creator of the Spyro series and developed the first three games, Spyro the Dragon (1998), Ripto's Rage! (1999) and Year of the Dragon (2000) for the first PlayStation console. It is a series of platform games that follow Spyro the Dragon as he progresses through a medieval-styled world. The dragon can glide, charge and exhale fire. The original trilogy has collectively sold 8,000,000 copies. The series continued after Insomniac ceased developing further Spyro games. Universal Studios outsourced the game development via Universal Interactive; two subseries, The Legend of Spyro and Skylanders, were then developed. Microsoft Gaming is now the owner of the franchise.

Ratchet & Clank (2002–2021)
Ratchet & Clank is a series of action-adventure games with platform elements. Players mostly take control of Ratchet as he progresses through various planets in order to save the galaxy. Clank is playable in several segments of these games. The series is divided into two parts; the original series for the PlayStation 2 (Ratchet & Clank (2002), Going Commando (2003), Up Your Arsenal (2004) and Ratchet: Deadlocked (2005) and the Future series for the PlayStation 3 (Tools of Destruction (2007), Quest for Booty (2008), A Crack in Time (2009) and Into the Nexus (2013). The first three titles in the series were remastered and packaged in the Ratchet & Clank Collection for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita, with Ratchet & Clank (2016) being the latest release on the PlayStation 4. A Ratchet & Clank animated film, with screenplay and additional marketing by Insomniac, was released in 2016 as well, to coincide with the release of the video game remake. After the announcement that Sony acquired Insomniac Games, SIE Worldwide Studios boss Shawn Layden stated that the Ratchet & Clank series will be a vital series for them in the future. The next game in development, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, was first revealed at the PS5 Future of Gaming event on June 11, 2020 as a PlayStation 5 exclusive, and the game was released on June 11, 2021.

Resistance (2006–2011)
Resistance is a series of first-person shooter games set circa 1950 in an alternate history. An alien race called the Chimera have invaded and conquered Earth, and has turned humans into monstrous supersoldiers. Players play as Nathan Hale in Resistance: Fall of Man (2006) and Resistance 2 (2008), and as Joseph Capelli in Resistance 3 (2011). All three games were released for the PlayStation 3 system. The series includes the handheld games Resistance: Retribution, developed by Bend Studio for the PlayStation Portable, and Resistance: Burning Skies, developed by Nihilistic Software for the PlayStation Vita.

Marvel's Spider-Man game series (2018–present)
Marvel's Spider-Man is a series of action-adventure games based on the comic book superhero Spider-Man. Players play as Peter Parker in Marvel's Spider-Man (2018), and as Miles Morales in Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (2020). The studio released Marvel's Spider-Man for the PlayStation 4 on September 7, 2018. The game received widespread positive acclaim from various critics. Since its release, the game has sold over 9 million physical and digital units worldwide by November 2018, increasing to 13.2 million copies by August 2019, making it one of the best-selling PlayStation 4 games. The game was remastered for the Ultimate Edition of Spider-Man: Miles Morales as Spider-Man Remastered for the PlayStation 5 in November 2020. The remaster was also released as a standalone title for Microsoft Windows on August 12, 2022.

A standalone spin-off title in the series, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales was first revealed at the 2020 PS5 Future of Gaming event on June 11, 2020. The title released for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. It was released starting November 12, 2020 alongside the release of the PlayStation 5. It was released for Microsoft Windows in fall 2022.

On October 20, 2023, Insomniac released Marvel's Spider-Man 2 (2023), which will be followed by Marvel's Wolverine, a standalone game set in the same universe and based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, both for PlayStation 5.

Other games
Other notable games developed by Insomniac include Disruptor (1996), Outernauts (2012), Fuse (2013) and Sunset Overdrive (2014). The company has canceled several games, including Monster Knight, Girl with a Stick for the PlayStation 2, and 1080 Pinball — a pinball simulation downloadable game — which began development in 2007. Insomniac developed a game for Oculus Rift, named Edge of Nowhere, which was released on June 6, 2016. <!--

Philosophy
Before its acquisition in 2019, Insomniac Games focused on maintaining its independence. Despite working solely for Sony Interactive Entertainment for decades, it was never a part of SIE Worldwide Studios. The studio partnered with Sony because Sony helped market Insomniac's games. The company's team found being controlled by publishers frustrating. According to Price, working with Sony is an "autonomous" process; Sony can provide input into the development of games but Insomniac has complete control of them. Insomniac later decided to produce games for platforms other than Sony's PlayStation series so it can own the rights to its franchises and establish its own brand identity.

When developing its next game, Insomniac usually works on games it considers itself good at making; these focus on storytelling, creative weapons, and third-person gameplay. The company also recognizes the importance of developing new intellectual properties. The developers thought they were lucky to have the opportunity to develop them.

Internally, the company's developers are given much creative freedom. Uninvolved staff members can comment on the games' designs. Price considered game design a kind of social design, in which the team solve problems together. Price said trust is an essential part of a game's development, and that honest communications between staff members can ensure the correct direction of games. Price also said admitting mistakes can help maximize creativity, and that the company's leaders should be approachable by staff members. -->

Related companies
The company has a close relationship with video game developer Naughty Dog and they often share technology with each other. Some employees left Insomniac Games to form High Impact Games, which later collaborated with Insomniac on Ratchet & Clank projects and Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier. Nathan Fouts, an ex-Insomniac employee, founded his own studio and developed Weapon of Choice. HuniePop was designed by Ryan Koons, who used to be an employee of Insomniac.

Accolades
In 2015 IGN named Insomniac Games the 20th best video game developer of all time. The Society for Human Resource Management called it one of the best places to work in America. It was listed in 2016 by Fortune as the 69th best place to work for Millennials.

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Category talk:Monarchs

Cleanup tag
There needs to be a better naming convention for subcategories. Also, given the clutter here, shouldn't there be a "Monarchs by country" subcategory? -- Beland 06:29, 17 Jan 2005 (UTC)

A mess
It is a total mess that there is a Category:Kings and a Category:Monarchs. Surely this can be dealt with. john k 20:33, 30 October 2007 (UTC)
 * Category:Kings has since been nominated for merging several times, but retained each time. Partly because there are emirs, emperors, etc. -- Beland (talk) 17:02, 2 June 2020 (UTC)

title: Category talk:Monarchs


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title: User talk:165.21.83.230