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James Wattana

James Wattana (เจมส์ วัฒนา; born January 17, 1970, as วัฒนา ภู่โอบอ้อม Wattana Pu-Ob-Orm, then renamed รัชพล ภู่โอบอ้อม Ratchapol Pu-Ob-Orm in 2003) is a Thai former professional snooker player.

A professional between 1989 and 2008, and from 2009 to 2020, Wattana reached his highest ranking position – world number 3 – for the 1994–95 season. He has won three ranking tournaments, the 1992 Strachan Open and the Thailand Open in 1994 and 1995, and has finished as the runner-up in a further five ranking events. He twice reached the semi-finals of the World Snooker Championship, in 1993 and 1997. When he was defeated in the semi-finals in 1993 by Jimmy White, it was only Wattana's second appearance in the final televised stages at the Crucible Theatre, his first being the previous year when he lost in the second round to the eventual winner Stephen Hendry.

Having received two year invitational tour cards in 2014, 2016 and 2018, Wattana fell off the main tour at the end of the 2019/2020 season.

Career
Wattana won his first major tournament, the Thailand Masters, in 1986, aged only 16. As an amateur, he won the Asian Snooker Championship twice and the £6,000 first prize for winning the 1988 Kent Challenge in Hong Kong. He turned professional in 1989, after winning the 1988 World Amateur Championship. His career peaked in the mid-1990s, when he twice won the Thailand Open and rose to number three in the world rankings. Prior to Wattana becoming a professional, snooker had been dominated by British (and to a lesser extent Irish, Canadian and Australian) players.

He was the eighth professional player to earn more than £1 million in prize money, and with three maximum breaks he is one of only eighteen players to have scored more than two maximums in competition. He scored his first one in 1991 at the World Masters and the second at the British Open, which was then, at seven minutes and nine seconds, the fastest ever made.

With the help of his PR team fronted by Yorkshire business tycoon Ed Clark, Wattana's success caught the imagination of the Thai public, and he became the most admired sportsman in his home country. He helped raise the profile of the game in the Far East, and has been followed into the game by many players from Thailand, Hong Kong, and China, the most successful being Marco Fu and Ding Junhui. He is a Commander Third Class of the Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand, only the second sportsman to receive the country's most prestigious civilian honour.

He reached the semi-finals of the World Snooker Championship in 1993 and 1997, losing narrowly in the latter to Stephen Hendry. After a strong 2004–05 season, he returned to the top 32 of the world rankings, despite being the first player since 1992 to experience a whitewash at the World Championship when he lost 0–10 against Ali Carter in the final round of qualifying at the 2005 tournament. By 2007, his continued poor form meant that he dropped off the main tour in 2008. He continued to play, however, and in 2008 he entered the World Amateur Championships in Wels, Austria, where he lost to eventual champion Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in the last 16. He won the 2009 Asian Championships in Tangshan, China, after beating Mei Xiwen 7–3 in the final.

His position on the current provisional rankings received a huge boost with a run to the venue stage of the China Open thanks to four straight qualifying victories.

The 2011/12 season proved to be relatively good, managing to qualify in 2 of the 8 ranking events, the Shanghai Masters losing to Ronnie O'Sullivan 1–5 and the German Masters, beating Stephen Hendry 5–1 in the qualifiers, but then losing to Graeme Dott in the first round. At the end of the season he finished ranked 63, just inside the top 64.

In 2014, he lost his place on the professional snooker circuit, as he finished outside the top 64 on the official world rankings list at the end of the 2013/2014 season. However, he was one of three players awarded an invitational tour card for the next season – alongside Hendry and Steve Davis – and has since competed fairly regularly in tournaments as an amateur. In 2015, he lost in the first round of the qualifiers for the World Championship 3–10 to Jimmy White. In 2016, he lost in the first round of the qualifiers for the World Championship 6–10 to Peter Ebdon.

title: James Wattana


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Multivariate analysis of variance

In statistics, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) is a procedure for comparing multivariate sample means. As a multivariate procedure, it is used when there are two or more dependent variables, and is often followed by significance tests involving individual dependent variables separately.

Without relation to the image, the dependent variables may be k life satisfactions scores measured at sequential time points and p job satisfaction scores measured at sequential time points. In this case there are k+p dependent variables whose linear combination follows a multivariate normal distribution, multivariate variance-covariance matrix homogeneity, and linear relationship, no multicollinearity, and each without outliers.

Model
Assume $n$ $q$ -dimensional observations, where the $i$ ’th observation $y_i$  is assigned to the group $g(i)\in \{1,\dots,m\}$  and is distributed around the group center $\mu^{(g(i))}\in \mathbb R^q$  with multivariate Gaussian noise: $$ y_i = \mu^{(g(i))} + \varepsilon_i\quad \varepsilon_i \overset{\text{i.i.d.}}{\sim} \mathcal N_q (0, \Sigma) \quad \text{ for } i=1,\dots, n, $$ where $\Sigma$ is the covariance matrix. Then we formulate our null hypothesis as $$H_0\!:\;\mu^{(1)}=\mu^{(2)}=\dots =\mu^{(m)}.$$

Relationship with ANOVA
MANOVA is a generalized form of univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA), although, unlike univariate ANOVA, it uses the covariance between outcome variables in testing the statistical significance of the mean differences.

Where sums of squares appear in univariate analysis of variance, in multivariate analysis of variance certain positive-definite matrices appear. The diagonal entries are the same kinds of sums of squares that appear in univariate ANOVA. The off-diagonal entries are corresponding sums of products. Under normality assumptions about error distributions, the counterpart of the sum of squares due to error has a Wishart distribution.

Hypothesis Testing
First, define the following $n\times q$ matrices:

 * $Y$ : where the $i$ -th row is equal to $y_i$

 * $\hat Y$ : where the $i$ -th row is the best prediction given the group membership $g(i)$ . That is the mean over all observation in group $g(i)$ : $\frac{1}{\text{size of group }g(i)}\sum_{k: g(k)=g(i)}y_k$.

 * $\bar Y$ : where the $i$ -th row is the best prediction given no information. That is the empirical mean over all $n$ observations $\frac{1}{n}\sum_{k=1}^n y_k$

Then the matrix $S_{\text{model}} := (\hat Y - \bar Y)^T(\hat Y - \bar Y)$ is a generalization of the sum of squares explained by the group, and $S_{\text{res}} := (Y - \hat Y)^T(Y - \hat Y)$  is a generalization of the residual sum of squares. Note that alternatively one could also speak about covariances when the abovementioned matrices are scaled by 1/(n-1) since the subsequent test statistics do not change by multiplying $S_{\text{model}}$ and $S_{\text{res}}$  by the same non-zero constant.

The most common statistics are summaries based on the roots (or eigenvalues) $\lambda_p$ of the matrix $A:= S_{\text{model}}S_{\text{res}}^{-1}$

 * Samuel Stanley Wilks' $$\Lambda_\text{Wilks} = \prod_{1,\ldots,p}(1/(1 + \lambda_{p})) = \det(I + A)^{-1} = \det(S_\text{res})/\det(S_\text{res} + S_\text{model})$$ distributed as lambda (Λ)
 * the K. C. Sreedharan Pillai–M. S. Bartlett trace, $$\Lambda_\text{Pillai} = \sum_{1,\ldots,p}(\lambda_p/(1 + \lambda_p)) = \operatorname{tr}(A(I + A)^{-1})$$
 * the Lawley–Hotelling trace, $$\Lambda_\text{LH} = \sum_{1,\ldots,p}(\lambda_{p}) = \operatorname{tr}(A)$$
 * Roy's greatest root (also called Roy's largest root), $$\Lambda_\text{Roy} = \max_p(\lambda_p) $$

Discussion continues over the merits of each, although the greatest root leads only to a bound on significance which is not generally of practical interest. A further complication is that, except for the Roy's greatest root, the distribution of these statistics under the null hypothesis is not straightforward and can only be approximated except in a few low-dimensional cases. An algorithm for the distribution of the Roy's largest root under the null hypothesis was derived in while the distribution under the alternative is studied in.

The best-known approximation for Wilks' lambda was derived by C. R. Rao.

In the case of two groups, all the statistics are equivalent and the test reduces to Hotelling's T-square.

Introducing covariates (MANCOVA)
One can also test if there is a group effect after adjusting for covariates. For this, follow the procedure above but substitute $\hat Y$ with the predictions of the general linear model, containing the group and the covariates, and substitute $\bar Y$  with the predictions of the general linear model containing only the covariates (and an intercept). Then $S_{\text{model}}$ are the additional sum of squares explained by adding the grouping information and $S_{\text{res}}$  is the residual sum of squares of the model containing the grouping and the covariates.

Note that in case of unbalanced data, the order of adding the covariates matter.

Correlation of dependent variables
MANOVA's power is affected by the correlations of the dependent variables and by the effect sizes associated with those variables. For example, when there are two groups and two dependent variables, MANOVA's power is lowest when the correlation equals the ratio of the smaller to the larger standardized effect size.

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

title: Multivariate analysis of variance


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First and Last and Always

First and Last and Always is the debut studio album by English gothic rock band the Sisters of Mercy, first released on 11 March 1985 through the band's Merciful Release label. Prior to recording sessions for a debut album, the band started off by releasing multiple extended plays and singles from 1980 through 1984. Guitarist Ben Gunn departed the band in October 1983 and was subsequently replaced by Dead or Alive member Wayne Hussey. This created one of the band's most iconic line-ups, comprising Hussey with frontman Andrew Eldritch, guitarist Gary Marx, and bassist Craig Adams.

After touring for two months and releasing the single "Body and Soul", recording sessions with producer David M. Allen began at Strawberry Studios in Stockport during June 1984, with sessions also taking place at Genetic Studios in Reading. The sessions were prolonged due to Eldritch's drug use and extended time spent on writing lyrics, though recording was eventually completed in November 1984. Similar to the band's previous releases, they used a drum machine when recording, this time utilising an Oberheim DMX nicknamed "Doktor Avalanche".

First and Last and Always was preceded by the singles "Walk Away" and "No Time to Cry", which peaked at number 45 and number 63, respectively, on the UK Singles Chart. The album peaked at number 14 on the UK Albums Chart, though the band had still been in debt afterward due to the production costs. The costs were recouped in 1988, and the album was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry in 1989 for selling 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom. The album was later certified gold by the BVMI in 2011 for selling 250,000 copies in Germany.

Although Eldritch and Hussey began writing new material soon after the album's release, the Sisters of Mercy dissolved later in 1985 when Hussey, Marx, and Adams departed the band due to heightened tensions between them and Eldritch. Consequently, First and Last and Always was the only Sisters of Mercy album to feature Hussey, Marx, and Adams. In the aftermath of the disbandment, Hussey and Adams went on to form The Mission, while Eldritch created his side project The Sisterhood, though Eldritch would later restart the Sisters of Mercy with other members.

Background
The band was founded in 1980 by Andrew Eldritch and Gary Marx in Leeds. Up to 1983, they had produced five singles and two EPs, which were released on the band's own indie label Merciful Release and were distributed independently as well. As the band became increasingly successful and featured regularly in the UK Indie Chart, a first studio album was announced in 1983 for the following year. Eldritch estimated the production costs at £40,000, a sum which exceeded the financial capabilities of an indie band. Around the same time talks with interested record labels began. Eldritch, who handled management and business affairs of the band, negotiated with several record companies early in the new year and finally signed a satisfactory contract with WEA Records. Merciful Release opened an office in London and founded its own publishing company Candelmaesse Limited, as well, which licensed the future song material to the publisher of RCA Records, RCA Music Limited.

In October 1983, guitarist Ben Gunn left. At the end of the year, through CBS Records, who were interested in signing the band, he was replaced by former Dead or Alive member Wayne Hussey. The new band line-up played its debut concert on 7 April 1984, which featured the newly written songs "Body and Soul", "Train" and "Walk Away". The gig was followed by a short American tour until 16 April. After returning to the UK, Eldritch wrote a new song called "Wide Receiver", which was inspired by a term in American football and which he recorded on his own at home as a demo. The rudimentary song wasn't used in the end, but Eldritch's solo demo recording appeared in early 1992 on a bootleg album.

At Strawberry Recording Studios in Stockport, the Sisters of Mercy recorded their first single in March 1984 for WEA ("Body and Soul"), which was composed and produced by Eldritch himself and which was released on 4 June 1984. "Body and Soul" peaked at No. 46 on the UK Singles Chart. From 2 May to 6 June, the band toured the UK and Europe and tried out a new Gary Marx composition which he later used in Ghost Dance. Recommended by WEA Records, Cure producer Dave Allen saw the band in Amsterdam (2 June 1984) and later received a telegram by Andrew Eldritch which said: "The Sisters say yes to Dave Allen". After the end of the tour, they began to prepare themselves for the album recordings, but first they entered Maida Vale Studios on 19 June to record a John Peel Session for BBC Radio 1. The session was broadcast on 13 July when the Sisters of Mercy were already in the recording studio.

Demo sessions
After intense songwriting sessions, Gary Marx entered Parkside Studios, "a tiny studio in a rehearsal complex off Armley Road where I'd been with Wayne to record some new demos with him singing." The recordings were engineered by Steve Allen. Eldritch was enthusiastic about the new material, and played some instrumental demos to Melody Maker journalist Adam Sweeting: "I think this stuff's gonna be incredible, like nothing we've ever done before".

Strawberry sessions
At the end of June 1984, the Sisters of Mercy went with producer Dave Allen into the Strawberry Recording Studios in Stockport, near Manchester, for five weeks to record their first studio album. Studio costs were £500 a day and £3,250 a week. Eldritch spent the whole five weeks inside the studio and, according to Dave Allen, used large amounts of amphetamine on a daily basis. In Stockport, backing tracks and vocals were to be recorded. Additional vocals, overdubs and the final mix were planned for August at Genetic Studios. The finished album was to be released in the third week of October 1984. The band immediately started to record, with Hussey and Marx often providing guide vocals with their own lyrics which later showed up on bootlegs. Both Hussey and Marx later used some of these lyrics for their own bands, The Mission and Ghost Dance. An early recording of "First and Last and Always", which, according to Gary Marx, was "previously called 'The Scottish One'", was "completed pretty early on". Marx sang an early draft of the later Ghost Dance lyric of "When I Call", which mentioned the name of a friend of the band's from Hamburg; Marianne.

On "Nine While Nine", which, according to Marx, was "recorded at the same time" and "had the working title 'Child of Light", Gary Marx sang a guide vocal which he reused later for the Ghost Dance song "A Deeper Blue". The title of this song is derived from Yorkshire dialect where "while" is used to mean "until". "Black Planet" exists in the form of an early version with a Wayne Hussey lyric which he later used for the Mission songs "Dance on Glass" and "Naked and Savage". Additional songs which were left unused were the later Mission song "Garden of Delight" and later Ghost Dance song "Yesterday Again". Eldritch later sang his own version of "Garden of Delight" which remained unused as well: "There are a few bootlegs in existence of me trying to sing Wayne's words, and you can hear that I'm not convinced by them. I can't breathe any meaning into them." "The guy didn't have a clue – he'd just string buzz words together."

Recordings were delayed, to the frustration of the band as Eldritch was still working on lyrics. Gary Marx: "He'd got far too caught up in the business and had lost his edge as a writer. We wasted weeks at a time in the studio, waiting for him to come up with a handful of lyrics. It was very painful and very expensive." A notable exception was "Marian". Eldritch, inspired by Gary Marx's original lyrics to "First and Last and Always", wrote new words to a Wayne Hussey composition which contained a few passages sung in German. "'Marian' is a very special song; it's not like any of the other songs. I wrote it in ten minutes, usually the lyrics take me up to half a year." The vocal takes proved to be time-consumingly elaborate. Marx said, "After each session Andy would say, 'But is it epic?', and we'd go, 'Yeah Andy, it's great!' And he'd go back and do it again. Andy's a complete perfectionist." He added, "We could write and record a double album in the time it took him to get the headphone mix to his liking."

At the end of July 1984, recordings were finished and the band had completed raw mixes of 18 songs on ten analogue master reels:
 * Reel 1: "Tones"/"No Time to Cry"
 * Reel 2: "Emma"/"Walk Away"
 * Reel 3: "Poison Door"/"A Rock and a Hard Place"
 * Reel 4: "First and Last and Always" (album version)/"First and Last and Always" (Japan version)
 * Reel 5: "Possession"/"Spit on Your Grave"/"Evil Come Evil Go"
 * Reel 6: "Marian"/"Wide Receiver"
 * Reel 7: "Nine While Nine"
 * Reel 8: "Some Kind of Stranger"
 * Reel 9: "Some Kind of Stranger" (early)
 * Reel 10: "Down to E....."/"On the Wire"

According to Dave Allen "Tones", "Spit on Your Grave", "Evil Come Evil Go" and "Down to E....." are working titles for known songs. "Amphetamine Logic", according to Gary Marx, had the working title "Horned One Stabs", which indicates that this song was not recorded at Strawberry but at later sessions. In early August 1984, the band flew to the US to play two concerts in New York.

Genetic sessions
After the US gigs, the band went into Genetic Studios near Reading with producer Dave Allen as planned to complete the album with engineer Tim Baldwin. But the sessions at Genetic Studios dissolved, according to Gary Marx, into "madness of Eldritch walking into walls between vocal takes and us generally losing the plot. [Baldwin] seemed to remember it fondly enough." Weakened by continuous amphetamine use, insomnia, malnutrition and hypoglycaemia, Eldritch collapsed in the studio one night. Marx: "He was completely exhausted; hallucinating. Despite this, part of him still wanted to carry on, although the other part knew that he had to stop because he was so ill." Eldritch: "I enjoy it so much, being strung out for a very long time. I'm told you can't do it for that long." Eldritch was rushed to the nearest hospital where he had to stay for a while because of heart complications and reduced general and nutritional condition. In time for two festival appearances in Germany in early September 1984, Eldritch was released from hospital, but the band couldn't meet the scheduled release date of the album. During an interview in Ahlen on 8 September, Eldritch said the release had been postponed to the beginning of the next year.

The band then returned to Genetic Studios to put the finishing touches on the album. It was possibly at these sessions that the band recorded a studio version of the Bob Dylan song "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"; an indication of the band's black humour. Studio versions of the two later Mission songs, "Serpents Kiss" and "Wake", exist. Wayne Hussey: "Both of these songs were actually first recorded during the sessions for [First and Last and Always], but weren't completed at that time." It's not clear whether these two songs were recorded at Strawberry or at Genetic Studios. On 22 September 1984, the band made an appearance at a festival in York and then went on the Black October tour through the UK and Europe from 4 October till 18 November 1984, which was originally set up to coincide with the release of the album. To coincide with the tour, a first single off the album was released on 8 October 1984, "Walk Away", which included a limited edition flexidisc featuring an "Amphetamix" of the song "Train". With the release schedule disrupted and the album postponed to the next year, the record company unsuccessfully requested to postpone "Walk Away" too. "Walk Away", like its predecessor, failed to reach the UK top 40, reaching No. 45.

After the end of the tour, the band returned to Genetic Studios without bassist Craig Adams or producer Dave Allen to mix the album. On this occasion two new songs were recorded, "Blood Money" and "Bury Me Deep", which were produced by Eldritch and were intended as B-sides for the next single, "No Time to Cry". At the end of 1984, Eldritch also produced the mini-album Clash of Dreams by Salvation at Strawberry Recording Studios in Stockport, which was intended for a March 1985 release on his Merciful Release label. The album was shelved. After the Christmas break, the band spent January and February 1985 with preparations for the album release, which again had been postponed to March. The artwork was completed and delivered, and various tapes with different mixes to pick circulated at the WEA offices. Additionally, the band negotiated the release of a live video on PolyGram which was to be filmed on Gary Marx's birthday on 18 June 1985 at the Royal Albert Hall. Around that time, lead guitarist and band co-founder Gary Marx decided to leave the group. "My relationship to all three of them was completely shattered." "As a songwriter it was a frustrating time in The Sisters. I wrote a lot of songs but they weren't used." It had been presumed that Hussey should switch to keyboards, a step which Hussey would never have tolerated.

Composition
For the album sessions the band had acquired a new drum machine, an Oberheim DMX. The album lyrics were all written by Andrew Eldritch, who said his writing "owes more to collage editing in film". Their content, with various references to drugs and separation, mirror Eldritch's condition at the time: "I was so shot when I wrote the lyrics on the album that there's no distancing of persona at all." Gary Marx: "When we were making [the album] Andrew was effectively splitting with his long-term girlfriend and I was close to leaving the band. [These] two things led to a number of references in the lyrics, which seemed to cover his farewells to us both." Eldritch later confirmed that the lyrics of "Walk Away" were directed to Gary Marx: "I thought one of them in particular might have found it a bit relevant." Gary Marx: "'Walk Away' may or may not be about me; I don't care because I don't particularly like the song. The one lyric which always bugs me is the line from 'Some Kind of Stranger' which says 'careful lingers undecided at the door', which I definitely took as a shot at me."

Release and aftermath
On 8 March 1985, the single "No Time to Cry" was released, reached No. 63 on the UK chart. To coincide with the album release, a UK tour began on 9 March. On 11 March, WEA Records Ltd. released the album in the UK to positive press reactions. On 1 April, Marx played his last concert with The Sisters of Mercy, followed by a TV appearance the day after, during which the band played live in the studio versions of "First and Last and Always" and "Marian". The remaining trio, with Wayne Hussey shouldering all guitar parts, started another tour through Europe and the US on 12 April, which continued till 7 June. A second TV appearance for German TV show Formel Eins, during which the band mimed to "No Time to Cry", was broadcast on 15 April 1985. The Sisters of Mercy played their final concert as planned on 18 June 1985 at the Royal Albert Hall. Gary Marx, who was announced to take part, didn't show up. The video was released in 1986 by PolyGram.

In the summer of 1985, the music press reported that The Sisters of Mercy were planning an ABBA cover version as their next single. Eldritch later confirmed that he had indeed contacted producer Jim Steinman: "I called him up [in 1985] when the band had 'Gimme Gimme Gimme' in their set and told him about the song and that our version had to be absolutely stupid. He agreed with me but he was booked out. And then the band broke up." On 2 November, the music press reported the band's split. Andrew Eldritch: "The people that are now The Mission and myself had an agreement: no one would use the name when the band went its separate ways." "The band was good and successful, each of us could continue. The split came at a time when it wouldn't do us any damage."

Editions
The original vinyl album was released in March 1985 in the UK, the US and Europe. In July 1985 Warner-Pioneer Corporation in Japan released a version of the album that contained different mixes of some tracks ("Black Planet" features slightly different instrumentation and is 10 seconds longer, "No Time to Cry" features different opening and ending instrumentation and sound effects, "A Rock and a Hard Place" features additional guitar tracks and a slightly different drum track, while "First and Last and Always" features a totally different drum track as well as a totally different arrangement and has an intro which is 15 seconds longer; the remaining tracks are identical to the standard vinyl release). In March 1988 the album was released on CD for the first time, but it was the Japanese version that was used. In May 1992 a digitally remastered version of the CD was released, again using the Japanese version.

In October 2006 a remastered version of the original vinyl album was released for the first time on CD. This CD edition featured some bonus tracks such as an early demo version of "Some Kind of Stranger" with different lyrics, plus the b sides of the singles "Walk Away" ("Poison Door", "On the Wire" and "Long Train") and "No Time to Cry" ("Blood Money" and "Bury Me Deep"). On 24 July 2015, a 4-LP vinyl box set was released by Warner Music International that included the original version of the album with three EPs from the era, all with reproduced artwork in a slipcase. The set was also released digitally.

Critical
John Leland of Spin wrote, "Their songs are all dark, funereal—slow or fast, they all have the same relentlessly overcast timbre. They're a talented bunch trapped inside a clichéd strategy. First and Last and Always isn't bad, but it sure doesn't reward attentive listening."

Amy Hanson of AllMusic praised the album and its influence on the goth scene that was prominent in the mid 80s, praising the mood of the album, saying, "With static drumbeats and jangle-angled guitars backing Andrew Eldritch's atonic, graveyard vocals, the songs on First and Last and Always paid to play alongside the ghosts of myriad forgotten post-punkers as well as the band's own goth forebears." She praised the moods within the album, observing, "From the opening air-fire claustrophobia of "Black Planet" to the melancholy "No Time to Cry,"" and concluded "Copied to death, its brilliance has never been replicated. Indeed, the entire album remains unequalled in the genre, permanently granted top place on a pedestal from which it cannot be toppled."

In a retrospective review, Julian Marszalek of The Quietus observed the lyrics, on the opening track "Black Planet" to be very on the nose, with regards to the political climate of the mid 80s along with the Cold War, saying. "Lyrically, the track finds Eldtrich in a post-apocalyptic world polluted by radiation and acid rain."... "But while Eldritch is bang on the money capturing the zeitgeist, the music was something of a damp squib focusing as it does on Hussey's sound while paying scant regard to concepts such as memorable and powerful riffs." and praised the sound of the album saying "With First And Last And Always, The Sisters Of Mercy delivered a document that fulfilled the promise of those earlier releases, ten tracks marked by Armageddon, women, drugs, cowboy hats and Marlboro Reds." and concluded "Only The Sisters Of Mercy could've thought up the idea of rock music as an ironic vehicle for their bile. And only The Sisters Of Mercy could've been consumed by the very thing they were mocking. But regardless of what came next – and certainly the whip smart music that preceded it – The Sisters Of Mercy's debut album is a mighty full stop and crowning statement that's weathered the years well since its release. For some of us, at least, this really is first and last and always."

Commercial
The production of the album left the band in enormous debt. According to Eldritch, the album recouped the production costs in 1988. The album peaked at No. 14 on the UK Albums Chart, with strong regional sales in the north of England. It was certified silver (with 60,000 sold) on 30 October 1987 and gold (with 100,000 sold) on 8 May 1989 by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). In Germany, the group's second largest market after the UK, the album peaked at No. 40 and was certified gold (with 250,000 sold) in 2011. In the US, the album did not enter the Billboard 200. Regarding the failure of the band's singles to crack the UK top 40, Eldritch later commented: "We came close. Our failure to crack it wasn't anything to do with us. I think the band did everything required, although we weren't prepared to package ourselves in the way other acts were".

Legacy
Despite the album and the band's significant impact on the goth scene in the 1980s, with the band being regarded as the second wave of the goth movement along with other bands such as The Mission and Fields of the Nephilim, Andrew Eldritch did not consider The Sisters of Mercy as gothic rock band, and instead wanted them to be classified as a continuation of 1960s classic rock music:

We come from 1969; we are the children of Altamont. We don't know who the fuck Alien Sex Fiend are and we don't want to know. Throughout our career, we've had to fight against the preconception that most of the public has of us as being something that sprang out of post-punk. We regard ourselves as having sprung from pre-1970s rock music, as the inheritors of that tradition and the only people with any chance of propagating it further.

I think the title track is gloomy but not the others. They may not be tremendously optimistic...gloomy and doomy suggest an air of apathetic resignation, which I don't think we're prone to.

In 2012, a retrospective by the Sonic Seducer magazine called the album a "pillar of the goth culture" and included it in a list of "10 Key Albums for the Gothic Scene". The band have also been credited as a goth band on various lists of this nature.

Personnel
The Sisters of Mercy
 * Andrew Eldritch – vocals, sleeve design, mixing
 * Craig Adams – bass guitar
 * Wayne Hussey – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
 * Gary Marx – guitar
 * Doktor Avalanche (drum machine) – drums

Technical personnel
 * David M. Allen – production, mixing
 * Mick Lowe – sleeve layout
 * Jill Furmanovsky – sleeve photography
 * Ruth Polsky – sleeve photography

title: First and Last and Always


text:
Alain Robidoux

Alain Robidoux (born July 25, 1960) is a Canadian retired professional snooker player. Robidoux played on the sport's main tour from 1987 to 2004, and reached the final of the 1996 German Open, which he lost 7–9 to Ronnie O'Sullivan.

Career
Robidoux was born on 25 July 1960 in Canada. He joined the professional snooker circuit in the late 1980s, playing as a "non-tournament" professional. This entitled him to be listed on official rankings, although he could not play in most professional competitions. In 1988, he amassed enough points in the World Championship qualifiers to finish in the top 128 players, which allowed him to join the tour full-time.

In September 1988, Robidoux became only the sixth player ever to record an officially ratified 147 maximum break, achieved in the qualifying rounds of the European Open. He won the Canadian Professional Championship by defeating Jim Wych 8–4 in the final. He reached the semi-finals of the Grand Prix in October 1988, where he won six consecutive frames from 1–8 down against Alex Higgins, but ultimately lost the match 7–9.

In the first round of the 1996 World Championship, Robidoux was beaten 3–10 by Ronnie O'Sullivan in a controversial match. Although predominantly right-handed, O'Sullivan played a number of shots with his left hand, and the behaviour was described by commentator John Virgo as O'Sullivan "taking the mick". The matter came to a head in the eleventh frame, when Robidoux was 2–8 down and he was declining to concede the frame, instead continuing to despite a 43-point deficit with only the  and  on the table. He refused to shake O'Sullivan's hand at the end of the match. In response, O'Sullivan claimed that he played better with his left hand than Robidoux could with his right. Realising that O'Sullivan was able to play equally well with both hands, Robidoux later apologised to him.

In the 1996–97 season, Robidoux reached the final of the 1996 German Open, but he lost 7–9 to O'Sullivan despite making a tournament-best 145 break. That same season, he progressed to the semi-finals of the 1997 World Snooker Championship, defeating Brian Morgan, Stefan Mazrocis and Lee Walker, before losing to eventual champion Ken Doherty. He finished the season 9th in the world rankings, which was to be his career-best ranking position. However he then endured a torrid 1997–98 season, losing all his matches and did not win a match again until the following season at the 1999 Welsh Open, where he reached the last 16.

He lost his professional status in 2004 after placing 102nd in the rankings. Robidoux blamed his decline on the destruction of his favourite cue, which he referred to as "the Eel". When he returned the cue to the man from whom he had bought it to have it mended, the man objected to Robidoux having fixed a sponsor's logo to the butt and smashed the cue to pieces. Several years later, Robidoux was asked whether the passage of time had eased his anger towards the cue maker; he responded "I want to kill him."

title: Alain Robidoux


text:
Talk:Albert III, Duke of Saxony

Untitled
Several other pages about "Albert, xxx of Saxony" have been redirected to this article. Given the confusion and the number of Rulers of Saxony who bore the name Albert, I thought it might be appropriate to add a disambiguation notice at the top of the page. Muriel Gottrop is concerned that this might interrupt the flow of the article and, frankly, I do not disagree. Is the note helpful? Is it in the right place? Other thoughts? Rossami 14:14, 27 May 2004 (UTC)

Date of birth
We say 27 January. I've always read he was born between 27th and 31st July. -- JackofOz (talk) 08:57, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

title: Talk:Albert III, Duke of Saxony


text:
Banco Atlántico

In 2003 Banco Atlántico became part of the Banco Sabadell Group.

History

 * 1901: Shortly after Cuba achieved its independence from Spain, José and Francisco Nonell y Feliu, who had been running a Cambio in Cuba since 1885, moved their business to Barcelona. There they joined with local merchants to found a bank, Nonell, Rovira y Matas, to facilitate the investment in local securities of money that Catalans were repatriating from Cuba.
 * 1917: The bank changed its name to Nonell Hermanos.
 * 1920s: The bank's name became Banca Nonell.
 * 1946: Claudio Güell y Churruca, Count of Ruiseñada, took over the bank and renamed it Banco Atlántico.
 * 1961: Güell's descendants sold their shares to a new group of investors.
 * At some point Continental Illinois Bank owned part of Banco Atlántico, but eventually Rumasa, a holding company owned by José María Ruiz Mateos, came to own the bank.
 * 1975: Banco Atlántico established an agency in New York that it closed in 2001.
 * 1983: The Spanish Socialist government of Felipe González and Miguel Boyer nationalized Rumasa, including Atlántico. Rumasa, which owned 20 banks and some 300 other companies, had failed and was too large for the Corporación Bancaria to deal with. By this time, Banco Atlántico was the 10th largest bank in Spain, with 172 branches at home.  It also had the agency in New York and a branch in Grand Cayman, two subsidiaries in Switzerland and Panama, and representative offices in eight countries.
 * 1984: Arab Banking Corporation (ABC; 70%), with BBVA and Allianz, acquired Atlántico from the government. Thereafter, Atlántico added private banking subsidiaries in the Bahamas, Gibraltar, and Monaco, while disposing of the one in Switzerland. Then Banco Exterior replaced BBVA and Allianz as shareholders.
 * 1999: BBVA returned to partial ownership of Atlántico after it acquired Argentaria, which the Spanish government had created to combine several banks, including Banco Exterior.
 * 2003: Banco Sabadell, beating out bids from several banks including Barclays Bank and Caixa Geral de Depositos of Portugal, acquired and absorbed Banco Atlántico.

title: Banco Atlántico


text:
Sorgenfrey plane

In topology, the Sorgenfrey plane is a frequently-cited counterexample to many otherwise plausible-sounding conjectures. It consists of the product of two copies of the Sorgenfrey line, which is the real line $$\mathbb{R}$$ under the half-open interval topology. The Sorgenfrey line and plane are named for the American mathematician Robert Sorgenfrey.

A basis for the Sorgenfrey plane, denoted $$\mathbb{S}$$ from now on, is therefore the set of rectangles that include the west edge, southwest corner, and south edge, and omit the southeast corner, east edge, northeast corner, north edge, and northwest corner. Open sets in $$\mathbb{S}$$ are unions of such rectangles.

$$\mathbb{S}$$ is an example of a space that is a product of Lindelöf spaces that is not itself a Lindelöf space. The so-called anti-diagonal $$\Delta = \{(x, -x) \mid x \in \mathbb{R}\}$$ is an uncountable discrete subset of this space, and this is a non-separable subset of the separable space $$\mathbb{S}$$. It shows that separability does not inherit to closed subspaces. Note that $$K = \{(x, -x) \mid x \in \mathbb{Q}\}$$ and $$\Delta \setminus K$$ are closed sets; it can be proved that they cannot be separated by open sets, showing that $$\mathbb{S}$$ is not normal. Thus it serves as a counterexample to the notion that the product of normal spaces is normal; in fact, it shows that even the finite product of perfectly normal spaces need not be normal.

title: Sorgenfrey plane


text:
Coca-Cola 600

The Coca-Cola 600, originally the World 600, is an annual 600 mi NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, on a Sunday during Memorial Day weekend. The first race, held in 1960, was also the first one held at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It is the longest race on NASCAR's schedule. It is unique for having track conditions that change throughout the race due to the race having a day to night transition, (if the race occurs on schedule with no delays or postponements). The race starts around 6:20 p.m. when the track is bathed in sunlight for about the first third of the race. Roughly the second third happens at dusk, and about the final third of the race occurs at night under the lights.

The race is run later on the same day as the Indianapolis 500 of the IndyCar Series, with multiple drivers having performed or attempted Double Duty, competing in both races. By tradition, the current Indianapolis 500 champion will not compete in this race.

The NASCAR event is usually held on the last weekend of May and is known as one of the largest weekends in auto racing, as the NASCAR race occurs on the same Sunday after the Monaco Grand Prix (Formula One) and the Indianapolis 500 (IndyCar Series).

Christopher Bell is the defending champion of the Coca-Cola 600.

Track origin
In the spring of 1959, Curtis Turner returned to Charlotte, North Carolina, after viewing Bill France Sr.'s Daytona International Speedway and had an idea of building a race track in the surrounding area. Turner thought he could borrow enough money to build a $750,000 track with 45,000 permanent seats on his property in Cabarrus County, North Carolina. Afterward, he learned that a group led by Bruton Smith had a similar idea to build a track near Pineville.

Smith and Turner formed an alliance to build the track, and they signed a contract with NASCAR to run a 600-mile event on Memorial Day. Once the construction crew broke ground, they found a layer of granite under the topsoil, making the construction costs raise. The area for the first turn alone used $70,000 worth of dynamite, ballooning Turner's $750,000 construction plan to nearly two million dollars. In the spring of 1960, Turner begged for a six-week postponement of the race after a snowstorm delayed the concrete pouring.

With two weeks remaining until the inaugural race, the paving subcontractor threatened to quit the job due to lack of payment. To keep him there, Turner and one of his friends threatened the subcontractor with a shotgun and a revolver to ensure the track's backstretch would be completed. The first event at the newly completed Charlotte Motor Speedway was held on June 19, 1960.

History
The event began as an attempt by NASCAR to stage a Memorial Day weekend event to compete with the open-wheel Indianapolis 500. It was not until 1974, however, that both races competed head-to-head on the same day, due to Indianapolis' policy of not racing on Sundays prior to that. Before 1974, the two races were held on different days of the week, and on a few occasions, some drivers drove in both. They continued even after the Coca-Cola 600 was moved to the same day, albeit to a lesser degree. The first World 600 was held on June 16 due to construction delays of the completion of Charlotte Motor Speedway. The 2009 race, postponed by rain from its original May 24 date, was the first race to occur on Memorial Day itself.

After the installation of lights in 1992, fans asked circuit management to start the race later in the day because of the notorious North Carolina heat and humidity. They wanted to follow The Winston's popularity the previous week and switch the race to a nighttime finish to create cooler temperatures for spectators. The start time was moved back several times throughout the 1990s and finally settled at 5:30 pm in 2001, to attempt to have the race finished by 10 pm ET, in time for local news on Fox affiliates.

With the new starting time came new challenges. Not only do race teams have to deal with the blistering Carolina heat, but the considerable temperature drop at night affects track conditions.

The nighttime portion of the race is lit with a system that uses parabolic reflectors so that dangerous glare that would otherwise be in the drivers' eyes is minimized. The move of the race to the early evening made it possible for drivers to do Double Duty – run the Indianapolis 500, then immediately fly from Indianapolis to Charlotte, and participate in the Coca-Cola 600. Experts disagreed over whether, for health and safety reasons, anyone should be allowed to race 1100 miles in one day, but no regulation has been set by any governing body to prevent it. From 2005 to 2010, the issue became moot when the state of Indiana finally decided to implement daylight saving time. This resulted in only an approximately one-hour interval between the end of the Indianapolis 500 and the start of the Coca-Cola 600. The Indianapolis 500 start time was moved back to noon Eastern in 2011, since 2011, only 2 drivers have attempted the Double Duty, with the most recent being Kyle Larson in 2024, however, due to rain, he was unable to race in the Coca-Cola 600.

Until the Ferko lawsuit settlement took effect, the race was considered the third leg of the grand slam and was once part of the Winston Million. It is considered one of the top five annual NASCAR races.

Beginning in 2017, NASCAR adopted the stage-racing format, dividing each of its top three division's races into three stages. Originally, the 600 was going to have stages 1 & 2 be 115 laps in length, with the third and final stage encompassing the remaining 170 laps. Just a few weeks before the race, the stage format for the race was changed with the addition of a fourth stage, and the race is divided into four uniform stages of 100 laps each. This makes it the only race on the schedule with four stages instead of three. If the weather interferes, NASCAR's rule that a race becomes official after the conclusion of the second stage still applies. It also makes the Coca-Cola 600 the highest scoring race in terms of points a driver can collect. Usually, if a driver sweeps all the stages and passes inspection they score 60 points (40 for winning, and 10 for the first two stages), but with 4 stages the maximum is 70 (which Kyle Busch accomplished in 2018 and Kyle Larson accomplished in 2021 ).

As part of the race’s annual tribute to the United States military, "Amazing Grace" (performed by the Charlotte Fire Department Pipe Band) and "Taps" are played prior to the National Anthem in memory of members of the Armed Forces who lost their life in the line of duty.

Name changes
From 1960 to 1984 the race was known as the World 600. In 1985, the race's name was changed to Coca-Cola World 600. In 1986 the name was shortened to the Coca-Cola 600, or Coke 600 which it was referred to at the time. The name changed again in 2002 to the Coca-Cola Racing Family 600 referring to the Coca-Cola family of drivers who are sponsored by Coca-Cola. In 2003, the name returned to the Coca-Cola 600.

Individual race details

 * 1960: In the inaugural World 600 in 1960, Don O'Dell's Pontiac smashed the driver's door of Lenny Page's Chevy. Lenny Page was lucky to even survive the impact, and was in critical condition afterward. Reporter Chris Economaki rushed to the scene and applied CPR until safety crews arrived. He was later credited with saving Lenny's life.
 * 1961: The race saw numerous crashes, including a very bad collision involving Reds Kagle, who lost a leg when his Ford smashed through the guardrail in Turn Three. David Pearson lost almost all of a multi-lap lead when a tire popped coming to the white flag but finished the race as winner, his first in Grand National racing.
 * 1964: Fireball Roberts suffered a hard crash in this race, resulting in an inferno. Roberts was severely burned and would die of complications on July 2 of that year.
 * 1974: The race was shortened to 540 miles because of the nation's short-lived fuel crisis, which was won by David Pearson over Richard Petty. The lead changed 37 times between Pearson, Petty, Cale Yarborough, Buddy Baker, and Donnie Allison, the most lead changes in the event's history to that point.
 * 1975: Richard Petty, after years of frustration, finally collected his first victory at the World 600, proceeding to lap the field. Additionally; another future seven-time champion, Dale Earnhardt, made his Cup Series debut; finishing 21st, one position ahead of his future boss Richard Childress.
 * 1976: Bruton Smith resumed full control of the speedway with the resignation of former track president Richard Howard. In a move to boost promotion of the race, Janet Guthrie was entered in a car wrenched by Ralph Moody. Pearson edged Petty again after a cut tire dropped Yarborough off the lead lap.
 * 1977: Two racing legends won races on the same day. Richard Petty win his second World 600, while A. J. Foyt was winning his fourth at Indy.
 * 1978: Darrell Waltrip won the first of his record five 600s in 1978 in a race-long six-car shootout; on the final lap Benny Parsons and David Pearson crashed. The lead changed 43 times, the most competitive 600 to that point of its history.
 * 1979: The race saw the most lead changes (59) in the race's history. Darrell Waltrip took the win over Richard Petty and rookie Dale Earnhardt.
 * 1980: The race lasted seven hours due to 14 caution flags and two lengthy red flags for rain. Multiple tire failures helped lead to an epidemic of wrecks; at Lap 275 Dale Earnhardt blew a tire and his spin caught up Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough, and David Pearson.  Waltrip had the lead but in the final 20 laps was challenged by Benny Parsons; the two battled with the lead changing some seven times before Parsons edged Waltrip by a car length.
 * 1982: Neil Bonnett won his first World 600 driving the famous No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford.
 * 1983: Neil Bonnett won his second World 600 driving for the No. 75 Rahmoc-Hodgdon Chevrolet.
 * 1985: Considerable pre-race hype surrounded the race as Bill Elliott entered with a chance to win a million-dollar cash bonus for a "small slam" of the sport's four majors. Elliott won the pole position and led 81 laps, but faded to 18th at the finish. Darrell Waltrip took the victory, a key victory en route to the championship. Waltrip (who won the inaugural All-Star race a day earlier) nearly missed the race after a car/engine swap controversy with NASCAR Director of Competition Dick Beatty. Elliott went on to win the Winston Million later in the season at Darlington but never won the 600 in his career.
 * 1988: In the middle of a tire war between the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and Hoosier Racing Tire (now part of Continental AG), multiple tire failures marred the previous week's All-Star race, all involving Goodyear. Goodyear withdrew the tires originally designated for the 600 and substituted a harder compound.  Only Dave Marcis stayed with the harder Goodyear tires for the 600.  But during the 600, Hoosier tire failures were rampant.  Darrell Waltrip survived and edged Rusty Wallace for the win, becoming the first four-time winner of the race.
 * 1989: Darrell Waltrip becomes the only driver to win the event for a record 5th time (1978, 1979, 1985, 1988, 1989). After also winning the season-opening Daytona 500, Waltrip now had won two of the sport's four majors, setting himself up for the million-dollar bonus for a small slam at Darlington. He would not be successful. (Waltrip had not won the final major, Darlington, and never took the checkered flag to win the Southern 500;  his final career win, at that race in 1992, took place when he took the lead during pit stops on Lap 293 and the race was suspended by a red flag after 298 laps for rain, after which it was never completed.)
 * 1992: The race saw a controversial finish. Dale Earnhardt emerged from late green-flag pit stops with the lead after trailing by some three seconds entering the pits; there were complaints from several teams, notably Morgan-McClure Motorsports whose driver Ernie Irvan finished second, that Earnhardt had broken NASCAR's mandated pit road speed limit. This race, the last Coca-Cola 600 to be run entirely in daylight, marked the only victory for Earnhardt in 1992.
 * 1993: Earnhardt was plagued by controversy again by first getting busted for speeding on pit road, then penalized a lap for aggressive driving after spinning out the lapped car of Greg Sacks. On a pit stop, he was penalized for not having all 5 lug nuts tightened, when in fact all 5 were tight. NASCAR threw the caution after the debacle, but Earnhardt made up the two laps he was down to take the lead late in the race on his way to his third Coca-Cola 600 win. This was also the first Coca-Cola 600 to start late in the day and end under the lights, which has been done since.
 * 1994: Second-year driver Jeff Gordon won the first race of his career. His team gambled on the final pit stop, taking on only two tires, giving him a better track position.
 * 1995: The race was a dramatic affair as the lead changed 32 times, the most since 1988, and the battle for the lead became a spirited multi-lap affair between Bobby Labonte, Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace, and Sterling Marlin. Labonte punted Earnhardt out of the lead late in the race and sweated out late green-flag stops for fuel to take the win, his first in Winston Cup.
 * 2000: Talk this year was of Dale Earnhardt Jr. trying to be the first rookie to win the race, winning the pole and dominating all of the phases of the race. However, Matt Kenseth became the first rookie to win the race after holding off Bobby Labonte over the final laps. It was Kenseth's first career win.
 * 2001: While Jeff Burton won the race, Tony Stewart stunned the racing world by successfully pulling off the full distances of the Memorial Day Double.
 * 2005: During this race, a new record for the most cautions of any NASCAR Cup Series race was set at 22 cautions. In addition, there was a red flag late in the race because of debris. On the last lap, Jimmie Johnson slid past Bobby Labonte in turn four, claiming the checkered flag by inches. In doing so he became the first driver to win three consecutive Coca-Cola 600s. He would finish a distant second to Kasey Kahne the following year.
 * 2007: In one of NASCAR's biggest upsets, Casey Mears won. Tony Stewart led with ten laps remaining, hoping to win his first Coca-Cola 600, but had to pit for fuel with 8 laps left, giving the lead to Dale Earnhardt Jr. until he ran out of fuel. Denny Hamlin led with seven laps remaining until he also ran out of fuel. Mears, driving for Hendrick Motorsports in the 25, took the lead for six laps remaining to win, running out of fuel just after crossing the finish line. The entire podium consisted of J. J. Yeley (2nd) and Kyle Petty (third).  It was the final podium result for all three drivers.  Reed Sorenson (4th) and Brian Vickers (5th) completed the top five.
 * 2009: Although nicknamed the 24 Hours of Charlotte, it was the shortest run of the race in its history. The race was delayed from Sunday to Monday due to a rainstorm, and the following day, more rain forced the race to end at only 227 laps, although it took a six and a half hour marathon to reach that point, due to frequent interruptions by competition cautions and three red flags, including a two-hour period under the red flag which ended the race and declared David Reutimann the winner, one of few drivers who opted not to pit under the final caution. Reutimann was the second surprise first-time winner in 2009 after Brad Keselowski's win at Talladega the month before.
 * 2011: The 2011 running, at 603 miles, was the longest distance in NASCAR history at the time. Dale Earnhardt Jr., trying to break a long winless drought, ran out of gas coming off of turn 4, and Kevin Harvick scored his third win of 2011.
 * 2013: The 2013 running was red-flagged 126 laps in, when a cable that supported a Skycam used by Fox Sports over the front stretch of the race track, snapped and fell onto the racing surface. Several spectators were injured as a result of the failure, and several race cars were damaged.  The race restarted but was red-flagged again on lap 325 for a large wreck entering turn one. Kevin Harvick won the race for the second time when he took two tires on the final caution and passed Kasey Kahne, who did not pit.
 * 2014: Jimmie Johnson won his fourth Coca-Cola 600, and first since 2005. During the race, the world's biggest photo was captured. The 348-gigapixel image captured during the race is 70,000 times bigger than a standard self-portrait and allows each and every one of the more than 100,000 fans in the stands who attended the event to zoom in on the 360-degree image and find themselves.
 * 2015: Carl Edwards won his first Coca-Cola 600 and first while driving for Joe Gibbs Racing.
 * 2016: Martin Truex Jr. started on the pole and led an event record 392 of 400 laps and a series record 588 of 600 miles en route to his first win at the Coca-Cola 600. Additionally, the race was the fastest-ran Coca-Cola 600 in history at an average speed of 160.655, clocking in at 3 hours, 44 minutes, and 5 seconds.
 * 2017: First race to run in four stages rather than three. Austin Dillon, running on fumes, held off Kyle Busch to score his first career Cup win. The race also marked the return of the #3 to victory lane for the first time since Dale Earnhardt scored his final career victory at Talladega in 2000. Just before halfway, a rainstorm happened to delay the race for an hour and 30 mins. With the delay, the race finished at 12:30 am EDT on Memorial Day Monday. Danica Patrick leads 7 laps becoming the first woman to lead the Coca-Cola 600.
 * 2018: Kyle Busch dominated the race by winning sweeping all the stages, and leading 377 of the 400 laps to score his first career win at Charlotte, making him the first driver to win a race at every racetrack in the Cup Series that he has competed at, and every track that is on the current schedule.
 * 2019: 21-year-old William Byron was the youngest driver ever to take pole position for the Coca-Cola 600. With 16 caution flags and an elapsed time of 4 hours and 50 minutes, this running of the race became the longest since 2005, since surpassed by 2022’s running.
 * 2020: With government restrictions over COVID-19 pandemic affecting all sports across America, NASCAR continued after a two-month absence, but it also prohibited fans in the stands. Chase Elliott looked like he was going to win the event until his teammate William Byron spun bringing out the caution with just two laps to go. Elliott decided to pit with others while Brad Keselowski stayed out inheriting the lead for a green-white-checkered finish. Elliott charged from 11th to 3rd with Keselowski giving Roger Penske his second 600 win over Jimmie Johnson on a day in which the Indianapolis 500 was postponed due to the pandemic. In post-race tech, Johnson's car violated rear-end alignments disqualifying him from 2nd to dead last (40th) and lifting Elliott to second. Rain delayed the event by an hour and forty minutes just 50 laps in, with the checkered-flag waving at just past midnight on Memorial Day. The race ending in overtime broke the record for the longest NASCAR race run set in 2011. Keselowski crossed the start/finish line after completing 405 laps/607.5 miles, breaking the 2011 record of 402 laps/603 miles.
 * 2022: The 2022 running, at 619.5 miles, brought on by two overtime finishes, broke the record for the longest NASCAR race by 12 miles. With 18 caution flags and an elapsed time of five hours and 13 minutes, this running surpassed 2019 as the longest running of the race since 2005, coming 46 seconds of race time shy of being longer than that race.

First-time winners
The Coca-Cola 600 has been the site of many drivers' first wins, including Casey Mears (2007), David Reutimann (2009), and future champions David Pearson (1961), Jeff Gordon (1994), Bobby Labonte (1995), and Matt Kenseth (2000). The most recent driver to have the 600 as his first win was Austin Dillon, who won in 2017.

title: Coca-Cola 600


text:
Amiga 3000T

The Amiga 3000T is a computer manufactured by Commodore. It is closely related to the Amiga 3000, although it came in a tower case which offers greater expandability. The case for the prototype, the 3500, was derived from Commodore's PC compatible line.

Like the desktop variant it is based upon, the A3000T has a CPU FAST slot which allows for processor upgrades. Later models were offered with a 68040 CPU in this slot, and third-party upgrades can be used to add a PowerPC processor.

The A3000T has a variety of drive bays – two 3.5-inch drives and one 5.25-inch half-height drive, mounted horizontally; and two 5.25-inch half-height drives mounted vertically. Inside, behind these bays, there is space for two more, internal, 5.25-inch half-height drives. The available drive bays make it possible to internally install up to seven drives in the A3000T.

The A3000T's specifications closely resemble the horizontal-cased Amiga 3000, but the motherboard has been heavily redesigned. As a result, the expansion-slot layout is more like the Amiga 2000's with five Zorro III slots, one of which is inline with the video slot, and four 16-bit ISA slots (passive), two of which are inline with Zorro slots (activated with bridgeboards).

At introduction, the retail price of an Amiga 3000 system could exceed $5000, depending on configuration. As a result of its high price and poor marketing, the machine did not sell in great numbers.

The machine is reported to have sold 14,380 units in Germany (including Amiga 3000 sales).

title: Amiga 3000T


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Vollis

This page is an archive of the discussion surrounding the proposed deletion of the page entitled Vollis.

This page is kept as an historic record.

The result of the debate was to delete the article.

Vollis is a team game/sport, invented, first played and coined in 2002 AD. [...] Vollis is set to grow quite large in the near future and there is a distinct possibility that it could be an Olympic sport by 2012-2016. I can't find any references via google. Vollis doesn't seem to be notable enough for an article in wikipedia. Thue 14:25, 27 May 2004 (UTC)

 * Delete. The final claim that it may be an Olympic sport by 2012 is patent nonsense, and contributes to the impression that this is just a sport thought up by a bunch of kids, and that it hasn't spread much outside that group. Also, a search for the word 'vollis' on search engines produces large numbers of hits for a folk artist called Vollis Simpson, but nothing related to this game. Average Earthman 16:28, 27 May 2004 (UTC)
 * "2002 AD," no less. Delete as patent nonsense. - Lucky 6.9 18:45, 27 May 2004
 * Delete - Tεx τ urε 19:13, 27 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Looks like nonsense. Delete. -- Cyrius|&#9998 19:35, May 27, 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. Nonsense. Abigail 21:30, May 27, 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep it, even if the assumption is made that kids or some other people you wish to call unnotable invented it, how do you think sports that are played worldwide began? Isn't the Wikipedia a place for people to access any information of interest? If you can't find it on Google after idly clicking around, think of how difficult it would be for someone to find it out of genuine interest (rather than cynicism) without the Wikipedia article? Boutros Boutros
 * I just adore sockpuppets. They're so cute and cuddly. - Lucky 6.9 16:51, 28 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Just to answer the claim by a poster who has never posted anywhere else - apart from the fact that the majority of 'vanity' articles on Wikipedia are contributed by teenagers who appear to lack a proper sense of perspective, the utter obscurity of the game means it is not currently worthy including. As for 'if you can't find it on Google after idly clicking', I used both Google and Teoma, and found only articles about Vollis Simpson or pages in German which my admittedly abysmal grasp of German suggests to me are about some form of table football, one mention of the chairman of the President of the Pan-Macedonian Association, and one reference to US soldier with the surname 'Vollis'. Happy now? Average Earthman 17:44, 28 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Well well well, contempt for developing games, disregard for new users to web communities, dislike of teenagers.........Sounds to me like you have a touch of conservative elitism in you. Some people obviously feel uncomfortable when there's changes happening in the world that upset ideals of a concrete state of reality...Fair enough, you can't find the thing on Google, still I think this site's entire purpose is for information, or am I wrong? Boutros Boutros
 * Information, yes, but information about somewhat established stuff of generel interest, ie informative stuff. There is no indication that vollis has grown outside the group of teenagers who invented it. The problem is also that the information is not verifiable. Delete the article for now, but if vollis ever gets widespread we should have an article about it. Thue 09:15, 30 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. If it becomes widely known, we can recreate it, but it does not merit an article now. Andris 02:02, Jun 1, 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep. For verification see this News thread from 1994, or this google search. It seems it is not only a game but also a bicycle brand. Why don't you deletists work on verifiing these things instead of just listing stuff all the time. Boutros Boutross point is a very good one, even though it doesn't look like this term was coined in 2002....
 * No. I looked through google hits from your search (ones which were in English). There is exactly 1 hit about vollis game. The rest are mostly about people with first/last name being Vollis. 1 google hit does not justify inclusion. Andris 19:50, Jun 2, 2004 (UTC)

This page is now preserved as an archive of the debate and is no longer 'live'. Subsequent comments on the issue or the deletion should be placed on other relevant 'live' pages. Please do not edit this page.

title: Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Vollis


text:
Mousse T.

Mustafa Gündoğdu (born 2 October 1966), best known under his stage name Mousse T., is a German-Turkish DJ, record producer, film composer and judge on season 15 of Deutschland sucht den Superstar, the German version of Pop Idol. He is best known for the 1998 house hit "Horny '98" (famous for the hook "I'm horny") and for his collaboration with Tom Jones on the 2000 hit "Sex Bomb", from Jones' 1999 album Reload.

Mousse T. is one of the first producers of house music in his country, alongside contemporaries Boris Dlugosch, DJ Tonka and Ian Pooley.

Biography
He was born in Hagen, Germany in 1966 to Turkish parents. He started learning music aged 13. He began his career in 1990 as keyboard player for a small band known as "Fun Key B". At the same time, he set up his own recording studio and began DJing in the city of Hannover. Besides working on his own productions, usually with partner Errol Rennalls, Mousse T. also wrote and produced tracks for other artists. In 1993, he founded, along with Rennalls, Peppermint Jam Records, a label specializing in uplifting house and melodic acid jazz music.

His 1998 production "Horny '98" featuring Hot 'n' Juicy (and a chorus sung by Inaya Day on vocals) reached the top of the Billboard dance charts in the late 1990s and Top 20 in the UK and Australia. It was also featured on Chef Aid: The South Park Album. His first album, Gourmet de Funk, was released in 2002. In 2004, he once again entered the Single Charts with his song "Is It 'Cos I'm Cool?", which is featured on his second album, All Nite Madness, also released in 2004. The song features the vocals of Emma Lanford. In the same year he produced the summer hit "Il Grande Baboomba" of the Italian singer Zucchero Fornaciari, in his album Zu & Co., and he took part in the concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London held in May 2004, with the other guests of the Italian bluesman.

In 2005, Mousse T. performed with Emma Lanford and represented Lower Saxony in the Bundesvision Song Contest 2005 with the song "Right About Now", placing 4th with 85 points. In 2006, Loo & Placido released a mash-up called "Horny as a Dandy". The song fused the vocals of "Horny '98" and the music of "Bohemian Like You" by The Dandy Warhols.

In 2006, Mousse T. collaborated Turkish singer Tarkan and composed 3 different remixes for the track Start the Fire of released album named Come Closer.

In 2007, he wrote and produced the music for Marc Rothemund's film: Pornorama. His music has been featured in several films and TV series in both the U.S. and internationally.

In 2018, Mousse T. joined the jury of Deutschland sucht den Superstar, the German equivalent to Pop Idol.

In 2020, Mousse T. was ranked number one at the Top House Artists of 2020 by Traxsource.

In 2022, he produced Gianni Morandi's song Apri tutte le porte, written by Jovanotti and presented at the Sanremo Music Festival in the same year.

Singles
Mousse T.
 * Most tracks co-written by Errol Rennalls

Afropeans
 * "Pianolick" (2000)
 * "No. 1" (2001)
 * "Everybody/Fallin'" (2003)
 * "Afropeans EP" (2004)
 * "Better Things" with Inaya Day (2004)

Other aliases
 * "Don't Stop", as Fresh & Fly with Hans Hahn (1989)
 * "African Rhythm", as Fresh & Fly with Ralf Droesemeyer and Jörg Rump (1991)
 * "Family of Music", as F.O.M. with Ralf Droesemeyer (1991)
 * "C'mon Get Up", as F.O.M. with Ralf Droesemeyer (1991)
 * "Mind Flavor EP", as Mind Flavour (1995)
 * "Odyssey One", as Federation X with Grant Nelson (1996)
 * "Keep Pushin'", as Booom! with Boris Dlugosch and Inaya Day (1996)
 * "Hold Your Head Up High", as Booom! with Boris Dlugosch and Inaya Day (1997)
 * "Miami Special", as Peppermint Jam Allstars with Boris Dlugosch and Michi Lange (2001)

(Co-)Production for other artists
 * Psyche – "Angel Lies Sleeping" (1991)
 * Marc Davis – "Moviestar" (1992)
 * Ve Ve – "We've Got Love" (1995)
 * Raw Instinct – "De La Bass" (1996)
 * Ferry Ultra feat. Roy Ayers – "Dangerous Vibes" (1997)
 * Bootsy Collins feat. MC Lyte – "I'm Leavin U (Gotta Go, Gotta Go)" (1997)
 * Byron Stingily – "Sing a Song" (1997)
 * Randy Crawford – "Wishing on a Star" (1997)
 * Cunnie Williams – "Saturday" (1999)
 * Tom Jones – "Sex Bomb" (1999)
 * Monie Love – "Slice of da Pie" (2000)
 * Ann Nesby – "Love Is What We Need" (2001)
 * No Angels – "Let's Go to Bed" (2002)
 * Inaya Day – "Nasty Girl" (2004)
 * Se:Sa feat. Sharon Phillips – "Like This Like That" (2007)

Remixes

 * 1995 Fun Factory – "Celebration" (Mousse T's Back To The Old School)
 * 1996 Mr. President – "Coco Jamboo" (Club Mix Radio, Extended, and Dangerous Dub)
 * 1997 Michael Jackson – "Ghosts"
 * 1997 Nuyorican Soul – "Runaway" (Jazz Funk Experience, and Soul Dub)
 * 2001 Shakedown – "At Night"
 * 2006 Boney M – "Sunny" (Radio, Extended, and Sexy Disco Club Mix)
 * 2006 Tarkan – "Start the Fire" (Radio Mix)
 * 2006 Tarkan – "Start The Fire" (Radio Instrumental Mix)
 * 2006 Tarkan – "Start The Fire" (Abi Club Mix)
 * 2017 Camelphat & Elderbrook – "Cola" (Mousse T.'s Glitterbox Mix)
 * 2018 Purple Disco Machine ft Baxter – "Encore"
 * 2018 Selace – "So Hooked On Your Lovin"
 * 2019 Kylie Minogue – "Step Back in Time"
 * 2019 The Vision featuring Andreya Triana – Heaven (Mousse T.'s Disco Shizzle Remix)
 * 2020 DAVIE – Testify (Mousse T.'s Funky Shizzle Remix)
 * 2020 Mike Dunn – If I Can’t Get Down (Mousse T.'s Funky Shizzle Mix)
 * 2020 Wankelmut & Anna Leyne – Free At Last (Mousse T. Remix)

title: Mousse T.


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Frederick Eaton

Frederick Eaton (1856 – March 11, 1934) was a major individual in the transformation and expansion of Los Angeles in the latter 19th century through early 20th century, in California. Eaton was the political mastermind behind the early 20th century Los Angeles Aqueduct project, designed by William Mulholland.

Introduction
Frederick Eaton was born in Los Angeles in 1856, into a prominent family who were among those that founded what has become the city of Pasadena. As an adult Eaton was a Radical Republican. He was a promoter of the Civil War Reconstruction, new railroads, and Southern California water supplies. He became the Mayor of Los Angeles.

Accomplishments
Fred Eaton taught himself engineering and was the superintendent of the Los Angeles City Water Company by age 19 in 1875. As head of the Water Company, in 1878 Eaton first hired William Mulholland as a ditch-digger for distribution canals from the Los Angeles River to the city.

In 1886 Eaton redesigned and renovated Los Angeles Park, present day Pershing Square, with an 'official park plan,' and it was renamed 6th Street Park.

Los Angeles Aqueduct
Eaton was the Los Angeles mayor from 1898 to 1900. For the office, he ran on the platform of establishing a new municipal water system for the city of Los Angeles. One year later in 1899, a 2.09 million US dollar bond measure was approved by city voters for the purchase of Los Angeles City Water Company's system. (the private water company that leased the city's waterworks and provided water to the city) A few years later, Los Angeles was faced with a problem: a burgeoning population that threatened the city's water supply. Desperate to find a new water source for the city, Eaton recalled a camping trip in the Sierras where he "gazed down upon the Owens Lake and thought about all the freshwater flowing into it and going to waste. Yes, Los Angeles was some 200 miles away, but it was all downhill. All one would have to do to move it to the city was dig some canals, lay some pipe and let gravity do the rest." In other words, Eaton realized an opportunity to sustain Los Angeles' growth and took matter into his own hands to save the city.

In 1906, the Board of Water Commissioners created the Bureau of Los Angeles Aqueduct. They appointed William Mulholland as chief engineer, who planned and developed the Los Angeles Aqueduct. The aqueduct was completed in 1913. The Aqueduct brought plentiful water to Los Angeles, which supplied its explosive population growth. It also diverted the Owens River and its tributaries, taking water away from the Owens Valley, eventually disabling the farms and communities there.

Controversy
During the time that Eaton was surveying the Owens Valley land for his personal water project, the federal government was also in the process of reclaiming land in that area for a large irrigation system in response to the newly signed Newlands Reclamation Act. Many local farmers willingly gave up their land to make this project possible. However, since Eaton was also buying thousands of acres of land at the same time, "it was a common but ill-founded assumption in the valley that Eaton was representing the Reclamation Service. Eaton did nothing to correct the inference that his activity in the valley was related to the government project." In addition to knowingly withholding information, Eaton used inside information from Joseph Lippincott, the regional engineer of the Reclamation Service, to help gain the water rights.

The underhanded process of Los Angeles gaining the water rights for Owens Valley angered many residents. By 1924, when Los Angeles had taken so much water from the valley that Owens Lake dried up, the farmers and ranchers rebelled. They turned to violence and dynamited the aqueduct's concrete canal.

Round Valley – St. Francis Dam
Fred Eaton used his inside advance information about the aqueduct project to enrich himself and his associates at the expense of the city of Los Angeles and the Owens Valley landowners. Eaton claimed in a 1905 interview with the Los Angeles Express that he turned over all his water rights to Los Angeles without being paid for them, "except that I retained the cattle which I had been compelled to take in making the deals . . . and mountain pasture land of no value except for grazing purposes." A portion of the land owned by Eaton was originally planned by Mulholland and Los Angeles to be used to build a storage reservoir. The Round Valley, Eaton's "mountain pasture land," was strategically located on the Owens River in Inyo County upstream of the Owens River Gorge and Owens Valley, and an excellent site to purchase. Eventually, Eaton's demands for a million dollars to sell it became so entrenched that they ruptured his relationship with Mulholland.

William Mulholland refused to authorize the purchase and explored other areas to build the reservoir. Eventually he settled on an area which he had considered for a potential dam site during the process of designing and building the Los Angeles Aqueduct, a section of San Francisquito Canyon located north of the present day Santa Clarita Valley, and built the St. Francis Dam. In March 1928, the dam catastrophically failed due to unknown weak bedrock formations. The flood caused much destruction and many deaths downstream along the Santa Clara River. Eaton's finances crumbled, also in 1928, and his ranch was acquired by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, where Crowley Lake was created for the aqueduct system's new storage.

Fred Eaton died in Los Angeles in 1934.

title: Frederick Eaton


text:
Standing Royal Navy deployments

Standing Royal Navy deployments is a list of operations and commitments undertaken by the United Kingdom's Royal Navy on a worldwide basis. The following list details these commitments and deployments sorted by region and in alphabetical order. Routine deployments made by the Navy's nuclear-powered submarines and their location of operations is classified.

Previously, before the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union in 2020 ("Brexit,") the Royal Navy sent vessels to Operation Atalanta, a European Union multinational task force charged to combat Somali piracy off the Horn of Africa. For a period, the operation's headquarters was located in the United Kingdom at Northwood Headquarters, London. In November 2017 Major General Charles Stickland Royal Marines was appointed as Operation Commander of Operation Atlanta.

Antarctic Patrol
Antarctic Patrol is undertaken during the regional summer by the Royal Navy's Icebreaker and survey ship, HMS Protector (A173), in the South Atlantic Ocean. Its primary mission is "surveying and gathering data on the seas around Antarctica" while also providing support to the British Antarctic Survey operation stationed in and around the British Antarctic Territory. A Royal Research Ship is also deployed during the regional summer; RRS Sir David Attenborough.

Atlantic Patrol Tasking North
Formerly known as the West Indies Guard Ship (the remnant of the former squadron of the America and West Indies Station. This is the Royal Navy's commitment to secure and protect the interests of the United Kingdom and British Overseas Territories in the regions of the North Atlantic and the Caribbean. The deployment primarily conducts counter narcotics missions and provides humanitarian assistance during hurricane season.

This tasking was augmented by Operation Ruman in 2017 as a result of damage caused by Hurricane Irma.

The task is typically carried out by a single warship, or more recently by a River-class patrol vessel or a Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel. Since 2020 HMS Medway has been assigned permanently to the Caribbean.

Atlantic Patrol Tasking South
The Royal Navy has maintained a permanent presence in the South Atlantic and West Africa to provide "ongoing protection and reassurance to British interests" such as the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands and South Georgia, while also supporting British Forces South Atlantic Islands. The commitment has, at times, consisted of two warships; either a guided-missile destroyer or frigate accompanied by a Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel. Since 2015, a major warship has not been deployed. As of 2020, the commitment is maintained by the Offshore Patrol Vessel HMS Forth (P222). The 2021 defence white paper indicated that henceforth, one River-class offshore patrol vessel, HMS Trent (P224), would be permanently based in Gibraltar for operations in the Mediterranean and also in the Gulf of Guinea.

Falkland Islands Patrol Task
The Falkland Islands Patrol Task consists of a single warship (an Offshore Patrol Vessel) stationed around the EEZ of the Falkland Islands. It forms part of British Forces South Atlantic Islands and aims to reassure the inhabitants of the region and maintain British sovereignty.

HMS Forth (P222) has been permanently assigned to the task since November 2019. Forth uses the deepwater naval base facilities of East Cove Military Port at Mare Harbour, East Falkland.

Standing NATO Maritime Group 1
The Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 is part of the wider NATO Response Force, its standard area of operations is the Atlantic Ocean. As of Feb 2023, the latest contribution to the task group was the Type 23 HMS Portland.

Littoral Response Group (North)
Littoral Response Group (North), is the lead formation, based in Europe, with an area of responsibility in the Atlantic, Baltic and Mediterranean. As of 2024, it includes a Bay-class landing ship dock and a company of 45 Commando Royal Marines and supporting elements. While an Albion-class landing platform dock is nominally assigned to LRG (North), both Albion-class vessels were in reserve as of 2024 with HMS Bulwark only to be activated "if required".

LRG (North) is supported by other Royal Navy and allied assets, including the Royal Navy's Carrier Strike Group, as may be required.

Baltops
Baltops is an annual 2-week exercise run by the US Navy. It is an exercise in which several NATO members come together to take part in a huge multinational exercise designed to strengthen the bonds of international partnership. The 2021 exercises included Royal Navy ships HMS Albion and RFA Mounts Bay.

Cold Weather Training
Cold Weather Training is a Royal Navy commitment to the annual Norwegian-led exercise in the Arctic regions. Its purpose is to build and strengthen military ties and to enable the Royal Marines and Royal Navy sailors to "fight and win" in extreme conditions.

Faslane Patrol Boat Squadron
The Faslane Patrol Boat Squadron (FPBS) provides force protection in around the waters of HMNB Clyde, where the Royal Navy's nuclear-powered submarine fleet is based. The squadron currently consists of HMS Tracker and HMS Raider.

Fishery Protection
The Fishery Protection Squadron is charged with protecting the British fishing industry, providing security to the oil and gas fields in the North Sea and other duties in the United Kingdoms Exclusive economic zone. It consists of three warships: HMS Tyne, HMS Severn and HMS Mersey.

Fleet Ready Escort
The Fleet Ready Escort (FRE) is a single warship maintained at high readiness for deployment at short notice anywhere in the world. The FRE consists of either a guided-missile destroyer or a frigate. As of January 2014, this commitment has been 'gapped' by the Royal Navy twice; for 19 days in 2011 and 18 days in 2012.

Fleet Operational Sea Training
Training in UK Home Waters is essential for preparing both crews and ships before overseas deployment. Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST) is responsible for making sure that both Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships are fit for operational purpose after rigorous exercises and readiness inspections. This commitment is ongoing 365 days a year.

Joint Warrior
Exercise Joint Warrior is a Royal Navy (and wider British Armed Forces) commitment to engage in a biannual tri-service exercise (including multinational NATO forces) intended to achieve enhanced military effect. It is the largest military exercise in Europe.

Towed Array Patrol Ship
Towed Array Patrol Ship (TAPS) is a standing task for reactive anti-submarine patrol duties in support of the Continuous At Sea Deterrent (Trident). A Type 23 frigate is maintained at high readiness for this task 365 days a year.

East of Suez
This is a list of operations and commitments presently undertaken by the Royal Navy East of Suez in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea, the wider Indian Ocean and the Far East:

Combined Task Force
The Royal Navy regularly contributes to two multinational coalitions; Combined Task Force 150 and Combined Task Force 151. Combined Task Force 150 is focused on maritime security and counter-terrorism; while Combined Task Force 151 is charged with anti-piracy missions.

Humanitarian Missions
The Royal Navy remains committed to providing humanitarian aid where possible. During the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami the Royal Navy responded by deploying RFA Diligence and the frigate HMS Chatham with Westland Lynx helicopters to provide assistance. In 2014, the Royal Navy deployed HMS Echo (a multi-role hydrographic survey ship) and HMS Tireless (a nuclear-powered fleet submarine) to search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in the Indian Ocean Region.

Operation Kipion
Operation Kipion is an ongoing maritime presence in the Gulf and Indian Ocean by the Royal Navy to protect and secure the nation's many political and commercial interests. The enduring commitment usually consists of an escort (a guided-missile destroyer or frigate), a supporting Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship and several other ships with various roles. Operation Kipion was formerly known as the Armilla patrol during the 1980s and 1990s.

In a new initiative the frigate HMS Montrose (F236) forward deployed to HMS Jufair located at the Mina Salman Port in Bahrain in April 2019, remaining there until November 2022. She operated with a similar manning system to the Hunt and Sandown Class crew system, with two crews rotating every four months. This was achieved through the ship's own crew being redesignated as the Port crew, while the crew of HMS Monmouth (F235) became the Starboard crew. In August 2022, HMS Lancaster (F229) departed Portsmouth en route to the Gulf to replace Montrose as the forward deployed Type 23 frigate and Montrose departed the Gulf to return to the U.K. in November 2022. It was expected that Lancaster would remain on station in the Gulf until 2025 using the same two crew manning system.

Operation Kipion Mine Countermeasures
The Royal Navy maintains a permanent presence in the Gulf consisting of mine countermeasure vessels. It provides continued support to the region ensuring the "safe flow of trade and oil". Typically the mine countermeasure vessels are supported by a Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship acting as a 'mothership'.

As of January 2023 the following ships are assigned: RFA Cardigan Bay, HMS Chiddingfold, HMS Middleton and HMS Bangor.

Littoral Response Group (South)
Littoral Response Group (South), to deploy from late 2023, is to be based at the UK Joint Logistics Support Base in Duqm, Oman with responsibility for the Indo-Pacific. As of 2023, the principal vessels for LRG (South) are RFAs Argus and Lyme Bay. The LRG concept provides the UK options in an era of sub-threshold competition, a "grey zone" where nation states and actors compete in a hostile manner using tactics below the threshold of war.

Indian Ocean/Pacific Offshore Patrol Vessels
In September 2021, two Offshore Patrol Vessels, HMS Tamar and HMS Spey, sailed from the U.K. for a planned five to ten-year deployment in the Indian Ocean/Pacific region. The vessels were to be assigned missions ranging from "security patrols to deal with drug-running, smuggling, terrorism and other illegal activities" to "joining in exercises with other navies and armed forces". Crews would be rotated to the ships on a regular basis and the ships were expected to operate from friendly ports as required, though the primary logistics hub is at the British Defence Singapore Support Unit in Singapore.

Continuous At Sea Deterrent
The Continuous At Sea Deterrent (CASD) (or Trident) is provided by the Royal Navy's four Vanguard-class submarines which deploy on a continuous basis around the globe. The Vanguard-class are each armed with a maximum of 16 Trident II D-5 submarine-launched ballistic missiles and 48 nuclear warheads.

International Partnerships
The Royal Navy remains committed to working with its International Partners around the globe. The principal purpose of these partnerships is to reassure allied nations, to share intelligence and expertise, to build trust and ultimately provide security across the worlds oceans. Examples of such International Partnerships of which the Royal Navy plays a leading role include; the maritime component of the Anglo-French Combined Joint Expeditionary Force (CJEF), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, AUSCANNZUKUS, the European Maritime Force and the Five Power Defence Arrangements. The United Kingdom is a member of RIMPAC also, although it hasn't participated in way of deploying a surface ship in several years.

Joint Expeditionary Force (Maritime)
Joint Expeditionary Force (Maritime) (JEF(M)) -formerly the Response Force Task Group (RFTG) created under the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review- is the Royal Navy's amphibious expeditionary task group maintained at high-readiness and available at short notice to respond to unexpected global events. In addition to amphibious operations, the JEF(M) can undertake a diverse range of activities such as evacuation operations, disaster relief or humanitarian aid. The composition of the JEF(M) generally consists of several large amphibious warfare ships (both RN and RFA) and replenishment ships from the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

To demonstrate the operational readiness and global reach of the JEF(M), the Royal Navy deploys the amphibious task group on annual large scale international exercises, primarily in the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean. As an international deployment, the JEF(M) gets the chance to engage in "intense" exercises with foreign and allied navies, such as (for example) the Royal Navy of Oman.

The 2021 JEF (M) is centred on the Type 23's HMS Lancaster and HMS Westminster supported by RFA Tiderace where they are operating in the Baltic. HMS Lancaster is the flagship for the group. The group comprises Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian vessels supported by aircraft from Sweden. The group have recently been operating with SNMG1 within the baltic.

NATO Mine Countermeasures
This is the Royal Navy's commitment to support NATO MCM operations in the Baltic, Northern European Waters, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea (though it is capable of deploying globally if needed). There are two organisational structures; Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 and Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 2.

As of April 2022 the latest ship to be assigned was HMS Grimsby (M108) with Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1.

UK Carrier Strike Group
Since 2015, the Royal Navy has maintained a carrier strike group based around the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers with the aim to facilitate carrier-enabled power projection. It took to sea for the first time in October 2020 and its inaugural operational deployment is scheduled for 2021. CGS21 will demonstrate a fully sovereign UK carrier strike group comprising: HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08), HMS Diamond (D34), HMS Defender (D36), HMS Kent (F78), HMS Richmond (F239), an attack submarine of the Astute-class submarine class, RFAUX Fort Victoria (A387) and a Tide-class tanker. Also accompanying will be a U.S. Navy destroyer USS The Sullivans (DDG-68).

Gibraltar Squadron
The Gibraltar Squadron consists of two fast patrol boats: HMS Cutlass (P295) and HMS Dagger (P296). The squadron provides force protection for NATO or coalition warships entering the naval facilities of Gibraltar and conduct maritime security in the surrounding British territorial waters. The 2021 defence white paper indicated that henceforth, one River-class offshore patrol vessel, HMS Trent (P224), would also be permanently based in Gibraltar for operations in the Mediterranean and in the Gulf of Guinea.

Standing NATO Maritime Group 2
The Royal Navy routinely provides a single warship to the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (part of the NATO Response Force). The standard area of operations for the Standing NRF Maritime Group 2 is the Mediterranean Sea. In 2017, HMS Duncan deployed as flagship of the group, HM Ships Diamond and Ocean also took on the role prior to Duncan resuming her duties in early 2018 till July 2018. The latest ship to be assigned was HMS Duncan in June 2023 as flagship.

Special Purpose Task Group
In April 2016, IHS Jane's reported that the Royal Navy had formed a new marine task group, named the Special Purpose Task Group (SPTG), in December 2015. The task group is reportedly 150-strong and centred around Zulu Company of 45 Commando Royal Marines. It conducts counter-trafficking, counter-terrorism operations as well as providing support to United Kingdom Special Forces. The SPTG's first operational deployment was in January 2016 to the Mediterranean on board RFA Mounts Bay. Additional personnel from 29 Regiment Royal Artillery, 17 Port and Maritime Regiment of the Royal Logistic Corps, 24 Engineer Regiment, and 30 (Information Exploitation) Commando Royal Marines were attached to provide specialist capabilities and expertise.

Operation Sea Guardian
Operation Sea Guardian

Ships transiting or operating in the Mediterranean will routinely be assigned in Associated Support to Operation Sea Guardian. With the forward basing of HMS Trent to Gibraltar, she has been assigned to OSG in direct support. In 2020 HMS Albion (L14) and RFA Lyme Bay have also operated in support of the operation.

Humanitarian Missions
The Royal Navy remains committed to providing humanitarian assistance in the Mediterranean. The most high profile of these missions in the area has been Operation Sophia. This was the EU led mission to counter illegal people trafficking from Libya. The Royal Navy's contribution has been highly successful. During a 12 month deployment, HMS Enterprise (H88) provided the most days on task of any other unit and saved the most lives (9,100).

In 2020, HMS Enterprise was ordered to sail from Crete to use her hydrographic survey expertise to help to re-open the port of Beirut following the massive explosion which devastated the port and surrounding area. She also delivered humanitarian aid.

Humanitarian Missions
When Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines in late 2013, the Royal Navy deployed HMS Daring and HMS Illustrious as part of the United Kingdom's humanitarian aid mission to the region (known as Operation Patwin).

title: Standing Royal Navy deployments


text:
User:Denis Barthel

de:Denis Barthel

title: User:Denis Barthel