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British Red Cross

The British Red Cross Society (Y Groes Goch Brydeinig) is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with more than 17,200 volunteers and 3,400 staff. At the heart of their work is providing help to people in crisis, both in the UK and overseas. The Red Cross is committed to helping people without discrimination, regardless of their ethnic origin, nationality, political beliefs or religion. Queen Elizabeth II was the patron of the society until her death in 2022, and was replaced by her successor King Charles III, who previously served as president between 2003 and 2024.

In the year ending December 2022, the charity's income was £439 million, which included £37M from government contracts and £44M from government grants. It spent £367M (82%) of its income delivering its charitable activities.

Guiding ethos
The mission of the British Red Cross is to mobilise the power of humanity so that individuals and communities can prepare for, deal with and recover from a crisis, summed up by the strapline 'refusing to ignore people in crisis'. In fulfilling this mission, all volunteers and staff must abide by the seven fundamental principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, which are: • Humanity

• Impartiality

• Neutrality

• Independence

• Voluntary Service

• Unity

• Universality The British Red Cross also has four values, which guide the way they work. These are: • Compassionate

• Inclusive

• Dynamic

• Courageous

Formation
The British Red Cross was formed in 1870, just seven years after the formation of the international movement in Switzerland. This followed the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871), and a move across Europe to form similar societies. The society was founded as the British National Society for Aid to the Sick and Wounded in War at a public meeting chaired by Robert Loyd-Lindsay in London on 4 August 1870. It assisted in providing aid to both warring armies in the Franco-Prussian War and subsequent 19th-century conflicts, under the protection of the Red Cross Emblem. The society was one of several British volunteer medical organisations to serve in the war. Queen Victoria was the organisation's first patron.

In 1905, 35 years after its formation, the society was reconstituted as the British Red Cross Society, and was granted its first royal charter in 1908 by King Edward VII, who became the patron. His consort, Queen Alexandra, became its president. In the following years, King George V, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II assumed the position of patron, while Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother served as presidents. King Charles III, who was the society's president between 2003 and 2024, was named patron in May 2024.

First World War
Following the start of the Great War in 1914, the British Red Cross joined forces with the Order of St John Ambulance to form the Joint War committee and Joint War Organisation. They pooled resources and formed Voluntary Aid Detachments (or VADs) with members trained in First Aid, Nursing, Cookery, Hygiene and Sanitation. These detachments all worked under the protection of the Red Cross, working in hospitals, rest stations, work parties and supply centres.

The Joint War Organisation also aided assistance at the front line, supplying the first motorised ambulances to the battlefields, which were significantly more efficient than the horse-drawn ambulances they replaced. It was active in setting up centres for recording the wounded and missing. Red Cross volunteers searched towns, villages and hospitals where fighting had occurred, noting names of the missing, the injured and the dead. This formed the basis of the international Message and Tracing service, still running today.

Amongst the more innovative activities of the Red Cross in the war was the training of Airedale Terrier dogs to search for wounded soldiers on battlefields.

Christie's auction house in Britain held an auction each year from 1915 to 1918 to benefit the Red Cross. People all across the United Kingdom donated their jewelry to help raise money. In 1918 one of the auctioned pieces was the Red Cross diamond.

Inter-war years
In 1919, after the cessation of hostilities, the League of the Red Cross (now the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies) was formed, and the role of national societies increased, with a shift of emphasis from wartime relief to focusing on "the improvement of health, the prevention of disease and mitigation of suffering throughout the world". The British Red Cross stayed involved with blood transfusion past the formation of the National Blood Service and it retained an ancillary role until 1987.

The British Red Cross was instrumental in starting overseas societies throughout the British Empire and Commonwealth, most of which are now independent national societies.

In 1924, the British Red Cross started its youth movement, helping to promote its values to a younger generation.

Second World War

After the declaration of war in 1939, the British Red Cross once again joined with St John to form the Joint War Organisation, again affording the St John volunteers protection under the Red Cross emblem.

The organisation once again worked in hospitals, care home, nurseries, ambulance units, rest stations and more, much of which was funded by the Duke of Gloucester's Red Cross and St John appeal, which had raised over £54million by 1946.

The Red Cross also arranged parcels for prisoners of war, following the provisions of the third Geneva convention in 1929, which laid out strict rules for the treatment of PoWs. The Joint War Organisation sent standard food parcels, invalid food parcels, medical supplies, educational books and recreational materials to prisoners of war worldwide. During the conflict, over 20 million standard food parcels were sent.

During the German occupation of the Channel Islands, the islanders were helped to avoid starvation with food parcels brought by the Red Cross ship SS Vega.

Post war years
The immediate priorities for the British Red Cross following the war, were the huge number of displaced civilians caused by forced migration during the war. The Red Cross provided much relief for these people, including basic supplies, and helping to reunite people through the Messaging and Tracing Service. This work led to the provisions in the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention to protect civilians caught up in war.

Since then, the British Red Cross has provided relief to people worldwide, including during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, in Vietnam in 1976, Famine in Africa in the 1980s and the 1999 Armenia, Colombia earthquake. Whilst the society no longer sends its volunteers abroad, it is a leading contributor of delegates to the International Red Cross pool of emergency relief workers.

Between 1948 and 1967, the British Red Cross and the St Andrew's Ambulance Association jointly operated the Scottish Ambulance Service, under contract to the National Health Service. NHS Scotland took over full responsibility for the service in 1974.

In the UK, the society has been active at many major disasters, from the coal tip slide at Aberfan in 1966, the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing at Lockerbie in 1988, to the 7 July 2005 London bombings. They provide support on all levels, from front line medical provision, to running helplines for worried relatives and long term emotional care for the victims.

In July 2008, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall hosted a garden party at Buckingham Palace to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the granting of the society's royal charter.

Status and structure
The British Red Cross is recognised by the UK Government as one of three Voluntary Aid Societies, the other two being St John Ambulance and St. Andrew's First Aid. It is the sole Red Cross Society for the United Kingdom and the British Overseas Territories.

Overseas branches
Overseas branches are located in:

• British Virgin Islands

• Cayman Islands

• Turks and Caicos Islands

• Montserrat

• Anguilla

• Bermuda

• Falkland Islands

• Gibraltar

Former overseas branches:
 * British Hong Kong (before 1997)

Activities

The British Red Cross, as with all IFRC member societies, operate first and foremost an emergency response service, which supports the statutory and governmental emergency services in times of crisis, in accordance with the duty of Red Cross and Red Crescent national societies to be auxiliaries in the humanitarian services of their governments.

The British Red Cross provides a wide range of services to assist the emergency services and statutory authorities, ranging from first aid support and distribution of aid during a crisis to managing a disaster appeal scheme and providing telephone support lines in its aftermath.

Notably, all services of the British Red Cross can be utilised for the emergency response service, as the situation demands. For example, the therapeutic care service can provide support at a rest centre for survivors, while Ambulances can assist the NHS in caring for the injured.

The emergency response service has been present at most types of major emergency such as the London bombings, Manchester Arena bombing, Grenfell Tower fire, rail crashes, other fires, and floods. The British Red Cross operate this service throughout its territory, available 24 hours a day but, contrary to popular belief, does not send its volunteers abroad, as overseas disasters will be dealt with by the society in the country affected.

In addition to this core service, the British Red Cross operates in other areas, both at home and abroad as part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to help people in crisis:

Event First Aid (EFA)

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is the largest provider of first aid in the world.

The British Red Cross was possibly most recognised in the UK for its work as a leading provider of first aid at public events across the UK. This stopped in 2020, by the British Red Cross, when it announced in 2019 that it would stop all Event First Aid. Thousands of volunteers gave care to the injured at events of all sizes including Premiership football games, concerts and large-scale running events such as the Great North Run.

The training undertaken by Event First Aid Service volunteers varied, and advanced training was available to those volunteers who wished to undertake it, which included rising to the level of Ambulance Crew, or even undertaking training to become a qualified Ambulance technician. The closure of Event First Aiders also saw the end of the Voluntary Medical Service Medal being issued to British Red Cross volunteers, much to their dismay, however it is still issued to St Andrew's First Aid volunteers.

Ambulance Support (AS)
There are three main areas of Ambulance Support (AS) provided by the BRC:

 * 1) patient transport service (PTS)
 * 2) urgent patient transport
 * 3) blue light emergency response (999).

The BRC also provide ambulance services under royal charter during:

 * surges in demand
 * predicted periods of high activity
 * adverse weather events (e.g. 4x4 ambulances).

Within that there are different clinical levels:

 * Ambulance Care Assistant (ACA) - a non-emergency patient-transport role, moving patients to and from different locations.
 * Ambulance Crew - provides emergency or urgent transport services
 * Ambulance Technician (EMT) - qualified EMTs.
 * Paramedic - state registered paramedics, employed but the BRC does not train them in-house.

Ambulance crews undergo national standard training and examination and are then qualified to offer an advanced level of care to sick and injured patients.

The training is of a sufficiently high standard, that in many areas, along with the other main medical service provider, St John Ambulance, British Red Cross ambulance crews work on behalf of the NHS ambulance services during particularly busy times or whenever requested, responding to 999 calls from members of the public.

British Red Cross provide ambulance support for the North East Ambulance Service. The BRC also provide PTS in South East Wales, with paid Ambulance Care Assistants being trained and deployed in house.

Specialist units existed within the first aid provision including the Cycle Response Unit, which allowed trained cyclists with enhanced first aid skills to access areas inaccessible to full ambulance vehicles. This was initially sponsored by Land Rover.

Fleet Support

The BRC's Fleet Support team, is a group of volunteers that look after the fleet of vehicles used by Ambulance Support (AS) and generally includes the following duties:

 * Washing and cleaning (outside only) ambulances, rapid response cars, patient transport vehicles (cars & ambulances), emergency response units, vans and 4x4 ambulances
 * Driving vehicles between office locations, garages and repairers
 * Basic maintenance of vehicles e.g. starting the vehicles, filling windscreen wash, checking wiper fluid, oil checks, checking (visibly) tyre pressure
 * Assisting with stock and equipment.

Closure of Event First Aid
In October 2019, the British Red Cross announced to volunteers that it would cease providing Event First Aid services on 31 March 2020. Its Ambulance Support services continue.

First aid training
The British Red Cross is a provider of first aid training in the United Kingdom. It trains people both on a community and a commercial basis. The commercial training teams run nationally recognised First aid courses specifically designed to provide skills for use at work. The British Red Cross have been running these courses for over 25 years and over 120,000 people are trained each year. Courses range from a basic Emergency Life Support to a three-day First Aid at Work (FAW) course recognised by the Health and Safety Executive.

On a community basis, the British Red Cross is also well known as providing many first aid courses across the country to members of the public, as well as reaching out to schools, community groups and minority groups. One of the projects of the British Red Cross is Everyday First Aid, which seeks to provide training to those who would not otherwise get the opportunity to undertake such training, such as people with disabilities.

First aid training programmes delivered by the Red Cross are renowned for giving participants both the skills and confidence to use what they have learnt, with a combination of theoretical knowledge and practical sessions.

Fire and emergency support (FESS)
Formerly known as Fire Victim Support, this service is one of the more recent to be started by the British Red Cross. Covering most, but not yet all, of the UK, the British Red Cross provide assistance at the request of the local Fire and Rescue Service to those in the immediate aftermath of emergencies such as a house fire or road traffic accident.

Typically a team of two volunteers with a customised vehicle will respond to victims and provide them with shelter, food, first aid, clothing, toiletries, washing facilities and moral support. Volunteers will assist with the process of dealing with local authority housing departments or insurance companies to enable rehousing.

In addition, these teams are frequently called out to major incidents to provide support to the firefighters and other emergency services, from simply making refreshments available, to providing a confidential listening service for those members of the emergency services traumatised by what they have just seen.

They also are key in many local authorities' emergency plans and may be given the role of helping at or running survivor reception centres, setting up friends and family reception centres and providing first aid at them, and sometimes the providing first aid at the incident site (such as during the London bombings on 7/7) – thus freeing up more highly trained Paramedics. The Red Cross also are able to set up a number of help lines in connection with major incidents.

Medical equipment loan
British Red Cross provides the public alongside some NHS hospital trusts to borrow a wheelchair for free. This operates throughout United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland. They nearly have 1,000 different offices that operate this service. This service is operated by the British Red Cross Health and Social Department.

Humanitarian education
This service provides a way of learning about and understanding the world – best thought of as a form of citizenship education. It is not religious or political, but is centrally concerned with our shared humanity. At the core of humanitarian action and thinking is a desire to contribute to saving lives and reducing suffering. Humanitarian education invites exploration of those actions and thoughts. Humanitarian Education helps students examine what motivates people, including themselves, and extends to other societies, times, and cultures. It explores the wider issues, sometimes surprisingly complex, that arise when people help each other.

The British Red Cross provides educational resources for teachers and trained peer education volunteers. In September 2008 the British Red Cross launched an alternate reality game called Traces of Hope to help educate people about the work the Red Cross does in conflict areas and the effect war has on civilians.

Care in the home
The British Red Cross, in some areas, provides short-term care and support for people recently returned from hospital, or recently having suffered an injury that otherwise would result in a hospital or care facility admission. Volunteers enter peoples' homes and help them with the everyday tasks which would otherwise be impossible or pose difficulty for them, such as shopping and getting prescriptions, helping them maintain their independence and dignity, while preparing them for living independently and offering companionship.

There is small Red Cross team working in the discharge lounge in A&E at Leighton Hospital who use their own cars to drive vulnerable patients home and settle them in. The following day they make a follow-up – a phone call. If all is well, great. If not, they can refer on to the BRC's Home from Hospital scheme that provides up to six weeks social support such as help with shopping and befriending. This is one of 26 similar services. There are 86 Home from Hospital services.

While referrals for this service can come from health and social care professionals, people can also self-refer.

Therapeutic care
British Red Cross volunteers in the Therapeutic Care Service are also active in hospitals and other care settings, such as care homes, where they enter and give patients a therapeutic massage of the head, neck, shoulders and hands through the patient's clothing, to help relax them, particularly at stressful times, and encourage a sense of wellbeing. Referrals for this service usually come from healthcare professionals, but people can self-refer, as the service can also be provided at community meeting places and homes.

Crisis intervention community support service
The crisis intervention community support service which operates in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Cheshire provides crisis emotional support and assists people in maintaining their independent living skills during a period of crisis. It helps to prevent admission to hospital or respite care by providing short, targeted interventions. The team in Nottingham team consists of 12 healthcare assistants. During 2014, it claimed that 748 admissions were avoided, which would have cost about £1.5million. The service costs the two local Clinical Commissioning Groups just under £250,000 a year to run.

Transport service

The British Red Cross provides a number of transport schemes to get people with limited access to transport, either with their own car or public transport, from place to place. Services can be provided by car or minibus, with an escort if appropriate, in order to help people lead a normal life, such as journeys for medical appointments and to shops. This includes in some areas 'Dial-a-Ride' schemes, where elderly or disabled people can phone and are transported by specially adapted minibus door to door.

In addition, the British Red Cross also provides, in some areas, ambulance transport, either seated or stretcher, between places of treatment, or for admissions and discharges of patients at hospital. This is operated by the trained ambulance crews also used for emergency ambulance provision (see above).

In 2008, as part of their 60th anniversary celebration Land Rover donated 60 Freelander vehicles to the British Red Cross for use in the UK and around the world.

Refugee support services
Since 1989, the British Red Cross has provided a range of services to refugees, including managing a number of refugee reception centres nationwide. The work includes providing refugee orientation services and ensuring that life essentials, such as shelter and food are provided for. In cases of destitution, the British Red Cross can provide short-term emergency help, and advice on accessing other services. A peer befriending service also exists to provide help to vulnerable refugees, such as young people and women. The British Red Cross can also assist in cases of large-scale arrivals to the United Kingdom.

Since September 2008, the British Red Cross has been a member of the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE).

International family tracing
This is another specialised international service, operated by the majority of national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies worldwide. Started to help the refugees of war, this service now extends to any person, who has lost touch with family through war or disaster. The global Red Cross and Red Crescent network uses local volunteers to find relations, put them back in touch, or simply pass messages.

The British Red Cross also provides this service to those separated by the Second World War.

This aspect hit the headlines when a volunteer famous for doing this work for 20 years was dismissed.

International disaster relief
Since the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is worldwide, there are volunteers in the nation affected that can provide help in disaster situations. However, the British Red Cross, in common with other national societies, sends paid personnel abroad, called delegates, who have specialised skills such as in logistics, to assist the agencies in the aftermath of a major international disaster. This is in addition to resources the British Red Cross can provide, in co-operation with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

The British Red Cross also provides assistance in recovery after the immediate post-disaster situation, helping prepare communities for future emergencies and facilitating long-term development.

Muriel Skeet, a British nurse, was the Nursing Advisor and Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) to the British Red Cross Society from 1970 until 1978. During this time she published her manual for relief work in 1977.

As the largest charity of its type, it is also part of the UK Disasters Emergency Committee, which is a group of large charities who fund raise for major disasters, such as the Boxing day tsunami

Health and care abroad
The British Red Cross works closely with other Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to improve the health and care situation of vulnerable communities abroad.

The British Red Cross has been supporting HIV work internationally since the mid-1980s, for example in China, South Africa and Ethiopia. The charity helps combat Tuberculosis in Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia, including supporting programmes involved in raising awareness and supporting those affected in their homes. Furthermore, it supports water and sanitation activities in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Cambodia, by providing safer drinking water and sanitation facilities and educating populations.

The British Red Cross also supports programmes assisting healthcare in conflict areas, such as Iraq and Sudan.

HIV awareness
The British Red Cross supports the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement's mission to fight the spread of HIV and AIDS worldwide. The society works with groups of young people to fight discrimination and stigma as well as reducing complacency about catching the disease. On World AIDS Day (1 December) 2007, the society launched an on-line campaign called "HIV: What's the story?" to target young people in the UK and overseas. The campaign also makes extensive use of social networking sites such as Facebook and Bebo.

Example of annual activity
In 2010 the British Red Cross carried out the following activities:
 * provided water, food and shelter for over 420,000 people affected by 25 overseas disasters
 * trained 221,970 people in first aid (in the UK)
 * provided first aid services at 9,533 public events
 * responded to 2,102 emergencies in the UK
 * helped 7,109 victims of fire

Fundraising
As a charity, the British Red Cross relies heavily on voluntary contributions from members of the public and organisations, in order to carry out its work. In addition, it does also make money from its commercial services, including First Aid Training (for the workplace), First aid provision at events and providing auxiliary crews to the ambulance services.

Whilst personal donations are important, the scale of corporate donations can make a huge difference to the society, and initiatives such as being the Tesco charity of the year in 2007 make large contributions to central funds.

Every year, many events are held, including sponsored bike rides, walks and even skydives. Red Cross Appeal Week (formerly known as Red Cross Flag Week), is held annually in May, to coincide with the birthday of Red Cross founder, Henry Dunant. This is a week where staff and volunteers are asked to donate two hours to run street and private premises collections.

The British Red Cross helps to fund, and is aided with funds raised by, the national will-making scheme Will Aid, in which participating solicitors waive their usual fee to write a basic will and in exchange invite the client to donate to charity.

Celebrity links
To help boost support for the cause, the Red Cross has a number of celebrity ambassadors which include Angela Rippon, Michael Buerk, James McAvoy, David Bull, Josie d'Arby, Nancy Dell'Olio, Konnie Huq, Craig Gannon and Dougray Scott.

British Red Cross Museum
The British Red Cross runs a museum containing a variety of materials from its beginnings in 1870 to the present day. This museum is a member of The London Museums of Health & Medicine group. The collections include posters, photographs, badges worn by Society members, medals awarded to Society members, medical equipment and fundraising materials.

The museum is free to enter and can be visited without booking. Guided tours of the museum and research visits to the archives must be booked in advance.

The Red Cross and letters to game developers
The British Red Cross sent a warning letter to the developers of the indie game Prison Architect in 2016. The organisation claims that, by using red cross images on Prison Architect ambulances and paramedics, the game has violated the Geneva Conventions.

The Red Cross symbol (along with the Red Crescent and the Red Crystal) is protected under the Geneva Convention, this is to distinguish armed combatants from impartial humanitarian aid workers. The warning letter was sent due to the possibility of the red cross being mistaken as a sign of first aid, and not as protected humanitarian work. The Red Cross fear that the mistaken use may cause the symbol's meaning to be misinterpreted during war.

The Prison Architect developers changed the cross to green, a colour commonly on medical signs and equipment (as shown by various ISO Standards) so its use is more commonly associated with medical help.

Honours

 * The Voluntary Medical Service Medal may be earned by volunteers with the British Red Cross after 15 years service with a Clasp for each additional period of five years service. This medal is also awarded by St. Andrew's First Aid in Scotland.
 * British Red Cross Badge of Honour: an award issued by the organization.

title: British Red Cross


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Talk:Fire-control system

Untitled
Nice work. Are you planning to suggest this new article for Template:Did you know (talk)? —Michael Z. 2005-02-11 15:52 Z

I hadn't really thought about that. I was certainly planning to wait and see if someone had some ideas for enhancing this article, as I'm fairly happy with it but it could possibly use some more detail. For example while researching it I came across some detailed descriptions of ship-based fire-control systems but I didn't really use most of the information there - if I put it all in, it would become too complex, so I thought I would start with something simple. I suppose if after a few days nobody has anything to add then maybe I should. Thanks, Nvinen 01:36, 12 Feb 2005 (UTC)

 * It's only eligible to be nominated for DYK if it's under 72 hours old. Please add an item to the suggestions on the talk page, or let me know and I'll do it.  If it gets listed it will appear on the WP home page, which is a great way to attract more editors.  —Michael Z. 2005-02-12 23:55 Z

 * Yes, after you wrote the above, I checked and found this out. I submitted it and it made it to the front page. Thanks for the suggestion :) Nvinen 04:57, 13 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Definition of "Fire control"?
Interesting, I cannot find an article where the concept of "fire control" as used by the military is defined... Can anyone please help? Thanks, DPdH (talk) 07:02, 24 April 2009 (UTC)
 * yah the defenition needs work, a "SYSTEM" is not a single component, it is several components working togeather. Brian in denver (talk) 18:52, 15 June 2009 (UTC)
 * I would think that the definition should be broadened to include the personnel, tools, and techniques used to locate targets, prepare the firing data necessary to direct guns to hit those targets, transmit these data to the guns, and adjust fire based on observation or detection of results. I believe earlier FC systems (such as the Coast Artillery systems I just added a short section for) made use of manual, not automated, techniques. Pgrig (talk) 19:48, 30 June 2010 (UTC)

needs more army

 * TM 9-2300 "Standard artillery and fire controll material" lists most of the WWII gun computers like the famous M9 ect. some mention of FADAC ect. should also be made. I dont know that creating a page for each computer would be very efficent, so I might start a versions list here, or just expand Battery computer system. Brian in denver (talk) 19:13, 5 June 2009 (UTC)

Scope
This article needs a lot of serious work.

Coast artillery - given that Major HS Watkins of the Royal Garrison Artillery invented a system in 1879 which was widely deployed and in use decades before navies woke up deserves a mention.

 * Section on U.S. Coast Artillery added. Pgrig (talk) 19:49, 30 June 2010 (UTC)

AA - both France and UK (and probably Germany and others) introduced small (tripod mounted) tachymetric devices in WW1 to prodice lead (aim-off) data (eg Wilson-Dalby, not to mention other AA fire control instruments). Then there's the whole matter of AA predictors, starting, I think, with the Vickers produced Predictor No 1 in the early 1920s.

Field arty fire control is generally covered in the Indirect fire article. Also need to think about how this article relates to Gun layingNfe (talk) 02:22, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

Merging
This article should be merged with the article Director (military) --92.239.234.80 (talk) 19:04, 25 April 2011 (UTC)

Torpedoes
Why is a 2-minute time-to-target especially onerous for torpedo-aimers? A large caliber naval shell also takes several minutes to reach its target, and the distances are far greater meaning that even the slightest deviation would mean a miss. Surely, the typical naval artillery ranges were shorter in the early days of torpedoes and submarines, but not that much shorter, and it would be nice if it specified that that statement was only relevant for a short period in the first years of the 20th century. By the end of WWI, gunnery ranges were 20 miles or much more for a typical battle (as far as they ever had "typical" battles). In any case, the problem of aiming a gun from a moving ship at another moving ship at long range has been more complex than aiming a torpedo from a moving ship for a long time; if there was a time when it was more difficult to aim a torpedo, it was very short-lived, and was only due to the fact that they hadn't started building guns meant for truly long ranges just yet..45Colt 20:30, 7 April 2014 (UTC)

Modern fire control systems
Can we agree some wording on this? Nytend doesn't like "Modern". Can we use "contemporary"? Or date it to 2017? Is this even true - given military procurement cycles, what are the oldest fire controls still in service?

"Electronic" doesn't imply anything more than "not mechanical" or possibly "not electromechanical". There are at least three generations of electronics though: analogue, digital and those based on computers. All three are distinct - maybe even splitting "computers" down into sub groups. Many of the artillery "computer" systems, like FACE, were also not computers in the sense of generalised stored program or microprocessors, and we should keep these distinct. Andy Dingley (talk) 11:34, 19 September 2017 (UTC)

"בק"ש" listed at Redirects for discussion
An editor has identified a potential problem with the redirect בק& and has thus listed it for discussion. This discussion will occur at Redirects for discussion/Log/2022 August 14 until a consensus is reached, and readers of this page are welcome to contribute to the discussion. TartarTorte 17:19, 14 August 2022 (UTC)

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

title: Talk:Fire-control system


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British Polio Fellowship

The British Polio Fellowship is a charitable organisation supporting and empowering people in the UK living with the late effects of polio and post-polio syndrome (PPS). It provides information, welfare and support to those affected, to enable them to live full, independent and integrated lives and campaigns to raise awareness of PPS.

Purpose
The charity's purpose is to empower and support all people in the UK living with the effects of polio and PPS by providing information, welfare and support to enable them to live full independent and integrated lives; by supporting a regional/branch/group structure that enables mutual support amongst members to be carried out in a caring and inclusive environment; and by developing worldwide alliances with other polio and post-polio groups. It aims to be the first resource on polio and post polio syndrome.

Activities
It is a membership organisation with branches and groups across the UK. It publishes a quarterly magazine, the bulletin; and campaigns to raise awareness of PPS among healthcare professionals, members of parliament and the general public and supports the efforts of fellow polio organisations in their attempts to eradicate the disease worldwide.

History
The British Polio Fellowship, then called The Infantile Paralysis Fellowship, was founded on 29 January 1939 by Patricia Carey, who had contracted polio aged eight, and Frederic Morena, who had contracted the disease at the age of 42, as a self-help and mutual aid society for those affected by polio. They called a meeting in January 1938 at Bloomsbury, London which was attended by 30 people and which acted as the foundation of the organisation being formed the following year. The first issue of the charity’s newsletter was published in April 1939. On 18 May 1939 a letter from Hugh Moulton, Liberal politician, was published informing the public of the formation of the Infantile Paralysis Fellowship which "seeks to help the sufferers help themselves and to afford each other mutual aid and sympathy". The letter went on to say the principal objective of the Fellowship was to help members find work and suggested that there were (at that time) somewhere between 5,000-7,000 people with the after-effects of infantile paralysis in Britain.

Over time the focus of the charity's work has shifted due to the eradication of polio in the UK during the 1980s and the discovery of post-polio syndrome, and the fellowship's work has become more about supporting those with PPS.

Patrons

 * Dr. Moira Anderson OBE
 * Michael Cassidy CBE
 * Hannah Gordon
 * Baroness Fookes of Plymouth, DBE, DL
 * Julian P Harriss, BSc, MSc, MD, FRCP (Can)
 * Dr Robin Luff, MBBS, FRCP, FRCS, BSc
 * Joe Fisher MBE
 * Professor Steve Sturman, Mbch, FRCP, UBH
 * The Countess of Verulam
 * Jonathan Cavendish
 * Rehman Christi MP
 * Alex Neil
 * Richard Scudamore CBE
 * Mark Isherwood AM

Ambassadors

 * James Crisp
 * Julia Roberts (QVC presenter)
 * Anne Wafula Strike MBE
 * Professor Gareth Williams
 * Rotary Liaison Ambassador, Colin Powell MBE

title: British Polio Fellowship


text:
Double deficit

Double deficit can refer to:

 * Double deficit (economics)
 * Double deficit theory of dyslexia

title: Double deficit


text:
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snoyes 16:45, 13 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Sure. Don't hesitate to ask me on my talk page if you have any questions. --snoyes 17:08, 13 Dec 2003 (UTC)

I didn't change or copy anything. I moved the page to Religious minorities in Iran, which should be the only page which currently exists. RickK 20:51, 13 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Sorry, I thought it's a lingering page request. I'm somehow a newbie. Roozbeh 01:32, 14 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Which locomotive article? Greenmountainboy 02:27, 14 Dec 2003 (UTC)
 * Nevermind i know what you are talking about. Greenmountainboy 02:30, 14 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Why did you move Frank Laubach? He's well known worldwide. Pollinator 03:05, 5 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Your vote
We may need your vote on deleting the three very pointed Persia-related articles. Please visit the VfD section and vote. . Roozbeh 23:29, 12 Jul 2004 (UTC)

title: User talk:Refdoc/archive1


text:
Eurofly

Eurofly was a privately owned airline based in Milan, Italy. Listed on MTA Stock Exchange and controlled by Meridiana, it was Italy's leading carrier in the leisure flights market and mainly operated international, medium to long haul, point-to-point flights.

The medium-haul activity was centered mainly on operations to Egypt and the Red Sea Riviera, Spain and Greece. The long haul included some of Italians’ preferred tropical destinations like the Maldives and Sri Lanka or Africa. Furthermore, during the summer season, Eurofly operated non-stop scheduled flights to New York City, exploiting the reverse seasonality of if compared to tropical destinations and focusing on incoming traffic to Italy. The company slogan was The Italian [air]way of life.

In 2010, the airline merged with Meridiana to form Meridiana Fly.

History
The airline was established on 26 May 1989 with the aim of selling medium-haul flights to tour operators. Eurofly started its operations on 26 February 1990. It was set up with a 45% shareholding by Alitalia in response to the needs of the flag carrier to develop the leisure travel market. The original shareholding was divided between Alitalia (45%), Olivetti (45%) and San Paolo Finance (10%).

In 2003, Alitalia sold an 80% stake in the airline for $10.8m to Luxembourg based private equity fund Spinnaker, controlled by Italian bank Banco Profilo.

In January 2004, Eurofly was acquired wholly by the Spinnker fund, managed by Sandro Capotosti (CEO and Founder of Banca Prolilo) and Paolo G. Alberoni. The fund listed Eurofly on the Milan Stock Exchange in December 2005. At the end of 2006, Spinnaker sold the residual 29.95% stake in Eurofly to Meridiana and Mr Giovanni Rossi (CEO of Meridiana) took over as CEO of Eurofly.

In January 2008, two capital increases took place and Meridiana participation in Eurofly's capital grew to 46.1%. On 28 February 2010, Meridiana and Eurofly merged to create Italy's second-biggest airline, Meridiana fly.

Destinations
Before eurofly was acquired by Meridiana, the airline had 2 codeshare agreements with Air One and British Airways.

Fleet
The Eurofly fleet consisted of the following aircraft (as of February 2010).

title: Eurofly


text:
Bibic

bibic is a small charitable organization  based in the United Kingdom that supports children, young people and their families who have a wide range of different conditions. The charity was founded by the late Keith Pennock who had a daughter with a learning disability. The work was derived from Glenn Doman's The Institutes for The Achievement of Human Potential (IAHP) in Philadelphia, USA.

Many of the children they work with have disorders of the nervous system, or inherited characteristics, which affect the way the body or brain develops. These include: acquired and traumatic brain injury, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism, Specific developmental disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and learning disability including dyslexia, developmental coordination disorder and dyscalculia. Unlike many other organisations, bibic also works with children that have no formal diagnosis at all.

A variety of therapeutic approaches are used. There is no peer reviewed research into the effectiveness of therapy for this condition.

The organisation raises funds and receives no Government funding.

The charities National Assessment Centre is based at Old Kelways, just outside the town of Langport, in Somerset.

Keith Pennock's book Rescuing brain injured children describes the impetus for starting the organisation as his daughter, who had developmental delay. In 1970 the family travelled from the UK to Philadelphia and attended the IAHP. The family adopted the Doman-Delecato patterning technique in the UK. A precursor to bibic (BIAHP) was opened in Staffordshire later the same year, as news spread of the family and their use of the new therapy method. Local residents began to give donations and offer their time. The British Institute for the Achievement of Human Potential (BIAHP) was established in 1974, with staff being trained directly at the IAHP in Philadelphia. The family and fledgeling organisation moved to Knowle Hall near Bridgwater, Somerset in 1976.

In 1979, the IAHP (under the management of Glenn Doman) were turning their interests to "well children" with the introduction of a Better Babies programme. The board of the BIAHP felt that they could not support this shift in focus and wanted to continue their work solely with children who had a brain injury, therefore through necessity the British Institute of Brain Injured Children was launched as an independent organisation in 1980 – no links with the IAHP were retained, and staff began to be trained in the UK. In 1987 a research piece was commissioned to demonstrate the effectiveness of the programme, in association with the University of Surrey.

Keith Pennock resigned from his post as chief executive of BIBIC in early 1996. In 1999, research covering the period 1995-1997 at BIBIC was published. In a letter to the [journal] editor, the authors of the appraisal report noted that strong similarities to the Doman-Delecato Patterning method (a therapy by this point widely condemned) remained strong despite BIBIC making revisions, and that areas of the therapy caused concern. BIBIC responded later that year, informing the journal that significant changes had been made to the programme, with the appraisal report being a much-anticipated catalyst for doing so. Since these revisions and under new management the organisation has been registered as a charity, and is now known only as "bibic". Bibic remains an active organisation and also provides policy input.

Bibic now reports to base its programme of developmental therapy on more recent research based on the concept of neuroplasticity, the brain's ability to undergo alterations in response to internal and external environmental changes. Bibic moved to Langport in Somerset, in 2014.

title: Bibic


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British Deaf Association

The British Deaf Association (BDA) is a deaf-led British charity that campaigns and advocates for deaf people who use British Sign Language.

History
It was preceded by the National Association for the Deaf and Dumb (NADD), which had been founded by deaf people in 1886. The creation of the NADD had been in response to the perceived threats to the language and education rights of deaf people which had arisen after the Milan Conference of 1880. This international congress, where the majority of those attending were people who taught hearing to deaf children, had passed a resolution banning the use of sign languages throughout the world. The participants of the conference had then returned to their home countries, determined to eradicate both the employment of deaf teachers and the use of sign language in schools. They also sought to reduce class sizes to those that were manageable by hearing teachers.

A Royal Commission on the education of deaf children was launched in 1889 but it failed to consult deaf people and supported the establishment of the Pure Oral System and so the banning of sign language; in response the magazine Deaf Mute encouraged deaf people to unite in defence of their own interests.

In 1889, the NADD ceased to exist and so four deaf men, including Francis Maginn and George Healey, arranged a meeting in January 1890 at St. Saviour's Church for the Deaf, Oxford Street, London, that they called the "National Conference of Adult Deaf and Dumb Missions and Associations". The conference considered the forming of a national society to "elevate the education and social status of the Deaf and Dumb in the United Kingdom" and resulted in the formation of the British Deaf and Dumb Association (BDDA) in Leeds on 24 July 1890. The BDDA deleted the world "Dumb" from its title in 1971. It wasn't until the 1970s that schools began to look again at accepting sign language.

The advent of sign language and its acceptance by the general public resulted in deaf leaders slowly coming back to the forefront starting with Jock Young as the first deaf chair in 1983 and, in the mid-1990s, its first deaf chief executive, Jeff McWhinney.

In the 1990s the BDA became a deaf-led organisation and the campaigning for the recognition of sign language is to date the main focus of their work. The current Chair is Linda Richards. Previous Chairs include the late Terry Riley, editor of the BBC's See Hear programme.

title: British Deaf Association


text:
User talk:Refdoc/archive2

K1
Hello. I see you have a problem: consider Requests for comment.

Charles Matthews 12:07, 15 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Hey!
Dear Refdoc: Thanks for your message on my talk page. I personally havent had much trouble with K1 but lets look at a few facts: numero uno: K-1 is a fighting sport (see the article there), and he uses that name.. numero dos: I can tell K1's thing against me will escalate as it did with you. Numero tres and perhaps the most important one, he is blindly and blatantly writing what are his views on Iranain issues.

I aint got nothing against people of any country, I believe we should all unite in love and brotherhood for the beterment of the world as a whole. Matter of factly, my neighborhood corner has Puerto Ricans (my family), Mexicans, Canadians, Chinese, and of course Americans and even an Iraqi family. They talk about New York being a melting pot!? Try my corner!!

That said, I believe that people shouldnt be biased when it comes down to issues about their countries, not in an encyclopedia at least. Ive learned a lot in my little neck of the woods that I didnt understand before and I see now that every country has its share of good and bad. This user seems to think only Iran is good and the United States is bad, judging by his comments.

We need to get him kicked or at least sanctioned. User Michael has been banned for less.

I want to thank you for the help ion Iran Air Flight 655, which I originated, your trying to keep it from looking like an horribly biased article. People like you are wikipedian agels and I might even give you az barnstar tonight for that.

In the middle of my works (I originate two articles per day more or less) I will try to comment on that. I also have long overdue thanks to Arpingstone for a phorto he helped me p[lace so I need to get around to that too.

One question, and since he offended my country with his comments about newspapers in Puerto Rico, are you Iranian? You worked on Christianism in Iran, are you Christian or Muslim?

Just curiosity, wanting to know. I like everyone the same so dont worry about answering me.

Thanks and God bless you!

Sincerely yours, "Antonio Living in 105 degree hell Martin"

K1
Hi. I'm afraid I've been involved in a dispute with K1 before, so probably shouldn't intervene here. Sorry, Morwen - Talk 09:21, 17 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Ditto for me. I'm currently involved in a dispute with K1. I'd rather you find somebody who has never written on Iran. My opinion is that K1 is trying to push a specific agenda of removing all criticism of the Islamic Republic from the encyclopedia, but... David.Monniaux 11:27, 17 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Believe me, I understand how frustrating it can be trying to work on certain articles with difficult users! But differences of opinion, aggressive editing, and even rude behavior are not vandalism per se and so the "Vandalism in progress" page is the wrong place for that. If you want community input on an article, list it on Requests for comment; similarly, if you want input on a user, you can start an RfC page on the user there. Usually the former step should be taken first, as complaints about users are usually deleted if there hadn't been an extensive attempt to resolve the conflict. It's only fair to note that theory and practice do not always coincide, and often an RfC listing doesn't help much - but it's what we're supposed to try. Good luck! V V 11:26, 17 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Okay, if you've tried RfC I don't know what to suggest other than soliciting individual users. I'm about to leave but will take a closer look myself next time I'm here. I'm not an admin and so can't protect the pages for you, sorry. One can ask on Requests for page protection, which I see you've already done. I'll put in a word there too. V V 11:39, 17 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Barnstar
Hi Ref! I gave you a barnstar. Just dealing with User:K1 in the way you did grants one but also your arduous work dociumenting religion in Iran.

Thanks and God bless you!

Sincerely yours, your brother in God "Antonio Christian Team Bench Warmer Martin"

Revert war
Could you give me a shout if there is any progress on that? Thanks, Mark Richards 23:24, 19 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * I almost certainly protected the wrong version, and am tempted to agree with your assessment. I have no knowledge of, or interest in, this subject, but is there anything that can be done to move this forward, I mean asside from digging through acrimonious edit trails? Mark Richards 23:52, 19 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Your contrinbutions to Mujahideen al-Khalq
I really appreciate your recent contributions to the Mujahideen al-Khalq article (specially the last paragraph). I couldn't have ever written anything like it, although I knew almost all of the facts. roozbeh 16:46, Jul 26, 2004 (UTC)

Thanks! Refdoc 17:46, 26 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Thanks for cleaning up Talk:William C. Rogers III. Martin 17:54, 1 Aug 2004 (UTC)

title: User talk:Refdoc/archive2


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Charles III, Prince of Monaco

Charles III (Charles Honoré Grimaldi; 8 December 1818 – 10 September 1889) was Prince of Monaco and Duke of Valentinois from 20 June 1856 to his death. He was the founder of the famous casino in Monte Carlo, as his name in Monegasque and Italian was Carlo III. He was born in Paris, the only son of Florestan, Prince of Monaco, and Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz.

Marriage and reign
While he was Hereditary Prince, Charles was married on 28 September 1846 in Brussels to Countess Antoinette de Mérode-Westerloo.

He succeeded his father Prince Florestan in 1856.

During his reign, the towns of Menton and Roquebrune, constituting some 80 percent of Monegasque territory, were formally ceded to France, paving the way for formal French recognition of Monaco's independence. Rebellions in these towns, aided by the Kingdom of Sardinia, had exhausted Monaco's military resources for decades.

The Principality was in dire need of cash flow, so Prince Charles and his mother, Princess Caroline, had the idea of erecting a casino. The Monte Carlo Casino was designed, according to the Prince's liking, in the German style and placed at the site of Les Spélugues. Monte Carlo (in English, Mount Charles) itself takes its name from Charles, after all its founder. Charles established a society (business) to run the Casino; this society is today the Société des bains de mer de Monaco.

Under Charles III, the Principality of Monaco increased its diplomatic activities; for example, in 1864, Charles III concluded a Treaty of Friendship with the Bey of Tunis, Muhammad III as-Sadiq, which also regulated trade and maritime issues.

Honours
Monte Carlo is named after Charles III. It stands for the "Mount Charles" in Italian.

The Order of Saint-Charles was instituted on 15 March 1858, during the reign of Prince Charles III.

He received the following decorations and awards:
 * St Olavs Orden storkors stripe.svg Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav, with Collar, 27 March 1863 (Sweden-Norway)
 * [[Image:DNK Order of Danebrog Grand Cross BAR.png|50px]] Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog, in Brilliants, 16 February 1865 (Denmark)
 * [[Image:Ludwig Order (Hesse) - ribbon bar.png|50px]] Grand Cross of the Grand Ducal Hessian Order of Ludwig, 17 April 1865 (Grand Duchy of Hesse)
 * [[Image:ESP Charles III Order GC.svg|50px]] Grand Cross of the Royal and Distinguished Order of Charles III, 17 February 1867 (Spain)
 * [[Image:Ord.Aquilarossa-GC.png|50px]] Grand Cross of the Order of the Red Eagle, 7 July 1869 (Kingdom of Prussia)
 * [[Image:BAD Order of the Lion of Zaeringen ribbon.svg|50px]] Grand Cross of the Order of the Zähringer Lion, 1869 (Grand Duchy of Baden)
 * [[Image:Legion Honneur Officier ribbon.svg|50px]] Officer of the Legion d'Honneur, for his service in the French Navy in the Franco-Prussian War (French Empire)
 * [[Image:Grand Crest Ordre de Leopold.png|50px]] Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold (civil division), 30 August 1874 (Belgium)
 * [[Image:Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary - Ribbon bar Grand-Cross.svg|50px]] Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen, 1882 (Austria-Hungary)
 * [[Image:SRB-SHS-YUG Orden Belog Orla VKrst BAR.svg|50px]] Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the White Eagle (civil division), 29 May 1883 (Kingdom of Serbia)
 * [[Image:Ordine Supremo del Cristo Rib.png|50px]] Knight of the Supreme Order of Christ (Holy See)
 * [[Image:PRT Military Order of the Tower and of the Sword - Grand Cross BAR.svg|50px]] Grand Cross of the Royal Military Order of the Tower and Sword (Kingdom of Portugal)

Death
In his middle years his sight greatly weakened, and by the last decade of his life he had become almost totally blind. In fact, Dr. Thomas Henry Pickering wrote in 1882: "So far back as 1860, Prince Charles lost his eyesight...."

He died at Château de Marchais on 10 September 1889. He was succeeded by his son Albert I of Monaco.

Coin
In 1966 Monaco released a 10 Francs silver coin in the memory of the 100th anniversary of Monte Carlo, portraying Prince Charles’ III on its obverse. On 1 June 2016, fifteen thousand 2 euro coins were issued by Monaco; commemorating the 150th anniversary of the foundation of Monte Carlo by Charles III

In literature
Charles III is referenced, as Prince Charles Honoré, in a fictional entitled, The Fall of Prince Florestan of Monaco, by the British politician Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke. This work was one of satire and parody on a number of political characters of the day. It centered around a Cambridge-educated, half-Württemberg nephew of Charles III who comes to the throne by way of Charles III and the next two heirs being wiped out of existence. The upstart "Florestan II", a radical republican, boldly attempts to democratize Monaco. He fails and then is forced to leave the country.

title: Charles III, Prince of Monaco


text:
Dance marathon

Dance marathons (or marathon dances) are events in which people dance or walk to music for an extended period of time. They started as dance contests in the 1920s and developed into human endurance contests, or exploitative entertainment events during the Great Depression in the 1930s. In the present day, dance marathons are commonly used as fundraisers. These modern marathons are usually 12–24 hours, a far cry from the 1,000-hour marathons of the 1930s.

Origins
According to Professor Carol Martin of New York University, the revival of the Olympic Games created a widespread interest in feats of strength, endurance contests, and world records that led to dance marathons.

On February 18, 1923, Olie Finnerty and Edgar Van Ollefin set a record by dancing seven hours without stopping in Sunderland, England.

Twelve days later, dance instructor Alma Cummings set a new record at the Audubon Ballroom in New York. She danced continuously for 27 hours with six different partners. Within three weeks, her record was broken at least nine times across the United States.

As the prosperous 1920s faded into the struggling 1930s, dance marathons boomed and offered cash prizes equivalent to a year's salary. They provided contestants and spectators food, shelter and the opportunity to earn cash prizes at a time when many people needed a free meal. By the late 1930s, dance marathons had faded from the cultural landscape.

In her book Dance Marathons: Performing American Culture of the 1920s and 1930s, Carol Martin writes "in their heyday, dance marathons were among America’s most widely attended and controversial forms of live entertainment. The business employed an estimated 20,000 people as promoters, masters of ceremonies, floor judges, trainers, nurses and contestants." According to Martin, nearly every American city of 50,000 people or more hosted at least one endurance dance marathon at the peak of the craze. Women constituted up to 75 percent of dance marathon audiences.

Dance marathons have occurred in most large cities, such as M.D Crandall’s at Madison Square Garden. Smaller cities didn't have as many social issues compared to the contests in larger cities. Though promoters made less money in smaller towns, they looked for a place where a large crowd could fit in for the dance marathon, and the local community helped advertise. Most promoters were known to have bad business practices, such as not paying for the event bills and ditching the contestants. On the other hand, a few promoters like Hal Ross, made efforts for the events, and paid off the bills.

Rules and format
Participants had to remain upright and moving for 45 minutes out of every hour, around the clock.

A live band played at night, while a radio or record player often sufficed during the day. Contestants were expected to dance full-out during the heavily attended evening hours.

Every few hours a klaxon would sound and couples were allowed 15 minutes of rest in beds that were sometimes set up on the dance floor. These rest areas were segregated by sex. Contestants trained themselves to drop instantly into deep sleep as soon as their bodies touched the cots. Women who did not get up were given smelling salts and sometimes slapped. Male contestants who were slow to wake were often dunked in a tub of ice water. At times, couples were tucked on dog chains together like prisoners. "Cot Nights," in which the beds from the rest areas were pulled out into public view so the audience could watch the contestants even during their brief private moments, were popular.

Most marathon promoters fed contestants 12 times a day, although contestants were required to continue the shuffling dance motion while they ate. Although the meals were simple foods like eggs, oatmeal or toast, in a time of great hunger food was a powerful inducement to contestants. Many marathon contestants reported that, despite the constant motion, 12 meals a day meant that they actually gained weight. Once admission was paid, spectators could stay as long as they liked. Marathons took on an almost theatrical role for spectators, as spectators gained a sadistic sense of pleasure from watching the participants physically suffer.

Dancers could often be seen dozing off while their partners held them up to keep their knees from hitting the ground (which would result in disqualification). To encourage lagging couples to continue moving, the floor judge sometimes used a ruler to flick the legs of contestants who were not shuffling with sufficient alacrity.

Tasks such as eating, bathing, shaving, and reading the paper could be done while dancing. In her first autobiography, June Havoc described how the contestants shaved onstage, wrote letters, washed themselves, ate while keeping their feet moving, even had sex under blankets on the dance floor.

As the marathon wore on and contestants' stamina withered, they could be forced into footraces, or risk elimination.

Competitors used sponsorship to generate extra cash. Local businesses paid these couples a small stipend in exchange for wearing the company’s name as they competed. Marathoners also sold autographed picture postcards of themselves to the fans. The price was usually 10 cents. “Dancingly yours,” many read.

The audience stayed for the contest as long as they desired after paying the 25 cents admission fee. During the Great Depression, many Americans dealt with the issue of losing jobs and staying home by watching dance marathons that often lasted for weeks or months. Relatively, the tickets to the event were affordable, and entertaining for them due to it being staged and dramatized which they weren't aware of.

The profits for promoters came from the spectators, returning night after night, cash in hand, to follow the action.

Marathons were usually somewhat rigged, or at least stacked, toward certain couples.

Opposition towards dance marathons
At the time of the dance marathon boom, many churches still considered dancing sinful. Social dancing was still scandalous enough for some promoters to call dance marathons by the more palatable name of "walkathons".

Movie theater owners also objected dance marathons, as dance marathons were a strong business competitor during the Great Depression.

As the dance marathon wore on and contestants became exhausted, contestants’ engaged in full body contact rather than more distant social dance positions. This increased the feeling among some that dance marathons were licentious.

Some objected for humanitarian reasons. They believed it was wrong to charge money for the dubious privilege of watching people suffer. Extreme fatigue could compromise contestants' mental state and cause them to act out in disturbing ways.

Police also believed that marathons attracted an undesirable element to their towns.

On April 14, 1923, Homer Morehouse, aged 27, collapsed and died on the dance floor after dancing with his partner for 87 consecutive hours. Soon after the City of Boston banned dance marathons.

In 1928, Gladys Lenz danced for 19 straight hours at a Seattle marathon despite being punched in the face by a partner who appeared to be suffering from fatigue-induced psychosis. The couple received $50 for coming fifth while the winning couple won $1,000. Lenz attempted suicide soon after. Within the year Seattle banned dance marathons.

Over time, the novelty of dance marathons wore off and by the late 1930s, many local authorities banned dance marathons.

Professional performers began to join the dance marathons and competed against authentic amateurs.

Notable people from the dance marathon craze
Callum DeVillier and Vonny Kuchinski of Minneapolis took first prize in a marathon at Somerville, Massachusetts after dancing for five months in 1933. The couple won $1000. A headstone in the Showmen’s Rest section of Minneapolis’s Lakewood Cemetery reads: "DeVillier, World Champion Marathon Dancer 3,780 continuous hours." Vaudeville and Broadway star June Havoc began competing in dance marathons professionally at the age of 14. Havoc's longest dance marathon was reportedly 3,000 hours, or more than four months of staying on her feet and sleeping only in 15-minute intervals. Havoc also wrote the stage play Marathon '33 based on her experiences.

Novelist and screenwriter Horace McCoy worked as a bouncer at several dance marathons. He used this experience to write They Shoot Horses Don't They? which was eventually adapted into a film of the same name.

Singer Anita O'Day dropped out of school at age 14 to be a professional marathon dancer. Her marathon dance career ended two years later when a truant officer spotted her and sent her back to school. Her last big event was in Springfield, Illinois, where she and her partner danced for 97 days and came in second.

Dance marathons for charity
Today, over 250 colleges and high schools nationwide participate in dance marathons of some sort to raise money for children's hospitals. Some raise money under the Children's Miracle Network and with their help, while others are entirely student-run and operate to benefit partnered charities. Each year, students organize and host different types of dance marathon events in which participants stand on their feet for 12–46 hours straight.

Some US student-run dance marathons include:

Penn State Dance Marathon (THON)
The Penn State Dance Marathon, commonly referred to as THON, is a 46-hour dance marathon which takes place every February at Pennsylvania State University to raise money to combat children's cancer. THON was started in 1973 by the university's Interfraternity and Panhellenic Councils and in its first year raised more than $2,000. Today, it is the largest student-run philanthropy in the world which has raised over $157 million since 1977. In 2011, THON raised $9,563,016.09, in 2013, $12,374,034.46 and in 2014, $13,343,517.33. In 2020 THON raised $11,696,942.38. The money raised is donated to the Four Diamonds Fund, a charity devoted to defeating pediatric cancer through research and treats patients at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center Children's Hospital.

Northwestern University Dance Marathon (NUDM)
Founded in 1975, Northwestern University Dance Marathon, commonly referred to as NUDM, is one of the nation's largest student-run philanthropies. The event unites more than 1,500 students, faculty, and staff to participate in the 30-hour dance-a-thon at the end of the winter quarter in early March. Unlike other Dance Marathons, NUDM changes which charity it primarily supports from year to year. The primary beneficiary is chosen each May, and will receive 90% of all funds raised throughout the year. The other 10% is donated to the Evanston Community Foundation (ECF), which then uses this gift to allocate grants to local Evanston charities. NUDM 2020 will be the 23rd year where ECF has been the secondary beneficiary. With 1,000 dancers and over 500 committee members who work throughout the year to help organize the event and raise awareness, NUDM is a Northwestern tradition. In 2014, NUDM raised its highest total to date, $1,385,273 to benefit Team Joseph. In 45 years, NUDM raised more than $20 million for over 30 charities.

Indiana University Dance Marathon (IUDM)
The Indiana University Dance Marathon, commonly known as IU Dance Marathon or IUDM, is a 36-hour Dance Marathon that takes place every November at Indiana University with the purpose of raising both funding and awareness for pediatric care. In 1991, student Jill Stewart started IU Dance Marathon in honor of her friend, Ryan White, who died from AIDS the year before. Since then, IUDM has raised over $32 million for Riley Hospital for Children, including $4,203,326.23 during the 2017 marathon year. IUDM currently supports the Wells Center for Pediatric Research and Riley Hospital for Children.

University of Iowa Dance Marathon (UIDM)
The University of Iowa Dance Marathon was founded in 1994 and provides financial and emotional support to pediatric oncology and bone marrow transplant patients treated at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital. Over the past 24 years, the university's largest student organization has raised $24,548,226.30 for the children's hospital. In 2018, UIDM raised a total of $3,011,015.24, making it the second Miracle Network Dance Marathon in the country to raise over three million dollars. After a ten-year, $5 million leadership gift to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital's building campaign, the 11th floor was named the UI Dance Marathon Pediatric Cancer Center. Since then, the student-run group has donated over $2.2 million to create the UI Dance Marathon Pediatric Oncology Targeted Therapy Program and $2 million to establish the first student-funded chair position at the University of Iowa, the UI Dance Marathon Chair in Pediatric Oncology, Clinical and Translational Research.

Florida State University Dance Marathon (DMFSU)
With more than one beneficiary, FSU's dance marathon benefits children's causes and has raised more than $6 million since 1996. The 2018 campaign raised a total of $2,152,382 for Children's Miracle Network, surpassing the previous year's record by $322,214.

Media

 * They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (novel) by Horace McCoy, 1935.
 * Marathon '33 (play) by June Havoc, 1963.
 * They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (film) directed by Sydney Pollack,1969.
 * Alexander McQueen's Spring 2004 Ready to Wear
 * Dance Until You Drop (play), 2018
 * No Miracles Here (play), 2019
 * Babylon Berlin: Season 4, Episode 3 (tv-series), 2022
 * They Shoot Gilmores, Don't They? (Gilmore Girls, Season 3, Episode 7), 2002

title: Dance marathon


text:
Glacial landform

Glacial landforms are landforms created by the action of glaciers. Most of today's glacial landforms were created by the movement of large ice sheets during the Quaternary glaciations. Some areas, like Fennoscandia and the southern Andes, have extensive occurrences of glacial landforms; other areas, such as the Sahara, display rare and very old fossil glacial landforms.

Erosional landforms
As the glaciers expand, due to their accumulating weight of snow and ice they crush, abrade, and scour surfaces such as rocks and bedrock. The resulting erosional landforms include striations, cirques, glacial horns, arêtes, trim lines, U-shaped valleys, roches moutonnées, overdeepenings and hanging valleys.

 * Striations: grooves and indentations in rock outcrops, formed by the scraping of small sediments on the bottom of a glacier across the Earth's surface. The direction of striations display the direction the glacier was moving.
 * Cirque: Starting location for mountain glaciers, leaving behind a bowl shaped indentation in the mountain side once the small glacier has melted.(add geology book citation already in the article)
 * Cirque stairway: a sequence of cirques
 * U-shaped, or trough, valley: U-shaped valleys are created by mountain glaciers. When filled with ocean water so as to create an inlet, these valleys are called fjords.
 * Arête: spiky high land between two glaciers. If the glacial action erodes through, a spillway (or col) forms
 * Horn: a sharp peak connecting multiple glacier intersections, made up of multiple arêtes.
 * Valley step: an abrupt change in the longitudinal slope of a glacial valley
 * Hanging Valleys: Formed by glacial meltwater eroding the land partially, often accompanied by a waterfall.
 * Roche moutonnée
 * Nunatak

Depositional landforms

Later, when the glaciers retreated leaving behind their freight of crushed rock and sand (glacial drift), they created characteristic depositional landforms. Depositional landforms are often made of glacial till, which is composed of unsorted sediments (some quite large, others small) that were eroded, carried, and deposited by the glacier some distance away from their original rock source. Examples include glacial moraines, eskers, and kames. Drumlins and ribbed moraines are also landforms left behind by retreating glaciers. Many depositional landforms result from sediment deposited or reshaped by meltwater and are referred to as fluvioglacial landforms. Fluvioglacial deposits differ from glacial till in that they were deposited by means of water, rather than the glacial itself, and the sediments are thus also more size sorted than glacial till is. The stone walls of New England contain many glacial erratics, rocks that were dragged by a glacier many miles from their bedrock origin.

 * Esker: Built up bed of a subglacial stream, forming small, string-like mounds left behind as a glacier retreats.
 * Kame: Irregularly shaped mound of sediments perviously deposited by falling into an opening of glacial ice.
 * Moraine: Built up mound of glacial till along a spot on the glacier. Feature can be terminal (at the end of a glacier, showing how far the glacier extended), lateral (along the sides of a glacier), or medial (formed by the merger of lateral moraines from contributory glaciers). Types: Pulju, Rogen, Sevetti, terminal, Veiki
 * Outwash fan: Braided stream flowing from the front end of a glacier into a more flat, lower elevation plain of sediments.

Glacial lakes and ponds
Lakes and ponds may also be caused by glacial movement. Kettle lakes form when a retreating glacier leaves behind an underground or surface chunk of ice that later melts to form a depression containing water. Moraine-dammed lakes occur when glacial debris dam a stream (or snow runoff). Jackson Lake and Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park are examples of moraine-dammed lakes, though Jackson Lake is enhanced by a man-made dam.

 * Kettle lake: Depression, formed by a block of ice separated from the main glacier, in which the lake forms
 * Tarn: A lake formed in a cirque by overdeepening
 * Paternoster lake: A series of lakes in a glacial valley, formed when a stream is dammed by successive recessional moraines left by an advancing or retreating glacier
 * Glacial lake: A lake that formed between the front of a glacier and the last recessional moraine

Ice features
Apart from the landforms left behind by glaciers, glaciers themselves are striking features of the terrain, particularly in the polar regions of Earth. Notable examples include valley glaciers where glacial flow is restricted by the valley walls, crevasses in the upper section of glacial ice, and icefalls—the ice equivalent of waterfalls.

Disputed origin
The glacial origin of some landforms has been questioned:

Erling Lindström has advanced the thesis that roches moutonnées may not be entirely glacial landforms taking most of their shape before glaciation. Jointing that contribute to the shape typically predate glaciation and roche moutonnée-like forms can be found in tropical areas such as East Africa and Australia. Further at Ivö Lake in Sweden weathered rock surfaces exposed by kaolin mining resemble roche moutonnée.

The idea of elevated flat surfaces being shaped by glaciation—the glacial buzzsaw effect—has been rejected by various scholars. In the case of Norway the elevated paleic surface has been proposed to have been shaped by the glacial buzzsaw effect. However, this proposal is difficult to reconcile with the fact that the paleic surface consist of a series of steps at different levels. Further glacial cirques, that in the buzzsaw hypothesis contribute to belevel the landscape, are not associated to any paleosurface levels of the composite paleic surface, nor does the modern equilibrium line altitude (ELA) or the Last Glacial Maximum ELA match any given level of the paleic surface. The elevated plains of West Greenland are also unrelated to any glacial buzzsaw effect.

The Gulf of Bothnia and Hudson Bay, two large depressions at the centre of former ice sheets, are known to be more the result of tectonics than of any weak glacial erosion.

title: Glacial landform


text: User talk:200.191.191.39

title: User talk:200.191.191.39


text:
Darkness Descends

Darkness Descends is the second studio album by the American thrash metal band Dark Angel, released on November 17, 1986. Released at the height of thrash metal's popularity, Darkness Descends received positive reviews from music critics, and has been cited as a major influence on the death metal, doom metal and groove metal scenes of the late 1980s and 1990s.

Overview
Though bassist Rob Yahn appears on the album, Mike Gonzalez received credit in the liner notes. Darkness Descends was Dark Angel's final album to feature original vocalist Don Doty. The album is the first to feature influential drummer Gene Hoglan.

The song "Darkness Descends" is about the comic book characters known as the Dark Judges from the Judge Dredd comic book series, and even contains their famous statement, "this city is guilty, the crime is life, the sentence is death."

"Death Is Certain (Life Is Not)" deals with euthanasia.

"Black Prophecies" addresses Nostradamus and the evil of Napoleon and Hitler.

"Perish in Flames" describes a pilot's thoughts as he destroys a ground target with terrible weapons.

"The Burning of Sodom" tells the story of Lot's flight from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

"Merciless Death" is a re-recording of a song from Dark Angel's previous album We Have Arrived.

Reception
In August 2014, Revolver placed Darkness Descends on its "14 Thrash Albums You Need to Own" list. Decibel Magazine placed it 9th on its "50 Greatest Thrash Metal Albums of All Time." Loudwire placed Darkness Descends at number 6 on its "Top Ten Thrash Albums NOT Released by the Big 4" list.

Icarus Records 2010 remastered bonus tracks
Darkness Descends on Philadelphia - DFA Live at the Trocadero, October 23, 1988

Darkness Descends on Reseda - DFA Live at the Country Club April 22, 1989

Personnel

 * Dark Angel
 * Don Doty – lead vocals
 * Eric Meyer – lead and rhythm guitar, engineer
 * Jim Durkin – lead and rhythm guitar
 * Rob Yahn – bass, engineer (bass recording)
 * Gene Hoglan – drums
 * Ron Rinehart – vocals on the live recordings
 * Mike Gonzalez – bass on the live recordings

 * Production
 * Randy Burns – producer, engineer
 * Casey McMackin – engineer

title: Darkness Descends


text:
Talk:Monkstown, County Dublin

Untitled
This article was recently moved to Monkstown Dublin. It has been moved back here.

Please note that the format for Irish towns is first "Townname". If this is not available, or disambiguation is necessary, the format "Townname, County Countyname" is followed - except for Dublin where the city and county are too closely associated (we use "Townname, Dublin"). Any suburbs are at Suburbname or Suburbname, Cityname.

This is the current status quo for Irish town articles.

zoney ♣ talk 16:00, 11 Feb 2005 (UTC)

 * This simply wrong for places such as Monkstown, whose postal address is, and has always been, "Monkstown, County Dublin" ... so I'll move it back to that location. -- Brown HairedGirl (talk) • (contribs) 20:54, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

Population
I have inserted the population from the 2006 census:

Greater Dublin Suburbs in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Blackrock-Monkstown            3,062 Greater Dublin Suburbs in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Blackrock-Seapoint             1,332 Greater Dublin Suburbs in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Dun Laoghaire-Monkstown Farm   1,975

I used the Blackrock-Monkstown numbers above. Should Monkstown Farm be included.? The data can be obtained from CSO.ie --DubhEire (talk) 15:26, 15 February 2010 (UTC)
 * I added Seapoint to the Monkstown figure making the population 6,369 --DubhEire (talk) 22:39, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

People
I deleted the entry for Gary Mason because it did not link to an article nor did it have a citation to a reliable source. Before restoring his name to the list, makes sure that it links to a valid Wikipedia article that establishes his connection to Monkstown, or in the alternative cites to a reliable source (or two) that establishes both his notability and his connection to Monkstown. Thanks. --Bejnar (talk) 10:14, 22 October 2012 (UTC)

title: Talk:Monkstown, County Dublin


text:
Template talk:PD-China

Sources: – Quadell (talk) (sleuth) 16:01, Feb 11, 2005 (UTC)
 * (from a law firm in China)
 * (from the PRC, in Chinese)
 * (From a policy paper, PDF)
 * Do the same applies to Hong Kong and Macao? Each of them is separate legal jurisdiction from mainland China. — Instantnood 02:23, Mar 25, 2005 (UTC)

Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China
I'm afraid the description in "Template: PD China" looks wrong and is against international law.

(1) Even photographic works don't enter the public doman fifty years after they were created but fifty years after they were first published.

(2) The template says, "This image was created in China", but place of creation has nothing to do with the term of protecting copyright even in the new/old Chinese copyright laws.

I hope the description of the template will be properly amended soon.

Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China 2001

Section 3 Term of Protection for rights

Article 21

...

The term of protection for the right of publication or protection for the right of publication or the rights referred to in Article l0, paragraphs (5) to (17), of this Law in respect of a cinematographic work, a work created by virtue of an analogous method of film production or a photographic work shall be fifty years, and expires on 3l December of the fiftieth year after the first publication of such work, provided that any such work that has not been published within fifty years after the completion of its creation shall no longer be protected under this Law. Source:New Copyright Law & Old Copyright Law of the PRC

Copyright Law of the Republic of China
Photographic works don't enter the public doman fifty years after they were created but fifty years after they were published.

Copyright Law of the Republic of China 1998

Article 34 Economic rights for photographic works, audiovisual works, sound recordings, computer programs and performances endure for fifty years after the public release of the work. Source:New Copyright Law of the PRC --Watanabe Hisashi 05:03, 15 October 2005 (UTC)

 * Is it like.. either law protects works first published within its jurisdiction, regardless of where the works were created? — Instantnood 14:08, 15 April 2006 (UTC)

Separate templates
Should there be separate templates for the PRC and the ROC, e.g.,  template:PD-PRC and   template:PD-ROC? Template:PD-China can perhaps be kept for pre-ROC (pre-1912) works. — Instantnood 14:09, 15 April 2006 (UTC)

 * why? PD is PD. There's no need to create a PD template for every country in the world provided the rules are the same. same case here--Jiang 20:38, 15 April 2006 (UTC)
 * I'm not sure if the rules are exactly the same. Many PD templates have already been created. — Instantnood 09:30, 16 April 2006 (UTC)

People's Republic of China in 1946???
The People's Republic of China was not established until 1949. The template needs fixing up. --Sumple (Talk) 04:19, 9 February 2007 (UTC)
 * Done. The impotant point in that section is the "source country" as defined by 17 U.S.C. 104A, which would be the PRC for works first published within the current copyright jurisdiction of the PRC (excluding Hong Kong and Macao), even if they were first published between 1946 and 1949. Physchim62 (talk) 10:34, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Dubious claims of copyright
The claims on this tag are all over the place. First off, the tag is claiming the PRC existed in 1923, based upon a treaty signed in 1904, but the PRC didn't exist until much later, and the document being cited as support for this claim (I fixed the link as the old one didn't work) has a footnote explicitly saying that the "The government of the People's Republic of China views this treaty as not binding." The PRC, as best as I can determine so far, did not even have any copyright laws until 1990 or so. When they signed the Berne Convention they started following rules, but it doesn't suddenly turn things that were public domain into copyright, not by U.S. laws anyway. So if they say copyrights expire after such a length of time, that'd be starting when the law existed, not things prior to that.

If these claims are going to remain on this tag they need to be explicitly supported with accurate and reliable sources. DreamGuy (talk) 19:44, 26 April 2009 (UTC)
 * I have no idea when United States copyright had any sovereignty over Chinese material released under Chinese copyright. It is completely preposterous. The only "copyright" that needs to be obliged is the first one on this talk page, which clearly states that the copyright law in China follows WTO or something or other treaties and is 50 years long. The text of the template says that the image (if using the text) is in PD because it was released more than 50 years ago. Nothing else needs to be mentioned. Doing so will only add to confusion. And as for previous material when there was no treaties, I am 99.99% sure that they don't get converted. So the date is inaccurate regardless. ηoian   ‡orever ηew ‡rontiers  01:24, 24 December 2009 (UTC)

title: Template talk:PD-China


text:
Back-Up Trust

The Back-Up Trust is a UK charity that supports people affected by spinal cord injury.

History
The charity was founded in 1986 and was initially set up to offer ski courses for those affected by spinal cord injury. In 1988, it formed a partnership with The Calvert Trust and began to expand its courses to challenge and empower people to get ‘back up’ to a place they were at before their accident. By 2010 the charity was involved in adventure holidays for people with spinal cord injuries. The charity is involved with wheelchair skills training.

In 2003 the charity joined up with five other spinal cord injury organisations in the UK to launch the Spinal Injuries Together (SIT) initiative. In 2017 the charity reported an annual income of £1.6million.

title: Back-Up Trust


text: User talk:82.32.40.112

title: User talk:82.32.40.112


text:
Allergy UK

Allergy UK, formally The British Allergy Foundation, is a British medical charity dedicated to helping adults and children with allergies. The charity was founded in 1991, and in 2002 the operational name of the charity became Allergy UK.

Approved Products
The charity, through its commercial arm Allergy Research Ltd, endorses products that "may help make life more comfortable for people living with allergy". Only products that meet the organisation's "scientific or clinical protocols" are given the "Allergy UK Seal of Approval". These products span many categories, from fabrics and flooring to cosmetics, detergents and electrical appliances.

National lobbying
Allergy UK is a founding member of the National Allergy Strategy Group, a coalition of charities, professional organisations and industry, that seeks to improve health services for people with allergies in the UK.

title: Allergy UK


text:
Rocket (DC Comics)

Rocket (Raquel Ervin) is a comic book superhero in materials published by DC Comics.

Publication history
An original character from DC's Milestone Comics imprint, she first appeared in Icon #1 (May 1993) where she was created by Dwayne McDuffie (writer), Denys Cowan, and Mark Bright.

Rocket, along with Milestone Universe and characters, was revived and merged into the DC Universe proper in the late 2000s. The merger treats the characters as new to the universe, ignoring the "Worlds Collide" Milestone/DC crossover of 1994. Rocket reappeared in Justice League of America (vol. 2) #27, written by creator Dwayne McDuffie.

Character biography
Raquel Ervin was born in Paris Island, the poorest, most crime-ridden neighborhood in Dakota. Although she is only the sidekick of the title character, Icon, she is the actual protagonist of the series. She yearned to become a writer like Toni Morrison, but lacked inspiration until she met Augustus Freeman IV, a corporate lawyer who was secretly a stranded alien with superhuman powers. This occurred while she and her friends were robbing Freeman's home. Raquel convinced Augustus to become the superhero Icon, and to take her on as his sidekick, Rocket. While in costume, she wore a belt that Icon fashioned out of his escape pod's inertia winder, which allowed her to manipulate kinetic energy.

Shortly after she began adventuring with Icon, Raquel discovered that she was pregnant by her ex-boyfriend, Noble (one of the other robbers from the day she met Freeman). She gave birth to a son, Amistad Augustus Ervin, named "Amistad" after the famous ship that brought slaves over from Africa to America, and "Augustus" in honor of Icon. While her pregnancy caused her to give up adventuring for a time, Raquel eventually became a superhero again.

Rocket also assists the Blood Syndicate member Flashback in fighting her addiction to crack cocaine. Rocket was more liberal than Icon, which caused them to clash on a number of occasions. She befriended Static, another teenage superhero from Dakota City. While it has been hinted that someday they might become more than friends, their relationship remained platonic throughout the run of their respective titles.

DC Universe
Following the death of Darkseid (as chronicled in Final Crisis), the space-time continuum was torn asunder, threatening the existence of both the Dakotaverse and the mainstream DC universe. The being known as Dharma was able to use energies that he harnessed from Rift (upon that being's defeat in Worlds Collide) to merge the two universes, creating an entirely new continuity. Only Dharma, Icon and Superman are aware that Dakota and its inhabitants previously existed in a parallel universe. In the revised continuity, Rocket and the other Milestone characters have apparently always existed in the DC Universe. Rocket is still partnered with Icon, who appears to have an existing friendship with Superman and is exempt from prosecution at the hands of the Green Lantern Corps.

Rocket makes her first DCU appearance in Justice League of America (vol. 2) #30, intervening at Icon's request when Batman, Zatanna, Firestorm, and Black Lightning attack several members of the Shadow Cabinet while on a mission in the city of Metropolis. Believing Raquel and the Shadow Cabinet agents have kidnapped former Justice League International member Kimiyo Hoshi (Dr. Light II), Batman immediately attempts to strike Rocket with a batarang, which she easily deflects with her powers. After berating Batman and informing him that Kimiyo is unharmed, Rocket accompanies the Shadow Cabinet Agents and JLA members to the Justice League Satellite, where they aid Icon, Hawkman, and the rest of the Shadow Cabinet and JLA members in a battle with the Shadow Thief. Once Shadow Thief is defeated, Rocket and the other Milestone heroes return home by use of the Shadowslide, with Raquel and Augustus presumably returning to Dakota.

On her Twitter account, writer Gail Simone mentioned that she had planned on using Rocket at some point during her tenure on Wonder Woman, but was not allowed to. Rocket makes a cameo appearance in Justice League, speaking to Wonder Woman.

Powers
All of Rocket's superhuman powers derive from her inertia belt. By using her belt, she can manipulate kinetic energy, granting some super strength, and a kinetic force field.

Skills
Raquel Ervin is a voracious reader and a gifted writer. A former high school gymnast, she is very agile and has quick reflexes. Rocket is also a good hand-to-hand combatant due to her crime fighting experience as Icon's sidekick.

Equipment
All of Rocket's superhuman powers derive from the inertia winder installed in her belt buckle. This device is one of two from Icon's escape pod, the other is installed in Hardware's current suit of armor. When activated, the inertia winder surrounds Rocket in an "inertia field", which absorbs, stores, and redirects any kinetic energy used against it. Rocket's inertia field is normally invisible to the human eye. The field glows purple when it absorbs or releases kinetic energy.

The inertia field primarily serves as a force field that protects her from anything invested with kinetic energy: physical blows, bullets, falls, etc. The maximum amount of kinetic energy Rocket's inertia field can absorb and store is unknown. However, the field nearly reached its limit during Rocket's battle with Oblivion.

Rocket's inertia field normally extends a few inches from her body, but she can expand the field to enclose much greater areas. She once used it to protect a small crowd of people without any loss of its durability.

Rocket can release the field's stored energy, giving her a range of offensive abilities. She can strike with superhuman force by surrounding her fists with kinetic energy. By releasing all the energy in the inertia field, she can stagger powerful beings like Icon with a single blow. Such a feat would leave Rocket defenseless so she prefers to throw less powerful punches. Furthermore, Rocket has moral qualms about using her full store of kinetic energy against normal human opponents.

Rocket can also use kinetic energy to increase the force with which she hurls an object, turning it into a dangerous projectile. For example, she once hurled a bullet with enough force to rival a shot from a high-caliber rifle. This ability is limited to objects which she can lift and toss with her normal strength.

By releasing her store kinetic energy in focus beams, Rocket can project powerful energy blasts from her hands. As with her kinetic punches, the force of these blasts depends on how much kinetic energy she uses.

Recently, Rocket has learned how to use her inertia winder to surround a target within an "inertialess field". This field's kinetic energy nullifies the energy of anything trapped within down to the molecular level. As a result, Rocket can use the inertialess field to effectively immobilize her opponents. In fact, some opponents can fall unconscious in as much as the field prevents oxygen molecules from reaching their lungs. The inertialess field consumes enormous amounts of energy and collapses after a few seconds.

Rocket can fly by releasing her inertia field's kinetic energy beneath her, launching her skyward. Initially, she was not very skilled with this ability and thus could only leap over great distances, but after training from Darnice, Rocket can use her kinetic energy as a means of propulsion for genuine flight. Rocket is capable of flying through narrow corridors and performing complex aerial maneuvers. She can even hover in midair by releasing controlled bursts of kinetic energy beneath her.

Rocket's inertia field has certain weaknesses due to its very nature. First, the field will not activate if a person or object exerts little kinetic energy against it. This makes Rocket vulnerable to stealth attacks, which rely on slower movements and minimal force. Second, the inertia field offers little protection against weapons based on non-kinetic energy like thermal (e.g., flamethrowers) or electrical (e.g., tasers). Finally, Rocket will begin to feel the force of attacks directed against the field if it is overloaded as occurred in her battle with Oblivion.

In other media

 * Rocket appears in Young Justice, voiced initially by Kali Troy in her first three appearances and subsequently by Denise Boutte. This version initially works with Icon before joining the Team. In the second season, Invasion, an adult Rocket joins the Justice League and gets engaged to Noble Davis (voiced by Phil Morris). As of the third season, Outsiders, she has given birth to a son named Amistad (voiced initially by Khary Payton and later by Kurtis Mansfield). During the fourth season, Phantoms, Rocket grapples with balancing her duties to the League and raising the autistic Amistad on her own.
 * Rocket appears as a playable character in Young Justice: Legacy, voiced by Cree Summer.

Analysis
Rocket held liberal views on economic and social issues, which resulted in her often clashing with her conservative partner, Icon. Under her influence, Icon eventually began re-evaluating his views.

W. E. B. Du Bois's The Souls of Black Folk was a major influence in shaping Rocket's liberal views.

Rocket is the first comic book superheroine who is a single teenage mother. The only other one is Mirage, a former member of the Teen Titans. Although Stephanie Brown, the former Batgirl and current Spoiler, gave birth at 15, she gave the child up for adoption.

title: Rocket (DC Comics)