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Brazilian Air Force

The Brazilian Air Force (Força Aérea Brasileira, FAB) is the air branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces and one of the three national uniformed services. The FAB was formed when the Army and Navy air branches were merged into a single military force initially called "National Air Forces" in 1941. Both air branches transferred their equipments, installations and personnel to the new force.

According to Flight International (Flightglobal.com) and the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Brazilian Air Force has an active strength of 80,937 military personnel and operates around 715 aircraft. The Brazilian Air Force is the largest air force in the Southern Hemisphere and the second largest in the Americas after the United States Air Force.

Contestado Campaign
The Contestado War was the first conflict in which Brazilian military aviation was employed. On September 19, 1914, taking advantage of a special train driving troops, three aircraft were boarded: a Morane-Saulnier biplane, a Morane-Saulnier monoplane and a Blitzer SIT biplane. The train continued from Rio de Janeiro passing through São Paulo where it would reach the São Paulo – Rio Grande railway to the station of União da Vitória.

Along the way, sparks shot through the locomotive, hitting a gallon of gasoline in one of the wagons carrying the dismantled aircraft. The fire spread, much like the planes. After the crash, only the Morane-Saulnier remained in flying condition.

In the conflict zone, he coordinated the construction of runways and hangars to be used in União da Vitória, Canoinhas and Rio Negro. Then, two Morane-Saulnier and special ammunition were brought from Rio de Janeiro, as well as a mechanic.

The first aerial activity occurred only on January 4, 1915, when a training flight followed the course of the Iguaçú River to the Timbo River. The first official mission took place on January 19 and the duration of the flight was just over an hour.

The following week, on February 25, 1915, a Morane-Saulnier had an accident. During a test flight in the vicinity of the field, the engine stopped and aircraft crashed with total loss, pilot survived.

March 1, 1915 was the scheduled date for a heavy attack on the rebels. The mission was to fly over the Valley of Santa Maria, to launch bombs on the rebels' stronghold, and to observe and direct the shots of the artillery and the advance of the infantry. Two Morane-Saulnier aircraft took off, but the attack was canceled due to adverse weather conditions, for the aircraft piloted by then lieutenant-aviator Ricardo Kirk suffered a crash, of which he was killed.

Ricardo Kirk was the first Brazilian Military Aviator. In 1891 he entered the Military Academy and was commissioned an ensign in November, 1893 and to first-lieutenant in March, 1898 and posthumously to captain in 1915.

Air actions of the Constitutionalist Revolution
Although the two sides in struggle had few airplanes during the Constitutionalist Revolution of 1932, aviation made a big impact during the conflict. The federal government had approximately 58 aircraft divided between the Navy and the Army.

On the other hand, the Paulistas had only two Potez 25 and two Waco planes, in addition to a small number of tourist planes. At the end of July, the rebel government obtained another plane, brought by Lieutenant Artur Mota Lima, who defected from Campo dos Afonsos, Rio de Janeiro. The "reds", as the federal government planes were known, not only acted on the lines of combat, but also were used to bombard several cities of São Paulo, among them Campinas, where they caused great damage. They also served as a propaganda weapon, dropping leaflets on enemy cities and into rebel concentration camps.

For the use of aerial means, General Góis Monteiro had in his Staff of two advisers, Captains Vasco Alves Secco and Carlos Pfaltzgraff Brazil.

Major Eduardo Gomes, commander of the Joint Aviation Group, who since the outbreak of hostilities had coordinated the employment of his unit and the reinforcements of the Military Aviation School, was designated, on September 16, Commander of the Air Units of the Army Detachment of the East.

On September 6, Major Ajalmar Vieira Mascarenhas was appointed Commander of the Air Units of the Detachment of the Southern Army.

The Navy's aircraft were under the direct operational control of the naval authorities, operating in support of the surface ships deployed near the port of Santos, to effect a naval blockade and also in support of the Naval Flotilla of Mato Grosso, based in Ladário. They also participated in operations with Military Aviation in the Paraíba Valley and on the southern front, in escort and observation missions.

The Air Force of São Paulo was under the overall command of Major Ivo Borges, Commander of the Aviation Units of the Constitutionalist Aviation, and Major Lysias A. Rodrigues, Commander of the Constitutionalist Aviation Group.

Establishment
The establishment of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force in April 1918, and the creation of the Italian Air Force (Regia Aeronautica) and the French Air Force during the 1920s drove the idea of uniting Brazilian air power under the same organization. Together with these events the Brazilian strategists were also influenced by the theories of Giulio Douhet, Billy Mitchell and Hugh Montague Trenchard.

The first public manifest to create an integrated military air service came up in 1928 when an army Major called Lysias Rodrigues wrote an article called "An urgent need: The Ministry of the Air" ("Uma premente necessidade: o Ministério do Ar"). Two years later the French Military Mission, working for the Brazilian Army, made the first steps to organize a national air arm. The idea got more support when a group of Brazilian airmen came from Italy in 1934 and explained the advantages of having a military aviation unified. Also, the Spanish Revolution and the first movements of World War II at the end of the thirties showed the importance of Air power for military strategies.

One of the main supporters of the plan to create an independent air arm was the then-president Getúlio Vargas. He organized a study group early in 1940 and the whole structure of the Ministry of Aeronautics (Ministério da Aeronáutica) was established the end of that year. This new governmental agency was responsible for the all aspects of the civil and military aviation including infrastructure, regulation and organization.

Formally, the Ministry of Aeronautics was founded on January 20, 1941, and so its military branch called "National Air Forces", changed to "Brazilian Air Force" (Força Aérea Brasileira – FAB) on May, 22. The Army (Aviação Militar) and Navy (Aviação Naval) air branches were extinguished and all personnel, aircraft, installations and other related equipment were transferred to FAB.

World War II
The Brazilian Air force made important contributions to the Allied war effort in World War II, especially as part of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force on the Italian front.

From mid-1942 until the end of the war, the FAB also patrolled the Atlantic. On 31 July 1943 it claimed the German submarine U-199, which was located on the surface, off Rio de Janeiro, at -23.9°N, -42.9°W. Two Brazilian aircraft, a PBY Catalina and a Lockheed Hudson, and an American PBM Mariner attacked the U-boat. The Catalina, named Ärará, was captained by 2nd Lt. Alberto M. Torres, and hit U-199 with depth charges, sinking her. Forty-nine of the crew were killed, although twelve Germans managed to escape, including the captain. This was possible due to the Catalina's crew, who threw a lifeboat to the survivors. "1st Fighter Group", which saw action in Italy, was formed on December 18, 1943. Its commanding officer was Aviation Lt.Col. Nero Moura.

The group had 350 men, including 43 pilots. The group was divided into four flights: Red ("A"), Yellow ("B"), Blue ("C"), and Green ("D"). The CO of the group and some officers were not attached to any specific flight. Unlike the BEF's Army component, the 1º GAVCA had personnel who were experienced Brazilian Air Force pilots. One of them was Alberto M. Torres, who had piloted a PBY Catalina that had sunk U-199, operating off the Brazilian coast.

The group trained for combat in Panama, where 2º Ten.-Av. (Aviation Second Lieutenant) Dante Isidoro Gastaldoni was killed in a training accident. On May 11, 1944, the group was declared operational and became active in the air defense of the Panama Canal Zone. On June 22, the 1º GAVCA traveled to the US to convert to the Republic P-47D Thunderbolt.

On September 19, 1944, the 1º GAVCA left for Italy, arriving at Livorno on October 6. It became part of the 350th Fighter Group of the USAAF, which in turn was part of the 62nd Fighter Wing, XXII Tactical Air Command, of the 12th Air Force.

The Brazilian pilots initially flew from 31 October 1944, as individual elements of flights attached to 350th FG squadrons, at first in affiliation flights and progressively taking part in more dangerous missions. Less than two weeks later, on November 11, the group started its own operations flying from its base at Tarquinia, using its tactical callsign Jambock. Brazilian Air Force stars replaced the white U.S. star in the roundel on the FAB Thunderbolts. The 1oGAVCA started its fighting career as a fighter-bomber unit, its missions being armed reconnaissance and interdiction, in support of the US Fifth Army, to which the FEB was attached. On April 16, 1945, the U.S. Fifth Army started its offensive along the Po Valley. By then, the strength of the Group had fallen to 25 pilots, some having been killed and others shot down and captured. Some others had been relieved from operations on medical grounds due to combat fatigue. The Group disbanded the Yellow flight and distributed the surviving pilots among the other flights. Each pilot flew on average two missions a day. On 22 April 1945, the three remaining flights took off at 5-minute intervals, starting at 8:30 AM, to destroy bridges, barges, and motorized vehicles in the San Benedetto region. At 10:00 AM, a flight took off for an armed reconnaissance mission south of Mantua. They destroyed more than 80 tanks, trucks, and vehicles. By the end of the day, the group had flown 44 individual missions and destroyed hundreds of vehicles and barges. On this day the group flew the most sorties of the war; consequently, Brazil commemorates April 22 Brazilian Fighter Arm Day.

In all, the 1oGAVCA flew a total of 445 missions, 2,550 individual sorties, and 5,465 combat flight hours, from 11 November 1944 to 6 May 1945. The XXII Tactical Air Command acknowledged the efficiency of the Group by noting that although it flew only 5% of the total of missions carried out by all squadrons under its control, it accomplished a much higher percentage of the total destruction wrought:
 * 85% of the ammunition depots
 * 36% of the fuel depots
 * 28% of the bridges (19% damaged)
 * 15% of motor vehicles (13% damaged)
 * 10% of horse-drawn vehicles (10% damaged)

Post World War II
After the war, the FAB began flying the British Gloster Meteor jet fighter. The jets were purchased from the British for 15,000 tons of crude cotton, as Brazil had no foreign currency reserves to spare. The jet was operated by the FAB until the mid-1960s, when it was replaced by the F-80C and TF-33A, which were later replaced by the MB-326, Mirage III and Northrop F-5 jets.

During events involving the Lobster War, between 1961 and 1964, the Brazilian Air Force played an important role in monitoring and patrolling the large area of litigation with France, making its B-17 squadrons available for observation and photo-reconnaissance of French vessels close to Brazilian coast, in addition to using its most modern anti-submarine warfare means, such as the S-2 Tracker and P-2V Neptune.

Having been given authority over all national military aircraft since 1941, from her commissioning in 1961 to 1999 the Brazilian Air Force flew the S-2 Trackers of the aircraft carrier Minas Gerais while from 1965 naval aviation flew its own helicopters. Now naval aviation is also authorized to fly its own fixed wing carrier based aircraft.

Cold War
During the Cold War, the then Brazilian military government was aligned with the United States and NATO. This meant that the Northrop F-5 could be bought cheaply from the United States, which called this jet the "Freedom Fighter". Many other countries, such as Mexico, also benefited from this policy. But Brazil did not buy the F-5A Freedom Fighter, instead buying the F-5 Tiger II years later.

In the middle of the Cold War, between 1970 and 1974, the Brazilian Air Force used its attack aircraft to bomb camps of internal Maoist guerrilla groups in the regions of the Vale do Ribeira and in the Araguaia River, attacking targets inside the jungles, using NA T-6 attack planes and B-26 Invader bombers armed with napalm.

In 1977 the Brazilian Air Force conducted Operation Saucer regarding alleged UFO sightings in the city of Colares, Pará State. The objects observed in the military records received the nickname of luminous bodies and were associated with phenomena reported by residents and authorities, reported by the local press, which reported alleged attacks on the civilian population. The operation was terminated after 4 months, and other related missions were carried out during 1978 by the National Intelligence Service. The Operation's documentary collection comprises hundreds of pages of documents, such as reports, photographic images and footage.

On April 9, 1982, the Brazilian Air Force showed its ability to guarantee Brazilian sovereignty. In the midst of the Falklands War, on a rainy Good Friday night, the radar system detected a lyushin II-62M, registration number CU-T1225, Soviet-made and belonging to Cubana, a Cuban state company about 300 km away from Brasilia. Two F-103E Mirage III fighters from the 1st Air Defense Group (1st GDA), based at Anápolis Air Base, took off at around 9:00 pm to carry out the mission to protect Brazilian airspace. Under the guidance of the ground control, the two F-103Es positioned themselves next to the Cuban invader. It was then that, from the Military Operations Center, Major José Orlando Bellon said on the radio, in English: “You were intercepted. There are two combat aircraft at your side. The order is to land in Brasilia immediately ”. Under the surveillance of Brazilian hunters, they made a landing at Brasilia International Airport at 10:12 pm.

On June 3, 1982, two F-5E Tiger II fighters from the 1st Fighter Aviation Group, based at the Santa Cruz Air Force Base - Rio de Janeiro, intercepted an Avro Vulcan Royal Air Force that had technical problems when returning from a mission during the Falklands War in the South Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. The aircraft was temporarily detained in Brazil. On May 19, 1986, a series of radar and visual contacts with unidentified flying objects (UFOs) took place across the Brazilian states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and Goiás, the Santa Cruz Air Force Base was put on alert due to the presence of several unidentified radar plots around São José dos Campos. Around half an hour later, Anápolis Air Force Base reports the detection of radar echoes at radial 270 of its VOR, prompting the air base to also be put on alert. During the events of that night, 2 Northrop F-5 and 3 Dassault Mirage III fighters were activated in an attempt to intercept dozens of UFOs over the four Brazilian states. The Minister of the Air Force, Brigadier Lt. of the Air Octávio Júlio Moreira Lima granted a press conference on the 23rd of May along with the fighter pilots, confirming the events of the 19th and stating, "It's not about believing or not [in aliens]. We can only give out technical information . There are several hypotheses. Technically, I'd tell you gentlemen that we have no explanation."

The Embraer (Empresa Brasileira de Aeronáutica, Brazilian Aeronautic Co.) company has its origins as an enterprise directly managed and sponsored by the FAB. Working with Italian corporations, it developed the new AMX attack aircraft (known locally as the A-1) which makes up the backbone of the FAB's attack force. The successful Tucano T-27 trainer and the new A-29 light attack aircraft are also Embraer types used extensively by the FAB.

During Operation Traira, in February 1991, six AT-27 Tucanos were used for close air support against a group of 40 rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia), which had seized a Brazilian military detachment.

Post Cold War
In October, 2002, the Brazilian Air Force used its A-1 AMX fighter bombers to destroy clandestine airstrips used by the narcotics traffickers in the interior of the Amazon rainforest near the border with Suriname. The operation also had support from the Brazilian Army and Brazilian Federal Police with many drug dealers being arrested as a result. The AMX Bomber/Fighter was the primary plane used.

On November 21, 2008, F-5E Tiger II fighter jets from the 1st Fighter Aviation Group based at the Santa Cruz Air Force Base intercepted a civilian cargo Douglas DC-8 from a private company in Ghana as it entered the Brazilian airspace, off the coast of Cabo Frio, littoral of Rio de Janeiro. The aircraft was escorted by the Brazilian F-5s to the Galeão Air Force Base.

On 3 June 2009, two Brazilian Air Force A-29 Super Tucanos, guided by an Embraer R-99, intercepted a Cessna U206G engaged in drug trafficking activities. Inbound from Bolivia, the Cessna was intercepted in the region of Alta Floresta d'Oeste, and after exhausting all procedures, one of the Super Tucanos fired a warning shot from its 12.7 mm machine guns, after which the aircraft followed the Super Tucanos to Cacoal airport.

In 2010, the FAB worked on the Search & Rescue mission of Air France Flight 447. The Brazilian Air Force has started a search and rescue from the Brazilian archipelago of Fernando de Noronha, sending eight planes to search a stretch bounded by the coastal cities of Recife, Natal and the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha.

On March 12, 2012, during the Operation Agata 4, the Brazilian Air Force used two A-29 Super Tucano to destroy a clandestine runway used by drug traffickers within the Amazon rainforest.

In 2011–2013, Operation Agatha marks the start of a new decade of the twenty-first century with the consolidation of the Amazon Surveillance System (SIVAM), an intricate network of radars, meteorological sensors, digital satellite communications, and advanced air-traffic-control software, among other technological advances available to Brazilian Military personnel. The Brazilian Air Force (FAB), which deployed new tactics and methods of fighting using RQ-450 remote-controlled aircraft. Operating in conjunction with sophisticated E-99 Guardian planes, they will locate objectives for A-29 Super Tucano fighters flying in darkness. Northrop F-5EM fighters, responsible for providing air superiority. In July 2016, Defense Aerospace Brazilian command displays participation of Brazilian Air Force at the Olympic Games Rio 2016, there will be over 15,000 military and 80 aircraft involved in the Olympics. To defense missions and aerial patrol 32 fighters (Northrop F-5M and A-29 Super Tucano), for aerial warning missions 2 radar aircraft (Embraer R-99), surveillance missions 3 Unmanned aircraft (Hermes 450 and Hermes 900), for maritime patrol missions 1 (P-3 Orion), for logistical support missions (Boeing C-767, C-130 and C-295), 15 helicopters (Mil Mi-35, UH-60 Black Hawk and EC-725).

Between 2004 and 2017, the FAB worked on the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) supporting the United Nations force (a joint Brazilian, Uruguayan, Chilean and Argentine force) deployed there.

In November 2017, while searching for the missing Argentine Submarine ARA San Juan, the Brazilian Air Force sent a C-295M search and rescue aircraft and a P-3AM Orion anti-submarine warfare aircraft to assist in the international search effort.

In January 2021, in the middle of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Brazilian city of Manaus, located in the interior of the amazon rainforest, was left with an overburdened medical service needing medical supplies and transferring patients, a major operation was set up by Brazilian air force, mobilizing all its available transport aviation, aircraft C-130, KC-390, C-97 Brasilia, C-95M Bandeirantes, CASA C-105 and C-99 were deployed for the largest aeromedical evacuation operation in Brazilian aviation military history.

In October 2023, during the Israel-Hamas war, the Brazilian Air Force together with the Brazilian government mounted its largest repatriation operation of nationals in a conflict zone in history, employing 6 aircraft (2 Airbus A330 MRTT, 2 Embraer C-390 Millennium and 2 Embraer Lineage 1000) to rescue more than 2,700 people from the conflict zone between Hamas and Israel.

Exercises
The Cruzex air force exercises are the most important of its type in South America. They are hosted every 2 years by the Brazilian Air Force. Issues and participants:
 * Cruzex I 2002: South Region – Argentina, Brazil, France, Chile – participation of 90 aircraft
 * Cruzex II 2004: Northeast Region – Argentina, Brazil, France, Venezuela – participation of 92 aircraft
 * Cruzex III 2006: Central-West Region – Argentina, Brazil, France, Chile, Uruguay, Venezuela – participation of 104 aircraft
 * Cruzex IV 2008: Northeast Region – Brazil, Chile, France, Uruguay, Venezuela – participation of 100 aircraft
 * Cruzex V 2010: Northeast Region – Brazil, Chile, France, Uruguay, United States – participation of 97 aircraft
 * Cruzex VI 2012: Northeast Region – Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Ecuador, France, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States – personnel only, no aircraft
 * Cruzex Flight 2013: Northeast Region – Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Uruguay, Venezuela, United States – participation of 96 aircraft
 * Cruzex Flight 2018: Northeast Region – Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Peru, Uruguay, United States – participation of 100 aircraft

Future of the Air Force
The Air Force has a large number of active and planned projects, under the modernization plans of the Brazilian Armed Forces, defined in the National Defense White Paper.

Developments
In the early 2000s, with renewed economic stability, the FAB underwent an extensive renewal of its inventory through several acquisition programs, the most ambitious of which was the acquisition of 36 new front-line interceptor aircraft to replace its aging Mirage III. Known in the late 1990s as the F-X Project, the program was postponed during the presidential mandate of Fernando Henrique Cardoso, who in the end of 2002 left the decision for his successor Luís Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva, who postponed it again in 2003 and 2004. It was cancelled in 2005.

On July 15, 2005, one agreement was set with the French government for the transfer of twelve Dassault Mirage 2000s (ten "C" and two "B" versions) second-hand ex-Armée de L'Air. Known as F-2000s in Brazil, the first two aircraft arrived at Anápolis Air Base on September 4, 2006.

In 2007, Brazilian Air Force's Institute for Advanced Studies started the 14-X development, a hypersonic scramjet demonstrator envisaged to fly at 30 km of altitude at 3 km/s, corresponding to Mach number 10. In March 2012 a Mach 7 variation has been suggested, named as 14-X S.

On 2006, the F-X Project was restarted under a new name: "F-X2 Project", and with a bigger budget. The competitors for acquisition were the Eurofighter Typhoon, Sukhoi Su-35, Gripen NG, Dassault Rafale, Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and, although information on Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II was requested, Lockheed Martin presented an F-16 Fighting Falcon variant (designated F-16BR). In October 2008, FAB released a shortlist of 3 aircraft: Saab Gripen NG, Dassault Rafale and Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. In February 2009, the three companies provided their final bids. In September 2009, following a surprise French visit to Brazil, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Nicolas Sarkozy, from France, made a new military cooperation agreement. Lula, on an interview at TV5 Monde, said French Rafale was a step forward, as technology transfer would be effective.

On September 7, 2009, Brazilian Independence Day, it was announced Brazil would negotiate 36 Dassault Rafale. But the Defence Minister did not confirm the final decision.

On January 5, 2010, after lobbying by Air Force Officers and Commanders, it was reported that the final evaluation report by the Brazilian Air Force placed the Saab Gripen NG ahead of the other contenders. The decisive factor was apparently the overall cost of the new fighters, both in terms of unit cost, and operating and maintenance costs, and the personal preference of the test pilots. Rafale was reported not to be even the second choice. It was announced in February 2011 that the decision would be further delayed due to budget cuts. And that July the decision was put off for yet another six-month extension.

However, in 2013, yet another six-month delay was announced. In early June 2013, after a visit from US Vice President Joe Biden with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Biden assured President Rousseff that the US Congress would approve technology transfer for Boeing's F-18s. In a move apparently following the NSA spying scandal, Russia has also offered Brazil a stake in the development of the Sukhoi PAK-FA 5th generation jet fighter with complete stealth technology transfer.

Saab won the competition on 18 December 2013. The change away from the American jet was due to the 2013 Global surveillance disclosure, according to Reuters reporting; other sources agree with the official rationale that the decision was due to cost and technological transfer. As of January 2014, Brazil is in negotiations with Saab to lease current model Gripens while they wait four years for the next generation jets on order to be developed and built.

On July 28, 2015, the Brazilian government met with a Swedish trading commission to revisit the contract and request a low of 2.58% in interest rates to 1.98% per annum, generating a savings of 1 billion dollars in 25 years. Sweden rejected the application and signing the contract is seriously threatened with limit until October 2015. On July 29, 2015, the Brazilian government confirmed that it had reached an agreement with Sweden to finance the purchase of a batch of 36 Gripen NG. In September 2015 Brazil finalized the US$4.68 billion purchase of 36 Saab Gripen E fighters to be delivered between 2019 and 2024. An assembly line is being established in Brazil to build 15 of the aircraft with engineers and technicians from Brazil traveling to Sweden to begin training. Saab officials have said they believe this is just an initial order, with potential for additional sales to other Latin American countries.

Helicopter aerial refueling
In November 2020 the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), through a technical and multidisciplinary team coordinated by the Department of Aerospace Science and Technology, concluded, on October 30, in Rio de Janeiro, the last phase of the inflight refueling tests campaign between the H-36 Caracal helicopter and the KC-130 Hercules aircraft.

The flights took place in a restricted area under military control, on the coast of Rio de Janeiro, where the refueling aircraft KC-130 Hercules of the Squadron Gordo ( “fat”, 1st / 1st GT) and H-36 Caracal helicopters from squadrons Falcão ( “Falcon” 1st / 8th GAV) and Puma (3rd / 8th GAV) met to perform the REVO procedure.

The Campaign aimed to complete the tasks foreseen in the certification process, including the unprecedented steps of transferring fuel from the KC-130 to the H-36 and the simultaneous refueling of two helicopters.

As a result, Brazil becomes the first country in South America with the ability to refuel helicopters in flight, a historic landmark for Brazilian Air Force and Brazil.

Datalink
The Link-BR2 is a datalink developed by the Air Force and the Brazilian defence company AEL Sistemas, this technology allow the exchange of data such radar information, videos and images with other units of the three branches anytime and anywhere, using an advanced encrypted protocol with a high degree of security.

Structure
The Brazilian Air Force is the aerospace branch of the Brazilian armed forces and is managed by the "Aeronautics Command" (Comando da Aeronáutica – COMAER). The COMAER was created in 1999 and is assigned as service branch of the Armed Forces as part of the Ministry of Defense (Ministério da Defesa).

The COMAER is the department of the Air Force, the successor of the former Ministry of Aeronautics, when it was absorbed into the Ministry of Defence. The department is led by the "Aeronautics Commander" (Comandante da Aeronáutica). The Commander is the most senior Air Force rank (Tenente-Brigadeiro-do-Ar), is appointed by the President, and reports directly to the Minister of Defense. The COMAER includes the Air Force Staff (Estado-Maior da Aeronáutica (EMAER)). The COMAER is in charge of seven major organization bodies, which comprise the FAB.

Readiness Command (Comando de Preparo (COMPREP)) is the successor of the former General Command of Air Operations (Comando-Geral de Operações Aéreas – COMGAR). It is headquartered in Brasília, DF and commands most of the air force's flying units, responsible for their operational training and readiness.

Aerospace Operations Command (Comando de Operações Aeroespaciais (COMAE)) succeeded the Brazilian Aerospace Defence Command (Comando de Defesa Aeroespacial Brasileiro (COMDABRA)), also headquartered in Brasília, DF. It is responsible for the constant surveillance and security of the country's aerospace and takes over operational command of the COMPREP's units.

General Command for Support (Comando-Geral de Apoio (COMGAP)) is in charge of aircraft and infrastructure maintenance and logistics. It is headquartered in São Paulo, SP.

General Command for Personnel (Comando-Geral de Pessoal (COMGEP)) is in charge of personnel development, training, medicine and documentation. HQ is in Brasília, DF.

Aerospace Control Department (Departamento de Controle do Espaço Aéreo (DECEA)) is in charge of air defence, air traffic control (both civil and military), control and communications, meteorology, cartography and enforcement of civil air traffic regulations. HQ is at Rio de Janeiro - Santos Dumont IAP, RJ.

Science and Aerospace Technology Department (Departamento de Ciência e Tecnologia Aeroespacial (DCTA)) is in charge of technology development, project management and industry relations with the private sector. HQ is at São José dos Campos IAP, SP.

Economy, Finance and Administration Secretariate (Secretaria de Economia, Finanças e Administração da Aeronáutica (SEFA)) is headquartered in Brasília, DF.

There are also seven "Regional Air Commands" (Comandos Aéreos Regionais – COMAR). The four former operational air forces were specialised into advanced flying training (I. Air Force), maritime patrol and helicopters (II. Air Force), combat aviation (III. Air Force) and air transport (V. Air Force). The seven regional air force commands were specialised into land-based operational support, air force infrastructure maintenance and support to the civilian population. Each region had a single air transport squadron as its only flying unit. Beginning 2016, the Air Force's flying operations were merged into the Air Force Readiness Command (AFRC), which was organized into 12 wings and the 1st Air Defense Brigade. The four air forces were disbanded and their flying squadrons were re-assigned to the air bases, which in turn were subordinated to the air force regions, giving them operational tasks.

Air units organization

At unit levels, "Groups" (Grupos) usually consist of one to sixteen consecutively numbered "Squadrons" (Esquadrões), each with varying numbers of aircraft, usually from six to 12. Smaller formations are known as "Flights" (Esquadrilhas). According to its tasks, a group has one of the following designations: Common used designations for squadrons are:
 * Air Defense Group: Grupo de Defesa Aérea (GDA): Air defense fighters. (Fighter Jets)
 * Transport Group: Grupo de Transporte (GT): Transport, Flight refueling
 * Aviation Group: Grupo de Aviação (GAv): Fighter, attack, reconnaissance, SAR, rotary wing
 * Fighter Aviation Group: Grupo de Aviação de Caça (GAvCa): Fighter, attack planes
 * Troop Transport Group: Grupo de Transporte de Tropas (GTT): Transports, troop carrying, parachutist drop
 * Special Flight Inspection Group: Grupo Especial de Inspeção em Vôo (GEIV): Calibration
 * Special Test Flights Group: Grupo Especial de Ensaios de Vôo (GEEV): Test flights
 * Special Transport Group: Grupo de Transporte Especial (GTE): VIP transport
 * Air Transport Squadron: Esquadrão de Transporte Aéreo (ETA)
 * Air Training Squadron: Esquadrão de Instrução Aérea (EIA)
 * Demonstration flying team: Esquadrão de Demonstração Aérea (EDA) (also called Esquadrilha da Fumaça)

The Military Units of the Brazilian Air Force are:

Airspace Control Department
Air Traffic Control in Brazil is militarised and under the Air Force. This is a legacy from the time when each of the three armed serviced was under its own government ministry and the corresponding Ministério da Aeronáutica (MAER) was in charge of both the FAB and civil aviation. The Airspace Control Department (Departamento de Controle do Espaço Aéreo (DECEA)) was established in 1942 and due to the civil-military character of the former Ministry of Aeronautics it developed into a heterogenous service tasked with air force communications, operations command and control, civil air traffic control, aerial navigation systems calibration and meteorology, even including a disciplinary council for violations of airspace directives.

Airspace Control Department (Departamento de Controle do Espaço Aéreo (DECEA)) - Rio de Janeiro - Santos Dumont Airport, RJ (co-located with the 3rd Air Force Region Command)

 * Airspace Control System Implementation Committee (Comissão de Implantação do Sistema de Controle do Espaço Aéreo (CISCEA)) - Rio de Janeiro - Santos Dumont Airport, RJ
 * Air Movement Management Center (Centro de Gerenciamento da Navegação Aérea (CGNA)) - Rio de Janeiro - Santos Dumont Airport, RJ
 * 1st Integrated Air Defence and Air Traffic Control Center ( 1º Centro Integrado de Defesa Aérea e Controle de Tráfego Aéreo (CINDACTA I)) - Brasília Air Force Base, DF (co-located with the Air Force Readiness Command (COMPREP))
 * 2nd Integrated Air Defence and Air Traffic Control Center (2 º Centro Integrado de Defesa Aérea e Controle de Tráfego Aéreo (CINDACTA II)) - Bacacheri Airport, Curitiba ,PR
 * 3rd Integrated Air Defence and Air Traffic Control Center (3 º Centro Integrado de Defesa Aérea e Controle de Tráfego Aéreo (CINDACTA III)) - Recife Air Force Base, PE
 * 4th Integrated Air Defence and Air Traffic Control Center (4 º Centro Integrado de Defesa Aérea e Controle de Tráfego Aéreo (CINDACTA IV)) - Manaus, AM
 * Southeast Regional Airspace Control Center (Centro Regional de Controle do Espaço Aéreo Sudeste (CRCEA-SE)) - São Paulo–Congonhas Airport, SP - responsible for the cluster of the country's busiest airports in the Rio de Janeiro - São Paulo area.
 * Brazilian Aeronautical Technical [Support] Mission in Bolivia (Missão Técnica Aeronáutica Brasileira na Bolívia (MTAB-Bolívia)) - Jorge Wilstermann IAP, Cochabamba, Bolivia - providing technical assistance for the implementation of a CINDACTA-type integrated system for the whole Bolivian airspace.
 * 1st Communications and Control Group ( 1º Grupo de Comunicações e Controle (1º GCC)) - Galeão Air Force Base, Rio de Janeiro, RJ
 * 1st Communications Squadron (1º Esquadrão de Comunicação (1º/1º GCC)) - Santa Cruz Air Force Base, Rio de Janeiro, RJ - the Air Force's main communication hub.
 * 2nd Early Warning, Command and Control Squadron (2º Esquadrão de Controle e Alarme (2º/1º GCC)) - Canoas Air Force Base, Canoas, RS
 * 4th Early Warning, Command and Control Squadron (4º Esquadrão de Controle e Alarme (4º/1º GCC)) - Santa Maria Air Force Base, Santa Maria, RS
 * 3rd Control Squadron (3º Esquadrão de Controle (3º/1º GCC)) - Natal Air Force Base, Natal, RN - equipped with terminal and precision approach radars.
 * 5th Control Squadron (5º Esquadrão de Controle (5º/1º GCC)) - Porto Velho Air Force Base, Porto Velho, RO - equipped with terminal and precision approach radars.
 * Air Force Electronic Materiel Park Rio de Janeiro (Parque de Material de Eletrônica da Aeronáutica do Rio de Janeiro (PAME-RJ)) - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - maintenance facility for ground radar equipment.
 * Airspace Control Institute (Instituto de Controle do Espaço Aéreo (ICEA)) - São José dos Campos IAP, SP - training institute for air traffic control personnel.
 * Integrated Center for Aeronautics Meteorology (Centro Integrado de Meteorologia Aeronáutica (CIMAER)) - Galeão Air Force Base, Rio de Janeiro, RJ
 * Air Force Institute for Cartography (Instituto de Cartografia da Aeronáutica (ICA)) - Rio de Janeiro - Santos Dumont Airport, RJ
 * Disciplinary Council of Aeronautics (Junta de Julgamento da Aeronáutica (JJAer)) - Rio de Janeiro - Santos Dumont Airport, RJ
 * Special Air Group for Flight Control Systems Inspection (Grupo Especial de Inspeção em Voo (GEIV)) - Rio de Janeiro - Santos Dumont Airport, RJ - the Department's sole flying unit, operating specially-modified Embraer Legacy 500 flight laboratory aircraft.

Brazilian Air Force Infantry
The Air Force Security Groups, which replaced the Air Force Infantry Battalions in 2018-21, are composed of Air Force Police Companies, Air Force Base Defense Squadrons, Firefighting Companies and Quick Reaction Companies, in addition, they are organized into:

 * Group HQ and HQ Squadron
 * Supply and Logistics Squadron
 * Enlisted Training Section
 * Mobilization and National Service Squadron
 * Training Squadron
 * Guard of Honor Squadron

The Esquadrão Aeroterrestre de Salvamento, known as Para-SAR, although it is operationally subordinated to the Readiness Command's 5th Wing, and its subordinate flights, are also part of the Air Force Infantry.

Destined to the protection of the air force bases and other terrestrial installation, the air defense forces also manned by the Air Force Infantry. At FAB, there are three groups, each stationed in the air bases in Canoas, Manaus and Anápolis.

The Fire Fighting Service, whether be in the Air Force Command or in air bases, is responsible for maintaining the safety of the various military airfields, shared or not, as well as the buildings of interest of this command. Follows international standards of protection to the flight, having like the Central Organ of its management, the Direction of Aeronautical Engineering. The military and civilians belonging to this sector are properly qualified professionals and have the need to be continuously alert for the prompt attendance of aeronautical emergencies, which according to ICAO rules have only 3 minutes to attend an aeronautical emergency that occurs in the area Of the aerodrome.

Formed in 1941 with the formation of the Air Force the Air Force Infantry is organized on a regional basis with units stationed in air bases all over Brazil.

Airborne Rescue Squadron (PARA-SAR)
The Esquadrão Aeroterrestre de Salvamento (EAS) (English: Airborne Rescue Squadron), known by its nickname Para-SAR, is a Brazilian Air Force airborne search and rescue squadron, based in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The unit has seven SAR teams located in seven states. Each Para-SAR detachment is made up of SAR qualified military parachutists. Members of this unit can be distinguished by their maroon berets and orange baseball caps.

The Brazilian Air Force has a long history of parachute training. In 1943, at the former Alfonsos Field School of Aeronautics and with the support of the Air Force, cadet gymnastics instructor Achile Garcia Charles Astor first introduced civil parachute training in Brazil.

Seeing the usefulness of having a parachuting unit, the Electronics and Flight Protection Administration conducted studies to see how such a unit could be created under the auspices of the air force. The results of that study gave rise to the Para-SAR.

In 1946, the Brazilian Army formed its parachute school, the now-named General Penha Brazil Parachutist's Instruction Center. It graduated its first class of Brazilian Air Force students in 1959.

title: Brazilian Air Force


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Lady Shiva

Lady Shiva (real name Sandra Woosan or more recently Sandra Wu-San) is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was co-created by Dennis O'Neil and Ric Estrada, and first appeared in Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter #5. Over time, she has become more closely associated with Batman and related characters, both as an enemy and an ally. She is a Chinese/Japanese martial arts grandmaster and one of the most skilled combatants in the DC Universe. She is an assassin-for-hire who specializes in killing her targets with her bare hands, and is the mother of Cassandra Cain, aka Batgirl.

Pre-Crisis

Shiva is first introduced as an antagonist to martial artist Richard Dragon, believing him to be a spy responsible for the murder of her sister, Carolyn. In reality, Carolyn's murder was orchestrated by Guano Cravat, a corrupt businessman whose criminal ambitions had been foiled by Dragon. Cravat convinced Woosan that Dragon killed Carolyn, deliberately pitting her against Dragon in an act of revenge.

To avenge her sister, Woosan becomes a master combatant. During the course of her training, she discovers that she is a prodigy, rapidly mastering several martial arts and eventually dubbing herself "Lady" Shiva.

When Shiva tracks Dragon down and lures him to Cravat's hideout, Dragon reveals Cravat's deception. The Swiss, Carolyn's real murderer and Cravat's underling, had already died in battle with Dragon, rendering Shiva's vendetta moot.

Afterward, she briefly takes up crimefighting with Dragon and fellow martial artist Ben Turner, to allay her feelings of purposelessness, saying "I tolerate Dragon because danger seems to cling to him like flies to honey... and without danger my life is empty!" Dragon, in hopes that she might follow his example and use her skills for good, coaxes her to explore the spiritual side of martial arts, to no apparent success. When the three eventually part ways, Shiva begins a wandering existence, training herself further, and eventually parlaying her skills into a career as a master assassin.

Post-Crisis
Shiva is born in a shanty town, in an unknown country, and raised to be a warrior and protector of the village. Eventually, Shiva flees the village with her sister. Years later, when the heroine Black Canary visits the village to experience Shiva's training, a village child named Sin is held hostage by the villagers, with the promise that if Canary fails to become the warrior-protector of the village, Sin is to take her place, suggesting that Shiva's sister was once used in a similar manner. Speaking about her childhood, Sin says that Ra's al Ghul's League of Assassins ran the village where she and Shiva were born and raised.

The sisters moved to Detroit, Michigan, using the names Sandra and Carolyn Wu-San. There, they devoted their time to practicing the martial arts. Because of the girls' young ages, talent, and unique bond as sisters, their practice evolved into a secret, perfected language that only they could share. Out of love for her sister, Sandra held back in her spars with Carolyn. The assassin David Cain saw this restraint in Sandra one day when he visited Detroit to see the siblings perform. Considering Sandra a kindred spirit, Cain murdered Carolyn to remove the obstruction that blunted Sandra's true potential.

Discovering that David Cain had murdered her sister, Sandra hunted him down, only to be lured into an ambush by Ra's al Ghul's League of Assassins, of which Cain was a member. In the heat of a losing battle, Sandra realized how Carolyn had held her back, and how much undeveloped potential she had. Cain spared her life, and in exchange, Sandra agreed to bear Cain a child, and leave it for him to raise. The child, Cassandra Cain, was to be Ra's al Ghul's "One Who is All", a perfected bodyguard, whose only form of communication was literacy in body language, and whose sole instinct was for hand-to-hand combat. With Carolyn gone, Cassandra and Sandra were the only two humans known to share this gift. The day of Cassandra's birth, Sandra set out to become reborn as the Lady Shiva: creator and destroyer.

Meeting the Question
During her time with Richard Dragon, Shiva becomes addicted to combat and life-or-death situations. Already a very accomplished martial artist, Shiva hires herself out as a mercenary both to recapture the thrill and to finance further training. Her considerable skills allow her to ask a high price for her services, and she soon becomes highly sought after.

Shiva is eventually hired by Reverend Hatch, the corrupt adjunct to the mayor of Hub City, to fight troublesome masked crimefighter the Question. She defeats him with ease, but rather than have Shiva kill him, Hatch instead has his men beat the Question further, shoot him in the head with an air gun, and dump him into the river. Seeing "a passion for combat" in the hero, Shiva rescues a near-death Question, and brings him to Richard Dragon's mountain hideaway, to give him a chance to fulfill his potential. In his civilian identity as Victor Sage, the Question enters Dragon's tutelage, training in combat and undergoing a spiritual awakening.

On leaving Dragon, Sage meets Shiva, who orders him to fight her. She ends the fight after only a few moves, and confirms her own suspicions of a "warrior's passion" in him, because he was willing to fight her even after his previous, crushing defeat. However, influenced by Dragon's philosophy, Sage proposes that he was simply "curious" what would happen if they fought again. Shiva leaves without telling Sage why she saved him, and Sage readopts the identity of the Question, returning to Hub City.

Shiva and the O-Sensei
Shiva eventually travels to Manchuria to visit with her godfather, the O-Sensei, former instructor of Richard Dragon and Bronze Tiger. After living over 150 years, he has finally decided to die. He intends to keep a promise to his wife, and be buried alongside her, but his wife's family had hidden her remains to punish him for abandoning her. The O-Sensei has Shiva select three warriors to aid him in the search for her remains: the Question, Green Arrow, and Batman. Reluctant to acknowledge the O-Sensei's death wish, Shiva expresses her ambivalence both verbally and physically, unnecessarily applying deadly force in battles with O-Sensei's assailants.

Shiva and the O-Sensei then travel to Hub City, meeting with the Question, who, in turn, brokered Shiva's first meeting with Batman. Compelled to test his skill, Shiva immediately fights the vigilante only to be stopped by the O-Sensei. They do, however, convince Batman to aid them.

In their search for Green Arrow, Shiva encounters slave traders, killing all except one, who successfully cuts her; she rewards him with a kiss on the forehead. After locating Green Arrow, she meets Black Canary for the first time, and spars with the hero. Although Canary does not know it at the time, the two had both studied under Sensei Otomo, though non-concurrently.

After recruiting Green Arrow, Shiva returns to Hub City, and saves the Question from an attack by former employees of the now-dead Reverend Hatch. Shiva kills the men, who had been after a fortune in embezzled funds stored in Hatch's abandoned home, and sets fire to the money. Later, she nurses the Question's elderly friend Tot back to health. While the Question puzzles over her inscrutable and violent nature, she confesses that the O-Sensei was "the one man I am certain I would not harm if he kissed me".

When Batman discovers that the remains of the O-Sensei's wife had been moved to a small island, Shiva, the O-Sensei, Green Arrow, and the Question set out for the island, only to be caught in a storm. The O-Sensei is lost overboard, but the group discovers that his wife's remains had likewise been mislaid, years earlier, while in transport, leaving O-Sensei's promise fulfilled.

Toward Sodom and Gomorrah
When Hub City falls victim to rapid, systemic urban decay, Shiva returns to offer her services to one of the ruling gangs, but instead kills the members for sending "unskilled" men to kill her. On meeting the Question, she is dismayed to find that staying in Hub City has atrophied his fighting skills. Nevertheless, she repeatedly saves both him and his lover, Mayor Myra Fermin, from assassins.

She vanishes sometime later, only to reappear stepping out of a helicopter meant to rescue the Question and his companions, who have decided to flee the city. Shiva explains that though the Question and his friends wished to leave, it is now a fit place for her to go toward. The Question and Shiva have a final exchange before he leaves.

"I never know what to say to you, Shiva. I'm afraid that if it's the wrong thing, you'll destroy me". "Ah. Then you have not yet understood the grand secret". "Which is?" "I cannot destroy you unless you permit me to"."

- from The Question #36, by Dennis O'Neil

After Hub City
Shiva continues to work as a mercenary for money, challenge, and perfection of her skills. Eventually, she crosses paths with the League of Assassins, and its leader, Ra's al Ghul, and begins an on-and-off association with them. Though she has kept close ties with the League, she sometimes works against their interests, as seen during Batman: Legacy.

While training prospective assassins, mercenaries, and terrorists in war-torn country, she is approached by Jason Todd, the second Robin, and his guardian Batman, acting on evidence that she had associated with Todd's father, and speculating that she might be his mother.

Eager to finally face Batman uninterrupted, Shiva knocks Robin unconscious and challenges the Dark Knight. Initially underestimating Shiva, Batman soon learns that her skills are such that she could kill him, and begins to fight in earnest. It takes intervention from Robin to knock Shiva unconscious and subdue her for interrogation. When asked if she was Jason's mother, Shiva laughs, sarcastically claiming to have littered dozens of babies across the globe. When Batman doses her with sodium pentothal, Shiva claims to have no children, confirming that Jason is not her son. Batman leaves her in the desert, reasoning that she would soon free herself from her bonds. Shiva warns him that they would meet again, to which Batman simply replies "Too bad".

Later, Shiva begins to track down those who referred to themselves as Shihan, "Master", or any other title proclaiming mastery of a martial arts form. She would learn what she could from them and, depending on their skill and personal whim, kill them when they were of no further use to her.

Teaching a Little Bird
In further pursuit of her art, Shiva tracks the defeats of martial arts masters to discover new techniques. In this way, she develops an interest in the defeat of Koroshi, master of the art of empty-handed fighting. Gaining no information from Koroshi himself, she begins to search for King Snake, the man rumored to have defeated him. During her search, she meets Tim Drake, who is fighting King Snake's criminal organization, the Ghost Dragons, as part of his training to become the third Robin.

Shiva sees potential in Drake, and takes him on as a student for a few weeks. As a bonus, she offers to train him in one weapon, and he chooses the bo staff. Shiva derisively mentions that it is not a lethal weapon, and Drake explains that was the reason he had chosen it. At the end of his training, he defeats Shiva in a sparring match with the bo by using a whistle to distract her, and she gives him a collapsible bo staff.

Eventually, they discover that the Ghost Dragons are creating a virulent plague. Robin, Shiva, and ally Clyde Rawlins attempt to stop them from releasing it, but the Dragons escape with a few canisters. After tracking them to Hong Kong, they eventually defeat King Snake, though Rawlins dies in the attempt and Shiva mostly witnesses the proceedings. While King Snake hangs precariously on the ledge of a building, Shiva orders Robin to kill him to signify his "graduation" and become her "weapon". Robin refuses and leaves. Shiva then throws King Snake off the ledge herself, though he survives the fall.

Getting involved with Gotham
After Bane breaks Batman's back, Batman seeks training from Shiva to help him regain his skills and fighting spirit (see Batman: Knightfall: KnightsEnd). Though she deems him unworthy of her efforts, she devises a training regimen, out of respect for what he had been before his injuries. As part of this training, Shiva kills the Armless Master, a sensei notable for training Catwoman, while wearing a tengu mask, making sure that his death was both witnessed and relayed to his best students. Shiva then makes Batman wear the mask while performing training missions. He is then ambushed by the master's students, who mistake him for the "Tengu Mask warrior". He defeats all of them in turn, but Shiva attempts to complete Batman's training by manipulating him into killing an opponent using her fatal Leopard Blow. Batman simply feigns using the maneuver on an assailant to trick her into believing he used lethal force. Shiva later discovers the truth, but does not seek vengeance.

Later, she helps Batman fight Ra's al Ghul and his League of Assassins, including Bane, when Ghul attempts to release a deadly virus called Ebola Gulf A that would have killed half the world's population (see Batman: Legacy). The trail leads Batman to Calcutta, India. Since their knowledge of the city is limited, Oracle contacts Shiva, who agrees to help Batman. Together they defeat Ghul's men and prevent the virus from being released.

Shiva later travels to an army base in Transbelvia to fight a young political rebel and martial artist named Dava Sbörsc, who specializes in undefeatable "single-blow techniques" and wishes to learn Shiva's Leopard Blow. Instead, Dava's friend, her former pupil Tim Drake, in his identity as Robin, jumps into the fray in her place. Granted superspeed by a drug Dava gave him, and unused to its effects, Robin unwittingly uses lethal force, killing Shiva in battle. He quickly administers CPR, both reviving Shiva and dosing her with the drug. Thus enhanced, she kills attacking soldiers while Robin and Dava make their escape, vanishing immediately after.

During the No Man's Land story arc, Shiva fights in the Brotherhood of the Monkey Fist's martial arts tournament under the alias "Paper Monkey". In a final, close battle, she fights and defeats Connor Hawke, the Green Arrow. As repayment for saving her life, Robin asks her to spare Connor. She relents, warning Robin that this use of her favor means she would challenge and kill him when he grew older.

Over the years, Shiva amasses groups of followers who worship her as an incarnation of Shiva, the Hindu representation of the lord of destruction. She pays them little attention, occasionally using them as lackeys or killing them when it suits her whims. Some of her followers have even created temples to honor her victories, one of which is in Gotham, which she later destroys.

Shiva and Batgirl
At age 8, Shiva's daughter Cassandra flees from David Cain, horrified after killing a man with her bare hands on her first assassination. She then wanders the world as a mute, and, seeking redemption, finds herself in Gotham City during the events of No Man's Land. Seeing promise in Cassandra, Batman and former Batgirl, Barbara Gordon, give Cassandra their blessings to take up the mantle of Batgirl.

Eventually, Batgirl's skills attract Shiva's attention. Without telling her of their relationship, Shiva challenges Batgirl to a battle to the death. To Shiva's disappointment, she defeats Batgirl soundly. Batgirl's body language fluency is newly impaired by a telepath's forcible inculcation of the ability to speak. Wanting to fight Batgirl at her peak, Shiva spares her life, and promises to retrain her on the condition that they have a rematch in one year. The secret to being undefeatable, Shiva explains, is to not fear death, even to seek it. Under Shiva's care, Batgirl soon regains her abilities.

Shiva reappears to fight Batgirl at the Forum of The Twelve Caesars, and kills her in combat. Realizing that Batgirl had not given her all, Shiva revives her. Batgirl admits to harboring a death wish ever since Cain first forced her to kill; her ability to perfectly read the agony of her victim had deeply traumatized her. Having overcome her death wish, Batgirl fights Shiva again, shattering her sword. In the midst of battle, Batgirl accuses Shiva of having a death wish herself, really only traveling and fighting in search of her own death. Batgirl thus defeats Shiva.

A new Sensei
In Gail Simone's 'Birds of Prey' series, during a joint hunt with Black Canary for the murderer of a shared, beloved sensei, a sensei Shiva so respected that she has vowed to never use anything he taught her in a fight where her goal was the death of her opponent, Shiva is beaten and kidnapped by supervillain Cheshire. Cheshire ties up, gags and locks Shiva in the trunk of a car wired with explosives, so as to use a charred corpse in a plan to fake her death and flee the country after murdering a senator. Shiva is saved when Catwoman discovers her. After Cheshire confesses to murdering their sensei, Black Canary punches her out of a helicopter (using Ted Grant's Haymaker) to prevent Shiva from killing her in a vengeful rage. Shiva subsequently offers to share her knowledge with Black Canary, who takes her offer under consideration.

Cassandra begins to suspect that Shiva is her mother, but cannot provoke Cain into an admission. She embarks on a search for Shiva, eventually finding her as the new sensei of the League of Assassins under the leadership of Nyssa Raatko, Ra's al Ghul's eldest daughter. In battle, Cassandra sacrifices her life to save former League member Tigris from an attack by her own unsuccessful experimental predecessor, Mad Dog. Shiva decides to resurrect Cassandra in a Lazarus Pit to reveal the truth of her heritage, and fight her once more.

On reviving her, Shiva admits that the reason she agreed to give birth was that she hoped her child would be the one to kill her. In an evenly matched battle, Cassandra breaks Shiva's neck, paralyzing her. She appears ready to place Shiva in the Lazarus Pit, but Shiva pleads with her not to do so. In response, Cassandra impales Shiva on a hook hanging over the pit, apparently killing her. Although Cassandra's intent regarding this action is left ambiguous, whether to kill her or let her fall into the pit and be revived, it has been confirmed that Shiva is alive in One Year Later. Cassandra then abandons the identity of Batgirl and returns to her life as a wanderer.

During the Infinite Crisis storyline, Shiva later appears as a member of Alexander Luthor Jr.'s Secret Society of Super Villains.

"One Year Later"
In the 2006 "One Year Later" storyline, having switched places with Black Canary to allow them both to experience each other's life experiences, Shiva joins Oracle's covert team of female operatives known as the Birds of Prey (with Canary hoping that spending time with them would soften Shiva), using the name "Jade Canary". Shiva remains unchanged, however. Oracle semiseriously refers to Shiva as a sociopath, and refuses to call Shiva by the Jade Canary title, even though Shiva (as part of the deal with Canary) has taken to wearing Black Canary's boots and trademark fishnet stockings (though she hates wearing them).

Shiva continues to perform solo work, and visits Robin to assist him (much to Robin's chagrin) in discovering the truth behind Batgirl's recent disappearance and recent upheaval within the League of Assassins. She refuses to allow herself or Oracle's team to be involved, and instead trusts her former pupil to handle the situation. It appears that she holds no ill-will towards Cassandra as she informs Tim that she hopes that her daughter is well.

During a recent mission, Oracle's team confronts the villain Prometheus, whose helmet allows him to copy the skills of 30 of the world's greatest martial artists, including Shiva herself. This had allowed him a victory against Batman in the past. Shiva believes that his files on her would be out of date, and that she would be able to defeat her "old self". She seems unconcerned about the skills of the other 29 fighters, and apparently decides to attack Prometheus head-on. Prometheus, however, has more up-to-date files than Shiva suspected, and in three seconds knocks her to the ground. After this defeat, Shiva vanishes, leaving a message for Black Canary: "Tell the Canary, I release her".

Stripped of her chance to mold Black Canary in her own image, and stripped of Sin, the young girl who was next in line as her successor, Shiva is last seen talking to Bethany Thorne, daughter of the late Crime Doctor. It appears that she is yet again hoping to train a new heir in the art of her lethal form of martial arts.

Still, although Shiva is no longer an active member of the Birds of Prey, she continues to be protective of her former teammates. Such is the case when the Birds of Prey are being threatened by Spy Smasher, who attempts to steal control away from Oracle. After a mission in Russia, Oracle and Spy Smasher fight against one another for control of the team. Although Oracle is unable to use her legs, she is victorious, although Spy Smasher attempts to go back on their deal. Unfortunately, she is confronted outside by every single living Birds of Prey Agent Oracle has ever recruited, who warn her against ever going after Oracle again; Lady Shiva is among them. When Barbara later asks the others who called Shiva, no one responds.

"Blackest Night"
During the events of the "Blackest Night", Shiva tracks down Renee Montoya, the new Question, and tells her she intends to test her in battle. The two women begin their duel, only to be interrupted when Victor Sage, now a reanimated Black Lantern, arrives on the scene and attacks them. Using his new supernatural abilities, Sage effortlessly defeats Shiva and tries to kill her by tearing out her heart. However, Shiva realizes that the Black Lanterns feed on human emotion, and cuts herself off from all feeling through the use of meditation, rendering her invisible to Sage. After the others on the scene do the same, Victor angrily departs.

"Brightest Day"
During the events of the "Brightest Day" crossover, a new martial artist known as the White Canary comes to Gotham and sets a plan into motion to ruin Black Canary's life by framing her for the murder of a European terrorist. When Black Canary first encounters the White Canary, she muses that the villain may be Shiva in disguise. but later White Canary pits Black Canary against Lady Shiva in an honor bound match to the death after breaking Black Canary's wrist, thereby making sure she would be killed. Both parties accept because White Canary dangles the life of Sin, Black Canary's adopted daughter, as her bait. However, the Huntress challenges Shiva instead and even manages to knock her down, to everyone's surprise, even after receiving many blows. The death match is stopped when Black Canary rescues Sin herself and points out a technicality, they need not continue the battle to the death immediately and can pick it up at any time in the future.

The New 52
In The New 52 (a 2011 reboot of the DC Comics universe), Lady Shiva appears in Nightwing (vol. 3) #0. While initially meant only to provide information, Dick Grayson enters the field against orders when Batman is wounded. He fights her in his debut as Robin with a costume composed of spare Bat costume parts. Lady Shiva easily defeats him but praises his fighting skills and tells him he has too much potential to stay in Batman's shadow. Before leaving, Shiva tells Dick Grayson to come find her once he's ready to unlock his full potential.

In issue #13, she returns to Gotham City several years later to kill another target and Dick Grayson, now Nightwing, sets out to stop her. He's surprised to see that she remembers him from their first encounter and even more so when she praises his progress since their last meeting. She repeats that he's squandering his natural talent by not learning from her. Shiva completes her mission by throwing an axe at the S.E.C building door (to intimidate into initiating lockdown) but quickly realises that Nightwing was already injured before their fight. To Dick Grayson's surprise she says that him fighting at a disadvantage shows more than he knows and that he has too much skill to kill without a concrete reason. It is later revealed that Penguin hired her AND told Nightwing about her mission in the hopes that either he'd be saved from paying Shiva's high fees, or that she would kill Nightwing.

She is later revealed to be a League of Assassins member who taught Red Hood along with Bronze Tiger. She fights alongside Bronze Tiger, Cheshire, December Graystone, Rictus, and Red Hood as the Untitled infiltrated the League of Assassin's secret city.

Instead of her traditional black coat, the New 52 version of Shiva has appeared in a teal kabuki-like garb and mask, and is shown to be a master of weapons and martial arts, going to battle with throwing knives, swords, and usually a pair of kusarigama. In full gear she appears to have an extremely long, auburn braid with blades embedded in the hair that can be used offensively, but this is merely a wig connected to her mask. With the hooded mask off, her hair is shown to be black, and while it appears cropped in one issue, it is medium length in following issues. The character December Greystone is extremely similar in appearance to Lady Shiva's pre-New 52 look, but is a male and spell caster. In all of her appearances so far, she has soundly defeated nearly every opponent, including Batman, Nightwing, and Arsenal. But when she engages Red Hood, her own arrogance gets the better of her, as he is able to defeat her with a simple chop to the neck that she taught him long ago, as a way of balancing their sparring lessons because she believed he could never actually beat her without using "shortcuts".

DC Rebirth
In DC Rebirth, Shiva appears in the flesh at the end of Detective Comics #950, observing Cassandra Cain from a rooftop. Batman later finds out from both Shiva herself and Ra's that she has separated from him & the League of Assassins, believing him to be too complacent with the wealthy and aiming for peace rather than destruction. She had taken Ra's' secret League of Shadows with her, and was responsible for multiple attacks across the city and attacks on the anti-League military squad, the Colony. After a duel with her daughter Cassandra, Ra's Al Ghul appears and shoots Shiva with a rifle. Ra's takes her body with the intent of resurrecting her for questioning.

Powers and abilities
Lady Shiva has no superpowers, but she is regarded as one of the best assassins and martial artists on the planet. She is known to have mastered numerous martial arts, including kung fu, judo, jujutsu, wing chun, capoeira, savate, karate, aikido, kobudō, taekwondo and eskrima. She is able to read people's movements through their body language, predicting their movements beforehand. She taught this trick to her daughter Cassandra Cain. She is able to hold her own against multiple opponents. She is commonly seen as the world's foremost martial artist, as powerful as Richard Dragon and Batman. Batman, who is also considered to be one of the greatest martial artists, stated that "she may well be the best fighter alive".

Although she is willing to kill, and on one occasion attempted to manipulate Batman into a position where he would have to kill to make a worthy opponent in the future, Shiva has shown a certain sense of honor, helping to train the third Robin in combat while working with him during an investigation, and assisting Batman in regaining his skills after he was injured by Bane and lost his fighting instinct even after his back was healed. She has also been noted as having some respect for her old teachers; when she and Black Canary learned that they had each studied under Sensei Otomo, Shiva noted that, out of respect for Otomo's preference not to kill his opponents, she never uses the skills he taught her in fights where her goal is the death of her enemies.

Television

 * Lady Shiva appears in a self-titled episode of Birds of Prey, portrayed by Sung-Hi Lee. This version is a freelance thief and former schoolmate of Helena Kyle who seeks vengeance on Barbara Gordon for the accidental death of her 15-year-old sister, who was killed years prior while Gordon as Batgirl was trying to apprehend Shiva.
 * Lady Shiva appears in Beware the Batman, voiced by Finola Hughes. This version is an elite member of the League of Assassins and rival of Katana and fellow League member Silver Monkey, the latter of whom seeks to usurp her position.
 * Lady Shiva appears in Young Justice, voiced by Gwendoline Yeo. This version is a member of the League of Shadows and enforcer for the Light.
 * According to Arrow recurring guest star Katrina Law, she believed that she was auditioning for Lady Shiva before being cast as Nyssa al Ghul.

Film

 * Lady Shiva makes a cameo appearance in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, voiced by Rachael MacFarlane.
 * Lady Shiva appears in DC Super Hero Girls: Hero of the Year, voiced by Tania Gunadi.
 * Lady Shiva appears in DC Super Hero Girls: Intergalactic Games, voiced again by Tania Gunadi.
 * Lady Shiva appears in DC Super Hero Girls: Legends of Atlantis, voiced again by Tania Gunadi.
 * Lady Shiva appears in films set in the DC Animated Movie Universe, voiced by Sachie Alessio.
 * Shiva makes a minor appearance in Batman: Hush.
 * Shiva appears in Justice League Dark: Apokolips War. Following Darkseid's invasion of Earth two years prior, she serves as Damian Wayne's right hand, assisting him and the League of Shadows in their efforts to defeat Darkseid by securing a boom tube generator in a LexCorp building until she is killed by a guard.
 * Lady Shiva appears in Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons: The Movie, voiced by Panta Mosleh.
 * Lady Shiva appears in Batman: Soul of the Dragon, voiced by Kelly Hu.

Video games

 * Lady Shiva appears in DC Universe Online, voiced by DB Cooper.
 * Lady Shiva appears as a playable character in the portable version of Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes.
 * A young Lady Shiva appears in Batman: Arkham Origins, voiced by Kelly Hu. After being hired by the Joker to kill Batman, she tests the latter in a side mission to determine his worth to the League of Assassins. Additionally, she appears as the final boss of the "Initiation" DLC.
 * Lady Shiva appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.
 * Lady Shiva appears as a playable character in Lego DC Super-Villains, voiced by Sumalee Montano.

Miscellaneous

 * Lady Shiva appears in the Batman: Knightfall audio book, voiced by Lorelei King.
 * A heroic Lady Shiva appears in DC Super Hero Girls, voiced by Tania Gunadi.
 * Lady Shiva appears in Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons, voiced by Panta Mosleh.

Reception
In 2011, UGO Networks featured Lady Shiva on their list of 25 Hot Ninja Girls: "She's the type of woman who makes it obvious why Bruce Wayne never really found love - his type is all too capable of kicking his ass". She was ranked #8 on the list of Top 10 Fictional Ninjas by Fandomania for being "one of the deadliest martial artists in the DC Comics universe".

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

title: Lady Shiva


text:
Vanessa Williams (disambiguation)

Vanessa Williams (born 1963) is an American actress and singer who was named Miss America in 1984.

Vanessa Williams may also refer to:
 * Vanessa Estelle Williams (born 1963), American actress known for her role in the drama series Soul Food
 * Vanessa R. Williams (born 1960), American gospel singer
 * Vanessa Williams (Sierra Leonean model), Sierra Leonean model and beauty pageant titleholder

title: Vanessa Williams (disambiguation)


text:
Ballenstedt

Ballenstedt is a town in the Harz district, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt.

Geography
It is situated at the northern rim of the Harz mountain range, about 10 km (6 mi) southeast of Quedlinburg. The municipal area comprises the villages of Asmusstedt, Badeborn, Opperode, Radisleben, and Rieder. Ballenstedt is a stop on the scenic Romanesque Road.

History
The Saxon count Esico of Ballenstedt (c. 1000–1059/60) was mentioned in a 1030 entry in the medieval chronicles of the Annalista Saxo and in a 1036 deed issued by Emperor Conrad II. He was a son of one Count Adalbert, who held the office of a Vogt of Nienburg Abbey, and Hidda, a daughter of Margrave Odo I of the Saxon Ostmark. Esico, whose sister Uta married Margrave Eckard II of Meissen is considered the progenitor of the House of Ascania. He had a collegiate church erected in Ballenstedt, dedicated to Saints Pancras and Abundius, in the presence of Emperor Henry III in 1046.

Ballenstedt church was mentioned in a charter of 1073 by Henry IV in which the emperor confirmed to the church the possession of 21 mansi previously granted by his father Henry III. In 1123 Otto the Rich together with his son Albert the Bear, who would become the first ruler of Brandenburg, established a Benedictine monastery at the site. Albert and was buried at the crypt of the abbey church in 1070; a monument for him is located in the town's park. Albert's grandson Henry I became the first Prince of Anhalt in 1218.

In 1512 the citizens of Ballenstedt were vested with brewing rights by the Ascanian prince Wolfgang of Anhalt-Köthen. After Wolfgang met with Martin Luther at the 1521 Diet of Worms, he became one of the first Protestant rulers in the Holy Roman Empire. Ballenstedt Abbey was stormed and plundered during the German Peasants' War, whereafter Prince Wolfgang had the monastery secularised in 1525. He chose Ballenstedt as a residence and granted it town privileges in 1543. It received city walls in 1551; a town hall was first mentioned in 1582. As the Anhalt princes supported King Christian IV of Denmark during the Thirty Years' War, Ballenstedt was raided and plundered by Imperial troops under Albrecht von Wallenstein in 1626.

After the war, the town and the former monastery were rebuilt as a Baroque summer residence by the Ascanian princes of Anhalt-Bernburg. In 1765 the enlightened prince Frederick Albert completely moved his residence from Bernburg to Ballenstedt Castle and induced a time of prosperity, including the erection of a castle theatre in 1788, the oldest theatre in Saxony-Anhalt and the domain of composers like Albert Lortzing and Franz Liszt.

A part of the re-unified Duchy of Anhalt from 1863 on, Ballenstedt became known as a residential town for the well-to-do retired like Princess Friederike of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, who died at Ballenstedt Castle in 1902, or the painter and author Wilhelm von Kügelgen, whose house is now a museum.

Politics
Seats in the municipal assembly (Stadtrat) as of 2004 elections:
 * Christian Democratic Union: 8 (41.2%)
 * The Left: 4 (18.2%)
 * Free Voters: 3 (12.6%)
 * Free Democratic Party: 3 (12.5%)
 * Social Democratic Party of Germany: 1 (7.5%)
 * Independent: 1 (5.4%)

The coat of arms is derived from the insignia of the Counts of Ballenstedt, which is also the origin of the coat of arms of Saxony. It was first manifested in 1560 after Ballenstedt received town rights.

Places of interest

 * Ballenstedt Castle: Baroque three-winged building, renovated in the 18th century, grave of Albert the Bear
 * Castle Park: created by Peter Joseph Lenné; castle and castle park belong to the Saxony-Anhalt Garden Dreams project
 * Ballenstedt Castle Theatre: played by Albert Lortzing and Franz Liszt
 * Großer Gasthof castle hotel: originally built in 1733 as an armoury, converted in 1756 by the Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel ducal master builder, Martin Peltier de Belfort, into a guest house
 * Local History Museum, opposite the Großer Gasthof in the upper part of the avenue
 * Kügelgen House, Kügelgenstr. 35a
 * Yellow House (Gelbes Haus), on the exit to the town towards Rieder, built as a roadside toll house
 * Allee: representative, a kilometre long approach to the castle, centre point of the town
 * Old Town Hall (Altes Rathaus): timber-framed building erected in 1683
 * New Town Hall (Neues Rathaus): representative building, built in 1906 based on a design by Berlin architect Alfred Messel
 * St. Nicholas' Church: Late Gothic church, built in 1326, burnt down in 1498, rebuilt in 1501
 * Town wall, can still be seen in Wallstraße
 * Wall towers along the town wall (Oberturm, Unterturm, Marktturm – the latter is accessible, key in the restaurant opposite)
 * Swimming baths, built 1907-08
 * Teufelsmauer (Harz)
 * Gegensteine nature reserve
 * Bismarck Tower, Opperode
 * Roseburg (castle)
 * Oberhof Ballenstedt

Transport
Ballenstedt is located at the Bundesstraße (federal highway) 185, leading to the Bundesstraße 6 and the Bundesautobahn 14. Train service was suspended in 2003. A small asphalt runway is about 5 km (3 mi) outside the town.

Born in Ballenstedt

 * Uta von Ballenstedt (1000 - before 1046), founder of the Naumburg Cathedral
 * Johann Arndt (1555-1621), theologian
 * Pauline zur Lippe (1769-1820), regent of the Principality of Lippe
 * Caroline Bardua (1781-1864), painter
 * Princess Louise of Anhalt-Bernburg (1799-1882), Princess of Prussia
 * Gustav Strube (1867-1953), composer
 * Wilhelm von Krosigk (1871-1953), officer of Imperial Navy, ship commander, Rear Admiral
 * Wilhelm Thiele (1897-1990), politician (NSDAP)
 * Princess Marie-Auguste of Anhalt (1898-1983), Princess
 * Eduard, Prince of Anhalt (born 1941), since 1963 head of the house Anhalt-Ascania
 * Justus Pfaue (1942-2014), novelist and screenwriter
 * Eckhard Lesse (born 1948), long-distance runner

Died in Ballenstedt

 * Karl Christian Agthe, composer, born 16 June 1762 in Hettstedt, died 27 November 1797
 * Wilhelm von Kügelgen, painter, born 20 November 1802 in Saint Petersburg, died 25 May 1867
 * Wilhelm Vöge, art historian, born 16 February 1868 in Bremen, died 30 December 1952.

Twin towns

 * 🇩🇪 Kronberg im Taunus, Germany

title: Ballenstedt


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Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Fracas

Fracas was proposed for deletion. This page is an archive of the discussion about the proposed deletion. This page is no longer live. Further comments should be made on the article's talk page rather than here so that this page is preserved as an historic record. The result of the debate was to delete. 4 delete, 1 keep. Image kept (but now orphan). Cool Hand Luke  07:04, 6 Nov 2004 (UTC)

 * Delete - This page has little to no encypedic value. The event is a first annual, perhapse if this even continues to grow it might be of intrest. Such as the case with the Los Anglese Times Book Fair at UCLA. Until this event grow deletion is the only course to go. Asian Animal 18:39, Oct 5, 2004 (UTC)
 * Unresolved/lost VfD. Seems like self-promotion, and includes an untagged image, so I lean toward deletion of both. Cool Hand Luke  03:34, 30 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete: I'm not worried about the image, although it should go with the article, but this is an event that has been held exactly once, and it's an ad. Only 8 groups participated in the first one.  Given that tons of universities have improv groups, and some have more than one, getting 8 only is not a major accomplishment.  Looks like an ad, and it's definitely not notable at this point.  It may become so in coming years, but not yet.  Geogre 13:19, 30 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Abstain. Willing to be convinced, if someone can show me that it's big enough. How many people attend this thing? How many universities? How long is it? In this case, I'd rather have a thousand words than the picture. --Improv 20:03, 30 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Weak keep, it seems like this could become encyclopedic. I may be wrong.  — siro  χ  o  08:50, Oct 31, 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. I can see Fracas becoming relevant at some time in the future, but that time is not now.   •  →  Iñgólemo  ←•  06:07, 2004 Nov 4 (UTC)

 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

title: Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Fracas


text: Category:Churches in Norway

title: Category:Churches in Norway


text:
Red pudding

Red pudding is a meat dish served mainly at chip shops in some areas of Scotland. Red pudding is associated with the east of Scotland, particularly Fife, but has become less common in recent years. Its main ingredients are beef, pork, pork rind or bacon, suet, rusk, wheat flour, spices, salt, beef fat and colouring.

The mixture is formed into a sausage shape of roughly eight inches in length, similar to black and white pudding and the chip shop variant of haggis. The pudding is usually cooked by being coated in a batter, deep fried, and served hot. Bought on its own, it is known as a "single red"; when accompanied by chips, it is known as a "red pudding supper".

Other regional varieties
In Scotland some butchers sell a different form of red pudding, made entirely of finely minced pork and formed into a ring similar to black pudding. These red puddings follow a quite different recipe from the chip shop red pudding, are flavoured with spices such as cumin, and are identified by a red casing. They were traditionally made by "German" pork butchers in parts of Scotland, mostly on the east coast, and are usually cooked for breakfast. Another form of red pudding is a speciality of Dundalk on the east coast of Ireland; this is an oatmeal-based pudding similar to white pudding.

title: Red pudding


text:
Amiga (record label)

Amiga is a popular music record label in Germany. Once an organ of the East German state-owned music publisher VEB Deutsche Schallplatten, Amiga became a label of the Bertelsmann Music Group in 1994.

In 1947, actor and singer Ernst Busch got permission from the Soviet Military Administration in Germany to create a music publishing house, which was named Lied der Zeit GmbH ("Song of the Times"). This publishing company included the label Amiga. In the 1950s, Lied der Zeit became VEB Deutsche Schallplatten ("German Records"), a state-owned company with a monopoly on record production. VEB Deutsche Schallplatten had a number of labels, each with a different purview; Amiga releases included folk, jazz, pop, rock, Schlager music, chanson, and children's music.

After the dissolution of the German Democratic Republic, most of the former East German public state enterprises were dismantled or sold to private investors. The Amiga label and catalog were acquired by Bertelsmann Music Group in 1994, which in turn was dissolved into Sony Music Entertainment in 2008.

Amiga's catalog consists of 2,200 albums and about 5,000 singles, with a total of 30,000 titles.

Books

 * Birgit und Michael Rauhut: AMIGA - Die Diskographie (ISBN 3-89602-189-3) Info in German

title: Amiga (record label)


text:
Korean Educational Development Institute

The Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI) works for the South Korean Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development. It conducts research in the field of educational goals and methods, creating policy solutions.

The KEDI was founded in 1972, and has since played a principal role in Korea's emergence as an educationally advanced nation. Research and development projects conducted by KEDI assisted in the laying of the educational foundation during Korea's national restoration period (1970s to 1990s). Through its diverse research efforts, KEDI provided guidelines as well as lent initiative to the quantitative and qualitative expansion of school education in Korea.


text:
User:Charles Matthews/1930s anthologies

Modern Poetry (1930, Arnold) edited by Elizabeth D'Oyley.

Richard Aldington - Martin Armstrong - Herbert Asquith - Maurice Baring - Hilaire Belloc - Laurence Binyon - Edward Henry Blakeney - Edmund Blunden - Gordon Bottomley - Frederick V. Branford - Robert Bridges - Rupert Brooke - G. K. Chesterton - Mary Coleridge - Padraic Colum - Frances Cornford - Leslie Coulson - Arthur Shirley Cripps - John Davidson - W. H. Davies - Geoffrey Dearmer - Hugo L. Doak - John Drinkwater - James Elroy Flecker - Robin Flower - R. L. Gales - John Galsworthy - Crosbie Garstin - Viola Gerard Garvin - Wilfrid Wilson Gibson - Gerald Gould - Robert Graves - Julian Grenfell - Thomas Hardy - Kenneth Hare (poet) - F. W. Harvey - W. E. Henley - Maurice Hewlett - Ralph Hodgson - Nora Holland - Laurence Housman - Lionel Johnson - Frank Kendon - William Kerr - Rudyard Kipling - Francis Ledwidge - Thomas MacDonagh - Fiona MacLeod - Irene Rutherford McLeod - Walter de la Mare - John Masefield - George Meredith - Alice Meynell - Francis Meynell - Viola Meynell - Richard Middleton - Harold Monro - T. Sturge Moore - Christopher Morley - Sir Henry Newbolt - J. B. B. Nichols - Alfred Noyes - Seumas O'Sullivan - H. D. C. Pepler - Victoria Sackville-West - Siegfried Sassoon - Edward Shanks - Osbert Sitwell - C. Fox Smith - C. H. Sorley - J. C. Squire - James Stephens - Robert Louis Stevenson - Muriel Stuart - Arthur Symons - E. Wyndham Tennant - Edward Thomas - Francis Thompson - Herbert Trench - W. J. Turner - Evelyn Underhill - R. E. Vernède - T. P. Cameron Wilson - Humbert Wolfe - Margaret L. Woods - W. B. Yeats - Francis Brett Young - Sir E. Hilton Young

Tauchnitz Anthology of Modern English Poetry (1931) Levin L. Schücking

Lascelles Abercrombie - Richard Aldington - Martin Armstrong - Hilaire Belloc - Edmund Blunden - W. S. Blunt - Eva Gore Booth - F. W. Bourdillon - Robert Bridges - Rupert Brooke - A. Y. Campbell - Joseph Campbell (poet) - Roy Campbell - Patrick R. Chalmers - G. K. Chesterton - Padraic Colum - John Davidson - William H. Davies - Edward L. Davison - Jeffery Day - Geoffrey Dearmer - Walter de la Mare - Lord Alfred Douglas - Ernest Dowson - John Drinkwater - Eleanor Farjeon - Wilfrid Wilson Gibson - Louis Golding - Gerald Gould - F. W. Harvey - Ralph Hodgson - A. E. Housman - Ford Madox Hueffer - Aldous Huxley - James Joyce - D. H. Lawrence - Francis Ledwidge - Shane Leslie - W. M. Letts - Alasdair Alpin MacGregor - John Masefield - Charlotte Mew - Alice Meynell - Harold Monro - T. Sturge Moore - Moira O'Neill - Alfred Noyes - Wilfred Owen - Ezra Pound - George Russell - Siegfried Sassoon - Dora Sigerson - Osbert Sitwell - Charles Hamilton Sorley - J. C. Squire - James Stephens - Edward Thomas - Francis Thompson - Herbert Trench - W. J. Turner - Anna Wickham - Humbert Wolfe - W. B. Yeats

Third Selections from Modern Poets (1932) J. C. Squire

C. C. Abbott - Richard Aldington - E. N. Da C. Andrade - Martin Armstrong - Owen Barfield - Clifford Bax - Edmund Blunden - Bruce Blunt - F. V. Branford - Francis Burrows - A. Y. Campbell - Olwen W. Campbell - Roy Campbell - Gwen Clear - Elizabeth Daryush - Edward Davison - Geoffrey Dearmer - Colin D. B. Ellis - Bronwen Evans - Yvonne ffrench - F. V. Follett - Anne Fremantle - Barrington Gates - John Gibbins - Monk Gibbon - Stella Gibbons - Louis Golding - Alexander Gray - Ivor Gurney - George Rostrevor Hamilton - Kenneth Hare - Eleanor Hebblethwaite - Robert Herring - Richard Hughes - Aldous Huxley - Frank Kendon - Eric R. R. Linklater - Everest Lewin - Cecil Day Lewis - F. L. Lucas - Sylvia Lynd - Hugh S. Mackintosh - Edward Marjoribanks - R. H. Mottram - Robert Nichols - J. D. C. Pellow - Terence Philip - Alan Porter - Frank Prewett - Alan Pryce-Jones - F. Reynolds - Edgell Rickword - Kenworth Rushby - V. Sackville-West - Siegfried Sassoon - Dorothy L. Sayers - Geoffrey Scott - C. K. Scott Moncrieff - Edward Shanks - Edith Sitwell - Eric Clough Taylor - Willoughby Weaving - Mary Morison Webster - Dorothy Wellesley - Humbert Wolfe - A. J. Young

Poets of Our Time (1932) by Eric Gillett

A. E. - Owen Barfield - Clifford Bax - Hilaire Belloc - Paul Bewsher - Laurence Binyon - Edmund Blunden - Gordon Bottomley - Francis Burrows - Witter Bynner - A. Y. Campbell - G. K. Chesterton - W. H. Davies - Edward Davison - Walter de la Mare - Geoffrey Dearmer - Lord Alfred Douglas - John Drinkwater - T. S. Eliot - Robin Flower - Wilfrid Wilson Gibson - Gerald Gould - F. W. Harvey - Ralph Hodgson - Richard Hughes - Frank Kendon - Rudyard Kipling - P. H. B. Lyon - John Masefield - Viola Meynell - Harold Monro - T. Sturge Moore - Henry Newbolt - Robert Nichols - J. D. C. Pellow - Eden Phillpotts - V. Sackville-West - Siegfried Sassoon - Edward Shanks - Osbert Sitwell - J. C. Squire - James Stephens - W. J. Turner - William Watson - William Butler Yeats - Francis Brett Young - Geoffrey Winthrop Young

Modern Poetry 1922-1934 (1935) Maurice Wollman

A. E. - L. Aaronson - Lascelles Abercrombie - Richard Aldington - J. Redwood Anderson - Martin Armstrong - W. H. Auden - Maurice Baring - Laurence Binyon - Edmund Blunden - Gordon Bottomley - Ronald Bottrall - F. V. Branford - Robert Bridges - Gerald Bullett - Archibald Y. Campbell - Roy Campbell - Gilbert Keith Chesterton - Wilfred Rowland Childe - Richard Church - Austin Clarke - Gwen Clear - Padraic Colum - Frances Cornford - Elizabeth Daryush - W. H. Davies - Edward Davison - Walter de la Mare - John Drinkwater - Lord Dunsany - T. S. Eliot - Colin D. B. Ellis - Hugh I'Anson Fausset - Yvonne ffrench - Robin Flower - John Freeman - V. Helen Friedlaender - Viola G. Garvin - Barrington Gates - Robert Gathorne-Hardy - John Gawsworth - Monk Gibbon - Stella Gibbons - Wilfrid W. Gibson - Oliver Gogarty - Eva Gore-Booth - Lord Gorell - Gerald Gould - G. Rostrevor Hamilton - Thomas Hardy - Philip Henderson - F. R. Higgins - Teresa Hooley - Julian S. Huxley - Frank Kendon - Rudyard Kipling - D. H. Lawrence - Everest Lewin - C. Day Lewis - F. L. Lucas - Sylvia Lynd - P. H. B. Lyon - Rose Macaulay - Hugh MacDiarmid - Orgill MacKenzie - John Masefield - Phyllis Mégroz - Huw Menai - Charlotte Mew - Susan Miles - Harold Monro - T. Sturge Moore - Thomas Moult - Edwin Muir - Sir Henry Newbolt - Seumas O'Sullivan - Herbert E. Palmer - Eden Phillpotts - William Plomer - Alan Porter - Dorothy Una Ratcliffe - Ernest Rhys - Victoria Sackville-West - Arthur L. Salmon - Siegfried Sassoon - Geoffrey Scott - W. Kean Seymour - Edward Shanks - Horace Shipp - Edith Sitwell - Osbert Sitwell - Sacheverell Sitwell - Jean Smith - Stanley Snaith - Stephen Spender - Sir John Squire - James Stephens - L. A. G. Strong - Muriel Stuart - Edward Thompson - W. J. Turner - Katharine Tynan - Sherard Vines - Sylvia Townsend Warner - C. Henry Warren - Mary Webb - Mary Morison Webster - Dorothy Wellesley - Charles Williams - Humbert Wolfe - William Butler Yeats - Andrew Young

The Centuries' Poetry 5 (1938) Denys Kilham Roberts

Robert Bridges - Francis Thompson - Alice Meynell - A. E. Housman - Edward Thomas - Charlotte Mew - J. E. Flecker - Sir Henry Newbolt - Rupert Brooke - Rudyard Kipling - George William Russell - W. B. Yeats - Julian Grenfell - Isaac Rosenberg - John Freeman - W. H. Davies - Harold Monro - Wilfred Owen - G. K. Chesterton - D. H. Lawrence - Lascelles Abercrombie - John Drinkwater - Gerald Gould - Humbert Wolfe - Arthur Symons - Laurence Binyon - Hilaire Belloc - T. Sturge Moore - Walter de la Mare - Gordon Bottomley - John Masefield - Wilfrid Gibson - Oliver St. John Gogarty - Alfred Noyes - Herbert E. Palmer - James Joyce - James Stephens  - Andrew Young - Siegfried Sassoon - Edwin Muir - Edith Sitwell - T. S. Eliot - F. W. Harvey - W. J. Turner - Osbert Sitwell - Richard Church - Herbert Read - Lilian Bowes Lyon - Edmund Blunden - F. R. Higgins - Sacheverall Sitwell - Ruth Pitter - Roy Campbell - A. S. J. Tessimond - C. Day Lewis - Ronald Bottrall - William Empson - W. H. Auden - Louis MacNeice - John Pudney - Bernard Spencer - Stephen Spender - Kenneth Allott - Charles Madge - Laurence Whistler - George Barker  - Clifford Dyment - Dylan Thomas

The Modern Poet (1938) Gwendolen Murphy

Herbert Asquith - W. H. Auden - Edmund Blunden - Ronald Bottrall - Norman Cameron - Richard Church - Frances Cornford - E. E. Cummings - H. D. - Walter de la Mare - Clifford Dyment - T. S. Eliot - William Empson - John Freeman - David Gascoyne - Robert Graves - Alan Hodge - Gerard Manley Hopkins - A. E. Housman - Harry Kemp - D. H. Lawrence - John Lehmann - Cecil Day Lewis - Vachel Lindsay - Louis MacNeice - Charles Madge - Don Marquis - Charlotte Mew - Harold Monro - Marianne Moore - Edwin Muir - Wilfred Owen - Alan Porter - Ezra Pound - Kathleen Raine - John Crowe Ransom - James Reeves - Laura Riding - Michael Roberts - Isaac Rosenberg - Victoria Sackville-West - Edith Sitwell - Osbert Sitwell - Stephen Spender - A. S. J. Tessimond - Dylan Thomas - Edward Thomas - Elinor Wylie - W. B. Yeats

title: User:Charles Matthews/1930s anthologies


text:
Category:Hellenic scripts

This category should include all forms of writing Greek, both ancient and modern, from Linear B to Greeklish.

title: Category:Hellenic scripts


text:
Burma Campaign UK

Burma Campaign UK (BCUK; ဘားမားကမ်ပိန်း ယူကေ) founded in 1991 is a London-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) that aims to achieve the restoration of basic human rights and democracy in Burma (also known as Myanmar). BCUK campaigns on behalf of the Burmese pro-democracy movement and is the largest campaigning organisation for Burma in Europe.

It does this by:
 * Raising public awareness of issues in Burma
 * Increasing international pressure on the UK government, the European Union, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the United Nations to take action in any way.
 * Helping to co-ordinate and build Burma campaign groups elsewhere, creating a global movement for democracy in Burma
 * Providing support and training to Burmese exile organisations and individuals, empowering those who have fled the regime to educate others and raise awareness of the suffering in Burma

It has two directors, Anna Roberts and Mark Farmaner. Patrons include Glenys Kinnock, Baroness Helena Kennedy, Maureen Lipman, Roger Lyons, Clive James, Sinéad Cusack and Lord Steel. The organisation is funded by public donations. Burma Campaign UK receives no government funding.

Reaction to the 2007 protests
Following the 2007 Burmese anti-government protests Burma Campaign UK worked closely with international Burma Groups to help co-ordinate the Global Day of Action for Burma on 6 October 2007 through the "Support The Monks' Protest In Burma" group on Facebook.com, when thousands of people demonstrated in over 25 countries across five continents.

Achievements
By working with other groups around the world Burma Campaign UK has:
 * Persuaded the United Nations Security Council to place Burma on its permanent agenda
 * Successfully lobbied the European Union to increase targeted sanctions against Burma
 * Encouraged more than 100 companies to end their involvement in Burma, including: DHL, Swiss Re, Aon Corporation, Rolls-Royce, British American Tobacco, and Premier Oil

Campaigns
This is linked with another aim of BCUK to free all political prisoners. BCUK set up a petition to be sent to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to make the release of political prisoners in Burma his personal priority. The government's repression of individuals and communities residing in eastern Burma has been deemed as ethnic cleansing by BCUK. BCUK also highlights the issues of forced labour in the region and displacement, as 66,000 people have been forced to leave their homes during the past 12 months. Rape is used as a weapon against women and disease is most densely concentrated on Burma's borders, as the regime blocks aid from these communities. Information from numerous sources including the Karen Women's Organisation and Karen Human Rights Group can be found on the BCUK website. BCUK is also pushing for a UN arms embargo against the regime. Following a report published in 2005 by Václav Havel and Desmond Tutu that showed that Burma fits the criteria for United Nations Security Council (UNSC) intervention. BCUK calls on UNSC members to pass a resolution requiring the regime to work with the United Nations in restoring democracy to Burma, and to release Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners. Burma is one of the most impoverished nations on the planet. The militant regime spends half of its budget on the military and less than $1 per person, per year on education and health care. BCUK is urging the Department For International Development (DFID) to take a more active role in alleviating the immediate suffering and to support the democratic movement. BCUK has campaigned for targeted sanctions against the regime for many years. These sanctions are designed to pressure the regime to enter into dialogue with the democracy movement. In 2007 they claimed victory as the European Union imposed new sanctions against the regime. BCUK is now calling for targeted financial sanctions to be imposed against Burma by both the UK and EU. BCUK revealed that in 2008 the number of companies with links to Burma had actually increased. Insurance companies from all over the world, including ones from countries with economic sanctions against the regime, help to insure foreign companies in Burma that provide vital income to the regime. Money made from these foreign companies will not go to the starving people, it will be used to fund the military machine that oppresses the people. BCUK advocates, among other aims, that the EU issue a ban on the provision of insurance services from member states to companies inside Burma. Due to pressure from BCUK certain companies have been forced to respond. The French oil company Total began constructing the Yadana gas project in 1992 in partnership with Unocal and the state-owned Myanmar Oil. This joint venture earns the military regime hundreds of millions of dollars every year. BCUK launched an international campaign against the oil company supported by 41 organisations in 18 countries. In September 2007 the French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner stated that he favoured TOTAL pulling out of the country.
 * Free Aung San Suu Kyi:
 * Crises in eastern Burma:
 * United Nation's Security Council:
 * Aid to Burma:
 * Economic sanctions:
 * Insurance campaign:
 * Total Oil:

Celebrity support
Burma Campaign UK supporters include Damien Rice, Annie Lennox, Maxi Jazz, Emma Thompson, Anna Friel, Tony Robinson, Maureen Lipman, Jay Kay, Joanna Lumley, Esther Rantzen, Kabir Bedi, Sir Ian McKellen and Gillian Anderson.

title: Burma Campaign UK