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Magnolia tripetala

Magnolia tripetala, commonly called umbrella magnolia or simply umbrella-tree, is a deciduous tree native to the eastern United States in the Appalachian Mountains, the Ozarks, and the Ouachita Mountains. The name "umbrella tree" derives from the fact that the large leaves are clustered at the tips of the branches forming an umbrella-shaped structure.

Description
Umbrella magnolias have large shiny leaves 30–50 cm long, spreading from stout stems. In a natural setting the umbrella magnolia can grow 15 m tall. The flowers are large, appear in the spring, malodorous, 15–25 cm diameter, with six to nine creamy-white tepals and a large red style, which later develops into a red fruit (an aril) 10 cm long, containing several red seeds. These trees are attractive and easy to grow. The leaves turn yellow in the autumn. The leaves are clustered at the tip of the stem with very short internodes. The tree has reddish cone-shaped fruit, is shade tolerant, has shallow spreading roots, and is pollinated by beetles.

Leaves on M. tripetala trees are alternate, simple, and oblong. They are a dark green on top and pale green underneath the leaves. These leaves are clustered at the ends of branches, giving them the appearance of an umbrella. The leaves and arrangement resemble their relative M. macrophylla. These trees are naturally in rich and moist woods, along slopes, streams and ravines. The bark is thin and gray, mostly smooth and can have raised lenticels. Trees typically grow from single stems, though multiple stems are not uncommon. The flowers on M. tripetala have been described to have unpleasant smells but are not toxic to organisms. These trees grow at a moderate rate during the spring season.

Taxonomy
The name M. tripetala was originally described by Linnaeus in his Systema Naturae in 1759. It is most commonly known as the umbrella magnolia or the umbrella tree. Tripetala comes from Latin and means "three petals". This naming convention was used for the three petal-like sepals of the tree's flowers. Magnolia tripetala is the accepted name of the species but has gone through multiple authors naming the species differently. Synonyms for M. tripetala include ''Kobus tripetala, Magnolia frondosa, Magnolia umbrella, Magnolia virginiana var. tripetala, and Magnolia umbrella var. tripetala''.

Distribution and habitat
Umbrella magnolias have a native range from New York state to southern Florida. This range also expands as far west as Arkansas and parts of Oklahoma. It is located in deciduous forests of the Appalachian Mountains. Research has shown the species to be non-native to northern states such as Pennsylvania, and only being a recent arrival. This species has been cultivated in locations outsides its natural range, and has spread from these locations to nearby woodlands. Magnolia tripetala has been observed in forests outside its native range in multiple instances. Single individuals and small populations have been observed near areas where M. tripetala is in cultivation. Magnolia tripetala has been given the FACU wetland status, tending to prefer average to dry soil. The trees have low tolerance to drought and fire.

Reproduction
Magnolia tripetala in cultivation can produce low viability pollen (9.4-31.7%). Actual seed productivity of the M. tripetala is less than their potential productivity. However, M. tripetala are characterized by a high seed germination rates, up to 94%. Optimal seed germination conditions for M. tripetala are protected ground or a greenhouse and stratification at 4 °C for 30 days.

Notable trees
The largest known Magnolia tripetala is 15.2 m in height with a trunk diameter of 87 cm in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

Uses
Magnolia tripetala contains a substance called ethyl acetate in its branches, and this substance displays nematicidal activity. This activity allows it to specifically resist Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, Panagrellus redivivus, and Caenorhabditis elegans.

Magnolia tripetala has been used as a parent with Magnolia obovata (Japanese cucumber tree), resulting in the hybrid Magnolia x pruhoniciana, an ornamental plant. The species is named for the park for which it was first discovered, Prühonice Park in the Czech Republic. The hybrid has resulted in multiple hybrid variants, including the named 'Silk Road' and 'Silver Parasol' cultivars. The variants are described to be deciduous, medium trees with elliptic to ovate leaves. The leaves are 20-45cm by 10-22cm and the flowers are white, 16-25cm across at the end of branches. The cultivars have fruits with features such as number of follicles or stamen scars that are intermediate between the parent species.

Umbrella magnolia leaves are eaten by a variety of animals. They often grow under the canopy of larger trees and support biodiversity in forested areas. These trees are notably used as specimen trees for their unique foliage. Magnolia tripetala is used as an ornamental in urban areas and used as focal trees in the garden setting.

Diseases
Umbrella magnolias are victim to pests such as magnolia scales or yellow poplar weevils. Magnolia scales infest and slowly kill branches of many trees, including species of magnolias. Yellow poplar weevils infest the leaves of magnolias and can cause mortality.

Conservation
Magnolia tripetala has a secure conservation status across multiple states in most of its native range. However there are multiple states where the tree is considered critically imperiled or exotic. Many states within the native range of M. tripetala have not assessed its endangerment status. States where there is no status ranking (SNR/SU/SNA) for M. tripetala include Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. States where the tree is considered secure (S5) include North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky. Magnolia tripetala is critically imperiled (S1) in Oklahoma, Mississippi, Florida, and Indiana. Global status for M. tripetala is secure (G5) as of 1991. Global status is in need of review. Efforts to conserve M. tripetala have been taken by local and state-wide ecological groups and are still being recommended. As the tree grows on steep slopes, the trees and soil are subject to damage due to human traffic in its native range. Ailanthus altissima has been described as a competitor to M. tripetala and has been removed from its habitat to better support M. tripetala persistence.

Ecology
Magnolia tripetala most commonly lives in slope forests on north-facing slopes. The tree has been seen to grow along streambanks as well as in many ravines. Beetles are the primary pollinators of M. tripetala and birds and squirrels disperse seeds. Beetles enter buds of the flowers to feed on pollen and move this pollen from male parts of the flower to female parts. The male reproductive parts of the flower mature first. These trees are slow to spread but seedlings are resilient. Flowers bloom in the spring while seeds mature and spread throughout the summer.

title: Magnolia tripetala


text:
ADC Aircraft

The Aircraft Disposal Company (ADC), or Airdisco, was a British firm established in March 1920 to take advantage of the large number of World War I-surplus military aircraft on the market. The company changed name in 1925 to ADC Aircraft Limited.

History
In 1920 the British government, through the Disposal and Liquidation Commission of the Ministry of Munitions, sold the entire stock of surplus aircraft, aero-engines and related equipment held in the United Kingdom to the Imperial and Foreign Corporation Limited. The sale included more than 10,000 aircraft and 35,000 aero-engines, for the sum of £1,000,000 plus a 50% share of any profits. The Imperial and Foreign Corporation formed the Aircraft Disposal Company to sell the equipment and to take over the management of the storage organisation and the large aircraft depots throughout the country. The Handley Page Company were appointed sole managing and selling agents for ADC although problems with the financial arrangement soon put Handley Page at risk and the agreement was made in March 1921 between Handley Page Limited, Frederick Handley Page and ADC to stop ADC liquidating the Handley Page Company.

The former military aircraft were converted to various civil roles before being sold on while others were sold to military buyers. By 1925, it had sold 2,000 airframes and 3,000 engines, generating profits of over £2,500,000, of which half was returned to the British Treasury.

The company had several sites across Britain including 11 acre of Regent's Park in London known as Marylebone Green. Three of the National Aircraft Factories became part of the Aircraft Disposal Company including Aintree in Liverpool, Waddon in Croydon, and at Stockport near Manchester.

The company became known as "Airdisco" from its telegraphic address, "Airdisco, London".

In 1926 eight A.D.C.1 fighters (developed from the Martinsyde Buzzard) were delivered to Latvia.

The company had offices at Regent House, 89 Kingsway London WC2.

The company name was changed to ADC Aircraft Limited in 1925 and was finally wound up in 1930.

Aircraft

 * Airdisco Phi-Phi
 * A.D.C.1 (Martinsyde Buzzard)

Aircraft engines
The company produced a small range of aircraft engines under the direction of Frank Halford, the 'Cirrus' line continued to be manufactured by Cirrus Aero Engines Ltd and their successors.
 * ADC Airdisco
 * ADC Cirrus
 * ADC Nimbus
 * ADC Airsix

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

title: ADC Aircraft


text:
User:Chuq/Maps/Australia

Please post discussion at the bottom of this page.

(please ignore the image quality on the last two pics, I want to get a layout preference first, then make higher res pics)

I also made this image (Australia_map.png) from this PD image

Some state locator maps:

Discussion
These seem very good, although I don't actually know what the old ones were like. The only problem I can see is that they blend in with the (Cologne?) theme - the white is similar to the background and the parts of Australia not highlighted are almost exactly the same. --uvarov 08:19, Oct 4, 2004 (UTC)
 * The old ones weren't much different, just a different colour. Check the Tassie one here .  I chose yellow as I plan to use the maps for other things (ie. highways, towns, rivers, mountains, etc. ) and use different colours for each, and pale yellow was the best colour for drawing additional items - the red was too dark to see any other colour. -- Chuq 10:57, 4 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * On viewing the maps on another machine, I've found they look quite pale. Anyone else found this or just me? -- Chuq 23:02, 4 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * I am just about to post you a notice about worldwind images but came here first - these maps do look pale on my machine.  Regards --AYArktos 21:59, 25 Apr 2005 (UTC)

title: User:Chuq/Maps/Australia


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DCDS

DCDS may refer to:
 * Detroit Country Day School, a private school
 * DECHEMA Chemistry Data Series, a series of books with thermophysical data published by DECHEMA
 * Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff

title: DCDS


text:
Steeping

Steeping is the soaking of an organic solid, such as leaves, in a liquid (usually water) to extract flavours or to soften it. The specific process of teas being prepared for drinking by leaving the leaves in heated water to release the flavour and nutrients is known as steeping. Herbal teas may be prepared by decoction, infusion, or maceration. Some solids are soaked to remove an ingredient, such as salt, where the solute is not the desired product.

Corn
One example is the steeping of corn (or maize), part of the milling process. As described by the US Corn Refiners Association, harvested kernels of corn are cleaned and then steeped in water at a temperature of 50 C for 30 to 40 hours. In the process their moisture content rises from 15% to 45% and their volume more than doubles. The gluten bonds in the corn are weakened and starch is released. The corn is then ground to break free the germ and other components, and the water used (steepwater), which has absorbed various nutrients, is recycled for use in animal feeds.

Tea
Dried teas as loose tea or tea bags are prepared for drinking by steeping the leaves in just boiled or heated water to release the flavour and nutrients in the dried tea into the water. This is often done in a cup, mug, teapot, pitcher or urn. A tea infuser or a tea strainer may be used to assist in this process. There is a huge variety of teas available in the market with broad based categories like oolong, green, black, white etc. and other specialized ones catering to particular regions such as Assam, Darjeeling etc. Each tea has to be prepared properly pertaining to their make and quality.

Beer
Steeping grain is a part of making beer.

title: Steeping


text:
Johnny Suede

Johnny Suede is a 1991 American film, the directorial debut of Tom DiCillo, and stars Brad Pitt, Catherine Keener, Calvin Levels and Nick Cave.

Synopsis
Johnny Suede is a young man with an attitude and an immense pompadour, who aspires to be a rock n' roll star like his idol Ricky Nelson. He believes he has all the stylistic accoutrements sans a pair of black suede shoes. One night a pair of black suede shoes mysteriously appear, landing on top of the telephone booth he was using. Shortly there afterwards, Johnny meets Darlette, a sultry bohemian with whom he sleeps. Despite Darlette's jealous and abusive gun-toting boyfriend, Johnny sees Darlette daily. The destitute Johnny is forced to pawn his guitar to pay his rent while Darlette mysteriously vanishes. Johnny's friend Deke lends him the money to get his guitar back from the pawnshop, and the duo form a band. Sad and depressed about Darlette's desertion, Johnny wanders around New York aimlessly until he meets Yvonne, a woman more intelligent than Johnny. Yvonne teaches him that there are things in life much more important than a pair of black suede shoes.

Production
Around 1985, while taking acting classes in New York City, Tom DiCillo was impressed with the local punk movement and the resurgence of rockabilly led by acts like Elvis Costello, The Stray Cats and The Clash. Spinning personal experiences into monologues, he created a character whose vulnerability is obscured by a superficial fifties era cool, exaggerated to the point of foolishness. DiCillo first wove what he had into a one-hour one-man show, before setting the first draft of the screenplay to paper. Eight months later he had completed the fourth draft. Having received positive feedback from his friend Jim Jarmusch, DiCillo approached German television, ZDF, who gave him eighty thousand dollars. Additional funding came from the National Endowment for the Arts for twenty-five thousand dollars, as well as a Panavision package and help with the script from the Sundance Lab. Around 1988 to 1989, while at the Cannes Film Festival, DiCillo stumbled into a deal with a South African producer wherein he sold worldwide rights to his film for three hundred thousand dollars; an arrangement he would later call, "A shaky thing but still I felt it was worth the risk so I decided to go ahead with it."

Casting
Pre-production, early casting and the search for Johnny quickly followed. By August 1989, having not found what they were looking for in New York, DiCillo and his casting director, Marcia Shulman, went to Los Angeles, where Brad Pitt was the second to last guy seen. DiCillo recalls, "[He] didn’t have much on his resume. In fact he only had two things; he’d done a small Canadian TV series and he’d just finished shooting what he’d listed as his only real film credit — something called Thelma and Louise that no one had heard about because it hadn’t even been edited yet." Convinced Pitt was Johnny Suede, DiCillo forced the casting on his South African producer, who was shortly thereafter replaced by Ruth Waldburger when the South African's option expired. The film was ultimately shot in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in 30 days, from November to December 1990.

Music
Original music for the film was performed by rockabilly guitar legend Link Wray. Subsequently, a version was released on Netflix that removed 8 minutes of Wray's music. DiCillo objected to this version, and subsequently was allowed to reedit the film himself, removing scenes and voiceover that had been added by the distributor.

Release and reception
The film was entered into competition at the Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland, where it was seen by Mark Tusk from Miramax who, convinced Pitt would become a film star, urged Harvey Weinstein to make the unprecedented step of purchasing the rights to a film he had not yet seen. Johnny Suede won Best Picture at the festival, and the distribution deal was sealed.

The movie reportedly grossed $90,091 in the US box office, against a production budget of $500,000, though this was in one cinema - its widest release.

Home media
The 2009 Anchor Bay release of this film includes an audio commentary track from DiCillo.

title: Johnny Suede


text:
Nordicity

Nordicity (nordicité) is the degree of northernness. The concept was developed by Canadian geographer Louis-Edmond Hamelin in the 1960s based on previous work done in the Soviet Union. Hamelin's system defined northern territories – like northern Canada – not by literal latitude, but as a continuum based on a number of natural and human factors.

Hamelin developed an index he called Valeurs polaires (French for "polar values") or VAPO, where the North Pole had a VAPO of 1000. The nordicity index had 10 natural and human components:
 * 1) latitude
 * 2) summer heat
 * 3) annual cold
 * 4) types of ice
 * 5) total precipitation
 * 6) natural vegetation cover
 * 7) accessibility by means other than air
 * 8) air service
 * 9) population
 * 10) degree of economic activity

Each component was graded on the scale of 0–100 where 100 represented extreme nordicity, with the VAPO representing the sum of these ten components. Hamelin proposed that areas with a VAPO of more than 200 should be considered "the North". He subdivided Canada into Extreme North, Far North, Middle North, and Near North (Extrême Nord, Grand Nord, Moyen Nord, Pré-Nord) based on their VAPO. Using the VAPO, most of Canada outside the Southern Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland, the Prairies, the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor, and most of the Maritimes exhibits some degree of nordicity. . His Extreme North included the northern portion of Canada's Arctic Archipelago. The rest of the archipelago and tundra zone as well as parts of the boreal forest were included in the Far North.

The Canadian government uses a set system for measuring nordicity, which is used for determining a number of regulations in fields such as environmental protection, infrastructure, and many others. Northern Canada, apropos, is normally divided into three areas. The Middle North covering the northern parts of most provinces, as well as parts of the territories is largely populated by those of European descent and has significant resource extraction despite its low population. The Far North covers the northern part of the continent and the southern Arctic Archipelago. The Extreme North covers the northernmost islands and is largely uninhabitable. Other countries have their own systems of measuring nordicity.

The idea of nordicity and the changing conceptions of what is the north has also recently become a subject for historians.

title: Nordicity


text:
Defuzzification

Defuzzification is the process of producing a quantifiable result in crisp logic, given fuzzy sets and corresponding membership degrees. It is the process that maps a fuzzy set to a crisp set. It is typically needed in fuzzy control systems. These systems will have a number of rules that transform a number of variables into a fuzzy result, that is, the result is described in terms of membership in fuzzy sets. For example, rules designed to decide how much pressure to apply might result in "Decrease Pressure (15%), Maintain Pressure (34%), Increase Pressure (72%)". Defuzzification is interpreting the membership degrees of the fuzzy sets into a specific decision or real value.

The simplest but least useful defuzzification method is to choose the set with the highest membership, in this case, "Increase Pressure" since it has a 72% membership, and ignore the others, and convert this 72% to some number. The problem with this approach is that it loses information. The rules that called for decreasing or maintaining pressure might as well have not been there in this case.

A common and useful defuzzification technique is center of gravity. First, the results of the rules must be added together in some way. The most typical fuzzy set membership function has the graph of a triangle. Now, if this triangle were to be cut in a straight horizontal line somewhere between the top and the bottom, and the top portion were to be removed, the remaining portion forms a trapezoid. The first step of defuzzification typically "chops off" parts of the graphs to form trapezoids (or other shapes if the initial shapes were not triangles). For example, if the output has "Decrease Pressure (15%)", then this triangle will be cut 15% the way up from the bottom. In the most common technique, all of these trapezoids are then superimposed one upon another, forming a single geometric shape. Then, the centroid of this shape, called the fuzzy centroid, is calculated. The x coordinate of the centroid is the defuzzified value.

Methods
There are many different methods of defuzzification available, including the following:

The maxima methods are good candidates for fuzzy reasoning systems. The distribution methods and the area methods exhibit the property of continuity that makes them suitable for fuzzy controllers.
 * AI (adaptive integration)
 * BADD (basic defuzzification distributions)
 * BOA (bisector of area)
 * CDD (constraint decision defuzzification)
 * COA (center of area)
 * COG (center of gravity)
 * ECOA (extended center of area)
 * EQM (extended quality method)
 * FCD (fuzzy clustering defuzzification)
 * FM (fuzzy mean)
 * FOM (first of maximum)
 * GLSD (generalized level set defuzzification)
 * ICOG (indexed center of gravity)
 * IV (influence value)
 * LOM (last of maximum)
 * MeOM (mean of maxima)
 * MOM (middle of maximum)
 * QM (quality method)
 * RCOM (random choice of maximum)
 * SLIDE (semi-linear defuzzification)
 * WFM (weighted fuzzy mean)

title: Defuzzification


text:
PeoplePC

PeoplePC is an Internet service provider owned by EarthLink.

History
PeoplePC was founded by Nick Grouf, Max Metral and David Waxman, and launched in the United States in October 1999. It bundled personal computers with internet service and access to discounted products and services. Initially funded by SoftBank, the company's mission was to "democratize technology." Its business model included collective buying, which allowed the company to generate additional revenue from advertising, partnerships, and premium products.

In February 2000, the company announced that they would provide PCs and Internet access to all of the employees of Ford Motor Co. and Delta Air Lines. Ford announced a cooperation with PeoplePC shortly after and said they would provide all of their then 350,000 employees with internet access for as little as $5 a month. The deal with Delta led to a total of around 420,000 potential new customers for PeoplePC. The deal with Ford was eventually canceled.

In October it was announced, that PeoplePC would open European subsidiaries to enable overseas corporations and governments to offer their employees low-cost home computers and Internet access and later developed partnerships with Vivendi Universal, The New York Times, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and the National Trades Union of Singapore. PeoplePC donated internet access to low-income families through President Clinton's ClickStart initiative, and provided both computers and computer training to economically disadvantaged students through its PeopleGive program.

PeoplePC debuted on NASDAQ in August 2000 under the ticker PEOP at $10 a share and its stock declined quickly. In 2002 the company was acquired by EarthLink. PeoplePC has been managed by CEO Nick Grouf since 2002.

Products and services
When the company started, PeoplePC focused on selling three-year memberships to consumers. As part of the membership, customers received a new computer, which was replaced every three years. They were also granted access to the company's buyer's club and were provided with Internet access and a warranty. PeoplePC then focused more on companies and their employees.

Today PeoplePC offers internet services in the main categories internet access, security & tools, and website & marketing. They also provide webmail service to their users without any extra charges.

Recognitions
In 2006, J.D. Power and Associates ranked PeoplePC Online as the first value-priced dial-up provider to receive the highest ratings from customers in four factors: cost of service, billing, e-mail services, and offerings.

title: PeoplePC


text:
Peter Malkin

Peter Zvi Malkin (פיטר צבי מלחין; Cywka Małchin, May 27, 1927 – March 1, 2005) was a German-born Israeli secret agent and member of the Mossad intelligence agency. He was part of the team that captured Adolf Eichmann in Argentina in 1960 and brought him to Israel to stand trial for crimes against humanity.

Biography
Peter Zvi ("Zvika") Malkin was born in Pilgramshain, Germany (today Żółkiewka, Poland), to an observant Jewish family. In 1936, his family fled to Palestine to escape the rising tide of German anti-Semitism; his sister, Fruma, and her three children who remained behind with 150 other relatives, were murdered in the Holocaust. At the age of 12, Malkin was recruited into the Haganah as an explosives expert. He was an expert in martial arts and disguises.

Malkin was married to Roni (nee Thorner), with whom he had two daughters, Tami and Adi, and a son, Omer.

After retiring in 1976, Malkin devoted himself to painting and sculpture, which served as his cover during his Mossad years. His paintings from the 1960s until he died won international acclaim in London, Paris, Brussels and Israel. He also authored books, and served as a private international consultant on anti-terrorism methods.

Malkin spent his last years in New York City with his wife and children. He died on March 1, 2005.

Intelligence career
Malkin spent 27 years in the Mossad, first as an agent and later as Chief of Operations. As Chief of Operations he played a major role in the capture of Israel Bar, a Soviet spy who had penetrated the highest levels of Israeli government. He also led an operation against Nazi nuclear rocket scientists who assisted an Egyptian weapons development program after World War II.

Malkin established a unit known as Keshet whose expertise was infiltrating airline offices, travel agencies, airports, seaports and foreign embassies. On several occasions, he carried out wiretapping and other missions with Israeli actor Chaim Topol whose international fame diverted attention from Malkin.

Malkin's most famous mission was on May 11, 1960, when he and a team of Mossad agents led by Rafi Eitan captured Adolf Eichmann, then living and hiding in Argentina. A senior Nazi bureaucrat, Eichmann had played a key role in organizing the extermination of Jews during World War II. "Momentito, señor" (One moment, sir) were the words he uttered in Spanish as he approached Eichmann. Eichmann began to fear for his life and turned to flee, but several of Malkin's fellow agents blocked Eichmann's path. Then Malkin grabbed him in a neck-lock, wrestled him to the ground, and bundled him in the car that took them to a safe house outside Buenos Aires. Malkin says he wore gloves so as not to touch the man.

Malkin took part in the Mossad's assassinations after a terrorist attack targeting Israeli olympic athletes in Munich in September 1972. He headed a group of agents from the Mossad's burglary unit who planted a bomb under a telephone at Mahmoud Hamshari's home who was the representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization to France.

In the mid 1980s, Malkin was recruited to go after former SS doctor Josef Mengele. Malkin and the team of ex-Mossad agents that he put together did not know at the time that Mengele was already dead. At the last minute, Malkin and the team called off the operation when they realized that it was a trap.

In 1989, Israeli newspaper Maariv cited him as "one of the greatest figures ever in the history of the Mossad." Israeli journalist Uri Dan called him "an extraordinary secret warrior."

Malkin is said to have been involved in the search for Yossele Schumacher in the 1960s.

Cultural references
The movie, The Man Who Captured Eichmann (1996) starring Robert Duvall as Adolf Eichmann, was based on his book Eichmann in My Hands. Arliss Howard played Malkin. Evan M. Wiener's play Captors was also inspired by the book. Malkin was also portrayed by Oscar Isaac in the 2018 movie Operation Finale (with Ben Kingsley as Eichmann) and by Chaim Topol (as a character named Michael) in the 1979 film The House on Garibaldi Street.

title: Peter Malkin


text: Category:76 births

title: Category:76 births


text:
Advanced Aircraft

Advanced Aircraft Corporation is an aircraft manufacturer based in Carlsbad, California.

History
AAC bought out Riley Aircraft in 1983.

Products
The firm has specialised in converting piston-engined Cessna aircraft to turbine-engined configuration with Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A turboprops.

title: Advanced Aircraft


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Sickomerican

Sickomerican
Neologism, political rant, a tad POV perhaps. Also Sickomerica. --jpgordon 04:04, 3 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete - self-confessed neologism. Ian Pugh 04:07, 3 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete POV rant and delete the redirect. Neologisms, original research. Fire Star 20:21, 3 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Lunatic rant against people who disagree with the author. Also a neologism. Delete both articles. --Slowking Man 23:42, Oct 3, 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete the whole schimaymay. POV, neologism, blah blah blah blah.  And where's the bolding of the first mention of the word?  --Billfred 23:47, 3 Oct 2004 (UTC)

 * Delete both. Andrew Levine 03:12, 4 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete both. jni 08:03, 4 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. Neologism, POV rant. How can a word be a citizen of a country?   — Gwalla | Talk 17:20, 4 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. Original research, neologism. --Improv 21:33, 4 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * DELETE this bigoted anti-American, Icelandic-created page. It is rarely broad-minded and determined to insult Americans. This waste of trying to justify aggression towards America is NOT needed on this site! BIGOTED OPINIONS DO NOT DESERVE TO BE IN ENCYCLOPEDIAS; ONLY FACTS DO!!!
 * Above comments left by User:Scorpion, who needs to calm down. --Improv 05:32, 7 Oct 2004 (UTC)


text: Category:Financial writers

title: Category:Financial writers


text:
Advanced Aviation

Advanced Aviation was a manufacturer of ultralight aircraft in kit form based in Orlando, Florida. It marketed designs by HighCraft AeroMarine under licence.

Aircraft types

 * Advanced Aviation Husky
 * (1970s) single-engine single-seat weight shift ultralight aircraft. High-wing pusher configuration

 * Advanced Aviation Coyote
 * (1970s) single-engine single-seat weight shift ultralight aircraft. High-wing pusher configuration

 * Advanced Aviation Buccaneer
 * (1980s) single-engine two-seat ultralight amphibious aircraft. High-wing pusher configuration

 * Advanced Aviation Carrera
 * (1990s) single-engine two-seat ultralight aircraft. High-wing pusher configuration

 * Advanced Aviation Cobra
 * (1980s) single-engine single-seat ultralight aircraft. High-wing pusher configuration

 * Advanced Aviation Explorer
 * (1990s) single-engine two-seat ultralight aircraft. High-wing pusher configuration

 * Advanced Aviation King Cobra
 * (1990s) single-engine two-seat ultralight aircraft. High-wing pusher configuration

 * Advanced Aviation Zephyr
 * (1990s) single-engine two-seat ultralight aircraft. High-wing pusher configuration

title: Advanced Aviation


text: Category:53 births

title: Category:53 births


text:
Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants

Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants is an international environmental treaty, signed on 22 May 2001 in Stockholm and effective from 17 May 2004, that aims to eliminate or restrict the production and use of persistent organic pollutants (POPs).

History
In 1995, the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) called for global action to be taken on POPs, which it defined as "chemical substances that persist in the environment, bio-accumulate through the food web, and pose a risk of causing adverse effects to human health and the environment".

Following this, the Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety (IFCS) and the International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS) prepared an assessment of the 12 worst offenders, known as the dirty dozen.

The INC met five times between June 1998 and December 2000 to elaborate the convention, and delegates adopted the Stockholm Convention on POPs at the Conference of the Plenipotentiaries convened from 22 to 23 May 2001 in Stockholm, Sweden. The negotiations for the convention were completed on 23 May 2001 in Stockholm. The convention entered into force on 17 May 2004 with ratification by an initial 128 parties and 151 signatories. Co-signatories agree to outlaw nine of the dirty dozen chemicals, limit the use of DDT to malaria control, and curtail inadvertent production of dioxins and furans.

Parties to the convention have agreed to a process by which persistent toxic compounds can be reviewed and added to the convention, if they meet certain criteria for persistence and transboundary threat. The first set of new chemicals to be added to the convention were agreed at a conference in Geneva on 8 May 2009.

As of September 2022, there are 186 parties to the convention (185 states and the European Union). Notable non-ratifying states include the United States, Israel, and Malaysia.

The Stockholm Convention was adopted to EU legislation in Regulation (EC) No 850/2004. In 2019, the latter was replaced by Regulation (EU) 2019/1021.

Summary of provisions
Key elements of the Convention include the requirement that developed countries provide new and additional financial resources and measures to eliminate production and use of intentionally produced POPs, eliminate unintentionally produced POPs where feasible, and manage and dispose of POPs wastes in an environmentally sound manner. Precaution is exercised throughout the Stockholm Convention, with specific references in the preamble, the objective, and the provision on identifying new POPs.

Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee
When adopting the convention, provision was made for a procedure to identify additional POPs and the criteria to be considered in doing so. At the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP1), held in Punta del Este, Uruguay, from 2–6 May 2005, the POPRC was established to consider additional candidates nominated for listing under the convention.

The committee is composed of 31 experts nominated by parties from the five United Nations regional groups and reviews nominated chemicals in three stages. The Committee first determines whether the substance fulfills POP screening criteria detailed in Annex D of the convention, relating to its persistence, bioaccumulation, potential for long-range environmental transport (LRET), and toxicity. If a substance is deemed to fulfill these requirements, the Committee then drafts a risk profile according to Annex E to evaluate whether the substance is likely, as a result of its LRET, to lead to significant adverse human health and/or environmental effects and therefore warrants global action. Finally, if the POPRC finds that global action is warranted, it develops a risk management evaluation, according to Annex F, reflecting socioeconomic considerations associated with possible control measures. Based on this, the POPRC decides to recommend that the COP list the substance under one or more of the annexes to the convention. The POPRC has met annually in Geneva, Switzerland, since its establishment. The seventh meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee (POPRC-7) of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) took place from 10 to 14 October 2011 in Geneva. POPRC-8 was held from 15 to 19 October 2012 in Geneva, POPRC-9 to POPRC-15 were held in Rome, while POPRC-16 needed to be held online.

Listed substances
There were initially twelve distinct chemicals ("dirty dozen") listed in three categories. Two chemicals, hexachlorobenzene and polychlorinated biphenyls, were listed in both categories A and C. Currently, five chemicals are listed in both categories.

Chemicals newly proposed for inclusion in Annexes A, B, C
POPRC-7 considered three proposals for listing in Annexes A, B and/or C of the convention: chlorinated naphthalenes (CNs), hexachlorobutadiene (HCBD) and pentachlorophenol (PCP), its salts and esters. The proposal is the first stage of the POPRC's work in assessing a substance, and requires the POPRC to assess whether the proposed chemical satisfies the criteria in Annex D of the convention. The criteria for forwarding a proposed chemical to the risk profile preparation stage are persistence, bioaccumulation, potential for long-range environmental transport (LRET), and adverse effects.

POPRC-8 proposed hexabromocyclododecane for listing in Annex A, with specific exemptions for production and use in expanded polystyrene and extruded polystyrene in buildings. This proposal was agreed at the sixth Conference of Parties on 28 April-10 May 2013.

POPRC-9 proposed di-, tri-, tetra-, penta-, hexa-, hepta- and octa-chlorinated napthalenes, and hexachlorobutadiene for listing in Annexes A and C. It also set up further work on pentachlorophenol, its salts and esters, and decabromodiphenyl ether, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, its salts and perfluorooctane sulfonyl chloride.

POPRC-15 proposed PFHxS for listing in Annex A without specific exemptions.

Currently, chlorpyrifos, long-chain perfluorocarboxylic acids and medium-chain chlorinated paraffins are under review.

Controversies
Although some critics have alleged that the treaty is responsible for the continuing death toll from malaria, in reality the treaty specifically permits the public health use of DDT for the control of mosquitoes (the malaria vector). There are also ways to prevent high amounts of DDT consumed by using other malaria controls such as window screens. As long as there are specific measures taken, such as use of DDT indoors, then the limited amount of DDT can be used in a regulated fashion. From a developing country perspective, a lack of data and information about the sources, releases, and environmental levels of POPs hampers negotiations on specific compounds, and indicates a strong need for research.

Another controversy would be certain POPs (which are continually active, specifically in the Arctic Biota) that were mentioned in the Stockholm Convention, but were not part of the Dirty Dozen such as perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS). PFOS have many general uses such as stain repellents but have many properties which can make it a dangerous due to the fact that PFOS can be highly resistant to environmental breakdown. PFOS can be toxic in terms of increased offspring death, decrease in body weight, and the disruption of neurological systems. What makes this compound controversial is the economic and political impact it can have among various countries and businesses.

Related conventions and other ongoing negotiations regarding pollution

 * Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade
 * Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP)
 * Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal
 * Minamata Convention on Mercury

Ongoing negotiations

 * Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety (IFCS)
 * Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM)


text: User talk:208.12.29.70

title: User talk:208.12.29.70


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Timpanogos Cave National Monument

Timpanogos Cave National Monument is a United States National Monument protecting the Timpanogos Cave Historic District and a cave system on Mount Timpanogos in American Fork Canyon in the Wasatch Range, near Highland, Utah, in the United States. The site is managed by the National Park Service. The 1.5 mi long trail to the cave entrance gains 1092 ft height, but it is paved and fairly wide making it accessible for most people. The three caves of the system, one of which is specifically called Timpanogos Cave, are only viewable on guided tours when the monument is open, usually from May through September depending on snow conditions and funding. There is the standard tour going through the cave system, and an Introduction to Caving tour which teaches Leave No Trace caving and goes further into Hansen Cave.

Three caves
The three caves of the Monument that are tourable are: Hansen Cave, Middle Cave, and Timpanogos Cave. The three caves are connected by manmade tunnels blasted in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration. The average temperature in the caves is 46 degrees Fahrenheit. Many colorful cave features or speleothems can be seen. Among the most interesting are the helictites, which are hollowed, twisted, spiraling straws of deposited calcite or aragonite. They are formed when water travels through the tube and then evaporates, leaving a trace mineral deposit at the end. Other speleothems found in the cave include: cave bacon, cave columns, flowstone, cave popcorn, cave drapery, stalactites and stalagmites.

Discovery of the caves
Martin Hansen (1847-1934) discovered what became known as Hansen Cave in October 1887, reportedly while cutting timber he tracked cougar footprints high up the side of American Fork Canyon. Many of the features and formations in this chamber were damaged or removed by the Duke Onyx Company and the general public before the cave was made a national monument.

In the summer of 1913, a second cave was discovered nearby. While in the area to explore Hansen Cave with their families, teenagers James Williams Gough (1897-1986) and Frank Johnson were climbing an adjacent slope when they discovered the entrance to what is now known as Timpanogos Cave. Several others later entered the cave and viewed many of the formations inside, including the Great Heart of Timpanogos. However, before long, knowledge of the cave and its entrance was lost. Some sources indicate that the entrance was lost due to a landslide in the area, while others say it was, in part, caused by the extreme secrecy of the original finders. Several years later, after hearing rumors of another cave, Vearl James Manwill (1900-1966) came with a group of associates (which later became the Payson Alpine Club) in search of the mysterious hidden cave. On August 14, 1921 he rediscovered it (although many sources credit him as having discovered the cave). He immediately shared the information with the other members of the group. Having in mind the extreme damage that had resulted in Hansen Cave, that very night, the group dedicated themselves to the preservation of the cave. Of that night, Manwill wrote in his journal that they discussed ways "to preserve its beauty for posterity instead of allowing it to be vandalized as Hansen's Cave had been." Shortly thereafter they reported their find to the US Forest Service.

Later that fall, on October 15, 1921, George Heber Hansen (1884-1951; Martin’s son) and Wayne Errol Hansen (1903-1989; Martin’s grandson), were hunting on the other side of the canyon. While using binoculars to try to find deer, they came across another hole in the mountain, in between the other two caves. In a few days they came back, with 74-year-old Martin Hansen. Martin was the first to enter the cave, now called Middle Cave.

Current tours of the cave system enter the caves though a manmade entrance very close to the entrance discovered by Martin Hansen. Passing through a manmade tunnel, tours continue on to Middle Cave, before passing through another manmade tunnel to Timpanogos Cave. Finally, tours return to the surface through a manmade exit near the original entrance.

Administration
Although the site was designated a national monument on October 14, 1922, the site was initially developed and maintained by the U.S. Forest Service. The National Park Service took over management in 1933. A number of park structures were built by the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s. The Timpanogos Cave Historic District was designated in 1982 to include these structures.

Middle Cave and Timpanogos Cave were discovered in an era where their formations and resources could be protected. The National Park Service, which oversees and preserves the cave complex, has continued to develop new ways to retain its natural features, including limiting lighting in the caves to retard growth of invasive organisms. Preservation is a high priority. The resource management team at the monument is actively involved in protecting the cave and its surroundings. The National Park Service is continually monitoring and striving to determine a successful balance between visitor access and cave preservation. A limited number of people per tour was implemented to help lessen the human impacts in the caves.

The National Park Service also balances preservation with the needs of the Monument's staff. The Monument's original visitor center burned down in 1991, and the visitor center was housed in a double wide trailer house for almost three decades. With the temporary visitor center in a dangerous rock-fall zone, plans for a new center came under consideration. Following the monument closing for the season in September 2018, construction began on the new trailhead and visitor center. The trail and monument reopened to the public in June 2019.

Geology
The cave system is located in the Deseret Limestone, a Mississippian age limestone formed around 340 million years ago. Notably the cave cavity was formed initially by a series of faults running off of the Wasatch fault. Since that time hydrothermal water action perhaps similar to that of Cave of the Winds in Colorado, and uplift of the Wasatch Mountains has formed the modern cave system. The speleothems first started to form within the last 750,000 years, based on paleomagnetism of iron deposits within the formations, as the cave system has been slowly lifted above the unnamed stream that flows though the canyon (and becomes the American Fork [river] at the mouth of the canyon).

title: Timpanogos Cave National Monument


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Aereon

Aereon was an aircraft manufacturer specializing in hybrid airships. It was founded in Princeton, New Jersey in 1959.

Aircraft

 * AEREON III
 * AEREON 26
 * AEREON Dynairship
 * Aereon WASP

title: Aereon


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Spiral (character)

Spiral (Rita Wayword) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually those featuring the X-Men family of characters. Created by writer Ann Nocenti and artist Art Adams, the character first appeared in Longshot #1 (September 1985). She was established as a lieutenant for that titular character's archenemy, Mojo. Prior to Longshot joining the X-Men, Spiral also became a recurring adversary of that team and each of the various X-Men subgroups, as well as serving as the archenemy-turned-ally of X-Men member Psylocke. She then joined a team of X-Force led by X-Men member Storm.

Publication history
Spiral first appeared in issue #1 of the 1985 Longshot miniseries by Ann Nocenti and Art Adams (though her alter ego Ricochet Rita did not debut until the second issue of the series), and subsequently appeared two months later as a member of Mystique's Freedom Force team in Uncanny X-Men #199. Spiral began as one of 20 minor characters that Adams designed on a character sheet as the pursuers of the character Longshot. Her six arms were inspired by deities in Hindu mythology. Although Adams gave little thought to Spiral, as he had developed ideas for the other characters he had drawn on the sheet, Nocenti decided to make her a major character, and gave her the name Spiral. The character sheet is reproduced in the back of the X-Men: Longshot hardcover collection.

In the final issue of the limited series, Spiral is hinted to be a former lover of Longshot. Chris Claremont portrayed her as having a pathological hatred for Longshot, and implied that the two were former lovers during a hallucinatory dream sequence in Uncanny X-Men #248.

As conceived, Spiral and Ricochet Rita were two separate entities. When the character was co-opted by Claremont for use in the pages of Uncanny X-Men, this was continued with Rita appearing in the pages of Excalibur: Mojo Mayhem and Uncanny X-Men Annual #12 as a prisoner of Mojo.

In X-Factor Annual #7, writer Fabian Nicieza established that Rita and Spiral were the same person, and that her hatred for Longshot was driven by her desire for revenge from being taken prisoner, driven insane, and physically modified by Mojo and his chief scientist Arize. It also stated that after turning her into Spiral (an event that will take place at some point in the future), Mojo sent her back to the past to serve his past self and set forth the chain of events that will lead to Rita becoming Spiral.

Fictional character biography
Spiral's real name is Rita Wayword, better known as 'Ricochet Rita'. She was a professional stuntwoman who befriended Longshot when he first appeared on Earth. Rita was attacked by her evil, future self which led to her meeting Longshot and falling in love with him. When Longshot sought to return to his home dimension, the Mojoverse, the lovestruck Rita went with him, only to watch Longshot fail and be captured by the dimension's evil overlord, Mojo. Longshot was promptly mindwiped to forget all about Rita, while a much worse fate was left for her.

Becoming Spiral
After holding her prisoner for several years (at which point Rita was made to serve as guardian for Mojo's army of "X-Babies"), Mojo forced his chief scientist, Arize, to perform extreme physical and mental modifications on Rita to recreate her as a loyal subordinate. These experiments left her with six arms (two of which were robotic), turned her hair white, and drove the young woman insane through forcibly evolving Rita's mind to the point that she could see into other dimensions that were used for time-travel/teleportation. He also trained her in the dark arts of magic and body modification, so that she could use these skills to mutilate others as Mojo had mutilated her. Finally, in a cruel act of manipulation, Mojo sent Spiral back in time to set into motion the events that led to her former self becoming Mojo's prisoner and become Spiral by attacking her past self.

Freedom Force
In the past, Spiral found herself stranded on Earth by Mojo for failing to kill Longshot and Rita. At some unknown point, Spiral encountered Val Cooper and was recruited into Freedom Force, a revamped version of the second Brotherhood of Mutants. Despite being utterly insane and more blood-thirsty than her new teammates, Spiral quickly became a valuable member of the team, singlehandedly defeating the X-Men on several occasions as well as kidnapping the X-Man Rachel Summers for Mojo. She was also instrumental in Freedom Force's victory over the Avengers and the West Coast Avengers when sent by the U.S. government to arrest the heroes. Her magical powers temporarily robbed Captain Marvel of her energy powers and she also defeated Iron Man, removing two of the most powerful Avengers from the battle.

Body Shoppe
She also ran the "Body Shoppe", which sells alien cybernetic parts to amputees and others who seek the power of cybernetic limbs. Most notably, Spiral transformed Lady Deathstrike into a cyborg; upgraded the cyborgs Cole, Macon, and Reece originally created by Donald Pierce; and installed the cybernetic eyes in Betsy Braddock's original body, which doubled as cameras for Mojo to spy on the X-Men.

Psylocke's transformation
Along with Mojo, Spiral was shown to have played a role in Betsy Braddock's physical appearance changing from that of a purple-haired Anglo-Saxon to an East Asian. Originally, it was believed that the two literally transformed Braddock's original European body to an Asian one, but it was revealed that Spiral (without Mojo's involvement) transferred the X-Man's mind into the body of the Japanese assassin Kwannon. She also merged the two women's minds and genetic structures, giving each of them personality traits and physical characteristics of the other, as well as halving Psylocke's telepathy between them. This led to much confusion as to which of the two was the real Elizabeth Braddock when Revanche first appeared. Other than malicious intent, Spiral's reasons for doing this (if any) are still unknown.

Even though she was a loyal servant of Mojo, Spiral deeply resented Mojo's crass manners and cruelty towards her. In particular, Spiral has been known to go against Mojo's orders and attack Longshot out of a psychotic need for revenge for Longshot's seduction of her and how her love for him led to her transformation into the being she is today. As such, Mojo has been known to leave Spiral stranded on Earth without her power, which she needs to travel safely between dimensions.

Crimson Dawn and Viper
The Dragons of the Crimson Dawn, a group of monks with ties to the Crimson Dawn, managed to journey to the Wildways, another Magical dimension and the home of Spiral when not serving Mojo. They needed the woman to help them teleport to Earth, but when Spiral refused to aid them, she was threatened with torture that was even beyond her Body Shoppe’s capabilities and she reluctantly accepted to join them and received the mark of the Crimson Dawn. Actually Spiral thought she could outsmart the Dragons at one point, but the Crimson Dawn’s influence was too strong and she had no choice but to release them on Earth, namely in London, where they attacked by surprise Psylocke's twin brother, Captain Britain. They took him prisoner to their native Hong Kong, where they wanted to channel his powers into breaching the dimensional wall to the Crimson Dawn, thus enslaving Earth.

Spiral alerted Excalibur to the Dragons' plan, and despite the team's initial distrust, teleported the team to Hong Kong. Another entity trying to spoil the plan was Xiandu's spirit, who told Meggan, the only one to sense him, that like him the Dragons of the Crimson Dawn were from the time China was overrun by the barbarian Li-Tzu Ch'eng. They had prayed that the kingdom would be spared the endless bloodshed, but the Ming dynasty ended anyway. Frustrated that their prayers hadn’t been answered, Xiandu and three of his friends, Ra'al, Barak and A'yin, went down the darkest road they would ever travel. In the pitch of night they were initiated into a covenant that promised to repel China’s oppressors. Xiandu underestimated the might of the Crimson Dawn, and only learned that his friends had been corrupted by it in the night they killed him. In the instant his life ended, Barak, A'yin and Ra'al found themselves transformed into the Dragons of the Crimson Dawn. Xiandu's spirit remained on Earth, wandering around to await their inevitable escape from the Crimson realm. The spirit revealed to Meggan that not only her abilities but also her love for Brian was needed to rescue him and stop the two worlds from merging into one. While the rest of Excalibur temporarily held the Dragons of the Crimson Dawn at bay, Meggan helped Brian redirect the power flow, releasing it safely into the atmosphere. While Brian survived, he was Captain Britain no more, his powers gone. The Dragons left by melting into the shadows, vowing that one day they would succeed and rule Earth.

Spiral then returned to the Wildways and Mojo, who purged her of all traces of the Crimson Dawn's influence over her. She then was sent to help the terrorist known as the Viper, who had acquired the long missing younger siblings of the New Mutant Karma and sought Spiral's help in modifying them so as to serve as minions of the villainess. The plan would fail when Spiral and Viper sent the two modified children to attack the X-Men. Beast and Cannonball defeated Spiral and Viper and Spiral was forced to restore the children.

"House of M"
Just prior to the "House of M" storyline, Spiral and Mojo attacked the X-Men during a training session in the Danger Room. Spiral transforms most of the X-Men into their X-Baby forms, but is unable to do the same to Psylocke due to their connection. Spiral is however able to paralyze Betsy and conjure a gag for her, and later uses her abilities to torment the mutant before the X-Babies defeat Mojo and return to their normal states. After this, Emma Frost claims that she intends to use her powers to ensure that Mojo and Spiral will never be able to bother the X-Men again, though it would seem this threat was never carried out.

"The Apocalypse"
In the X-Force: Shatterstar miniseries, Spiral is revealed to have conquered an alternate timeline and referred to herself as "The Apocalypse". She managed to kill most of that Earth's heroes, and only Cable and some of his X-Force/New Mutants allies were left. Spiral had kidnapped that universe's Sunspot and tortured him by raping him until his rescue. It is implied that, with the aid of Shatterstar, Spiral was defeated and returned to Mojo's services. She later attacked the X-Men together with Mojo, but ended up defeated once again.

"Endangered Species"
Spiral was among the nine criminal geniuses whom Beast seeks out when it comes to reversing the effects of the 2005 storyline "Decimation". Mojo himself was another.

Later, Spiral teleported to Beast, claiming that Mojo was displeased with the fact mutants are now an endangered species and, while Beast asked for her help, her boss Mojo demanded it. Spiral commented that science was blinding him to find the real solution to answer how to save mutantkind. Spiral tells him that energy dances its way through everything, keeping her out, that it is beyond anything her Body Shoppe can simply fix, and that the death of mutants was not caused by science, and it would not be saved by science.

Her last comments before teleporting away were: "Put aside what you know. For where science ends... magic begins".

The Sisterhood of Mutants
While repairing Lady Deathstrike after the events of Messiah Complex, Spiral is approached by the Red Queen and agrees to join her Sisterhood of Mutants.

After a brief confrontation with Domino, the Sisterhood steal Kwannon's corpse from her grave in Tokyo. Madelyne performs a ceremony with Spiral's assistance, transferring the soul of the kidnapped Psylocke back into her original body. Later the Sisterhood take on the X-Men. Spiral seriously injures Nightcrawler and Colossus while the Red Queen goes and fetches a lock of Jean Grey's hair from Wolverine's room before teleporting the Sisterhood back to base.

Back at base, the Sisterhood split up, leaving the Mastermind sisters and Psylocke behind while Spiral and the rest of the Sisterhood go to Jean Grey's burial site. Spiral takes on Northstar and when Pryor is defeated, Spiral grabs the rest of the Sisterhood—Lady Deathstrike, Chimera, Lady Mastermind and Martinique Jason—and escapes with them.

Uncanny X-Force
At some point, Spiral was exiled back to Earth by Mojo. For reasons yet to be revealed, Mojo opted to further punish Spiral by way of removing her ability to teleport through dimensions. Furious, Spiral set up shop in Los Angeles where she took in a homeless girl who happened to be a new mutant. She then joined Storm’s incarnation of X-Force and became a superhero.

Powers and abilities
Spiral has powerful mystical abilities. When Spiral was first introduced, she was a powerful sorceress and during her first two encounters with the X-Men, singlehandedly defeated the team. She can cast spells to stun, depower, or immobilize her superhuman opponents, as she did to depower and imprison the Avengers and West Coast Avengers once they were lying still long enough for the spells to catch them. On a mission to capture Magneto as part of Mystique's Freedom Force, Spiral was able to cast spells to negate Magneto's powers and turn them back on himself, while subsequently casting a spell to bind him. Spiral has been able to psionically detect a speeding Super Sabre approaching Mystique's base of operations and react fast enough to teleport outside the compound and afterwards trip the speedster. In New Avengers #53, she was revealed by the Eye of Agamotto as one of several magic-users with the potential to be the next Sorcerer Supreme after Doctor Strange. Spiral's spellcasting powers can be triggered through small gestures of her many hands. With the gestures, she can teleport herself and numerous people across great distances. More powerful spells require more complicated dance moves. Spiral can open gateways between dimensions and travel through time, although it has been implied that she sometimes requires Mojo's help to successfully teleport from one dimension to another. At other times, she has independently traversed dimensions and centuries of time, and set herself slightly out of phase with the timestream so as to avoid blows. Spiral often incorporates knives and swords into more complicated spells. Spiral can also disguise herself through her magic.

Spiral's mind is apparently immune to possession. When Rogue attempted to use her power-and-psyche-stealing ability to steal Spiral's mind and powers, Spiral stole Rogue's instead, laughing that she had danced in many people's souls. Nocturne was fooled by Spiral into thinking Spiral had been possessed while Spiral remained in control.

According to Mystique, Spiral is aware whenever a person speaks her name by the usage of "quasi-sentient sensors", which even filters out mundane uses of the word "spiral". As a result of being cybernetically enhanced on Mojo-world, she has some limited level of superhuman physical attributes.

Spiral is a highly skilled hand-to-hand combatant, acrobat, and sword fighter. Her six arms are fully coordinated, giving her great dexterity and athletic ability. She has displayed enhanced durability, ranging from taking punches from Wonder Man, surviving falls from great heights, and tanking blasts of various kinds. Spiral has demonstrated highly developed skills in cybernetics and genetic manipulation which she has used to turn humans into powerful cyborgs at her Body Shoppe. The most notable include Lady Deathstrike and the cybernetic Reavers, who have since been "upgraded" by Donald Pierce.

Accolades

 * In 2019, CBR.com ranked Spiral 17th in their "21 Most Powerful Sorcerer Supreme Candidates" list.
 * In 2020, Scary Mommy included Spiral in their "Looking For A Role Model? These 195+ Marvel Female Characters Are Truly Heroic" list.

Ultimate Marvel

In the Ultimate Marvel universe, Spiral is a citizen of the apartheid state of Genosha and the on-and-off girlfriend of Longshot. She differs from the mainstream continuity because she is not a villain and has no magical abilities, being a mutant instead. She does, however, possess incredible physical combat abilities, using a multitude of weapons utilizing her six arms. She was in love with Longshot, but betrayed him when having an affair with a human mutant-sponsor named Lord Scheele. When Longshot found out he killed the man in a fit of rage, and Spiral knocked him out. She confronted the Ultimate X-Men about it when they came to Genosha to investigate, and with the aid of Jean Grey's telepathic powers, Longshot's guilt was proven. The X-Men later enabled Spiral to emigrate to the USA and join her sister, also a mutant. In Ultimate Comics: X-Men #33, a six-armed mutant is seen falling from the floating city of Tian, but it is unknown if this is Spiral.

Old Man Logan
In the pages of Old Man Logan, the elderly Logan had awoken on Earth-616 and had a flashback to where Spiral, Red Skull, Baron Blood, Count Nefaria, and Whirlwind were standing over the dead bodies of the superheroes the day when the villains rose and the heroes fell.

Television

 * Spiral appears in X-Men: The Animated Series, voiced by Cynthia Belliveau. In her most notable appearance in the episode "Mojovision", she temporarily betrays Mojo after falling in love with Longshot.
 * Spiral appears in X-Men '97, voiced by Abby Trott.
 * Spiral appears in the Wolverine and the X-Men episode "X-Calibre", voiced by Grey DeLisle. This version is the leader of Mojo's Reavers.

Video games

 * Spiral appears as a playable character in X-Men: Children of the Atom, voiced by Catherine Disher.
 * Spiral appears as a playable character in Marvel vs. Capcom 2, voiced again by Catherine Disher.
 * Spiral appears in X-Men: Mojo World.
 * Spiral appears in Viewtiful Joe's ending in Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds. This version works as a producer for a police procedural that Joe is starring in.
 * Spiral appears as an unlockable character in Marvel: Avengers Alliance.

title: Spiral (character)


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Mercury Corporation

Mercury Corporation was originally an aircraft manufacturer established in Hammondsport, New York, United States in 1920. It built aircraft using the name Mercury Aircraft.

Mercury started as an aircraft supply house selling surplus parts for Curtiss JN-4 aircraft flown after World War I. Once the supply of parts ran out, the company manufactured various aircraft components including radios and dirigible gondolas.

In 1927, the company renamed itself Mercury Aircraft. It was led by Joseph F. Meade, Sr. and Harvey Mummert. In 1928, Mercury came out with the two place all-metal aircraft, the T-2 Mercury Chic for $3500.

With a close relationship to Curtiss aircraft's home. Mercury built a replica of the 1908 AEA June Bug in 1976, flying it in airshows across the country.

Mercury Corporation now operates in multiple locations around the world manufacturing custom and mass-production components.

title: Mercury Corporation


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Countryside Golf Club

Countryside Golf Club
Non-notable golf course. RickK 04:26, Oct 3, 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete Non-notable. jni 13:46, 3 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete --LeeHunter 20:28, 3 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete bet it's not the only "Countryside Golf Club" either. --Ianb 21:31, 3 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * And by golly you'd win that bet. This is a disambiguation page. Countryside Golf Club, Naples, Florida. Countryside Golf Club, Lake County Forest Preserve, Illinois. Countryside Golf Club, Mundelein, IL. Countryside Golf Club, Dunbarton, NH. Countryside Golf Club, Minneota Minnesota. Nashua, New Hampshire. Kaukauna, WI. How about List of Countryside Golf Clubs? ? [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith (talk)]] 01:01, 5 Oct 2004 (UTC)

 * Delete. Non-notable.   — Gwalla | Talk 17:46, 4 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. Not notable. --Improv 21:33, 4 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete, evidence of notability not presented. [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith (talk)]] 01:00, 5 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep as disambig page. Certainly keep this one, as it's "Roanoke's best golf course". anthony (see warning) 21:53, 6 Oct 2004 (UTC)


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Dongdan, Beijing

Dongdan, literally "Eastern Single" or "Eastern Single Sign Gate" is the name of a crossing on Beijing's Chang'an Avenue and surrounding neighborhood. The name is derived from the single paifang or Chinese sign gate that once marked the intersection. In the checkerboard layout of Beijing, the Dongdan intersection in Dongcheng District to the east of the city centre, is balanced by Xidan or the "Western Single" in Xicheng District to the west of city centre. Dongdan and Xidan were traditionally market centers.

In the Dongdan region one finds the Oriental Plaza, and Dongdan North Street, termed "silver street" for being next to (and slightly inferior to) Wangfujing Street. Like Wangfujing, Dongdan is also home to many shops.

Local transit
The Beijing Subway has a stop at Dongdan for both Line 1 and Line 5. Bus and Trolleybus 106, 108, 110, 111, 116, 684, 685 and 夜10 stop at Dongdan Intersection North (东单路口北) on Dongdan North Street. Bus 41, 127, 684, and 685 stop at Dongdan Intersection South (东单路口南) on Chongwenmennei Street. On Chang'an Avenue, Bus 1, 52, and 99 stop at Dongdan Intersection West (东单路口西). Bus 25, 39, 夜1, 夜10, and 夜17 stop at Dongdan Intersection East (东单路口东).

title: Dongdan, Beijing


text: Template:PD-USGov-DHS-CG

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Category:United States Coast Guard images

This category is for any image related to the United States Coast Guard. Images produced by the United States Coast Guard and in the Public Domain that are tagged with the PD-USGov-DHS-CG template will be automatically placed here and do not need to be explicitly added to this category.


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User talk:Dejitarob

Please *only* add a title below this line using

Minor v. Happersett
Thank you for your contribution to Minor v. Happersett. Your adding of the external link to the text of the opinion is one of the phases of the United States Supreme Court Article Improvement Project. If you have the time, please take a look at the objectives of the project and any help you can give with other articles would be much appreciated.

In any case, thanks for the contribution and allow me to be the first person to welcome you to Wikipedia as a contributor!

Wikipedia is knowledge. Knowledge is power.

Skyler 04:33, Oct 3, 2004 (UTC)

Re: PvP
No problem; thanks for catching the roundabout "PvP from a PKing viewpoint" that was going on. Can you take a gander at Anti PKs? It's an orphan and I haven't really heard of a "PKKer". Maybe make it a redirect to player versus player and there discuss player responses to wide-scale, unwelcome PKing in some games. --Mrwojo 20:37, 12 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Operation DOP
Your welcome, and it's cool. I just couldn't stand seeing that jumbled mess, and put it under the Operation DOP title. But matching it with precedence is a much better idea. So thanks. -- The King Of Gondor 20:17, 16 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Concerning the "Conflict in Iraq"
Hi-- I'd appreciate your input on a comment I left at Talk:Iraqi resistance. Thanks! -- llywrch 18:40, 17 Oct 2004 (UTC)

 * you have nothing to worry about what you've been doing. I'll admit that I sometimes follow the example of others without thinking; it's just that in this case someone before us made a choice for odd reasons. -- llywrch 01:19, 18 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Still NPOV problem on logorrhoea?
I think you put the NPOV tag on logorrhoea a couple of weeks ago, but the subject was dropped. Any reason that should remain? --NathanHawking 01:56, 2004 Oct 24 (UTC)

Delay rewrite?
Thanks for the note. You might wish to delay beginning your rewrite of logorrhoea for awhile. I have one well under way. I've rewritten much of pleonasm, and while it still needs work, it will give you an idea of my approach. --NathanHawking 06:22, 2004 Oct 24 (UTC)

Lancet
Nice catch on Lancet article. Care to tackle global warming next? ;-) --Uncle Ed (El Dunce) 19:47, 29 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Wikinews demo up and running
Hi!

I'm writing to let you know that the Wikimedia Board of Trustees has approved the first stage of the Wikinews project. There's now a fully operational English demo site at demo.wikinews.org. This will be used for experimenting with various review models and basic policies before the site is launched officially in about a week. demo.wikinews.org will become the English version later. You voted for the Wikinews project, so I'm asking for your participation now. Everything is open, nothing is final. What Wikinews will and can be depends in large part on you. There already is a global Wikinews mailing list for discussing the project. If you are interested at all, please subscribe -- coordination is of key importance. There's also an IRC channel #wikinews on irc.freenode.net. Realtime discussion can help to polish up articles. If you're looking for something to do, check out the articles in development and articles in review. Or start a new story in the Wikinews workspace, or ignore the proposed review system - it's up to you. I hope you'll join us soon in this exciting experiment.--Eloquence* 01:59, Nov 17, 2004 (UTC)

Hey dej
Per your notion on games.or8, I decided to get off my lazy ass and register for the site. Hopefully we'll get to collab on an article or two in the future. The topic that I really like to discuss the most has been a little shaky, since I've been jumping between so many different topics at once. Thankfully, I think I've settled on intellectual property. Any article links, essays, books, etc. that you could give to help me in my research would be much appreciated.

See you around.

Abdel-Sattar Abdel-Jabbar
Just curious; I was doing some re-stubbing work when I came across Abdel-Sattar Abdel-Jabbar, and while Googling about for more info. on him to flesh out the article (which I haven't really found), I noticed that there seems to be uncertainty about the detainment issue; e.g., this reference has the U.S. military denying they took Abdel-Jabbar into custody. Do you know of any other sources for information about Abdel-Jabbar? Was it every clearly determined if he was detained, and if so, what his current status is? --Dcfleck 20:17, 2005 May 29 (UTC)

Jimbo Wales at UF -- next week
Hi ! I noticed on your userpage that you go to the University of Florida. I wanted to let you know about an event going on at UF next week: Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, is coming to speak!

The speech is on Wednesday, April 12 at 7 pm at Emerson Alumni Hall (1938 W. University Ave.). The speech is free and open to the public.

Jimbo's keynote will be on the role of free culture in universities. The keynote will be followed by a discussion panel of UF students and faculty. It's sponsored by Florida Free Culture, ACCENT, and the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

For more information, visit this page or email me. Hope to see you here!

(P.S. Because not everyone checks their userpage regularly, I'll also email you this note if your account is set up to allow e-mails from other users.) --Tetraminoe 05:39, 9 April 2006 (UTC)

Notification: changes to "Mark my edits as minor by default" preference
Hello there. This is an automated message to tell you about the gradual phasing out of the preference entitled "Mark all edits minor by default", which you currently have (or very recently had) enabled.

On 13 March 2011, this preference was hidden from the user preferences screen as part of efforts to prevent its accidental misuse (consensus discussion). This had the effect of locking users in to their existing preference, which, in your case, was. To complete the process, your preference will automatically be changed to  in the next few days. This does not require any intervention on your part and you will still be able to manually mark your edits as being 'minor'. The only thing that's changed is that you will no longer have them marked as minor by default.

For established users such as yourself there is a workaround available involving custom JavaScript. If you are familiar with the contents of WP:MINOR, and believe that it is still beneficial to the encyclopedia to have all your edits marked as such by default, then this discussion will give you the details you need to continue with this functionality indefinitely. If you have any problems, feel free to drop me a note.

Thank you for your understanding and happy editing :) Editing on behalf of User:Jarry1250, LivingBot (talk) 18:46, 14 March 2011 (UTC)

Amanita muscaria var. formosa
You formatted the AFD right, but you accidentally listed it at Miscellany for deletion, not articles for deletion. I fixed this for you. Ten Pound Hammer • (What did I screw up now?) 22:46, 17 August 2013 (UTC)

ArbCom elections are now open!
MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 12:51, 23 November 2015 (UTC)

title: User talk:Dejitarob


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Steve Finley

Steven Allen Finley (born March 12, 1965) is an American former center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for eight teams between 1989 and 2007, most notably the Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, and Arizona Diamondbacks; he is one of only two players, along with Matt Herges, to play for all five National League West teams. An outstanding all-around player with power, speed, and defensive skill, he is one of only four players since 1945 with 300 home runs and 100 triples, along with Stan Musial, Willie Mays, and George Brett. He is also one of three players, along with Mays and Ken Griffey Jr., to have 2,500 hits and win five Gold Glove Awards in center field.

A two-time All-Star (1997, 2000), Finley led the National League (NL) in triples twice, and helped the Diamondbacks win the 2001 World Series title, batting .368 in the Series. His walk-off grand slam in an October game against the San Francisco Giants clinched the 2004 division title for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Finley's 2,487 career games as an outfielder ranked ninth in major league history when he retired, with his 2,314 games in center field trailing only Mays and Tris Speaker; he also ranked seventh among outfielders with 5,664 putouts. Since retiring he has worked for the Padres as a broadcast analyst and in player development, and also works for Morgan Stanley, advising athletes as a financial manager.

Early life
Finley grew up in Paducah, Kentucky. He attended Paducah Tilghman High School and Southern Illinois University, where he earned a degree in physiology and played for the baseball team from 1984 to 1987.

College, Team USA, and minor leagues
In 1986, Finley was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 11th round of the draft, but did not sign. He instead chose to remain at SIU, where he was a two-time All-Missouri Valley Conference performer and a third-team All-American in 1986, and was named the team's Most Valuable Player in 1987. He is a member of the Saluki Baseball Hall of Fame.

He was a member of the 1986 Team USA squad that won a bronze medal during international competition in the Netherlands.

In 1987, he was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 13th round of the draft, and did sign.

In 919 at bats in the minor leagues, Finley batted .309 with 68 stolen bases.

On August 29, 2009, Finley was inducted into the Rochester Red Wings Hall of Fame.

Orioles and Astros
In a transaction considered by Orioles fans as the worst in team history according to Thom Loverro, Finley was traded along with Curt Schilling and Pete Harnisch to the Houston Astros for Glenn Davis on January 10, 1991. He joined an Astros organization that was for sale and lightening its payroll by going with younger, inexpensive players. That year he was third in the league in triples (10), sixth in hits (170), ninth in stolen bases (34), and tenth in sacrifice hits (10). His 13 outfield assists tied Barry Bonds and Paul O'Neill for third in the league.

In 1992, he led the NL in games played (162), was second in triples (13), third in stolen bases (a career-high 44) and sacrifice hits (10), and seventh in hits (177).

In 1993, he led the league in triples (13). He had been slowed in spring training by Bell's palsy, a viral infection of a nerve in his upper neck, resulting in numbness that prevented him from closing his left eye.

In 1994, he was second in the league in sacrifice hits (13), and tenth in triples (5). He appeared in only 94 games due to an injury and the strike-shortened season. He missed nearly a month after being hit by a pitch in a June 8 road game against the Montreal Expos, breaking the third metacarpal bone in his right hand. In December 1994, he was traded by the Astros with Ken Caminiti, Andújar Cedeño, Roberto Petagine, Brian Williams, and minor leaguer Sean Fesh to the San Diego Padres for Derek Bell, Doug Brocail, Ricky Gutiérrez, Pedro A. Martinez, Phil Plantier, and Craig Shipley.

Padres and Diamondbacks
In 1995, Finley batted a career-high .297 and was third in the league in runs (104) and triples (8), and fourth in stolen bases (36) and hits (167). Finley also won his first Gold Glove Award. He was the only National League player to have 100 runs, 10 home runs, and 35 stolen bases. He stole a career-high 4 bases on August 12 vs. the St. Louis Cardinals. He was in the delivery room on September 1 when son Reed was born, and then headed to the ballpark and played in the 8th and 9th innings of San Diego's 6–3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

He was named Most Valuable Player in the All-Stars Series between Japan and the United States (Tokyo, 1996). Later in 1996, during Rickey Henderson's first season with San Diego, he boarded the team bus and was looking for a seat. Finley said, "You have tenure, sit wherever you want." Henderson looked at Finley and said, "Ten years? Rickey's been playing at least 16, 17 years." That season, Finley was second in the NL in runs (126; a career high) and doubles (45), third in extra base hits (84), fourth in triples (9), and sixth in hits (195). Finley won his second Gold Glove Award and came in tenth in the MVP voting. He established Padres records in runs, doubles, extra base hits, and total bases.

In 1997, he hit three home runs in a game twice (May 19 and June 23). Finley was voted to the All-Star team, and finished eighth in the league in runs (101).

He hit his first game-ending grand slam on April 10, 1998, for the Padres. The Padres would appear in the World Series that year against the New York Yankees, where they were swept in four games.

In December 1998, he signed as a free agent with the Arizona Diamondbacks. In 1999, he hit three home runs and had 6 runs batted in in a game on September 8. That season he had 34 home runs and a career-high 103 RBI, and was seventh in the league in extra base hits (76). Finley also won his third Gold Glove Award.

In 2000, he had 35 home runs and a career-high .544 slugging percentage, and was ninth in the league in sacrifice flies (9). He was voted to the All-Star team. Finley also had 10 outfield assists and won his fourth Gold Glove Award. He was named the team co-Player of the Year with Luis Gonzalez by the Arizona chapter of the BBWAA.

In 2001, Finley had a stellar postseason, leading the Diamondbacks with a .421 batting average in the National League Division Series and 5 RBI in the National League Championship Series as Arizona went on to win its first World Series. On August 30 of that year, Finley became the Diamondbacks' first position player to serve as a relief pitcher, during a 13–5 loss to the Giants. Finley would win the first and only World Series title of his career in 7 games against the Yankees, the same team he lost to three years prior in 1998 while with the Padres.

In 2003, Finley led the league in triples (10), becoming the oldest player in major league history to lead his league in triples.

Later years
In July 2004, he was traded by the Diamondbacks with Brent Mayne to the Dodgers for Koyie Hill, Reggie Abercrombie, and Bill Murphy (minors). On October 2, he hit his second career game-ending grand slam against the Giants, which capped off a seven-run ninth inning and clinched the 2004 NL West division title for the Dodgers. At the end of the season, he was eighth in at bats (628) and plate appearances (706), and ninth in home runs (36; the third-highest total ever for a 39-year-old in the majors, behind Barry Bonds and Hank Aaron). Finley also won his fifth Gold Glove Award and tied Pete Rose's record of playing in 162 games at the age of 39.

In December 2004, Finley signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. In 2005, he missed 18 games due to a strained right shoulder, his first disabled list stint since 1997. In December 2005, he was traded by the Angels to the Giants for Edgardo Alfonzo.

In 2006, at the age of 41, Finley became the oldest player ever to play more than 100 games in center field. He also reached several career milestones during his season with the Giants: On May 8 against Houston, he reached 4,000 total bases with a single in a 7–5 win. On June 14 in Arizona, he hit his 300th home run off Claudio Vargas to lead off the game, with the Giants going on to win 11–4. On July 23 against San Diego, he reached 2,500 hits with an RBI double and a single in a 12-inning 6–5 loss. And on August 7 in Arizona, he appeared in his 2,500th game, drawing a walk as a late-inning replacement in an 8–4 win. However, he ended the season with just a .246 average, batting only .235 with one home run and 9 RBI after June 25. On November 1, the Giants declined their option on Finley for the 2007 season, which made him a free agent. On February 24, 2007, Finley signed a minor-league contract with the Colorado Rockies. After an impressive spring, Finley made their Opening Day roster. On June 5, the Rockies designated Finley for assignment, giving the Rockies 10 days to trade, release, or send him to the minor leagues. Finley had batted .181 (17-for-94) with one home run and two RBIs in 43 games for Colorado. He was released on June 17. At the time of his release, of all active players, he was first in triples (124), third in games (2,583) and at bats (9,397), fourth in hits (2,548), seventh in runs (1,443), eighth in total bases (4,157), and ninth in doubles (449) and stolen bases (320). He was also the sixth-oldest player in the NL.

title: Steve Finley


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Talk:Allerton High School

 * Archive 0 Sat, 8 Jul 2006 15:26:48 +0000

cleanup
I nominated this article for deletion. I have since gone through the primary sources, removed the original research, and want to note that this article still fails to show any notability relying upon only a single government report which is carried out on all schools on a mandatory basis once every three to five years. This is simply a common school and I find it rather silly that of all of the people that voted to keep this article, none of them bothered to clean it up except to add the report from the inspector. To me, that demonstrates how much the article is worth to those that voted to keep it. The importance of this school is still apparently only notable to persons living in and around the local community, the employees of the school, and etc. I suggest that this article be renamed to "Allerton High School (Leeds)" and that those who voted to keep this article create a disambiguity page, and provide a similar article for the other High School in Iowa. To me, that would demonstrate sufficiency for the argument that all high schools should have articles. Thanks. Ste4k 16:49, 8 July 2006 (UTC)

External links modified
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I have just modified 2 external links on Allerton High School. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20131227004141/http://www.allertonhigh.leeds.sch.uk/Mainfolder/parents/Prospectus-2013-2014.pdf to http://www.allertonhigh.leeds.sch.uk/Mainfolder/parents/Prospectus-2013-2014.pdf
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20070708014848/http://www.allertonhigh.leeds.sch.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=65 to http://www.allertonhigh.leeds.sch.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=65
 * Added tag to http://www.allertonhigh.leeds.sch.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=80&Itemid=59
 * Added tag to http://www.allertonhigh.leeds.sch.uk/images/Letters_home/allertonhigh-ofstedreport.pdf
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title: Talk:Allerton High School


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Murad Wilfried Hofmann

Murad Wilfried Hofmann (1931 – 13 January 2020) was a German diplomat and author. He wrote several books on Islam, including Journey to Makkah (ISBN 0-915957-85-X) and Islam: The Alternative (ISBN 0-915957-71-X). Many of his books and essays focused on Islam's place in the West and, after 11 September, in particular, in the United States. He was one of the signatories of A Common Word Between Us and You, an open letter by Islamic scholars to Christian leaders, calling for peace and understanding.

Biography
Hofmann was born in Aschaffenburg to an intellectual family related to Hugo Ball, a co-founder of Dadaism. Although raised a Catholic, he converted to Islam in 1980. He studied at Harvard University. His conversion was met with some controversy due to his high profile in the German government. He converted to Islam as a result of what he witnessed in the Algerian War of Independence, his fondness for Islamic art, and what he saw as contradictions in Paulist Christian doctrine. Hofmann served in the German Foreign Service from 1961 to 1994. He first served in Algeria as a specialist on issues concerning nuclear defence. He went on to serve as Director of Information for NATO at Brussels from 1983 to 1987, Ambassador to Algeria from 1987 to 1990, and Ambassador to Morocco from 1990 to 1994. Hofmann was an honorary member and advisor to the Central Council of Muslims in Germany.

Commendations

 * Federal Cross of Merit, Germany.
 * Commander of the Order of Merit, Italy.
 * Order of Merit in the Arts and Sciences, 1st Class, Egypt.
 * Grand Cordon

Publications

 * 1973 Of Beauty and the Dance: Towards an Aesthetics of Ballet, in: Three Essays in Dance Aesthetic, Dance Perspectives No. 55, New York
 * 1981 Wie MBFR begann, in: Im Dienste Deutschland und des Rechtes, Festschrift für Wilhelm G. Grewe, Nomos, Baden-Baden
 * 1984 Is NATO's Defence Policy facing a Crisis?, in: Non-Nuclear War in Europe, Groningen University Press, Groningen
 * 1981 Ein philosophischer Weg zum Islam
 * 1984 Zur Rolle der islamischen Philosophie
 * 1985 Tagebuch eines deutschen Muslims
 * 1992 Der Islam als Alternative, Diederichs, ISBN 3-424-01114-2
 * 1996 Reise nach Mekka, Diederichs, ISBN 3-424-01308-0
 * 1998 Überarbeitung der Koranübersetzung von Max Henning, Istanbul und München
 * 2000 Der Islam im 3. Jahrtausend, Diederichs-Hugendubel, ISBN 3-7205-2124-9
 * 2008 – 'Mustaqbal al-Islam fī al-Gharb wa-al-Sharq' [The Future of Islam in the West and the East], co-authored with cAbd al-Majid al-Sharafī, published by Dar al-Fikr in Damascus, 2008

title: Murad Wilfried Hofmann


text: Category:117 deaths

title: Category:117 deaths


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Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Dieter Friedrich Uchtdorf (born 6 November 1940) is a German aviator, airline executive and religious leader. He is a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Called as an apostle in 2004, he served as Second Counselor to Thomas S. Monson in the church's First Presidency from 2008 until Monson's death on 2 January 2018. Currently, Uchtdorf is the fifth most senior apostle in the ranks of the church.

Early life and education
Uchtdorf was born to German parents Karl Albert Uchtdorf and Hildegard Else Opelt in Moravská Ostrava (Mährisch-Ostrau), which at the time was in the Nazi-occupied Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (now Ostrava, Czech Republic). His father was a customs officer, who was conscripted into the German Army toward the end of World War II and sent to the western front. When a young child, Uchtdorf traveled with his mother and three siblings through areas being bombed in a move to Zwickau in eastern Germany. He later said of this period: "We were refugees with an uncertain future... I played in bombed-out houses and grew up with the ever-present consequences of a lost war and the awareness that my own country had inflicted terrible pain on many nations during the horrific World War II." As a result of his grandmother's encounter with a member of the LDS Church in a soup line, Uchtdorf's family joined the LDS Church when he was still young.

When Uchtdorf was about eleven, his father's political beliefs, incongruent with Soviet rule, earned him the label of "dissenter", thus putting their lives in danger. They fled East Germany and resettled in U.S.-occupied West Germany. His sisters accomplished this by jumping from a moving train that happened to pass through West Germany, while Dieter and his mother climbed a mountain to avoid GDR guard checkpoints.

Uchtdorf started studying mechanical engineering at age 18 but later continued in business administration in Cologne and graduated from Institut pour l'Etude des Methodes de Direction de l'Entreprise (today the International Institute for Management Development) in Lausanne, with an MBA. He received an honorary doctorate in international leadership from Brigham Young University during the April 2009 graduation ceremony.

Aviator
When Uchtdorf was conscripted into the newly formed Bundeswehr in 1959, he volunteered for the air force, at age 19, to become a fighter pilot. Due to an agreement between the West German and US governments, Uchtdorf trained as a fighter pilot in Big Spring, Texas, where he excelled, earning the coveted Commander's Trophy (USAF) for being the best student pilot in his class. After earning wings from both the German and US air forces, he served for six years as a fighter pilot in West Germany, leaving in 1965 to join Lufthansa. By 1970, at 29 years of age, Uchtdorf had reached the rank of captain with Lufthansa. He was appointed in 1975 as head of Lufthansa's new Arizona Training School in the US, and in 1980 he was made head chief pilot of cockpit crews, followed by appointment to senior vice president of flight operations in 1982. He left Lufthansa in 1996, two years after being called as an LDS Church general authority.

LDS Church service
Uchtdorf served twice as a stake president in the LDS Church, presiding over the Frankfurt and the Mannheim stakes.

Uchtdorf was called as a general authority and member of the church's Second Quorum of the Seventy on 2 April 1994. On 7 April 1996, he was transferred to the First Quorum of Seventy. Uchtdorf became a member of the church's Presidency of the Seventy on 15 August 2002.

Apostle
Uchtdorf was sustained a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on 2 October 2004. He was ordained an apostle on 7 October 2004 by church president Gordon B. Hinckley. Uchtdorf and David A. Bednar were called to fill the vacancies created by the July 2004 deaths of quorum members David B. Haight and Neal A. Maxwell. Uchtdorf was the first church apostle ordained in the 21st century. As an apostle, Uchtdorf is accepted by the church as a prophet, seer, and revelator.

Uchtdorf is the eleventh apostle of the LDS Church to be born outside the United States. He is the first German apostle in church history and was the first born outside of North America since the death of John A. Widtsoe in 1952.

While in Slovakia on 12 May 2006, Uchtdorf offered a prayer dedicating the land "for the preaching of the gospel", an LDS Church leadership custom usually observed at the time missionaries arrive in a new country. Although missionaries had been in what is now Slovakia for over a century, since the split with the Czech Republic, this dedication was specific for the new country.

Counselor in the First Presidency
On 3 February 2008, Uchtdorf became the Second Counselor to Thomas S. Monson in the church's First Presidency. He is the second non-English native speaker to have served in the First Presidency. After joining the First Presidency, Uchtdorf became a naturalized US citizen; he has remained a citizen of Germany.

While serving in the First Presidency, Uchtdorf dedicated the Tegucigalpa Honduras, Quetzaltenango Guatemala, Manaus Brazil, Fort Lauderdale Florida, Cordoba Argentina, Trujillo Peru, Tijuana Mexico, Fort Collins Colorado, and Tucson Arizona temples. Uchtdorf has also participated in the dedication of many other temples as a member of the Twelve and the First Presidency.

In May 2016, Uchtdorf traveled to the Czech Republic to create the first stake in that nation.

At the time of Monson's death on 2 January 2018, with the dissolution of the First Presidency, Uchtdorf returned to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, along with Monson's First Counselor, Henry B. Eyring. When the First Presidency was subsequently reorganized under new church president Russell M. Nelson, Uchtdorf was not retained as a counselor in the First Presidency and continued his service in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

While not unprecedented in church history, the last time a new church president did not retain a counselor who served in the First Presidency under his predecessor was in 1985. Uchtdorf, who had taught as a member of the First Presidency that church members should neither seek or decline callings, that they should lift where they stand, and that at the end of each assignment, subsequent changes should be graciously accepted, posted his support for the new leaders, especially referencing his willingness to resume his ministry as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Quorum of the Twelve
Following his return to the Quorum of the Twelve after the reorganization of the First Presidency, the church announced new assignments for Uchtdorf on January 22, 2018. These assignments had been noted by Nelson in the news conference where the new First Presidency was announced. The assignments include chairman of the church's Missionary Executive Council, chairman of the Correlation Executive Council, and being the primary contact for the church's Europe and Europe East areas.

Political donations
In March 2021, public records showed 23 different donations which were made under Uchtdorf's name in 2020 and 2021. These donations were made to the Biden campaign, Democratic candidates in the Georgia Senate race, and other Democratic political funds. If made solely by Uchtdorf, this would be contrary to the LDS Church's political neutrality policies. Uchtdorf issued a statement noting the donations were made from a shared online family account and that having the contributions show in his name was an oversight.

Family
Uchtdorf and his wife, Harriet Reich Uchtdorf, were married on 14 December 1962 in the Swiss Temple. They are the parents of two children and have six grandchildren.

title: Dieter F. Uchtdorf


text: Category:197 deaths

title: Category:197 deaths