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PARIS21

The Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century, or PARIS21, was established in November 1999 by the United Nations, the European Commission, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank as a response to the UN Economic and Social Council resolution on the goals of the UN International Conference on Financing for Development. PARIS21's main objective is "to achieve national and international development goals and to reduce poverty in low and middle income countries". In pursuit of this, PARIS21 "facilitates statistical capacity development, advocates for the integration of reliable data in decision-making, and coordinates donor support to statistics". The PARIS21 Secretariat is hosted within the Statistics and Data Directorate of the OECD in Boulogne-Billancourt, France.

History
The OECD Development Assistance Committee hosted a meeting of 100 statistical and policy officials from developing countries, international organisations, regional banks and bilateral donors on 18–19 November 1999 to discuss the challenges faced by policymakers due to outdated, insufficient statistics, and the challenges faced by statisticians due to limited resources and low priority status in government. As a result of this meeting, PARIS21 was established as a "global partnership of national, regional and international statisticians, analysts, policy-makers, development professionals and other users of statistics". The primary purpose of PARIS21 is to "promote, influence and facilitate statistical capacity development and the better use of statistics". In function, PARIS21 acts as a "forum and a network" for relevant stakeholders "interested in the production and use of statistics to support economic and social development and to promote better governance". Members of this partnership work to advocate for better statistics production and use in both "policy and technical domains", and push for more and better funding for data and statistics in development.

Structure
The PARIS21 Secretariat, led by the PARIS21 Secretariat Executive Head, is responsible for coordinating Partnership activities and "implementing the day-to-day work programme of PARIS21 as approved by the Board and the Executive Committee". The Board consists of stakeholder representatives from developing countries, bilateral donors and international organisations. The Board meets once a year to review the PARIS21 Programme of Work and to facilitate dialogue on general issues relating to the development and use of statistics. Outside of Board meetings, Secretariat activities are guided and monitored by a small Executive Committee consisting of members selected by the Board. This committee has the ability to organise task teams and ad hoc projects in the Board's absence.

PARIS21's governance agreements were most recently revised in December 2017. Only occurring twice since PARIS21's inception (a revision was also made in November 2006), revisions to PARIS21's governance agreements are made to "reflect the evolution" of PARIS21's role based on feedback from the Board.

National Strategies for the Development of Statistics (NSDS)
PARIS21's work involves assisting low- and middle-income countries to design, implement, and evaluate National Strategies for the Development of Statistics (NSDS). NSDS provide an overall strategic vision of the development of a country's national statistical system (NSS) in line with the data priorities of national, regional and international development policies. NSDS serves as a comprehensive framework for the coordination of all data ecosystem stakeholders as well as for international and bilateral assistance. It addresses issues related to the data production, dissemination, access and use, in addition to modernisation of the NSS.

Advocacy
As a partnership, PARIS21's work involves connecting producers and users of statistics. It advocates for support to statistics at the international, regional and national levels. It produces a yearly Partner Report on Support to Statistics (PRESS), which documents the global status of technical and financial support to statistical development. At the country level, PARIS21 collaborates with individual national statistical systems to produce a Country Report on Support to Statistics (CRESS) examining the state of funding for statistics in the national statistical system. Additionally, PARIS21 organises in-country training sessions and workshops for national statistical offices, journalism and media professionals and others to develop skills in communicating statistics, data visualization and advocacy.

Capacity development
Statistical Capacity Development Outlook & Monitor

In March 2019, PARIS21 published its Statistical Capacity Development Outlook report on "current trends, challenges and emerging approaches in statistical capacity development". An online, interactive "Statistical Capacity Monitor" platform was launched in coordination with the report, aiming to "play a role in guiding future efforts to develop capacity within and across national statistical systems and to support co-ordination efforts among donors". 13 As of January 2020, the PARIS21 Statistical Capacity Monitor features 109 indicators on statistical capacity and capacity development to "support countries, donors and service providers to tailor capacity development programmes in statistics". The Monitor provides access to an evolving set of indicators on statistical capacity intended to offer insight on where countries stand in different areas of capacity. It "facilitates country and regional comparisons across multiple dimensions of statistical capacity, presenting trends in key drivers (such as funding and legislation).”

Capacity Development 4.0

According to its website, PARIS21 coined the term "Capacity Development 4.0" in 2016 to describe a new way of undertaking capacity development in national statistical systems. Capacity Development 4.0 is defined as:"'the process through which a country’s national statistical system, its organisations and individuals, obtain, strengthen and maintain their abilities to collect, produce, analyse and disseminate high-quality data to meet user needs'."This approach is intended to bring together new data stakeholders, better involves users and to promote a holistic view of statistical capacity development. It is meant to go beyond technical skills, and emphasises "softer" skills such as leadership, change management, advocacy and networking. In January 2020, PARIS21 published its Guidelines for Developing Statistical Capacity: A Roadmap for Capacity Development 4.0.

Innovation
Advanced Data Planning Tool

PARIS21 launched its Advanced Data Planning Tool (ADAPT) in 2017 as a free cloud-based tool for national statistical offices and "other data producers to adapt their data production to the priority data needs from policy makers". ADAPT was designed for data demand and supply analysis, developing of NSDS and other data plans and to monitor data plan activities, including costing and budgeting. The tool itself can be customised to accommodate country-specific needs, and it offers support in multiple languages.

While ADAPT is an online tool, it is also used in face-to-face field workshops organised worldwide by PARIS21 and partners to train national statistical offices on data planning.

In 2019, PARIS21 introduced a gender-specific module to ADAPT.

Citizen Generated Data

PARIS21 works with national statistical offices to support the use of citizen-generated data (CGD) in official reporting. PARIS21's support addresses areas of country-level advocacy, coordination and collaboration mechanisms and capacity development. PARIS21 also works to develop quality assurance frameworks for CGD validation and integration.

PARIS21 Academy

In January 2020, PARIS21 launched an e-learning platform called PARIS21 Academy which is open to anyone, but "primarily serves staff from official statistical agencies and data users like journalists". The platform hosts multimedia content including e-learning modules on topics such as data planning, gender statistics, data communication, financing data for development, trust in data and statistics, and statistical capacity development.

Supporting gender statistics
PARIS21 collaborates with UN Women since 2018 under the latter's flagship programme "Women Count" to support gender statistics at the global, regional and national level. As part of this collaboration, PARIS21 – in cooperation with national and international experts in gender statistics – developed a Gender Statistics Assessment Framework to help countries evaluate the state of gender statistics in terms of data and capacity gaps. The assessment is meant to provide input on mainstreaming the gender perspective in national strategies for the development of statistics, a process which is currently underway in Cambodia and El Salvador (as of January 2020). PARIS21's assessment process has also been piloted in the Dominican Republic, Egypt, the Kyrgyz Republic, Maldives and Senegal. The integration of gender statistics in the national statistical strategies is intended to secure political interest and funding which can enhance production and dissemination.

PARIS21 is also working to improve data dissemination and communication of gender statistics through media engagement and data visualization trainings. An e-learning module on communicating gender statistics for journalists and producers of statistics is being developed for the PARIS21 Academy. PARIS21 is also reporting on developing partners' support to gender statistics through a special module in its PRESS report. The gender module of the PRESS survey provides valuable information on bilateral and multilateral donor support to projects targeting gender statistics.

Role in international activities
Bern Network on Financing Data for Development

The Bern Network on Financing Data for Development formed in 2019 and is described by PARIS21 as an "open, multi-stakeholder alliance to support the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by promoting more and better financing for data". The Bern Network is focused on low-income countries and fragile states, working to "support better identification of needs, improved investment proposals, better co-ordination at the country level, and bridge domestic and external financial and technical support for low-capacity countries".

In December 2019, the Bern Network released a paper on its five action areas to improve the quality and quantity of funding for development data, building on an earlier report published in July 2019.

Network members are currently working to develop concrete commitments on more and better funding for data to be launched at the United Nations World Data Forum on Sustainable Development Data 2020 in Bern, Switzerland.

Cross Regional Engagement / Cross Regional Fora

PARIS21's annual Cross Regional Fora began in 2015 as a platform of engagement and exchange to bring together multiple stakeholders from the national, regional and global levels to discuss good practices, experiences and challenges surrounding various themes in statistics. The fora also serve as a venue to advance recommendations for improving current statistical practices, while also contributing to knowledge creation and sharing. The most recent Cross Regional Forum in 2019 centred on trust in data and official statistics. Participants represented national statistical offices, international organisations, civil society and academia. The 2019 Forum also launched the PARIS21 2020 Trust Initiative, a project funding opportunity for proposals of how to "enhance trust" in data at the country level.

title: PARIS21


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George Henry Williams

George Henry Williams (March 26, 1823 – April 4, 1910) was an American judge and politician. He served as chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, was the 32nd Attorney General of the United States, and was elected Oregon's U.S. senator, and served one term. Williams, as U.S. senator, authored and supported legislation that allowed the U.S. military to be deployed in Reconstruction of the southern states to allow for an orderly process of re-admittance into the United States. Williams was the first presidential Cabinet member to be appointed from the Pacific Coast. As attorney general under President Ulysses S. Grant, Williams continued the prosecutions that shut down the Ku Klux Klan. He had to contend with controversial election disputes in Reconstructed southern states. President Grant and Williams legally recognized P. B. S. Pinchback as the first African American state governor. Williams ruled that the Virginius, a gun-running ship delivering men and munitions to Cuban revolutionaries, which was captured by Spain during the Virginius Affair, did not have the right to bear the U.S. flag. However, he also argued that Spain did not have the right to execute American crew members. Nominated for Supreme Court Chief Justice by President Grant, Williams failed to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate primarily due to Williams's opposition to U.S. Attorney A. C. Gibbs, his former law partner, who refused to stop investigating Republican fraud in the special congressional election that resulted in a victory for Democrat James Nesmith.

In 1875, Williams resigned as U.S. Attorney General after his wife was accused of taking bribes from the custom house firm Pratt & Boyd, which attempted to persuade the U.S. Justice Department to drop litigation against the company. After his resignation, Williams took part in the effort to count Florida ballots for Rutherford B. Hayes during the controversial presidential election of 1876. Williams returned to Oregon, resumed private law practice, and was elected Portland's mayor, serving two terms from 1902 to 1905. Williams, at the age of 83, was indicted for not enforcing restrictions on gambling; he was acquitted and served out the rest of his term as mayor.

Early life and law career
George Henry Williams was born in upstate New York, New Lebanon, Columbia County, on March 26, 1823. When he was very young his family moved to Onondaga County, where was educated in public and private schools, including Pompey Academy. Williams studied law under Daniel Gott, and was admitted to the bar in 1844. Williams then moved to Iowa Territory, where he practiced law in Fort Madison. After Iowa was admitted to statehood, Williams was elected district judge in 1847, serving until 1852. In 1853, Williams was appointed Chief Justice of Oregon Territory by President Franklin Pierce. At the 1857 Oregon Constitutional Convention, Williams urged that slavery be made illegal in Oregon as a requirement for statehood. Williams advocated unsuccessfully that a woman's property not be subject to her husband's debts.

In the early years of the Oregon Supreme Court, the three justices also rode circuit and acted as trial level judges. As a presiding judge while riding circuit, Williams presided over the Holmes v. Ford case that freed a slave family since slavery was illegal in the territory. In 1857, he was a member of the Oregon Constitutional Convention held before the establishment of Oregon as a U.S. state. Williams remained on the court until 1858 when he resigned from the bench. He then moved to Portland, Oregon, where he resumed the practice of law.

Williams, a Democrat, supported Stephen Douglas during the presidential election of 1860. Williams attended the Oregon Union convention of 1862, having opposed slavery, and was the chairman of the Election Committee.

U.S. Senator
In 1864 Williams, having changed over to the Republican Party, was elected to the United States Senate; he served one term, from 1865 to 1871. In 1865, Sen. Williams, a Radical Republican, was appointed to the Committee on Finance and Public Lands and the Joint Committee on Reconstruction. In 1866 Williams authored the Tenure of Office Act, passed by Congress in 1867 over President Andrew Johnson's veto, that limited the President in removing Cabinet officers. This act was vital to the Republican Party, having saved the offices of appointed Republicans throughout the United States. In 1867, he authored and supported the Military Reconstruction Act, passed by Congress over President Johnson's veto, that authorized U.S. military control of the South. This act permanently restored and Reconstructed the formerly Confederate states in rebellion back into the United States in an orderly and peaceful manner using the strength of the U.S. military. In 1868, Williams and his senatorial colleague Henry W. Corbett voted guilty in President Andrew Johnson's impeachment trial; Johnson was acquitted by one vote. Williams was defeated in the election of 1870.

U.S. Joint High Commissioner

In 1871, President Grant appointed Williams one of six U.S. Joint High Commissioners to negotiate a settlement treaty between Britain and the U.S. in Washington, D.C., over the Alabama Claims and America's Northwest boundary between the U.S. and Canada. Six representatives had been chosen to represent British and Canadian interests making a total of twelve High Commissioners. Williams was chosen to be on the U.S. treaty commission due to his experience and career in the Pacific Northwest. Williams proved to be a valuable member of the U.S. Commission and served in this position with dignity. In addition to settling the Alabama claims against Britain for allowing Confederate ships to be armed in British ports, at stake was the U.S. Northwest border running through the Rosario Strait. The U.S. desired that the boundary run through the Haro Strait, however, this became a highly contentious issue between the U.S., Britain, and Canada. The Washington, D.C., treaty Commissioners finally decided that the Emperor of Germany, Kaiser Wilhelm I, would settle the boundary matter. Williams was able to convince the Committee that the German Emperor needed to strictly interpret the Treaty of 1846 and that the boundary be determined by the most used channel, the Haro Strait. Through Williams's efforts, the German Emperor finally chose the Haro Strait as the Northwest boundary between the U.S. and Canada; the U.S. received the San Juan Islands.

U.S. Attorney General
In December 1871, during later Reconstruction, President Grant appointed Williams as Attorney General of the United States; he served three years until 1875. His appointment was made to satisfy demands by Pacific Coast politicians that the region be represented in the cabinet. Williams was also the legal counsel for the Alaska Improvement Company in which Grant was a shareholder. President Grant's southern Reconstruction policy worked primarily through Williams's Justice Department supported by Grant's Secretary of War, William W. Belknap.

Prosecution of Klan
Attorney General Williams continued to prosecute the Ku Klux Klan until December 1872 when he issued a clemency policy toward the South. The Justice Department had been inundated by multiple caseloads against the Klan and did not have the manpower to effectively prosecute all of them. Williams finished his prosecution of the remaining Klan cases in the Spring of 1873. Williams believed continued prosecutions of the Klan was unnecessary and was concerned over negative public reaction to the Klan prosecutions. The suppression of the Klan led to African American turnout at the polls throughout the South, and Grant was re-elected in part due to blacks voting for Grant.

Toured the South (1872)
During the presidential election of 1872, Attorney General Williams toured the Southern states advocating President Grant's Southern Reconstruction policy through public speeches. Prominent Southern cities that Williams visited and spoke at included Richmond, Virginia; Savannah, Georgia; and Charleston, South Carolina. Through Williams’ efforts, Southern states went over to the Republican ticket, including Virginia, South Carolina, and Arkansas. This was the last time that Republicans had a majority victory in the South after the Democratic Party took control of all of the Southern Reconstructed states in 1877, known as the “Solid South”. No Republican presidential candidate would win any former Confederate state until Warren G. Harding carried Tennessee in 1920, and the Democratic Party would carry a majority of former Confederate states in every presidential election until the party's support for black civil rights caused the defection of almost all the region's white voters in the 1968 election.

Alabama election (1872)
When election disputes occurred during the Alabama state elections in 1872; both state Democrats and Republicans appealed to U.S. Attorney General Williams for settlement. Both President Grant and Williams thoroughly consulted each other in considering a settlement for the contentious Alabama political crisis. On December 12, 1872, President Grant and George Henry Williams peacefully settled the disputed Alabama state elections between the Democrats and Republicans by issuing five resolutions to Governor David P. Lewis. Gov. Lewis and the Republican legislature agreed to the five resolutions that included a Democratic and Republican representative to make a coordinated count of a disputed election result in Marengo County. Williams had required that the current House resign and the House building be vacated before settling the disputed election returns. Williams also vacated the Alabama Senate while disputed senatorial elections were resolved. In addition to elections, Williams settled per diem compensation disputes for office holders.

Louisiana election (1872)
During the election of 1872, Louisiana was in political turmoil, having two rival factions contending for control of the state legislature. Democrat John D. McEnery and Republican William P. Kellogg both claimed to have won the governorship; both parties mired in charges of voting fraud. Federal troops led by William H. Emory, in charge of the Department of the Gulf, kept the peace during and immediately after the election. On December 3, Attorney General Williams, at the request of Kellogg, ruled that President Grant would enforce any decision by the United States District Courts. After multiple state Returning Boards failed to resolve the election, U.S. District Court Judge Edmund H. Darrell ordered that Kellogg was the winner of the Louisiana election.

In the meantime, on December 9, U.S. Marshal Stephen B. Packard, who was affiliated with the New Orleans Custom House Gang led by President Grant's brother-in-law (James F. Casey), chose a legislature that impeached sitting Governor Henry Clay Warmoth and put in charge P. B. S. Pinchback, a Kellogg supporter, as the United States' first African American state governor. On December 14, Attorney General Williams informed Warmoth that President Grant recognized Kellogg as the rightful, elected governor of Louisiana. This action upset the McEnery faction, who believed that President Grant and Attorney General Williams had taken sides in a state election. On December 16, Attorney General Williams reaffirmed Kellogg's election, Pinchback as the lawful governor of Louisiana, and recognized other elected Republican candidates and presidential electors.

Virginius affair (1873)
In October 1873, a privateer gun-running ship flying the American flag, the Virginius, secretly owned by Cuban insurgents during the Cuban Ten Years' War was captured by a Spanish warship. In November, a total of 53 crewmembers, including American and British seamen, were tried and executed by Spanish mercenary, Juan N. Burriel, in Santiago, Cuba. On December 17, the Virginius was turned over to the United States Navy according to an agreement between the U.S. and Spain. On the same day, after an investigation by the U.S. Justice Department, Attorney General Williams ruled that the Virginius had been purchased by fraud and did not have the legal right to carry the American flag, however, he argued that the Spanish did not have the right to capture it on open waters and execute American crewmen, since the United States only had the right to investigate if the Virginius had been legally registered in New York. Williams’ ruling on the ownership of the Virginius ship was a mixture of "pretense, legality, and bluff". Through negotiations, 91 crewmembers were returned to New York and families of those Americans who were executed by Burriel were eventually awarded $80,000 reparations from Spain in 1875.

Chief Justice nomination (1873)
In December 1873, President Grant nominated Williams to become Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Initially, Grant had Senator Roscoe Conkling's support for the nomination. However, rumor spread through Washington that Williams had used Justice Department funds to pay for his wife's expensive carriage. Williams had drawn on Justice Department funds, replaced by himself, when banks suspended payment on checks during the Panic of 1873. Sen. Conkling believed under the circumstances the nomination should be revoked. In December 1873, after previously reporting the nomination to the Senate with a favorable recommendation, the Senate Judiciary Committee held two days of closed-door hearings concerning the controversy. This was the first recorded instance in which formal hearings are known to have been held on a Supreme Court nominee by a Senate committee. On January 9, 1874, an angered President Grant sent the Senate a letter that withdrew Williams's name from nomination.

Honored by New York Bar (1874)
On January 31, 1874, prominent members of the New York Bar and Bench attend a reception given by Col. Eliott F. Shepard in honor of U.S. Attorney General Williams. The extravagantly lighted party took place on No. 10 East 44 Street in New York from 8 pm to 10 pm. Williams had initially visited New York on vacation for a reunion with old friends. The Bernstein Band performed a series of popular musical opera arrangements. Prominent New York judges attended, including Justice Louis B. Woodruff and Justice Noah Davis. Almost 800 persons showed up in attendance including a future President, Collector of New York, Chester A. Arthur.

Resignation and corruption (1875)
President Grant forced Williams to resign in April 1875 upon a rumor in Washington, D.C., that Williams's wife had accepted $30,000 in payment in order for Williams to drop litigation against alleged fraudulent activities of a New York mercantile house Pratt & Boyd. Also under scrutiny was Williams’ wife's purchase using government money of an expensive carriage in Washington, which she had equipped with liveried coachman and footman. Williams had also commingled his personal accounts with those of the Justice Department, paying personal checks using government money, although he made repayment. One of Grant's reforming cabinet members Postmaster Marshall Jewell, informed Grant Congress was planning a formal investigation into William's Justice Department. Senator Roscoe Conkling, Grant's ally in the U.S. Senate, had asked Grant that Att. Gen. Williams step down from office. William's resigned office, and Grant appointed reformer and famous New York lawyer Edwards Pierrepont for his replacement. Pierrepont made extensive investigations into the conduct of the U.S. Attorneys and U.S. Marshals in the Southern states, exposing fraud and corruption, and gave specific reform orders to that were vigorously enforced, cleaning up the Justice Department.

Later career
In February 1876, Williams was part of a three-man defense team who defended Orville E. Babcock, President Grant's military secretary, at the Whiskey Ring trial held in St. Louis. Babcock had been charged with secretive collusion with the ring, and throwing off investigators. The investigation into the Whiskey Ring was started by Grant's Secretary of Treasury Benjamin H. Bristow to clean up Republican corruption. Babcock was acquitted.

After resigning Williams declined an offer from Grant to become the U.S. minister to Spain. George Williams campaigned for the election of Rutherford B. Hayes as president in 1876. During the controversial presidential election of 1876, Williams, now a private citizen, went to Florida to manage the Hayes ballot returns.

After the 1876 U.S. presidential election, Williams returned to his Portland private law practice. Williams supported women's suffrage and the Oregon "popular government" movement.

In 1895, Williams published a compilation of Occasional Addresses gathered "from newspapers and stray places" that he had delivered as early as 1869, with the majority dating from 1885 to 1893. Intended primarily as a souvenir for friends, professional and political speeches were excluded. Among the 21 addresses presented are tributes delivered on the deaths of Generals U.S. Grant and W.T. Sherman and several prominent judges, and speeches bearing upon the history and growth of Portland, the study and practice of medicine, the militia, and the United States Supreme Court. Williams' address on the value of good thoughts was intended as advice to the 1891 graduating class of the high school at Portland.

On October 11, 1901, the Episcopal Church of America met in San Francisco to decide whether Episcopal clergymen could remarry divorced persons and discipline any Episcopal members who remarried. Former Attorney General Williams attended the meeting and opposed all restrictions by the Episcopal church on married and divorced persons and stated that such matters belonged in civil law as opposed to church law.

Williams was elected Portland's mayor serving from 1902 to 1905. On January 4, 1905, Mayor Williams, at the age of 83 years, was indicted by a grand jury in Multnomah County for allegedly refusing to enforce laws that regulated gambling. Williams was charged for not closing down gambling facilities on July 13, 1904, that operated within four miles of Portland. Portland's Chief of Police Charles H. Hunt's indictment was similar to Mayor Williams's indictment. Williams, however, was acquitted and served out the rest of his term in office.

On May 28, 1905, Mayor Williams gave a speech in honor of the opening of the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition. Vice President Charles W. Fairbanks was the keynote speaker who attended the opening ceremony. President Theodore Roosevelt officially mechanically opened the ceremony by pressing a button in Washington, D.C.

Death and burial
Williams died April 4, 1910, in Portland and is buried at River View Cemetery in that city.

Historical reputation
Williams was the first presidential cabinet member appointed from Oregon.

Although Williams had some successes as U.S. Attorney general, he was not a reformer and was involved in corruption during his tenure in federal office. Historian Jean Edward Smith, critical of Williams, said whenever "tested as attorney general he failed dismally."

Marriages and family
Williams married Kate Van Antwerp in Iowa in 1850, and they had one daughter. He married a second time in 1867 to Kate Hughes George, and the couple adopted two children.

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

title: George Henry Williams


text: Category:Line Islands

title: Category:Line Islands


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Category talk:Early microcomputers

Cutoff date?
So, like, what is the cut-off date for an early microcomputer? I'd consider anything before the modern PC to be an early microcomputer, but that is just my own perspective. So, the Amiga would be an early microcomputer (an advanced early microcomputer, but early still), but the Mac II wouldn't. So, what do ye say? We should probably put this info in the category page. :-)   — Frecklefoot | Talk 20:13, Jul 20, 2004 (UTC)

 * Thanks for the clarification (on the category page). Sorry about all the ones I added erroneously!    — Frecklefoot | Talk 20:21, Jul 20, 2004 (UTC)

 * I'd rather have these.

title: Category talk:Early microcomputers


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Category:Metanarratives

A metanarrative is a grand overarching account or worldview, which is thought to give order to the historical record.

title: Category:Metanarratives


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Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec

The title Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec was accorded to full members of the Cabinet of Canada from the Campbell Ministry through the first months of Paul Martin government. Prior to the agency's renaming in 1998, the position was termed Minister responsible for the Federal Office of Regional Development – Quebec.

Ministers responsible have included Jean Charest, Paul Martin, and John Manley.

In 2002, Claude Drouin became the only Secretary of State for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the regions of Quebec that was created to succeed from the former position of Secretary of State (Federal Office of Regional Development – Quebec) which had existed since 1996 with Martin Cauchon in the position. When Prime Minister Paul Martin did away with the sub-Cabinet position of Secretary of State, he reverted the structure to how it had been constituted before 1996, with Industry Minister Lucienne Robillard assuming the title.

After the 2004 Canadian election the portfolio was cut loose as an autonomous office, the Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, and given to Jacques Saada.

The pre-2004 portfolio was revived when Pascale St-Onge was appointed responsible for it in 2021.

Ministers
Key:

{{legend||Liberal Party of Canada|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} {{legend||Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

{| class="wikitable" ! colspan=8|

Ministers responsible for the Federal Office of Regional Development – Quebec (1993–1998)
!No. !Minister !colspan=2|Secretary !colspan=2|Term of office !Political party !Ministry ! style="background:; color:white"| 1 ! style="background:;"| 2 ! style="background:;"| 3 ! style="background:;"| ! colspan=8|
 * Jean Charest
 * colspan=2 rowspan=2| —
 * June 25, 1993 || November 3, 1993
 * Progressive Conservative
 * 25 (Campbell)
 * Paul Martin
 * November 4, 1993 || January 24, 1996
 * Liberal
 * rowspan=2|26 (Chrétien)
 * John Manley
 * Martin Cauchon
 * January 25, 1996 || February 12, 1998
 * Liberal

Ministers responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec (1998–2004)
! style="background:;"| 3 ! rowspan=2 style="background:;"| ! style="background:;"| 4 ! style="background:;"| ! style="background:;"| 5 ! colspan=8|
 * John Manley (cont'd)
 * rowspan=2|Martin Cauchon
 * February 13, 1998 || October 16, 2000
 * Liberal
 * rowspan=3|26 (Chrétien)
 * Brian Tobin
 * October 17, 2000 || January 14, 2002
 * Liberal
 * colspan=2|VACANT
 * colspan=2|VACANT
 * Claude Drouin
 * January 15, 2002 || December 11, 2003
 * Liberal
 * Lucienne Robillard
 * colspan=2|—
 * December 12, 2003 || July 19, 2004
 * Liberal
 * 27 (Martin)

Ministers responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec (2021–present)
! style="background:;"| 9 ! style="background:;"| 10
 * Pascale St-Onge
 * colspan=2|—
 * October 26, 2021 || July 26, 2023
 * Liberal
 * rowspan=2|29 (Trudeau)
 * Soraya Martinez Ferrada
 * colspan=2|—
 * July 26, 2023 || Incumbent
 * Liberal
 * }

Martin Cauchon handled most day-to-day responsibilities for this portfolio as Secretary of State (Federal Office of Regional Development – Quebec) from January 25, 1996 to February 12, 1998, and continued as Secretary of State (Economic Development Agency for the Regions of Quebec) until January 14, 2002. His replacement, Claude Drouin, would handle virtually all responsibilities for this portfolio as Secretary of State (Economic Development Agency for the Regions of Quebec) for the remainder of the Chrétien Ministry.

The portfolio became a full-fledged ministerial posting, Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, in 2004.


text: User talk:65.42.83.245

title: User talk:65.42.83.245


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Wäinö Aaltonen

Wäinö Valdemar Aaltonen (8 March 1894 – 30 May 1966) was a Finnish artist and sculptor. The Chambers Biographical Dictionary describes him as "one of the leading Finnish sculptors".

He was born to a tailor in the village of Karinainen, Finland. He became interested in art after being deaf as a child, and attended the School of Drawing of the Turku Art Association from age 16, or specifically between 1910 and 1915. He had spent many of the early years at this school studying painting under Victor Westerholm, but he was mainly self-taught as a sculptor. He learned the technics of treatment of marble with his relative Aarre Aaltonen, and by working as a trainee stonemason in Hirvensalo. Sculptor Felix Nylund was a substitute teacher in the art school in Turku for one season, and his work was inspiration for young Aaltonen.

A journey Aaltonen made to Italy in 1923 opened his eyes to cubist and futurist art. These elements can primarily be seen in his paintings.

As the Republic of Finland arose, and the First World War raged, he sculpted War Memorials. He soon became a nationalist icon, the exemplar Finn, establishing an exhibition in Stockholm in 1927. His sculpture is nationalist in nature, and he is noted for monumental figures and busts portraying citizens of Finland. An example is the 1925 sculpture of Paavo Nurmi, a cast of which is exhibited outside the Helsinki stadium. Another notable work is that of Jean Sibelius, a bust of 1928. These two works, like the main body of his work, are bronze casts—though he did work in stone and even glass. Though chiefly naturalistic, the cubist influence is also present here. He was one of the early 20th-century pioneers of direct carving.

When the new House of Parliament for Finland was built, architect Johan Sigfrid Sirén wished he could buy sculptures directly from Aaltonen. Instead, an open competition was announced, and Aaltonen's Work and the Future was selected as the winner. The series of gilded plaster sculptures that Aaltonen completed in 1932 were cast in bronze after his death.

Aaltonen was married four times. His first wife was singer Aino Alisa Pietikäinen from 1920, second wife actor Elsa Emilia Rantalainen from 1931, third wife gallerist in Galerie Artek Elvi Elisabet Hernell from 1942 and fourth wife medical doctor Marie Elisabeth Maasik from year 1961. His son Matti Aaltonen became an architect, who designed e.g. Wäinö Aaltonen museum in Turku.

A large collection of his works are on permanent exhibition at the Wäinö Aaltonen Museum of Art in Turku. His work was also part of the sculpture event in the art competition at the 1948 Summer Olympics.

Works

 * Tytön pää, n. 1917
 * Graniittipoika, 1917–1920
 * Maria Jotuni, 1918–1920
 * Opettajani, 1919
 * Aaro Hellaakosken pronssipää, 1919
 * Savonlinnan sankaripatsas, (The Hero's Grave) 1919–1921
 * Punagraniittinen neito, 1923
 * Mustagraniittinen neito, 1924
 * Paavo Nurmi runner statue, 1924–1925
 * Seisova nainen, 1920–1924
 * Istuva nainen, 1920–1925
 * Uimaan lähtevä nainen, 1924
 * Turun Lilja, n. 1924–1926
 * Musica, 1926
 * Aleksis Kivi statue (Tampere), 1926–1927
 * Statues on Hämeensilta bridge, Tampere: Eränkävijä (the Hunter), Veronkantaja (the Tax Collector), Kauppias (the Merchant) ja Suomen neito (the Maiden of Finland), 1927–1929
 * Myrsky (Memorial statue for the 53 victims of the sunken Finnish torpedo boat S2 in Reposaari, Pori), 1930
 * Statues in the plenary chamber of Parliament House 1930–1932
 * Aleksis Kivi Memorial (Helsinki), 1930–1939
 * Marjatta, 1934
 * Delaware-muistomerkki, 1937–1938
 * Vapauden jumalatar seppelöi nuoruuden, 1939–1940
 * Memorial of the Battle of Kämärä, 1939/1949
 * Tampereen Osuustoimintamuistomerkki, 1949–1950
 * Ystävyys solmitaan (Joint monument for the cities of Turku and Gothenburg), n. 1948–1955
 * Lahden sankaripatsas, 1952
 * Rautatienrakentajien muistomerkki, 1957, Hyvinkää
 * Genius ohjaa nuoruutta (in front of the University of Turku main library), 1958–1960
 * Statues of presidents in front of Parliament house: K. J. Ståhlberg, 1957–1958; P. E. Svinhufvud, 1957–1959
 * Genius Montanus (on Aaltonen's grave in Turku), 1960
 * Johannes Gutenberg, 1962 (Büste)

title: Wäinö Aaltonen


text:
Exiles (Marvel Comics)

The Exiles are a group of fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics commonly associated with The X-Men. They feature in three series, Exiles, New Exiles, and Exiles vol. 2. The Exiles consists of characters from different universes, or realities, which have been removed from time and space in order to correct problems (often called "hiccups") in various alternate worlds and divergent timelines in the Marvel Multiverse.

Created by writer Judd Winick and artist Mike McKone, Exiles features a revolving team roster with new characters introduced and others replaced when they are killed or returned to their home reality. The series is notable for the number of characters who stay dead, in contrast to the frequent resurrections that occur in the main Marvel and DC continuities. It has featured familiar characters or settings from previous Marvel storylines, such as the "Age of Apocalypse" and "House of M".

The first volume of Exiles ran for 100 issues, ending after a crossover with the members of New Excalibur in X-Men: Die by the Sword and the one-shot Exiles: Days of Then and Now. In March 2008 New Exiles began with Chris Claremont and artist Tom Grummett at the helm. Writer Jeff Parker and artist Salvador Espin relaunched the series with a new #1 in April 2009, but the book was canceled after only six issues.

Publication history
Exiles was created by Mike Marts, Mike Raicht, Judd Winick and also artists Mike McKone and Jim Calafiore. Exiles was created after a period of development aimed at creating a new What If? book for Marvel.

Raicht and Winick would develop the initial formula of Exiles' reality-hopping adventures. Chuck Austen came aboard as interim writer after Winick's move to DC Comics. Tony Bedard took over, writing roughly half the series, from #46-89. Chris Claremont came onboard as of issue #90 and ended the series with the crossover X-Men Die by the Sword, before restarting the series as New Exiles. New Exiles ran for 18 issues before being canceled. A few months later the series was restarted again with a second volume of Exiles, written by Jeff Parker. This relaunch only lasted 6 issues before being canceled as well. A third series was launched as part of Marvel Legacy, written by Saladin Ahmed joined by the art team of Javier Rodriguez, Alvaro Lopez, and Jordie Bellaire and Joe Caramagna.

A number of artists have penciled the series including Mike McKone, Jim Calafiore, Kev Walker, Clayton Henry, Mizuki Sakakibara, Casey Jones, Steve Scott, Paul Pelletier, and Tom Mandrake. Tom Grummett, Roberto Castro, Paco Diaz, and Tim Seeley worked on New Exiles.

Fictional team biography
The Exiles team originally consisted of Blink (Clarice Ferguson, from the Age of Apocalypse), Mimic (Calvin Rankin), Magnus Lensherr (son of Magneto and Rogue), Thunderbird (John Proudstar), Nocturne (Talia Josephine "T.J." Wagner, daughter of Nightcrawler and Scarlet Witch), and Morph. The team has since gone through a multitude of line-ups with Morph and Blink remaining the only original Exiles.

Tallus
Initially, the Exiles are employed by the Timebroker to fix broken realities. The Tallus is a communications device, which is worn by the leader of the group in order to communicate with the Timebroker. Through it, he would assign missions to the team and inform them of any changes, etc. Blink wears the Tallus in the beginning, but it is later transferred to Sabretooth when Blink rebels against the Timebroker. Mimic also wears the Tallus for a time in Blink's absence. It is now used as a means of communication between its wearer and whoever is operating the Crystal Palace on various missions. It has a slightly different appearance for each wearer. For the first time ever, Sabertooth has used the Tallus to transport himself back to the Crystal Palace, without anyone on the other side recalling him.

Exiles
When Magnus dies, he is replaced by Sunfire (Mariko Yashida). Sasquatch (Heather Hudson) arrives when Thunderbird becomes comatose during a battle with the world-eating Galactus.

The Exiles then discover there is a second team conscripted by the Timebroker, Weapon X, whose missions typically involve killing or maiming innocents and heroes. The two teams join forces to rescue a group of children from a Sentinel prison camp. However, the teams are told the second stage of the mission is to kill one of the children – David Richards (son of Rachel Summers and Franklin Richards) – who will apparently grow up to become a powerful supervillain. Weapon X is willing to kill him, but the Exiles are not and the two teams fight until the Timebroker intervenes. Sabretooth (of the Weapon X team) agrees to stay behind and raise David Richards himself.

The Timebroker sends Blink home after a visit to a world plagued by a variant of the Legacy Virus, since the team had repaired her personal broken chain in time and Magik (Illyana Rasputin) takes her place. Mimic then replaces Blink as leader, gaining the Tallus.

The Exiles arrive in the main Marvel Universe (Earth-616) where they meet the X-Men after Havok's canceled wedding. The Exiles team up with the X-Men against an evil Havok from the Mutant X universe, who shares a body with the good Havok. After Havok is subdued, the Timebroker arrives to personally eliminate the Mutant X Havok's consciousness.

After Sunfire is killed by a Brood-infected Mimic, she is replaced by the Exiles' former teammate Blink. During the next mission, the Exiles and Weapon X are forced to battle each other until only six remain alive. Magik is killed by King Hyperion when she attempts to switch sides and betray the Exiles. King Hyperion is eventually defeated by Blink, who teleports his own heat vision into his back, paralyzing him. Gambit (of Weapon X) is allowed to deliver the killing blow against King Hyperion with a kinetically charged sword of the slain Magik which causes an explosion that kills them both, leaving five Exiles alive and their mission complete.

The Exiles visit the main Marvel Universe for a second time where they are joined by Namora, who replaces Magik, and are instructed to "leave their possessions and earn their wings". Reed Richards deduces this means they are to leave Nocturne behind (whose power involves possession) and have Beak join the Exiles, which is confirmed by the Timebroker.

Timebrokers
The team is told by The Celestials to "beware the Timebreaker [sic], he is not what he seems". After this, the Timebroker's behavior becomes increasingly strange. Heather Hudson is removed from the team without explanation and replaced with former Weapon X member Sabretooth. The Tallus orders the Exiles to kill Mimic and despite their refusal, they are allowed to move onto a new mission (normally a mission must be completed for the Exiles to move on). Next, the Timebroker replaces Beak with Holocaust, which they are informed is a punishment for disobeying previous orders.

Eventually, the Exiles break free of the Timebroker and stage a raid on Panoptichron (also known as the "Crystal Palace"), home of the Timebroker and a location from which many parallel universes can be monitored. Here they discover that the Timebroker is an alien race of bug-like beings that found the Panoptichron and accidentally broke a series of timelines. Lacking the power to repair the timelines, they concocted this scheme of recruiting heroes from various worlds to do their work for them. Not only that, all previously "returned" heroes are actually in Panoptichron, frozen in blocks, along with the killed heroes. As a final twist, the evil King Hyperion has fully regenerated from being blown up by Gambit, broken free of his stasis and has taken over Panoptichron. The Exiles are nearly defeated with both Namora and Holocaust dying in the battle. Beak returns from stasis and saves the day by calling on two good versions of Hyperion for help, fulfilling his destiny as an Exile. King Hyperion is subdued and exiled to his home reality which is completely devoid of life. Only Blink, Mimic, Morph, Sabretooth, Beak, and Heather Hudson remain to pick up the pieces.

World Tour
The Exiles then return to Earth-616 to take Beak home. Unfortunately, Earth-616 is dominated by the House of M. During their stay, the Exiles run afoul of the body-hopping serial killer Proteus, who steals data from the Panoptichron and escapes from Earth-616, leaving Beak depowered back home. The Exiles chase Proteus through several realities, including an alternate version of the New Universe, an alternate version of 2099, Squadron Supreme, Future Imperfect, and Heroes Reborn, before finally bringing Proteus down by trapping him in Morph’s body, which does not decay, unlike all of Proteus’ other host bodies. During the "World Tour" of hunting down Proteus, Mimic is possessed by Proteus and dies, forcing the Exiles to pick up new members Longshot, Spider-Man 2099, and Power Princess to restore their diminished numbers.

Post-World Tour
The Exiles begin cleaning out the stasis gallery of former Exiles and Weapon X members and send them back home. Iron Man, Daredevil, and Angel are sent back to their respective realities alive, while every other Earth with a missing superhuman holds a funeral. Blink, at the suggestion of Power Princess, takes Mimic home to be buried with his X-Men instead of burying him in Panoptichron. Spider-Man, Sabretooth, and Heather Hudson all decide to visit their home realities. Unfortunately, the Timebreakers ditch the Exiles when the Timebreakers believe that they are not saving realities as they should be. However, after using several squads of Wolverines to complete the next mission and failing, Logan (from Days of Future Past) and young James Howlett convince the Timebreakers that the Exiles are needed. The Exiles finally resume their reality-saving missions for the first time since they discovered Panoptichron when they save a reality where the Silver Surfer has already destroyed the Earth and is trying to destroy Galactus, who is the restorer of worlds in this reality.

Then, Heather discovers an Earth inhabited by a disturbingly close approximation of the original Exiles team, complete with their own Timebroker. After the "classic Exiles" fight "the all-new Exiles" (as Morph put it), it is later revealed that the whole thing was a scheme orchestrated by the Grandmaster, who seeks revenge on the Exiles for freeing Professor X on their first mission and ruining a bet. The Exiles, past and present, join forces with the Wrecking Crew of that Earth to defeat the Grandmaster. The current team then leaves the Earth in the hands of the approximation Exiles.

The Exiles then take three weeks to save a chain of cracked realities, injuring Blink, Morph, and Spider-Man. They also discover that Proteus is possibly immune to metal while in Morph’s body. Meanwhile, former Exile Thunderbird, is in the stasis gallery, dreaming of what might have been had he not become comatose.

Enter Psylocke
Power Princess leaves the team to return to the Squadron Supreme and Psylocke is brought on board to replace her. Blink, Longshot, and Spider-Man are brainwashed by HYDRA leaving only Sabretooth to pick up Morph and Psylocke. They are sent to kill Reed Richards. Slaymaster's arrival makes them fail as Betsy faints before killing Reed. The world is erased, with the Exiles still there, but it is magically restored by Reed Richards, and Valeria Richards' amulet restores the world's population because they were being stored in the amulet. The Exiles are still there so they can help Psylocke recover from wounds inflicted by Wolverine, and to help rebuild the planet. Meanwhile, another Slaymaster slays another Psylocke on another world.

After the Exiles return to Panoptichron, they find it empty, with no equipment, Timebreakers, or Heather. Blink and Morph eventually visit Heather, who thought the Exiles were dead and left Panoptichron. Heather is now pregnant and out of commission, so Psylocke stays behind to learn more about the Panoptichron while the other Exiles resume their missions. There she experiences visions which warn her of something bad to come, and an alternate version of Kitty Pryde appears from nowhere with no warning. The Exiles go to a seemingly perfect world led by Victor Von Doom but when Blink is caught by Reed Richards she begins to discover what hides behind this facade. She then recruits Longshot and Morph, who also sense something amiss with this world. They flee with that world's Reed to begin a resistance. Meanwhile, Spider-Man 2099 meets Gwen Stacy and Sabretooth has a one-night stand with this world's Invisible Woman. In reality, she was assigned to get close to him so Doom could copy the Tallus, which he does. He then sends a team of soldiers to Panoptichron. They take out Psylocke and assume Kitty Pryde is a freaked out child, though she appears to be faking that. The soldiers are attacked by Thunderbird, who is no longer comatose. Kitty Pryde (who goes by Cat), uses her phasing powers to create a diversion long enough to allow Thunderbird to free Psylocke. Together, they defeat the soldiers and send them home, just in time for them to see Doom's defeat, whose Earth is destroyed by Reed Richards as there is no way to turn the humans back to their normal emotional state.

As a result the Exiles are scattered to various dimensions, much like Union Jack had done previously. Psylocke, Thunderbird, and Cat are able to work on the equipment and retrieve Blink, Morph, and Sabretooth, and new members Mystiq and Rogue are brought along. Spider-Man 2099 finds a girlfriend and stays on the world on which he landed. Longshot, once again, got lucky and landed in the Crystal Palace after the transport went wrong.

Die by the Sword
Psylocke and Thunderbird travel to Earth-616 to visit Captain Britain and Nocturne during New Excalibur's victory party. During the party, Captain Britain is wounded by a strike force led by an armored lady called Rouge. While Betsy tries to care for her brother everybody else tries to fight, even Dazzler and Pete Wisdom, who were about to have sex, but, realizing they cannot win they teleport to the Panoptichron. There, Dazzler discovers that Longshot, while alive, doesn't remember her and is about to kill herself to ease her pain when Mystiq comes to talk her out of it. TJ happily reunites with her former teammates while Sage is deemed the best option to care for Brian. Meanwhile, Cat, using the scanner, realizes that Roma and Saturnyne are in trouble. The Corps then suffers a lot of losses, despite Saturnyne's intervention. While Cat checks on Brian, Blink, Morph, Sabertooth, Thunderbird, and Dazzler join the battlefield. Dazzler battles Rouge-Mort, who has badly wounded Roma, and Longshot gets concerned about her, making both himself and Sage wonder why/how, while Morph battles Jaspers by morphing into the Fury but his plan is quickly foiled. Sage, Psylocke, and Wisdom recruit Albion to their cause, who proves to be a match for James Jaspers until Jaspers turns into the Fury. Merlyn then comes to his daughter to finish the job only to be beaten by Psylocke. Cap then makes his move on the Fury and with the help of Blink and Albion vanquishes him for now, leading to Merlyn's defeat. However, this victory comes with a price as Roma dies, though not before transferring her knowledge into Sage's mind. Saturnyne then promises to free Albion from jail to lead the Corps while Sage and TJ switch teams with Longshot who now remembers the highlights of his past.

The events of Die by the Sword take place between Exiles #99-#100.

Exiles #100
In Exiles #100 Blink, Nocturne, and Thunderbird decide to leave the team because they are physically and emotionally exhausted and need a break. They leave for Heather Hudson's reality so that Heather can keep track of Nocturne's progress as she continues to recover from her stroke. Sage struggles with her new knowledge gained from Roma and accidentally fights the other Exiles. Cat and Rogue explore the palace and almost die in a bungee-jumping accident, prompting Rogue to reveal flying powers.

In the one-shot Exiles: Days of Then and Now, Blink discovers an Earth they were supposed to save, but did not because they were chasing Proteus during the World Tour. Iron Man, Nighthawk, Wild Child, and Luke Cage from that reality died because they did not receive help from the Exiles. So, Blink decides to help an alternate Quentin Quire by acting as the Timebroker through Gambit's old Tallus, which is given to him by the Nighthawk from the reality where the Exiles had battled Weapon X after Quentin is able to transport himself there on his own. Then, he meets Mary Jane and Luke Cage, from the Vi-Locks reality, and an alternate Spitfire. Finally, he ends up in the Age of Apocalypse where he saves Wild Child. Blink then sends all five heroes (Luke Cage, Quentin, Nighthawk, Spitfire, and Wild Child) to replace Iron Man, Nighthawk, Wild Child, and Luke Cage from Quentin's reality.

New Exiles
The team went to Earth-6706 to recruit Gambit and found themselves in a three-way war between Namor, Ororo, and the Black Panther. The team was separated with Rogue, Gambit and Namor, Mystiq in disguise with the Panther's team, and Sabretooth and Psylocke with Ororo. They eventually reunited for a final fight against the Panther and would have died if not for Psylocke and the powers of Gambit's mother, Susan Storm. Their mission was eventually revealed to them and they left the Earth despite the fact that the Panther had taken control of it. Meanwhile, Morph, Sage, and Cat are sucked into a world were Kitty shifts to another form. Sage regains her telepathic powers, as they defend a man who has fallen in love with a dragon.

After some fighting, the parents eventually surrender against true love and the dragon becomes human, while the Exiles are brought back to the Panoptichron, where Cat reveals that Gambit was listed as a member even before he was recruited. In the meantime, Hydra recruits a Wolverine-like man to her cause. Afterwards, Sage, Psylocke, Morph, Mystiq, Rogue, and Gambit help a team of X-Men on another Earth fight off the French during a French and British war. Psylocke receives some training from that world's Ogun. Cat discovers realities upon realities coming to their end and finds she can do nothing to stop it. However, she and Sabretooth face off against Empress Hydra after she locks them alone in a particular reality. Cat kills Wolverine by removing his claws and slashing him with them. The Exiles then enjoy a quick break in the Panoptichron, where Morph gives Rogue a new costume and Psylocke deals with her fear of Slaymaster.

The Exiles then visit a reality where Valeria Richards has traveled and has called them for help to save the world from the Fearsome Quintet of Gold Goblin, Magneta, the Blood Skull, Black Baron Dormammu, and Doom. They defeat the quintet, but their leader, the Maker, is about to defeat them when Proteus' persona re-emerges. However, Morph's persona merges with that of Proteus in the nick of time, stopping Proteus from killing the Exiles and saving the day. Valeria offers to assist them in fighting her mom, but Morph tells her that she would regret it and they suggest she go home. They then go to a reality where the main heroes are the human Daughters and Saurian Sons of the Dragon. There, they fight Lilandra, who has allied herself with Empress Hydra and they try to save Lilandra's sister Neramani from her. During the fight, Cat merges with Mystiq and kills Empress Hydra, thanks to an unplanned diversion by Gambit, who called her "mom". Meanwhile, Sage and Diana Fox are forced to unite to face off against Merlyn in Sage's mind. Diana eventually lets Sage take her over and Sage merges with the Crystal Palace, stopping the multiverse from destabilizing. Cat dies after the battle with Madame Hydra. The other Exiles save Neramani's world, with Rogue remaining behind since she has fallen in love with one of the Saurians.

Valeria Richards arrives at the Crystal Palace and joins the team, having been able to discern its location. Some time later, the New Exiles return to Gambit's world, where he discovers his father has died and he takes over as king, leaving the Exiles. Sabertooth and Psylocke begin a relationship. They, Sage, Morph, Valeria Richards, and Mystiq are the New Exiles.

Second Series
The series was once again relaunched in April 2009, written by Jeff Parker and drawn by Salvador Espin, but canceled in September 2009. Alternate versions of The Witch, Beast, Forge, Polaris, and The Panther are picked up right before their intended deaths and put together as a team with the returning Blink, though she pretends to be new to all of this just as much as the others. Morph acts as the Timebroker and this version of the Black Panther is T'challa's son, T'chaka. On their first mission, they are teleported away without finishing their mission, to Blink's shock.

The team then goes to an Earth where Cerebro has killed all humans in North America. Working with the renegade Vision, Ultron, and Machine Man, the Exiles manage to disable Cerebro and give all the humans life model decoy bodies. After that mission, Morph tells the Exiles that they still have time to break up the X-Men/Brotherhood alliance from their first mission. They head back to that Earth and replace the native Scarlet Witch for their own. She reveals to Jean that Scott and Emma are having an affair, turning the telepaths against each other and dissolving the alliance. Emma Frost eventually kills the Witch from the Exiles' team, leaving the native Scarlet Witch to secretly join the Exiles.

The team then takes a vacation on a peaceful Earth. During this time, Polaris reveals she can tell Blink is lying, so Forge builds a device to send everyone to where the Tallus was transmitting from. Forge plants the device on the Tallus during the next teleport and Panther knocks Blink out. The Exiles then discover and head inside the Crystal Palace.

There, they see multiple teams of Exiles being trained by various "Timebrokers". Blink finds them and decides to explain everything. She says she was going to wait until the team got the hang of saving broken realities, then fake her own death, at which point a new member was to replace her. The team is teleported to the main room, where they find Heather (no longer pregnant), Nocturne (recovered from her stroke), and Morph waiting.

The three of them reveal to the latest Exiles team that the last Exiles team, Sage, Sabretooth, Mystiq, Valeria, Rogue, and Gambit eventually became immersed within the Crystal Palace. Only Morph was spared, since he had Proteus possessing him, and the Crystal Palace absorbed Proteus in Morph's place. Heather reveals that she came up with the idea of snatching the new recruits at the moment of death, as it seemed to be "the least disruptive way to go".

Polaris, Forge, Beast, and Panther all look at how their homeworlds turned out after they died. They all decide to continue working as a team and are each given their own Tallus. Nocturne goes with them in Blink's place for the next mission while Blink begins to train a new team.

After the series' end

 * Psylocke was returned to Earth-616 via the Red Queen's magic and was briefly brainwashed into fighting alongside her sisterhood against the X-Men before being freed by Dazzler. Psylocke has also been shown to lose her immunity to magic spells, telepathic attacks, and reality alterations, as she was later possessed by Earth-616 Proteus.
 * Sabretooth was somehow liberated from Panoptichron's stasis gallery and returned to the Age of Apocalypse. He later met up with Psylocke when she visited his reality and he and his X-Men helped her and X-Force steal a celestial artifact. After the two teams parted ways, most of his reality's X-Men were killed. Only he and Jean Grey were spared, but depowered. They escaped into the hands of William Stryker's "X-Terminated," who arrested and imprisoned Sabretooth almost immediately. Sabretooth later sacrificed himself to save the rest of his team during the "X-Termination" event.
 * Sage was also liberated from Panoptichron's stasis gallery and served as SWORD's ambassador on another world. She met up with her former New Excalibur teammate Dazzler, who was visiting that reality to rescue a teammate. Sage left her job with SWORD behind to join Dazzler's team, who were hopping around realities throughout the multiverse and performing missions to save realities, much like the Exiles.
 * Spider-Man 2099 and Mary Jane are still together when the attacks of Morlun during the "Spider-Verse" storyline are felt. Miguel learned about Morlun during his tenure with the Exiles, and senses Morlun is out there killing spiders. He gathers some of the Exiles' old equipment and prepares to flee to Earth-616, where Morlun was once killed. However, just as Miguel and Mary Jane are about to make the jump, Morlun arrives and kills that Miguel in front of the Miguel from the original timeline stranded in the present. Morlun disappears and the portal closes, leaving the Exiles' Miguel dead and the 616 Miguel desperate to find Peter Parker.

Third Series
The man once known as Nick Fury recruits champions from alternate universes when a mysterious threat casts its shadow on the multiverse. Blink would be joined by a Kamala Khan from a post-apocalyptic reality, Iron Lad, Wolvie and Valkyrie in her journey to save the multiverse. The team is later joined by Peggy Carter as the Captain America of her universe, and a reality-reincarnated female version of Bucky Barnes.

Weapon X
First seen in Exiles #5, they are a team that complete missions more ruthlessly than those of the Exiles. This team had various members and its roster changed more than the Exiles. Weapon X was originally composed of Sabretooth, Kane, Mesmero, Wolverine, Maverick, and Deadpool.

Weapon X was finally disbanded when the Exiles arrived and both Blink and Gambit received the mission: Weapon X and the Exiles were meant to fight to the death until only six remained. Magik, and Hulk were killed by Hyperion, while Firestar killed the Spider, immolating herself in the process. Ms. Marvel was killed in battle with Morph and finally, Hyperion was killed thanks to Gambit's sacrifice. Instead of six survivors, there were only five: Blink, Mimic, Morph, Sasquatch and Nocturne.

The Exiles wouldn't meet any member of Weapon X until their visit to the Panoptichron, in which they saw all former members of Exiles and Weapon X placed in stasis in one of the galleries of the Crystal Palace. After the Exiles contained the threat of Proteus they went about returning the bodies of the deceased to their native homeworlds, including all former Weapon X members, for proper burials.

Other versions
In Uncanny X-Men #461, Mojo summons a team of lawyers modeled after the Exiles team to capture his recently created X-Babies. The team consisted of versions of Blink, Morph, Mimic, Sunfire, Sasquatch, and Nocturne.

Interviews

 * An Ongoing Exile: Winick on Exiles, Newsarama, December 13, 2002
 * Tony Bedard on Exiles: World Tour, Newsarama, June 13, 2005
 * REFLECTIONS: Talking with Tony Bedard & Paul Pelletier about "Exiles", February 27, 2006
 * Cross-Time Flies: Claremont Talks "Exiles", Comic Book Resources, March 21, 2007
 * Claremont Talks "Die By the Sword" and "New Exiles", Comic Book Resources, November 8, 2007
 * Chris Claremont: New Exiles Cast Questionnaire, Comics Bulletin, February 14, 2008
 * Chris Claremont Talks About New Exiles, Marvel.com Podcasts
 * Re-teaming the Travelers: Jeff Parker on 'Exiles' 2009

title: Exiles (Marvel Comics)


text:
Summit Tunnel fire

The Summit Tunnel fire occurred on 20 December 1984, when a dangerous goods train caught fire while passing through the Summit Tunnel on the railway line between Littleborough and Todmorden on the Greater Manchester/West Yorkshire border, England.

Background
The tunnel, which is 2885 yd in length, was built in 1840–41. Twelve of the fourteen construction shafts were left open to help vent smoke and steam from the locomotives that passed through it.

The incident was one of a series of British railway accidents during 1984, coming only days after the fatal collision between an express passenger train and a train of fuel oil tankers at Eccles, Greater Manchester on 4 December. One day earlier on 3 December a train guard had been killed after a collision between a diesel multiple unit and parcels vans at Longsight also in Manchester. This third serious railway accident in the North West of England in less than three weeks led the Littleborough and Saddleworth MP Geoffrey Dickens to call for an inquiry into railway safety, in particular with respect to the conveyance of dangerous chemicals such as those involved in the accidents at Eccles and Summit Tunnel.

Fire
The train involved was the 01:40 freight train from Haverton Hill, Teesside to Glazebrook oil distribution terminal near Warrington. It was formed by class 47 diesel locomotive 47 125 and thirteen tankers.

At 05:50 on 20 December 1984, the train, carrying more than 1000000 L (835 t) of four-star petrol in thirteen tankers, entered the tunnel on the Yorkshire (north) side traveling at 40 mph. One-third of the way through the tunnel, a defective axle bearing (journal bearing) derailed the fourth tanker, which caused the derailment of those behind. Only the locomotive and the first three tankers remained on the rails. One of the derailed tankers fell on its side and began to leak petrol into the tunnel. Vapour from the leaking petrol was probably ignited by the damaged axle box.

The three train crew members could see fire spreading through the ballast beneath the other track in the tunnel, so they left the train and ran the remaining mile to the south portal (where they knew there was a direct telephone connection to the signalman) to raise the alarm.

Crews from Greater Manchester Fire Brigade and West Yorkshire Fire Brigade quickly attended the scene. Co-ordination between the brigades appears to have worked well, perhaps because they had both participated in an emergency exercise in the tunnel a month before.

The train crew were persuaded to return to the train, where they uncoupled the three tankers still on the rails and used the locomotive to drive them out. Greater Manchester fire brigade then loaded firefighting equipment onto track trolleys and sent a crew with breathing apparatus (BA) in to begin their firefighting operation at the south end of the train. They also lowered hose lines down one of the ventilation shafts to provide a water supply. At the same time, crews from West Yorkshire fire brigade entered the tunnel and began fighting fires in the ballast at the north end of the train.

However, at 9.40 a.m., the pressure in one of the heated tankers rose high enough to open its pressure relief valves. The vented vapour caught fire and blew flames onto the tunnel wall. The wall deflected the flames both ways along the tunnel, and the bricks in the tunnel wall began to spall and melt in the flames. The BA crews from both brigades decided to evacuate. They managed to leave just before the first explosion rocked the tunnel. The firefighters were saved because blast relief shafts 8 and 9 acted as flame vents (a function their designer never envisaged).

Left to itself, the fire burned as hot as it could. As the walls warmed up and the air temperature in the tunnel rose, all 10 tankers discharged petrol vapour from their pressure relief valves. Two tankers melted (at approximately 1530 C) and discharged their remaining loads.

The fuel supply to the fire was so rich that some of the combustibles were unable to find oxygen inside the tunnel with which to burn; they were instead ejected from vent shafts 8 and 9 as fuel-rich gases that burst into flame when they encountered oxygen in the air outside. At the height of the fire, pillars of flame approximately 150 m high rose from the shaft outlets on the hillside above.

The gases are estimated to have flowed up these shafts at 50 m/s. Air at this speed is capable of blowing around heavy items: hot projectiles made from tunnel lining (rather like lava bombs from a volcano) were cast out over the hillside. These set much of the vegetation on fire, and caused the closure of the A6033 road. In the cleanup operation afterwards, small globules of metal were found on the ground surrounding shaft 9; these had been melted from the tanker walls, swept up with the exhaust gases, and dropped out onto the grass around the top of the shaft.

Unable to get close enough to safely fight the fire directly, the fire brigades forced high-expansion foam into ventilation shafts far from the fire. This created blockages that starved the fire of oxygen. By mid-afternoon the next day, the inferno was no longer burning, though the fire was by no means knocked down. Petrol continued to leak from the derailed wagons through the tunnel drainage and ballast and the vapour sporadically reignited when it came into contact with the hot tunnel lining. Two hundred people were evacuated from their homes and workplaces in Walsden in response. They were allowed back home the next day.

The brigades continued to fight the fire for another two days, until West Yorkshire Fire Brigade issued the stop message just after 6:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve. Fire crews remained at the site until 7 January 1985.

Aftermath
Due to the fire, the line between Rochdale and Todmorden was closed. Passenger trains between two stations were replaced by buses. Of the 1100000 L of petrol carried by the train, 275000 L were rescued by the train crew when they drove the locomotive and the first three tankers to safety. A further 16000 L of petrol were recovered after the fire was extinguished, and 809000 L (670 t) burnt.

The damage done by the fire was minimal. Approximately half a mile of track had to be replaced, as did all the electrical services and signalling. The biggest surprise was how well the brick lining had stood up to the fire. Although some bricks in the tunnel and in the blast relief shafts had become so hot that they vitrified and ran like molten glass, most of the brickwork lining of the tunnel was scorched but still serviceable. One of the photographs taken in the aftermath shows a rail tanker directly beneath shaft 9: it is crowned with a mass of vitrified slag from bricks in the shaft that had melted and dripped down.

The last of the wagons was removed from the tunnel on 1 March 1985. Once British Rail had replaced the track and electrical services, shored up the bases of vent shafts 8 and 9 and filled the two shafts with inert foam (all this took eight months), locals were allowed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to walk through the tunnel before train services resumed on 19 August 1985.

At the Masons Arms public house in Todmorden, there is a small collection of photographs noting the fire, along with the statistics of the construction, and a quotation by George Stephenson, the tunnel's builder, who said, "I stake my reputation and my head that the tunnel will never fail so as to injure any human life".

Investigation
A public enquiry was held into the accident. The hearing was held in Manchester. A report was published on 4 June 1985.

title: Summit Tunnel fire


text:
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

"Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" is one of the best-known American songs of the Great Depression. Written by lyricist Yip Harburg and composer Jay Gorney, it was part of the 1932 musical revue Americana; the melody is based on a Russian-Jewish lullaby. The song tells the story of the universal everyman, whose honest work towards achieving the American dream has been foiled by the economic collapse. Unusual for a Broadway song, it was composed largely in a minor key. The song became best known through recordings by Bing Crosby and Rudy Vallée that were released in late 1932. The song received positive reviews and was one of the most popular songs of 1932. As one of the few popular songs during the era to discuss the darker aspects of the collapse, it came to be viewed as an anthem of the Great Depression.

Background

The Great Depression in the United States, which started with the 1929 Wall Street crash, had a severe impact on the country. In 1932, 25 percent of American men were unemployed.

After his appliance business went bankrupt, Yip Harburg had gone into the music business, working as a lyricist. The melody derives from a Jewish lullaby that the composer Jay Gorney, who emigrated to the United States in 1906, heard in his native Russia. Initially, it had other lyrics which discussed a romantic breakup. Gorney recalled that the pair came up with the title "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" after walking in the Central Park where they heard unemployed men asking "Can you spare a dime?" Harburg recalled that he was working on a song for the musical Americana: "We had to have a title... Not to say, my wife is sick, I've got six children, the Crash put me out of business, hand me a dime. I hate songs of that kind." Harburg's worksheets show that he went through several drafts of the lyrics, which included a satirical version attacking John D. Rockefeller and other tycoons. However, over time Harburg moved towards more concrete imagery, resulting in the final version. Both Gorney and Harburg were socialists.

Composition and lyrical interpretation
The song is about a man who has sought the American dream, but was foiled by the Great Depression. He is the universal everyman who holds various professions, being a farmer and a construction worker as well as a veteran of World War I: it is intended to embrace all listeners. The man is someone "who kept faith in America, and now America has betrayed him". After three years of the Depression, the man has lost his job and is reduced to begging for charity. He recognizes the man whose dime he is asking for. The lyrics refer to "Yankee Doodle Dum", a reference to patriotism, and the evocation of veterans also recalls the mid-1932 Bonus Army protests about military bonuses payable only after 21 years. Harburg said in an interview: "the man is really saying: I made an investment in this country. Where the hell are my dividends? ... [The song] doesn't reduce him to a beggar. It makes him a dignified human being, asking questions—and a bit outraged, too, as he should be." This reflects the socialist or Marxist idea that workers deserve to enjoy the fruits of their labor, rather than have it be diverted by others.

"Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" has an unusual structure for a Broadway song. First, rather than starting in a major key, as most Broadway songs do, it begins in a minor key, which is darker and more appropriate for the Depression. When discussing the prosperous past, the melody jumps an octave on the words "building a dream", emphasizing the dream, and moves briefly into a major key, evoking energy and optimism. This is placed in baffling and poignant contrast with the reality ("standing in line, / Just waiting for bread"). The song then reverts to the augmented dominant of the minor key in the word "time" in the line "Once I built a railroad, made it run / Made it race against time," marking the end of prosperous times, and changing to a wistful mood. Each of the three main stanzas end in a direct appeal to the listener, "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" The bridge deals with the singer's experiences as a veteran of the Great War, falling from patriotism "looked swell" to the discordant harmonies of "slogging through hell". The song then ends, not on a note of resignation, but with anger – repeating the beginning (as is usual for Broadway songs), an octave higher, but with a significant change: the friendly "Brother, can you spare a dime?" is replaced with the more assertive "Buddy, can you spare a dime?" According to Harold Meyerson and Ernest Harburg, "[r]hythmically and melodically it sounds like a Jewish chant." An article in Tablet magazine suggested that the melody was similar to Hatikvah, the Israeli national anthem.

Musical and cover versions
The song was first performed by the vaudeville singer Rex Weber as part of the musical Americana, which ran from October to December 1932 and was not a success. Three weeks after Americana opened, the song was covered by crooner Bing Crosby for Brunswick Records; it was also covered by Rudy Vallee shortly thereafter for Columbia Records. Unusually, Vallee's version includes a spoken introduction, in which the narrator states that the song is "a bit out of character" for him. The song became popular through these versions, which were both frequently aired on the radio and competed for listeners. By the end of the year, Al Jolson had also covered the song on his popular show for NBC. The song has been covered by at least 52 artists in the United States including Judy Collins and Tom Waits.

In the UK, it was recorded by Harry Roy and his Orchestra (From the Cafe Anglais, London) in 1933 and issued by Parlophone, with vocals by Bill Currie, featuring non-vocal speech by Currie and Roy. A version by Lew Stone and his Band (again at the Cafe Anglais) was recorded the same year for a "Lew Stone Favourites" medley, with vocals by Al Bowlly, and released by Decca. In 1948, a revival of the song by British vocalist Steve Conway was released on Columbia.

During the 1970s stagflation and in light of the Watergate scandal, Harburg wrote a parody version for The New York Times:

Reception and legacy
At the time, reviews of musicals rarely devoted much space to the songs' lyrics and melody. That was not true of the reviews of Americana. In The New York Times, Brooks Atkinson wrote that "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" was "plaintive and thundering" and "the first song of the year that can be sung... Mr. Gorney has expressed the spirit of these times with more heart-breaking anguish than any of the prose bards of the day." Gilbert Gabriel in New York American wrote: "Gorney and Harburg have written something so stirring that it will run away with the whole show". Theater Arts Monthly's review stated that the song "deflates the rolling bombast of our political nightmare with greater effect than all the rest of Mr. McEvoy's satirical skits put together"; Variety said that "Brother" was the only part of the show worth praising. Harburg later wrote that the song earned him several thousand dollars and helped him get started in the music business. Business leaders tried to have it banned from the radio, viewing the song as "a dangerous attack on the American economic system". They were unsuccessful, due to the song's popularity. William Zinsser writes that "[t]he song so lacerated the national conscience that radio stations banned it" for being "sympathetic to the unemployed".

Few thematic Depression songs were popular, because Americans did not want music which reminded them of the economic situation, but "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" was "the exception that proved the rule". Unlike other popular songs of the same era which tended to be upbeat, with titles such as "Happy Days Are Here Again" (1929), "On the Sunny Side of the Street" (1930), and "Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries" (1931), "Brother" "put words and music to what many Americans were feeling—fear, grief, even anger". The song was one of the first musical works to take the Depression seriously. It was one of the most popular twenty songs of 1932 in the United States. Philip Furia and Michael Lasser wrote that the song "embodied the Depression for millions of Americans... No other popular song caught the spirit of its time with such urgency." In 2007, Clyde Haberman wrote that the song "endures as an anthem for the downtrodden and the forgotten". In 2011, Zinsser wrote that "Brother" "still hovers in the national memory; I can hear its ghostly echo in the chants of the Occupy Wall Street marchers". In a 2008 retrospective, NPR described it as "the anthem of the Great Depression".

According to Meyerson and Ernest Harburg, the challenge that Yip Harburg faced in crafting the lyrics was "much like the challenge confronting the street-corner panhandler: to establish the character's individuality and the moral and political basis for his claim". They write that the latter achieved this by gradually building intimacy with the listener, starting in third person and moving into first, second, and then both first and second combined ("I'm your pal"). The internal rhymes help the listener remember that the singer was working towards a dream, which is now shattered. They also write that the song is a "masterpiece of economy" in building towards a "climactic assertion of commonality and interdependency" in "I'm your pal". "The music and lyrics together make us feel the quiet desperation of the singer."

Pianist Rob Kapilow remarked that the title is "the entire history of the Depression in a single phrase" and the listener ends up "feeling the time-immemorial complaint that the working man doesn't get the rewards". He says that Harburg and Gorney were brave to express this message in 1932 "when no one was saying this out loud". Furia and Lasser write that the song is unusual in relying on a strong narrative instead of emotion or imagery. Thomas S. Hischak wrote that the song was "one of the first theatre songs to have a potent sociological message, and it remains one of the most powerful of the genre". The song was the most prominent cultural representation of the Bonus Army.

title: Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?