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The War Machines

The War Machines is the tenth and final serial of the third season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in 4 weekly parts from 25 June to 16 July 1966.

The serial is set in London in the 1960s, shortly after construction of the Post Office Tower was completed. In the serial, the time traveller the First Doctor (William Hartnell) and sailor Ben Jackson (Michael Craze) work together to stop the self-thinking computer WOTAN (voiced by Gerald Taylor) from invading London with the deadly War Machines controlled by WOTAN.

This serial marks the departure of Jackie Lane as Dodo Chaplet and also the first appearance of Michael Craze and Anneke Wills as new companions Ben and Polly. It is also the only known complete serial to feature Anneke Wills and Michael Craze, and the final complete serial from the William Hartnell era.

Plot
The TARDIS lands in London, near the Post Office Tower, where the First Doctor and Dodo meet Professor Brett, the creator of WOTAN (short for Will Operating Thought ANalogue). In four days' time, WOTAN will be linked to other major computers across the world to take them over, including those of the White House, Cape Kennedy and the Royal Navy.

Dodo goes with Polly, Brett's secretary, to the Inferno nightclub, where they meet Ben Jackson, while the Doctor attends a Royal Scientific Club meeting about WOTAN, led by Sir Charles Summer. Before Brett can depart for the meeting, he is hypnotised by WOTAN. He then fetches Krimpton, an electronics colleague, and takes him to WOTAN, where he, too, is possessed by the computer. Major Green, the chief of security in the Tower, is also taken over, and sends WOTAN's control signals to Dodo at the nightclub via telephone.

Using its hypnotic control, WOTAN enlists a workforce to construct twelve robotic War Machines around London. One of these machines is built in a warehouse in Covent Garden, close to the Inferno nightclub.

The next day, the Doctor telephones Brett at the Post Office Tower, and is nearly possessed by WOTAN. Thinking the Doctor is now controlled, Dodo reveals that the War Machines are being constructed in strategic points in London. The Doctor breaks WOTAN's hypnotic control over her, and she is sent to stay with Sir Charles's wife in the country to recover.

The Doctor sends Ben to investigate the area around the nightclub, where he discovers a War Machine, now fully assembled. Ben is detected by the Machine, and caught by the now hypnotised Polly. Ben learns that the War Machines are to attack at noon the next day. He escapes and alerts the Doctor and Sir Charles. Polly is sent back to the Tower to be punished by WOTAN.

Under Sir Charles's instruction, an army taskforce investigates the warehouse. They are forced to retreat, but when the Doctor stands before the Machine, it stops—it had not been completely programmed. Soon after, there are reports of another War Machine—Machine 9—taking to the streets. The Doctor traps the Machine in an electromagnetic forcefield and reprogrammes it to destroy WOTAN. Ben goes to the Post Office Tower and drags Polly out of the WOTAN room as the Machine enters and attacks the immobile computer. Krimpton is killed, but WOTAN is destroyed before it can give the order for the other ten War Machines to commence their attack. Brett and all the others who have been hypnotised return to normal.

Ben and Polly meet the Doctor at the TARDIS, to explain that Dodo has decided to stay in London. The Doctor thanks them and heads into the police box—followed by Ben and Polly. They are then suddenly whisked off into time and space.

Production
Working titles for this story included The Computers. The idea for this story came about when Kit Pedler was being interviewed for a position as science adviser to the series. The producers asked all of the interviewees what would happen if the recently built Post Office Tower somehow took over. Pedler suggested that it would be the work of a rogue computer that communicated with the outside world by means of the telephone system. The producers liked this suggestion and not only offered Pedler the job but developed the idea into a script (one of the few to feature a 'Story Idea by' credit). Pat Dunlop was then hired to write a full set of teleplays from Pedler's idea, but quit after becoming busy with other work, and the teleplays were subsequently done by Ian Stuart Black, who had also written the previous serial, The Savages.

Only one War Machine prop was actually constructed; the production team changed the numbers, to represent the different machines.

The titling style of each episode in this serial differs from the standard titles of other serials. Instead of a title overlay, after the "Doctor Who" logo has faded, the screen shifts to a solid background containing four inversely coloured rectangles aligned down the left-hand side (reminiscent to an old-style computer punched card). The title, one syllable at a time, scrolls upwards—"THE", "WAR", "MACH", "INES"—with a final flash displaying the complete title on two lines. Another flash reveals the writer, the next flash reveals the word "EPISODE", and the final flash shows the actual episode number. All of the lettering displayed in this titling sequence is shown in a typeface based on the numeric E-13B font that was then in common use for magnetic ink character recognition. Each of the four episodes' title sequences have slight variations to them.

The decision to set more episodes on present-day Earth was taken because the producers felt that the audience was becoming bored with the purely historical episodes that had been a major element of the show to date. As a result, this story marks the beginning of the turn away from historical stories. The next two historical stories, The Smugglers (which immediately follows The War Machines) and Season 4's The Highlanders, were to be the last purely historical stories until Season 19's Black Orchid.

This story is also one of the very rare instances where The Doctor is referred to as "Doctor Who" by a character in the story, aside from when intended to be comical.

Casting
Sandra Bryant appeared in The Macra Terror, as did John Harvey. John Rolfe later played Sam in The Moonbase and Fell in The Green Death. Frank Jarvis later played Ankh in Underworld and Skart in The Power of Kroll.

Michael Craze provided the voice of a policeman heard in episode 4. The first three episodes include the credit "and WOTAN", marking the only time a fictional entity has been credited as itself in the series. Gerald Taylor is credited as the voice of WOTAN in episode 4 only.

Jackie Lane's contract expired midway through production of this story. She does not appear again after episode two; Dodo's off-screen departure is relayed to the Doctor by Polly.

The BBC newsreader Kenneth Kendall appeared as himself. Similarly the voice of radio announcer Dwight Whylie is also heard. Mike Reid, who was later known as a comedian and for his role as Frank Butcher in EastEnders, appeared as an extra.

Recovery of the missing episodes
Aside from its soundtrack (recorded off-air by fans), this serial was lost in the junking of episodes in the 1970s. The master videotapes for the story were the last of those starring William Hartnell to be wiped, surviving until March 1974. The 16 mm film telerecording copies held by BBC Enterprises were also the last of their kind to be destroyed, surviving until early 1978, shortly before the junking of material was halted by the intervention of fan Ian Levine. In late 1978, a collector in Australia provided a copy of episode 2. Later in 1984 copies of all four episodes were returned from Nigeria. Episodes 2, 3 and 4 all had cuts to them, but most have been restored due to a combination of the other copy of episode 2, material used in a promotional item on the BBC's Blue Peter and censored clips from Australia. Some of the restored footage did not have its accompanying soundtrack, and so the missing sound was restored from the off-air recordings. The War Machines is currently the last surviving complete serial from the William Hartnell era; the following serial (The Smugglers) is entirely missing, while Hartnell's final serial (The Tenth Planet) is missing episode 4. Currently, this is the only complete serial featuring Michael Craze and Anneke Wills as Ben and Polly that exists in the BBC archives.

To date, only episodes 3 and 4 do not exist in their entirety as was originally intended. Episode 3 is missing a visual brief bit of dialogue with Krimpton talking. This was replaced in the VHS release with a combination of a shot of WOTAN with the accompanied dialogue from the off-air recordings. Episode 3 is also missing around 59 seconds' worth of the battle in the warehouse. This scene, however, has not been re-instated for the VHS release as it was felt that there wouldn't be enough visual material to drop into the gap. Episode 4 is missing only a small amount of material. The first instance occurs with the man in the telephone box. Part of the continuing close-up of the man talking on the telephone is missing, but this was compensated on the VHS release by continuing in audio-only over the top of the beginning of the high shot of the phone box. There are also two lines of dialogue missing when Polly reports back to WOTAN.

The DVD release has all of the episodes recreated and restored to their original length, as well as a 9-minute documentary showing how the episodes were reconstructed from all the disparate sources.

Broadcast and reception
In 2009, Patrick Mulkern of Radio Times praised the contemporary edge taken with The War Machines, though he wrote that the plot was "mechanical" with several improbabilities. DVD Talk's J. Doyle Wallis gave The War Machines three out of five stars, calling it "serviceable" with WOTAN and its henchmen lacking depth. Den of Geek also gave the story three stars, highlighting Hartnell's performance and opining that the story "holds up well", though there were some plot holes. Arnold T Blumburg of IGN rated the story 7 out of 10, noting that the concept had aged but it was entertaining. However, he criticised Dodo's departure and, while the serial did showcase Hartnell well, he sometimes seemed lost in the setting. The A.V. Club reviewer Christopher Bahn, on the other hand, described the plot as "pretty good if not a classic, with an appealing B-movie sensibility—this feels like a better, if equally cheaply made, version of the kind of movie featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000." However, he criticised the abrupt departure of Dodo. Johnathan Wilkins of Dreamwatch gave the serial a score of 9 out of 10, calling it "something of a forgotten masterpiece", mostly due to Hartnell's performance. However, he noted that the War Machines themselves were "too dull" and "boxy". In 2013, Ben Lawrence of The Daily Telegraph named The War Machines as one of the top ten Doctor Who stories set in the contemporary time.

In print
A novelisation of this serial, written by Ian Stuart Black, was published by Target Books in February 1989.

Home media
The serial was released on VHS in 1997, with an item from Blue Peter and a BBC1 "globe ident" (from the first part of the story) as extras. A Region 2 DVD issue was released on 25 August 2008; the Region 1 DVD was released on 6 January 2009. With the advance in technology since the original VHS release, the sections, which were missing from it, have been reinstated using the audio and appropriate visual material. Also, in 2007, an audio CD of the serial's soundtrack, with linking narration by and bonus interview with Anneke Wills, was released.

Target novelisation

 * On Target – The War Machines
 * On Target – The War Machines

title: The War Machines


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Talk:T. Cullen Davis

Introductory matters
Priscilla Davis, T. Cullen Davis, Stan Farr, Andrea Wilborn are on Cleanup. IMO, the four page-histories should be merged at T. Cullen Davis with the other names remaining as redirs to it. (When i do such an operation, i make copies of the individual pre-merge histories on the merged-into article's talk page (e.g. this one in this case), so the muddle of interleaved edits can be easily sorted out by those interested enough.) As to the text, the un-encyclopedic portions would be dropped, and what is left should fit together reasonably well.

I'm bothering with this note and WP:RfC bcz undoing a history-merge is so if there is going to be objection to this approach, speak now or forever hold off asking for the pieces back. [groaning at own pun]. --Jerzy(t) 17:53, 2004 Aug 2 (UTC)
 * a pain in the neck, and
 * beyond my capabilities,

 * No objection here. Murder victims who are notable only for being murdered don't generally deserve an article of their own. --Robert Merkel 03:57, 3 Aug 2004 (UTC)

 * No Objection as well. I'd caution to be careful in the merge- there is a lot of information in the victums pages that could be kept, if done right. Lyellin 07:45, Aug 3, 2004 (UTC)

 * The history merge is more complicated than I'd bother with, but certainly no objection from me. I generally dislike having separate articles on individual victims of crimes and catastrophes. --Michael Snow 19:15, 5 Aug 2004 (UTC)

 * I have no objection either. The pages about those people weren't created JUST because they were murdered, but because the case involved a rich Texas man who was acquitted by the jury. Even so, I don't mind a merge. WhisperToMe 00:32, 13 Sep 2004 (UTC)

 * No objection from me, I already redirected them here, to avoid speedy deletion, but the info really needs to be verified before merging and if it turns out to be a copyvio, it needs to be cut from the history. - Mgm|(talk) 12:19, 9 December 2005 (UTC)

Problems with this article
This article has a lot of unsourced statements about a living person. Some of them border on libelous, others seem to push a POV, and still others seem unbelievable. I tried to remove some of the more blatant example (for example, the sarcastic quotes saying he was "found innocent" of murder), hid the sentence about him "pursuing his life-long dream of being a rodeo-clown, and added an alleged or two there. But I really don't know much about this guy and I think the article needs a lot of work.  I've tagged the talk page with Living Biography guidelines, and tagged the article with dispute, npov, and sources tags in hopes that others will look into this as well.--Bibliophylax 16:45, 3 October 2006 (UTC)

It was a life long dream to become a rodeo clown. I have heard that from many reliable sources.

Cleanup
I just did a bunch of cleanup. I added some sources, but I am hesitant about using the truTV source (it used to be in ELs; I cited it extensively here just because it was convenient), as it seems to have a very biased slant and is not very encyclopedic in tone. The Shuy source that I added is a paper source. —Politizer talk / contribs 04:52, 28 October 2008 (UTC)

Still Needs Work
I a ton of missing sources and more than a few errors. Given the number of books and articles on Cullen and the murders it a bit surprising how thin and flawed this is. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 23.123.225.76 (talk) 04:02, 16 October 2014 (UTC)

Just recently read a book called "The Great Texas Murder Trials--A Compelling Account of the Sensational T Cullen Davis Case", by David Atlee Phillips, 1979. This should be added to the books section.(I wish this guy had written more true-crime novels. He is very good at it.)23.121.209.76 (talk) 21:47, 12 November 2017 (UTC)

Is Cullen 162.195.135.122 (talk) 19:30, 14 April 2023 (UTC)

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

title: Talk:T. Cullen Davis


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Public holidays in Russia

The following is the list of official public holidays recognized by the Government of Russia. On these days, government offices, embassies and some shops, are closed. If the date of observance falls on a weekend, the following Monday will be a day off in lieu of the holiday.

New Year Holiday
In addition to New Year's Day (Новый год, Novy god) on 1 January, 2–5 January are public holidays as well, called New Year holiday (новогодние каникулы, novogodniye kanikuly). The holiday includes 6 and 8 January, with Christmas being 7 January, declared as non-working days by law. Until 2005, only 1 and 2 January were public holidays.

Orthodox Christmas day
Christmas in Russia (Рождество Христово, Rozhdestvo Khristovo) is celebrated on 25 December (Julian calendar) which falls on 7 January (Gregorian calendar) and commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ. The public holiday was re-established in 1991, following the decades of suppression of religion and state atheism of the Soviet Union.

Defender of the Fatherland Day
The Defender of the Fatherland Day (День защитника Отечествa, Den zashchitnika Otechestva) is celebrated on 23 February and is dedicated to veterans and service personnel of the Russian Armed Forces, though it is often colloquially known as Men's Day (День Мужчин, Den' Muzhchin) and commonly treated as a celebration of all men. The holiday was established in 1918 as it is connected to the decree published that day by the Council of People's Commissars that formalized the official mandatory conscription in the Red Army.

International Women's Day
On the eve of World War I campaigning for peace, Russian women observed their first International Women's Day on the last Sunday in February 1913. In 1913 following discussions, International Women's Day was transferred to 8 March and has remained the global date for International Women's Day ever since.

Spring and Labour Day
In the former Soviet Union, 1 May was International Workers' Day and was celebrated with huge parades in cities like Moscow. Though the celebrations are low-key nowadays, several groups march on that day to protest grievances the workers have. Since 1992, May Day is officially called "The Day of Spring and Labour".

Victory Day
On 9 May, Russia celebrates the victory over Nazi Germany, while remembering those who died in order to achieve it. On 9 May 1945 (by Moscow time) the German military surrendered to the Soviet Union and the Allies of World War II in Berlin (Karlshorst). Victory Day (День Победы, Den Pobedy) is by far one of the biggest Russian holidays. It commemorates those who died in World War II and pays tribute to survivors and veterans. Flowers and wreaths are laid on wartime graves and special parties and concerts are organized for veterans. In the evening there is a firework display. A large ground and air military parade, hosted by the President of the Russian Federation, is annually organized in Moscow on Red Square. Similar ground, air and marine (if possible) parades are organized in several other Russian cities (which are Hero Cities or have military districts or fleet headquarters primarily).

Russia Day
Russia Day (День России, Den Rossii) is celebrated on June 12. On this day, in 1991, the Russian parliament formally declared Russian sovereignty from the Soviet Union. The holiday was officially established in 1992.

Initially it was named Day of the Adoption of the Declaration of Sovereignty of the Russian Federation, then on 1 February 2002 it was officially renamed Russia Day (in 1998 Boris Yeltsin offered this name socially).

In Russian society there is a misconception that this holiday is also called "Russia's Independence Day", but it never has had such a name in official documents. According to a survey by Levada Center in May 2009, 44% of respondents named the holiday as "Independence Day of Russia".

Unity Day
Unity Day (День народного единства, Den narodnogo edinstva) was first celebrated on 4 November 2005, commemorating the popular uprising led by Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky which ended the Polish occupation of Moscow in November 1612, and more generally the end of Polish intervention in Russia and the Time of Troubles. The event was marked by a public holiday which was held in Russia on 22 October (Old Style) from 1649 till 1917. Its name alludes to the idea that all the classes of Russian society willingly united to preserve Russian statehood when its demise seemed inevitable, even though there was neither a Tsar nor Patriarch to guide them. Most observers view this as a replacement for the October Revolution Day. National Unity Day is also known as Consolidation Day (as an alternative translation), which people in Russia celebrate between 3-4 November.

Popular holidays which are not public holidays

 * New Year according to Julian Calendar on January 14
 * Tatiana Day (Students Day) on January 25
 * Valentine's Day on February 14
 * Maslenitsa (a week before the Great Lent) Start date changes every year, depending on the beginning of the Great Lent (in 2022: 27 February to 6 March)
 * Internal Troops and National Guard Servicemen's Day on March 27
 * Annunciation on April 7
 * Pascha (floating Sunday between April 4 and May 8)
 * Cosmonautics Day on April 12
 * Soviet Air Defense Forces Day on the Second Sunday of April
 * Russian State Fire Service Day on April 30
 * Radio Day on May 7
 * Saints Cyril and Methodius' Day on May 24 (also Slavonic Literature and Culture Day)
 * Border Guards Day on May 28, celebrating the anniversary of the Border Service of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation
 * Ivan Kupala Day on July 7 (should be 24 June, St. John's Day and Summer Solistice, but shifted due to Julian calendar usage)
 * Day of Remembrance and Sorrow on 22 June, marking the start of Operation Barbarossa — the Nazi invasion of the USSR
 * Paratroopers' Day on August 2
 * Apple Feast of the Saviour on August 19 (also the Great Feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus)
 * Great Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God on August 28
 * Knowledge Day on September 1 (traditionally, the first day of school)
 * Day of Tankmen on the Second Sunday of September
 * Father's Day on the third Sunday of October
 * October Revolution Day on November 7
 * Mother's Day on the last Sunday of November
 * Naval Infantry Day on November 27
 * Constitution Day on December 12
 * (Western) Christmas Day on December 25

title: Public holidays in Russia


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Konstantin Kozeyev

Konstantin Mirovich Kozeyev (Константин Мирович Козеев) is a retired Russian cosmonaut.

Early life and career
Kozeyev was born in Korolyov, Moscow Oblast, Russian SFSR on December 1, 1967. He is a graduate student from Moscow Aviation Technology Institute and was selected as a cosmonaut on February 9, 1996. He flew as Flight Engineer on Soyuz TM-33 in 2001.

Personal life
Kozeyev is divorced and has no children.

title: Konstantin Kozeyev


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The Land of Smiles

The Land of Smiles (German: Das Land des Lächelns) is a 1929 romantic operetta in three acts by Franz Lehár. The German language libretto was by and Fritz Löhner-Beda. The performance duration is about 100 minutes.

This was one of Lehár's later works, and has a bittersweet ending which the Viennese loved. The title refers to the supposed Chinese custom of smiling, whatever happens in life. (The leading character, Prince Sou-Chong has a song early in the show, "Immer nur lächeln" ("Always smiling") which describes this.)

The Tauberlied
Lavishly produced, the show was built largely around the performance of the tenor Richard Tauber, a close friend of Lehár, for whom he customarily wrote a Tauberlied – a signature tune exploiting the exceptional qualities of his voice – in each of his later operettas. On this occasion it was "Dein ist mein ganzes Herz" ("You are my heart's delight"), probably the most famous of all the Tauberlieder. Tauber also appeared in the show in London, singing many encores of his song.

Performance history
The work was originally produced under the title Die gelbe Jacke (The Yellow Jacket). This was presented at the Theater an der Wien, Vienna, on 9 February 1923 with Hubert Marischka as Sou-Chong. It was not a great success, and Lehár later revised it, under the new title of Das Land des Lächelns, which was first performed, at the Metropol-Theater (Berlin-Mitte), on 10 October 1929. Tauber reprised his role in London (1931 and 1932) South Africa (1939) and New York (1946), as well as in Vienna in 1930 (again at the Theater an der Wien) and in 1938 (at the Vienna State Opera and also in Prague). Tauber also sang it in London and on tour throughout Britain between 1940 and 1942. The opera was first staged in the United States at the Boston Opera House in 1933 with soprano Nancy McCord as Lisa.

Sadler's Wells Opera produced it in London in the late 1950s, after the success of Lehár's The Merry Widow starring June Bronhill had rescued the company from bankruptcy. Starring Charles Craig, Elizabeth Fretwell and Bronhill, the show did not attract the same audiences as The Merry Widow.

In 1991, Takarazuka Revue's Snow Troupe performed a Japanese language version of Das Land des Lächelns. The production was adapted and directed by Nobuo Murakami, and starred Maki Ichiro as Prince Sou-Chong, Risa Junna as Lisa, and Yōka Wao as Gustav von Pottenstein.

In 2017 Opernhaus Zürich performed Das Land des Lächelns and recorded it on DVD and Blu-ray. During the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, they shared the recording for free to allow those in isolation to enjoy the opera.

Synopsis
The operetta is set in Vienna and China in 1912. In act 1 in Vienna, the heroine Countess Lisa marries a Chinese prince and returns with him to his homeland despite the warnings of her friends and family. In act 2, in Peking, she finds that she is unable to come to terms with his culture, and especially that he must take other wives. He assures her that it is just a formality, but unhappiness is inevitable, and she is locked in the palace. Her love changes to hate. In act 3, Prince Sou-Chong is left alone while his beloved Lisa returns to her homeland. His sister, Princess Mi had also become attached to the Viennese official Gustav, and so the ending is doubly sad. But the prince respects the rule of his custom: always smile.

Film adaptations
The operetta was adapted into film several times.
 * The Land of Smiles (1930) directed by Max Reichmann and starring Richard Tauber. Hella Kürty and Willi Stettner reprised their original stage roles of Mi and Gustl, while Lisa was sung by Margit Suchy, replacing Vera Schwarz who had sung in the original Berlin stage production.
 * The Land of Smiles (1952) directed by Hans Deppe and Erik Ode and starring Mártha Eggerth and Jan Kiepura.
 * In 1961, Gerhard Riedmann appeared in a television film where his singing voice was supplied by Fritz Wunderlich.
 * Another television version was filmed in 1974 with René Kollo, Dagmar Koller, Heinz Zednik, directed by Arthur Maria Rabenalt.
 * A version for Australian television aired in 1962.

Recordings

 * 1930: Paul Dessau; Richard Tauber (Sou-Chong), Margit Suchy (Lisa), Hella Kürty (Mi), Willy Stettner (Gustl), Georg John (Tschang); Label: Koch 3-1373-2 (CD)
 * 1953: Otto Ackermann, Philharmonia Orchestra; Nicolai Gedda (Sou-Chong), Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (Lisa), Erich Kunz (Gustav), Emmy Loose (Mi). Originally on Columbia LPs 33CX 1114-5, various CD reissues.
 * 1957: Jésus Etcheverry, Grand Orchestre et Choeurs René Alix, Tony Poncet (Sou-Chong), Renée Doria (Lisa), Henri Gui (Gustav), Lucie Dolène (Mi); Label: Philips CD 442 241-2 highlights only, in French
 * 1961: Franz Marszalek, WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne; Fritz Wunderlich (Sou-Chong), Antonia Fahberg (Lisa), Luise Cramer (Mi), Ernst Stankovski (Gustl), André Peysang (Tschang); Label: Gala Gl329 (CD)
 * June 1967:, Symphonie-Orchester Graunke; Nicolai Gedda (Sou-Chong), Anneliese Rothenberger (Lisa), Renate Holm (Mi), Harry Friedauer (Gustl), Jobst Moeller (Tschang); Label: EMI CMS 5 65372 2 (CD), CDMB 65372 (CD)
 * April 1970: Yvon Leenart, Orchestre de l'Association des Concerts Lamoureux; Bernard Sinclair (Sou-Chong), Bernadette Antoine (Lisa), Sylvia Paule (Mi), Michel Dens (Gustl), Gilbert Guimay (Tschang); Label: EMI 74097(CD), in French (Le pays du sourire)
 * 1982: Willi Boskovsky, Munich Radio Symphony Orchestra; Siegfried Jerusalem (Sou-Chong), Helen Donath (Lisa), Brigitte Lindner (Mi), Martin Finke (Gustl), Klaus Hirte (Tschang); Label: EMI 47604(CD), EMI 66376(CD)
 * 1996: Richard Bonynge, English Chamber Orchestra, Nancy Gustafson (Lisa), Jerry Hadley (Sou-Chong), Naomi Itami (Mi), Lynton Atkinson (Gustl) Label: Telarc CD-80419, in English

There are also extracts in Franz Lehár Conducts Richard Tauber (1929–1931), with 6 tracks performed by Richard Tauber (Sou-Chong), Vera Schwarz (Lisa) and the Berlin State Opera Orchestra (Pearl CD).

title: The Land of Smiles


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Public holidays in South Africa

A list of current public holidays in South Africa:
 * In gold, the National Day

The Public Holidays Act (Act No 36 of 1994) states that whenever a public holiday falls on a Sunday, the Monday following it will be a public holiday.

Once-off holidays
Since 1994 election days have been declared ad hoc public holidays:
 * National and provincial government elections – 2 June 1999
 * National and provincial government elections – 14 April 2004
 * Local government elections – 1 March 2006
 * National and provincial government elections – 22 April 2009
 * Local government elections – 18 May 2011
 * National and provincial government elections – 7 May 2014
 * Local government elections – 3 August 2016
 * National and provincial government elections – 8 May 2019
 * Local government elections – 1 November 2021

31 December 1999 and 2 January 2000 were declared public holidays to accommodate the Y2K changeover, and 3 January 2000 was automatically a public holiday because the previous holiday was a Sunday.

2 May 2008 was declared a public holiday when Human Rights Day and Good Friday coincided on 21 March 2008.

27 December 2011 was declared a holiday by deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe as Christmas Day fell on a Sunday which generally makes the following Monday a public holiday. However, the following Monday, 26 December 2011, was the Day of Goodwill and therefore decreased the number of paid public holidays for the year. Initially this day was not to be declared a public holiday but in mid-December the decision was changed.

27 December 2016 was declared a holiday by president Jacob Zuma following a request by the Federation of Unions of South Africa (FEDUSA). The request by FEDUSA was motivated by the fact this year, workers in the country will only have 11 public holidays instead of 12 due to fact that 25 December (Christmas Day) falls on a Sunday. The declaration of 27 December as a public holiday, the Presidency said, will ensure that workers are not unduly disadvantaged because of this unusual event and are still entitled to their 12 paid public holidays.

27 December 2022 was declared a holiday by president Cyril Ramaphosa In view of the unique circumstances around the 2022 calendar, and to uphold relevant labour law principles and practices, President Ramaphosa has declared Tuesday, 27 December, as a public holiday in lieu of Christmas Day. COSATU urged Cyril Ramaphosa to declare December 27 a public holiday, saying it would also show appreciation for the sacrifices workers had made in keeping the economy moving.

15 December 2023 was declared a holiday by president Cyril Ramaphosa due to South Africa winning the Rugby World Cup for the fourth time.

Religious public holidays
The Christian holidays of Christmas Day and Good Friday remained in secular post-apartheid South Africa's calendar of public holidays. The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Rights Commission), a chapter nine institution established in 2004, held countrywide consultative public hearings in June and July 2012 to assess the need for a review of public holidays following the receipt of complaints from minority groups about unfair discrimination. The CRL Rights Commission stated that they would submit their recommendations to the Department of Home Affairs, the Department of Labour, various Portfolio Committees and the Office of the Presidency by October 2012. On 10 November 2012 the Minister of Home Affairs Naledi Pandor told Christian protesters objecting to the removal of Christian public holidays that she had not received any enquiries from the CRL Rights Commission yet. The CRL Rights Commission published its recommendations on 17 April 2013, including the scrapping of some existing public holidays to free up days for some non-Christian religious public holidays. On 18 January 2015 the South African Law Reform Commission published a discussion document on legislation administered by the Department of Home Affairs in which it suggested "that either these holidays be reviewed or that equal weight be given to holidays of other faiths".

Historical public holidays
South Africa's present calendar of public holidays was introduced in 1994. During the period between Union in 1910, and the establishment of the present republic in 1994, the following were the official public holidays:
 * In gold, the former National Day

title: Public holidays in South Africa


text:
Chrysler 3.3 & 3.8 engines

The Chrysler 3.3 and 3.8 engines are V6 engines used by Chrysler from  1989 to 2011. This engine family was Chrysler's first 60° V6 engine designed and built in-house for front wheel drive vehicles, and their first V6 not based on a V8. It was designed as a larger, more powerful alternative to the Mitsubishi 3.0 V6 in the minivans and debuted in 1989 for the 1990 model year. They were later also used in some rear wheel drive cars like the Jeep Wrangler.

The engines were produced in two major variants differing by their piston displacement: a 3301 cc and a 3778 cc. The 3.3 was dropped after 2010 with the Chrysler minivans, and the 3.8 was dropped after 2011 with the Jeep Wrangler, ending 22 years in production.

History
The original 3.3 engine, as well as the larger 3.8, are pushrod engine designs. The 3.3 was introduced in 1989 with the 1990 Chrysler Imperial, New Yorker, and related K-series models, and was joined in 1991 by the 3.8. Production on the 3.3 was stopped in 2010 after a run of 5,076,603 engines, while the 3.8 remained in production until May 2011 in Trenton, Michigan for the Jeep Wrangler. Both use a cast iron block and aluminum heads.

3.3
The first of the family, the 3.3 liter engine's actual piston displacement is 3301 cc with a 93x81 mm bore and stroke. In 1994, the 3.3 received a 12 hp increase in power to 162 hp due to a new air intake. In 2001, the engine was fitted with a variable intake control system which boosted output to 180 hp at 5000 rpm and 210 lbft at 4000 rpm. The engine was especially suited for transverse applications in Chrysler's minivans, but was also used in a longitudinal front-wheel-drive setup on 1993-1997 LH platform cars. It was last used in 2010 for Chrysler minivans before the introduction of the new 3.6 L Pentastar engine for the 2011 model year.

Designated EGA, the 3.3 was built at Trenton Engine in Trenton, Michigan. It uses Sequential fuel injection, has roller tappets and features forged steel connecting rods, a one-piece cast camshaft, and either a cast aluminum or reinforced plastic intake manifold. The 3.3 has a timing chain, and is an interference engine meaning that the valves will collide with the pistons in the event of a timing chain failure.

Vehicles using the 3.3 include:
 * 1990–1993 Dodge Dynasty, Chrysler New Yorker, Chrysler Imperial, (replaced the 3.0 L Mitsubishi 6G72 engine)
 * 1990–2010 Chrysler minivans
 * 1993–1997 Chrysler Concorde/Dodge Intrepid/Eagle Vision

3.8
The 3.3 was bored and stroked to 3.78x3.43 in to create a 3778 cc version. This EGH version was also built at Trenton Engine in Trenton, MI.

The 3.8 received an increase in power of 12 hp, for a total of 162 hp in 1994 via a new intake system. In 1998 the compression ratio increased for a total of 180 hp and 240 lbft. In 2001, like the 3.3 the 3.8 received the symmetrical reinforced plastic intake plenum and revised camshaft which boosted output to 215 hp at 5000 rpm with 245 lbft at 4000 rpm.

Vehicles using the 3.8 include:
 * 1991–1993 Chrysler New Yorker and Chrysler Imperial 150 hp, 213 lbft
 * 1994–2010 Chrysler minivans
 * 2007–2011 Jeep Wrangler (JK)
 * 2009–2010 Volkswagen Routan

SOHC

A single overhead camshaft was an addition to the lineup for 1993. Introduced with the 3.5 L engine, this design spawned the DOHC 2.7 L Chrysler LH engine, as well as the 3.2 L and 4.0 L variants.

title: Chrysler 3.3 & 3.8 engines


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Base 120

 * This article was on Vfd sometime in the past and no consensus was reached. The Vfd was not removed and nobody bothered the article. I put it back on Vfd and there should be a consensus this time after at least 10 voters. 66.245.3.165 16:31, 2 Aug 2004 (UTC)

 * Keep. I was interested in it. Mark Richards 17:28, 2 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Moved discussion off of main VfD page to this subpage. -- WOT 18:00, 2 Aug 2004 (UTC)

 * Delete, unless this base has historical significance (like Base 60) or current application (like Base 16). -- WOT 18:03, 2 Aug 2004 (UTC)

 * Delete. As is, it's non-notable. Salasks 19:25, Aug 2, 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete - just another base numbers system. Nothing further in the article. -  Tεx  τ  urε  20:49, 2 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete: original research. It is interesting, but the base-120 system doesn't appear to be used by anyone, past or present. Wile E. Heresiarch 21:18, 2 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete, no mention of why this base is usefull/notable. --Starx 02:29, 3 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. Nothing notable about this base. DS 02:37, 4 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. The number 120 is interesting, but base 120 isn't. sjorford 11:48, 5 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. No more notable than it was in March, and the mere thought of having to learn the names of 119 digits gives me the shivers. Denni ☯ 00:25, 2004 Aug 7 (UTC)


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Jacques Ellul

Jacques Ellul (January 6, 1912 – May 19, 1994) was a French philosopher, sociologist, lay theologian, and professor. Noted as a Christian anarchist, Ellul was a longtime Professor of History and the Sociology of Institutions on the Faculty of Law and Economic Sciences at the University of Bordeaux. A prolific writer, he authored more than 60 books and more than 600 articles over his lifetime, many of which discussed propaganda, the impact of technology on society, and the interaction between religion and politics.

The dominant theme of Ellul's work proved to be the threat to human freedom and religion created by modern technology. He did not seek to eliminate modern technology or technique but sought to change our perception of modern technology and technique to that of a tool rather than regulator of the status quo. Among his most influential books are The Technological Society and Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes.

Considered by many a philosopher, Ellul was trained as a sociologist, and approached the question of technology and human action from a dialectical viewpoint. His writings are frequently concerned with the emergence of a technological tyranny over humanity. As a philosopher and theologian, he further explored the religiosity of the technological society. In 2000, the International Jacques Ellul Society was founded by a group of former Ellul students. The society, which includes scholars from a variety of disciplines, is devoted to continuing Ellul's legacy and discussing the contemporary relevance and implications of his work.

Life and influences
Jacques Ellul was born in Bordeaux, France, on January 6, 1912, to Marthe Mendes (Protestant; French-Portuguese) and Joseph Ellul (initially an Eastern Orthodox Christian, but then a Voltarian deist by conviction; born in Malta of an Italo-Maltese father and Serb mother). As a teenager he wanted to be a naval officer but his father made him study law. He married Yvette Lensvelt in 1937.

Ellul was educated at the universities of Bordeaux and Paris. In World War II, he was a leader in the French resistance. For his efforts to save Jews he was awarded the title Righteous among the Nations by Yad Vashem in 2001. He was a layman in the Reformed Church of France and attained a high position within it as part of the National Council.

Ellul was best friends with Bernard Charbonneau, who was also a writer from the Aquitaine region and a protagonist of the French personalism movement. They met through the Protestant Student Federation during the academic school year of 1929–1930. Both men acknowledged the great influence each had on the other.

By the early 1930s, Ellul's three primary sources of inspiration were Karl Marx, Søren Kierkegaard, and Karl Barth. Ellul was first introduced to the ideas of Karl Marx during an economics lecture course taught by Joseph Benzacar in 1929–30; Ellul studied Marx and became a prolific exegete of his theories. During this same period, he also came across the Christian existentialism of Kierkegaard. According to Ellul, Marx and Kierkegaard were his two greatest influences, and the only two authors whose work he read in its entirety. Also, he considered Karl Barth, who was a leader of the resistance against the German state church in World War II, the greatest theologian of the 20th century. In addition to these intellectual influences, Ellul also said that his father played a great role in his life and considered him his role model.

In large measure, and especially in those of his books concerned with theological matters, Ellul restates the viewpoints held by Barth, whose polar dialectic of the Word of God, in which the Gospel both judges and renews the world, shaped Ellul's theological perspective. In Jacques Ellul: A Systemic Exposition Darrell J. Fasching claimed Ellul believed "That which desacralizes a given reality, itself in turn becomes the new sacred reality".

In 1932, after what he describes as "a very brutal and very sudden conversion", Ellul professed himself a Christian. Ellul believes he was about 17 (1929–30) and spending the summer with some friends in Blanquefort, France. While translating Faust alone in the house, Ellul knew (without seeing or hearing anything) he was in the presence of a something so astounding, so overwhelming, which entered the very center of his being. He jumped on a bike and fled, concluding eventually that he had been in the presence of God. This experience started the conversion process which Ellul said then continued over a period of years thereafter. Although Ellul identified as a Protestant, he was critical of church authority in general because he believed the church dogmas did not place enough emphasis on the teachings of Jesus or Christian scripture.

Ellul was also prominent in the worldwide ecumenical movement, although he later became sharply critical of the movement for what he felt were indiscriminate endorsements of political establishments. Ellul came to like Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, who convinced him that the creation of new institutions from the grass roots level was the best way to create an anarchist society. He stated his view is close to that of anarcho-syndicalism, however the kind of change Ellul wanted was an evolutionary approach by means of a "... Proudhonian socialism ... by transforming the press, the media, and the economic structures ... by means of a federative cooperative approach" that would lead to an Anarchist society based on federation and the Mutualist economics of Proudhon. In regards to Jesus and Anarchism he believed Jesus was not merely a socialist but anarchist and that "anarchism is the fullest and most serious form of socialism".

Ellul has been credited with coining the phrase, "Think globally, act locally." He often said that he was born in Bordeaux by chance, but that it was by choice that he spent almost all his academic career there.

Ellul fell into a deep grief following the 16 April 1991 death of his wife, Yvette. He died three years later, on 19 May 1994 in Pessac.

Theology
While Ellul was primarily a sociologist who focused on discussions of technology, he saw his theological work as an essential aspect of his career. He began publishing theological discussions early, with such books as The Presence of the Kingdom (1948).

Although a son of the minority French Reformed tradition and thus a spiritual heir of thinkers like John Calvin and Ulrich Zwingli, Ellul departed substantially from Reformed doctrinal traditions, but unlike other European Protestant thinkers, utterly rejected the influence of philosophical idealism or romanticism upon his beliefs about God and human faith. In articulating his theological ideas, he mainly drew upon the corpus of works by the Swiss-German theologian Karl Barth and the critiques of European state Christianity made by Dane Søren Kierkegaard. Thus, some have considered him one of the more ardent expositors of dialectical theology, which was in decline elsewhere in the Western theological scene during Ellul's heyday. Much like Barth, Ellul had no use for either liberal theology (to him dominated by Enlightenment notions about the goodness of humanity and thus rendered puerile by its naïveté) or orthodox Protestantism (e.g., fundamentalism or scholastic Calvinism, both of which to him refuse to acknowledge the radical freedom of God and humanity) and maintained a roughly un-Catholic view of the Bible, theology, and the churches.

One particular theological movement that aroused his ire was death of God theology. Some within this movement held the conviction that the traditional Christian conceptions of God and humanity arise from a primitive consciousness, one that most civilized people have quite overcome. This line of thought affirmed the ethical teachings of Jesus but rejected the idea that he represented anything more than a highly accomplished human being. Ellul attacked this school, and practitioners of it such as Harvey Cox, as out of accord not with Christian doctrinal traditions, but reality itself, namely what he perceived as the irreducible religiosity of the human race, a devotion that has worshiped idols such as rulers, nations, and in more recent times materialism, scientism, technology and economics. To Ellul, people use such fallen images, or powers, as a substitute for God, and are, in turn, used by them, with no possible appeal to innocence or neutrality, which, although possible theoretically, does not in fact exist. Ellul thus renovates in a non-legalistic manner the traditional Christian understanding of original sin and espouses a thoroughgoing pessimism about human capabilities, a view most sharply evidenced in his The Meaning of the City. Ellul stated that one of the problems with these "new theologies" was: In consequence of the desire to make the message (kerygma) valid for all, to see all men as in the presence of God, to increase the universality of the lordship of Jesus Christ, to insist on the value of mankind generally (to the detriment of the Christian), to insist on the value of the world (to the detriment of the Church), one comes to the point of denying whatever can only be specifically Christian.

The ultimate purpose of the whole death-of-God system is to justify a certain kind of behavior on the part of Christians in relation to society—a kind of behavior that is dictated by conformism to the modern world. So a justificatory formula is manufactured; and alas, it often turns out that theology merely amounts to a justification of the behavior of pretend-Christians. The theology of the death of God reinforces this evil tendency. It justifies a sociological impulsion. That is the kind of theology it really is, unconsciously. Nor do the marvelous intellectual operations its proponents perform with every appearance of seriousness make it less profoundly false.

Ellul espouses views on salvation, the sovereignty of God, and ethical action that appear to take a deliberately contrarian stance toward established, "mainstream" opinion. For instance, in the book What I Believe, he declared himself to be a Christian Universalist, writing "that all people from the beginning of time are saved by God in Jesus Christ, that they have all been recipients of His grace no matter what they have done." Ellul formulated this stance not from any liberal or humanistic sympathies, but in the main from an extremely high view of God's transcendence, that God is totally free to do what God pleases. Any attempts to modify that freedom from merely human standards of righteousness and justice amount to sin, to putting oneself in God's place, which is precisely what Adam and Eve sought to do in the creation myths in Genesis. This highly unusual juxtaposition of original sin and universal salvation has repelled liberal and conservative critics and commentators alike, who charge that such views amount to antinomianism, denying that God's laws are binding upon human beings. In most of his theologically oriented writings, Ellul effectively dismisses those charges as stemming from a radical confusion between religions as human phenomena and the unique claims of the Christian faith, which are not predicated upon human achievement or moral integrity whatsoever.

In the Bible, however, we find a God who escapes us totally, whom we absolutely cannot influence, or dominate, much less punish; a God who reveals Himself when He wants to reveal Himself, a God who is very often in a place where He is not expected, a God who is truly beyond our grasp. Thus, the human religious feeling is not at all satisfied by this situation... God descends to humanity and joins us where we are.

...the presence of faith in Jesus Christ alters reality. We also believe that hope is in no way an escape into the future, but that it is an active force, now, and that love leads us to a deeper understanding of reality. Love is probably the most realistic possible understanding of our existence. It is not an illusion. On the contrary, it is reality itself.

On technique
The Ellulian concept of technique is briefly defined within the "Notes to Reader" section of The Technological Society (1964). It is "the totality of methods rationally arrived at and having absolute efficiency (for a given stage of development) in every field of human activity." He states here as well that the term technique is not solely machines, technology, or a procedure used to attain an end.

What many consider to be Ellul's most important work, The Technological Society (1964), was originally published in French as La Technique: L'enjeu du siècle (literally, "The Stake of the Century"). In it, Ellul set forth seven characteristics of modern technology that make efficiency a necessity: "rationality, artificiality, automatism of technical choice, self-augmentation, monism, universalism, and autonomy. The rationality of technique enforces logical and mechanical organization through division of labor, the setting of production standards, etc. And it creates an artificial system which "eliminates or subordinates the natural world."

Regarding technology, instead of it being subservient to humanity, "human beings have to adapt to it, and accept total change." As an example, Ellul offered the diminished value of the humanities to a technological society. As people begin to question the value of learning ancient languages and history, they question those things which, on the surface, do little to advance their financial and technical state. According to Ellul, this misplaced emphasis is one of the problems with modern education, as it produces a situation in which immense stress is placed on information in our schools. The focus in those schools is to prepare young people to enter the world of information, to be able to work with computers but knowing only their reasoning, their language, their combinations, and the connections between them. This movement is invading the whole intellectual domain and also that of conscience.

Ellul's commitment to scrutinize technological development is expressed as such: [W]hat is at issue here is evaluating the danger of what might happen to our humanity in the present half-century, and distinguishing between what we want to keep and what we are ready to lose, between what we can welcome as legitimate human development and what we should reject with our last ounce of strength as dehumanization. I cannot think that choices of this kind are unimportant.

The sacred then, as classically defined, is the object of both hope and fear, both fascination and dread. Once, nature was the all-encompassing environment and power upon which human beings were dependent in life and death, and so was experienced as sacred. The Reformation desacralized the church in the name of the Bible, and the Bible became the sacred book. But since then, scientism (through Charles Darwin's theory of evolution) and reason (higher criticism and liberal theology) have desacralized the scriptures, and the sciences, particularly those applied sciences that are amenable to the aims of collective economic production (be it capitalist, socialist, or communist), have been elevated to the position of sacred in Western culture. Today, he argues, the technological society is generally held sacred. Since he defines technique as "the totality of methods rationally arrived at, and having absolute efficiency (for a given stage of development) in every field of human activity", it is clear that his sociological analysis focuses not on the society of machines as such, but on the society of "efficient techniques": Modern technology has become a total phenomenon for civilization, the defining force of a new social order in which efficiency is no longer an option but a necessity imposed on all human activity.

It is useless, he argues, to think that a distinction can be made between technique and its use, for techniques have specific social and psychological consequences independent of human desires. There can be no room for moral considerations in their use: Not even the moral conversion of the technicians could make a difference. At best, they would cease to be good technicians. In the end, technique has only one principle, efficient ordering.

What is the solution to technique according to Ellul? The solution is to simply view technique as objects that can be useful to us and recognize it for what it is, just another thing among many others, instead of believing in technique for its own sake or that of society. If we do this we "...destroy the basis for the power technique has over humanity."

On anarchy and violence
Ellul identified himself as a Christian anarchist. Ellul explained his view in this way: "By anarchy I mean first an absolute rejection of violence." And, "... Jesus was not only a socialist but an anarchist – and I want to stress here that I regard anarchism as the fullest and most serious form of socialism." For him, this meant that nation-states, as the primary sources of violence in the modern era, should neither be praised nor feared, but continually questioned and challenged. For Ellul, human government is largely irrelevant in that the revelation of God contained in Scripture is sufficient and exclusive. That is, being a Christian means pledging absolute allegiance to Christ, which makes other laws redundant at best or counter to the revelation of God at worst. Despite the initial attraction of some evangelicals to his thinking because of his high view of Biblical texts (i.e., generally eschewing the historical-critical method), this position alienated some conservative Protestants. Later, he would attract a following among adherents of more ethically compatible traditions such as the Anabaptists and the house church movement. Similar political ideas to Ellul's appear in the writings of a corresponding friend of his, the American William Stringfellow, and long-time admirer Vernard Eller, author of Christian Anarchy. Ellul identified the State and political power as the Beast in the Book of Revelation.

Jacques Ellul discusses anarchy on a few pages in The Ethics of Freedom and in more detail within his later work, Anarchy & Christianity. Although he does admit that anarchy does not seem to be a direct expression of Christian freedom, he concludes that the absolute power he sees within the current (as of 1991) nation-state can only be responded to with an absolute negative position (i.e. anarchy). He states that his intention is not to establish an unrealistically pure anarchist society or the total destruction of the state. His initial point in Anarchy & Christianity is that he is led toward a realistic form of anarchy by his commitment to an absolute rejection of violence through the creation of alternative grassroots institutions in the manner similar to Anarcho-Syndicalism. However, Ellul does not entertain the idea that all Christians in all places and all times will refrain from violence. Rather, he insisted that violence could not be reconciled with the God of Love, and thus, true freedom. A Christian that chooses the path of violence must admit that he or she is abandoning the path of freedom and committing to the way of necessity.

During the Spanish Civil War Spanish anarchist friends of Ellul's soon-to-be wife came to France in search of weapons. He tried to get some for them through an old school friend of his and claimed that this was probably the one time in his life when he was sufficiently motivated to commit an act of violence. He did not go with the anarchists primarily because he had only recently met the woman that would become his wife and did not wish to leave her.

Ellul states in The Subversion of Christianity that he thinks "that the biblical teaching is clear. It always contests political power. It incites to 'counterpower,' to 'positive' criticism, to an irreducible dialogue (like that between king and prophet in Israel), to antistatism, to a decentralizing of the relation, to an extreme relativizing of everything political, to an anti-ideology, to a questioning of all that claims either power or dominion (in other words, of all things political), and finally, if we may use a modern term, to a kind of "anarchism" (so long as we do not relate the term to the anarchist teaching of the nineteenth century)."

Ellul states in Violence that idealism serves to justify the use of violence, including:
 * 1) revolutionary idealism (viewing violence as a means to an end and/or violence under the mask of legality)
 * 2) generous idealism (leading to violence toward reconciliation and/or a blindness of the violence of one's enemy)

... there is generous idealism of so many young men who risk imprisonment or death rather than participate in a war they condemn only because they idealize and whitewash their country's enemy. Those young men are heroes and fools both. They are repelled by the violence they see—the massive, enormous violence that cries to heaven. And they are right. But seeing this highly visible violence, they forthwith make lambs, saints, and martyrs of its victims. For they close their eyes to what the enemy is really like, to his cruelty, his violence, his lies. They overlook his real intentions; they overlook the fact that he would use terrible violence if he won power. Poor young men, totally unknowing, uncomprehending, blind, perceiving only what is happening now! So they side with the enemy and countenance the enemy's violence. In France, before the Second World War, a great many people sided with the Nazis. Hadn't the Nazis, out of their generosity, protested against the violence done the Sudeten Germans, the Croats, the Germans of Danzig? Hadn't they declared that they would defend the rights of the poor and the unemployed, the victims exploited by the capitalists? Their admiration of the Nazis cost those people dearly. Again, after the war, many French people sided with communism, 'the party of the poor, the proletariat.' A few years later they were stunned by the declarations of the Twentieth Communist Congress and by Moscow's suppression of the Hungarian revolt. This is the kind of idealism that must be combated and radically condemned."

3. pacifist idealism (beliefs and lifestyles which are only possible within a larger violence-based society)

4. Christian idealism (which is always concerned with the moral goodness of the human world). This leads to concepts of progressiveness and unreserved participation with good conscience in political or scientific action. "In their idyllic world, harshness, torture, and war seem abnormal and almost incomprehensible. But it is only gross, highly visible, undeniable violence that evokes this scandalized reaction. They deny the existence of masked, secret, covert violence—insofar as this can be concealed..."

Ellul's ultimate goal was to create by evolutionary means a "...Proudhonian socialism...by transforming the press, the media, and the economic structures...by means of a federative cooperative approach..." an anarchist society based on federation and the mutualist economics of Proudhon.

On justice
Ellul believed that social justice and true freedom were incompatible. He rejected any attempt to reconcile them. He believed that a Christian could choose to join a movement for justice, but in doing so, must admit that this fight for justice is necessarily, and at the same time, a fight against all forms of freedom. While social justice provides a guarantee against the risk of bondage, it simultaneously subjects a life to necessities. Ellul believed that when a Christian decides to act it must be in a way that is specifically Christian. "Christians must never identify themselves with this or that political or economic movement. Rather, they must bring to social movements what they alone can provide. Only so can they signalize the kingdom. So far as they act like the others—even to forward social justice, equality, etc.—I say that there is no sense and nothing specifically Christian in acting like the others. In fact the political and revolutionary attitude proper to the Christian is radically different from the attitude of others; it is specifically Christian or else it is nothing."

In Violence Ellul states his belief that only God is able to establish justice and God alone who will institute the kingdom at the end of time. He acknowledges that some have used this as an excuse to do nothing, but also points out how some death-of-God advocates use this to claim that "we ourselves must undertake to establish social justice". Ellul maintained that without a belief in the traditional Judeo-Christian conception of God, love and the pursuit for justice becomes selective, for the only relation left is the horizontal one. Ellul asks how we are to define justice and claims that followers of death-of-God theology and/or philosophy clung to Matthew 25 stating that justice requires them to feed the poor. Ellul says that many European Christians rushed into socialist circles (and with this began to accept the movement's tactics of violence, propaganda, etc.) mistakenly thinking socialism would assure justice when in fact it only pursues justice for the chosen and/or interesting poor whose condition (as a victim of capitalism or some other socialist enemy) is consistent with the socialist ideology.

... Jesus Christ has not come to establish social justice any more than he has come to establish the power of the state or the reign of money or art. Jesus Christ has come to save men, and all that matters is that men may come to know him. We are adept at finding reasons—good theological, political, or practical reasons, for camouflaging this. But the real reason is that we let ourselves be impressed and dominated by the forces of the world, by the press, by public opinion, by the political game, by appeals to justice, liberty, peace, the poverty of the third world, and the Christian civilization of the west, all of which play on our inclinations and weaknesses. Modern protestants are in the main prepared to be all things to all men, like St. Paul, but unfortunately this is not in order that they may save some but in order that they may be like all men.

Ellul states in The Subversion of Christianity that "to proclaim the class conflict and the 'classical' revolutionary struggle is to stop at the same point as those who defend their goods and organizations. This may be useful socially but it is not at all Christian in spite of the disconcerting efforts of theologies of revolution. Revelation demands this renunciation—the renunciation of illusions, of historic hopes, of references to our own abilities or numbers or sense of justice. We are to tell people and thus to increase their awareness (the offense of the ruling classes is that of trying to blind and deaden the awareness of those whom they dominate). Renounce everything in order to be everything. Trust in no human means, for God will provide (we cannot say where, when, or how). Have confidence in his Word and not in a rational program. Enter on a way on which you will gradually find answers but with no guaranteed substance. All this is difficult, much more so than recruiting guerillas, instigating terrorism, or stirring up the masses. And this is why the gospel is so intolerable, intolerable to myself as I speak, as I say all this to myself and others, intolerable for readers, who can only shrug their shoulders."

If the disciples had wanted their preaching to be effective, to recruit good people, to move the crowds, to launch a movement, they would have made the message more material. They would have formulated material goals in the economic, social, and political spheres. This would have stirred people up; this would have been the easy way. To declare, however, that the kingdom is not of this world, that freedom is not achieved by revolt, that rebellion serves no purpose, that there neither is nor will be any paradise on earth, that there is no social justice, that the only justice resides in God and comes from him, that we are not to look for responsibility and culpability in others but first in ourselves, all this is to ask for defeat, for it is to say intolerable things.

On media, propaganda, and information
Ellul discusses these topics in detail in his landmark work, Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes. He viewed the power of the media as another example of technology exerting control over human destiny. As a mechanism of change, the media are almost invariably manipulated by special interests, whether of the market or the state.

Also within Propaganda Ellul claims that "it is a fact that excessive data do not enlighten the reader or the listener; they drown him. He cannot remember them all, or coordinate them, or understand them; if he does not want to risk losing his mind, he will merely draw a general picture from them. And the more facts supplied, the more simplistic the image". Additionally, people become "caught in a web of facts they have been given. They cannot even form a choice or a judgment in other areas or on other subjects. Thus the mechanisms of modern information induce a sort of hypnosis in the individual, who cannot get out of the field that has been laid out for him by the information". "It is not true that he can choose freely with regard to what is presented to him as the truth. And because rational propaganda thus creates an irrational situation, it remains, above all, propaganda—that is, an inner control over the individual by a social force, which means that it deprives him of himself".

Ellul agreed with Jules Monnerot who stated that "All individual passion leads to the suppression of all critical judgment with regard to the object of that passion".

The individual who burns with desire for action but does not know what to do is a common type in our society. He wants to act for the sake of justice, peace, progress, but does not know how. If propaganda can show him this 'how' then it has won the game; action will surely follow".

In response to an invitation from Protestant associations, Ellul visited Germany twice (1934 and 1935). On the second visit he attended a Nazi meeting out of curiosity which influenced his later work on propaganda and its ability to unify a group.

"To throw this wager or secular faith into the boldest possible relief, Ellul places it in dialectical contrast with Biblical faith. As a dialectical contrast to "La Technique," for instance, Ellul writes Sans feu ni lieu (published in 1975, although written much earlier.)"

On humanism
In explaining the significance of freedom and the purpose for resisting the enslavement of humans via acculturation (or sociological bondage), Ellul rejects the notion that this is due to some supposed supreme importance linked to humanity. He states that modern enslavement expresses how authority, signification, and value are attached to humanity and the beliefs and institutions it creates. This leads to an exaltation of the nation or state, money, technology, art, morality, the party, etc. The work of humanity is glorified and worshiped, while simultaneously enslaving humankind.

... man himself is exalted, and paradoxical though it may seem to be, this means the crushing of man. Man's enslavement is the reverse side of the glory, value, and importance that are ascribed to him. The more a society magnifies human greatness, the more one will see men alienated, enslaved, imprisoned, and tortured, in it. Humanism prepares the ground for the anti-human. We do not say that this is an intellectual paradox. All one need do is read history. Men have never been so oppressed as in societies which set man at the pinnacle of values and exalt his greatness or make him the measure of all things. For in such societies freedom is detached from its purpose, which is, we affirm, the glory of God.

Before God I am a human being... But I am caught in a situation from which there is truly and radically no escape, in a spider's web I cannot break. If I am to continue to be a living human being, someone must come to free me. In other words, God is not trying to humiliate me. What is mortally affronted in this situation is not my humanity or my dignity. It is my pride, the vainglorious declaration that I can do it all myself. This we cannot accept. In our own eyes we have to declare ourselves to be righteous and free. We do not want grace. Fundamentally what we want is self-justification. There thus commences the patient work of reinterpreting revelation so as to make of it a Christianity that will glorify humanity and in which humanity will be able to take credit for its own righteousness.

title: Jacques Ellul


text:
DSM CC

Digital storage media command and control (DSM-CC) is a toolkit for developing control channels associated with MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 streams. It is defined in part 6 of the MPEG-2 standard (Extensions for DSM-CC) and uses a client/server model connected via an underlying network (carried via the MPEG-2 multiplex or independently if needed).

DSM-CC may be used for controlling the video reception, providing features normally found on Video Cassette Recorders (VCR) (fast-forward, rewind, pause, etc.). It may also be used for a wide variety of other purposes including packet data transport. It is defined by a series of weighty standards, principally MPEG-2 ISO/IEC 13818-6 (part 6 of the MPEG-2 standard).

DSM-CC may work in conjunction with next generation packet networks, working alongside such internet protocols as RSVP, RTSP, RTP and SCP. Although DSM-CC is usually associated with video delivery (via satellite or terrestrially) and with interactive content, it is also used among audio servers and clients. The architecture describes three main parts of the system: the client, the server, and the session resource manager (SRM). The server provides content and other services to the client, and both are "clients" of the SRM. The SRM allocates and manages network resources (such as channels, bandwidth, and network addresses.) By combining server and client components together onto the same platforms, peer-to-peer content access and delivery systems can be constructed.

These specifications include numerous implementation options. For example, MPEG-2 video can be encoded in different ways, and a DSM-CC system can be constructed to include or exclude certain features and interfaces. Normally, an outside specification will define a profile of specific options, allowing systems built using common profiles to interoperate.

DSM-CC defines or extends five distinct protocols:

 * User-User: Allows remote access by the client to objects on the server. The User-User specification goes beyond the definition of specific server object classes to define classes local to the client, as well as some of the interaction with other parts of the system. The distributed object model is based on CORBA. Objects are accessed using the internet inter-ORB protocol (IIOP), with some optional extensions. Two subsets, "core" and "extended", are defined. In the model, some clients may also load content onto the server.

 * User-Network: There are two parts to this protocol: Session and Resource. This protocol is used between the client and SRM, and between the server and SRM. The U-N Session protocol is used to establish sessions with the network, associated with resources which are allocated and released using the U-N Resource protocol.

 * MPEG transport profiles: The specification provides profiles to the standard MPEG transport protocol (defined by ISO/IEC 13818-1) to allow transmission of event, synchronization, download, and other information in the MPEG transport stream.

 * Download: Several variations of this protocol allow transfer of content from server to client, either within the MPEG transport stream or on a separate (presumably high-speed) channel. Flow-controlled download allows the download operations to be negotiated and controlled by the client. A variation of download is an autonomous "data carousel" on the server which repeatedly downloads information; the download carousel client waits for the information without initiating the transfer. An extension to the data carousel is the "object carousel", which presents downloaded information as objects compatible with the objects defined by the User-User API. (The choice of download or IIOP protocols is embedded in the object's IOR, so the means of access is transparent to the client application.)

 * Switched Digital Broadcast-Channel Change Protocol (SDB/CCP): Enables a client to remotely switch from channel to channel in a broadcast environment. Used to attach a client to a continuous-feed session (CFS) or other broadcast feed. Sometimes used in pay-per-view.

An implementation does not always need all of these protocols. Almost all implementations in the real world use a subset.

Extension
Delivery Multimedia Integration Framework (DMIF) expands upon the MPEG-2 DSM-CC standard (ISO/IEC 13818-6:1998) to enable the convergence of interactive, broadcast and conversational multimedia into one specification which will be applicable to set tops, desktops and mobile stations. The DSM-CC work was extended as part of the ISO/IEC 14496-6 (MPEG-4 Part 6), with the DSM-CC Multimedia Integration Framework (DMIF).

title: DSM CC


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Mendoza College of Business

The Mendoza College of Business is the business school at the University of Notre Dame, a private university in Notre Dame, Indiana. Founded in 1921, it offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees. It is ranked among the top 30 business schools in the United States for graduate and MBA programs by Bloomberg Businessweek, Forbes, and U.S. News & World Report. Apart from its main campus, it also offers an executive MBA, master’s in finance, and master’s in business analytics in Chicago. It has a network of over 40,000 undergraduate and graduate alumni. The school was renamed in 2000 following a donation to the school by Tom Mendoza.

History
Business and commerce classes had been taught at Notre Dame since its foundation, and already in 1853 there was a Mercantile Department. The teaching of business was yet fragmented for many years, with the Department disappearing from 1856 to 1860, and then being reformulated as a Two-year Commercial Course in 1863. This course taught Book-keeping, Penmanship, Arithmetic, Algebra, English Grammar and Composition, Elocution, Geography, History, German, Business Practice, and Commercial Law and was stable for several years. In 1905, it was renamed Commercial School and it became a one-year program. In 1910 meanwhile, the program was inserted into the preparatory school curriculum and became a for year course. Meanwhile, in 1913, a proper Department of Commerce was established within the College of Arts and Letters. This included several courses on secretarial and business work but also training for managerial and executive positions. The main program offered was a four-year Bachelor of Philosophy in Commerce, with classes in accounting for four semesters, with additional classes in money, credit and banking, public finance, economic development in the United States, railway transportation, industrial organization and combination, insurance, and Business Law. Additional coursework included several foreign languages, economics, philosophy, politics, labor problem, American government, and elocution. In 1917, Notre Dame became the first university to launch a four-year course in Foreign Commerce.

The real beginning of the school was on 20 April 1921, when the department was removed from the College of Arts and Letters and became the separate College of Commerce. The first dean of the college was John Francis O'Hara (who later became the president of the University and a Cardinal). O'Hara (who himself had spearheaded the new Foreign Commerce) was inspired by his knowledge of business. He had studied at Wharton and of the history and culture Latin America (where he had lived following his ambassador father). He hoped to place Notre Dame and its graduates in the burgeoning trade and growing economic power between North and South America. In 1921, the college had about 400 students and 13 faculty. Under O'Hara's diligent leadership, the school soon offered 85 classes in 5 departments (accounting, marketing, transportation, finance, foreign trade) and his efforts, together with a societal trend towards valuing business education to obtain a job, made the College tie the College of Arts and Letters as the most numerous already in 1922, with over 500 students. Despite the criticism that the college's education was becoming too commercialized and vocational, O'Hara still maintained a liberal arts theme in the business courses and retained language, philosophy, political science, and history classes. O'Hara'ambitious goals (which included a graduate school and major program in foreign commerce) were cut short by lack of funding.

In 1924, James E. McCarthy succeeded O'Hara as Dean, a post he would keep till in 1955. McCarthy, who was born in Holyoke in 1896 and graduated from Columbia in 1916, was an outspoken advocate of free trade and was well acquainted with many of the nation's leading businessmen and CEOs. During his tenure, the College rose greatly in prominence and visibility, hugely increased its number and quality of courses, and became the University's largest academic division increasing from 500 to 1500 students. In 1933, Chicago businessman Edward N. Hurley donated $200,000 for a new building for the college, which was named Hurley Hall. O'Hara had been pursuing Hurley for such donation since 1919, but the financial situation of the country had not permitted it. Hurley was a successful businessman, founder of the Hurley Machine Company, and chairman of the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Shipping Board. He had been the honorary Dean of the College since its founding and had received the Laetare Medal in 1926.

In 1954, the school opened it first masters program, tailored to men and women from religious orders. The masters evolved to become the Masters is Nonprofit Administration. In 1962, the school's name changed to become the College of Business Administration and was also accredited by the AACSB. In 1967, the school started its MBS program, with a class of 50 men from 17 states and 3 foreign countries; 1970 saw the enrollment of the first women in the program. The Hayes-Healy building opens in 1968, thanks to a gift from Ramon Hayes-Healy, offering more space for the growing college.

In 1999, the new and current building is completed. Located just southwest of the Notre Dame Stadium, it was designed following a nautical motif and nicknamed "the ship of commerce". In March 2000, the College of Business received a naming gift from NetApp, Inc. executives, Tom and Kathy Mendoza. In 2006, Notre Dame bought the Santa Fe building in Chicago, and relocated Executive MBA, MS in Finance, and MS in Business Analytics programs. In 2007, the College is one of the first signatories of the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME). In 2010, Mendoza was ranked as No. 1 for undergraduate business by Bloomberg Businessweek, the first of five consecutive years. In 2013, the Stayer Center for Executive Education was built with a gift from Ralph Stayer, a '65 graduate.

Rankings and reputation
In 2016, Mendoza's undergraduate business program was ranked No. 2 by Bloomberg Businessweek. Mendoza's undergraduate business program was ranked No. 9 in the U.S. by U.S. News in 2016. In the 2017 edition, Mendoza no longer appears among the top 10. However, in 2017, Poets and Quants ranked Mendoza's undergraduate business program at No. 4 nationally.

Rankings for Mendoza's MBA program among U.S. MBA programs include No. 22 by Forbes, #34 in 2023 by Bloomberg BusinessWeek and No. 31 by U.S. News & World Report. In global rankings, the Mendoza MBA was ranked No. 40 by The Economist and No. 80 by Financial Times. Its Executive MBA program was ranked No. 15 by Bloomberg Businessweek. College Atlas and The Economist rank the Mendoza MBA 2nd among business schools in Indiana.

For 2011, the Aspen Institute, which ranks institutions on how well schools incorporate issues concerning social and environmental stewardship into the curriculum, ranked Mendoza #4 worldwide.

Poets & Quants reveals a placement rate of 93% after 3 months for the Undergraduate school, as well as an average starting salary of roughly $72,000.

MBA program
The admissions rate for the 2014 was 35%. Applicants are required to take the GMAT exam. Of the admitted applicants, the median score was 687 and the middle 80% of scores ranged from 650 to 769.

Undergraduate program
After completing the university's First Year of Studies program, Notre Dame business majors enter the Mendoza College in their second year. Starting in 2015, high school applicants will have to apply directly and be "pre-approved" for admission into Mendoza after their first year of studies.

Executive education
Stayer Center for Executive Education offers degree programs and non-degree programs for full-time working professionals. In addition to the programs offered at the Notre Dame campus in South Bend and the campus in Chicago, Illinois, there is also a program that takes place in Ireland.

Facilities
The Mendoza College of Business main building, located on DeBartolo Quad, was built in 1996 and designed by Ellerbe Becket. Its 196,986 square feet of space includes the 300-seat Jordan Auditorium, classrooms, offices, administration, and digital spaces. The Potenziani Family Atrium features an original and refurbished NYSE trading post from 1929 that was in use until 1981. The Stayer Center for Executive Education, built between 2011 and 2013 and located immediately south of the main Mendoza building, hosts both the degree and non-degree programs aimed at the executive-level MBA students and corporate clients. It is built in collegiate architecture style and was designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects, and features stained glass windows.

Faculty

 * Peter D. Easton, Academic Director, for the Center for Accounting Research and Education

title: Mendoza College of Business


text:
Arthur Blank

Arthur Morris Blank (born September 27, 1942) is an American businessman. He is best known for being a co-founder of the home improvement retailer The Home Depot.

Blank owns two professional sports teams based in Atlanta, Georgia – the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL) and Atlanta United FC of Major League Soccer (MLS), the latter of which won the 2018 MLS Cup – and is chairman of their parent company, AMB Group LLC.

Life
Arthur Blank was born to a Jewish family in Flushing, New York. He was born to Max Blank, a pharmacist, and Molly Blank. He has an older brother named Michael. Blank graduated from Stuyvesant High School in New York City. After graduating from Babson Institute in 1963, Blank was hired by Arthur Young and Company, where he was a senior accountant. He later joined the Daylin corporation, where he rose to become president of Elliott's Drug Stores/Stripe Discount Stores, a division of Daylin. When Daylin decided to sell off that division, Blank moved to another division, Handy Dan Home Improvement Centers. Bernard Marcus was CEO of Handy Dan and Blank was vice president of finance when both were fired in 1978 as part of an internal power struggle.

In 1978, Blank co-founded Home Depot with Marcus. New York investment banker Ken Langone assembled the initial group of investors and merchandising expert Patrick Farrah helped founders realize their vision of one-stop shopping for the do-it-yourselfer. The store revolutionized the home improvement business with its warehouse concept and Blank and Marcus became billionaires as a result. Blank spent 19 years as the company's president before succeeding Marcus as CEO. Blank retired from the company in 2001 as co-chairman. He received his MBA from Harvard.

On May 22, 2024, Blank won the Sports Business Journal's Lifetime Achievement Award for his work with the Falcons, United FC, and the surrounding community.

Sports ownership
In February 2002, Blank purchased the Atlanta Falcons franchise in the National Football League from owner Taylor Smith, the son of team founder Rankin M. Smith Sr. In September 2004, he bought the Arena Football League franchise, the Georgia Force; he moved the team to the city of Atlanta after it had spent several years in suburban Gwinnett County.

Blank has expressed serious interest in purchasing other franchises. In early 2006, he temporarily withdrew from contention as a potential buyer of the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball. Some months later, Blank re-entered serious talks with Time Warner and a report indicated that a sale was imminent. However, in February 2007, the Braves completed the sale of the team to Liberty Media. Blank has also founded an expansion Major League Soccer franchise named Atlanta United FC that began play in 2017. The club shares Mercedes-Benz Stadium with the Falcons. Blank also helped the United States Soccer Federation set up their new headquarters in Atlanta, and the new training center was named in his honor.

Philanthropy
Blank is chairman of The Arthur Blank Family Foundation, and serves on the Board of Trustees of Emory University.

In March 2020, Blank's foundation announced it would donate nearly $5.4 million to aid the coronavirus pandemic response in Georgia and Montana.

In October 2020, it was announced that the new Children's Healthcare of Atlanta hospital would be named after Arthur Blank after his foundation donated $200 million to the project. The Arthur M. Blank Hospital is expected to open in September 2024.

He is a signatory of The Giving Pledge committing himself to give away at least 50% of his wealth to charitable causes.

Personal life
Blank has been married and divorced three times. He has three children with his first wife, Diana Blank (born 1942): Kenny Blank, Dena Blank Kimball, and Danielle Blank Thomsen; they divorced in 1993. In 1995, he married Stephanie V. Blank (born 1968), a Blowing Rock, North Carolina native and Appalachian State University graduate. They met when she worked as a designer at a Home Depot store in Atlanta. They had three children - Joshua Blank, Max Blank, and Kylie Blank - before being divorced. In June 2016, Blank married Angela Macuga (born 1968), who had three children from a previous marriage. They announced their pending divorce on January 1, 2019.

Blank owns Mountain Sky Guest Ranch and West Creek Ranch outside Yellowstone National Park in Paradise Valley, Montana. He also owns several PGA TOUR Superstores.

On February 9, 2016, Blank disclosed that he had treatable prostate cancer. On March 17, 2016, Blank announced that he is cancer-free following treatment.

title: Arthur Blank


text:
Talk:Cockroach

Unlock please
Why is this page locked again? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 106.133.171.205 (talk) 04:40, 17 December 2017 (UTC)

Kafka
I am surprised that there isn't a mention of Franz Kafka's 1915 novella, Metamophosis.Sussmanbern (talk) 00:38, 2 January 2024 (UTC)

 * This shouldn't be mentioned here. There is no agreement that "cockroach" is the correct translation, and in fact, prominent academics (e.g., Vladimir Nabokov) believe the character was transformed into a beetle rather than a roach. See The_Metamorphosis. Dyanega (talk) 16:46, 2 January 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Cockroach


text:
User talk:Irish Buckeye

Hello and welcome to Wikipedia! Hope you like it here, and stick around.

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title: User talk:Irish Buckeye


text:
Extreme points of North America

This is a list of the extreme points of North America: the points that are highest and lowest, and farther north, south, east or west than any other location on the continent. Some of these points are debatable, given the varying definitions of North America.

North America and surrounding islands

 * Northernmost point — Kaffeklubben Island, Greenland 83.66667°N, -29.83333°W. Although politically part of the Kingdom of Denmark, Greenland is geologically part of the North American plate. If non-permanent islands are included, then the northernmost point is Qeqertaq Avannarleq. If Greenland is excluded from North America, the northernmost point is Cape Columbia, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada 83.13333°N, -74.21667°W.
 * Southernmost point — Cocos Island, Costa Rica 5.51889°N, -87.07167°W
 * Westernmost point — The westernmost point depends on the definition of "westernmost". If following the International Date Line, it would be Cape Wrangell on Attu Island, Alaska, United States 52.92444°N, 172.47278°W, or the tiny (ca. 200m diameter) Peaked Island, just off the coast to the west. However, if the border between east and west is defined by the 180th meridian, the westernmost point is the West Point of Amatignak Island 51.28333°N, -179.15°W, as Attu Island is in the Eastern Hemisphere.
 * Easternmost point — Nordostrundingen, Greenland 81.44028°N, -11.48944°W. If Greenland is excluded, then the easternmost point is Cape Spear, Newfoundland, Canada 47.52361°N, -52.61944°W. Again, if one uses the technical definition of longitude, it is Pochnoi Point on Semisopochnoi Island, Alaska, 51.95°N, 179.86667°W since the state stretches into the Eastern Hemisphere. However, other sources argue it would be Cape Wrangell on Attu Island, Alaska, United States at 52.92444°N, 172.47278°W, as well as the tiny (ca. 200m diameter) Peaked Island, just off the coast to the west.

Continental North America

 * Northernmost point — Murchison Promontory, Canada 71°58′N 94°57′W
 * Southernmost point — Punta Mariato, Panama 7.20889°N, -80.88611°W
 * Westernmost point — Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska 65.59639°N, -168.08472°W
 * Easternmost point — Cape Saint Charles, Labrador 52.2175°N, -55.62083°W

Highest points

 * Denali (Mount McKinley), Alaska, United States 63.06944°N, -151.00722°W — highest summit of North America at 6190.5 m.
 * Pico de Orizaba (Volcán Citlaltépetl), Puebla and Veracruz, Mexico 19.03056°N, -97.26972°W — highest volcano summit of North America at 5636 m.
 * Grays Peak, Colorado, United States 39.63389°N, -105.8175°W — highest point on the Continental Divide of North America at 4352 m.
 * Volcán Tajumulco, San Marcos, Guatemala 15.04361°N, -91.90333°W — highest summit of Central America at 4220 m.
 * Gunnbjørn Fjeld, Sermersooq, Island of Greenland, Greenland 68.91944°N, -29.89861°W — highest island summit of the Americas and highest summit of the entire Arctic at 3694 m.
 * Pico Duarte, Dominican Republic, Hispaniola 19.02306°N, -70.99806°W — highest summit of the Caribbean at 3175 m.
 * Ixchiguán, San Marcos Department, Guatemala — highest town of North America at 3200 m (10,500 feet)
 * Leadville, Colorado, United States 39.24722°N, -106.29167°W — highest city of North America at 3094 m (10,152 feet)
 * Lake County Airport, Colorado, United States 39.22028°N, -106.31667°W — highest airfield of North America at 3026 m (9,927 feet)

Lowest points

 * Badwater Basin, Death Valley, California, United States 36.23972°N, -116.83472°W — lowest land surface of North America at -282 ft
 * Salton Sea, California, United States 33.33306°N, -115.83417°W — lowest lake of North America at −69 m (−226 feet)
 * Furnace Creek Airport, California, United States 36.46389°N, -116.88139°W — lowest airfield of the Americas at −64 m (−210 feet)
 * Furnace Creek, California, United States 36.45806°N, -116.87083°W — lowest settlement of the Americas at −58 m (−190 ft)
 * Calipatria, California, United States 33.12556°N, -115.51417°W — lowest city of the Americas at −56 m (−184 feet)
 * Lago Enriquillo, Dominican Republic, Hispaniola 18.5°N, -71.58333°W — lowest lake on an island and lowest surface point on any ocean island on Earth at −27 m (−89 feet)
 * New Orleans, Louisiana, United States 29.96667°N, -90.05°W — lowest city of the Americas with an average elevation of −0.5 m (−1.5 feet)
 * Isthmus of Rivas, Rivas, Nicaragua 12.01667°N, -86.45°W — lowest pass between Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean (on the Continental Divide of the Americas) at 56 m (184 feet)
 * Great Slave Lake bottom, Northwest Territories, Canada 61.66667°N, -114°W — lowest fresh water point of the Americas at −458 m (−1,503 feet)

Other points

 * The geographic center of the North American continent is located at 48.16667°N, -100.16667°W, about 6 miles west of Balta in Pierce County, North Dakota, United States.
 * The North American pole of inaccessibility is located at 43.36667°N, -101.96667°W, about eleven miles southeast of the town of Kyle on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Bennett County, South Dakota, United States, 1650 km (1025 miles) from the nearest coastlines.

Islands

 * Island of Greenland 68.91944°N, -29.89861°W — most extensive island on Earth at 2,130,800 km2 (822,700 square miles) and tallest island of Western Hemisphere.   Highest point is Gunnbjørn Fjeld at 12118 ft.
 * Island of Cuba 21.5°N, -80°W — most extensive island of the Caribbean at 104,556 km2 (40,369 square miles). Highest point is Pico Turquino at 6480 ft.
 * Hispaniola 19.02306°N, -70.99806°W — tallest island of the Caribbean and second most extensive island of the Caribbean at 76,480 km2 (29,529 square miles). Highest peak is Pico Duarte at 10417 ft.
 * Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron, Ontario, Canada 45.76667°N, -82.2°W — most extensive lake island on Earth at 2,766 km2 (1,068 square miles)
 * Unimak Island — highest point is Shishaldin Volcano at 9373 ft.
 * Ellesmere Island — highest point is Barbeau Peak at 8583 ft.
 * Jamaica — highest point is Blue Mountain Peak at 7402 ft.
 * Axel Heiberg Island — highest point is Outlook Peak at 7251 ft.
 * Vancouver Island — highest point is Golden Hinde at 7211 ft.
 * Baffin Island — highest point is Mount Odin at 7044 ft.
 * Umnak Island — highest point is Mount Vsevidof at 6920 ft.
 * Unalaska Island — highest point is Makushin Volcano at 6680 ft.

Lakes

 * Lake Superior, Canada and the United States 47.75°N, -87.5°W — most voluminous lake in Western Hemisphere at 11,600 km3 (2,800 cubic miles)
 * Great Slave Lake, Northwest Territories, Canada 61.66667°N, -114°W — deepest lake in Western Hemisphere at 614 m (2,014 feet)
 * Lake Michigan–Huron, Canada and the United States 45.81667°N, -84.75°W — most extensive lake in Western Hemisphere and the most extensive fresh water lake on Earth at 117,702 km2 (45,445 square miles)
 * Nettilling Lake on Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada 66.5°N, -70.83333°W — most extensive lake on an island on Earth at 5,066 km2 (1,956 square miles)
 * Great Salt Lake, Utah, United States 41.16667°N, -112.58333°W — most extensive endorheic lake at 4,400 km2 (1,700 square miles)
 * Lake Manitou on Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron, Ontario, Canada 45.77833°N, -81.99167°W — most extensive lake on an island in a lake on Earth at 104 km2 (40 square miles)

Rivers

 * Mississippi Basin, Canada and the United States 29.15111°N, -89.25333°W — most extensive river basin at 2,981,076 km2 (1,151,000 square miles)
 * Mississippi-Missouri-Jefferson Rivers, United States 29.15111°N, -89.25333°W — longest river system at 6,275 km (3,902 miles)
 * Missouri River, United States 38.81361°N, -90.11972°W — longest main stem river at 3,768 km (2,341 miles)
 * Mississippi River, United States 29.15111°N, -89.25333°W — longest Gulf of Mexico main stem river at 3,544 km (2,202 miles)
 * Yukon River, Canada and the United States 62.59861°N, -164.79444°W — longest Bering Sea main stem river at 3,185 km (1,979 miles)
 * Nelson River, Manitoba, Canada 57.08472°N, -92.50222°W — longest Hudson Bay main stem river at 2,575 km (1,600 miles)
 * Colorado River, United States and Mexico 31.81583°N, -114.80611°W — longest Gulf of California main stem river at 2,330 km (1,450 miles)
 * Columbia River, Canada and the United States 46.24417°N, -124.05806°W — longest Pacific Ocean main stem river at 2,000 km (1,243 miles)
 * Mackenzie River, Northwest Territories, Canada 68.93972°N, -136.17278°W — longest Arctic Ocean main stem river at 1,738 km (1,080 miles)
 * Saint Lawrence River, United States and Canada 49.66667°N, -64.5°W — longest Atlantic Ocean main stem river at 965 km (600 miles)

Extreme points of North American countries

 * Extreme points of Canada
 * Extreme points of Cuba
 * Extreme points of Greenland
 * Extreme points of Mexico
 * Extreme points of the United States

title: Extreme points of North America