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Sons of Odin

Various gods and men appear as sons of Odin (Wōden, Óðinn) in Old Norse and Old English texts.

Thor, Baldr, Víðarr and Váli
Four gods, Thor, Baldr, Víðarr and Váli, are explicitly identified as sons of Odin in the Eddic poems, in the skaldic poems, in Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum, and in the Gylfaginning section of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda. But silence on the matter does not indicate that other gods whose parentage is not mentioned in these works might not also be sons of Odin.

Other gods called sons of Odin by Snorri Sturluson
In various kennings, Snorri also describes Heimdallr, Bragi, Týr, Höðr, and Hermod as sons of Odin, information that appears nowhere else in the Edda.

 * 1) For Heimdall, there is no variant account of his father.
 * 2) The same may not be true for Bragi if Bragi is taken to be the skaldic poet Bragi Boddason made into a god.
 * 3) But Týr, according to the Eddic poem Hymiskvida, was son of the giant Hymir rather than a son of Odin.
 * 4) As to Höd, outside of the single statement in the kennings, Snorri makes no mention that Höd is Baldr's brother or Odin's son, though one might expect that to be emphasized. In Saxo's version of the death of Baldr, Höd, whom Saxo calls Høtherus, is a mortal and in no way related to Saxo's demi-god Baldur.
 * 5) Hermód appears in Snorri's Gylfaginning as the messenger sent by Odin to Hel to seek to bargain for Baldr's release. He is called "son" of Odin in most manuscripts, but in the Codex Regius version—the Codex Regius is normally considered the best manuscript—Hermód is called sveinn Óðins 'Odin's boy', which might mean Odin's son but in the context is as likely to mean Odin's servant. However, when Hermód arrives in Hel's hall, he calls Baldur his brother. To confuse matters, other texts know of a mortal hero named Hermód or Heremod.

An alternative list of Odin's sons
Some manuscripts of the Skáldskaparmál give, along with other material, a list of the sons of Odin, which does not altogether fit with what Snorri writes elsewhere and so is usually thought to be a later addition. As such it is omitted from some editions and translations, but it is included in Anthony Faulkes' 1982 translation.

The text reads: Sons of Odin Baldr and Meili Víðarr and Nepr Váli, Thor and Hildólfr Hermóðr, Sigi Skjöldr and Ítreksjóð Heimdallr, Sæmingr Höðr and Bragi

Sigi is ancestor of the Volsungs. Skjöld is ancestor of the Danish Skjölding dynasty, Yngvi of the Swedish Ynglings. Sæming is ancestor of a line of Norwegian kings. All appear in Snorri's pseudo-historical Prologue to the Prose Edda as sons of Odin and founders of these various lineages, perhaps all thought to be sons of Odin begotten on mortal women. A Faroese ballad recorded in 1840 names Odin's son as Veraldur, this Veraldur being understood as another name of Frö, that is of Frey.

The name Hildolf appears in the eddic poem Hárbardsljód applied by the ferryman Harbard to his supposed master, but Harbard is actually Odin in disguise and there is no clear reference here to a son of Odin. The otherwise unrecorded Itreks-jod "offspring of Ítrekr" may be a reference to any of the sons of Odin, Ít-rekr "glorious ruler" being a name of Odin.

Meili also appears in the eddic poem Hárbardsljód, where Thor calls himself Odin's son, Meili's brother, and Magni's father. In Snorri's Gylfaginning, Ali is only another name for Vali, and Nep is the father of Baldur's wife Nanna. If this list is correct in giving Odin a son named Nep, and if that Nep is identical to the father of Nanna mentioned by Snorri, then Nanna would also be Baldur's niece. But marriage between uncle and niece, though common in many cultures, does not normally appear in old Scandinavian literature.

Týr, Höd, and Bragi are conspicuously absent from this list, one reason to believe it is not from Snorri's hand.

Some manuscripts have a variant version of the list which adds Höd and Bragi to the end and replaces Yngvi-Frey with an otherwise unknown Ölldner or Ölner. This may be an attempt to bring the list into accord with Snorri, even though it still lacks Týr. Some manuscripts add additional names of sons of Odin which are otherwise unknown: "Ennelang, Eindride, Bior, Hlodide, Hardveor, Sönnöng, Vinthior, Rymur."

<!--unedited copy-paste from Simek. please make a minimal effort to copyedit.

For the otherwise unknown in the paragraph above, these entries were found in the Dictionary of Modern Mythology by Rudolf Simek:

Ennelang/Ennilangr (ON. 'the one with the wide forehead'). A name listed in the þulur for the god Thor. The reason for this is unknown. (p. 74)

Eindride/Einridi (ON. 'the one who rides alone', originally perhaps 'the one who rules alone'). A name for the god Thor (Haustlong 19, Vellekla 15, þulur). In Snorri Einridi only occurs in the prologue to his Edda in the learned pre-history of the Aesir where Eirnidi is the son of Loridi and father of Vingthor through all three names are actually epithets for Thor. Because the name Einridi (just like Thor's name Hloridi) only occurs very sporadically in Medieval literary sources, but on the other hand occurs as a personal name in Runic Swedish ainripi (Grinda in Sodermannland, 11th century) and runic Danish airapi (Rimso, North Jutland, 10th century), it could be that these indicate an extra-litery knowledge of the name of Thor.(.o 71)

Hlodide/Hloridi/Hlorridi (ON. 'the loud rider', 'the loud weather-god'?). A frequent name for Thor in the earlier Eddic lays (Hymiskvida 4,16,27,29,37: Lokasenna 54 Prymskvida 7,8,14,31), although it already occurs in the Vellekla 15 (Einarr Skalaglamm, C.986). Because of its obscure etymology and its similarity with Einridi, a name for Thor, the name gives the impression of being an old cult name, but on the other hand it only occurs quite late. Presumably Hlora, the name given to Thor's mother, is derived from Hloridi since Hlora is only found in Snorri's Skaldskaparmal. Snorri also knows Hloridi as Loridi in his scholarly pre-history in the prologue to the Edda, where Hloridi (or rather Loridi) is said to be the father of Einridi and the grandfather of Vingborr (both are names Thor), which means the Snorri was aware of an association between Hloridi and Thor.(p. 153)

Hardveor/Hardveurr (ON. 'the strong archer'). A name for the god Thor in the þulur. Thor is also called Veurr in the Hymiskvida is only a reinforcement of this name.(p. 131)

Vingthior/Vingthor (ON. 'battle-Thor'?). A name given to Thor in Prymskvida 1, Alvissmal 6 and in the þulur. The interpretation of the name is disputed; the interpretation of it as 'fetter-Thor, dedication-Thor' (from ueik- fetter, dedicate': Krause) is linguisrically and factually implausible. the most likely explanation is 'battle-Thor' (from vega 'fight' cf. Latin vincere), whereby Vingthor would be related to the runic wigithonar. It is clear from Snorri's naming in the scholarly pre-history in the prologue of his Edda of a Ving(e)thor as being the son of a certain Einridi, the grandson of Loridi (= Hloridi) and the father of Vingener (= Vingnir) that Snorri understood Vingthor to a name for Thor, as this genealogy consists exclusively of names of Thor. (p. 364)

Rymur/Rymer (ON. 'noise'). A name for the god Thor in the þulur, the mythological significance of which is unknown.(p. 269) -->

Founders of dynasties
The prologue to Snorri's Edda and the alternative list discussed above both include the following:
 * Sigi. He was made the ancestor of the Völsung lineage (see Völsunga saga), who were Burgundian kings according to Snorri.
 * Skjöld. In Snorri's Ynglinga Saga in the Heimskringla, Skjöld's wife is the goddess Gefjön and the same account occurs in most, but not all, manuscripts of the Edda. But Saxo makes Skjöld the son of Lother son of Dan. And in English tradition, Skjöld (called Scyld or Sceldwa) is son of Sceafa or of Heremod when a father is named.
 * Yngvi. A son of Odin in the prologue to the Edda but identified with Frey son of Njörd in the Ynglinga Saga. In both accounts, this figure is made ancestor of the Yngling dynasty in Sweden (from which later kings of Norway also traced their descent).
 * Sæming. Snorri's Ynglinga Saga relates that after the giantess Skaði broke off her marriage with Njörd, she "married afterwards Odin, and had many sons by him, of whom one was called Sæming" from whom Jarl Hákon claimed descent. Snorri then quotes a relevant verse by the poet Eyvindr skáldaspillir. However, in his preface to the Heimskringla, Snorri says that Eyvindr's Háleygjatal which reckoned up the ancestors of Jarl Hákon brought in Sæming as son of Yngvi-Frey. Snorri may have slipped here, thinking of the Ynglings. As to the many sons, it is possible that some of the otherwise unknown sons in the previous section may be sons purportedly born by Skadi.

According to Herrauds saga:
 * Gauti. Gauti's son Hring ruled Östergötland (East Götaland), so Gauti appears to be the eponym of the Geatas in Beowulf. Some versions of the English royal line of Wessex add names above that of Woden, purportedly giving Woden's ancestry, though the names are now usually thought be in fact another royal lineage that has been at some stage erroneously pasted onto the top of the standard genealogy. Some of these genealogies end in Geat, whom it is reasonable to think might be Gauti. The account in the Historia Britonum calls Geat a son of a god, which fits. But Asser, in his Life of Alfred, writes instead that the pagans worshipped this Geat himself for a long time as a god. In Old Norse texts, Gaut is itself a very common byname for Odin. Jordanes, in The origin and deeds of the Goths, traces the line of the Amelungs up to Hulmul son of Gapt, purportedly the first Gothic hero of record. This Gapt is felt by many commentators to be an error for Gaut or Gauti.

According to Hervarar saga ok Heidreks konungs ("The Saga of Hervor and King Heidrek") versions H and U:
 * Sigrlami. He was son of Odin and king of Gardariki. His son Svafrlami succeeded him. Svafrlami forced the dwarves Dvalinn and Durin to forge for him a superb sword, Tyrfing. They did so and cursed it. In version R, Sigrlami takes on the role of Svafrlami and his parentage is not given.

In the prologue to the Edda, Snorri also mentions sons of Odin who ruled among the continental Angles and Saxons and provides information about their descendants that is identical, or very close, to traditions recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Snorri here may be dependent on English traditions. The sons mentioned by both Snorri and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle are:

 * Vegdagr/Wægdæg/Wecta. According to Snorri, Vegdeg ruled East Saxony. In the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the Wecta form of the name heads the lineage of the kings of Kent (of whom Hengest is traditionally the first), and the Wægdæg form of the name heads the lineage of the kings of Deira. The Anglian collection of Anglo-Saxon royal genealogies places the name Wægdæg in both pedigrees, while Snorri relates a single descent through Vegdeg and his son that later splits into two branches leading to the Kent and Deira ancestors.
 * Beldeg. According to Snorri's prologue, Beldeg was identical to Baldur and ruled in Westphalia. There is no independent evidence of the identification of Beldeg with Baldur. From Beldeg, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle traces the kings of Bernicia and Wessex. Historia Brittonum derives the kings of Deira from Beldeg rather than from Wægdæg.

Other Anglo-Saxon genealogies mention:

 * Weothulgeot or Wihtlæg. According to the genealogies in the Anglian collection, Weothulgeot was ancestor to the royal house of Mercia and the father of Wihtlæg. According to the Historia Brittonum, Weothulgeot was father of Weaga, who was father of Wihtlæg. But the two Anglo-Saxon Chronicle versions of this genealogy include neither Weothulgeot nor Weaga, but make Wihtlæg himself the son of Woden. In all versions, Wihtlæg is father of Wermund, father of Offa of Angel. According to the Old English poem Widsith, Offa ruled over the continental Angles. Saxo, though not mentioning Wihtlæg's parentage, introduces Wihtlæg as a Danish king named Wiglek, who was the slayer of Amleth (Hamlet).
 * Casere (Kjárr). He was made ancestor to the royal house of East Anglia and is thought to represent none other than Julius Caesar.
 * Winta. He was made ancestor to the royal house of Lindsey/Lindisfarne. This genealogy is found only in the Anglian collection, not in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
 * Seaxnēat. Made ancestor of the kings of Essex. He is mentioned as Saxnôte alongside Uuôden (Wodan) and Thunaer (Thunor) in the Old Dutch/Saxon Baptismal Vow. He was originally at the top of the Essex pedigree, and only later was made son of Woden to harmonize with the other Anglo-Saxon royal pedigrees.

Froger
Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum (Book 4) speaks of Froger, the King of Norway, who was a great champion. Saxo relates: "According to some, he was the son of Odin, and when he begged the immortal gods to grant him a boon, received the privilege that no man should conquer him, save he who at the time of the conflict could catch up in his hand the dust lying beneath Froger's feet." King Fródi the Active of Denmark, still a young man, learning of the charm, begged Froger to give him lessons in fighting. When the fighting court had been marked off, Fródi entered with glorious gold-hilted sword and clad in a golden breastplate and helmet. Fródi then begged a boon from Froger, that they might change positions and arms. Froger agreed. After the exchange, Fródi caught up some dust from where Froger had been standing and then quickly defeated Froger in battle and slew him.

Loki in modern literature
In modern literature (such as Marvel Comics) it has become popular to portray Loki as the adopted son of Odin. This however has no basis in Norse mythology, where Loki is portrayed as the blood brother of Odin.

title: Sons of Odin


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User:Simonides/Interests

Interests
Below is a selected list of interests. These are also the areas I need help with.

Philosophy and its offshoots, ex. Critical Theory
(Wikiprojects) Other
 * Critical Theory
 * Philosophy
 * Marxism
 * List_of_philosophical_topics
 * Philosopher
 * List_of_philosophers
 * Critical_Theory_basic_topics
 * List_of_critical_theorists

Literature and related topics, ex. Translation, specific Books, etc.
(Wikiprojects) Other
 * Books
 * Classic and other Canonical Fiction
 * Poetry
 * Mythology
 * Contemporary Fiction
 * Miscellaneous Prose - Criticism, Letters, Memoirs etc.
 * Translation
 * Authors
 * List_of_mythology_topics
 * Classics
 * List_of_literary_topics
 * Literature_basic_topics
 * History_of_Literature
 * List_of_books
 * List_of_novelists_by_nationality
 * List_of_poets
 * List_of_playwrights
 * List_of_short_story_authors
 * Noted_translators - I wrote a substantial part of that list.

Visual, Performing and Graphic Arts, especially Painting and Cinema
(Wikiprojects) Other
 * Movies
 * Classic, International and Cult Cinema
 * Theatre
 * List_of_famous_operas
 * History_of_cinema
 * List_of_directors
 * Screenwriter
 * Theater_basic_topics
 * List_of_theatre_directors
 * List_of_painters
 * List_of_illustrators
 * List_of_sculptors
 * List_of_architects

Politics
(Wikiprojects) Other
 * Political Science
 * Marxism
 * Political_Science_basic_topics
 * Political_theorist

History
(Wikiprojects)
 * Timelines

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

title: User:Simonides/Interests


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Talk:Al-Qaeda/Archive 1

Untitled
Of the various spellings given, which is the preferred transliteration of the Arabic? What is the most accurate pronunciation? (I've heard people pronounce it "al-kay-da", "al-kwai-da" and "al-ka-ee-da".) -- SJK
 * well, NOT al-kwai-da. I've heard both of the other two from people who ought to have checked. Most of the correspondents reporting from Afghanistan (and notice how lots of the Arabic speakers seem to say "af-wan-iss-tan"?) seem to be saying "al-kay-da" or "al-kai-da".  Oh, and, as someone who regularly teaches history of Islamic art and architecture, there is no single 'preferred' transliteration.  There are several transliteratin schemes operating inside the art and architecture journal style sheets alone!  The Library of Congress system seems to be overtaking the English-language scholarship for Arabic, but I read a despairing note just last week about the lack of any standardization for Turkish.  One thing to remember is that despite the single name, Arabic has many dialects;  there are different regional variations on proper names, too;  all of that comes through in transliteration.  *sigh* --MichaelTinkler.

The linked page alleging Carter's funding of al-Qaida is a political advocacy page, not news or scholarship. Moreover it does not mention al-Qaida, though it does drop the name of Osama bin Laden. If a more accurate source cannot be found, then the allegation "Carter funded al-Qaida" should be removed, as it directly invites a libel suit against Wikipedia. --FOo

 * I fail to see how a link to an external site could remotely be considered libellous, although US law may be different. It is worth a look at nevertheless, and maybe someone more clued up on US legislation might like to give this some thought. I am moreover not remotely sure whether an accusation which has been levelled and not refuted in public on numerous occasions is likely to attract that much attention for fairly obvious reasons. user:sjc

 * Sjc, you didn't merely link to an external site. You edited the main text of the page so that it asserts that Carter and Brzezinski funded the creation of al-Qaida. I'm as opposed to U.S. funding of violent groups as anyone, but this accusation is not substantiated. Indeed, even the linked Zmag page -- which is a political advocacy article, not a piece of news or scholarship -- does not make that specific claim (it says the CIA recruited "'freedom fighters' like Osama bin Laden") and therefore really can't be stood upon as a defense of it.

 * As for whether or not a possibly libelous claim would "attract enough attention" to actually result in a libel suit -- I can't see how it matters. We are building an encyclopedia here. Encyclopedias do not libel, even if they think they can get away with it.

 * Mind you, I'm not saying the claim is wrong. It wouldn't surprise me one bit. But when Wikipedia makes an allegation that a public figure committed a wrong he is not widely acknowledged to have committed, we must back that allegation up. Otherwise, we are not encyclopedists; we are libellors or at best conspiracy-theorists. --FOo

 * PS. The funding of the mujaheddin, al-Quaida and the Taleban was the cornerstone of American foreign policy in Afghanistan in the wake of the Soviet invasion. user:sjc

 * I agree with the claim that the American government funded the mujahedin, whose movement led into the Taliban regime and the al-Qaida organization. That is not, however, the same as the claim that the American government funded al-Qaida. --FOo

Iran never supported the Mujaheddin or helped fund them in any way!

I think we should take some care in our use of the phrase "Al Qaeda terrorist organisation", and of our use of similar phrases like "high-ranking member of al-Qaeda", which imply things about the organisational structure of al Qaeda that I'm not sure are true. Personally I know next to nothing about the organisational structure of al Qaeda, and it seems to me that before we go labelling it an organisation with membership, we should try to establish a little better what it actually looks like.

For example, is Abu Zubaydah really bin Laden's "lieutenant" (or some similar formal post), or does the State Department just like to use this phrase because it implies that bin Laden places a lot of trust and responsibility in Abu Zubaydah's hands because he's a reliable guy? This is an important distinction, because if al Qaeda is not so much an organisation as it is a circle of trust and interconnecting working relationships (i.e., a network), then we should refrain from using language that implies a rigid hierarchy and an elaborate organisational structure. Unless we can establish, somehow, that there is, in fact, such a hierarchy at work. Graft

In many cases, Ive seen arguments which effectively say : you cant include that fact, because it belongs in another context. An example is the Raelism article, where cloning claims are handled in a discorporate way, on the Clonaid article. This practice is only misleading: There is no limitation on used space in a web environment, save bandwidth and server requirements - hardly affecting of how articles should be edited ..

But that the US supported the Mujaheddin, and not Al-Quaeda: Saying that no reference to US funding, as a part of Al-Quaeda's history is relevant on the Al-Quaeda article, is flawed thinking at best. It rather comes from a defensiveness of Western interests (most of us belong to Western Societies), and a popular element that believes that "it doesnt help" to make these contentious issues clearer, in any way. "They know what they are doing" in otherwords, referring to the propagandists who think this way to begin with.

Its ok to be redundant - having some of the same info on more than one article. In fact, if we werent redundant, every article would be chopped up into tiny little bits, linking to something else ( in a different direction ), which isnt conductive to good reading.

Al-Quaeda's history in the Mujaheddin is relevant to include in part. Which parts, shouldnt be so much an issue. The fact that people object to associating US funding of Mujaheddin on the Al-Quaeda page is similar to Raelians objecting to putting ( debunked ) claims of cloning on the Raelism page: Its the effort to divide the pie in one way, the way that least challenges the other facts... This is a rampant syndrome, present in all aspects of articles on the Middle East Oil-based conflicts, (of which this is a part), and it amounts to a kind of censorship, when people remove these... thorny facts. -Love, Stevert

--- Removed this from the page:
 * One of his al-Qaida related organisations fought alongside the Taliban, helping it to occupy nearly 90% of Afghanistan by 2000.

This conflicts with information from fas.org, which says that the taliban may have in fact waged a campaign against the "afghan arabs", attempted to assassinate bin Laden several times, and eventually put him under house arrest. Cite for this before it goes back into the article, and a clearer picture of the relationship between bin Laden and the Taliban is necessary.

In general a lot of the "attacks" need to be either more fleshed out or cited better. Personally I'm not willing to take the word of intelligence agencies and the like at face value. When the U.S. government claims to have foiled hundreds of al-Qaida attacks, I am a bit dubious, given their history. If the sources for all the information regarding these attacks and foiled-attacks is only the claims of intelligence agencies and security forces, it should be HEAVILY qualified to make this clear. It's certainly not "neutral" otherwise. Graft

-

Re: the removal of the Sudan bombing - i'm not going to defend it too heavily, because I think the whole passage sucks, is basically personal opinion, and probably needs to go/be drastically reworked. But, in any case, could you give some links showing no medicine shortage as a result? All the reports I can find say that 60-70% of the medicine, and nearly all of the vet meds that Sudan produced came from that plant. This says that as a result of the bombing a malaria epidemic arose. I read the newcriterion.com chomsky-bashing article, which was very thorough, but I haven't found any confirmation of that writer's point re: Sudan.

Here is part of a letter to clinton by HRW:
 * Finally, we wish to draw your attention once more to the famine gripping southern Sudan, where the U.N. estimates that 2.4 million people are at risk of starvation. Unfortunately for this devastated population, the U.S. bombing has had the unintended effect of leading to a disruption in assistance. For instance, all U.N. agencies based in Khartoum have evacuated their American staff, as have many other relief organizations. As a result, many relief efforts have been postponed indefinitely, including a crucial one run by the U.S.-based International Rescue Committee in the government garrison town of Wau in southern Sudan, where more than fifty southerners are dying daily. We urge you to remain mindful of this terrible crisis as you continue to assess U.S. policy in Sudan.

So, while Chomsky may be wrong about the particulars (i.e. the german ambassador wasn't a good source), I think it's fair to say the distruction of the factory and subsequent sanctions had negative impacts on the population, as confirmed by welfare agencies. Graft 21:49 31 May 2003 (UTC)

A request for help - I take serious issue with the word "linked" that is used in this article and in other associated articles, primarily because it is language frequently bandied about by the American government. When I hear this word, it says to me, "We want you to believe that Osama bin Laden is associated with X group, but we can't prove it, so we'll just say they're 'linked'." Jema'ah Islamiya is a case in point. There are many ways in which they might be "linked" to al-Qaida. For example, they might receive financial support from them. People from al-Qaida might visit and share thoughts with JI members. They might receive actual directions on operations, or only directions on long-term goals. They might receive no direction, financial support, or expert advice, but share only a common ideology/sympathize with each other. All of these can be called "linked".

I therefore consider this a very loaded term, and I do not think it is NPOV. We should remove it or clarify it (i.e., elucidate what kind of links we're talking about) where it is made use of in articles discussing terrorist or Islamist groups. No need to adopt the language of propaganda agencies.

Am I off the mark on this? Graft 23:45 14 Jun 2003 (UTC)

can someone incorporate this news story into this article? Kingturtle 05:37, 26 Aug 2003 (UTC)

This BBC news story indicated that Al-Qaida was formed in 1979, not 1988 as the article says.
 * A matter of interpretation, and maybe propaganda. "Al-Qaida" might be bin Laden's international terror organization, or it might be the resting house from which that organization evolved. In any event, the Al-Qaida the International Terror Organization did not form in 1979, and probably shouldn't be considered especially active even in 1988, although that's a fine date to set the inception of the international terror organization - I think the article works as it stands. Graft 20:56, 8 Sep 2003 (UTC)

--

I brought this issue up before, but Kwantus' link to to this article prompts me to raise it again:

What is our philosophy on how we write about al-Qaida? The U.S. government presents a picture of al-Qaida as a terror organization, with some sort of internal hierarchy, structure, communications protocol, etc. But adopting this point of view may not be neutral: we have no evidence, really, that al-Qaida is not just a "bunch of guys" who are all committed to attacking western targets and communicate their ideas and share resources on an ad-hoc basis. After all, the name is not self-designated; we shouldn't try to reify something by labeling it if it's not a real thing.

Your thoughts? Graft 20:19, 16 Sep 2003 (UTC)

title: Talk:Al-Qaeda/Archive 1


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Gwiriko

The Gwiriko Kingdom (Dyula:  Masaya Gwiriko ), also known as Gouiriko was a kingdom in the 18th and 19th centuries in what is now part of present-day Burkina Faso around the watershed of the River Banifin. It was founded by Famagah Ouattara (Wattara) and lasted until French occupation in 1897. Its chief city was Bobo-Dioulasso.

History
In the early 18th century, Sékou Ouattara took control of the city of Kong and expanded his influence, creating the Kong Empire. In about 1714, Seku's brother, Famagah Ouattara, established the Kingdom of Gwiriko, likely ruling as a representative of Seku, although possibly independently. At Seku's death around 1740, Ouattara's brother, Famagah Ouattara, refused to pay allegiance to Sekou Ouattara's sons and seized the area which included Tiefo, Dafin, and Bwamu. He allied with the Bobo-Juula, and established a state. He was succeeded within a few years by Kere Massa Ouattara and Magan Oule Ouattara, who faced repeated revolts which were put down by violent repression.

After the succeeding leader, Diori Ouattara, died in 1839, the state collapsed, and Tiefo, Bobo Joola, Bolon, and other regions became independent. Guimbe Ouattara (c 1836–1919), daughter of Diori Ouattara, was a noted leader in campaigns against the Kenedougou and against Noumoudara in this era. Bako Moru stemmed the collapse by allying with Tiéfo and Bobo Joola. In the ensuing battles, Tieba Traoré, future king of Kénédougou Kingdom, was captured and later sold as a slave.

During the reign of Ali Dyan (1854–1878) and his successor Kokoro Dyan, the central state lost control of the state and groups such as the Tyefo took control of the land. By the late 1800s, Gwiriko was pressed on many sides and in 1897, Pintieba Ouattara was installed to replace Tieba Ouattara by the French when Pintieba made a deal with French commandant Paul Caudrelier. Thereafter, the influence of the state quickly waned and while Pintieba and his successor Karamoko Ouattara held the title of King until 1915, by that time the state no longer existed.

Historiography
"Gwiriko" means "at the end of the long stage" in the Dyula language. The early history of this kingdom is recorded in the Ghunja Chronicle (Kitab al-Ghunja).

title: Gwiriko


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User:Robleach

Rob Leach
"He's not the messiah; he's a very naughty boy." Monty Python's Life of Brian

Just contributing to the Wikipedia content.

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title: User:Robleach


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University of Puerto Rico at Bayamón

The University of Puerto Rico at Bayamón (UPRB or UPR-Bayamón) is a public university in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. It is part of the University of Puerto Rico System (UPR) and is better known as CUTB from its previous name of Colegio Universitario Tecnológico de Bayamón in Spanish. It is the third largest campus in the whole UPR system in terms of population.

The university offers undergraduate programs. It also administers an Extended University program for students who are unable to comply with a regular daytime schedule, as well as partnerships with businesses and industries in the area where students can do internships and practical programs before graduation. UPR-Bayamón excels in the Liga Atlética Interuniversitaria's (LAI) Women Basketball, with an historic 10 consecutive championships, and Cheerleading. Also, it holds first place 5 years in a row in the dance team's competition.

title: University of Puerto Rico at Bayamón


text: Category:Accidents and incidents on commercial airliners


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University station (MTR)

University station is an MTR station located near the Chinese University of Hong Kong in Ma Liu Shui. It is located between Tai Po Market and Fo Tan/Racecourse stations on the. This station was the first post-war station to open on the line, and has the most curved track of any MTR station.

Early history
Construction of the station, initially named Ma Liu Shui after the locality in which it is situated, began in January 1955. It was completed in August 1955. There had been a longstanding need to build a passing place along the stretch of track between Tai Po and Sha Tin, as the railway was only single-track at that time, and it was convenient to build a station at the same time to serve the new Chung Chi College.

The new station comprised "a single storeyed station building, a flush latrine, 1,250 linear feet of platforms and a loop line of 1,900 linear feet". The opening was delayed due to the late arrival of signalling equipment ordered through the Crown Agents.

The station finally came into operation on 24 September 1956, at that time served by three up-trains and three down-trains daily. Though the Chinese University of Hong Kong was not founded until 1963, the adjacent Chung Chi College would become part of the new university in 1963, and would form the basis of CUHK's campus. The station was given its present name on 1 January 1967. In 1983, its tracks were electrified along with the rest of the KCR East Rail.

A Chinese goods wagon derailed north of the station at around 2:00 p.m. on 4 June 1988. Nobody was injured, but the derailment led to thousands being stranded at University, Tai Po Market, and Fo Tan stations, leading to an "almost hysterical scramble for road transport". At 5:00 p.m. a lorry overturned in the northbound carriageway of the Lion Rock Tunnel. Together, the accidents caused a "great stoppage" in Kowloon and the eastern New Territories, leading to anger and fights at massive queues for taxi ranks and bus stations. The Police Tactical Unit was dispatched to University station.

2000 expansion
Originally, the station was the smallest in the system. In the early 1990s, the new town of Ma On Shan was developed on the other side of Tolo Harbour, and it seemed inefficient to make residents there go all the way to Sha Tin to catch a train. Therefore, university station was expanded at a cost of $72.4 million, becoming an important interchange between buses and minibuses from Ma On Shan and the East Rail line. Construction began in late 1998 and the expanded station, designed by Leigh & Orange, was officially opened in October 2000. The total floor area of the station concourses increased from 800 square metres to 2,000 square metres. Four years later, in December 2004, the Ma On Shan rail opened to provide Ma On Shan with direct railway service. As a consequence, University station's importance to residents of Ma On Shan was strongly diminished.

New station entrance
A new exit D opened at the north end of the station in 2012 to serve several newly opened teaching buildings nearby. The structure was awarded LEED silver precertification for features such as natural daytime lighting, rainwater storage for irrigation, natural ventilation, and furniture made from recycled railway sleepers. The entrance is unusual on the MTR system in that it opens directly onto a platform rather than a concourse level, meaning that it is convenient only for those using northbound trains because there is no way to cross the tracks at that area. To access southbound trains from exit D, passengers must walk the length of the platform to cross the tracks using the exit A/B concourse.

Safety

The platform is built along a curve, causing gaps of a range of different sizes to exist while the trains are lined up to the platform. The KCRC responded to these complaints by assuring passengers that they will install plates on the side of platforms to reduce the gap, though this has not been done.

After two incidents of children falling onto the tracks at University station in 1985, the issue was discussed in the Legislative Council. The Secretary for Transport asserted that the gaps were within "international safety limits", and that the gap could not be narrowed due to the curvature of the station as well as the "rather wider bodies" of the Chinese through trains which run through the station daily. A man who fractured his leg boarding a train at the station in 2008 asserted that he fell into a gap of about 35 cm, while the MTR claimed it was only 22 cm at the relevant section of platform.

Today, the station is one of three on the network marked with special signage noting the "gap black spots". The platform edge is outfitted with flashing neon lighting and "小心空隙" (mind the gap) decals, and typically there are several staff on duty on the platform. This station, along with the other stations along the East Rail Line, will eventually receive platform edge doors as part of a retrofitting program.

Entrances/exits

 * A: The Chinese University of Hong Kong
 * B: Chak Cheung Street, public transport interchange
 * C: The Chinese University of Hong Kong
 * D: The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Teaching Complex

title: University station (MTR)