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Dunbeath Castle

Dunbeath Castle is located on the east coast of Caithness, 2 km south of Dunbeath, in northern Scotland. Although a castle has stood here since the 15th century, the present building is of mainly 17th-century origin, with 19th-century extensions. The castle is a 19669 sqft Category A listed building and the grounds are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland.

History
A castle is first recorded on the rocky peninsula at Dunbeath in 1428, when the lands belonged to the Earl of Caithness. The first recorded laird was Alexander Sutherland. It later became the property of the Clan Sinclair through the marriage of the daughter of Alexander Sutherland to William Sinclair (1410–1484), the first Sinclair Earl of Caithness. The Sinclairs replaced the earlier structure with a four-storey tower house in 1620.

After control for some time (during an unspecified period) by Lord Forbes of Geanies, then baron of Dunbeath, the property was reacquired by John Sinclair circa 1624. He is likely the owner "who extensively remodelled Dunbeath castle and built the upper storeys in the 1630s".

In March 1650, Dunbeath was attacked by the Royalist forces of James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Sir John Sinclair rode to Edinburgh to warn of Montrose's arrival, leaving his wife Catherine Fraser to defend Dunbeath against Sir John Hurry. She soon surrendered, and a Royalist garrison was installed. Montrose was defeated in April at the Battle of Carbisdale, and the opposition forces, under David Leslie, recaptured the castle.

The castle was extensively remodelled in the 17th century by Sir William Sinclair, and again in 1853 and 1881, when David Bryce was the architect. The major modification was making the "northern front of the castle symmetrical and [laying] out an approach down a three-quarter-mile-long, arrow-straight, tree-lined drive".

From 1894 to 1945, the castle was owned by Vice-Admiral Sir Edwyn Alexander-Sinclair. In that year, after 325 years of occupation by the Sinclair Family, the castle was sold to Bertram Currie. In 1967 it was sold again to Harry Blythe and Helen (Sinclaire) Blythe. The castle remained in their possession until 1976 when it was sold to Ray Stanton Avery. In 1997 the castle was sold to the current owner, Stuart Wyndham Murray-Threipland and his wife. The property was listed for sale again in 2023, including 20 estate houses and cottages. At the time, the 13 bedroom, nine bathroom, castle remained a private home; only the gardens were open to the public, by appointment.

The castle
The oldest part of the castle lies at the south-west corner, and dates largely from the 17th century. More modern additions have been made to the north and east, in a Scots Baronial style to match the earlier building. The interiors are much altered. The defensive site was enhanced by a dry ditch on the landward side, which cuts across the narrow promontory on which the castle stands.

In popular culture
The 2023 Hindi movie Neeyat was filmed at Dunbeath.

title: Dunbeath Castle


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John Glover (actor)

John Glover is an American actor, known for a range of villainous roles in films and television, including Daniel Clamp in Gremlins 2: The New Batch and Lionel Luthor in Smallville. He is also the voice of Riddler in the DC Animated Universe.

Early life
Glover was born in Kingston, New York, and raised in Salisbury, Maryland. His father was a television salesman. Glover attended Wicomico High School and acted at Towson University.

Glover began his career at the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia, and later studied acting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse under Milton Katselas.

Career
Glover began his career in television, playing a mentally disturbed kidnapper who kidnapped Joanne, the lead character in Search for Tomorrow. One of his early film performances was a role as a U.S. diplomat in . His other roles include Alan Raimy in 52 Pick-Up, Bryce Cummings in Scrooged, Tony Gateworth in ', Daniel Clamp in Gremlins 2: The New Batch, a mobster in ', an advertising spokesman in RoboCop 2, Derek Mills in Night of the Running Man, the Riddler in Batman: The Animated Series, Doctor Jason Woodrue in , Verad in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Invasive Procedures", the Devil in the series Brimstone, and a recurring role in The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd as Cousin Jerry, from Bal'mer, a relative whom no one actually seemed to know.

In 1987, he appeared in the Miami Vice episode "Lend Me an Ear" as Steve Duddy. He also appeared in two episodes of Murder, She Wrote, "One White Rose for Death" and "When Thieves Fall Out". He appeared in the television film An Early Frost in 1985, the first TV film to confront the issue of AIDS, and received an Emmy nomination for his performance as a gay AIDS patient. In 1986, he appeared in the TV film Apology with Lesley Ann Warren.

He appeared in the role of Max Brodsky, an inmate in concentration camps and later a fighter for Israel's independence, in Ian Sharp's 1989 TV miniseries Twist of Fate (also known as Pursuit). That same year, he played a hard-driving, low-on-morals district sales manager in HBO's Traveling Man. He also received a 1994 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his appearance in Frasier.

Glover is perhaps best known for his role as Lionel Luthor on Smallville from 2001 to 2008 where he first appeared as a guest actor in the show's first season and then appeared as a full cast member from seasons two to seven. He later returned in 2010 and 2011 for the tenth and final season as a parallel universe version of the character.

He had a small appearance in the Woody Allen film Annie Hall (1977) in a flashback in which he tells the title character, "Touch my heart. With your foot." He had a recurring role in Law & Order: Criminal Intent as Declan Gage, an old friend and mentor to Detective Robert Goren. On ABC's Brothers & Sisters he played Henry (the boyfriend of Saul Holden) in 2009. In Heroes he had a brief appearance as Samson Gray, the father of Sylar.

He had made notable appearances on stage, winning a Tony Award for Featured Actor in a Play for his dual roles in the Broadway play Love! Valour! Compassion!, which he reprised in the film version. In 2004, he performed with the Philadelphia Theatre Company staging of Edward Albee's The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?

He also appeared as "man in the chair/narrator" in The Drowsy Chaperone on Broadway during the summer of 2007. He played the role of Lucky in a Broadway production of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, for which he earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play. In 2014, he appeared as Leonato in the Shakespeare in the Park production of Much Ado About Nothing.

He played Telemachus in Yuri Rasovsky's Peabody Award-winning radio dramatization of The Odyssey of Homer and has played in several radio plays of the LA Theatre Works. Glover is receiving increasing recognition for narrating audiobooks. In 2011, he performed the audiobook version of Ghost Story, the thirteenth novel in Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files series. In October/November 2011, he performed in David Bar Katz's drama The Atmosphere of Memory at the Bank Street Theatre in New York City, co-starring with Ellen Burstyn in a LAByrinth production. He played the role of Uncle Ben in the 2012 Broadway production of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, directed by Mike Nichols. He is seen rehearsing the role of John Kreese in behind-the-scenes pre-production footage from The Karate Kid, indicating he may have been considered for that role. In 2013, Glover starred in the horror anthology Sanitarium. He also guest-starred in an episode of Agent Carter. Glover has done various voice-over work for several projects related to Tron: Legacy: the villain Abraxas in Tron: Evolution, and Dyson in Tron: Uprising. In 2014, he guest-starred on The Blacklist in the episode titled "Berlin".

Personal life
Glover is gay. He married sculptor Adam Kurtzman in 2016, whom he had been dating since 1993. According to Glover, he slept with Freddie Mercury in the 1970s.

Glover is involved with the Alzheimer's Association. His father had Alzheimer's disease, leading Glover to become more active in charity and activism surrounding the disorder.

Glover returns to Towson annually to work with theater students. The theater department awards a scholarship in his name.

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

title: John Glover (actor)


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Ballot (automobile)

Ballot was a French manufacturer, initially of engines, that also made automobiles between 1919 and 1932. Édouard Ballot became well known as a designer of reliable engines. He helped Ettore Bugatti in developing his first engines.

Origins
The Ballot brothers, Édouard and Maurice, founded their company at the Boulevard Brune in south-central Paris in 1905. Édouard Ballot was a former naval officer, which explains the "anchor" that featured in the badges on the cars.

Before World War I the factory concentrated on marine and industrial engines, and from 1910 or 1911 they also offered automobile engines.

The company was re-founded as Etablissements Ballot SA in 1910.

Sporting successes
There is little sign that Edouard Ballot himself took much interest in automobiles until December 1918. That was the month in which he had a significant conversation with René Thomas, a leading racing driver who had won the 1914 Indianapolis 500 race driving a Delage. Ballot was persuaded to build four 4.8-litre cars that would carry the "Ballot" name and compete in the forthcoming Indianapolis 500 race, scheduled for 30 May 1919. Time seemed very short, but Ballot lost no time, notably recruiting the Swiss born engineer Ernest Henry who had already worked on preparing Peugeot cars for their successful participation in the 1914 Indianapolis 500 race. Ballot's cars competed in the 1919 race, two of them finishing in 4th and 11th places. A Ballot vehicle driven by René Thomas also finished second in the 1919 Targa Florio. Ballot was sufficiently encouraged to return the next year, and in the 1920 Indianapolis 500 race a Ballot driven by René Thomas finished in second place: Ballots also took fifth and seventh places. Ralph DePalma, an American national champion and winner of the 1915 Indianapolis 500, drove a Ballot to win the 1920 Elgin Trophy.

More successes followed, on both sides of the Atlantic. DePalma finished second in the 1921 French Grand Prix and French driver Jules Goux finished third. Goux went on to win the inaugural Italian Grand Prix at Brescia, Italy in 1921, driving a Ballot. Second place was taken by the team leader Jean Chassagne on a sister car; a year before, in 1920 Chassagne made the fastest BARC lap of the year at Brooklands on a 4.9-litre Ballot, coming again second. A Ballot with a straight-eight-cylinder 4.9-litre engine competed in the 1921 French Grand Prix.

Road cars
As well as racing engines, the company made a range of road engines which were fitted to their own production cars.

The first of Ballot's own road cars was the 1921 2-litre Ballot 2-litre sports tourer. In 1923 the Ballot 2 LT and a sport version, Ballot 2 LTS followed.By the time of the 19th Paris Motor Show in October 1924, Ballot was established in the market place as a producer of expensive road going cars with spectacular performance. The 2-litre sports tourer again appeared on the manufacturer's stand at the show. The car still used a four cylinder overhead camshaft 1,994 cc engine, and it sat on a 3110 mm wheelbase. It was priced, in bare chassis form, at 33,000 francs: Ballot also listed a "Torpedo" bodied version at 46,000 francs.

From 1927, eight-cylinder engines were used.

Final chapter
In 1931 the company was taken over by Hispano-Suiza. Swift decline followed: the last model was practically a Hispano-Suiza, and only the chassis was provided by Ballot. Ballot closed down in 1932.

Main models

 * 2LS: sports car, 4-cylinder 1944 cc, twin-overhead-camshaft, 4-valves-per-cylinder engine
 * 2LT: tourer, single-cam variant of the 2LS
 * 2LTS: variant of the 2LT, with higher-tuned engine
 * RH: introduced in 1927 with 8-cylinder, single-overhead-cam, 2874 cc engine
 * RH3: 1929–1932, RH with 3049 cc engine.
 * HS26: model introduced after the Hispano-Suiza takeover, also known as the Hispano-Suiza Junior, 4580 cc six-cylinder engine

title: Ballot (automobile)


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List of governors and heads of state of Fiume

This is a list of governors of the Corpus separatum of Fiume (formally known as City of Fiume and its district), heads of state of the Free State of Fiume and prefects of the Province of Fiume (now modern Rijeka and its surrounding area, in Croatia).

List
(Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office)


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Veldt (disambiguation)

Veldt, or veld, is open rural landscape (grassland, shrubland) in southern Africa.

Veldt may also refer to:
 * "The Veldt" (short story), a science fiction story by Ray Bradbury
 * The Veldt (film), a 1987 Soviet film based on the story by Ray Bradbury
 * "The Veldt" (song), a song by deadmau5, also based on the Bradbury story
 * Part of the setting of Final Fantasy VI, a 1994 video game
 * The Veldt (band), an American alternative group
 * Veldt Township, Marshall County, Minnesota
 * Lau Veldt (born 1953), Dutch track cyclist
 * Tim Veldt (born 1984), Dutch track cyclist

 * VELD Music Festival, a festival named after the song

title: Veldt (disambiguation)


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Port Huron (disambiguation)

Port Huron is the name of a city and a township in St. Clair County, Michigan. See:

 * Port Huron, Michigan
 * Port Huron Township, Michigan

See also:

 * Port Huron Statement

Port Huron

title: Port Huron (disambiguation)


text: User talk:64.171.255.154

title: User talk:64.171.255.154


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List of Italian divisions in World War II

This is a list of the World War II divisions of the Royal Italian Army of the Kingdom of Italy.

Alpine Divisions

 * 1a Divisione Alpina Taurinense.png 1st Alpine Division "Taurinense" (Turin)
 * 2a Divisione Alpina Tridentina.png 2nd Alpine Division "Tridentina" (Trento)
 * 3a Divisione Alpina Julia.png 3rd Alpine Division "Julia" (Julian March)
 * 4a Divisione Alpina Cuneense.png 4th Alpine Division "Cuneense" (Cuneo)
 * 5a Divisione Alpina Pusteria.png 5th Alpine Division "Pusteria" (Puster)
 * 6a Divisione Alpina Alpi Graie.png 6th Alpine Division "Alpi Graie" (Graian Alps)

Armored Divisions

 * 131a Divisione Corazzata Centauro.png 131st Armored Division "Centauro" (Centaur)
 * 132a Divisione Corazzata Ariete.png 132nd Armored Division "Ariete" (Ram)
 * 133a Divisione Corazzata Littorio.png 133rd Armored Division "Littorio" (Lictor)
 * 134a Divisione Corazzata Freccia.png 134th Armored Division "Freccia" (Arrow)
 * 135a Divisione Corazzata Ariete II.png 135th Armored Cavalry Division "Ariete" (Ram)
 * 136a Divisione Corazzata Centauro II.png 136th Armored Legionary Division "Centauro" (Centaur)
 * 136th Armored Division "Giovani Fascisti" (Fascist Youth)

Blackshirt Divisions

 * 1a Divisione CC.NN. 23 Marzo.png 1st CC.NN. Division "23 Marzo" (23rd March)
 * 2a Divisione CC.NN. 28 Ottobre.png 2nd CC.NN. Division "28 Ottobre" (28th October)
 * 3a Divisione CC.NN. 21 Aprile.png 3rd CC.NN. Division "21 Aprile" (21st April)
 * 4a Divisione CC.NN. 3 Gennaio.png 4th CC.NN. Division "3 Gennaio" (3rd January)
 * 1st CC.NN. Armored Division "M" (Mussolini)

Cavalry Divisions

 * 1a Divisione Celere Eugenio di Savoia.png 1st Cavalry Division "Eugenio di Savoia" (Eugene of Savoy)
 * 2a Divisione Celere Emanuele Filiberto Testa di Ferro.png 2nd Cavalry Division "Emanuele Filiberto Testa di Ferro" (Emmanuel Philibert Ironhead)
 * 3a Divisione Celere Principe Amedeo Duca d'Aosta.png 3rd Cavalry Division "Principe Amedeo Duca d'Aosta" (Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta)

Coastal Divisions

 * 201st Coastal Division
 * 202nd Coastal Division
 * 203rd Coastal Division
 * 204th Coastal Division
 * 205th Coastal Division
 * 206th Coastal Division
 * 207th Coastal Division
 * 208th Coastal Division
 * 209th Coastal Division
 * 210th Coastal Division
 * 211th Coastal Division
 * 212th Coastal Division
 * 213th Coastal Division
 * 214th Coastal Division
 * 215th Coastal Division
 * 216th Coastal Division
 * 220th Coastal Division
 * 221st Coastal Division
 * 222nd Coastal Division
 * 223rd Coastal Division
 * 224th Coastal Division
 * 225th Coastal Division
 * 226th Coastal Division
 * 227th Coastal Division
 * 230th Coastal Division

Libyan

 * 1st Libyan Division
 * 2nd Libyan Division

Somalian

 * 101st Colonial Somalian Division
 * 102nd Colonial Somalian Division

Air-transportable

 * 80a Divisione Fanteria La Spezia.png 80th Infantry Division "La Spezia" (La Spezia)

Auto-transportable

 * 9a Divisione Fanteria Pasubio.png 9th Infantry Division "Pasubio" (Pasubio)
 * 10a Divisione Fanteria Piave.png 10th Infantry Division "Piave" / 10a Divisione Motorizzata Piave.png 10th Motorized Division "Piave" (Piave)
 * 52a Divisione Fanteria Torino.png 52nd Infantry Division "Torino" (Turin)
 * 103a Divisione Fanteria Piacenza.png 103rd Infantry Division "Piacenza" (Piacenza)
 * 104a Divisione Fanteria Mantova.png 104th Infantry Division "Mantova" (Mantua)
 * 105a Divisione Fanteria Rovigo.png 105th Infantry Division "Rovigo" (Rovigo)

Auto-transportable North-African Type

 * 17a Divisione Fanteria Pavia.png 17th Infantry Division "Pavia" (Pavia)
 * 25a Divisione Fanteria Bologna.png 25th Infantry Division "Bologna" (Bologna)
 * 27a Divisione Fanteria Brescia.png 27th Infantry Division "Brescia" (Brescia)
 * 55a Divisione Fanteria Savona.png 55th Infantry Division "Savona" (Savona)
 * 60a Divisione Fanteria Sabratha.png 60th Infantry Division "Sabratha" (Sabratha)
 * 61a Divisione Fanteria Sirte.png 61st Infantry Division "Sirte" (Sirte)
 * 62a Divisione Fanteria Marmarica.png 62nd Infantry Division "Marmarica" (Marmarica)
 * 63a Divisione Fanteria Cirene.png 63rd Infantry Division "Cirene" (Cyrene)
 * 64a Divisione Fanteria Catanzaro.png 64th Infantry Division "Catanzaro" (Catanzaro)

Infantry

 * 5a Divisione Fanteria Cosseria.png 5th Infantry Division "Cosseria" (Cosseria)
 * 6a Divisione Fanteria Cuneo.png 6th Infantry Division "Cuneo" (Cuneo)
 * 7a Divisione Fanteria Lupi di Toscana.png 7th Infantry Division "Lupi di Toscana" (Wolves of Tuscany)
 * 12a Divisione Fanteria Sassari.png 12th Infantry Division "Sassari" (Sassari)
 * 13a Divisione Fanteria Re.png 13th Infantry Division "Re" (King's)
 * 14a Divisione Fanteria Isonzo.png 14th Infantry Division "Isonzo" (Isonzo)
 * 15a Divisione Fanteria Bergamo.png 15th Infantry Division "Bergamo" (Bergamo)
 * 16a Divisione Fanteria Pistoia.png 16th Infantry Division "Pistoia" / 16a Divisione Motorizzata Pistoia.png 16th Motorized Division "Pistoia" (Pistoia)
 * 18a Divisione Fanteria Messina.png 18th Infantry Division "Messina" (Messina)
 * 20a Divisione Fanteria Friuli.png 20th Infantry Division "Friuli" (Friuli)
 * 21a Divisione Fanteria Granatieri di Sardegna.png 21st Infantry Division "Granatieri di Sardegna" (Grenadiers of Sardinia)
 * 22a Divisione Fanteria Cacciatori delle Alpi.png 22nd Infantry Division "Cacciatori delle Alpi" (Hunters of the Alps)
 * 24a Divisione Fanteria Pinerolo.png 24th Infantry Division "Pinerolo" (Pinerolo)
 * 28a Divisione Fanteria Aosta.png 28th Infantry Division "Aosta" (Aosta)
 * 29a Divisione Fanteria Piemonte.png 29th Infantry Division "Piemonte" (Piedmont)
 * 30a Divisione Fanteria Sabauda.png 30th Infantry Division "Sabauda" (Savoy)
 * 31a Divisione Fanteria Calabria.png 31st Infantry Division "Calabria" (Calabria)
 * 40a Divisione Fanteria Cacciatori d'Africa.png 40th Infantry Division "Cacciatori d'Africa" (Hunters of Africa)
 * 41a Divisione Fanteria Firenze.png 41st Infantry Division "Firenze" (Florence)
 * 44a Divisione Fanteria Cremona.png 44th Infantry Division "Cremona" (Cremona)
 * 47a Divisione Fanteria Bari.png 47th Infantry Division "Bari" (Bari)
 * 48a Divisione Fanteria Taro.png 48th Infantry Division "Taro" (Taro)
 * 49a Divisione Fanteria Parma.png 49th Infantry Division "Parma" (Parma)
 * 50a Divisione Fanteria Regina.png 50th Infantry Division "Regina" (Queen's)
 * 51a Divisione Fanteria Siena.png 51st Infantry Division "Siena" (Siena)
 * 54a Divisione Fanteria Napoli.png 54th Infantry Division "Napoli" (Naples)
 * 56a Divisione Fanteria Casale.png 56th Infantry Division "Casale" (Casale)
 * 57a Divisione Fanteria Lombardia.png 57th Infantry Division "Lombardia" (Lombardy)
 * 58a Divisione Fanteria Legnano.png 58th Infantry Division "Legnano" (Legnano)
 * 65a Divisione Fanteria Granatieri di Savoia.png 65th Infantry Division "Granatieri di Savoia" (Grenadiers of Savoy)

Mountain

 * 1a Divisione Fanteria Superga.png 1st Infantry Division "Superga" (Superga)
 * 2a Divisione Fanteria Sforzesca.png 2nd Infantry Division "Sforzesca" (Sforzesca)
 * 3a Divisione Fanteria Ravenna.png 3rd Infantry Division "Ravenna" (Ravenna)
 * 4a Divisione Fanteria Livorno.png 4th Infantry Division "Livorno" (Livorno)
 * 11a Divisione Fanteria Brennero.png 11th Infantry Division "Brennero" (Brenner)
 * 19a Divisione Fanteria Venezia.png 19th Infantry Division "Venezia" (Venice)
 * 23a Divisione Fanteria Ferrara.png 23rd Infantry Division "Ferrara" (Ferrara)
 * 26a Divisione Fanteria Assietta.png 26th Infantry Division "Assietta" (Assietta)]
 * 32a Divisione Fanteria Marche.png 32nd Infantry Division "Marche" (Marche)
 * 33a Divisione Fanteria Acqui.png 33rd Infantry Division "Acqui" (Acqui)
 * 36a Divisione Fanteria Forlì.png 36th Infantry Division "Forlì" (Forlì)
 * 37a Divisione Fanteria Modena.png 37th Infantry Division "Modena" (Modena)
 * 38a Divisione Fanteria Puglie.png 38th Infantry Division "Puglie" (Puglia)
 * 53a Divisione Fanteria Arezzo.png 53rd Infantry Division "Arezzo" (Arezzo)
 * 59a Divisione Fanteria Cagliari.png 59th Infantry Division "Cagliari" (Cagliari)

Occupation

 * 151a Divisione Fanteria Perugia.png 151st Infantry Division "Perugia" (Perugia)
 * 152a Divisione Fanteria Piceno.png 152nd Infantry Division "Piceno" (Piceno)
 * 153a Divisione Fanteria Macerata.png 153rd Infantry Division "Macerata" (Macerata)
 * 154a Divisione Fanteria Murge.png 154th Infantry Division "Murge" (Murge)
 * 155a Divisione Fanteria Emilia.png 155th Infantry Division "Emilia" (Emilia)
 * 156a Divisione Fanteria Vicenza.png 156th Infantry Division "Vicenza" (Vicenza)
 * 157a Divisione Fanteria Novara.png 157th Infantry Division "Novara" (Novara)
 * 158a Divisione Fanteria Zara.png 158th Infantry Division "Zara" (Zara)
 * 159a Divisione Fanteria Veneto.png 159th Infantry Division "Veneto" (Veneto)

Marching

 * 8th Marching Division

Motorized Divisions

 * 10a Divisione Motorizzata Piave.png 10th Motorized Division "Piave" (former 10th Infantry Division "Piave") (Piave)
 * 16a Divisione Motorizzata Pistoia.png 16th Motorized Division "Pistoia" (former 16th Infantry Division "Pistoia") (Pistoia)
 * 101a Divisione Motorizzata Trieste.png 101st Motorized Division "Trieste" (Trieste)
 * 102a Divisione Motorizzata Trento.png 102nd Motorized Division "Trento" (Trento)

Paratrooper Divisions

 * 183rd Paratroopers Division "Ciclone" (Cyclone)
 * 184th Paratroopers Division "Nembo" (Nimbus)
 * 185th Paratroopers Division "Folgore" (Lightning)


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Peter Inge

Peter Inge (born 13 December 1977) is a lacrosse player who was the first Australian to play in Major League Lacrosse, being drafted to the Boston Cannons in 2003.

Originally from the Woodville Lacrosse Club in South Australia, Inge first represented Australia at the 1996 ILF World Under 19 Championship, where they came runner-up to the United States. After competing in the senior Australian team alongside his brother James at the 1998 World Lacrosse Championship where Australia finished third, Inge stamped his mark on the world stage when in 2002 he was selected in the World All-Stars team following Australia's bronze medal at the championships in Perth. This performance was noticed by the Cannons and led him to become the first player drafted to the MLL with no NCAA lacrosse experience. Inge scored his first career goal in his debut on 31 May 2003. After being traded to the San Francisco Dragons after the 2005 season, Inge captained Australia to yet another third place in the 2006 World Lacrosse Championship.

Inge was Assistant coach to the Australian Women's Lacrosse team in the 2009 Senior Women's Lacrosse World Championships where Australia won the Silver Medal.

title: Peter Inge


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Sopot, Plovdiv Province

Sopot (Сопот ) is a Bulgarian town situated in the fertile sub-Balkan mountain valley of Karlovo (which is the western part of the famous Rose Valley), immediately below the steep southern slopes of the Troyan Balkan Mountain (Central Stara Planina). Sopot is part of Plovdiv Province and is the administrative centre of a municipality with the same name.

Geography
It lies 2 km west of Karlovo, 136 km east of Sofia, 63 km north of Plovdiv, and 61 km south of Troyan. It is the birthplace of arguably the best known and most renowned Bulgarian novelist, Ivan Vazov. Sopot is also a machine building centre.

History
According to Konstantin Jireček, the toponym is of Proto-Slavic origin, as indicated by the large number of identical placenames all around the Slavic world. There is information about the locality dating back to the Ottoman rule. During the Bulgarian National Revival (18th and 19th centuries) it was called "Golden Sopot" because of its flourishing development in the crafts and trade. The citizens of Sopot manufactured homespun, braids, fur and leather of high quality and traded predominantly round the Ottoman Empire.

During the struggle for liberation in 1877 the town was largely destroyed by fire and its population was slaughtered or expelled. The town was named Vazovgrad between 1950 and 1965 after which it obtained its present name again.

The pioneering Bulgarian educator Nedelya Petkova (1826–1894) began her career a student at the monastery school of the "Holy presentation of the Blessed Virgin" convent in Sopot.

Population
The population is almost exclusively Christian, mostly Eastern Orthodox but with some Evangelical and Roman Catholic families.

According to the 2011 census, 7,973 out of 8,754 inhabitants declared their ethnicity. Around 96.2% of those, or 7,669 people, are ethnic Bulgarians. There are 145 Roma people (1.8%) and 20 ethnic Turks (0.3%) living in the town of Sopot.

Religion
The population of Sopot professes mostly Eastern Orthodox Christianity. There are several families Roman Catholics and evangelicals. No Muslims.
 * Sopot monastery "St. Spas" or Sopot monastery for men "Vaznesenie Gospodne" (Ascension Day)(in its present form since 1879 ), in which on 7 December 1858 Vasil Levski became a monk. – The exact date of the occurrence of the monastery is not known. It is believed that was founded in the 13th century. Most likely "St. Spas" is the successor of the previous monastery in the Sopot area – "St. Trinity", extinct about the 11th or 12th century. The "St. Spas" monastery was "royal"- i.e. it was endowed with rights and property by Smilets of Bulgaria himself. These certificates were kept in the monastery until 1870. After that they were transmitted to Nayden Gerov for publishing. During the Ottoman rule of Bulgaria the church was burned and destroyed many times. After its restoration in 1870 it was painted by the artist George Danchev, a close friend of Vasil Levski. During the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78), the church was destroyed again as only the altar survived, but the eyes of the saints were gouged by the bayonets of the Turks. The Church and the fountain of the monastery were restored again in 1879 by Abbot Raphail, whose grave is now behind the altar. By the south wall the church can be seen the great bell, cast in Craiova in 1873 and donated to the monastery by Sopot citizens living in Romania.
 * Nunnery "Vavedenie Bogorodichno" (Blessed Virgin),dating from 1665 – one of the 100 Tourist Sites of Bulgaria of the Bulgarian Tourist Union. – The monastery church "Blessed Virgin" was built in the 15th century on the site of an old chapel. The monastery itself was founded in 1665 when living quarters were built around the temple. In the southern cell, on the second floor of the monastery, a primary school was housed. On the first floor of the monastery was located the cell of the Abbess – Hristina. Her cell was the entrance to Vasil Levski's hideout. In 1877 the monastery and the town were burnt down and the Abbess was brutally slaughtered by the Turks. From the monastery survived the temple, the hiding place of Vasil Levski, the fountain (1852), part of the cells and the old vine, which is considered to be one of the oldest in Bulgaria and is over 350 years old. The monastery was rebuilt after the Liberation of Bulgaria.

Education

 * General Vladimir Zaimov`s high school (est. 1967)
 * Ivan Vazov`s high school
 * Nedelya Petkova`s school

Culture center Ivan Vazov
The culture center is established in 1871. Since 1944 became a culture institute. The library had more than 14500 books. In 1970 were created a monument of Ivan Vazov.

Attractions

 * House-Museum of Ivan Vazov. Ivan Vazov was born on 9 July 1850 in Sopot in the old house of his kind built in the 18th century by his grandfather. It was burned in July 1877 during the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78). In 1920, the eve of the anniversary celebrations to commemorate the 70th anniversary and 50 years of literary activity of Vazov, among the poet's friends in Sofia started the idea to restore his native home. The construction of the house began in 1931. The interior was designed under the leadership of Stefan Kostov – the Director of the Ethnographic Museum in Sofia. It was based on information from the Vazov brothers and Vala-Vazova Fetvadzhieva. On 6 June 1935 the house was officially opened as a museum. In 1964, the house-museum "Ivan Vazov" in Sopot was declared a cultural monument with national importance. On the occasion of 120th birth anniversary of the poet, on 8 July 1970 opened the exposure to the life and creative time in his home, built next to the house building. The rich fund, which has the house-museum "Ivan Vazov", recalls the most important periods in the life of the writer: his childhood in Sopot, where he completed his education, his work as assistant teacher in Kalofer with Botyo Petkov and teaching in the Diocese school in Plovdiv with Yoakim Gruev. The exhibited manuscripts present his rich literary works created in 1876–1877, when he was a refugee in Romania and published his first poetry works.
 * Sopot Craft’s center "Esnaf" (founded in 2005) The ethnographic and craft center "Sopot's Esnaf" is located in two Bulgarian Renaissance houses – "Budinata House" and House "Zagubanski" in the center of the city, where the descendants of the old masters demonstrate and share their experience. It is managed by the "Ivan Vazov" museum and the Association of the Sopot's masters and connoisseurs of arts and crafts. Visitors can review 4 thematic ethnographic collections, and observe the work of the local artisans – engraving, incrustation, weaving and more. Particularly original is the arrangement the living room in the urban style from the late 19th century. In the center of the esnaf there is a cozy shop for traditional crafts from the Sopot School. On the second floor there is an equipped workshop for young people who are interested to learn old crafts. Interest provokes the arrangement of a typical Sopot living room, replicating the style and lifestyle of the late 19th and early 20th century. Visitors can observe craftsmen at work and to learn about customs and traditions of Sopot town.

 * Grandpa Stoyanova water mill

Honour
Sopot Ice Piedmont on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after Sopot.

Economy

 * VAZOVSKI MASHINOSTROITELNI ZAVODI – (On English:Vazov mashice factory) – was established in 1940 as a military factory. In the first years the factory start to produce:hand grenades, howitzer rounds, fuzes and others.

title: Sopot, Plovdiv Province


text:
Talk:Conventional wisdom

This article doesn't make any fucking sense. Can someone please rewrite the introductory paragraph in language that people understand (i.e., not prepubescent diction).
It's after the first 2 sentences that I take major offense:

"It codifies existing social norms, which promote some objective social good. It can also eschew an empirical outlook which is needed in many pursuits. The potential damage of radical change can be minimized. Rigor can be brought back and conflation avoided in any worthwhile subject."

These are words without meaning. Terrible writing. Remove or rewrite, PLEASE. This is probably the worst piece of writing I have ever read.

--- — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.143.18.165 (talk) 02:27, 2 June 2012 (UTC)

Probably should add information about CW as used by political commentators as a way of showing "which way the political wind is blowing." Numerous magazines and newspapers use CW as a political barometer. Newsweek magazine probably has the most well-known CW listings very week in their publication.

I disagree with the sentence, "The term is only rarely used positively." I am not convinced this is true, as in the case of how political commentators use the term -- in that context, it's usually equally positive & negative. Suggest re-write.

Kevyn 10:51, 28 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Comments by anon
I found an insightful definition from the book, Freakonomics pages 89-90: It was John Kenneth Galbraith, the hyperliterate economic sage, who coined the phrase "conventional wisdom." He did not consider it a compliment. "We associate truth with convenience," he wrote, "with what most closely accords with self-interest and personal well-being, or promises best to avoid awkward effort or unwelcome dislocation of life. We also find highly acceptable what contributes most to self-esteem." Economic and social behavior, Galbraith continued, "are complex, and to comprehend their character is mentally tiring. Therefore we adhere, as though to a raft, to those ideas which represent our understanding."

Copyright information: http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&vid=ISBN006073132X&id=LkQPOSXMUscC&dq=%22Conventional+wisdom%22+%22John+Kenneth+Galbraith%22&pg=PR4&printsec=3&lpg=PR4&sig=_4iWBUQAqe7xFCojIf00P1_bFQI

From the study guide for Freakonomics (http://www.freakonomics.com/pdf/StudentFREAKONOMICS.pdf): One of the themes of this book is that the conventional wisdom is often wrong. In this chapter, Levitt and Dubner quote from the economist and diplomat John Kenneth Galbraith, who asserts that social behavior is complex and “to comprehend [its] character is mentally tiring.” So, according to Galbraith, conventional wisdom must be simple, convenient, comfortable and comforting, though not necessarily true. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.134.211.1 (talk • contribs)

On the self-referentiality of the article
The phrase "conventional wisdom" has existed in English since at least 1888, when it appeared in the novel April Hopes, by William Dean Howells, in the following sentence: "She made little remarks full of conventional wisdom, and appealed to his judgment on several points as they drove along." The term "conventional wisdom" appeared in many other books, some relating to economics, prior to the publication of the book in which Galbraith is widely claimed to have coined it, The Affluent Society, in 1958.

Unfortunately, this finding is original research and therefore cannot be included in the Wikipedia article. The factoid that Galbraith "coined the term" must stand until a Wikipedia editor finds a reliable source that maintains that he did not. This original research was done on a skeptical hunch, not from a neutral point of view, in other words, and used Google Book Search to access the primary sources, rather than searching only secondary sources for opinions on the historical fact in question.

Also, to quote Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales on Wikipedia policy, as quoted in the article Wikipedia:No original research

"If a viewpoint is held by an extremely small (or vastly limited) minority, it doesn't belong in Wikipedia (except perhaps in some ancillary article) regardless of whether it's true or not; and regardless of whether you can prove it or not."

It is most unfortunate that Wikipedia does not print a disclaimer on each of its pages that would state: "The information presented on this page is conventional wisdom that may not be edited to correct it, no matter what evidence or reason, except to reflect the current state of conventional wisdom."

What the disclaimer linked from each page does state in regard to this problem is in the last sentence of its main section:

"WIKIPEDIA MAKES NO GUARANTEE OF VALIDITY

"Wikipedia is an online open-content collaborative encyclopedia, that is, a voluntary association of individuals and groups who are developing a common resource of human knowledge. The structure of the project allows anyone with an Internet connection and World Wide Web browser to alter its content. Please be advised that nothing found here has necessarily been reviewed by professionals with the expertise required to provide you with complete, accurate or reliable information.

"That is not to say that you will not find valuable and accurate information in Wikipedia; much of the time you will. However, Wikipedia cannot guarantee the validity of the information found here. The content of any given article may recently have been changed, vandalized or altered by someone whose opinion does not correspond with the state of knowledge in the relevant fields."

There is barely an implication there that "the state of knowledge in the relevant fields" is in fact the highest standard of validity that Wikipedia recognizes.

However, Google Book Search is recommended as a way of determining whether terms are in common use before writing articles on them. So maybe if the original author of this article had consulted it, the lead sentence could have been written "Conventional wisdom is a term widely believed to have been coined by the economist John Kenneth Galbraith in The Affluent Society, [and is] used to describe certain ideas or explanations that are generally accepted as true by the public." Still, references to earlier use of the term would constitute original research and be prohibited. Excessive influence on the original article by later editors following original research and attempting to promote a view discovered thereby would also be against Wikipedia policy in spirit.

On the other hand, the expression "widely believed" is redundant to every statement of fact in Wikipedia, and should be omitted as superfluous verbiage, having only the effect of tiring the eyes, once Wikipedia policy is understood. An exception might be made in cases of articles defining the very terms and concepts in which Wikipedia policy is to be understood.

The lead sentence as amended by the expression "widely believed" does not conform to my standards of truthfulness in expression, since it is simply deceptive to know something for a fact and to promote the opposite by coyly stating it is "widely believed" (especially in an apparent encyclopedia article of fact.) But that is the best that can be done within Wikipedia policy. Therefore, I am logically compelled not to attempt to contribute any more to Wikipedia than this present note, in order to maintain my standards.

Sonny Moonie 08:25, 9 May 2006 (UTC)

The number of ribs of a human being
(This likely only works in Western cultures.) Quick, before you actually look at the Wikipedia article Rib, is it true that men have one less rib than women?

The answer, no, it's not. I was having a discussion with my sisterm, and she got very upset at me for asserting that men and women have the same number of ribs. Of course, back in 1543, the Flemish anatomist Vesalius didn't exaclty have it any better. It's interest that we're close to 500 years after it was presented, and CW still holds to the Biblically affirmed position that men have one less rib than women. I would likely assume that this belief is very common in Western Culture, even among people who would deny the Biblical account of creation.

Of course, even more interesting here, is that we're close to 500 years after this was initially proven, we have skeletal remains entirely sufficient to demonstrate that men and women have the same number of ribs, but the CW is still that vastly out of date. (For the record, until I read the article Rib, I didn't know any better myself... this would be equally why it is so surprising to me.) --Puellanivis 00:05, 19 January 2007 (UTC)

Examples
How about some examples of CW (maybe the one above)? UNIT A4B1 (talk) 23:23, 14 March 2010 (UTC)

Treadmill Section
I can make no logical sense of the following construction nor indeed is there any context why it is titled as "Treadmill".

When conventional wisdom is overthrown, outranked, or outflanked by new ideas, and the new conventional wisdom becomes established in place of the previous one, there may yet be considerable remaining affiliation to the previous regime.

Read as it is it might be a factual assertion albeit an unsourced one. However while I could readily parse the final sentence about Columbus and break it down into sensible parts. I cannot even begin to parse what the original poster is getting at here. I think perhaps it is a usage similar to the idea of the "Euphemism Treadmill" but if so it is no construction I have ever before encountered.

— Falerin<talk>,<contrib> 21:00, 16 January 2012 (UTC)

title: Talk:Conventional wisdom


text:
Thomas Watson

Thomas Watson may refer to:

Bishops

 * Thomas Watson (bishop of Lincoln) (1515–1584), Catholic bishop
 * Thomas Watson (bishop of St David's) (1637–1717), English clergyman

Writers

 * Thomas Watson (poet) (c. 1557–1592), English poet and translator
 * Thomas Watson (Puritan) (c. 1620–1686), nonconformist preacher and writer
 * Tom Watson (journalist) (born 1962), journalist and author

Sportsmen

 * Tom Watson (football manager) (1859–1915), English football manager
 * Tom Watson (footballer, born 1870) (1870–1902), English football goalkeeper for Small Heath
 * Tom Watson (Australian footballer) (1874–1920), Australian rules footballer
 * Thomas Watson (cricketer, born 1880) (1880–1944), English clergyman and cricketer
 * Tom Watson (footballer, born 1900) (1900–1978), Ireland international football player
 * Tom Watson (footballer, born 1904) (1904–1979), footballer for Rochdale
 * Tommy Watson (boxer) (1908–1971), English boxer
 * Thomas Watson (cricketer, born 1913) (1913–1994), English cricketer and educator
 * Gordon Watson (footballer, born 1914) (Thomas Gordon Watson, 1914–2001), English footballer for Everton
 * Tom Watson (golfer) (born 1949), American golfer
 * Tommy Watson (footballer, born 1943), Scottish football winger
 * Tommy Watson (footballer, born 1969), English football player
 * Tom Watson (fighter) (born 1982), mixed martial artist
 * Tom Watson (footballer, born 2006), footballer for Sunderland

Politicians

 * Thomas Watson (silk spinner) (1823–1887), British politician; MP for Ilkeston, Derbyshire, 1885–1887
 * Thomas E. Watson (1856–1922), American politician; Populist leader; U.S. Senator from Georgia
 * Thomas Philip Watson (1933–2015), American politician; Oklahoma State Senator
 * Thomas R. Watson (born 1947), American politician; Maine state representative
 * Thomas Watson, 3rd Earl of Rockingham (1715–1746), English nobleman and politician; MP for Canterbury
 * Thomas Watson (Berwick-upon-Tweed MP) (c. 1701–1766), British politician; MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed, 1754–1765
 * J. Thomas Watson (1885–1954), Attorney General of Florida
 * Tom Watson, Baron Watson of Wyre Forest (born 1967), British politician; former Deputy Leader of the Labour Party; and former MP for West Bromwich East
 * Thomas Watson (died before 1621)

Businesspeople

 * Thomas J. Watson (1874–1956), first president of IBM
 * Thomas W. Watson, co-founder and former Vice Chairman of Omnicom Group, Inc.
 * Thomas J. Watson Jr. (1914–1993), second president of IBM and son of Thomas J. Watson

Artists

 * Thomas Watson (engraver) (1750–1781), fine engraver
 * T. H. Watson (Thomas Henry Watson, 1839–1913), British architect
 * Thomas Lennox Watson (1850–1920), Scottish architect and interior designer
 * Tom Watson (actor) (1932–2001), Scottish-born stage, television and film actor
 * Yannima Tommy Watson (c. 1935–2017), Australian artist

Others

 * Thomas A. Watson (1854–1934), inventor and assistant to Alexander Graham Bell, notably in the invention of the telephone
 * Tom Watson (musician) (born 1962), American guitarist
 * Thomas E. Watson (USMC) (1892–1966), U.S. Marine Corps general
 * Thomas Watson (surveyor), early Western Australian surveyor
 * Thomas Watson (trade unionist) (1860–1921), British trade union leader
 * Thomas Colclough Watson (1867–1917), British recipient of the Victoria Cross
 * Thomas Watson (physician) (1792–1882), British physician and president of the Royal College of Physicians, 1862–66
 * Thomas Watson (Royal Navy officer) (died 1744), British navy captain

title: Thomas Watson


text:
Adrian Legg

Adrian Legg (born 16 May 1948) is an English guitar player who has been called "impossible to categorize". He plays custom guitars that are a hybrid of electric and acoustic, and his fingerstyle picking technique has been acknowledged by the readers of Guitar Player who voted Legg the "best acoustic fingerstyle" player four years in a row (1993–1996).

From his early start as a bench technician customising electric guitars, Legg moved into guitar instruction, publishing books and videos on guitar technique. In 1996 and 1997, Legg shared the stage with acclaimed guitar experts Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson and Steve Vai as part of the G3 tour. Vai called Legg "Uncle Adrian" and Satriani said of Legg's musicianship, "He's simply the best acoustic guitar player I've ever heard. I don't know anyone else who can create such a cascade of beautiful notes... Adrian plays like he's got hammers for fingers."

Early career
Legg was born in Hackney, London, England. He studied the oboe as a child but in teenage years his interest shifted to the guitar.

In the early 1970s, Legg won both the composition and performance sections of a competition run by the now defunct Guitar magazine, published by Musical New Services of Denmark Street, which led to his being asked to contribute articles to the magazine. From then on, his technical flair produced a stream of articles in UK music press in the 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in the 1981 Kaye and Ward book "Customising Your Electric Guitar." He spent from 1979 to 1981 as a technician at Rose Morris Ltd., who then handled Marshall amplification, Ovation Guitar and Takamine Guitars, and designed original and well-reviewed passive circuits for the then relaunched Vox guitars. In 1990, he was involved in the prototyping and launch of the highly successful Trace Acoustic amplifiers, and continues to maintain technical relationships with the musical instrument industry.

From a 1983 promotional flyer (Technopickers) from Spindrift Records; having demonstrated Ovation guitar for a number of years and with sessions with Tom Robinson, a tour with Richard Thompson and appearing on Radio One's in Concert programme all have helped established Adrian.

Going global
Legg's first US release, Guitars and Other Cathedrals in 1990, pleased guitar fans. Over the years, he's played at the Montreux Jazz Festival and toured with Richard Thompson, David Lindley, Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson and as part of the G3 Tour featuring Satriani, Johnson and Favored Nations founder Steve Vai. For G3, Legg served as an opening act in 1996 and a headlining act in 1997. An infrequent singer, Legg helped with vocal duties on the collaborative G3 performance of Red House by Jimi Hendrix.

He has also shared the wealth of his talent and experience with teaching DVDs, videos and books. In recent years, he has also been a commentator-at-large for National Public Radio's "All Things Considered", and even more recently, regular listeners have heard his guitar versions of the show's theme music.

Style
Legg plays fingerstyle guitar, mixing an alternating-bass style with harmonics, banjo-peg retuning and single or double-string bending. Often he will play a piece entirely in arpeggios similar to a classical guitar style. He makes extensive use of altered tunings and capos.

Legg has said that his true home is onstage. "Playing live is the whole point... Everyone makes a journey, an effort; we all come together – me, the audience, the people who run the venue – to share this wonderful, universal, human emotional interaction. This is where music lives."

A significant part of a performance by Legg is the wryly funny storytelling patter he uses between songs, some of these stories included on Adrian Legg Live (2017). His distinctive wit is also in written evidence everywhere from his liner notes to his tablature books.

Legg included the use of modeling technology and MIDI for fingerstyle guitar on his 2004 album Inheritance, which features extensive use of guitar synthesisers and modeled guitar sounds. This stands in contrast to the more acoustic sound of Guitar Bones.

In an interview with Frets, a Guitar Player publication, Adrian listed some of the signal processors and effects that he utilizes to shape his acoustic tone. This included several notable effects boxes such as the Effectrode PC-2A compressor, a Wampler Pedals Black '65 Overdrive, and an Effeectrode Helios fuzz. Adrian also endorses Neunaber Audio and is currently using a Neunaber Audio Immerse Reverberator for his reverb needs.

Compilations

 * Full Moon	(1997)
 * The Ultimate Guitar Survival Guide (1993)
 * Relativity: Here and Now... Musical Masters (1991)

title: Adrian Legg


text:
Port Orchard

Port Orchard, part of Washington state's Puget Sound, is the strait that separates Bainbridge Island on the east from the Kitsap Peninsula on the west. It extends from Liberty Bay and Agate Pass in the north to Sinclair Inlet and Rich Passage in the south. It was named in May 1792 by George Vancouver after Harry Masterman Orchard, ship's clerk of Vancouver's ship Discovery.

title: Port Orchard


text:
Tōnoshō, Chiba

Tōnoshō (東庄町) is a town located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 13,637 in 5234 households and a population density of 300 persons per km². The total area of the town is 46.16 km2.

Geography
Tōnoshō is located in far northeastern Chiba Prefecture approximately 55 kilometers from then prefectural capital at Chiba and 80 to 90 kilometers from central Tokyo. It is bordered to the north by the Tone River, which also forms the border with Ibaraki Prefecture. The area is part of the Kantō Plain and is mostly flat, and much is from 40 to 50 meters above sea level in average elevation.

Neighboring municipalities
Chiba Prefecture
 * Chōshi
 * Asahi
 * Katori
 * Kamisu

Climate
Tōnoshō has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Tōnoshō is 14.5 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1462 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.8 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.2 °C.

Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Tōnoshō has been decreasing over the past 40 years.

History
The area around Tōnoshō has been inhabited since at least the Japanese Paleolithic, and archaeologists have found stone tools and tombs from the Kofun period. During the Kamakura and Muromachi periods, the area was under control of the Chiba clan. After the start of the Edo period, much of the area of Tōnoshō was part of Omigawa Domain, a minor feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate.

After the Meiji Restoration, the villages of Tōjō, Tachibana, Jindai and Sasagawa were founded on April 1, 1889 within Katori District of Chiba Prefecture with the creation of the modern municipalities system. Sasagawa was elevated to town status on August 1, 1907. The area rapidly developed with the coming of the Narita Line railway and the development of the Kashima Industrial Complex in neighboring Ibaraki Prefecture after World War II. The town of Tōnoshō was created on July 20, 1955 through the merger of Sasagawa with Tachibana, Jindai and Tōjō villages.

Government
Tōnoshō has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral town council of 15 members. Tōnoshō, together with the city of Chōshi, contributes two members to the Chiba Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of Chiba 10th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy
Tōnoshō is a regional commercial center whose economy is primarily agricultural, with some light manufacturing industries. The main crops include rice and turnips. Industry includes fish processing and the production of soy sauce.

Education
Tōnoshō has one public elementary school and one public middle school operated by the town government. The town does not have a high school.

Railway
JR East – Narita Line
 * Sasagawa - Shimōsa-Tachibana

Notable people

 * Motoo Hayashi, politician

title: Tōnoshō, Chiba


text:
Katori District

Katori District (香取郡) is a district located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. The district dates back to the Taika Reform in the 7th century, and Katori District remained part of Shimōsa Province until the establishment of Chiba Prefecture. Historically Katori District occupied the area south of the lower researches of the Tone River.

Since there is no population data since 2003, the post-Katori-Narita district had an estimated population of 40,260. The total area was 138.69 km.

Towns and villages

 * Kōzaki
 * Tako
 * Tōnoshō

District Timeline

 * July 1, 2005 - The town of Hikata merged with the towns of Iioka and Unakami from Kaijō District (now dissolved) and the city of Asahi to form the city of Asahi.
 * March 27, 2006
 * The city of Sawara and the towns of Omigawa, Yamada and Kurimoto merged to form the new city of Katori.
 * The towns of Shimofusa and Taiei merged into the city of Narita.

title: Katori District


text:
Unakami, Chiba

Unakami (海上町) was a town located in Kaijō District, Chiba Prefecture, Japan.

Unikami was formed on March 31, 1954. through the merger of the villages of Takisato, Oumei, and Tsurumaki.

On July 1, 2005, Unakami was merged with the city of Asahi, the town of Hikata (from Katori District), and the town of Iioka (also from Kaijō District) to form the new Asahi city, and it disappeared.

In April 2005 (the last data available before its merger into Asahi), the town had an estimated population of 11,153 and a population density of 390 persons per km2. Its total area was 28.59 km2.

title: Unakami, Chiba


text:
Iioka, Chiba

Iioka (飯岡町) was a town located in Kaijō District, Chiba Prefecture, Japan.

Iioka was a noted port town in the Edo period, and prospered greatly in the aftermath of the Great Fire of Meireki in 1657, as a transshipment center for timber and building materials to Edo.

Modern Iioka was formed on April 1, 1889. On March 31, 1954 it expanded through annexation of the villages of Sangawa and a part of Toyooka.

On July 1, 2005, Iioka was merged with the city of Asahi, the town of Hikata (from Katori District), and the town of Unakami (also from Kaijō District) to form the new Asahi city, and it disappeared.

In April 2005 (the last data available before its merger into Asahi), the town had an estimated population of 8,042 and a population density of 600 persons per km2. Its total area was 18.27 km2.

Cultural References

 * Iioka is the setting for the first film in the classic Japanese blind swordsman series: The Tale of Zatoichi.

title: Iioka, Chiba


text:
Port Republic

Port Republic may refer to a location in the United States:

 * Port Republic, Maryland
 * Port Republic, New Jersey
 * Port Republic, Virginia
 * Battle of Port Republic, American Civil War battle fought in Rockingham County, Virginia

title: Port Republic


text:
Welsh Rugby Union

The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; Undeb Rygbi Cymru) is the governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby.

The WRU is responsible for the running of rugby in Wales, overseeing 320 member clubs, the Welsh national team and National Leagues and Cups. The WRU is headed by the President (Terry Cobner), chairman (Richard Collier-Keywood) and CEO (Abi Tierney).

History
The roots of the Welsh Rugby Union lay in the creation of the South Wales Football Union (SWFU) in September 1875; formed, "...with the intention of playing matches with the principal clubs in the West of England and the neighbourhood. The rugby rules will be the code adopted. The South Wales Football Club was superseded in 1878 by the South Wales Football Union in an attempt to bring greater regulation to the sport and to select representatives from club sides to represent the international game. The SWFU though were poorly organised, and although they arranged fixtures between a South Wales team and various English clubs, they were often victims of fixture-clashes and were accused of lacking energy. In 1880, Richard Mullock, secretary of the Newport Athletic Club, decided to take matters into his own hands and without the backing of the SWFU organised an international match against England.

The match took place on 19 February 1881, and was won by England seven goals, one dropped goal and six tries to nil. This heavy defeat lay the seeds for further reforms that would lead to the creation of the WRU.

Currently, there is confusion regarding the official date of creation of the Welsh Rugby Union. In March 1880 nine teams supposedly met at the Tenby Hotel, Swansea with the intent of creating a new union. These teams are thought to have been, Cardiff RFC, Chepstow RFC, Haverfordwest RFC, Llandaff RFC, Llanelli RFC, Neath RFC, Newport RFC, Pontypridd RFC and Swansea RFC. The issue with accepting this meeting is that there is no written evidence, just oral repetition.

On 12 March 1881, eleven clubs met in the Castle Hotel, Neath to form what would be accepted as a Welsh rugby union. After a humiliating defeat in the first Wales international rugby game, the Neath meeting was organised by Mullock to form a union that could organise regular international matches. The founding clubs of the Welsh Football Union (WFU), as it was originally known, were Swansea C & FC, Pontypool RFC, Newport RFC, Merthyr RFC, Llanelli RFC, Bangor RFC, Brecon RFC, Cardiff RFC, Lampeter RFC, Llandovery RFC and Llandeilo RFC. Strangely the oldest rugby club in Wales, Neath RFC are not recorded as being present, even though the meeting took place in the town of Neath. It is unknown if this was an oversight by the committee to record the presence of the club, or if Neath RFC actually did not attend. The fact that two of the main committee members of the SWFU, John Llewellyn and Sam Clark were Neath men, and the creation of the WFU disbanded their union, is generally accepted as the reason for the absence of a Neath representative.

The WRU was a founding member of the International Rugby Football Board, now known as World Rugby, in 1886 with Scotland and Ireland, with Mullock and Horace Lyne the Welsh representatives at the formal signing of the union in 1887.

It was not until 1934 that the current name, the Welsh Rugby Union, was adopted.

Responsibilities
The WRU are responsible for the running of Welsh rugby, including 320 member clubs, the Welsh national team and National Leagues and Cups. The Welsh Rugby Union has a major role in the development of coaches, referees and players throughout all ages for both men and women. They also own the home of Welsh rugby union, the 74,500 capacity Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, "an icon of the modern Wales".

After the national team the next highest level of representation in Wales is the four regions based around top club sides, but representing a larger area. These regions came into being in 2003 when the WRU elected to reduce the current top tier of Welsh professional rugby union from nine clubs into five regions modelled on the successful Irish provinces and the Super Rugby franchises in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The WRU had hoped to reduce the teams to four regions but Cardiff and Llanelli successfully argued for stand-alone status. After one year the Celtic Warriors region was closed down and the four surviving regional clubs are Cardiff Blues, Scarlets, Ospreys and Newport Gwent Dragons. They play in the Pro14, European Professional Club Rugby (Champions Cup and Challenge Cup) and Anglo-Welsh Cup competitions. Each region may call up players from a set of club teams within their area. These top club sides play in the 14-strong Welsh Premier Division.

In August 2008 WRU chief Roger Lewis confirmed that the body was looking at a proposal to reinstate a fifth Welsh region, based in North Wales. Lewis admitted that he regretted the decision in 2004 to close down Celtic Warriors. In September 2008 a new North Wales Rugby development team was announced, likely to be based in Wrexham; ultimately, the team was launched as RGC 1404, and was to be based in Colwyn Bay instead of Wrexham. In the same month Llanelli Scarlets changed their name to simply Scarlets, believing the new name would better represent their region beyond Llanelli.

Rugby Services Agreement
The current Rugby Services Agreement (or RSA) has been in place since 28 August 2014, and will be in place between the union and the four Welsh regions (Cardiff Blues, Newport Gwent Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets) for six years. The RSA delivers £8.7million a year to the Regions guaranteed to be spent on Welsh qualified players with a complex matrix of funding, also guaranteeing a further £3.6million in loan facilities from the WRU repayable during the term of the RSA. Each Region also receives a one-off £500,000 payment on signature of the new RSA.

The new agreement also allows players to be offered a National Dual Contract (NDC), which means the union will pay 60% of a NDC player's salary and their region 40%. They also become available for all Welsh senior matches, despite if the match falls outside World Rugby's international release windows in June and November. The WRU retained the right to play up to 13 senior international games each year with a 13-day release facility for squad training before the Six Nations and Autumn series games. The new agreement does state that the national team head coach, currently Warren Gatland, will be the sole person to decide who gets a National Dual Contract, with a long-term aim of only selecting players based in Wales. The limit on foreign players in Regional squads has been capped at a maximum of six while each Region will be allowed two so-called time serving players who will be available for Welsh selection after three years residency (rising to five years, effective from 31 December 2020).

Criticism
In 2008 the Welsh Language Society wrote to the WRU outlining a "lack of commitment to the Welsh language" and later held meetings to discuss the matter. In a statement to BBC Wales, a WRU spokesman said that it was reviewing its website and would be having more Welsh on the site.

The current logo of the Welsh Rugby Union is based on the Prince of Wales's feathers. There have been multiple calls for the WRU to use a logo "more relevant to Wales" as the feathers are associated by some with the "English crown". Pro-independence group YesCymru created mock-up WRU logos using a leek, daffodil and harp instead of the three feathers. Using a Welsh dragon has also been proposed.

The union's patron is Prince William, the current Prince of Wales. The naming of the Prince William Cup caused controversy in Wales in 2007, with petitions receiving more than 1,000 signatures calling for it to be named after the late Ray Gravell instead.

Toxic culture allegations
In January 2023, a BBC Wales investigation included multiple former WRU employees who made allegations of a "toxic culture" in the workplace of the WRU. Later that week, Steve Phillips resigned as the chief executive officer of the WRU and was replaced by Nigel Walker. WRU chair Ieuan Evans said that an external taskforce would be established to deal with the allegations.

In response to this news, Plaid Cymru Senedd member, Heledd Fychan said:

"Steve Phillips' position was untenable, and I welcome today's news that he has stepped aside. It is the right action to take after the abject failure of the WRU to date to deal with very serious allegations of misogyny and sexism that were seemingly known to him and others.

"Nigel Walker's appointment as Acting CEO must signal the beginning and not the end of the significant structural and cultural changes needed at the WRU.

"The Welsh Government should now consider whether it is appropriate for the WRU to receive any further public money until these changes are made. We need certainty that women are safe from horrific misogyny in rugby, as well as across society."

Ieuan Evans is set to answer questions on the matter at the Senedd on 2 February 2023 from the Senedd's Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee.

As of November 2023, a 133-page review was completed highlighting "bullying and misogyny" in the WRU. A three-person chair of Dame Anne Rafferty, Quentin Smith and Maggie Alphonsi was appointed for an investigation. The review involved conducting 50 interviews with groups or individuals, and it assembled a 5,000-page document of evidence, the findings were the WRU was suffering a general "failure of governance". However, the organised approach of the report has been noted as being too political for rugby union. After the publication of the findings of the report, the WRU was forced to change the personnel on an executive level in the WRU, involving the appointment of a first female Chief Executive, Abi Tierney, and Richard Collier-Keywood as the new WRU chair.

Presidents

 * Cyril Chambers (1881(March)–1881(Sept.))
 * Victor Albert George Child Villiers, 7th Earl of Jersey (1881(Sept)–1885)
 * Sir J.T.D. Llewellyn (1885–1906)
 * Horace Lyne MBE (1906–1947)
 * Sir David Rocyn-Jones CBE (1947–1953)
 * Ernest Davies (1953–1954)
 * W.R. Thomas MBE (1954–1955)
 * Major T.H. Vile MBE (1955–1956)
 * Glyn Stephens (1956–1957)
 * Enoch H. Rees (1957–1958)
 * F.G. Phillips (1958–1959)
 * Lt. Col. P.R. Howells (1959–1960)
 * D. Hopkin Thomas (1960–1961)
 * D.E. Davies (1961–1962)
 * Wilf Faull MBE (1962–1963)
 * D. Ewart Davies (1963–1964)
 * Nathan Rocyn-Jones (1964–1965)
 * David Jones (1965–1966)
 * T.C. Prosser (1966–1967)
 * Glyn Morgan (1967–1968)
 * Ivor E. Jones CBE (1968–1969)
 * V.C. Phelps (1969–1970)
 * Kenneth Morgan Harris CBE (1970–1971)
 * Rhys E. Williams (1971–1972)
 * Vernon J. Parfitt (1972–1973)
 * Leslie M. Spence MBE (1973–1974)
 * Harry Bowcott (1974–1975)
 * Handel C. Rogers (1975–1976)
 * Hywel Thomas (1976–1977)
 * T. Rowley Jones (1977–1978)
 * D. Luther James (1978–1979)
 * Gwyn Roblin (1979–1980)
 * Cliff Jones OBE (1980–1981)
 * Osmond John OBE (1981–1982)
 * Hermas Evans (1982–1983)
 * Eirwyn Davies (1983–1984)
 * Kenneth Gwilym (1984–1985)
 * Alun Thomas (1985–1986)
 * Desmond Barnett (1986–1987)
 * W. George Morgan (1987–1988)
 * Myrddin Jones (1988–1989)
 * Clive Rowlands (1989–1990)
 * G.J. Treharne (1990–1991)
 * Ieuan Evans (1991–1992)
 * Graham Tregidon (1992–1993)
 * Sir Tasker Watkins (1993–2004)
 * Keith Rowlands (2004–2006(Nov.))
 * Glanmor Griffiths (2007(May)- 2007 Oct)
 * Dennis Gethin (2007–2019)
 * Gerald Davies (2019–2023)
 * Terry Cobner (2023–present)

Secretaries
Position no longer exists
 * Richard Mullock (1881–1892)
 * W.H. Gwynn (1892–1896)
 * Walter E. Rees (1896–1948)
 * Eric Evans (1948–1955)
 * William H. Clement OBE (1956–1981)
 * Ray Williams OBE (1981–1988)
 * David East (1989)
 * Denis Evans (1990–1993)
 * Edward Jones (1993–1996)
 * Richard Jasinski (1996–1997)
 * Dennis Gethin (1998–2002)

Honorary Treasurers

 * Richard Mullock (1881–1891)
 * William H. Wilkins (1891–1903)
 * T.R. Griffiths (1903–1930)
 * Sam West (1930–1934)
 * Eric Roberts (1934–1945)
 * P.O. Evans (1946–1952)
 * Kenneth Morgan Harris (1952–1982)
 * Glanmor Griffiths (1984–2003)
 * Studid Lee (Beaufort RFC)
 * 2003 Position terminated.

title: Welsh Rugby Union


text:
Kaijō District, Chiba

Kaijō (海上郡) was a district located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.

As of 2003, the district had an estimated population of 21,982 and a density of 469.10 persons per km2. The total area was 46.86 km2.

Until the day before the district dissolved (June 30, 2005), the district had two towns:
 * Iioka
 * Unakami

On July 1, 2005, Iioka and Unakami were merged with the town of Hikata (from Katori District), and the old city of Asahi to create the new and expanded city of Asahi. Kaijō District was dissolved as a result of this merger.

District Timeline

 * July 1, 2005 - the towns of Iioka and Unakami were merged with the town of Hikata (from Katori District), and the old city of Asahi to create the new and expanded city of Asahi. Kaijō District was dissolved as a result of this merger.

title: Kaijō District, Chiba


text:
Hikari, Chiba

Hikari (光町) was a town located in Sōsa District, Chiba Prefecture, Japan.

In 2003, the town had an estimated population of 12,055 and a density of 361.90 /km2. The total area was 33.31 km2.

On March 27, 2006, Hikari, along with the town of Yokoshiba (from Sanbu District), was merged to create the town of Yokoshibahikari. The new town is in Sanbu District; Sōsa District was dissolved as a result of this merger.

title: Hikari, Chiba


text:
Wolfgang of Regensburg

Wolfgang of Regensburg (Wolfgangus; c. 934 – 31 October 994 AD) was bishop of Regensburg in Bavaria from Christmas 972 until his death. He is a saint in the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. He is regarded as one of the three great German saints of the 10th century, the other two being Ulrich of Augsburg and Conrad of Constance. Towards the end of his life Wolfgang withdrew as a hermit to a solitary spot, in the Salzkammergut region of Upper Austria. Soon after Wolfgang's death many churches chose him as their patron saint, and various towns were named after him.

Early life
Wolfgang was descended from the family of the Swabian Counts of Pfullingen. When seven years old, he had an ecclesiastic as a tutor at home; later he attended the celebrated monastic school at Reichenau Abbey. Here he formed a strong friendship with Henry of Babenberg, brother of Bishop Poppo of Würzburg, whom he followed to Würzburg in order to attend the lectures of the noted Italian grammarian, Stephen of Novara, at the cathedral school.

After Henry was made Archbishop of Trier in 956, he summoned Wolfgang, who became a teacher in the cathedral school of Trier, and also labored for the reform of the archdiocese, despite the hostility with which his efforts were met. Wolfgang's residence at Trier greatly influenced his monastic and ascetic tendencies, as here he came into contact with the great reform monastery of the 10th century, St. Maximin's Abbey, Trier, where he made the acquaintance of Ramuold, the teacher of Saint Adalbert of Prague.

After the death of Archbishop Henry of Trier in 964, Wolfgang entered the Benedictine order in the Abbey of Maria Einsiedeln, Switzerland, and was ordained priest by Saint Ulrich in 968.

Mission to the Magyars
After their defeat in the Battle of the Lechfeld (955), Hungarians settled in ancient Pannonia, where they remained a constant menace to the empire. At the request of Ulrich, who clearly saw the danger, and at the desire of the Emperor Otto the Great, Wolfgang, according to the abbey annals, was "sent to the Hungarians" as the most suitable man to evangelize them.

He was followed by other missionaries sent by Piligrim, Bishop of Passau, under whose jurisdiction the new missionary region came.

Bishop of Regensburg
After the death of Bishop Michael of Regensburg (23 September 972) Bishop Piligrim obtained from the emperor the appointment of Wolfgang as the new bishop (Christmas, 972). Wolfgang's services in this new position were of the highest importance. As Bishop of Regensburg, Wolfgang became the tutor of Emperor Saint Henry II, who learned from him the principles which governed his life. Poppe, son of Margrave Luitpold, Archbishop of Trier (1018), and Tagino, Archbishop of Magdeburg (1004–1012), also had him as their teacher.

Wolfgang deserves credit for his disciplinary labours in his diocese. His main work in this respect was connected with the ancient and celebrated St. Emmeram's Abbey, which he reformed by granting it once more abbots of its own, thus withdrawing it from the control of the bishops of Regensburg, who for many years had been abbots in commendam, a condition of affairs that had been far from beneficial to the abbey and monastic life. He was one of the first German bishops to do this, and his example in this was much copied across Germany in the years following. In the Benedictine monk Ramuold, whom Wolfgang called from Saint Maximin at Trier, Saint Emmeram received a capable abbot (975).

Wolfgang was an advocate of the monastic reforms of Gorze Abbey which aimed at a reestablishing adherence to the Rule of St. Benedict. He also reformed the convents of Obermünster and Niedermünster at Regensburg, chiefly by giving them as an example the convent of St. Paul, Mittelmünster, at Regensburg, which he had founded in 983. He also co-operated in the reform of the ancient and celebrated Benedictine Abbey of Niederaltaich, which had been founded by the Agilolfinger dynasty, and which from that time took on new life.

He showed genuine episcopal generosity in the liberal manner with which he met the views of the Emperor Otto II regarding the intended reduction in size of his diocese for the benefit of the new Diocese of Prague (975), to which Adalbert of Prague was appointed first bishop. As prince of the empire he performed his duties towards the emperor and the empire with the utmost scrupulousness and, like Ulrich, was one of the mainstays of the Ottonian policies.

He took part in the various imperial Diets, and, in the autumn of 978, accompanied the Emperor Otto II on his campaign to Paris, and took part in the Diet of Verona in June 983. He was succeeded by Gebhard I.

Hermitage and death
Apparently on account of a political dispute between Duke Henry II of Bavaria and Emperor Otto II, Wolfgang spent a year at Mondsee in 976. From there he withdrew as a hermit to a solitary spot, now the Wolfgangsee ("Wolfgang's Lake") in the Salzkammergut region of Upper Austria. He was discovered by a hunter and brought back to Regensburg.

While travelling on the Danube to Pöchlarn in Lower Austria, he fell ill at the village of Pupping, which is between Eferding and the market town of Aschach near Linz, and at his request was carried into the chapel of Saint Othmar at Pupping, where he died.

His body was taken up the Danube by his friends Count Aribo of Andechs and Archbishop Hartwich of Salzburg to Regensburg, and was solemnly buried in the crypt of Saint Emmeram. Many miracles were reported at his grave; in 1052 he was canonized.

Veneration
Soon after Wolfgang's death many churches chose him as their patron saint, and various towns were named after him.

Wolfgang is sometimes counted among the Fourteen Holy Helpers. He is the patron saint of woodcutters.

In Christian art he has been especially honoured by the medieval Tyrolean painter, Michael Pacher (1430–1498), who created an imperishable memorial to him, the high altar of St. Wolfgang. In the panel pictures which are now exhibited in the Old Pinakothek at Munich are depicted in an artistic manner the chief events in the saint's life. The Kefermarkt altarpiece in Kefermarkt in Upper Austria is another monumental Late Gothic piece of art dedicated to the saint.

The oldest portrait of Wolfgang is a miniature, painted about the year 1100 in the Evangeliary of Saint Emmeram, now in the library of the castle cathedral at Kraków.

A modern picture by Schwind is in the Schack Gallery at Munich. This painting represents the legend of Wolfgang forcing the devil to help him to build a church.

In other paintings he is generally depicted in episcopal dress, an axe in the right hand and the crozier in the left, or as a hermit in the wilderness being discovered by a hunter.

The axe refers to an incident in the life of the saint. After having selected a solitary spot in the wilderness, he prayed and then threw his axe into the thicket; the spot on which the axe fell he regarded as the place where God intended he should build his cell. This axe is still shown in the little market town of St. Wolfgang which sprang up on the spot of the old cell.

Literature
At the request of the Abbey of St. Emmeram, the life of Wolfgang was written by Otloh, a Benedictine monk of St. Emmeram about 1050. This life is especially important for the early medieval history both of the church and of civilization in Bavaria and Austria, and it forms the basis of all later accounts of the saint.

The oldest and best manuscript of this Vita is in the library of Einsiedeln Abbey in Switzerland (MS. No. 322), and has been printed with critical notes in ''Mon. Germ. His.: Script.'', IV, 524–542.

title: Wolfgang of Regensburg


text:
Nosaka, Chiba

Nosaka (野栄町) was a town located in Sōsa District Chiba Prefecture, Japan.

Noda and Sakae villages were established on April 1, 1889, within Sōsa District, Chiba. The two villages merged on July 17, 1954, to form Nosaka Town.

On January 23, 2006, Nozaka was merged with the neighboring city of Yōkaichiba to create the city of Sōsa.

title: Nosaka, Chiba


text:
Sōsa District, Chiba

Sōsa District (匝瑳郡) was a district located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.

The district was dissolved March 27, 2006 when the town of Hikari was merged with the town of Yokoshiba (from Sanbu District) to create the town of Yokoshibahikari, with the new town designated as part of Sanbu District.

History
During the early Meiji period establishment of the municipality system on April 1, 1889, Sōsa District, consisting of one town (Fukuoka) and 13 villages were formed.

Timeline

 * On December 8, 1915 - Fukuoka was renamed Yōkaichiba.
 * On November 3, 1948 - the villages of Yoshida, Iitaka, Toyowa, and Hiyoshi (all from Katori District) were redesignated as part of Sōsa District.
 * On March 31, 1954 - the town of Yōkaichiba expanded through annexation of the neighboring villages of Heiwa, Tsubakimi, Sosa, Toyosaka, Suga, Kyoko, Yoshida, Iitaka, and Toyowa.
 * On May 3, 1954 - the villages of Nanjo, Toyo, Shirahama, and Hiyoshi were merged to create the town of Hikari.
 * On June 1, 1954 - the villages of Kyowa and Toyohata were merged into the town of Asahi in Kaijo District.
 * On July 1, 1954 - Yōkaichiba was elevated to city status.
 * On July 17, 1954 - the villages of Sakae and Noda were merged to create the town of Nosaka, which left the district with two towns and no villages.
 * On January 23, 2006 - Nosaka was merged with the city of Yōkaichiba to create the city of Sōsa.
 * On March 27, 2006 - Hikari was merged with the town of Yokoshiba (from Sanbu District) to create the town of Yokoshibahikari (in Sanbu District). Therefore, Sōsa District was dissolved as a result of this merger.

title: Sōsa District, Chiba


text:
Ōamishirasato

Ōamishirasato (大網白里市) is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 49,019 in 21,860 households and a population density of 840 persons per km2. The total area of the city is 58.06 sqkm.

Geography
Ōamishirasato is located in central Chiba prefecture, approximately 50 to 60 kilometers from the center of Tokyo. The city area is long and narrow from east to west. In the west is the hilly "Oami district", in the center is the agricultural "Masuho district"  and in the east, facing the Pacific Ocean is the "Shirasato district". The city is in the southwestern part of Kujukuri Plain and is part of the Kujūkuri beach region.

Surrounding Municipalities
Chiba Prefecture
 * Midori-ku, Chiba
 * Tōgane
 * Mobara
 * Kujūkuri
 * Shirako

Climate
Ōamishirasato has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Ōamishirasato is 15.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1581 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.2 °C, and lowest in January, at around 5.3 °C.

Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Ōamishirasato has recently plateaued after a long period of growth.

History
Ōami Town and Shirasato Village were created during the organization of Sanbu District within Chiba Prefecture with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. Shirasato was elevated to town status on August 10, 1935. Ōami Town expanded through the annexation of neighboring villages of Yamane and Mizuho on April 1, 1951. Ōami and Shirasato Towns and Masuho Village were merged to create Ōamishirasato Town on December 1, 1954. The town annexed a portion of Honnō Town in a boundary adjustment of November 1, 1957. Ōamishirasato was elevated to city status on January 1, 2013.

Government
Ōamishirasato has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 18 members. Ōamishirasato contributes one member to the Chiba Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Chiba 11th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy
Ōamishirasato is a regional commercial center, and a bedroom community for the nearby metropolis of Chiba. Per the fiscal 2010 census, the commuting rate is 18.8% for Chiba and 11.7% for Tokyo.

Education
Ōamishirasato has seven public elementary schools and three public middle schools operated by the city government, and one public high school operated by the Chiba Prefectural Board of Education.

Railway
JR East – Sotobō Line JR East – Tōgane Line
 * Ōami - Nagata
 * Ōami

Highway

 * – Ōamishirasato Smart Interchange

Sister city relations

 * 🇯🇵 Nakanojō, Gunma since February 1979

Noted people from Ōamishirasato

 * Misaki Doi, professional tennis player
 * Aya Miyama, women’s professional soccer player

title: Ōamishirasato


text:
Persis

Persis (, romanized: Persís; Old Persian: 𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿, romanized: Parsa;, romanized: Pârs), also called Persia proper, is the Fars region, located in southwest Iran, now a province. The Persians are thought to have initially migrated either from Central Asia or, more probably, from the north through the Caucasus. They would then have migrated to the current region of Persis in the early 1st millennium BC. The country name Persia was derived directly from the Old Persian Parsa.

Achaemenid Empire
The ancient Persians were present in the region of Persis from about the 10th century BC. They became the rulers of the largest empire the world had yet seen under the Achaemenid dynasty which was established in the late 6th century BC, at its peak stretching from Thrace-Macedonia, Bulgaria-Paeonia and Eastern Europe proper in the west, to the Indus Valley in its far east. The ruins of Persepolis and Pasargadae, two of the four capitals of the Achaemenid Empire, are located in Fars.

Macedonian Empire
The Achaemenid Empire was defeated by Alexander the Great in 330 BC, incorporating most of their vast empire.

Several Hellenistic satraps of Persis are known (following the conquests of Alexander the Great) from circa 330 BC, especially Phrasaortes, who ruled from 330 to 324 BC; Orxines, who usurped his position and was then executed by Alexander; and the Macedonian general Peucestas, who learned the Persian language and followed local customs, implementing a persophile policy. Peucestas retained the satrapy of Persis until the Battle of Gabiene (316 BC), after which he was removed from his position by Antigonus. A short period of Antigonid rule followed, until Seleucus took possession of the region in 312 BC.

Seleucid Empire
When the Seleucid Empire was established, it possibly never extended its power beyond the main trade routes in Fars, and by the reign of Antiochus I or possibly later, Persis emerged as a state with a level of independence that minted its own coins.

 * "Frataraka" Governors of the Seleucid Empire

Several later Persian rulers, forming the Frataraka dynasty, are known to have acted as representatives of the Seleucids in the region of Fārs. They ruled from the end of the 3rd century BC to the beginning of the 2nd century BC, and Vahbarz or Vādfradād I obtained independence circa 150 BC, when Seleucid power waned in the areas of southwestern Persia and the Persian Gulf region.

Kings of Persis, under the Parthian Empire

During an apparent transitional period, corresponding to the reigns of Vādfradād II and another uncertain king, no titles of authority appeared on the reverse of their coins. The earlier title prtrk' zy alhaya (Frataraka) had disappeared. Under Dārēv I however, the new title of mlk, or king, appeared, sometimes with the mention of prs (Persis), suggesting that the kings of Persis had become independent rulers.

When the Parthian Arsacid king Mithridates I (ca. 171-138 BC) took control of Persis, he left the Persian dynasts in office, known as the Kings of Persis, and they were allowed to continue minting coins with the title of mlk ("King").

Sasanian Empire
Babak was the ruler of a small town called Kheir. Babak's efforts in gaining local power at the time escaped the attention of Artabanus IV, the Arsacid Emperor of the time. Babak and his eldest son Shapur managed to expand their power over all of Persis.

The subsequent events are unclear, due to the sketchy nature of the sources. It is however certain that following the death of Babak around 220, Ardashir who at the time was the governor of Darabgird, got involved in a power struggle of his own with his elder brother Shapur. The sources tell us that in 222, Shapur was killed when the roof of a building collapsed on him.

Ardaxšir (Artaxerxes) V, defeated the last legitimate Parthian king, Artabanos V in AD 224, and was crowned at Ctesiphon as Ardaxšir I (Ardashir I), šāhanšāh ī Ērān, becoming the first king of the new Sasanian Empire.

At this point, Ardashir moved his capital further to the south of Persis and founded a capital at Ardashir-Khwarrah (formerly Gur, modern day Firouzabad). After establishing his rule over Persis, Ardashir I rapidly extended the territory of his Sassanid Persian Empire, demanding fealty from the local princes of Fars, and gaining control over the neighboring provinces of Kerman, Isfahan, Susiana, and Mesene.

Artabanus marched a second time against Ardashir I in 224. Their armies clashed at Hormizdegan, where Artabanus IV was killed. Ardashir was crowned in 226 at Ctesiphon as the sole ruler of Persia, bringing the 400-year-old Parthian Empire to an end, and starting the virtually equally long rule of the Sassanian Empire, over an even larger territory, once again making Persia a leading power in the known world, only this time along with its arch-rival and successor to Persia's earlier opponents (the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire); the Byzantine Empire.

The Sassanids ruled for 425 years, until the Muslim armies conquered the empire. Afterward, the Persians started to convert to Islam, this making it much easier for the new Muslim empire to continue the expansion of Islam.

Persis then passed hand to hand through numerous dynasties, leaving behind numerous historical and ancient monuments; each of which has its own values as a world heritage, reflecting the history of the province, Iran, and West Asia. The ruins of Bishapur, Persepolis, and Firouzabad are all reminders of this. Arab invaders brought about a decline of Zoroastrian rule and made Islam ascendant from the 7th century.

title: Persis


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Federal Republic of Western Niger

This is a badly-written, badly-organized article about a non-existent country. --Sesel 11:20, 28 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. Some Nigerian secessionist's fiction. Gzornenplatz 11:29, Jul 28, 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. This article seems to refer to the country commonly known as Nigeria, but according to the CIA World factbook, the conventional long form of the name is Federal Republic of Nigeria, not the title of the article. The existing Nigeria article already covers everything in this article, except the list of universities and sports stadiums.--MaxMad 11:40, 28 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete: Agree with Gzornenplatz: This is a POV wish stated as fact.  It's still one nation, not two. Geogre 12:47, 28 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * If this is patently incorrect, shouldn't it be a speedy delete? Delete anyway. Average Earthman 13:33, 28 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * No. Being incorrect is reason for someone to edit the article and fix it or, if it can not possibly be fixed, to nominate it here.  This fits none of the specific categories eligible for speedy (though it certainly seems to fit the criteria for a normal delete).  Rossami 13:53, 28 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * I disagree with Rossami, but I'm not going to get into a war over it since it's obvious this is going to be deleted. It might even be a copyvio.  But whatever, delete.  RickK 21:31, Jul 28, 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete fiction. -- Cyrius|✎ 04:40, 30 Jul 2004 (UTC)


text:
Altshausen

Altshausen is a small Swabian municipality with around 4,100 inhabitants, near the city of Ravensburg in Baden-Württemberg, in southern Germany.

Geography
Altshausen is situated in Upper Swabia, about 40 kilometers north of Lake Constance. North-west of the village is the Upper Danube Nature Park while to the South-west is the hill-chain of the Altdorfer Wald.

Main sights
It is notable for its Teutonic Order castle and as the birthplace of Hermann of Reichenau. In the center of the town there is the Altshausen Schloss, which is the main palace still owned by the House of Württemberg.

Sightseeing
Altshausen is part of the Upper Swabian Baroque Route, a tourist road from the Swabian Alps to Upper Swabia. On both routes the tourists can visit many monuments and points of view.

Transport
Altshausen is located at the Herbertingen-Aulendorf railway.

Sister cities

 * 🇭🇺 Bicske, Hungary
 * 🇫🇷 Sausset-les-Pins, France (a city near Marseille)

title: Altshausen


text:
Air Niagara

Air Niagara is a zeppelin blimp operator and formerly a scheduled passenger airline that previously operated jet aircraft based in the New York side of the Niagara Falls. It was one of the many airlines that started flying after the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 in the United States. The company was acquired in early 2022 and is currently working on operating zeppelin tours.

A Canadian-based airline which operated Convair 580 turboprop and Fokker F28 Fellowship jet aircraft in the province of Ontario also used the Air Niagara name from the late 1980s to 2000.

Air Niagara offered jet flights from Niagara Falls International Airport (IAG) with the assumption that tourism in their home region would propel the airline to profitability.

The airline was one of the few air carriers to serve that airport with jet flights from 1982 to 1984 (in 1983, Empire Airlines (1976-1985) was also operating jet service into the airport with Fokker F28 Fellowship twin jets ). Air Niagara operated two Boeing 727-100s formerly operated by Eastern Air Lines (registrations N8101N and N8104N) and was serving only two routes in late 1982 with nonstop flights between Niagara Falls and Newark Airport (EWR) in New Jersey and also nonstop between Niagara Falls and John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York City. The airline's 727s had been delivered new to Eastern in 1964 (both airplanes ended up being broken up and scrapped in Mexico in 1994).

Air Niagara ceased operations in 1984 until the company and trademark was acquired in 2022. Air Niagara now plans on offering blimp air flights in collaboration with Hybrid Air Vehicles, a British limited company and a British manufacturer of hybrid airships.

As of 2023, the company's assets have been resold and the current state of Air Niagara is unknown.

title: Air Niagara