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Talk:Presbyterium

For an August 2004 deletion debate over this page see Votes for deletion/Presbyterium

[Untitled]
For a more thorough discussion, see http://www.geocities.com/frcoulter/presbyterium/chapter1.html.

The concept of presbyterium is one that originated in the early church and expressed the collegiality of the presbyteroi (priests) with their overseer, or episkopoi (bishop). As Father Coulter notes in his paper, the post-conciliar Roman Catholic Church after 1962, sought to recover its early roots where collaborative ministry and collegiality were the norm. Given the current curial structure administration in the Vatican, it appears that any term that lends credence to the notion of collegiality and collaboration in ordained ministry is viewed rather unfavorably. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Aloysius Patacsil (talk • contribs) 17:55, 3 August 2004 (UTC)

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

title: Talk:Presbyterium


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Liu Xiang (hurdler)

Liu Xiang (born July 13, 1983) is a Chinese former 110 meter hurdler. Liu is an Olympic Gold medalist and World Champion. His 2004 Olympic gold medal was the first in a men's track and field event for China.

Liu is one of China's most successful athletes and has emerged as a cultural icon. On top of being the only male athlete in history to be all of 110-metre hurdles World Record Holder, World Champion and Olympic Champion—Liu remains the Olympic record holder for the men's 110-metre hurdles with a time of 12.91 seconds he set back at the 2004 Athens Olympics. He was the favorite to win another gold in the 110 metre hurdles at the Beijing Olympics, but he had to withdraw from competition at the last moment after a false start and aggravation to a previously unrevealed injury. Again a gold medal favourite in the 110 metre hurdles at the London Olympics he pulled his Achilles tendon attempting to clear the first hurdle in the heats. On April 7, 2015, he announced his retirement on Sina Weibo.

Early career
In May 2001, Liu won at the East Asian Games in Osaka, Japan with a time of 13.42 seconds. In August 2001, he won at the Universiade in Beijing with a time of 13.33 seconds. He also won at the 2001 National Games of China that same year.

In 2002 Liu set an Asian record time at the Athletissima meeting, completing the event in 13.12 seconds. This also broke Renaldo Nehemiah's long standing and world junior record, which had stood for almost 25 years. The following year he secured bronze medals in the 60 metres hurdles at the 2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships and the 110 m hurdles at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics.

2004 Olympics
In May 2004 at an IAAF Grand Prix race in Osaka, Japan, Liu managed to beat Allen Johnson with a personal best record time of 13.06 seconds. He improved even further at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Although he was not considered a favourite for the event, he won the Olympic final by some distance to pocket the gold medal with 12.91 seconds, tying the world record set by Colin Jackson 11 years before. This was a new Olympic record and was almost three tenths of a second faster than the runner-up Terrence Trammell. The performance had Liu the sixth man to run under 13 seconds for the event and was China's first men's Olympic gold medal in a track and field event. On top of this, it defied the traditional thinking that Asian athletes could not compete in sprint events at the top level. He said that his gold medal "changes the opinion that Asian countries don't get good results in sprint races. I want to prove to all the world that Asians can run very fast."

Liu, a 21-year-old East China Normal University student at the time of victory in Athens, became the target of a bidding war among commercial sponsors. The Chinese Track and Field Association limited him to four such deals.

Liu finished the season with four of the year's ten fastest clockings. Reaching 17 finals in the 60-metre indoor and 110-metre outdoor hurdles, he lost just two, both to American Allen Johnson.

2005 and 2007 World Championships
In August 2005, Liu won a silver medal at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki, Finland, finishing 13.08 seconds, 0.01 second after champion Ladji Doucouré from France. In November 2005, he won at East Asian Games in Macau, China, with 13.21 seconds.

Off track, in May, Liu was awarded the Laureus World Sports Award for Newcomer of the Year for his breakthrough performance at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.

On July 11, 2006, Liu set a new world record in the 110 metre hurdles at the Super Grand Prix in Lausanne with a time of 12.88 seconds (+1.1 m/s tailwind). The record was ratified by the IAAF. In that same race, American Dominique Arnold had also beaten the previous record with a time of 12.90 seconds. In September, he won gold at IAAF World Athletics Final in Stuttgart, Germany, with 12.93 seconds.

On August 31, 2007, at the World Athletics Championships in Osaka, Japan, Liu won gold in the 110-metre hurdles with 12.95 seconds to become World Champion.

On May 23, Liu participated in a test event at the Beijing National Stadium. He pulled out of the Reebok Grand Prix in New York on May 31, citing hamstring problems. On June 8, he false-started at the Prefontaine Classic at Eugene, Oregon. Liu skipped the entire European circuit, preferring to train for the Olympics in China instead.

Beijing Olympics
Leading up to the Summer Olympics in Beijing, Liu bore national expectations of a repeat victory on home soil. On August 18, Liu withdrew from the Olympic 110 metre hurdles. He walked off the track after a false start by another runner in his first-round heat, leaving the crowd at the Beijing National Stadium in stunned silence, confusion, and tears. According to Jeré Longman of The New York Times, "China's greatest hope had been dashed".

According to China's track and field association, Liu suffered from a recurrence of chronic inflammation in his right Achilles tendon. Liu's coach, Sun Haiping addressed the media during a press conference and stated that the hurdler had been hampered by a tendon injury for six or seven years. He commented on the situation, saying "We worked hard every day, but the result was as you see and it is really hard to take." Sun, who was in tears for most of the press conference, stated that Liu would be unable to compete for the remainder of 2008. Liu made a public apology to the Chinese media the following day, saying he could "do nothing but pull out of the race" because of his foot injury. He believed that the injury would not prevent him from future competitions and vowed to "come back" for the next Olympics.

Liu's injury was significant and also ruled him out of the following year's major competition, the 2009 World Championships in Athletics. However, coach Sun Haiping was confident that he would return in time for the Chinese national championships and 2009 Asian Championships in Athletics in November.

2009–2011: Return from injury
After a 13-month absence because of his injury, Liu finally returned to competition at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix. Liu recorded a time of 13.15, tied with Terrence Trammell, but finished 0.01 second behind and was awarded second place. However, Liu said he was happy with his performance. Nearing the end of the year, he competed at a number of major events on home turf. He won gold medals at the 2009 Asian Athletics Championships, the East Asian Games and the 11th Chinese National Games.

At the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Doha, admitting that his right foot has yet to fully recover, Liu was able to finish in the finals of the 60 m hurdles, but managed only seventh place. His sole appearance on the 2010 IAAF Diamond League circuit came at the Shanghai Grand Prix and he lost to national rival Shi Dongpeng for the first time. Following a six-month break, he marked his return to form at the 2010 Asian Games. A crowd of 70,000 gathered at the Guangdong Olympic Stadium to see him in the final and he easily won his third consecutive title at the competition, breaking the Games record with a run of 13.09 seconds – making him the third fastest athlete that season.

The Shanghai Golden Grand Prix in May 2011 saw Liu make a return to a world class level: he defeated David Oliver (the fastest hurdler in 2010) with a world-leading mark of 13.07 seconds to take his first win on the 2011 IAAF Diamond League. Liu showed he had accomplished a transition in his technique, as he reduced his number of starting steps before the first hurdle from eight to seven, using his left leg for hurdling.

On August 29, 2011, Liu Xiang competed in the men's 110-metre hurdles final in the IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea. Liu finished the race in third place, but he eventually won the silver medal, as the winner Dayron Robles was disqualified for entering Liu's lane and pulling him back.

2012 season
In Liu's first competition of 2012, he was matched up against Dayron Robles at the Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix and this time he won cleanly with an Asian record time of 7.41 seconds for the 60 m hurdles. He was the favourite for the title at the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships, but was beaten into second place by Aries Merritt and left with the silver medal. In the outdoor season he set a 110 m hurdles meet record at the Golden Grand Prix Kawasaki, then ran 12.97 seconds to win at his home nation 2012 IAAF Diamond League meet, the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix. This was his first run under 13 seconds since 2007, and he beat Americans David Oliver and Jason Richardson by some distance. He followed this with a run of 12.87 seconds to win at the Prefontaine Classic, matching the world record time albeit with wind-assistance of 2.4 m/s.

In the 110-metre hurdles at the London Olympics in 2012, Liu pulled his Achilles tendon while taking off and attempting to clear the first hurdle, instead crashing straight into it. Liu hopped the full 110 metre stretch, was helped by a few of his fellow competitors, and was put into a wheel chair and led away. He kissed the last hurdle before he left the track. Colin Jackson described it as a "very sad sight indeed" for the sport. Liu's loss echoed strongly in the Chinese press but also sparked a lot of controversies. Some voices expressed support while others wondered why Liu chose to participate in spite of his injury. Liu even earned a nickname "Liu PaoPao" because of pullbacks in two consecutive Olympic Games. As per reports Liu was to have surgery on his Achilles tendon in Britain.

Retirement
On April 7, 2015, Liu announced his retirement in a statement posted to his Sina Weibo. He had not competed since the 2012 Olympic race. In his post, he wrote that he was retiring after two years of frustrating and ultimately futile rehabilitation: "Of course my heart is still willing, but my foot has again and again said no to me."

In 2016, Liu was chosen as one of the teams in Shenzhen TV's reality program The Amazing Race China 3. Liu was initially paired up with his cousin Ji Longxiang on the first two legs, but Ji was later replaced with his best friend Xu Qifeng for the remainder of the race. They finished in 3rd place overall.

Personal life
Liu is known for his low-profile appearance, but he has become one of the most popular athletes in China. Liu Xiang was on Time magazine Asian edition's cover of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games titled "Liu Xiang & 99 More Athletes to Watch."

Liu donated approximately 2,500,000 yuan (364,000 USD) to 2008 Sichuan earthquake relief efforts.

Liu married Ge Tian, a post-90s generation actress on September 7, 2014, after officially dating the actress for two years prior to their marriage. They divorced in 2015. On January 9, 2016, Liu Xiang announced a new relationship with pole vaulter Wu Sha, in his Sina Weibo. On December 1, 2016, Liu and Wu held a low profile wedding ceremony in Fiji.

Liu's athletic gear is sponsored by Nike. He is also a spokesperson for Coca-Cola and Cadillac.

title: Liu Xiang (hurdler)


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Bargen, Schaffhausen

Bargen is a municipality in the canton of Schaffhausen in Switzerland. The northernmost point of the country is situated in the municipality, at Oberbargen.

History
Bargen is first mentioned in 884 as Paragen.

Geography
Bargen has an area,, of 8.3 km2. Of this area, 29.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while 65.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 4.8% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.2%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).

The municipality is located in the Schaffhausen district. It is a farming village on the northernmost point of Switzerland. The municipality includes a notable protected natural area, Tannbüehl, which is known for its over 20 varieties of orchids.

Demographics
Bargen has a population of 249, of which 12.4% are foreign nationals. Of the foreign population,, 60% are from Germany, 22.9% are from Italy, 11.4% are from Croatia, and 5.7% are from another country. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -2.1%. Most of the population speaks German (96.0%), with Italian being second most common ( 1.6%) and Serbo-Croatian being third ( 1.2%). There is also a small but significant population of Poles. (0.23)

The age distribution of the population is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 18.9% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 59.8% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 21.3%.

In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 65.2% of the vote. The next two most popular parties were the SP (23.7%), and the FDP (11.2%).

The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Bargen about 73.6% of the population (between age 25–64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule). In Bargen,, 3.86% of the population is attending kindergarten or another pre-school, 8.58% are attending a Primary School, 3.86% attend a lower level Secondary School, and 2.58% attend a higher level Secondary School.

, 20.6% of the population belonged to the Roman Catholic Church and 61.7% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church in Bargen.

The historical population is given in the following table:

Coat of arms
The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Or a Plumb Sable topped with a Hat of the same trimmed Argent feathered Vert, Gules and of the first.

Industry
Bargen has an unemployment rate of 1.15%. , there were 22 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 9 businesses involved in this sector. 5 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 2 businesses in this sector. 68 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 11 businesses in this sector.

the mid year average unemployment rate was 1.8%. There were 12 non-agrarian businesses in the municipality and 5.1% of the (non-agrarian) population was involved in the secondary sector of the economy while 94.9% were involved in the third. At the same time, 71.2% of the working population was employed full-time, and 28.8% was employed part-time. There were 59 residents of the municipality were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 54.2% of the workforce. there were 42 residents who worked in the municipality, while 83 residents worked outside Bargen and 26 people commuted into the municipality for work.

, there are 2 restaurants, and 1 hotel with 10 beds. The hospitality industry in Bargen employs 6 people.

Transportation
The A4 expressway passes through Bargen and enters into Germany after a customs facility.

Places of interest
The "Tannbuel" is one of the most important and well-known conservation lands of the Randen mountains. Hundreds of nature friends visit the area every year, in order to experience the "Frauenschueli"-orchid flush in May and June. The "Tannbuel" is one of the most interesting locations of our region and offers more than "Frauenschueli".

title: Bargen, Schaffhausen


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Photographic fixer

Photographic fixer is a mix of chemicals used in the final step in the photographic processing of film or paper. The fixer stabilises the image, removing the unexposed silver halide remaining on the photographic film or photographic paper, leaving behind the reduced metallic silver that forms the image. By fixation, the film or paper is insensitive to further action by light. Without fixing, the remaining silver halide would darken and cause fogging of the image. Fixation is commonly achieved by treating the film or paper with a solution of thiosulfate salt. Popular salts are sodium thiosulfate—commonly called hypo—and ammonium thiosulfate—commonly used in modern rapid fixer formulae. Fixation involves these chemical reactions (X = halide, typically Br−):
 * AgX +  2 S2O32−    →   [Ag(S2O3)2]3−  +   X−
 * AgX +  3 S2O32−    →   [Ag(S2O3)3]5−  +   X−

In addition to thiosulphate the fixer typically contains mildly acidic compounds to adjust the pH and suppress trace amounts of the developer. This compound is often an alkali hydrogen sulfite (bisulfite) which also serves to preserve the thiosulphate. Less commonly it may also contain other additives e.g. for the hardening of gelatin. There are also non-thiosulphate fixers, at least for special purposes. Fixer is used for processing all commonly used films, including black-and-white films, Kodachrome, and chromogenic films.

Chromogenic films
In chromogenic films, the remaining silver must be removed by a chemical mixture called a bleach fix, sometimes shortened to blix. This mixture contains ammonium thiosulfate and ferric EDTA, a powerful chelating agent. The fixing agent reduces the silver which is then dissolved by the chelating agent.

Washing and stabilisation
After fixation, washing is important to remove the exhausted chemicals from the emulsion. Otherwise they cause image deterioration. Other treatments of the remaining silver-based image are sometimes used to prevent "burning".

title: Photographic fixer


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User:Patrickov

de: User:Patrickov zh: User:Patrickov

Intro
I started visiting (as well as editing) Wikipedia since June, 2004, but not registered until August.

Recently I work more on the Chinese version, since I think the information in the English version is more or less beyond all I had known. Maybe occasionally I'd try to get something not yet here, but I don't expect much.

Oh yes, I should have told you that I'm no Russian, and instead I'm from Hong Kong.

Contributions
I feel I should say my contributions here, so here they are.

New articles made my me
I have also created a few articles before registration, but I decided not to mention them here.

title: User:Patrickov


text: Category:Chinese athletes

title: Category:Chinese athletes


text: Category:Chinese sportspeople

title: Category:Chinese sportspeople


text:
Lady Huang

Lady Huang, also known in fiction and folklore as Huang Yueying, was the wife of Zhuge Liang, the chancellor and regent of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Her name was not recorded in history; "Huang Yueying" is simply a fictional name. In tales, Lady Huang was, however, remarkable for her erudition, being learned in strategy, geography, astronomy, and divination. Zhuge Liang heard of her intelligence, and courted and married her.

In historical records
The only mention of Lady Huang in historical sources was in the Xiangyang Ji (襄陽記; Records of Xiangyang). In the fifth century, the account was added as an annotation by Pei Songzhi to Zhuge Liang's biography in the historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms, which was written by Chen Shou two centuries earlier.

The account stated that Huang Chengyan once told Zhuge Liang: "I heard you are looking for a wife. I have an ugly daughter with yellow hair and dark skin, but her talent matches yours." Zhuge Liang then married Huang Chengyan's daughter. At the time, there was a saying in their village: "Don't be like Kongming when you choose a wife. He ended up with A-cheng's (referring to Huang Chengyan) ugly daughter."

In folklore

A story tells that Huang Yueying challenged her suitors to visit her personally by claiming that she was ugly. In the event that a suitor would visit her, she would hide herself under veils as a quiet dare to test their resolve. When Zhuge Liang came to her, her figure was silhouetted by moonlight and her head was covered with two red veils. Unlike other men, Zhuge Liang entered her room alone and did not hesitate in removing her disguises. As he removed the first veil from her face, he calmly stated that her ugliness was a misunderstanding by her father. Zhuge Liang was then rewarded by Huang Yueying's joyful visage and gratification.

Folktales ascribe to her the creation of not only Zhuge Liang's wooden ox and flowing horse but fantastic inventions, including cooking robots. Lady Huang did not long survive her husband, who died in 234 A.D. On her deathbed, she instructed her son Zhuge Zhan to "be loyal and filial."

A memorial for her exists in her supposed hometown of Huangjiawan (黄家湾) in Yao'an Village (姚庵村) outside Xiangyang.

In popular culture
Huang Yueying is featured as a playable character in Koei's Dynasty Warriors and Warriors Orochi video game series. She is referred to as "Yue Ying" in the games up to Dynasty Warriors 7. Since Dynasty Warriors Next (on PS Vita) and Warriors Orochi 3, she is referred to as "Yueying" instead. She also appears in other games produced by Koei, such as Kessen II and all instalments of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms strategy game series.

She also appears in various other video games, such as Hou Feng San Guo Online, Zong Heng San Guo Online, Meng Jiang Zhuan Online, and Qun Ying Fu Online.

She appears in the manga "Majo Taisen".

She is portrayed by Gui Gui in the Taiwanese television drama K.O.3an Guo, which spoofs the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms in a modern high school setting.

title: Lady Huang


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Tavis Smiley

Tavis Smiley (born September 13, 1964) is an American talk show host and author. Smiley was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, and grew up in Bunker Hill, Indiana. After attending Indiana University, he worked during the late 1980s as an aide to Tom Bradley, the mayor of Los Angeles.

Smiley became a radio commentator in 1991 and, starting in 1996, he hosted the talk show BET Talk (later renamed BET Tonight with Tavis Smiley) on Black Entertainment Television (BET). After Smiley sold an exclusive interview of Sara Jane Olson to ABC News in 2001, BET declined to renew his contract that year. Smiley then began hosting The Tavis Smiley Show on National Public Radio (NPR) (2002–04) and hosted Tavis Smiley on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) on weekdays and The Tavis Smiley Show on Public Radio International (PRI) from 2004 until 2017.

Smiley had an employment dispute with PBS in December 2017 which resulted in his suing PBS for wrongful termination. Smiley is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of SmileyAudioMedia, Inc. headquartered in Los Angeles. Since June 2021 he has served as Chief Visionary Officer for his radio station, KBLA Talk 1580.

Early life
Smiley was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, the son of Joyce Marie Roberts. On September 13, 1966, his second birthday, his mother married Emory Garnell Smiley, a non-commissioned officer in the U.S. Air Force. A few years later Tavis learned the identity of his biological father, whom he identifies in his autobiography, What I Know For Sure: My Story of Growing Up in America, only as "T".

Smiley's family soon moved to Indiana when his stepfather was transferred to Grissom Air Force Base near Peru, Indiana. On arriving in Indiana, the Smiley family took up residence in a three-bedroom mobile home in the small town of Bunker Hill, Indiana. The Smileys had three more children and added four more after the murder of Joyce's sister. Initially, four of her five children were cared for by their grandmother (known as "Big Mama"), but ill health impaired her ability, and Joyce and Emory took them in. The trailer home sheltered thirteen, including Tavis and his seven brothers and two sisters and the three adults.

Smiley's mother was a deeply religious person, and the family attended the local New Bethel Tabernacle Church, part of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World. The Smiley children were forbidden from listening to secular music at home or going to the movie theater, and could watch only television shows their parents felt were family-friendly.

When he was in seventh grade, New Bethel pastor Elder Rufus Mills accused Smiley and his siblings of "running wild, disobeying their teacher, disrespecting their teacher, disrespecting the sanctity of this building, and mocking the holy message being taught" during Sunday School. According to Smiley's account of the incident, his Sunday School teacher became confused as she was answering questions about the Book of John, and other students "responded by giggling and acting a little unruly," although he and his sister Phyllis "remained quiet". Garnell whipped Tavis and Phyllis with an extension cord, wounding the two children. The next day at school, administrators found out about the children's injuries. The local newspaper in Kokomo, Indiana, reported on the beating and the legal proceedings against Garnell; Tavis and Phyllis were sent to foster care temporarily. Garnell told his children that the judge decided that he had "overreacted" and found he and Joyce were "concerned parents who were completely involved in [our] children's lives and well-being".

Smiley became interested in politics at age 13 after attending a fundraiser for U.S. Senator Birch Bayh. At Maconaquah High School in Bunker Hill, Indiana, a school that Smiley described as "98 percent white," he was active in the student council and the debate team, even though his parents were "skeptical of all non-church extracurricular activities".

Education
In 1982 Smiley enrolled at Indiana University Bloomington (IU). Because his parents refused to complete financial aid papers, Smiley entered the university with only $50 and a small suitcase. Administrators let Smiley complete the paperwork to become a full-time student. The summer after his first year, Smiley worked, attended summer classes, and lived off campus with Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball players, then being coached by Bob Knight. Smiley was accepted into the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity during his second year, and became business manager of his dormitory, a member of the student senate, and director of minority affairs. After his friend Denver Smith was killed by Indiana police officers who claimed to have acted in self-defense, Smiley helped lead protests to defend Smith, who he believed had been wrongfully killed. Those protests led him to a work-study internship at the office of Bloomington Mayor Tomilea Allison, where he was paid $5 an hour. Smiley wrote letters to local residents, researched for Mayor Allison, and helped write position papers on local issues. In his autobiography, Smiley says that a deputy mayor caught him systematically adding extra hours to his time sheets, illegal behavior that could have seen him charged with a felony and expelled from college, but instead of pressing charges, Mayor Allison allowed him to work all of the hours for which he had already been paid, and did not tell other people what he had done.

During the first semester of his junior year, Smiley was under academic probation; he blamed his extracurricular activities for interfering with his studies. When Smiley visited Los Angeles to attend a national student leaders' convention, the cousin of his roommate introduced Smiley to football star Jim Brown. Brown introduced Smiley to fellow football player George Hughley, who worked for Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley and connected Smiley to Mayor Bradley's staff. Every week after meeting Bradley's staff, Smiley wrote a letter to the mayor's office asking for an internship, and once flew to Los Angeles to appeal. However, by summer he received a letter from the city stating that all internship positions were filled. Smiley then handwrote a letter to the mayor that he said represented his feeling "from the heart," and Bradley called Smiley to say that he had a position available for him. Although it counted for college credit, the internship was unpaid, so the Bloomington Community Progress Council funded Smiley with $5,000 for living expenses in Los Angeles, and Brown allowed Smiley to live as a houseguest in September 1985. Starting the following month, Smiley lived in the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity house at the University of Southern California. At City Hall, Smiley worked at the Office of Youth Development on the 22nd floor.

Smiley twice considered quitting college, first during his junior year, and then after finishing his internship with Mayor Bradley. Bradley persuaded Smiley to return to college. He took the LSAT twice because, he thought he "didn't do great the first time," and he "did a little better" the second time; he intended to apply to Harvard Law School. Instead, Smiley did not graduate from college at all, because he failed a required course in his senior year, and "did poorly in several other courses," which meant he could not complete his degree on time; rather than stay for an extra term, he chose to leave IU and move to Los Angeles, where he had been promised a job. Following a hiring freeze by the government of Los Angeles, Smiley served as an aide to Mayor Bradley until 1990. A 1988 article in the Los Angeles Times identified Smiley as "a Bradley administrative assistant who works in South Los Angeles". In 2003, Smiley officially received his degree from Indiana University in public affairs.

Radio commentator
Campaigning for a seat on the Los Angeles City Council in 1991 against incumbent Ruth Galanter, Smiley finished fourth among 15 candidates. He became a radio commentator, broadcasting one-minute daily radio segments called The Smiley Report on KGFJ radio. With Ruben Navarrette Jr., Smiley co-hosted a local talk show in Los Angeles where his strongly held views on race and politics, combined with his arguments regarding the impact of institutional racism and substandard educational and economic opportunities for inner-city black youth, earned him attention at the Los Angeles Times. His commentaries focused on local and national current-affairs issues affecting the African-American community. For six months, Smiley worked on a community news program on a local cable network, and spent six more months working on television in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. From 2010 to 2013, Smiley and Cornel West worked together to host their own radio talk show, Smiley & West. They were featured together interviewing musician Bill Withers in the 2009 documentary film Still Bill. He was the new host of Tavis Talks on BlogTalkRadio's Tavis Smiley Network.

In 1996 Smiley became a frequent commentator to the Tom Joyner Morning Show, a nationally syndicated radio show broadcast on black and urban stations in the United States. He developed a friendship with host Joyner.

BET Tonight show
Also in 1996 Smiley began hosting and executive producing BET Tonight (originally BET Talk when it first premiered), a public affairs discussion show on the Black Entertainment Television (BET) network. He interviewed major political figures and celebrities, and discussed topics ranging from racial profiling and police brutality to R&B music and Hollywood gossip.

Firing from BET
Smiley hosted BET Tonight until 2001 when, in a controversial move, the network announced that Smiley's contract would not be renewed. This sparked an angry response from Smiley, who sought to rally his radio audience to protest BET's decision. Robert L. Johnson, founder of BET, defended the decision, stating that Smiley had been fired because he had sold an exclusive interview to ABC News without first offering the story to BET, even though Smiley's contract with BET did not require him to do so. Smiley countered with the assertion that he had offered the story—an interview with Sara Jane Olson, an alleged former member of the Symbionese Liberation Army—to CBS, which, along with BET, was owned by Viacom. Smiley ultimately sold the interview to rival network ABC, he said, only after CBS passed on the interview, and suggested that his firing was payback for the publicity he gained as a result of providing an exclusive interview to ABC. Ultimately, BET and Viacom did not reverse their decision to terminate Smiley's contract.

NPR talk show
Smiley was then offered a chance to host a radio talk show on National Public Radio. He served as host of The Tavis Smiley Show on NPR until December 2004.

Smiley leaves NPR
It was announced in 2004 that he would be leaving his show, citing the network's inability to reach a more diverse audience. Smiley launched a weekly version of his radio program The Tavis Smiley Show on April 29, 2005, distributed by NPR rival Public Radio International (PRI). On October 1, 2010, Tavis Smiley turned the second hour of his PRI program into Smiley & West co-hosted by his longtime collaborator Dr. Cornel West, which lasted until December 2013.

Move to PBS
Smiley also hosted Tavis Smiley, a late night talk show televised on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) network and produced in association with WNET in New York.

In March 2006, The Smiley Group and Third World Press published The Covenant with Black America, a collection of essays by black scholars and professionals edited by Smiley. The book covers topics ranging from education to healthcare, and was a New York Times Bestseller.

Smiley moderated two live presidential candidate forums in 2007: a Democratic forum on June 28 at Howard University in Washington, D.C., and a Republican forum on September 27 at Morgan State University in Baltimore.

Dancing with the Stars
On September 4, 2014, it was announced that Smiley would be competing on the 19th season of Dancing with the Stars. He paired with professional dancer Sharna Burgess. They were eliminated on the second week of competition and finished in 12th place.

Firing from PBS
In 2017, Smiley was accused of violating the morals clause of his contract. Smiley denied the allegations and sued PBS citing wrongful termination. The court ultimately ruled in PBS's favor.

KBLA Radio
As of 2021, Smiley hosts a radio show on KBLA Talk 1580 from 9am to noon PT on weekdays, and he is also host of the Tavis Smiley Podcast in conjunction with KBLA.

Media appearances
In 2000, they began hosting annual town hall meetings called "The State of the Black Union," which were aired live on the C-SPAN cable television network. Each of these town hall meetings focused on a specific topic affecting the African-American community, featuring a panel of African-American leaders, educators, and professionals, assembled before an audience, to discuss problems related to the forum's topic, as well as potential solutions. Smiley also used his commentator status on Joyner's radio show to launch several advocacy campaigns to highlight discriminatory practices in the media and government, and to rally support for causes such as the awarding of a Congressional Gold Medal to civil rights icon Rosa Parks. Smiley also began building a national reputation as a political commentator with numerous appearances on political discussion shows on MSNBC, ABC, and CNN. Smiley has appeared on the Democracy Now! podcast. and Real Time with Bill Maher.

TSU dispute
In 2005, Smiley donated and raised thousands of dollars for Texas Southern University. The School of Communication was temporarily named after him, before TSU and Smiley mutually agreed to remove his name.

Barack Obama commentary
On April 11, 2008, Smiley announced that he would resign in June 2008 as a commentator on the Tom Joyner Morning Show. He cited fatigue and a busy schedule in a personal call to Joyner. However, Joyner, referring to several commentaries in which Smiley was critical of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, indicated otherwise on his program, stating: "The real reason is that he can't take the hate he's been getting regarding the Barack issue—hate from the black people that he loves so much."

In 2012, Smiley participated in a "Poverty Tour" with Princeton University professor Cornel West to promote their book The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto. The stated aim of the tour was to highlight the plight of the impoverished population of the United States prior to the 2012 presidential election, whose candidates Smiley and West stated had ignored the plight of the poor.

Sexual misconduct allegations
On December 13, 2017, PBS indefinitely suspended Smiley. PBS issued a statement saying that it had hired a law firm to conduct an investigation "immediately after learning of troubling allegations regarding Mr. Smiley" and that this investigation "uncovered multiple, credible allegations of conduct that is inconsistent with the values and standards of PBS."

On December 14, 2017, Smiley described the PBS investigation as "biased and sloppy" and said he would fight the allegations and the damage to his reputation. He released a statement saying, "I have the utmost respect for women and celebrate the courage of those who have come forth to tell their truth", and "To be clear, I have never groped, coerced or exposed myself inappropriately to any workplace colleague in my entire broadcast career, covering six networks over 30 years".

Soon after the suspension, Smiley went on a country-wide tour to defend his innocence and denouncing workplace harassment. In 2018, Smiley sued PBS for wrongful termination while PBS countersued claiming a breach of a morals clause in his contract. PBS prevailed and on August 5, 2020, Smiley was ordered to pay PBS $2.6 million in damages.

Honorary degrees
Smiley was honored with the NAACP Image Award for best news, talk, or information series for three consecutive years (1997–99) for his work on BET Tonight with Tavis Smiley. Smiley's advocacy efforts have earned him numerous awards and recognition including the recipient of the Mickey Leland Humanitarian Award from the National Association of Minorities in Communications. In 1999, he founded the Tavis Smiley Foundation, which funds programs that develop young leaders in the community. Since its inception, more than 6,500 young people have participated in the foundation's Youth to Leaders Training workshops and conferences.

 * 2007 - Smiley gave a commencement speech at his alma mater, Indiana University at Bloomington, Indiana (the university recently honored Smiley by naming the atrium of its School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) building, The Tavis Smiley Atrium).
 * 2008 - Smiley gave the commencement address at Connecticut College, where he was awarded an honorary doctorate. On December 12, 2008, Smiley received the Du Bois Medal from Harvard University's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research.
 * 2009 - Smiley was awarded an honorary doctorate at Langston University after giving the commencement address there. He was also awarded the 2009 Interdependence Day Prize from Demos in Istanbul, Turkey.

In popular culture
Smiley was named No. 2 change agent in the field of media behind Oprah Winfrey in EBONY Magazine's POWER 150 list.

Time added him in 2009 as one of the "100 Most Influential People in the World".

In 2014, Smiley received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, honoring his contributions to television.

Smiley is referenced in the KRS-One song "Clear 'Em Out."

title: Tavis Smiley


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Lausen

Lausen is a municipality in the district of Liestal in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland.

History
Lausen is first mentioned in 1275 as in villa et banno Langenso. In 1305 it became the property of the Bishop of Basel, passing in 1400 to the city of Basel.

Geography
Lausen has an area,, of 5.56 km2. Of this area, 1.31 km2 or 23.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 2.81 km2 or 50.5% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.39 km2 or 25.0% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.03 km2 or 0.5% is either rivers or lakes and 0.02 km2 or 0.4% is unproductive land.

Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 3.8% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 12.9% and transportation infrastructure made up 5.4%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.3% of the area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 1.6%. Out of the forested land, 48.4% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.2% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 9.5% is used for growing crops and 12.4% is pastures, while 1.6% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.

The municipality is located in the Liestal district, in the mid-Ergolz valley, south-east of Liestal.

Coat of arms
The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Gules, two pick-axes Or in saltire, in Chief Sable three Bezants one and two.

Demographics
Lausen has a population of. , 23.9% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 5.7%.

Most of the population speaks German (3,953 or 85.1%), with Italian language being second most common (272 or 5.9%) and Albanian being third (89 or 1.9%). There are 43 people who speak French and 4 people who speak Romansh.

, the gender distribution of the population was 49.4% male and 50.6% female. The population was made up of 3,674 Swiss citizens (75.6% of the population), and 1,184 non-Swiss residents (24.4%) Of the population in the municipality 1,040 or about 22.4% were born in Lausen and lived there in 2000. There were 1,357 or 29.2% who were born in the same canton, while 1,156 or 24.9% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 981 or 21.1% were born outside of Switzerland.

In there were 22 live births to Swiss citizens and 6 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 38 deaths of Swiss citizens and 1 non-Swiss citizen death. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 16 while the foreign population increased by 5. There were 11 Swiss men and 1 Swiss woman who emigrated from Switzerland. At the same time, there were 13 non-Swiss men and 10 non-Swiss women who immigrated from another country to Switzerland. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources, including moves across municipal borders) was an increase of 30 and the non-Swiss population decreased by 1 people. This represents a population growth rate of 0.6%.

The age distribution,, in Lausen is; 311 children or 6.4% of the population are between 0 and 6 years old and 694 teenagers or 14.3% are between 7 and 19. Of the adult population, 693 people or 14.3% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 656 people or 13.5% are between 30 and 39, 844 people or 17.4% are between 40 and 49, and 988 people or 20.3% are between 50 and 64. The senior population distribution is 507 people or 10.4% of the population are between 65 and 79 years old and there are 165 people or 3.4% who are over 80.

, there were 1,944 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 2,311 married individuals, 186 widows or widowers and 204 individuals who are divorced.

, there were 1,822 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.5 persons per household. There were 468 households that consist of only one person and 157 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 1,847 households that answered this question, 25.3% were households made up of just one person and 15 were adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 574 married couples without children, 652 married couples with children There were 94 single parents with a child or children. There were 19 households that were made up unrelated people and 25 households that were made some sort of institution or another collective housing.

there were 767 single family homes (or 71.7% of the total) out of a total of 1,069 inhabited buildings. There were 175 multi-family buildings (16.4%), along with 71 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (6.6%) and 56 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (5.2%). Of the single family homes 34 were built before 1919, while 112 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (175) were built between 1971 and 1980.

there were 1,986 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 4 rooms of which there were 728. There were 42 single room apartments and 591 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 1,793 apartments (90.3% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 113 apartments (5.7%) were seasonally occupied and 80 apartments (4.0%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 3.6 new units per 1000 residents. the average price to rent a two-room apartment was about 892.00 CHF (US$710, £400, €570), a three-room apartment was about 1144.00 CHF (US$920, £510, €730) and a four-room apartment cost an average of 1278.00 CHF (US$1020, £580, €820). The vacancy rate for the municipality,, was 0.59%.

The historical population is given in the following chart:

Heritage sites of national significance
Bettenach, a Roman era through High Middle Ages settlement, is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance. The entire Lausen area is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

Politics
In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 33.9% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP (25.23%), the FDP (16.23%) and the Green Party (12.52%). In the federal election, a total of 1,453 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 48.4%.

Economy
, Lausen had an unemployment rate of 2.67%. , there were 30 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 7 businesses involved in this sector. 476 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 42 businesses in this sector. 737 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 117 businesses in this sector. There were 2,513 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 44.8% of the workforce.

the total number of full-time equivalent jobs was 1,187. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 13, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 539, of which 409 or (75.9%) were in manufacturing and 124 (23.0%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 635. In the tertiary sector; 237 or 37.3% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 58 or 9.1% were in the movement and storage of goods, 10 or 1.6% were in a hotel or restaurant, 4 or 0.6% were in the information industry, 3 or 0.5% were the insurance or financial industry, 68 or 10.7% were technical professionals or scientists, 53 or 8.3% were in education and 71 or 11.2% were in health care.

, there were 1,056 workers who commuted into the municipality and 1,985 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 1.9 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. About 8.8% of the workforce coming into Lausen are coming from outside Switzerland, while 0.2% of the locals commute out of Switzerland for work. Of the working population, 25.8% used public transportation to get to work, and 44.7% used a private car.

Partial list of companies in Lausen

 * Ronda AG

Religion
From the, 1,241 or 26.7% were Roman Catholic, while 2,224 or 47.9% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there were 63 members of an Orthodox church (or about 1.36% of the population), there were 4 individuals (or about 0.09% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church, and there were 131 individuals (or about 2.82% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There was 1 individual who was Jewish, and 341 (or about 7.34% of the population) who were Islamic. There were 5 individuals who were Buddhist, 7 individuals who were Hindu and 3 individuals who belonged to another church. 512 (or about 11.02% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 113 individuals (or about 2.43% of the population) did not answer the question.

Transport
Lausen sits on the Hauenstein line and is served by trains at Lausen railway station.

Education
In Lausen about 1,803 or (38.8%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 495 or (10.7%) have completed additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule). Of the 495 who completed tertiary schooling, 62.4% were Swiss men, 22.4% were Swiss women, 10.3% were non-Swiss men and 4.8% were non-Swiss women.

, there was 1 student in Lausen who came from another municipality, while 341 residents attended schools outside the municipality.

title: Lausen


text:
List of colonial governors of Ivory Coast

List of the colonial governors of French Ivory Coast−Côte d'Ivoire, a colony in former French West Africa.

Colonial governors

 * Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office.


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User:Silume

A silume is a large reptilian creature with a thick gray rubbery hide. Being slow to tire and having great strength, moderate intelligence, little emotion, and some magical ability, silumes are sometimes kept as servants, mainly for tedious or unpleasant tasks. They walk equally well as bipeds or as quadrupeds, but when speed is required they more commonly run on four legs. Their forelimbs are somewhat adapted to tool use (with limited dexterity). Silumes are believed to originate with the goddess Eequor.

title: User:Silume


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Talk:Two Trees

There's another article on the same topic at Two Trees of Valinor. They need to be merged. Which should be kept and which should be the redirect? (Personally, I would keep "Two Trees of Valinor", as just "Two Trees" could really refer to just about anything. But "Two Trees" is older and should perhaps have precedence.)

There is actual concrete evidence for the theory that the light of the Two Trees does not behave like "normal" light, considering that it fell from the trees in the form of dew and was stored in vats. This is all in The Silmarillion. Aranel 18:09, 3 Aug 2004 (UTC)

 * The longer name, I think. I have a vague memory of a real-world place in the western US called "Two Trees", and the longer name makes it clearly in the Tolkien department. Stan 21:02, 3 Aug 2004 (UTC)

title: Talk:Two Trees


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User talk:Richarnd

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

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title: User talk:Richarnd


text:
Taskmaster (character)

Taskmaster (Anthony "Tony" Masters) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer David Michelinie and artist George Pérez, the character made his debut in The Avengers #195 (May 1980). Possessing photographic reflexes that allow him to mimic any fighting style at the cost of his long and short-term memory, he has served as an adversary of Marvel Universe superheroes such as Captain America, Ant-Man, and Spider-Man. He is usually depicted as a mercenary hired by criminal organizations to act as a training instructor. He is the biological father of Finesse.

The character has been adapted from the comics into various forms of media, including several animated television series and video games. A female version of Taskmaster named Antonia Dreykov appears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Black Widow (2021), portrayed by Olga Kurylenko. Kurylenko will reprise the role in the upcoming film Thunderbolts* (2025).

Publication history
The Taskmaster first appeared briefly in The Avengers #195 (May 1980), created by writer David Michelinie and artist George Pérez. making his full debut in Avengers #196 (June 1980).

The Taskmaster appeared in his own limited series Taskmaster #1–4 (2002), which was followed by a supporting role in Agent X #1–15 (2002–2003). The character went on to feature prominently in Avengers: The Initiative as a supporting character in #8–19 (2008–2009) and Avengers: The Initiative Annual #1 (2008) then later as a central character in #20–35 (2009–2010) during the Dark Reign and Siege storylines. Age of Heroes #3 (2010) provided the prologue for the Taskmaster's second limited series Taskmaster vol. 2 #1–4 (2010–2011). In 2011 Taskmaster got his first solo graphic novel collecting a four-issue story—Taskmaster: Unthinkable.

As part of Marvel's 2012–2015 rebranding, Marvel NOW!, Taskmaster joined a new team of Secret Avengers.

Fictional character biography
Taskmaster is a mysterious figure believed to have been born in the Bronx, New York City. He is able to mimic the physical movements of anyone he witnesses; writers differ on whether this counts as a "super power". He claims to have had this ability since childhood. He is a combat instructor and part-time mercenary. Initially portrayed as a villain, he has also trained U.S. Agent and other neophyte superheroes at the behest of the U.S. government. As a mercenary, he has no ideology except that of his employer. Taskmaster has occasionally been used to impersonate other characters.

Tony Masters first demonstrated unusual abilities during childhood. After watching a cowboy show on television, he found himself able to duplicate sophisticated rope tricks, and later became a star high school quarterback after watching one NFL game. Psychiatrists explained Tony's abilities to be a form of photographic memory which they called "photographic reflexes". Upon graduation, he briefly considered a career as a crime fighter, but opted for the purportedly more lucrative occupation of professional criminal.

He then began a program of observing the fighting techniques of numerous costumed heroes and villains (using archival television news broadcasts). He initially used his skills to execute several grand larcenies, but he had not properly anticipated the dangers involved. He decided to use his stolen capital to establish centers to turn aspiring criminals into polished professionals. His goal was to become a supplier for criminal organizations around the world.

Designing a costume with a white cowl and skull mask, he took the name "Taskmaster" and began to train many thugs at criminal academies he had located around the United States. His existence was eventually revealed when Pernell Solomon of the Solomon Institute for the Criminally Insane (a front for one of these academies) used the school's resources to create a clone of himself when the administrator required an organ donation, as he possessed an extremely rare blood type. Learning of his intended death, the clone managed to contact the Avengers for help. Taskmaster captured Yellowjacket, the Wasp, and Ant-Man when the Avengers invaded the school premises trying to rescue the clone, but the other Avengers followed, exposing his front operation. Taskmaster held his own against Captain America and Iron Man, but was subsequently forced to flee after a confrontation with Jocasta since his lack of experience with Jocasta's abilities made it impossible to predict the robot's next move. Taskmaster later established a new training academy in Manhattan, where he battled Spider-Man and Ant-Man, and then escaped. He later used a traveling carnival as a mobile base, where he battled Hawkeye and Ant-Man, and then escaped again. He next trained henchmen for the Black Abbott. Alongside Black Abbott, he battled Spider-Man and Nomad, and escaped yet again.

Deciding to further explore the use of a circus as a front for his academy, Taskmaster took over yet another small outfit, and used it for many months to great success. However, while it was playing a small town in Ohio, the Thing and Vance Astrovik (who would later take the name Justice) assisted a government agent in foiling Taskmaster's activities. While escaping, Taskmaster was captured by a group of U.S. Secret Service agents and taken into custody. There is reason to believe that the Red Skull was behind the Taskmaster's capture, since a group of normal men were able to capture him. Through Douglas Rockwell (the head of the President's Commission on Superhuman Activities), Mr. Smith arranged for Taskmaster to train John Walker to make him appear to be the real Captain America. To conceal the Red Skull's involvement, Rockwell had the Commission work out a deal to have years taken off Taskmaster's sentence in return for training Walker. After Taskmaster successfully trained Walker in Rogers' fighting style and the use of a shield, the Red Skull arranged for him to escape from the Commission's detention center so he could continue training lackeys and Red Skull himself.

Taskmaster's more skilled, successful, and notable students include such characters as Crossbones and Cutthroat (both the Red Skull's henchmen), U.S. Agent, Hauptmann Deutschland, Diamondback (Steve Rogers's one-time girlfriend), Spymaster, Spider-Woman, and Agent X. On the other hand, Taskmaster also trains many of his students to serve as low-rent henchmen and cannon fodder. In his early appearances, Taskmaster mentions putting intellect-reducing drugs in the diet of his students. He also routinely sent groups of his more disappointing students to serve as "sparring partners" for the Red Skull, routinely engaging several of them at a time and killing them all (Hauptmann Deutschland infiltrated the academy and used one such session as an opportunity to kidnap Red Skull). He has also employed other supervillains, such as when he hired Anaconda as his academy's calisthenics instructor.

On another occasion, Taskmaster was hired by the Triune Understanding — a religious group secretly masterminding a smear campaign to paint the Avengers as being religiously and racially intolerant — to stage an attack on a Triune facility. Posing as Captain America, he contacted Warbird, Ant-Man, Silverclaw and Captain Marvel, claiming that he needed their help to destroy a Triune building containing a mind-control machine. Although they saw through his deception and subsequently defeated him — thanks to Captain Marvel transforming into Rick Jones mere milliseconds away from Taskmaster, thus causing a complete change of attack before Taskmaster could react — the building was destroyed in the ensuing battle and Taskmaster escaped, leaving the heroes lacking any evidence of their story.

Taskmaster continued to train numerous villains and thugs until the Avengers began to search out and shut down some of his academies across the United States. Taskmaster began to spend more time working as a mercenary to make up for the loss of profit. This led him to join Agency X at the behest of his love interest Sandi Brandenberg, in missions from time to time, while continuing to teach at his academies around the world. More recently, Taskmaster is once again seen as a hired mercenary, contracted by the Committee to kill Moon Knight. Taskmaster was misled with information that Moon Knight was broken, friendless and desiring death. During the conflict these factors all proved to be false as Marc's ex-girlfriend and butler came to Spector's defense and found the will to fight back. Despite his superior fighting abilities, Taskmaster was defeated. Moon Knight then carved off part of Taskmaster's facemask, though left him alive.

Taskmaster also worked at training henchmen to copy fighting styles of specific heroes. Taskmaster unleashed Deathshield (trained to fight like Captain America), Jagged Bow (trained to fight like Hawkeye), and Blood Spider (trained to fight like Spider-Man) to face off against Spider-Man and Solo. The three were defeated, while Taskmaster escaped yet again.

When the "Civil War" broke out, Taskmaster was hired by the government and enrolled into a team of Thunderbolts and given temporary amnesty to take down the Secret Avengers. He later battles the Secret Avengers in New York. He attempts to kill Susan "Sue" Storm, only for Reed Richards to take the bullet. Enraged, Sue crushes him with an invisible telekinetic field, rendering him unconscious. He was sent to the Negative Zone Prison with the other "Major-League" members of the Thunderbolts army such as Lady Deathstrike, but was apparently freed by Deadpool. To regain his own reputation as a mercenary, Deadpool frees Taskmaster from his imprisonment to have a showdown with him while potential merc contractors watched from their captive position in a nearby prison. Taskmaster is again referred to as Tasky by Deadpool, and a fight ensues between him and the manacled merc. He mentions his professional ethics, but this simply comes down to deciding to simply maim his opponent rather than kill him. In the end, he is defeated by Deadpool who, in spite of the victory, fails to impress his captive audience. After being thanked for letting him win, Taskmaster tells Deadpool that he had not let him win, "The truth is... You're that good. You've always been that good. Which won't get you a cup of coffee until you figure out how to be a professional..." Taskmaster was given a full presidential pardon for his efforts in testing the security of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, in which he was able to break in and place Deputy Director Maria Hill in his sights. Though he was allowed to leave, a threatening message left in Hill's private bathroom revealed that if he ever desired, infiltrating S.H.I.E.L.D. would be no difficult feat.

Taskmaster replaces Gauntlet as Camp Hammond's drill instructor and is tasked with training registered superheroes for the Fifty State Initiative. Taskmaster would also be involved in MVP's cloning process inputting (via technology) the original's move set for the Scarlet Spiders as well as the move set of Spider-Man.

Taskmaster is hired by Deadpool to help his old enemy and occasional friend defeat the Thunderbolts. Being disguised as Deadpool, he gets captured and is about to be beheaded when the real Deadpool saves him. Deadpool finally pays him, but he expresses annoyance at being paid from an ATM due to his major villain status.

During the "Dark Reign" storyline, Taskmaster is chosen to lead the Shadow Initiative after the Skrull invasion, with their first mission to take down Hardball's HYDRA cell in Madripoor. Along with Constrictor, Bengal, Typhoid Mary and Komodo, Taskmaster stealthily leads the group into the country, but they are soon discovered by HYDRA. Norman Osborn appoints Taskmaster to train criminals for the new Initiative, to behave like heroes. His first task is to retrain Penance. Also, when Blastaar takes control of the Negative Zone prison 42, Taskmaster is ordered to lead a squad to take the prison back. Later, he gives Night Thrasher a severe bullet wound to the head, allowing Osborn to take Night Thrasher prisoner. When Emma Frost and Namor resign from the Cabal, Taskmaster is offered membership. Taskmaster was present at a meeting when Osborn discusses about Asgard. He is severely wounded at the meeting as a result of an attack by Doctor Doom. While recovering in a hospital, Taskmaster declined to join the Cabal. Osborn cut the oxygen tank next to Taskmaster's bed, reminding him that it was Osborn who plucked him from obscurity. Taskmaster then agrees to join in the siege of Asgard. During the battle, he fights with both Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes as Captain America. As Asgard falls, Taskmaster finds Constrictor and the two beat a hasty retreat, but not before Taskmaster taunts Osborn about how Taskmaster helped Deadpool. After Osborn's ultimate defeat, Taskmaster and Constrictor went back to mercenary work.

A false rumor is spread that Taskmaster is leaking information about the criminal underworld to Rogers's new 'heroic' regime. A bounty of $1,000,000,000 is placed on the Taskmaster's head by the mysterious Org. The hordes of AIM, HYDRA, the Secret Empire, ULTIMATUM, the Cyber Ninjas, the Black Choppers, the Trenchcoat Mafia, the Legions of the Living Lightning, the Militiamen, the Sons of the Serpent, and the Inquisition take up the chase to claim the money. Taskmaster, ambushed in a small diner, manages to best his opponents. But the diner's waitress, Mercedes Merced, gets entangled in the saga and is included in the bounty. Taskmaster reveals to Mercedes that his powers cause him to lose his explicit memory, meaning that he cannot remember anything about his personal life, and the only way for the whole ordeal to be over is to re-discover Taskmaster's origins. Taskmaster and Mercedes' quest takes them to Mexico to battle the Don of the Dead, and then to Bolivia to the village where everyone is Hitler. Inside an exact replica of Himmler's Wewelsburg Castle, Taskmaster regains his memories. He remembers being S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Tony Masters that had been sent to Bolivia to terminate Horst Gorscht, the Nazi scientist responsible for a corrupted version of the super-soldier serum. Gorscht had developed a new serum that could unlock the mind's potential to absorb knowledge instantaneously. With Gorscht's serum and test notes destroyed, Masters injected the last of the serum into himself. Having regained these memories, Taskmaster recognizes Mercedes' voice as being the same as 'The Hub', a mysterious voice who works for the Org. Taskmaster shoots Mercedes in the shoulder and threatens to kill her if she doesn't start talking. Mercedes reveals that the Org is a S.H.I.E.L.D. front, and that she is not only an agent, but also Taskmaster's wife. Miles above the Wewelsburg castle in an airship, the Minions' International Liberation Front (a secret group composed of henchmen from all of the major terrorist organizations), led by Redshirt the Uber-Henchman, reveal their deception and plot to rule the criminal underground by using Taskmaster to lead them straight to the Org. Redshirt leads the Minions' International Liberation Front (or the acronym MILF for short) into battle against the Taskmaster and Mercedes. Mercedes convinces the Taskmaster to trust her and work together to fend off the forces of MILF. During the battle, Taskmaster regains his memories of Mercedes and how he fell in love with her. Before they can reconcile, Taskmaster is attacked from behind by Redshirt who has genetically altered his body and mastered superior fighting skills to those of Taskmaster. Redshirt gains the upper hand as the pair push each other to the limits. Mercedes tries to intervene to protect her husband, but is quickly and effortlessly cast to one side. Enraged, Taskmaster attacks Redshirt and delivers a killing blow using Redshirt's own fighting style (which causes Taskmaster to lose his memories once more). Taskmaster, not recognizing Mercedes or his reasons for being there, flees and leaves Mercedes alone once more.

Avengers Academy student Finesse later seeks out Taskmaster, thinking that he may be her long-lost father. When she finds Taskmaster, Finesse ends up sparring with him. After much sparring, Taskmaster finally relents to tell Finesse that he very well might be and most likely is her father, but that the powers to learn so much about others’ movements and techniques have caused him to forget important things in life. Knowing he likely will not remember the conversation in a couple days, Taskmaster tells Finesse that he wanted to fight her so he might remember her.

During the 2011 "Fear Itself" storyline, Taskmaster comes to the aid of Alpha Flight when it comes to forming a resistance against the Unity Party that was formed by Master of the World.

In order for the Masters of Evil to obtain the Crown of Wolves for the Shadow Council, Max Fury hired Taskmaster to retrieve it only for Taskmaster to demand more money for the job and he hid in the Hole. The Secret Avengers went to the Hole to get the Crown of Wolves before Fury got his hands on it. This led to a fight between Taskmaster and Agent Venom. However, Taskmaster escaped and returned the crown to Fury, only for Max to apparently kill Taskmaster when he asks for payment. When the crown's effects don't function for Max, Taskmaster takes the crown for himself, which saves his life by making him the Avatar for the Abyss. As the Abyss spreads, the Secret Avengers members Venom and Ant-Man are able to remove the crown and stop the spread, while Taskmaster and the Masters of Evil are left behind when the Avengers leave with Max in their custody.

The criminals of Bagalia imprison Taskmaster and are preparing to offer him up to the highest bidder. S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Secret Avengers come to rescue him and offer him a position. As their inside man, Taskmaster is part of the new High Council of A.I.M. as the Minister of Defense. Mockingbird later goes to A.I.M. Island to assist Taskmaster in helping make contact between the Iron Patriot A.I. drones and James Rhodes. After the mission goes south and Mockingbird is left stranded on AIM Island, Taskmaster works undercover to free her. But when he gets the chance to get her off the island, she doesn't respond to anything he says until both are captured. While being interrogated, Taskmaster is shot and seemingly killed by Mockingbird apparently under the control of Scientist Supreme (Andrew Forson). However, Mentallo discovered that Mockingbird purposely missed any vitals and Taskmaster survived.

At the time when Captain America was brainwashed into being a Hydra sleeper agent by Red Skull's clone using the powers of Kobik, Taskmaster later move to Bagalia where he became its sheriff.

When Taskmaster and Black Ant (Eric O'Grady's Life Model Decoy counterpart) found out what was done to Captain America to be made into a Hydra sleeper agent, they planned to have a parley with Maria Hill to discuss this with only for the new Madame Hydra (Elisa Sinclair) to get to them first. Impressed with the fighting skills of the two of them, Madame Hydra made them bodyguards.

During the "Secret Empire" storyline, Taskmaster appears as a member of Hydra's Avengers. During the battle in Washington DC, Taskmaster and Black Ant witness their teammate Odinson having enough of working for Hydra and striking them down. The two of them defect from Hydra and free the captive Champions. When Taskmaster and Black Ant asks for them to put in a good word for them, Spider-Man webs them up anyway.

Taskmaster and Black Ant later attack Empire State University where Dr. Curt Connors was teaching a class. As the inhibitor chip prevents Connors into turning into Lizard, Peter Parker sneaks off to become Spider-Man. During his fight with Black Ant and Taskmaster, Spider-Man is exposed to the Isotope Genome Accelerator that splits him from his Peter Parker side.

In a prelude to "Hunted", Taskmaster and Black Ant work with Kraven the Hunter and Arcade in capturing some animal-themed characters for his upcoming hunt. After Spider-Man thwarted the hunt, Taskmaster and Black Ant got away.

During the "King in Black" storyline, Taskmaster is among the villains recruited by Mayor Wilson Fisk to lead his Thunderbolts at the time of Knull's invasion.

At the conclusion of "The Chameleon Conspiracy" arc, Foreigner hired Taskmaster and Black Ant to help get revenge on Spider-Man.

During the "Sinister War" storyline, Taskmaster was with Foreigner, Black Ant, Chance, Jack O'Lantern, and Slyde when they are sent by Kindred to attack Spider-Man after Kindred had disrupted their armored car robbery.

During the "Devil's Reign" storyline, Taskmaster appears as a member of Mayor Wilson Fisk's latest incarnation of the Thunderbolts at the time when Mayor Fisk passed a law that forbids superhero activity.

During the "Carnage Reigns" storyline, Taskmaster joins Agent Gao's Cape-Killers.

Taskmaster was at the Bar with No Name when Spider-Woman arrived. They went outside to fight as Spider-Woman gets the information on some of the thugs he recently trained.

As Captain America is transporting a specific cargo, his futuristic helicopter gets Spider-Boy as a passenger due to his spider-senses stating that Captain America needs help from Taskmaster. Captain America figures out that one of the soldiers is actually Taskmaster using an Image Inducer as the cargo in question is Super-Adaptoid. Even though Captain America and Spider-Boy fend off Taskmaster, he makes off with Super-Adaptoid's left hand as he plans to give it to Killionaire. Taskmaster was later seen at Empire Unlimited getting reprimanded by Killionaire for not bringing all of Super-Adaptoid to him so that Shannon Stillwell can rebuild it into a suit that would give him the powers of the Avengers. When Killionaire threatened to dox Taskmaster and Shannon Stillwell, Killionaire was impressed with the latter reverse-engineering it to make the Toy Soldier that still can copy the abilities of all the Avengers and be remote-controlled by Killionaire. When Taskmaster asks for his cut, Killionaire takes Toy Soldier out for a test drive by having it attack Taskmaster.

During the "Gang War" storyline, Taskmaster was with Agent Gao's Cape-Killers at the time when Spider-Man (Miles Morales), Misty Knight, and Colleen Wing defeated Bumbler's group and Frost Pharaoh's group.

Powers and abilities
Taskmaster injected himself with SS-Hauptsturmführer Horst Gorscht's primer, an elaborate modification of the adrenal steroid cortisol designed to unlock the mind's procedural memory potential. This increased Taskmaster's natural ability to absorb knowledge. This ability is linked to his muscle memory, allowing Taskmaster to instantly replicate the physical movement of peak-level humans. Taskmaster cannot duplicate a physical feat that requires superhuman effort, like lifting a car. These "photographic reflexes" have made Taskmaster highly skilled in various forms of combat: martial arts (mimicking Elektra, Iron Fist, Shang-Chi), swordfighting (Black Knight, Silver Samurai, Swordsman), marksmanship (Captain America with a shield, Hawkeye with a bow and arrow, the Punisher with firearms, and Bullseye with various projectiles); he also displays a strenuously honed athletic ability (Black Panther, Daredevil, Spider-Man). Taskmaster can use every fighting style he has watched in any given fight. Once the Taskmaster has mastered an opponent's physical movements, he can predict the next attack. A few people can negate Taskmaster's abilities; among them are Deadpool, whose manic personality makes him nearly impossible to predict; Mister X, who uses his psychic abilities to get the better of Taskmaster in a fight; and Slapstick, whose flexible cartoony body causes Taskmaster to break his own spine upon copying the hero's ability. A side effect of the primer is severe declarative memory loss. As he gains implicit memories (i.e., knowledge and abilities), he loses explicit memories (i.e., personal experiences). The Org (Mercedes Merced) has acted as Taskmaster's surrogate memory, his banker, and his handler during his criminal career.

By viewing a video in fast-forward, Taskmaster can learn to replicate human movement at near-superhuman speed. However, this puts his body under intense strain and can only be used for short periods of time. He can manipulate his vocal cords to mimic others' voices. The Taskmaster is skilled in meditation techniques that allow him to slow his breathing and heart rate, allowing him to play dead or and survive for extended periods of time without air. He claims to have learned forensic methods from CIA agents and Mossad operatives. Taskmaster can use chi under exceptional circumstances. Taskmaster was once shown to have aquaphobia (the fear of water), but later overcame his fears.

Weaponry
Taskmaster carries many weapons. He most commonly uses a sword and a replica of Captain America's shield, but also carries a bow and a quiver of arrows, a billy club, a lasso, nunchaku, throwing darts, and various firearms. Taskmaster once used a stolen S.H.I.E.L.D. device that was able to create various forms of weaponry (such as arrows and shields) using solid energy.

Age of Ultron
In the Age of Ultron story, the Taskmaster is depicted as working with the Black Panther and Red Hulk in Chicago attempting to capture Ultron Sentinel technology. Successful in doing so, Red Hulk holds off the Ultron minions to allow Taskmaster and Black Panther to escape. When Taskmaster tries to run away with one of the Ultron Sentinels, Red Hulk tells him he doesn't trust him, and then kills him.

Avataars: Covenant of the Shield
An alternate version of the Taskmaster appears in Avataars: Covenant of the Shield #1 (2000) where the Marvel Universe is re-imagined in a fantasy setting. In this reality, the Taskmaster is an assassin known as the Deathmaster.

Deadpool Max
A female version of Taskmaster appeared in the Marvel Max series Deadpool Max. This version became a mother figure to a young version of Deadpool when she kidnapped his Muskrat troop. She was later revealed to be an operative for United States interest, a potential cult leader and child molester.

House of M
In the House of M reality, the Taskmaster appeared as a member of the strike force known as the Brotherhood. Although not a mutant, he used his abilities to pass as one, since humans (even super-powered humans) were treated as second-class citizens. However, after he was beaten by Luke Cage for the murder of Tigra, he was found to be a human masquerading as a mutant.

JLA/Avengers
In JLA/Avengers #4 (2004), part of the Marvel/DC co-published crossover series, the Taskmaster is among the supervillains to confront Batman, Black Panther, Black Widow and Huntress in the final battle with Krona.

Marvel Apes
A primate version of the Taskmaster appears in the Marvel Apes titles Marvel Apes: Evolution Starts Here #1 (2009), Marvel: Apes: Speedball Special #1 (2009) and Marvel Apes: Grunt Line Special #1 (2009).

Marvel Universe Millennial Visions 2001
In the Marvel Universe Millennial Visions 2001 (2002) storyline Thunderbolts: Give a Guy a Break, Hawkeye takes it upon himself to force supervillains to seek redemption. The Taskmaster is among the supervillains hypnotized by the Ringmaster and forced to become a member of the Thunderbolts.

Marvel Universe vs. the Punisher
In Marvel Universe vs. the Punisher #4 (September 2010), where the Marvel Universe is infected by a cannibal plague, the Taskmaster is killed when the Red Hulk tears his head off.

Marvel vs. Capcom
The Taskmaster appears in Marvel Vs. Capcom: Fate of Two Worlds #1 (2011) based on his appearance in the Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds video game. He briefly appears in Latveria, having been hired by Dr. Doom to aid in the invasion of the second Earth and grows increasingly impatient due to Albert Wesker's inability to fully link the two worlds.

Ultraverse
The Taskmaster appears in the Malibu Comics (also known as the Ultraverse) series Siren (1995), Siren #1–3 (1995) and Siren Special #1 (1996) as a supporting character.

Ultimate Marvel
The Ultimate Marvel version of Taskmaster appears in Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man; this iteration is an African-American mercenary. Hired by Phillip Roxxon, he confronts Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Cloak & Dagger and Bombshell, and displays the ability to absorb and re-channel energy-based superpowers. Taskmaster is eventually defeated by the young amateur superheroes.

What If
In a What If? storyline What if... Steve Rogers had refused to give up being Captain America? (vol. 2) #3 (1989), the Taskmaster trained the Super-Patriot and the Buckies to replace Captain America.

Television

 * Taskmaster appears in Ultimate Spider-Man, voiced primarily by Clancy Brown, and briefly by Stan Lee. This version is a founding member of the Thunderbolts, alongside Norman Osborn.
 * Taskmaster appears in Avengers Assemble, voiced again by Clancy Brown.

Film

 * Taskmaster makes a cameo appearance in Avengers Confidential: Black Widow & Punisher as a member of Leviathan.
 * Taskmaster appears in Iron Man and Captain America: Heroes United, voiced again by Clancy Brown. This version intends to take over Hydra and upgrade himself with Iron Man's technology.
 * A female incarnation of Taskmaster named Antonia Dreykov appears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Black Widow (2021), portrayed by Olga Kurylenko. This version is the disfigured daughter of General Dreykov who completes missions for the Red Room before Natasha Romanoff undoes her brainwashing.
 * Kurylenko will reprise her role as Antonia Dreykov in the upcoming MCU film Thunderbolts* (2025).

Video games

 * Taskmaster appears as a playable character in Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, voiced by Steve Blum. In his single-player ending, he profits off of exercise videos and self-merchandising after defeating Galactus.
 * Taskmaster appears as a playable character in Marvel Heroes, voiced again by Steve Blum.
 * Taskmaster appears as the final boss of Captain America's storyline in Avengers Initiative, voiced again by Steve Blum.
 * Taskmaster appears as a boss and unlockable playable character in Marvel: Avengers Alliance.
 * Taskmaster appears as an unlockable playable character in Lego Marvel Super Heroes, voiced again by Steve Blum.
 * Taskmaster appears as an unlockable playable character in Marvel: Avengers Alliance Tactics.
 * Taskmaster appears as a boss in Captain America: The Winter Soldier - The Official Game, voiced by Roger Craig Smith.
 * Taskmaster appears as an unlockable playable character in Marvel Avengers Academy, voiced by Adam Montoya.
 * Taskmaster appears as an unlockable playable character in Lego Marvel's Avengers.
 * Taskmaster appears as a boss in Marvel's Spider-Man, voiced by Brian Bloom. In a side mission, he sets up a series of challenges around Manhattan to test Spider-Man's abilities while observing him from afar. Once all of the challenges are completed, Taskmaster confronts Spider-Man personally. While the former is defeated, he escapes after revealing he had been hired by a mysterious organization to determine if Spider-Man was worth recruiting.
 * Taskmaster appears as the first boss of Marvel's Avengers, voiced by Walter Gray IV. This version is a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who runs a private mercenary group and has history with Black Widow. Additionally, clones of Taskmaster created by A.I.M. appear in side missions.
 * Taskmaster appears as a playable character in Marvel: Future Fight as part of the Secret Empire update.
 * Taskmaster appears as a purchasable outfit in Fortnite Battle Royale.

Merchandise

 * Taskmaster received a figurine in The Classic Marvel Figurine Collection.
 * Taskmaster received a figurine in Funko's "Marvel Pop!" line.
 * Taskmaster received a figure in Toy Biz's Marvel Legends line.
 * Taskmaster received a figure in the Marvel Minimates line.
 * Taskmaster received a figure in the Marvel Super Hero Squad line as part of a two-pack with Deadpool.
 * Taskmaster received a figure in the Marvel Universe line's "Marvel's Greatest Battles" sub-line as part of a two-pack with Deadpool.
 * Taskmaster received a figure in the Lego Marvel Super Heroes "Hulk Lab Smash" set.
 * Taskmaster, based on his second design in Ultimate Spider-Man, received a figure in Hasbro's Marvel Legends line via the "Mercenaries of Mayhem" sub-line.
 * Taskmaster received a figure in the Marvel Legends Avengers: Infinity War Thanos Build-A-Figure line.
 * The MCU incarnation of Taskmaster received a figure in Marvel Legends Black Widow line.

Miscellaneous

 * Taskmaster appears in the HeroClix Collectible Miniatures game.
 * Taskmaster appears in the Marvel Crisis Protocol miniatures game.

title: Taskmaster (character)


text:
China National Highways

The China National Highways (CNH/Guodao) is a network of trunk roads across mainland China. Apart from the expressways of China that are planned and constructed later, most of the CNH are not controlled-access highways.

History
The building of highways is seen as key to accelerating infrastructure construction. In 2003, completed investment in highway construction was 350 billion yuan and 219 key highway projects progressed, focusing mainly on the five north–south and seven east–west national arterial highways as well as highways in western China and in rural areas. By the end of 2004, the total length of highways open to traffic reached 1.871 million km, including 34,300 km of expressways up to advanced modern transportation standard, ranking second in the world. The nation's highway density has now reached 19.5 km per 100 km2.

With the completion in 2008 of the five north–south and the seven east–west national arterial highways, totaling 35,000 km, Beijing and Shanghai were linked by major highways, chiefly expressways, to the capitals of all provinces and autonomous regions of China, creating highway connections between over 200 cities.

The aim of the National Expressway Network Plan approved in early 2005 is an expressway system connecting all capitals of provinces and autonomous regions with Beijing and with each other, linking major cities and important counties. The network will have a total length of about 85,000 km, including seven originating in Beijing; the Beijing-Shanghai, Beijing-Taipei, Beijing-Hong Kong-Macau, Beijing-Kunming, Beijing-Lhasa, Beijing-Ürümqi, and Beijing-Harbin expressways. Half of the projects are already completed.

In 2013 the Ministry of Transport announced the "National Highway Network Planning (2013 - 2030)", which will bring the total number of highways to 119, with 81 connecting highways between them. The total mileage will be increased to 265,000 km, with increased focus on the western and less developed regions.

In 2022, the NDRC and MOT published a new National Highway Network Plan, added and re-formed several expressways and national highways. It is expected that all national highways will connect all county-level (or above) administrative regions (except those that are parts of Sansha), important national tourist attractions and border checkpoints.

Regulation
Although an accepted speed limit on China National Highways is 120 km/h, it is common to see cars pass other by in excess of 120 km/h. The lack of speed detection cameras on some routes, lack of a posted speed limit outside of localities and tremendous distances of road mileage, means that enforcing this speed limit is rather herculean. In addition, there is a notable shortage of traffic police in mainland China.

Nationwide highways often begin with the letter GXXX, followed by three numerals, e.g.: G107. It is said that the GXXX stands for 国家 (guójiā), or national.

The numbering of the highways is as follows:

 * Five vertical and seven horizontal main routes were labelled in the former 000 series (the so-called "five downs and seven acrosses"), although these have been deprecated in favour of the "NTHS" (7, 11, 18) system.
 * Highways in the 100 series (e.g. 102, 106) begin from Beijing - the capital city of the People's Republic of China - and spread out in all compass directions, except for China National Highway 112, which originates in Bazhou as it is a ring road around Jingjinji.
 * Highways in the 200 series stretch from north to south (e.g., from Hohhot in Inner Mongolia through to Beihai in Guangxi province);
 * Highways in the 300 series stretch from east to west (e.g., from Shanghai through to Ruili in Yunnan province);
 * Highways in the 500, 600 and 700 series are connecting roads between other national highways.

In major cities, there is usually a gap in the road within the city.

List of all China National Highways

Highways listed in red are under construction or still in planning. Those listed in yellow are currently partially finished. Those listed in grey were planned but never built, or have been abandoned or redesignated.

Former 000 Series
Note: 000 Series China National Highways pointed to five specific vertical routes, as well as seven specific horizontal routes. Routes ending in "0" were north–south (vertical) routes; routes ending in "5" were east–west (horizontal) routes. The new system with two to four numbers that indicate the "NTHS" (7918) system is now in use instead of the 000 Series. For the expressways named under the new numbering system, see Expressways of China.

It seems that the old 0xx numbers are still signposted using the format GZXX, e.g. in the Qinghai province, there are signs at the G109 (old G025) showing the number GZ25.

title: China National Highways


text:
A4 motorway (Switzerland)

The A4 motorway in Switzerland begins from Schaffhausen, in northern Switzerland, and travels southward into central Switzerland.

The general route of A4 is: Bargen - Schaffhausen - Winterthur - Zürich - Central Switzerland.

Route description

The A4 starts out as an Autostrasse road at the border crossing Bargen / Neuhaus am Randen, at the border to Germany, crossing a suspension bridge at Schaffhausen over the Rhine, and continues through Zurich's wine country to Winterthur. Between Winterthur and Zurich, the A4 runs together with the developed A1 Autobahn (motorway). From Zurich the branching east from the A4 and the A1 via the so-called Nordring the motorway interchange Limmattal, the motorway runs from where the A4 and A3, since 4 May 2009, joined to the Western Bypass of Zurich; until May 2009 this section ended for the motorway junction Birmensdorf. In November 2009 the opening of the A4 in Knonaueramt between the branches of Zurich West is planned, at Blegi Cham. From Blegi, the A4 goes on to Schwyz and ends as an Autostrasse road at Brunnen.

The continuation of the N4 national road that leads from Brunnen to Altdorf in the canton of Uri, has the status of a third-class national highway, with the physical role of a main road. The tunnel opened in 2005, is again shown as Flüelen Bypass Highway; yet the connection to the A2, however, remained as a non-main road intersection.

Mini-Highway Flurlingen Andelfingen
On 20 October 2006, the Swiss Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC) started a project to strengthen the implementation of the two-lane national highway between Flurlingen and Andelfingen, officially approved as a four-lane mini-freeway. The expansion will cost about 140 million Swiss francs. Thus the large volume of traffic is taken into account.

In the summer of 2007, construction work began on the mini-freeway. The completion and release of the developed part is planned for 20 October 2010.

Mini Highway Andelfingen branching Winterthur North
According to a media release from the Federal Roads Authority (Winterthur branch), for the year 2014/2015, the expansion of the previously two-lane section of Route Andelfingen to Winterthur North Branch, into a four-lane mini-freeway, is also officially approved.

Galgenbucktunnel
In May 2007, the Government of the Canton Schaffhausen presented the design project for the Galgenbuck-tunnel. The tunnel serves as a two-lane bypass the town of Neuhausen Rhine Falls. Currently, over 25,000 vehicles travel daily through Neuhausen. After commissioning, it will be only half the traffic. The tunnel has been listed since 1970 in the master plan.

From Schaffhausen south, the A4 will create a 1138 m long tunnel with a slope of 4.5 percent, through the Galgenbuck Klettgau to the main road into the 13th link with the A4 intersections. In the service duct beneath the roadway, an escape tunnel has been built. Since this law concerns the transformation of a motorway connection, the federal government provides, under the new system of financial and division of tasks between the Confederation and the cantons, the full costs of approximately CHF 175 million. Construction is planned for summer 2010, with entry into service in 2014.

Reclassifying main road 15 as a national road
At the federal level, under the title "development of the national road network" (a revision of the WHO, "the Federal Decree") work has been performed on the national road network since 21 June 1960. During the consultation, the Federal Council in mid-2008 had invited the cantons to submit comments.

The so-called "New network decision" provides for the adjustment of the road network in the canton of Schaffhausen before the actual transit traffic. Ending on barges crossing the national highway 4 is obtained on the German side of any road performance, the transit traffic in the direction of Stuttgart, called on the cantonal main road 15 (J15), carried out through the border crossing Thayngen, and then removed from the German federal highway 34, which for Bundesautobahn 81 leads.

The main road 15 is, therefore, planned for 1 January 2010 from the junction to the border Mutzentäli Thayngen / Bietingen to be reclassified to the National Road, and the N4 today in return from the connector Schaffhausen Swiss border, to Bargen / Neuhaus am Randen, will be reclassified as the cantonal main road. The castling of the J15 shall be known N4/A4; the N4 is the new main road 4, while the old main road 4 can be in turn re-classified as the side street.

The Canton of Schaffhausen agreed in principle to the project, with the opinion on 15 September 2008 unanimously (69: 0 votes) adopted. Since the cantonal constitution in the case of the planned new recording of a main road into the national motorway network also requires a referendum for an opinion, this was held on 30 November 2008 and by 88.9% Yes votes (23,974: 2,988 votes) also confirmed.

Compared to the previous state, with the "new network" decision, the national motorway network in the canton of Schaffhausen, is approximately 7.2 km shorter. The compensation-eligible main-road network has increased, however, due to the slightly longer course of the N4 towards the H4, and the inclusion of Klettgau Street (Hauptstrasse 13), as a longer total of 19.8 km.

The connections to the present main road number 15 are incorporated into the existing system of N4/A4. The future course is:

 * Border-crossing Thayngen/Bietingen
 * Rest station Schwyzerland
 * Thayngen (1)
 * Rest area Berg
 * Kesslerloch (1a)
 * Rest area Moos
 * Schaffhausen Herblingen (2)
 * Schaffhausen Schweizersbild (2a)
 * Junction Mutzentäli (3)

title: A4 motorway (Switzerland)