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Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr (1894–1948)

Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr (20 March 1894 – 3 December 1948) was a South African politician and intellectual in the years preceding apartheid. In his lifetime he was regarded as one of the cleverest men in the country, and it was widely expected that he would eventually become Prime Minister of South Africa. He came from a well-known Afrikaner family; his uncle, also Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr but known affectionately as "Onze Jan" among fellow Afrikaners, was a famous figure in the Afrikaans language movement.

Early life
Hofmeyr was born in Cape Town on 20 March 1894. He was baptised Jan Frederick Hendrik Hofmeyr, but the middle-name Frederick fell into disuse quickly. Later in his life he would be known to many as "Hoffie", this diminutive form of his surname even being used in cartoons of Hofmeyr published in South African newspapers. He was raised by his widowed mother Deborah, a cousin to Christiaan Beyers, after his father Andries Brink Hofmeyr died when Jan was three years old. Deborah had another son who was five years older than Jan, his brother Andries Beyers Hofmeyr. Jan also had two half-sisters from his father's previous marriage. Deborah devoted most of her energies to Jan, and he was the child with whom she had by far the strongest bond. This strong relationship was probably formed when Jan fell ill with hydrocephaly at age two; he soon recovered and according to the medical wisdom of the day it was felt that he would either become a genius or an idiot. As it turned out he would be a genius. Jan was first educated at the illustrious South African College Schools, which he entered in January 1902. A child prodigy, he progressed rapidly through its grades so that he matriculated four years later in 1906. He went on to study classics at the University of Cape Town (then still known as the South African College) and in 1909 graduated B.A. with first-class Honours at the age of 15. At this time he was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford. He accepted the award but only made use of it a few years later when he was older. In the meanwhile he took another B.A. in the sciences in 1910 and an M.A. in classics in 1911, when he was just seventeen years old. Apart from his studies, Hofmeyr also became active in the university's Debating Society (succeeding Oliver Schreiner as its president), worked as treasurer in its college magazine, and volunteered in its Students' Christian Association.

In 1911, when he was just seventeen, Hofmeyr was commissioned to write a biography of his uncle, "Onze Jan" Hofmeyr. The project was undertaken with the supervision of former President of the Orange Free State, F. W. Reitz. The project was completed within a year, the younger Hofmeyr having written it in English and then translated it into Dutch.

Oxford
In September 1913, Hofmeyr sailed from Cape Town and finally went to Balliol College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. He again studied classics, and in his first year became friends with John Macmurray and debated at the Oxford Union against Harold Laski, Harold Macmillan, and others. The First World War soon emptied the colleges there, but Hofmeyr stayed on, not being obliged to fight on either side. Once he had finished with his studies at Oxford, Hofmeyr considered joining the YMCA as a non-combatant, which would have meant serving the South African troops that were stationed in East Africa. Again Hofmeyr distinguished himself in his academic efforts, coming first in Classical Moderations and Greats. In later years he became an Honorary Fellow of Balliol.

At Oxford he participated in student religious activities once more, and became a member of the Student Christian Union, at one point even becoming an evangelical; but he probably found his greatest happiness in Oxford when he joined the Balliol Boys' Club. He would hold this commitment to voluntary youth service throughout his life, attending Student Christian Association camps back home in South Africa, even when he was the Administrator of the Transvaal Province, at one time even donating to the society a camp site which was located in Anerley, in Natal and is still running to this day. At one of these camps he met the author Alan Paton, and they formed a lasting friendship.

Teaching
On his return from Oxford in June 1916, Hofmeyr was appointed to lecture Classics at his alma mater, the South African College, Cape Town. He moved on quickly, applied for and got a professorship in Classics at the South African School of Mines. The city of Johannesburg had wanted its own university for some time and had created nine new departments in the arts and sciences. He still lived with his mother, and they took a house together in the Johannesburg suburb of Yeoville.

Thanks to his prodigious intellect and his achievements, Hofmeyr had become quite famous, and was in demand as a public speaker. He spoke mainly about Afrikaner history, specifically the desires of Afrikaner nationalism as opposed to British imperialism. Hofmeyr's own line was that the two need not have been mutually exclusive, that Afrikaners could have a national identity without separating their country from the British Empire as the republicanists were clamouring to do. In this attitude, Hofmeyr was emulating his famous uncle. Onze Jan Hofmeyr believed in bridging the divides between English and Afrikaans South Africans, a divide that had been fuelled by the British annexation of the diamond fields in 1871, the annexation of the Transvaal in 1877, and the concentration camps of the Anglo-Boer War. It was a political compromise that did not always endear either man to their audiences.

Hofmeyr was not only an intellectual. He also had a prolific capacity for administration. These talents came to the fore when the young professor was appointed to sub-committees of the university senate. But at the end of 1918 he chose to move back to Cape Town, taking up the new Chair of Greek at the newly named University of Cape Town. The School of Mines was disappointed to lose him so soon and their Council decided in March 1919 to offer him the principalship of their fledgling university, after the previous Principal had died. After some misgivings about being suited for the job he accepted.

The principal was given the enormous task of expanding the university which then only had 301 students, a corps that could easily have been 10 times bigger in a city as big as Johannesburg. One of the first steps was to change the name from South African School of Mines into the University of the Witwatersrand. At his inaugural address, Hofmeyr discussed the nature of a university, its desired function in a democracy. One specific topic he addressed was the so-called "Native problem" that was facing South Africa: They [South African universities] have not, to any great extent, applied themselves to the solution of our South African problems... Biggest of all is the Native problem, most difficult and yet most specially South African of them all – in essence the eternal problem of the reconciliation of justice and apparent expediency – a problem in regard to which our colleges have been almost entirely silent. Hofmeyr was of the opinion that universities "should know no distinctions of class, wealth, race or creed".

One of his first duties entailed selling the Mine School's original Plein Square site and developing the university's newer Milner Park site. His administrative duties were carried out smoothly, but the young principal was having less ease in earning the respect and co-operation of some staff. The situation reached an impasse when Council and Senate of the university disagreed on Hofmeyr's (apparently unfair) dismissal of the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine. It dragged on for more than a year and caused a deadlock in the university's administration that was only fully resolved once the trajectory of Hofmeyr's own career took him away from the university and propelled him into politics.

In 1921 he published, in collaboration with Prof. T. J. Haarhoff, a pamphlet entitled Studies in Ancient Imperialism, an analysis of the later Roman empire. Hofmeyr admired the emperor Augustus in particular. He regarded Augustus, John Bright, and his uncle Onze Jan as models for his own political views.

Administratorship of the Transvaal
Hofmeyr had flirted with the possibility of pursuing politics as a career for some time. Already in January 1919 the acting Prime Minister F.S. Malan had approached the young Hofmeyr, trying to sway him to join the South African Party as its Chief Organising Secretary. Hofmeyr declined. The offer was repeated the following year, but this time by the party's leader, General Jan Smuts. Again Hofmeyr declined. His hesitation was apparently due to an unwillingness of committing himself to party politics; he wanted to be of service to his country but did not want to "give up for party what was meant for mankind". It was thus that he became administrator of the Transvaal province. Hofmeyr did not have to campaign in an election to get this job, the position of provincial administrator was strictly acquired through appointment by a sitting Prime Minister, who at that time was Jan Smuts. Still reluctant to join a party on either side of the political spectrum, Hofmeyr felt rather that the position of administrator did not entail loyalty to the agenda of a specific party, but an unbiased loyalty to the entire province.

He began working as Transvaal administrator on 1 March 1924 yet, due to contractual obligations, remained on as principal of the University of the Witwatersand for another five months. Hofmeyr stayed on in the University Council after relinquishing the principalship.

There were efforts to unseat Hofmeyr during his five-year-long tenure as provincial administrator; these came from members inside the national caucus of the provincial council who doubted Hofmeyr's professed impartiality. Soon after occupying his seat he was faced with a curious situation – the South African Party was defeated in a national election by the National Party, which meant that a new Prime Minister replaced the man who had appointed Hofmeyr. Constitutionally Hofmeyr was under no obligation to resign and he conveyed his willingness of staying on to the country's new leader, General J.B.M. Hertzog, citing that he did not view his job as party-political in its nature. Hertzog allowed him to stay on, even when Hofmeyr appointed an Englishman as Director of Education in the Transvaal while National Party's politicians were urging him in the strongest terms to appoint an Afrikaner.

It was a time when language policy was shaping the political landscape in South Africa. The National platform was to elevate Afrikaans and Afrikaners as a political force, with the eventual desire of creating a South African republic; while the South African Party wanted to create a fusion government, which meant unifying English speaking South Africans with Afrikaners who were willing to remain loyal to the British Crown. This was nothing new to Hofmeyr; his uncle Onze Jan had been active in this sphere throughout his career and had always had sympathy with English as language medium, and with the British Empire. On 31 May 1928 – the 18th celebration of Union Day and the first hoisting of a newly designed South African flag – Hofmeyr addressed the nation by radio broadcast, urging for "the coming together of the two larger parties in South Africa, and the formation of a great new party of all those who have the same general outlook". He was choosing sides and would soon enter the arena of party-politics.

Active politician
Hofmeyr chose to oppose the government of the day and entered parliament in 1929 as the South African Party's member for Johannesburg North. For his maiden speech he chose to speak out against an Immigration Quota Bill that had been tabled by D.F. Malan to restrict Jewish immigration into South Africa. The National Party was already espousing antisemitic policies that would eventually make them sympathetic to Adolf Hitler and to Nazi Germany. Though delivered from memory Hofmeyr's speech was not a success; he was too long-winded and too academic, so that even though he championed the rights of his many Jewish constituents he appeared to be fence-sitting. Hofmeyer was a supporter of Zionism.

During the 1930s the South African parliament spent an enormous effort in legislating various issues surrounding what was called the Native Problem. In effect, the cornerstone of what later became known as apartheid was already being laid. This resulted in a series of Bills discriminating against indigenous peoples such as the Riotous Assemblies Bill, the Native Service Contract Bill, an abortive Mixed Marriages Bill, the Representation of Natives Bill, the Native Trust and Land Bill, and the Native Laws Amendment Bill. There was also discriminatory legislation being tabled with regards to South Africa's growing Indian population: the Asiatic Bill, the Provincial Legislative Powers Extension Bill, and the European Women's Restriction of Employment Bill were all meant to prevent the Indian business owners from having white people in their employ. Hofmeyr spoke out against most of these discriminatory laws, progressively becoming more liberal as the two governments of that decade became more reactionary. A notable blemish on his record is his silence regarding the Native Laws Amendment Bill, which proposed to control the migration of black workers from rural areas into cities and towns, and also to control where the black workers inside cities and towns were allowed to live. Nevertheless, his attitudes towards non-whites was at the vanguard of liberal opinion for that time. Whenever he recognised injustice in parliament and in his country, he was one of only a handful of leaders who did not hesitate to speak out against it.

National politicians had hoped that Hofmeyr would sympathise with their aspirations for Afrikaner supremacy. They were disappointed; even though Hofmeyr always remained cordial to Hertzog, the Prime Minister, he was a staunch critic of D.F. Malan, who was then the Minister of Education. When Malan introduced his Higher Education Control Bill into parliament, hoping to gain for himself a rigid control of university appointments and budgets throughout the nation, Hofmeyr attacked the Bill as a curtailment of academic freedom, saying that Malan was hoping to become "the Grand Inquisitor of institutions of higher education".

Long before his election Hofmeyr had been in demand as a public speaker. When speaking about politics he was always asking for a realignment of South African politics away from the crass divides that polarised Afrikaners and English South Africans. Thus in 1933 he helped negotiate a coalition between J.B.M. Hertzog and Jan Smuts, along with a fusion of their two parties. Consequently, he spent the rest of his life as a member of the United Party.

Whilst a Cabinet Minister, Hofmeyr was the inaugural Patron of the Transvaal Inter-Race Cricket Board from 1936.

Minister
Hertzog became leader of the new party and thus remained Prime Minister. Smuts was his deputy. As a compromise the two men split their new cabinet down the middle. Hofmeyr was one of six who Smuts nominated for the cabinet. As it turned out, Hofmeyr was awarded the portfolios for Education, Interior, and Public Health. Before fusion these exact portfolios had belonged to D.F. Malan, but the latter had refused to be a part of Fusion and broke away from Hertzog to form a Purified National Party.

Smuts did a great deal to hold the fusion government together. This involved a great show of capitulation towards Hertzog's legislative agenda. Hofmeyr was not inclined to behave in this manner and showed an almost inflexible adherence to principle. So when other cabinet members leant over backwards in the interests of staying in government, Hofmeyr stood alone to oppose destructive legislation such as the laws aimed at removing the black franchise. Any patience that he had wore out when Hertzog appointed A.P.J. Fourie to the Senate as a minister specially "acquainted with the reasonable wants and wishes of the Coloured people of South Africa". Hofmeyr protested that the new senator had none of these qualifications and he resigned from the Cabinet. Later he also left the party caucus because of his opposition to the Asiatics Bill, which restricted Indians from buying land except in defined areas. In 1938 it looked as if Hofmeyr might form his own party; there was encouragement for him to form a Liberal Party. Any such designs were nipped in the bud when Britain declared war on Germany after Hitler invaded Poland.

Second World War
The United Party finally split over the war. Hertzog was not prepared to declare war on Germany, as Britain had done in September 1939. At that time South Africa was a Dominion and also a member of the then British Commonwealth. Many expected fully that South Africa would throw her full weight behind Britain in that new year. Governor General Sir Patrick Duncan asked Parliament to vote on the issue and—after a convincing show of support for Britain—Hertzog resigned, leaving Smuts to become Prime Minister once more. Hofmeyr was approached to rejoin the cabinet and accepted the offer without hesitation.

He became the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Education, and soon he became the closest advisor of Jan Smuts. He acted as Prime Minister during the Second World War, in which Smuts was heavily involved. This multi-tasking of jobs had become a habit continued throughout Hofmeyr's career. In cabinet he could at times handle six or seven ministerial portfolios simultaneously, even while acting as prime minister in Smuts's absence. This work ethic would lead to burnout and was catastrophic for Hofmeyr's health.

Death
Hofmeyr died in Johannesburg on 3 December 1948, almost six months after the National Party came to power with their slogan of apartheid. He was buried two days later from the Dutch Reformed Church in Bosman Street. His funeral procession was two miles long, of which the streets were lined by thousands of people, an estimated 10,000 present in total. General Jan Smuts paid tribute to Hofmeyr both at the graveside, and on the evening before in a national radio broadcast. Of Hofmeyr he said:

 * Here was the wonder child of South Africa, with a record with which South Africa shows no parallel, who from his youngest years beat all records, whose achievement in a comparatively brief life shows no parallel in this land, and whose star at the end was still rising ...

He has passed on, but his service and the high spirit in which he sought to serve his country and his fellow-men of all races remain our abiding possessions. This is a better and richer country for his service, and his message will not be forgotten. His death was premature and to some extent caused by the heavy burden of all the work that Smuts had entrusted to him. Smuts may have helped to win the war in Europe, but at home he lost not only an election, but also the best and most likely candidate to continue his legacy. South Africa lost one of the clearest liberal voices in its politics.

Legacy
Hofmeyr's insight into racial issues was captured in many statements that Hofmeyr made, particularly concerning the rights of non-white people in South Africa. Honorary degrees were conferred on him by the University of Cape Town (D.Sc.), Witwatersrand (LLD) and Oxford (D.C.L.).

The University of the Witwatersrand has turned the one-time administrator's house into a museum and restaurant, called Hofmeyr House. His papers are housed at the University of Natal as part of its Alan Paton collection. Paton's seminal novel Cry, the Beloved Country is dedicated to his friend Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr. In 1964, Paton published a Hofmeyr biography. A suburb in the city of Johannesburg, Jan Hofmeyr, was named after him. The grand hall at the South African College High School is named in his honour.

Works

 * with Theodore Haarhof
 * Coming of Age (1930)
 * South Africa (1931)
 * Coming of Age (1930)
 * South Africa (1931)

title: Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr (1894–1948)


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Wang Shiwei

Wang Shiwei (March 12, 1906 – July 1, 1947) was a Chinese journalist and literary writer. He became famous for his contribution to the Chinese history of modern revolution and to Chinese modern literature. Wang joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1926, but later wrote critically of some aspects of the Chinese Communist Revolution. Under order from Mao Zedong, he was expelled from the CCP, and executed in 1947.

Family
Wang Shiwei, originally named Wang Sidao (王思禱), was born in Guangzhou (光州, now Huangchuan County 潢川) in Henan Province, China on March 12, 1906. His courtesy name was Shuhan (叔翰). His father was a scholar who worked as a teacher in a local school. Wang was the third eldest child in a family of eight brothers and sisters. His father's income as a teacher was not sufficient to sustain the large family.

Education
Wang received his initial education in Chinese classics from his father, which began the development of his knowledge of Chinese literature. In 1914, he entered Huangchuan Second Higher Primary school (潢川第二高等小學) for primary three education. Later, he went to Henan Seventh Secondary School located in Huangchuan (now Huangchuan 2nd Middle School, 潢川第二中學). He eventually left his hometown and entered the Fundamental School of Europe. He was forced to leave this school a year later, as his family could no longer afford the costly fees. Determined to further his studies, he worked in a post office to save money; at the age of 17, he joined the American Exchange Studies program in Henan Province.

In 1925, Wang got a chance to study arts at Peking University. There he actively participated in the university's student campaigns. However, he was once again forced to quit in 1927, but was again able to start studying during the late 1920s and early 1930s, this time at the Marx-Engels Institute in Moscow. While at Peking University, his schoolmates included communist activists Chen Qichang and Wang Fanxi, Chen possibly being the one who introduced the Chinese Communist Party to Wang Shiwei. Chen and Wang Fanxi, however, broke with the CCP and joined Trotskyists. Wang Shiwei's early association with the two later became part of the accusation by Kang Sheng that he was a crypto-Trotskyist.

Involvement in politics
Wang was an active participant in political activity. In 1919, Wang and his classmates joined the May Fourth Movement demonstrations in  support of Beijing students. Entering Beijing University in 1925, he participated in student politics and joined the CCP in 1926. Leaving a year later, for the criticism of his love affair with Li Fen (李芬), who was also a communist member. However, he rejoined the CCP when Mao Zedong became the chairman. During his studies in Moscow, Wang formed the Twenty-Eight Bolsheviks together with other Chinese students such as Wang Ming and Ding Ling.

Imprisonment and execution
By 1942, Wang was working for the Liberation Daily (解放日報) where he wrote the essay "Wild Lilies" (野百合花), criticizing Mao Zedong's taste for beautiful women, as well as what he called the unjustified privileges enjoyed by members of the CCP. It discussed the "ugliness and indifference" of Yan'an; also criticizing some "big men" in the CCP whom Wang thought were responsible for the "growth of darkness" in China.

The article caused significant backlash. Mao's Talks at the Yan'an Forum in May laid down the official line demanding that art serve politics. On 27 May 1942, the Central Committee held a seminar to discuss whether Wang was guilty. On 23 October, under the orders of Mao, Wang was expelled from the CCP on the oncharge that he was one of the "Five Member Anti-Party Gang" of Trotskyites (托派份子) who were alleged to have sought to take over the Chinese Communist Party, and that he was disrupting party unity.

Wang's defense was that he was not involved in any Trotskyist activities, except for helping his friends Wang Wenyuan (王文元) and Chen Qichang (who at the time was known as "Chen Qingchen" 陳清晨) to translate two prose pieces in "Autobiography of Leon Trotsky" (《托洛茨基自傳》), activities which he had already informed the CCP of.

Wang's "trial," which took the form of a series of struggle sessions held over sixteen days, ended in June 1942 with Wang found guilty and imprisoned. During the trial, he was denounced by figures such as Ding Ling, Chen Boda, and Ai Qing. He remained imprisoned until his execution five years later.

On 1 July 1947, Wang was reportedly chopped to pieces and his remains were thrown down a dry well. Chinese journalist Dai Qing states that Mao did not order the execution, but told his guards: "Neither release nor execute Wang Shiwei."

Fifteen years later, in 1962, Mao said that Wang was an agent of the Guomindang, but that he shouldn't have been executed, and Mao claimed that the decision to kill Wang was made by local security organs, not the central leadership.

Dai Qing's seminal work in exhuming the case of the writer Wang Shiwei brings into focus perhaps the single most important case for gauging repressive dimensions of the movement.

Wang as a writer
Wang began writing at the age of 19, when he was studying at Beijing University. He took the pen name of "Shiwei" (實味), and his talent was greatly appreciated by Xu Zhimo, a contemporary Chinese poet. Xu often ran Wang's writings in the Features section of the Morning Post when he was editor-in-chief.

From 1930 onwards he started to use other pen names, still pronounced "Shiwei" but using different characters (詩薇 and 石巍). His novella Xiuxi (休息, meaning "rest"), talked about how young people should fight against the darkness of a country and was published in Xu Zhimo's "New Literary Collection" in 1930. His work outlined an "ideal society" where equality of opportunity was emphasized; he also incorporated some Marxist thought.

"Wild Lilies"
Wang attempted to demonstrate two basic elements of journalism in "Wild Lilies."

The first was that "its practitioners must be allowed to exercise their personal conscience." An example used to illustrate this is how one day Wang overheard two girls criticizing the apparently inconsiderate behavior of senior leaders towards the public. He later wrote that he was shocked after overhearing the dialogue, and took note of it, later referring to it to make known his concern about the state of the country. He was supposed to have "finally realized" what was lacking in everybody's life at that time, and attempted to dig further to what was behind the complaints.

The second was that "it must provide a forum for public criticism." Wang explained that his piece of work was called "Wild Lilies" because wild lilies grew abundantly in Yan'an, could stand symbolically for the place and because they had higher medical value than other lilies, though they were bitter to taste, and in this connection criticized unhealthy phenomena in society so remedies could be found. This was also not so discreetly attempting to turn a remark from Mao Zedong on its head. Explaining the crackdown on freedom of expression, Mao said that the CCP's actions were "like that of a doctor curing a disease. The whole purpose is to save people, not to cure them to death." His work was criticised by others and between April and May 1942 "Wild Lilies" was attacked in the newspapers.

"Arrow and Target"
"Arrow and Target" (矢与的) was a wall poster newspaper series posted outside the southern gate of Yan'an City. Wang used the series to elaborate on the concept of journalism that "Its first loyalty is to citizens." Wang uses the spaces provided in the newspaper series to attack Li Weihan (also known as Luo Mai), the director of the Central research Institute. He told every citizen that injustices were present. This act certainly destroyed the image of the institute. Instead of defending the institute, which he was quite closely connected with, in his column, he alleged to tell the citizens things that they wanted to know, things that were beneficial to them. He is loyal to citizens more than the business owners and advertisers. Therefore, Wang's first loyalty was to citizens.

Influence
Wang's works allowed readers, particularly those of Yan'an, to gain a better understanding of issues like the relationship between politics and literature. Partly as a reaction against the Chinese literature that focused too much on the rules of the CCP in the 1940s, Wang's work alerted some to the fact that the education on the rules of the CCP were not practical. He was the first writer in Yan'an who gave a theoretical reflection on reality in his works; in his "Wild Lilies", for example, the bureaucracy and hierarchy of Yan'an were described in vivid detail.

"While it is tempting to characterize the trial of Wang Shiwei as an illustration of the fate awaiting free-thinking intellectuals in a repressive state, it is clear from the questions raised in the first session that the Wang Shiwei trial epitomizes the difficulty of voicing a minority opinion, especially when that opinion is pitted against a more powerful entity such as the state."

Apart from that, literature in that period emphasized on the skills of writing. There was little concern about the reality. Western literatures were very much appreciated. However, because of the successful and interesting reflection of reality in Wang's works, people started to appreciate Chinese literature. Many Chinese writers also began to write more about the reality, examining on the local arts and the Marxist ideas.

Wang's eagerness to voice out the inequalities and his critical mind contributed to his success as one of the most representative writers in the period. He also stimulated other writers to think about what they should write about from that onwards.

Timeline

 * 1906 March 12 - Born in Huangchuan, Henan (潢川, 河南).
 * 1914 - Entered Primary 3 at Huangchuan Second Higher Elementary school (潢川第二高等小學)
 * 1920 - Studied at Henan Seventh Middle School, Huangchuan (河南省立第七中學堂,潢川)
 * 1923 - Admitted into Henan's Europe and America Preparatory School (河南省留學歐美預備學校) (Henan University predecessor), majored in English.
 * 1924 - Worked at the Henan Province Postal Service Administrative Bureau as a postal officer
 * 1925 - Admitted into Beijing University Literary Academy Preparatory course. Finished his short novel, Xiuxi (休息)
 * 1926
 * January - Joined the CCP.
 * February 27 - Wrote a short novel, Yang wu nainai(楊五奶奶) published in "Chenbao Fukan" (晨報副刊)
 * July - Another publication, Hui mie de jing shen(毀滅的精神) in "The Modern Critics" (現代評論).
 * 1927 - Separated from the party organization because he was in love with a communist member, Li Fan (李芬). Then he went to places such as Nanjing (南京), Shandong Tai'an (山東泰安), worked as a copy clerk and teacher.
 * 1929
 * January - Went to Shanghai, engaged in the translation of literary works. And he met his first wife, Liu ying (劉瑩). Wrote the novel "The Story of Chenlaosi" (陳老四的故事).
 * February - Another novel of his "The Little Tall Boy and Canned Lychee" (小長兒與罐頭荔枝) was published in "The Crescent" (新月).
 * 1930
 * January - Married Liuying.
 * April - His novel, Xiuxi (休息) and his first translation work "The Heretic of Soana"(珊拿的邪教徒) were published in Xu Zhimo's (徐志摩) "New literary collection".
 * 1931 January - Daughter, Wang Chingfeng (王勁楓) was born.
 * 1933 - Translation work "Sapho" (薩芙) was published.
 * 1935 July - Son, Wang Hsufeng (王旭楓) was born. Returned to Henan Kaifeng (河南開封) and was an English teacher at Province Female Middle School (省立女子中學).
 * 1936 - Translation work "Strange interlude" (奇異的插曲) and "The Man of Property" (資產家) were published in "The World's Literary Collections" (世界文學全集)
 * 1937 - Rejoined the CCP. Translation work "The Return of the Native" (還鄉記) was published in "The World's Literary Collections".
 * 1938 October - Due to Changsha Siege(長沙淪陷), he lost contact with his wife who was in Xiang Xi (湘西)
 * 1939 - Married his second wife, Baoping (薄平)
 * 1941 August - Assigned as a special researcher at Central Research Institute (中央研究院)
 * 1942
 * March - Published his work, Ye bai he hua(野百合花) in People's Liberation Army Daily (解放日報) and Zheng zhi jia, Yi Shu jia (政治家·藝術家).
 * April - Mao Zedong criticized his work as anti-Communist. He was then asked to attend the Symposium about his "anti-Communist" work in "Yen'an" (延安).
 * October - He was expelled from the CCP.
 * 1943 April 1 - Kang Sheng (康生) gave an order to arrest him. He was claimed as the "Counter-revolutionary Trotskyist spy"(反革命托派奸细分子), "Undercover agent of Kuomintang"(暗藏的國民黨特務) and "Five-people anti-party group"(五人反黨集團).
 * 1947 July 1 - Wang Shiwei was secretly executed. Died at the age of 41.

Works
Most of Wang's literary works remained unpublished until the late 20th century. His style of writing was described as "having the energy and power to enrich humanity" (有著蓬勃人性之熱與力).

His works reflected his sincerity and love towards his home country and native homeland. He felt compassion for the weak and oppressed in society. He had always hoped that he could change society through revolution, which is why his works were so critical.

Articles
 * 文藝民族形式問题上的錯誤舆新偏向, 1941
 * 野百合花 (Ye Baihehua) / (Wild Lilies), 1942, People's Liberation Army Daily
 * 政治家·藝術家, 1942 (Zhengzhijia, Yishujia) / (Politicians, Artists), Journal of Yan'an's Literacy Resistance Association, Spring Rain (Gu Yu), Vol. 1:4
 * 零感两則, 1942, Arrow and Target
 * 我對羅邁(別名李维漢)同志在整風檢工動員大會上發言的批評, 1942, Arrow and Target
 * 答李宇超、梅洛兩同志, 1942, Arrow and Target

Novels
 * 楊五奶奶, 1926 (Yang Wu Nainai)
 * 毀滅的精神, 1926 (Huimie de Jingshen)
 * 陳老四的故事, 1929 (Chenlaoshi de Gushi)
 * 小長兒與罐頭荔枝, 1929 (Xiao Zhanger Yu Guantou Lizhi )
 * 休息, 1930 (Xiuxi)/(Rest)
 * 鬥爭日記, 1942 (Douzheng Riji)

Translations

Wang's many translations into Chinese include works by Karl Marx and Eugene O'Neill.
 * The Heretic of Soana <<珊拿的邪教徒>> by Gerhart Hauptmann, 1930
 * Sapho<<薩芙>> by Alphonse Daudet, 1933
 * The Man of Property <<資產家>> by John Galsworthy, 1936
 * Strange interlude <<奇異的插曲>> by O'Neill Eugene, 1936
 * The Return of the Native <<還鄉記>> by Thomas Hardy, 1937
 * Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Germany <<德國的革命與反革命>> by Friedrich Engels, 1937
 * Value, Price and Profit <<价格、价值和利潤>> by Karl Marx, 1937
 * The Water Babies <<水孩子>> by Charles Kingsley

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

title: Wang Shiwei


text:
Espírito Santo do Pinhal

Espírito Santo do Pinhal (Portuguese meaning "Holy Spirit of Pinhal") is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2020 is 44,471 (IBGE 2020) and the area is 389 km2. The elevation is 870 m.

Media
In telecommunications, the city was served by Telecomunicações de São Paulo. In July 1998, this company was acquired by Telefónica, which adopted the Vivo brand in 2012. The company is currently an operator of cell phones, fixed lines, internet (fiber optics/4G) and television (satellite and cable).

Notable people

 * Sebastião da Silveira Cintra

title: Espírito Santo do Pinhal


text:
User:GNAADar

A REAL Wikipedian -- not like David Rhemal!

title: User:GNAADar


text:
UKUSA Agreement

The United Kingdom – United States of America Agreement (UKUSA, )  is a multilateral agreement for cooperation in signals intelligence between Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The alliance of intelligence operations is also known as the Five Eyes. In classification markings this is abbreviated as FVEY, with the individual countries being abbreviated as AUS, CAN, NZL, GBR, and USA, respectively.

Emerging from an informal agreement related to the 1941 Atlantic Charter, the secret treaty was renewed with the passage of the 1943 BRUSA Agreement, before being officially enacted on 5 March 1946 by the United Kingdom and the United States. In the following years, it was extended to encompass Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Other countries, known as "third parties", such as West Germany, the Philippines, and several Nordic countries, also joined the UKUSA community in associate capacities, although they are not part of the mechanism for automatic sharing of intelligence that exists between the Five Eyes.

Much of the sharing of information is performed via the ultra-sensitive STONEGHOST network, which has been claimed to contain "some of the Western world's most closely guarded secrets". Besides laying down rules for intelligence sharing, the agreement formalized and cemented the "Special Relationship" between the UK and the US.

Due to its status as a secret treaty, its existence was not known to the Prime Minister of Australia until 1973, and it was not disclosed to the public until 2005. On 25 June 2010, for the first time in history, the full text of the agreement was publicly released by the United Kingdom and the United States, and can now be viewed online. Shortly after its release, the seven-page UKUSA Agreement was recognized by Time magazine as one of the Cold War's most important documents, with immense historical significance.

The global surveillance disclosure by Edward Snowden has shown that the intelligence-sharing activities between the First World allies of the Cold War are rapidly shifting into the digital realm of the Internet.

Origins (1940s–1950s)
The agreement originated from a ten-page 1943 British–US Communication Intelligence Agreement, BRUSA. The UKUSA Agreement connected the signal intercept networks of the UK Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and the US National Security Agency (NSA) at the beginning of the Cold War. The document was signed on 5 March 1946 by Colonel Patrick Marr-Johnson for the UK's London Signals Intelligence Board and Lieutenant General Hoyt Vandenberg for the US State–Army–Navy Communication Intelligence Board. Although the original agreement states that the exchange would not be "prejudicial to national interests", the United States often blocked information sharing from Commonwealth countries. The full text of the agreement was released to the public on 25 June 2010.

The "Five Eyes" term has its origins as a shorthand for a "AUS/CAN/NZ/UK/US EYES ONLY" classification level.

Onset of the Cold War (1950s–1960s)
Under the agreement, the GCHQ and the NSA shared intelligence on the Soviet Union, the People's Republic of China, and several Eastern Bloc countries (known as Exotics). The network was expanded in the 1960s into the Echelon collection and analysis network.

The treaty was extended to include Canada (1948), Australia (1956) and New Zealand (1956). In 1955, the agreement was updated to designate Canada, Australia and New Zealand as "UKUSA-collaborating Commonwealth countries". Other countries that joined as "third parties" were Norway (1952), Denmark (1954) and West Germany (1955).

Investigations (1970–90s)
In the aftermath of the 1973 Murphy raids on the headquarters of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), the existence of the UKUSA Agreement was revealed to Australia's Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. After learning about the agreement, Whitlam discovered that Pine Gap, a secret surveillance station close to Alice Springs, Northern Territory, had been operated by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

At the height of the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis, the use and control of Pine Gap by the CIA was strongly opposed by Whitlam, who fired the chief of the ASIO before being dismissed as prime minister.

The existence of several intelligence agencies of the Five Eyes was not revealed until the following years:
 * 1974: In Canada, an investigative television report on CBC News's newsmagazine program The Fifth Estate revealed the existence of the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC).
 * 1975: In the United States, the Church Committee of the Senate revealed the existence of the National Security Agency (NSA).
 * 1976: In Britain, an investigative article in Time Out magazine revealed the existence of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ).
 * 1977: In Australia, the Hope Commission revealed the existence of Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) and the Defence Signals Directorate (DSD).
 * 1980: In New Zealand, the existence of the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) was officially disclosed on a "limited basis".

In 1999, the Australian government acknowledged that it "does co-operate with counterpart signals intelligence organisations overseas under the UKUSA relationship."

The existence of the UKUSA Agreement, however, was not publicly revealed until 2005. The contents of the agreement were officially disclosed to the public on 25 June 2010. Four days later, the agreement was described by Time magazine as one of the "most important documents in the history of the Cold War."

Recent media leaks
In July 2013, as part of the 2013 Edward Snowden revelations, it emerged that the NSA is paying GCHQ for its services, with at least £100 million of payments made between 2010 and 2013.

On 11 September 2013, The Guardian released a leaked document provided by Edward Snowden which reveals a similar agreement between the NSA and Israel's Unit 8200.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia operates clandestine surveillance facilities at its embassies "without the knowledge of most Australian diplomats". These facilities are part of an international espionage program known as STATEROOM.

Security and intelligence agencies
Although the UKUSA alliance is often associated with the ECHELON system, processed intelligence is reliant on multiple sources of information and the intelligence shared is not restricted to signals intelligence. The following table provides an overview of the government agencies involved and their respective responsibilities within the "Five Eyes" community:

Global coverage
Although precise assignments are classified, it is generally known that each member of the UKUSA alliance takes lead responsibility for intelligence collection and analysis in different parts of the globe.

Five Eyes
The Five Eyes (often abbreviated as FVEY) are an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. These countries are bound by the multilateral UKUSA Agreement, a treaty for joint cooperation in signals intelligence.

Australia
Australia monitors South Asia and East Asia.

Canada
Canada's geographical proximity to the Soviet Union provided considerable eavesdropping advantages during the Cold War. Canada continues to monitor the Russian and Chinese interior while managing intelligence assets in Latin America.

New Zealand

In addition to Southeast Asia, New Zealand is responsible for the western Pacific and maintains listening posts in the South Island at Waihopai Valley just south-west of Blenheim, and on the North Island at Tangimoana.

United Kingdom
Europe, European Russia, Middle East, and Hong Kong.

United States
The US is focused on the Middle East, Russia, and China, in addition to the Caribbean and Africa.

9 Eyes, 14 Eyes, and other "third parties"
NSA Nato alliance.jpg (NSA) and the so-called "second parties", which comprises the UKUSA community, and the "third parties" made up of members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and other Western allies:

NSA and second parties—Extensive mutual sharing of signals intelligence

NSA and third parties—Signals intelligence is funnelled to the NSA in exchange for surveillance technology and monetary compensation. ]]

The "Five Eyes" community is part of an extensive alliance of Western countries sharing signals intelligence with each other. These allied countries include NATO members, other European countries such as Sweden, and allies in the Pacific, in particular Singapore and South Korea.

In the 1950s several Nordic countries joined the community as "third party" participants. They were soon followed by Denmark (1954) and West Germany (1955).

According to Edward Snowden, the NSA has a "massive body" called the Foreign Affairs Directorate that is responsible for partnering with other Western allies such as Israel.

Unlike the "second party" members (that is, the Five Eyes themselves), "third party" partners are not automatically exempt from intelligence targeting. According to an internal NSA document leaked by Snowden, "We (the NSA) can, and often do, target the signals of most 3rd party foreign partners."

The Five Eyes are cooperating with various 3rd Party countries in at least two groups:
 * The "Nine Eyes", consisting of the Five Eyes plus Denmark, France, the Netherlands, and Norway.
 * The "Fourteen Eyes", consisting of the same countries as the Nine Eyes plus Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain, and Sweden. The actual name of this group is SIGINT Seniors Europe (SSEUR) and its purpose is coordinating the exchange of military signals intelligence among its members.

Germany is reportedly interested in moving closer to the inner circle: an internal GCHQ document from 2009 said that the "Germans were a little grumpy at not being invited to join the 9-Eyes group." Germany may even wish to join Five Eyes. Referring to Five Eyes, former French President François Hollande has said that his country is "not within that framework and we don't intend to join." According to a former top US official, "Germany joining would be a possibility, but not France – France itself spies on the US far too aggressively for that."

Controversy
During the 2013 NSA leaks Internet spying scandal, the surveillance agencies of the "Five Eyes" have been accused of intentionally spying on one another's citizens and willingly sharing the collected information with each other, allegedly circumventing laws preventing each agency from spying on its own citizens.

The 2013 NSA leaks are not entirely new, but rather, they are a confirmation of earlier disclosures about the UK-US espionage alliance. For example, the British newspaper The Independent reported back in 1996 that the US National Security Agency "taps UK phones" at the request of the British intelligence agency MI5, thus allowing British agents to evade restrictive limitations on domestic telephone tapping.

The mutual surveillance and sharing of information between allies of the UK and US resurfaced again during the 2013 mass surveillance disclosures. As described by the news magazine Der Spiegel, this was done to circumvent domestic surveillance regulations:

Britain's GCHQ intelligence agency can spy on anyone but British nationals, the NSA can conduct surveillance on anyone but Americans, and Germany's BND (Bundesnachrichtendienst) foreign intelligence agency can spy on anyone but Germans. That's how a matrix is created of boundless surveillance in which each partner aids in a division of roles.

They exchanged information. And they worked together extensively. That applies to the British and the Americans, but also to the BND, which assists the NSA in its Internet surveillance.

In 2013, Canadian federal judge Richard Mosley strongly rebuked the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) for outsourcing its surveillance of Canadians to overseas partner agencies. A 51-page ruling says that the CSIS and other Canadian federal agencies are illegally enlisting US and British allies in global surveillance dragnets, while keeping domestic federal courts in the dark.

Officially released
The following documents were jointly released by the NSA and the GCHQ in 2010:

Disclosed by Edward Snowden
The following documents were leaked by Edward Snowden during the course of the 2013 Global surveillance disclosure:

title: UKUSA Agreement


text: File:BarbJungr EveryGrainOfSand.jpg

title: File:BarbJungr EveryGrainOfSand.jpg


text:
Espírito Santo do Turvo

Espírito Santo do Turvo is a municipality in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. The population in 2020 was 4,878 and the area is 193.655 km2. The elevation is 520 m.

History
The donation of a tract of land for the construction of a church is the landmark in the history of this city. On 23 March 1878, after significant growth Espírito Santo do Turvo (Holy Spirit of Turvo) received the title of Freguesia, a secondary local administrative unit in Portugal, by Law No. 08, and was marked as a Religious Heritage Site. Seven years later, in March 1885, the Law No. 20 raised it to the level of Town.

Government

 * Mayor: João Adirson Pacheco (2009–2012)

Geography
Espírito Santo do Turvo is located in the southern-subtropical part of Brazil, at 22 degrees, 41 minutes, 31 second south, and 49 degrees, 25 minutes, 48 seconds west, at an altitude of 520 m, in the internal part of the State of São Paulo. It covers an area of 193.655 km2.

 * Rivers
 * Turvo River
 * Pardo River

Demography
Its population in 2020 was 4,878 inhabitants.

Total population: 3,677 Density (inhabitants/km2): 19.22
 * 2000 Census figures
 * Urban: 3,241
 * Rural: 436
 * Men: 1,900
 * Women: 1,777

Infant mortality up to 1 year old (per thousand): 16.70

Life expectancy (years): 70.78

Fertility rate (children per woman): 2.63

Literacy rate: 87.69%

Human Development Index (HDI): 0.755
 * Income: 0.666
 * Longevity: 0.763
 * Education: 0,835

Economy
Its economy is based on agriculture with large production of peanuts and cotton. Espírito Santo do Turvo is an important junction to the south, Mato Grosso, and other regions.

Transport

 * SP-225 state highway
 * SP-280 tollway
 * BR-369 highway

Media
In telecommunications, the city was served by Telecomunicações de São Paulo. In July 1998, this company was acquired by Telefónica, which adopted the Vivo brand in 2012. The company is currently an operator of cell phones, fixed lines, internet (fiber optics/4G) and television (satellite and cable).

title: Espírito Santo do Turvo


text:
Closed on Account of Rabies

Closed On Account of Rabies (1997) is a double-CD with poems and tales of Edgar Allan Poe performed by various artists, and produced by Hal Willner. It is one of numerous multi-artist tribute albums that Willner has produced, as well as one of the many spoken word albums he has produced.

CD 1 "Burglars Singing In The Cellar"

 * 1) "Alone" Read by Marianne Faithfull - 1:30
 * 2) "The Raven" Read by Christopher Walken - 8:30
 * 3) "The Tell-Tale Heart" Read by Iggy Pop - 14:26
 * 4) "The Conqueror Worm" Read by Ken Nordine - 3:00
 * 5) "The Black Cat" Read by Diamanda Galás - 36:58
 * 6) "For Annie" Read by Gavin Friday - 5:21
 * 7) "To Helen" Sung by Ed Sanders - 2:29

CD 2 "The Devil's Brew"

 * 1) "The Haunted Palace" Sung by Ed Sanders - 5:42
 * 2) "Ulalume" Read by Jeff Buckley - 6:13
 * 3) "Berenice" Read by Dr. John - 27:42
 * 4) "The City in the Sea" Performed by Deborah Harry and The Jazz Passengers - 8:04
 * 5) "Annabel Lee" Read by Marianne Faithfull - 2:24
 * 6) "The Masque of the Red Death" Read by Gabriel Byrne - 18:13
 * 7) "The Raven" Read by Abel Ferrara - 1:57

The album is produced by Hal Willner and Michael Minzer is the executive producer. Cover art by Ralph Steadman. It is dedicated to Jeff Buckley and Allen Ginsberg, both of whom died shortly before the CD went to press.

Catalog No.: 536480 | UPC: 731453648029

title: Closed on Account of Rabies


text:
John Chard

Colonel John Rouse Merriott Chard (21 December 1847 – 1 November 1897) was a British Army officer who received the Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration for valour "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British armed forces. He earned the decoration for his role in the defence of Rorke's Drift in January 1879 where he assumed command of the outpost and a small garrison of 139 soldiers and successfully repulsed an assault by some 3,000 to 4,000 Zulu warriors. The battle was recreated in the film Zulu in which Chard was portrayed by Stanley Baker.

Born near Plymouth, Chard attended the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich and was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in July 1868. He was involved with the construction of fortifications in the Bermuda Garrison (three years) and at Malta (two years) before he was deployed to southern Africa at the start of the Anglo-Zulu War. At the end of the war he returned to a hero's welcome in the UK and was invited to an audience with Queen Victoria. After a series of overseas postings he took up his final position in Perth, Scotland. He retired from the army as a colonel in 1897 after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer and died at his brother's home in Somerset later that year.

Early life
Chard was born at Boxhill near Plymouth on 21 December 1847 to William Wheaton Chard and his wife Jane Brimacombe. He had two brothers and four sisters. His elder brother William Wheaton Chard served with the Royal Fusiliers, rising to the rank of colonel, and his younger brother Charles Edward Chard became rector of a parish church in Hatch Beauchamp, Somerset. He was educated at Cheltenham Grammar School and Plymouth New Grammar School, and after a period of private tuition he enrolled at the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich.

On 14 July 1868, Chard received a commission as a lieutenant in the Royal Engineers and continued his training at Chatham for the next two years. He was posted to Bermuda, along with Lieutenant HP Knacker, in 1870 to construct fortifications at the Naval Dockyard near Hamilton and returned to England four years later for his father's funeral. He was then sent to Malta to assist with the improvement of the island's sea defences. He returned to England in 1876 where he was based at Aldershot and Chatham, and was assigned to the 5th Company Royal Engineers.

Rorke's Drift
On 2 December 1878, the 5th Company Royal Engineers were sent to the Colony of Natal in response to a request from Lord Chelmsford, commander of the British forces in southern Africa, for an additional unit of engineers to assist with preparations for the invasion of the Zulu Kingdom. After their arrival on 5 January, Chard was dispatched with a small group of sappers to repair and maintain the punts at one of the few crossings of the Buffalo River which ran along the border of Natal and the Zulu Kingdom. A short distance downstream was Rorke's Drift, an isolated mission station used as a staging post for the British invasion force. It consisted of two thatched bungalows about 30 m apart—the western building was used as a hospital, and the eastern building had been converted into a storehouse. Garrisoned at the Drift were Chelmsford's quartermaster general, Major Henry Spalding, a company of the 2nd Battalion 24th Regiment of Foot commanded by Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead, and a large company of the 3rd Natal Native Contingent (NNC).

Chard's group arrived on 19 January and set up camp near the crossing. On the morning of 22 January, he received an order that his sappers were required at Isandlwana 10 mi to the east, where Chelmsford had set up an advanced camp for his main invasion column which had marched into Zulu territory two weeks before. However, when he arrived Chard was informed that only his men were required and that he should return to Rorke's Drift. While at Isandlwana, Chard had witnessed a Zulu army approaching the camp in the distance and upon his return to the Drift at about 1 pm, he informed Spalding of the situation. Spalding decided to depart the Drift to hurry British reinforcements en route from Helpmekaar, but before he left, he checked a copy of the Army List which confirmed that Chard was senior to Bromhead. Therefore, Chard, a "notoriously relaxed" man with no combat experience, was unexpectedly placed in command of the small garrison.

Unconcerned by the presence of the Zulus nearby, Chard returned to his tent by the river crossing, but he was soon after disturbed by two NNC officers on horseback who informed him that the camp at Isandlwana had been overwhelmed and annihilated by the Zulus. Returning to the station, Chard found Bromhead and Assistant Commissary James Dalton had already instructed the troops to use mealie bags to construct a defensive perimeter between the storehouse and hospital. Chard consented and by 4 pm the hastily constructed perimeter was complete. Soon afterwards, the Zulu impi, which contained some 3,000–4,000 men, was sighted advancing on their position. This caused the NNC troops to panic and desert the station, reducing the number of defenders from around 350 to approximately 140 (including 30 sick and wounded). Chard immediately ordered an additional barricade of biscuit boxes to be built across the inner perimeter to provide a smaller fall-back area should the Zulus overwhelm a part of the thinly manned perimeter.

The first waves of Zulu assault were repulsed by British volley fire, but the attackers pushed on relentlessly, particularly along a vulnerable section of the British perimeter by the hospital which became the centre of fierce hand-to-hand combat. With British casualties mounting, Chard ordered his troops to withdraw behind the biscuit boxes, which left the western half of the station in Zulu hands, including the hospital, which was subsequently set alight by the attackers. Once inside, Chard ordered the construction of a redoubt made from a tall pyramid of mealie bags to provide shelter to the wounded and form the last line of defence. The Zulus continued to attack in intermittent waves during the night, but they were illuminated by the burning thatch, which enabled the defenders to spot their advances. By 5 am, the exhausted Zulus had abandoned the attack, and British reinforcements arrived later that morning. Chard counted 351 dead Zulus scattered around the perimeter. The British suffered 17 killed and 10 wounded.

Victoria Cross, later career and death
Chard remained at Rorke's Drift for several weeks after the battle and assisted with the construction of a new stone perimeter wall. However, conditions at the camp were poor; Chard became ill with fever and was taken to Ladysmith for treatment. Once recovered he was attached to Colonel Evelyn Wood's column for the second invasion of the Zulu kingdom. Meanwhile, Chard's report of the battle had been dispatched to England and received with enthusiasm by the British press and public.

The War Office subsequently promoted Chard to captain and brevet major and awarded him and 10 other defenders of the station with Victoria Crosses, the highest decoration for valour that could be awarded to British troops. The citation for the award was published in the London Gazette on 2 May 1879:

"THE Queen has been graciously pleased to signify Her intention to confer the decoration of the Victoria Cross on the undermentioned Officers and Soldiers of Her Majesty's Army, whose claims have been submitted for Her Majesty's approval, for their gallant conduct in the defence of Rorke's Drift, on the occasion of the attack by the Zulus, as recorded against their names, viz.:—

For their gallant conduct at the defence of Rorke's Drift, on the occasion of the attack by the Zulus on the 22nd and 23rd January, 1879.

Royal Engineers Lieutenant (now Captain and Brevet Major) J. R. M. Chard

2nd Battalion 24th Regiment Lieutenant (now Captain and Brevet Major) G. Bromhead

The Lieutenant-General commanding the troops reports that, had it not been for the fine example and excellent behaviour of these two Officers under the most trying circumstances, the defence of Rorke's Drift post would not have been conducted with that intelligence and tenacity which so essentially characterised it.

The Lieutenant-General adds, that its success must, in a great degree, be attributable to the two young Officers who exercised the Chief Command on the occasion in question."

Some of Chard and Bromhead's superiors, however, were resentful of the adulation bestowed on the pair. Wood took a particular dislike to his new subordinate. Unimpressed with his temperament and sceptical of his role in the battle, he denounced Chard as a "useless officer" and "a dull, heavy man, scarcely able to do his regular work". Lieutenant-General Sir Garnet Wolseley, who thought the desperate defence of the Rorke's Drift was merely a case of "rats [fighting] for their lives which they could not otherwise save", presented Chard with his VC on 16 July. Likely influenced by Wood, he subsequently said of Chard that a "more uninteresting or more stupid-looking fellow I never saw".

Chard was present in the British square during the decisive victory at the Battle of Ulundi and remained in Africa until the end of the war.

His arrival back in Portsmouth in October 1879 was greeted with celebration. In addition to a series of presentations and dinners bestowed in his honour, he attended Balmoral Castle to dine with Queen Victoria, who was impressed by his modest and unassuming demeanour.

Chard returned to duty at Devonport in January 1880 and was posted to Cyprus in December 1881. His brevet majority was substantiated on 17 July 1886 and he returned to England in March 1887 to take up a position in Preston. He was ordered to Singapore in December 1892 and received a promotion to lieutenant colonel. He returned to England in 1896 and took up his final post as Commanding Royal Engineer at Perth, Scotland, and was promoted to colonel on 8 January 1897.

While stationed in Perth, Chard—a lifelong pipe smoker—was diagnosed with cancer of the tongue. He underwent two operations: the second—which took place in March 1897—resulted in the removal of his tongue but despite this it was reported that he could still converse clearly. However, by August it was discovered the cancer was terminal and Chard retired to his brother Charles' rectory at Hatch Beauchamp, Somerset.

After two weeks of "terrible suffering", Chard died on 1 November 1897. He was unmarried. He was buried in the churchyard by the south east transept of The Church of St John the Baptist in Hatch Beauchamp, Somerset.

Legacy
Among the numerous messages of sympathy and floral tributes was a wreath of laurel leaves sent by the Queen, who had remained in contact with Chard and frequently enquired about his health. The wreath bore the handwritten inscription "A mark of admiration and regard for a brave soldier from his sovereign". In 1899 a stained glass memorial window dedicated to Chard was installed in the south wall of the church's chancel. Another memorial donated by the Royal Engineers was placed in Rochester Cathedral. A display at the Royal Engineers Museum in Gillingham, Kent, commemorates Chard's leadership at Rorke's Drift and includes the Webley Revolver he used in the battle.

Welsh actor Stanley Baker portrayed Chard in the 1964 film Zulu, which depicted the defence of Rorke's Drift. Baker acquired Chard's campaign medal and a "cast copy" of his Victoria Cross at an auction in 1972; they were sold by his family after his death in 1976. However, in 1996 the Victoria Cross was discovered to be the original rather than a copy after its metallic characteristics were compared with the bronze ingot from which all Victoria Crosses are cast. The medal was subsequently acquired by Lord Ashcroft, owner of the world's largest collection of VCs, and is on display at the Imperial War Museum, London.

Chard was commemorated by the South African military with the John Chard Decoration and the John Chard Medal which were awarded to members of the Citizen Force. Instituted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1952, the Medal and the Decoration were awarded for 12 years and 20 years service respectively until 2003 when they were superseded by the Medalje vir Troue Diens and the Emblem for Reserve Force Service.

title: John Chard


text:
USCA

USCA may refer to:
 * United States Cattlemen's Association
 * Ulster Special Constabulary Association
 * United States Canoe Association
 * Federal Republic of Central America, also known as the United Provinces of Central America and (inaccurately) the United States of Central America
 * United States Climate Alliance
 * United States Code Annotated
 * United States Court of Appeals
 * United States Croquet Association
 * United States Curling Association
 * University of South Carolina Aiken
 * University Students' Cooperative Association, a student housing cooperative in Berkeley, California, United States
 * USCA Foot, a Malagasy football club

title: USCA


text:
Loktantrik Samajwadi Party (India)

The Loktantrik Samajwadi Party is a minor political party in India. It was founded on 9 January 1994 in Patna by three senior MPs from the Janata Dal Party. These were Ram Sundar Das, Rasheed Masood, and Upendra Nath Verma.

Electoral performance
The party contested 14 seats in the 1998 Lok Sabha (national parliament) elections. They also stood in the 1999, 2004, 2009, and 2014 elections, steadily dropping the number of seats contested. By 2014 they were contesting only two seats. They lost their deposits in every constituency contested in every election over that period.

The party won a seat in the 2008 state assembly election in Rajasthan.

title: Loktantrik Samajwadi Party (India)


text:
Lu Yuegang

Lu Yuegang(卢跃刚), a Sichuan native in China, is a journalist and a writer of non-fiction. He has been a reporter of China Youth Daily for ten years. He was promoted to be the deputy director and later the principal reporter of the news centre in China Youth Daily. Meanwhile, he also serves as the Chairman of the China Association for the Study of Nonfiction. Over the years, he has won several prizes for his reportages.

title: Lu Yuegang


text:
Firefight

Firefight or fire fight most often refers to:

 * Firefighting, the profession of controlling and extinguishing fires
 * Shootout or firefight, a combat between armed groups using firearms

Firefight or fire fight may also refer to:

 * Firefight: Modern U.S. and Soviet Small Unit Tactics, a 1976 board game
 * Fire Fight, a 1996 video game
 * Firefight, a 2003 novel by Thomas Easton
 * Firefight, a multiplayer game mode in the Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach video games
 * Firefight (album), a 2011 album by Blackguard
 * Firefight, a 2015 novel in The Reckoners series by Brandon Sanderson
 * Fire Fight Australia, a 2020 benefit concert in Sydney, Australia

title: Firefight


text:
Estiva Gerbi

Estiva Gerbi is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population is 11,407 (2020 est.) in an area of 74.1 km2. The elevation is 590 m.

Media
In telecommunications, the city was served by Telecomunicações de São Paulo. In July 1998, this company was acquired by Telefónica, which adopted the Vivo brand in 2012. The company is currently an operator of cell phones, fixed lines, internet (fiber optics/4G) and television (satellite and cable).

title: Estiva Gerbi


text:
Talk:Wang Shiwei

Untitled
hi all, I am not quite sure of the english translation of "¦«ê". I'll try to do some research on it. But I hope someone would find an appropriate translation of the term. (0101LAMsy)

hi all my group members,

I can only find little information about Wang on the web, and I can't even find a photo of his. I may go to the library and search for more information about him. Hope that our page will have more information later. (0101CHANmw)

hello again! yes, it's difficult to find information about Wang. There is little information availabled. Anyway I find one photo of him. However, it's quite blur, and I'll try to put up here some time later. (0101LAMsy)

Hi everyone! should we divide the article into 6 sections? i mean dividing it according to the questions set. (0101TSANGlm)

Hi, guys. Yes, I agree with Tsang. We better divide our work into sections. This is definitely clearer and allows easier access to data, which is very important to nowadays' busy people. (0101WONGpl)

hihi, i do think we should divide it into 6 sections. try to search 'Ming Pao' ( which was done by last year's student ), u'll see it divided very clearly, but i don't know how can they divide it into different sections with different edit places. take a look at it. thanks!

hello! i've read 野百合花 ( his famous work ) and tried to find out the elements of journalism in it. but i have problems understanding the elements, for example, what does it mean by 'provide a forum for public criticism'. if it's only the author criticizing something, does it match this element of journalism? (0101TSANGlm)

Hi, i got his pic from a book abt him. would that be better? Anyway, i'll try to finish the book asap and try to make our page more fruitful. I know it's tough, cuz it's really hard to find his info. Anyway, add oil, groupmates~ Btw, i found a timeline of him, should we add it in? (0101LAMkp)

hihi, yes I think your pic is better than mine, as it is clearer. I'll delete mine from the page. I think the idea of a timeline is good. Perhaps you can post it out and see how the others comment on it. Should we add a category stating all his works? (0101LAMsy)

hello again, I have added two lists of the publication and translation works of Wang. However, I guess some are missing, and further research needed to be done. I think we should add the date of the work too. At this moment I have some of the dates, but miss the dates of 鬥爭, 陳老四, & 小長兒. Also, can anyone find out the english translation of <<薩芙>>, the work of Alphonse Daudet (都德)? I have spent quite long hrs searching this =_= 0101LAMsy 16:21, 11 Oct 2004 (UTC)0101LAMsy

After checking the email of JMSC, I know we are behind schedule. I think We should work harder on the topic. Add oil all classmates! ^_^ 0101LAMsy 16:23, 11 Oct 2004 (UTC)0101LAMsy

Hello, I think we should add a timeline of Wang, otherise it would be too complex for readers to know about him. Btw, I also think that we should divide his life and achievements into sessions so that our information may be more precised but not scattered around. I have just divided the sessions. just see it can be improved. Add oil, groupmates, we still have a long way to go! (0101CHANmw)

Finally I find the ways of making the content table, which makes our entry more well organized. Feel so great! I think we should sign using "0101LAMsy 11:02, 12 Oct 2004 (UTC)" follow by our signin name after the entry in the discussion page. 0101LAMsy 11:02, 12 Oct 2004 (UTC)0101LAMsy

Timeline is done. I tried my best to do the translations (some of them i still need to work on it). But once you find any mistake, feel free to make the correction. thz and add oil~ (0101LAMkp)

We now have two different versions of the original name of Wang. Should it be 思禱 or 思書?? 0101LAMsy 06:34, 14 Oct 2004 (UTC)

I checked with a book called <<梁漱溟.王實味.儲安平>>, written by 戴晴. The original name of Wang should be 叔翰. I guess there are a number of versions for the same concepts. So, there may not be a definite answer to questions. I think the most important thing we should do is to try to make our information consistent. 0101WONGpl

I tried several times and I can't fix the link error of the ISBN of the first reference book ~can anyone help? 0101LAMsy 04:57, 21 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Hi all, I hope you will all excuse the interloption of a newcomer. To be honest I don't know much about Wang, except what is written here. However I am both a native speaker of Chinese(Cantonese) and English so hopefully my edit should retain the intent and style of what was written whilst removing any irritation and sense of wrongness for native english readers. However my lack of knowledge of Wang leads me to stumble with this sentence :-

"In 1991,the Ministry of Public Security indicated the accusation of Wang."

I guess it should read

"In 1991,the Ministry of Public Security vindicated the accusation of Wang."

However if the sentence is allowed to stand, it is the accusations which are vindicated , this means that the Ministry stood by its  accusations of Wang and considered the accusations to be sound and that Wang was guilty.

If accusations were found to be false then the sentence should just read.

"In 1991,the Ministry of Public Security vindicated Wang."

This means that it was Wang who was vindicated. Either way to use "vindicate" or "vindicated" in two consecutive sentences, this one and the previous one , will sow confusion. Confusion which can be solved by using something like :-

"In 1991,the Ministry of Public Security stood by its charges against Wang ."

or

"In 1991 Wang was rehabilitated by the Ministry of Public Security ."

Can some one tell me which one it should be ,in any case I'll do some research to see if I can find out for myself.

User Cetot ,12.42 GMT,21st August 2005

where is the connection to journalism
hey folks, you have a great deal of information about Wang and literature, but right now i see little connection between Wang and journalism -- other than "wild lillies" published in the PLA daily. what papers did he work for? write for? what other significant contribution did he make to journalism? you are running out of time. be sure to keep on editing, including reorganizing your sections on literature (JMSC0101 TA - Li) Lfcho 15:32, 19 Oct 2004 (UTC)

I deleted the text like "How well did Wang do as a journalist" etc. which seemed inappropriate. The articles on these Chinese subjects (my area) are far from a professional standard in some places. I also changed some of the sub-headings into simple bold headings; the previous hierarchy appeared unharmonious to me. --Homunculus (strange tales) 01:37, 11 March 2010 (UTC)

title: Talk:Wang Shiwei


text:
Estiva

Estiva is a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. The population is 11,386 (2020 est.) in an area of 244 km2.

title: Estiva


text:
Breach of promise

Breach of promise is a common-law tort, abolished in many jurisdictions. It was also called breach of contract to marry, and the remedy awarded was known as heart balm.

From at least the Middle Ages to the early 20th century, many jurisdictions regarded a man's promise of engagement to marry a woman as a legally binding contract. If the man subsequently changed his mind, he would be said to be in "breach" of this promise and could be subject to litigation for damages.

The converse of that was seldom true. The concept that "it's a woman's prerogative to change her mind" had at least some basis in law (though a woman might pay a high social price for exercising this privilege). Unless a dowry of money or property had changed hands, or the woman could be shown to have become engaged to a man only to enable her use of his money, a man could rarely recover in a "breach of promise" suit against a woman if he was even allowed to file one.

Changing social attitudes toward morals have led to a decline in the number of legal actions in response to "". Most jurisdictions, at least in the English-speaking common-law world, have become increasingly reluctant to intervene in cases of personal relationships not involving the welfare of children or actual violence. Many of them have repealed all laws regarding such eventualities, and in others, the statute allowing such an action may technically remain on the books, but the action has become very rare and unlikely to be pursued with any probability of success. Arising in its stead are judicial opinions and/or statutes permitting a breach-of-contract action for wedding expenses incurred when the nuptials are called off or for loss of employment, moving and living expenses incurred by one party as a result of an engagement, which is later broken.

Cause of action
A breach of promise suit required a legally valid marriage engagement. Under Nevada law, this need not be in writing (as a prenuptial agreement is required to be), but may have been made orally by both parties. All that is required is that each have promised the other to marry the other at some future time (no date certain is required). Generally, promises made by—but not to—people who had not reached the age of majority could be broken at any time, without penalty, as could the promise made by a married person (e.g., conditional upon the death of the current spouse), so long as the other party knew that the person was married at the time. Similarly, an engagement between people who were not legally permitted to marry (e.g., because of consanguinity laws) was invalid.

Valid engagements could be broken without penalty by either party upon discovery of significant and material facts, such as previously unknown financial state (if completely concealed, rather than partially revealed; the Shell case in Georgia in 2008 permitted a jury award to the woman of $150,000 although the man breaking the engagement stated that he did so after paying $30,000 of her debts when he discovered she still owed more), bad character, fraud, too-close blood relations, or the absolute physical or mental incapacity of the betrothed. In South Africa, engagements could be dissolved by mutual agreement. Impotence, sterility, criminality, and alcoholism also formed valid reasons to end an engagement. Additionally, the person refusing to marry was unable to sue for breach of promise.

Some of the original theory behind this tort was based on the idea that a woman would be more likely to give up her virginity to a man if she had his promise to marry her. If he seduced her and subsequently refused marriage, her lack of virginity would make her future search for a suitable husband more difficult or even impossible.

However, in the 18th and 19th centuries, the main factors were compensation for the denial of the woman's expectations of becoming "established" in a household (supported by her husband's wealth) and possible damage to her social reputation, since there were a number of ways that the reputation of a young never-married woman of the genteel classes could be damaged by a broken engagement, or an apparent period of intimacy which did not end in a publicly announced engagement, even if few people seriously thought that she had lost her virginity. She might be viewed as having broken the code of maidenly modesty of the period by imprudently offering up her affections without having had a firm assurance of future marriage.

During the early 20th century, social standards changed so that a woman who had pre-marital sex was no longer considered to be "ruined". During that time, half of American women lost their virginity during their marriage engagements. Compensation was based on emotional distress and the woman's reduced opportunity for a future marriage. Damages were greatly increased if the couple had engaged in pre-marital sexual intercourse.

England and Wales
In England and Wales until 1970 a woman whose fiancé broke off their engagement could sue him for breach of promise, whilst a woman was permitted to change her mind without penalty. The last prominent case was in 1969, when Eva Haraldsted sued George Best, a prominent footballer, for breach of promise. England and Wales undertook legal reforms in 1970 that generally made property disputes related to engagements to be handled like property disputes between married couples.

On 1 January 1971 the tort was abolished in England and Wales by section 1 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1970.

Asia
In Hong Kong, similar to the situation in England and Wales, engagements to marry are not enforceable at law by legislation, damages for distress caused and reliance on the breach of promise are claimable, if the plaintiff suffers sufficiently serious consequences in light of the specific circumstances, for instance in Cheung Suk Man v So Shek Keung [1965] HKLR 485.

In 2019, the Supreme Court of India ruled that sex on false promise of marriage constitutes rape.

North America
In Canada, the common law action has been abolished in some provinces by legislation. For example, in Saskatchewan, the action for breach of promise was formally abolished by legislation in 2010.

The first known lawsuit for breach of promise in colonial America and the first in which the defendant was a woman was Cecily Jordan v. Greville Pooley. This case was tried in the chambers of the Virginia Company and never went to a civil court, as the plaintiff withdrew his complaint. The first successful case was Stretch v Parker in 1639.

In 1915, Louis A. Merrilat, an American football end and military officer active in the early 20th century, was sued by Helen Van Ness for breach of promise after breaking off an engagement. Merrilat hired the noted Chicago attorney Clarence Darrow to defend him against the charges, which were eventually dismissed.

In the United States, most states repealed breach-of-promise laws or limited them, beginning in 1935. Partly as a result, expensive diamond engagement rings, previously uncommon, began to become commonplace, and formed a sort of financial security for the woman.

South Carolina is one of the states that still recognizes a breach of promise action: Campbell v Robinson, 398 S.C. 12, 726 S.E. 2d 221 (Ct. App. 2012). About one-half of U.S. states still permit such lawsuits, according to the National Paralegal College. Examples of such suits include a jury award of $150,000 in the 2008 Shell case in Georgia, and $130,000 in a North Carolina jury trial December 17, 2010, in the case of Dellinger v. Barnes (No. 08 CVS 1006). Laws vary by state. In Illinois, for example, documented wedding expenses can be recovered, but damages for emotional distress are prohibited, and notice of an intent to sue must be provided within three months of the engagement being dissolved.

Determining damages
Damages were generally permitted for expenses incurred on the expectation of a marriage, such as property transferred or wedding expenses. In some jurisdictions, emotional distress, loss of social standing, and loss of virginity were also possible sources of damages.

Some countries also allowed the woman to sue for loss of future income, that is, for money that she would have had, if her very wealthy fiancé had not broken off the engagement. In 20th-century reforms, this was generally abolished over fears of gold digging.

One challenge in settling disputes for breach of promise was determining whether a gift made during the engagement was an absolute gift—one given permanently, with no strings attached—or a conditional gift, given in the expectation of the marriage taking place. If an engagement gift was given on a holiday, such as Valentine's Day or Christmas, the gift could be considered to be non-contingent, and given partially for reasons other than marriage, and thus does not have to be returned. Christmas presents are generally taken to be absolute gifts, and thus cannot be recovered if the engagement dissolves, but engagement rings are generally taken to be conditional gifts, at least under most circumstances, which means that they must be returned if the recipient no longer chooses to go through with the marriage. Whether an engagement ring must be returned if the giver breaks off the engagement varies.

Similar actions in law
Criminal conversation was a similar tort, arising from adultery, in which a married person could sue the person with whom his or her spouse had engaged in adultery. Alienation of affections was another similar tort against a third party who encouraged the adultery, or who was otherwise responsible for the breakdown of the marriage.

Non-common-law jurisdictions
France nominally did not permit breach of promise actions, holding that marriage must involve free consent from both parties, and if the engagement is legally binding, then free consent is not possible. However, any party may sue for losses as a result of improper behavior by an engaged person.

In Scots law before 1812, damages were limited only to actual financial losses.

After World War II, German, Spanish, and Italian law allowed for the recovery of actual damages incurred as a result of a failed engagement.

Literature
The social damage from receiving attention from a man is discussed in a passage from the 1801 novel Belinda by Maria Edgeworth, where an older woman is urging Miss Belinda Portman to give a suitor more time to attach her affections, though Belinda is worried that even by just passively accepting his attentions for a certain time, she might find herself "entangled, so as not to be able to retract", even "if it should not be in my power to love him at last":

"... after a certain time—after the world suspects that two people are engaged to each other, it is scarcely possible for the woman to recede: when they come within a certain distance, they are pressed to unite, by the irresistible force of external circumstances. A woman is too often reduced to this dilemma: either she must marry a man she does not love, or she must be blamed by the world—either she must sacrifice a portion of her reputation, or the whole of her happiness. ... A young woman is not in this respect allowed sufficient time for freedom of deliberation."

Breach-of-promise actions were part of the standard stock-in-trade of comic writers of the 19th century (such as Charles Dickens in Pickwick Papers, or Gilbert and Sullivan in Trial by Jury) and in the 20th century as a frequent plot device by P. G. Wodehouse, but most middle- and upper-class families were reluctant to use them except in rather extreme circumstances (such as when a daughter became pregnant by a man who then refused to marry her), since they led to wide publicity being given to a scrutiny of personal concerns, something which was strongly repugnant to the family feeling of the period (especially where young women were concerned).

Media
Trial by Jury is an 1875 curtain-raiser and comic opera that enacts a satirical trial for breach of promise. The successful musical launched the careers of librettist W.S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan.

In the 1935 film We're in the Money, Joan Blondell and Glenda Farrell play two process servers trying to serve a rich playboy, Ross Alexander, with a breach of promise suit.

At the start of the 1946 film Easy to Wed, newspaperman Warren Haggerty (Keenan Wynn) has abandoned his planned wedding to Gladys Benson (Lucille Ball) for the umpteenth time when his paper is faced with a libel suit. When Benson storms in to confront him, she threatens him with a breach of promise suit, to which Haggerty replies "Breach of promise suits have been outlawed!"

The episode "A Woman's Privilege" of the featurette series The Scales of Justice recounts the unusual case of a man who sues a woman for breach of promise following a cruise ship romance engagement.

In the film A Hard Day's Night (1964), Paul McCartney's (fictional) grandfather is pursued by young women who want to sue him for breach of promise.

In the 1998 series Berkeley Square, Captain Mason is forbidden from marrying Isobelle by her chaperone Aunt Effie due to his outstanding bills and social indiscretion. He threatens to sue for breach of promise, forcing Effie to accept their engagement to avoid family scandal.

In season 8 of the TV show Frasier, Donny files a suit against Daphne for running away with Niles on the day of their wedding.

title: Breach of promise


text:
Talk:Basic Role-Playing

Cleanup
I have removed the following paragraph:

 * Many of the BRP-based games are no longer in print in November of 2001. Currently available systems include Call of Cthulhu and Stormbringer from Chaosium, and the distantly related Pendragon, now published by Green Knight Publishing.

I don't think it adds anything, and seems out of place in an encyclopedia. In addition, the artcile has already mentioned that Pendragon is sufficiently different to be considered a different system, which I agree with. I will add the Green Knight reference to that part of the article. PhilHibbs 15:29, 1 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Removed the word "only" from Pendragon ... "has sufficiently different mechanics that it can be seen only as a separate system" as that's not NPOV IMHO.213.112.249.111 08:55, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Also, this:

 * Additionally, some note that the 3rd Edition of Dungeons & Dragons, released in the fall of 2000, resembles nothing so much as a reworking - or perhaps melding - of Dungeons & Dragons with the rules of RuneQuest (the first BRP-based game), which was first published in 1978. Dividing percentages by 5 and rounding to the nearest whole number results in values ranging from 1 to 20.

I disagree with this, and it's not that well written either. D&D is less of a derivative of RuneQuest than the other way round, and I say that as a RQ fan. Just because D&D skills use a linear scale, that doesn't mean that it is a derivative of the percentile system. You could lay the same claim about MERP/Rolemaster, Cyberpunk, or a dozen other systems. — PhilHibbs | talk 10:45, 7 Dec 2004 (UTC)

WikiProject Role-playing games
There has just ben started a new Wikiproject regarding Role playing Games. If you would like to join, please go to WikiProject Role-playing games and add your self. Angelbo 13:13, 19 January 2006 (UTC)

Basic Roleplaying: The Chaosium System ?
In the article, it mentions a book published in 2004 called the Basic Role-Playing Players Book and Magic Book. I didn't see that book listed on Amazon, but I did see Basic Roleplaying: The Chaosium System published in 2003. Is that the book you mean? If that's the book the article means, someone probably should correct the spelling and year in the article.

(FYI, Chaosium apparently used to use the spelling "role-playing" in its products, as depicted in the article on the first edition cover. But its more recent products like the book above and Stormbringer 5th edition use the spelling "roleplaying".  There's a discussion about the change in the spelling of the word in some of the Wiki articles and the Wiki RPG portal, in case you're curious.) Dugwiki 17:45, 19 June 2006 (UTC)

Links
Finding reviews to establish notability. Last one is perfect. I need to get some sleep though. Hopefully someone can add it. Turlo Lomon 17:37, 14 September 2007 (UTC)
 *
 * - Award for the character generator. Turlo Lomon 12:04, 14 September 2007 (UTC)
 * - DriveThru RPG review, don't know if it helps. Web Warlock 14:37, 14 September 2007 (UTC)
 * Origins award for Best Roleplaying Rules of 1981. Web Warlock 16:39, 14 September 2007 (UTC)
 * I am rewritting the the article now. Web Warlock 18:41, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

Commentary
Any articles from a historic perspective in gaming magazines (e.g. The Dragon, The Escapist) would be useful here as well. There's no denying that BRP is fantastically influential historically, all we need to do is prove it. Get your magazine collection out, they don't have to be online to be referenceable. I wouldn't use White Dwarf as a source, though, as Games Workshop published RQ in the UK since way back so they aren't independent. — PhilHibbs | talk 11:51, 14 September 2007 (UTC)
 * We can still use White Dwarf, but not as a primary reference. I wish I could find my Dragon magazine CDs buried some where in the back room. It has a searchable index. Turlo Lomon 11:56, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

Although the notability tag was removed for potentially questionably reasons, I think enough has been done since then to establish notability. Shannon Appelcline's article on RPGNet is excellent material for this. — PhilHibbs | talk 21:16, 14 September 2007 (UTC)
 * Agreed and agreed. Turlo Lomon 22:49, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

Notability of Basic Role-Playing is disputed
This set of rules (or "system" as it is described in the article) is a set of rules derived from Basic Role-Playing (ISBN 1-56882-168-9). There are no reliable secondary sources in the article that would provide evidence of notability under WP:BK or any other notability guideline, as RPG.net cannot be classed as a relaible source. --Gavin Collins (talk) 13:13, 19 February 2008 (UTC)
 * And you would be wrong, but that is fine. I'll come up with another 6-12 items that demonstrate notabilty and shame you again. Web Warlock (talk) 13:15, 19 February 2008 (UTC)
 * I deleted the notability tag. Notability is asserted in the article. A refimprove tag might be appropriate here, but a notability tag isn't warranted. Rray (talk) 13:29, 19 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Is that based on your opinion, or based on evidence? Please resotore the notability template until secondary sources have added, not before.--Gavin Collins (talk) 15:04, 19 February 2008 (UTC)
 * You have no authority to give instructions to other editors. I will not restore a template that shouldn't have been added in the first place. Just to clarify, the notability template should be used when a topic has unclear notability. Other templates address lack of sourcing. (Refimprove and unreferenced are two templates that might apply to an article with reference issues.) Rray (talk) 15:19, 19 February 2008 (UTC)
 * You admit there is a lack of secondary sources, yet at the same time remove the cleanup template designed to address this issue. From where I stand, that looks like Doublethink.It is not sufficient to remove the cleanup template based on your opinion, you have to provide evidence of notabaility with reliable seconary sources before.--Gavin Collins (talk) 17:49, 19 February 2008 (UTC)
 * It has nothing to do with doublethink. The notability tag is for articles which don't assert the subject's notability. The unreferenced tag (or the refimprove tag)) are for articles with the issues you describe. I didn't remove the tag because of my opinion; I removed it because it was the wrong tag to use in this case. Rray (talk) 19:35, 19 February 2008 (UTC)
 * So where are reliable secondary sources cited that assert the notability this game playing system? --Gavin Collins (talk) 19:47, 19 February 2008 (UTC)
 * You mean besides the 8 references that are included in the article now? Rray (talk) 19:50, 19 February 2008 (UTC)
 * 10. And I have not even cracked open the Dragons yet. Web Warlock (talk) 20:45, 19 February 2008 (UTC)
 * This game has plenty notability, being used by lots of well-known rpgs both old and new. Please distinguish between personal lack of knowledge and a true lack of notability. Or in other words, don't dispute notability just because you happen to be uneducated in the area of discussion yourself. Thank you. CapnZapp (talk) 13:56, 14 June 2008 (UTC)

resistance table rewording
I removed the following two sentences because they were unsourced and used weasel words like "many think".

The Resistance Table, in which two attributes are compared and a chance of success read from a table, is the ugly duckling of the BRP system. It is potentially an entire system mechanic on its own and yet many say it sits oddly with the existing skill system.

Please do not add back this text without rewording (and/or sourcing the claims "ugly duckling", "potentially", "yet many say it sits oddly"). Thanks. CapnZapp (talk) 13:52, 14 June 2008 (UTC)

 * Nice edit. Good work. Rray (talk) 23:52, 14 June 2008 (UTC)

Comparisons to D&D shite?
This is a reply to the edit summary of the 04:52, 18 July 2017 edit by Oknazevad (talk | contribs)
 * (→Rules system: extensive rewrite. This essay-like description is a) way too obsessed with comparing the D&D, b) in he wrong tense, and c) addressed in he second person. In short, it's shite.)

You do know that D&D was the first rpg, right? And that every early game like BRP was a reaction to that game? Please don't make it out to be a bad thing to do what everybody back then considered obvious - to define the new game, not as a stand-alone product, but in relation to D&D. In some ways, defining BRP by how it differs from D&D was more relevant than just telling us how it works. CapnZapp (talk) 09:47, 20 July 2017 (UTC)
 * The comparison was overdone, though, and written as though the reader is already familiar with how D&D plays, which is problematic at best. But the reaction, which was indeed a bit intemperate, was more about the unencyclopedic, essay-like tone, which only made the assumption with D&D mechanics worse. That was the issue. Not so much that it compared the system to D&D, but that it assumed the reader had knowledge, which we can't assume. And it's always better to describe what something does, not what it doesn't do. oknazevad (talk) 17:26, 20 July 2017 (UTC)

title: Talk:Basic Role-Playing