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Bailout

A bailout is the provision of financial help to a corporation or country which otherwise would be on the brink of bankruptcy. A bailout differs from the term bail-in (coined in 2010) under which the bondholders or depositors of global systemically important financial institutions (G-SIFIs) are forced to participate in the recapitalization process but taxpayers are not. Some governments also have the power to participate in the insolvency process; for instance, the U.S. government intervened in the General Motors bailout of 2009–2013. A bailout can, but does not necessarily, avoid an insolvency process. The term bailout is maritime in origin and describes the act of removing water from a sinking vessel using a bucket.

Overview
A bailout could be done for profit motives, such as when a new investor resurrects a floundering company by buying its shares at firesale prices, or for social objectives, such as when, hypothetically speaking, a wealthy philanthropist reinvents an unprofitable fast food company into a non-profit food distribution network. However, the common use of the phrase occurs where government resources are used to support a failing company typically to prevent a greater problem or financial contagion to other parts of the economy. For example, the US government assumes transportation to be critical to the country's general economic prosperity. As such, it has sometimes been the policy of the US government to protect major US companies responsible for transportation (aircraft manufacturers, train companies, automobile companies, etc.) from failure by subsidies and low-interest loans. Such companies, among others, are deemed "too big to fail" because their goods and services are considered by the government to be constant universal necessities in maintaining the nation's welfare and often, indirectly, its security.

Emergency-type government bailouts can be controversial. Debates raged in 2008 over if and how to bail out the failing auto industry in the United States. Those against it, like pro-free market radio personality Hugh Hewitt, saw the bailout as unacceptable. He argued that the companies should be dismantled organically by the free-market forces so that entrepreneurs may arise from the ashes; that the bailout signals lower business standards for giant companies by incentivizing risk, creating moral hazard through the assurance of safety nets that ought not be but unfortunately are considered in business equations; and that a bailout promotes centralized bureaucracy by allowing government powers to choose the terms of the bailout. Furthermore, government bailouts are criticized as corporate welfare, which encourages corporate irresponsibility.

Others, such as economist Jeffrey Sachs, have characterized the particular bailout as a necessary evil and have argued in 2008 that the probable incompetence in management of the car companies is an insufficient reason to let them fail completely and to risk disturbing the delicate economic state of the United States, as up to three million jobs rested on the solvency of the Big Three and things were bleak enough as they were.

Randall D. Guynn noted similar arguments for the financial bailouts of 2008, explaining that most policymakers considered bailouts to be the lesser of two evils, given the lack of effective resolution options at the time.

In the financial crisis of 2007–2008, large amounts of government support were used to protect the financial system, and many of those actions were attacked as bailouts. Over $1 trillion of government support was deployed in this period and "voters were furious." The US Troubled Asset Relief Program authorized up to $700bn of government support of which $426bn was invested in banks, American International Group, automakers, and other assets. TARP recovered funds totalling $441.7 billion from $426.4 billion invested, earning a $15.3 billion profit.

In the United Kingdom, the bank rescue package was even larger, totaling some £500bn.

Controversial bailouts occurred in other countries as well, such as Germany (the SoFFin rescue fund), Switzerland (the rescue of UBS), Ireland (the "blanket guarantee" of Irish domestic banks issued in September 2008), and several other countries in Europe.

Bailout vs. bail-in
A bail-in is the opposite of a bail-out because it does not rely on external parties, especially government capital support. A bail-in creates new capital to rescue a failing firm through an internal recapitalization and forces the borrower's creditors to bear the burden by having part of the debt they are owed written off or converted into equity. (For example, in the case of the Cyprus banks in 2013, the creditors in question were bondholders, and the bail-in was of depositors with more than €100,000 in their accounts. )

Theory
The bail-in was first proposed publicly in an Economist Op-Ed "From Bail-out to Bail-in" in January 2010, by Paul Calello and Wilson Ervin. It was described as a new alternative between "taxpayer bail-outs (bad) and systemic financial collapse (probably worse)." It envisioned a high-speed recapitalization financed by "bailing-in" (converting) bondholder debt into fresh equity. The new capital would absorb losses and provide new capital to support critical activities, thereby avoiding a sudden disorderly collapse or fire sale, as seen in the Lehman failure. Management would be fired and shareholders would be displaced by the bailed-in bondholders, but the franchise, employees and core services could continue, supported by the newly converted capital.

Around the same time, the Bank of England was developing similar architecture, given the pressing need for a better tool to handle failing banks in the wake of the financial crisis. The first official discussion of bail-in was set out in a speech by Paul Tucker, who chaired the Financial Stability Board (FSB) Working Group on Cross Border Crisis Management and was also deputy governor for Financial Stability at the Bank of England. In March 2010, Tucker began to outline the properties of a new "bail-in" strategy to handle the failure of a large bank:

"A quite different, and rather more profound approach would be to deploy a super special resolution framework that permitted the authorities, on a rapid timetable, to haircut uninsured creditors in a going concern."

By October 2011, the FSB Working Group had developed this thinking considerably and published the "Key Attributes of Effective Resolution Regimes for Financial Institutions." The document set out core principles to be adopted by all participating jurisdictions, including the legal and operational capability for such a super special resolution regime (now known as "bail-in").

The scope of the planned resolution regime was not limited to large domestic banks. In addition to "systemically significant or critical" financial institutions, the scope also applies to two further categories of institutions Global SIFIs (banks incorporated domestically in a country that is implementing the bail-in regime) and "Financial Market Infrastructures (FMIs)" like clearing houses. The inclusion of FMIs in potential bail-ins is in itself a major departure. The FSB defines those market infrastructures to include multilateral securities and derivatives clearing and settlement systems and a whole host of exchange and transaction systems, such as payment systems, central securities depositories, and trade depositories. That would mean that an unsecured creditor claim to, for example, a clearing house institution or a stock exchange could in theory be affected if such an institution needed to be bailed in.

The cross-border elements of the resolution of globally significant banking institutions (G-SIFIs) were a topic of a joint paper by the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England in 2012.

Outgoing Deputy Director of the Bank of England Paul Tucker chose to open his academic career at Harvard with an October 2013 address in Washington to the Institute of International Finance in which he argued that resolution had advanced enough in several countries that bailouts would not be required and so would be bailed-in, notably the US G-SIBs. Although they were still large, they were no longer too big to fail because of the improvements in resolution technology.

In a similar vein, a GAO report in 2014 determined that the market expectation of bailouts for the largest "too big to fail" banks had been largely eliminated by the reforms. That was determined by various methods, especially by comparing the funding cost of the biggest banks with smaller banks that are subject to ordinary FDIC resolution. That differential, which had been large in the crisis, had been reduced to roughly zero by the advance of reform, but the GAO also cautioned that the results should be interpreted with caution.

In Europe, the EU financial community symposium on the "Future of Banking in Europe" (December 2013) was attended by Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan, who proposed a bail-in scheme in light of the banking union that was under discussion at the event. Deputy BoE Director Jon Cunliffe suggested in a March 2014 speech at Chatham House that the domestic banks were too big to fail, but instead of the nationalisation process used in the case of HBOS, RBS and threatened for Barclays (all in late 2008), those banks could henceforth be bailed in.

A form of bail-in was used in small Danish institutions (such as Amagerbanken) as early as 2011, as well as the later conversion of junior debt at the Dutch Bank SNS REALL. However, the process did not receive extensive global attention until the bail-in of the main banks of Cyprus during 2013, discussed below. The restructuring of the Co-op bank in the UK (2013) has been described as a voluntary or negotiated bail-in.

Legislative and executive efforts
The Dodd–Frank Act legislates bank resolution procedures for the United States under Title I and Title II. Title I refers to the preferred route, which is to resolve a bank under bankruptcy procedures aided by extensive pre-planning (a "living will").

Title II establishes additional powers that can be used if bankruptcy is seen to pose "serious and adverse effects on financial stability in the United States", as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, together with two thirds Federal Reserve Board and two thirds of the FDIC board. Like Title I, it would force shareholders and creditors to bear the losses of the failed financial company, "removing management that was responsible for the financial condition of the company." The procedures also establish certain protections for creditors, such as by setting a requirement for the payout to claimants to ve at least as much as the claimants would have received under a bankruptcy liquidation.

The FDIC has drawn attention to the problem of post-resolution governance and suggested that a new CEO and Board of Directors should be installed under FDIC receivership guidance.

Claims are paid in the following order, and any deficit to the government must be recouped by assessments on the financial industry:

 * 1) Administrative costs
 * 2) The government
 * 3) Wages, salaries, or commissions of employees
 * 4) Contributions to employee benefit plans
 * 5) Any other general or senior liability of the company
 * 6) Any junior obligation
 * 7) Salaries of executives and directors of the company
 * 8) Obligations to shareholders, members, general partners, and other equity holders

A number of strategies were explored early on to determine how Title I and Title II powers could be best used to resolve a large failing bank, including "Purchase and Assumption" and "Loss Sharing". Over time, the preferred approach evolved to a bail-in strategy, which is more direct, as it does not require an acquisition party. That approach was developed under the FDIC Office of Complex Financial Institutions group led by James R. Wigand. The approach is described in a slide deck from January 2012 as well as in Congressional testimony.

The specific strategy for implementing a bail-in under the Dodd–Frank Act requirements has been described as the "Single Point of Entry mechanism". The innovative FDIC strategy was described by Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell as a "classic simplifier, making theoretically possible something that seemed impossibly complex." It created a relatively simple path by which bail-in could be implemented under the existing Dodd–Frank powers. Powell explained:

"Under single point of entry, the FDIC will be appointed receiver of only the top-tier parent holding company of the failed financial group. Promptly after the parent holding company is placed into receivership, the FDIC will transfer the assets of the parent company (primarily its investments in subsidiaries) to a bridge holding company. Equity claims of the failed parent company's shareholders will be wiped out, and claims of its unsecured debt holders will be written down as necessary to reflect any losses in the receivership that the shareholders cannot cover. To capitalize the bridge holding company and the operating subsidiaries, and to permit transfer of ownership and control of the bridge company back to private hands, the FDIC will exchange the remaining claims of unsecured creditors of the parent for equity and/or debt claims of the bridge company. If necessary, the FDIC would provide temporary liquidity to the bridge company until the 'bail-in' of the failed parent company's creditors can be accomplished."

A comprehensive overview of this strategy is available in the Bipartisan Policy Center report "Too Big to Fail: The Path to a Solution".

The Canadian government clarified its rules for bail-ins in the "Economic Action Plan 2013", at pages 144-145 "to reduce the risk for taxpayers."

The Eurogroup proposed on 27 June 2013 that after 2018, bank shareholders would be first in line to assume the losses of a failed bank before bondholders and certain large depositors. Insured deposits under £85,000 (€100,000) would be exempt and, with specific exemptions, uninsured deposits of individuals and small companies would be given preferred status in the bail-in pecking order for taking losses. That agreement formalised the practice seen earlier in Cyprus. Under the proposal, all unsecured bondholders would be hit for losses before a bank was allowed to receive capital injections directly from the European Stability Mechanism. A tool known as the Single Resolution Mechanism, which was agreed by Eurogroup members on 20 March 2014, was part of an EU effort to prevent future financial crises by pooling responsibility for eurozone banks, known as a banking union. In a first step, the European Central Bank will fully assume supervision of the 18-nation currency bloc's lenders in November 2014. The deal needed formal approval by the European Parliament and by national governments. The resolution fund would be paid for by the banks themselves and will gradually merge national resolution funds into a common European one until it hits the €55 billion target of funding. See the EC FAQ on the SRM. The legislative item was split into three initiatives by Internal Market and Services Commissioner Michel Barnier: Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive, DGS and SRM.

Practice
A form of bail-in was used in small Danish institutions (such as Amagerbanken) as early as 2011. The Dutch authorities converted the junior debt of SNS REAAL in 2013, as part of a privately funded recapitalization.

During the 2012–2013 Cypriot financial crisis, the Cypriot economy came to near-collapse as the Greek financial crisis (to which Cypriot banks were heavily exposed) threatened Cyprus's banks, causing a financial panic, bank runs, and a downgrade of government bonds to "junk" status. In March 2013, a €10 billion bailout was announced by the European troika, a loose coalition of the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, in return for Cyprus agreeing to close its second largest bank, the Cyprus Popular Bank, also known as Laiki Bank. The Cypriots had to agree to levy all uninsured deposits there and possibly around 40% of uninsured deposits in the Bank of Cyprus, the island's largest commercial bank. After an initial proposal was replaced with the final proposal, no insured deposit of €100,000 or less was to be affected. The levy of deposits that exceeded €100,000 was termed a "bail-in" to differentiate it from a government-backed bailout. The Bank of Cyprus executed the bail-in on 28 April 2013.

There were some controversial elements, especially with respect to the initial plan, which included a contribution from insured depositors, which was described as "not smart" by ECB President Mario Draghi. The proposal was amended the following day to affect only uninsured depositors and creditors. In a broader review of the events of Cyprus, Draghi addressed some of the criticism of this event in a press conference:

"A bail-in in itself is not a problem: it is the lack of ex ante rules known to all parties and the lack of capital buffers or other "bail-inable" assets that may make a bail-in a disorderly event. The existence of buffers of "bail-inable" assets is therefore essential. In the case of Cyprus, one peculiarity was the fact that these assets were actually quite limited by comparison with the size of the banks'/assets. Furthermore, the absence of ex ante rules gives the impression of an ad hoc approach in such situations."

In 2016, Cyprus completed its bailout program, which was successfully implemented. About 30 percent of the country's overall bailout funds were never tapped.

In recent years, considerable effort has been made to ensure that a large supply of bail-inable liabilities is in place for the largest banks. The rules for "Total Loss Absorption Capacity" (TLAC) in the US have led the eight US G-SIFIs to issue approximately $1.0 trillion of long-term holding company liabilities, which could be used for this purpose. Combined with equity and other capital securities, that establishes an aggregate TLAC of roughly $2 trillion for the eight U.S. G-SIFIs. In the UK, the Bank of England has set out the TLAC requirements for its largest banks, described as MREL, at between 25.2% and 29.3% of risk-weighted assets. Switzerland has imposed requirements on its two G-SIFIs of 28.6% of risk-weighted assets.

The EU is currently debating how best to implement the FSB requirements across its banking system and what the appropriate size of that requirement should be.

Themes
From the many bailouts over the course of the 20th century, certain principles and lessons have emerged that are consistent:
 * Central banks should provide loans to help the system cope with liquidity concerns if banks are unable or unwilling to provide loans to businesses or individuals. Lending into illiquidity but not insolvency was articulated at least as early as 1873 in Lombard Street, A Description of the Money Market, by Walter Bagehot.
 * Insolvent institutions (those with insufficient funds to pay their short-term obligations or those with more debt than assets) should be allowed to fail in an orderly way.
 * The true financial position of key financial institutions should be clearly understood by audits or other means. The extent of losses and quality of assets should be known and reported by the institutions.
 * Banks that are deemed healthy enough or important enough to survive but require recapitalization from the government providing funds should be done in exchange for ownership rights such as preferred stock, which receives a cash dividend over time.
 * Government should take an ownership (equity or stock) interest to the extent that taxpayer assistance is provided so that taxpayers can benefit later. In other words, the government becomes the owner and can later obtain funds by issuing new common stock shares to the public when the nationalized institution is later privatized.
 * A special government entity can be useful to administer the program, such as the Resolution Trust Corporation.
 * Dividend payments may be restricted to ensure taxpayer money are used for loans and strengthening the bank, rather than payments to investors.
 * Interest rate cuts lower lending rates and thus stimulate the economy.

Criticism

 * Moral hazard is created, potentially lowering business standards, by the assurance of safety nets.
 * A centralized bureaucracy is promoted by allowing government powers to choose winners and losers in the economy. Paul Volcker, chairman of Barack Obama's White House Economic Recovery Advisory Board, said that bailouts create moral hazard. They signal to the firms that they can take reckless risks, and if the risks are realized, taxpayers will pay the losses: "The danger is the spread of moral hazard could make the next crisis much bigger."

On November 24, 2008, American Republican Representative Ron Paul (R–TX) wrote, "In bailing out failing companies, they are confiscating money from productive members of the economy and giving it to failing ones. By sustaining companies with obsolete or unsustainable business models, the government prevents their resources from being liquidated and made available to other companies that can put them to better, more productive use.  An essential element of a healthy free market is that both success and failure must be permitted to happen when they are earned.  But instead with a bailout, the rewards are reversed – the proceeds from successful entities are given to failing ones. How this is supposed to be good for our economy is beyond me. ... It won't work. It can't work. ... It is obvious to most Americans that we need to reject corporate cronyism, and allow the natural regulations and incentives of the free market to pick the winners and losers in our economy, not the whims of bureaucrats and politicians."

 * Significant costs on governments and taxpayers can be caused. In extreme cases, the country's borrowing costs can be raised, or the country can even be bankrupted, as in the Ireland bailout of 2008. The IMF said that "the failure to bail-in unsecured creditors to a bank rescue that cost Irish taxpayers €64  bn and bankrupted the country was based on the view that doing so would have serious adverse 'spillover' effects in other eurozone countries, even though such risks were 'not obvious. In the 2012 eurozone crisis, other countries such as Italy were affected by a so-called "doom loop", which increased the cost of government borrowing because bailouts can "torpedo state finances if banks need to be bailed out."

Costs
In 2000, the World Bank reported that banking bailouts cost an average of 12.8% of GDP per event: "Governments and, thus ultimately taxpayers, [sic] have largely shouldered the direct costs of banking system collapses. These costs have been large: in our sample of 40 countries governments spent on average 12.8 percent of national GDP to clean up their financial systems."

Examples

 * 1970 – Penn Central Railroad
 * 1971 – Lockheed Corporation
 * 1980 – Chrysler Corporation
 * 1984 – Continental Illinois
 * 1991 – Executive Life Insurance Company by states assessing other insurers
 * 1995 – Mexico Bailout
 * 1997 – South Korea Bailout
 * 1997 – Indonesia Bailout
 * 1998 – Long-Term Capital Management by banks and investment houses, not government (see the link).
 * 1998 – Brazil Bailout
 * 2000 – Argentina Bailout
 * 2001 – Brazil Bailout
 * 2002 – Brazil Bailout
 * 2003 – Parmalat
 * 2008 – The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc.
 * 2008 – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
 * 2008 – The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. by the US federal government and Berkshire Hathaway
 * 2008 – Morgan Stanley bailed out by The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ
 * 2008–2009 – American International Group, Inc. multiple times
 * 2008 – Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
 * 2008 – 2008 United Kingdom bank rescue package
 * 2008 – Citigroup Inc.
 * 2008 – Royal Bank of Scotland
 * 2008 – Halifax Bank of Scotland
 * 2008 – General Motors Corporation and Chrysler LLC: though technically not a bailout, a bridge loan was given to the auto manufacturers by the US government; it is referred to by most as a bailout.
 * 2009 – Bank of America to help it absorb known losses that were much greater than revealed to shareholders incurred by its buyout of Merrill Lynch
 * 2009 – CIT Group $3 billion by its bondholders in an attempt to avoid a bankruptcy, which was only delayed
 * 2009 – Dubai and Dubai World bailed out by Abu Dhabi

Irish banking rescue
The Irish banking crisis of 2008 has similarities to other banking crisis, but it was unique in that it was the first banking crisis in a country that was a member of the eurozone. That made the Irish government and central bank have unique constraints when the crisis struck. The post-2008 Irish economic downturn was also unusually steep. The impact on Irish government credit was so severe that it was forced to seek assistance from the European Union and the IMF.

Swedish banking rescue
In 1991 and 1992, a housing bubble in Sweden deflated, resulting in a severe credit crunch and widespread bank insolvency. The causes were similar to those of the subprime mortgage crisis of 2007–2008. In response, the government took the following actions:

 * Sweden's government assumed bad bank debts, but banks had to write down losses and issue an ownership interest (common stock) to the government. Shareholders were typically wiped out, but bondholders were protected.
 * When distressed assets were later sold, the profits flowed to taxpayers, and the government was able to recoup more money later by selling its shares in the companies in public offerings.
 * The government announced that it would guarantee all bank deposits and creditors of the nation's 114 banks.
 * Sweden formed a new agency to supervise institutions that needed recapitalization and another to sell off the assets, mainly real estate, which the banks held as collateral.

The bailout initially cost about 4% of Sweden's GDP, later lowered to 0–2% of GDP, depending on the various assumptions if the value of stock that was sold when the nationalized banks were privatized.

US savings and loan crisis
In the late 1980s and the early 1990s, over 1000 thrift institutions failed as part of the savings and loan crisis. In response, the US established the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) in 1989. The cost of this bailout was estimated at $132.1bn to taxpayers.

TARP and related programs in US
In 2008 and 2009 the US Treasury and the Federal Reserve System bailed out numerous huge banks and insurance companies as well as General Motors and Chrysler. Congress, at the urgent request of US President George W. Bush, passed the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), authorized at $700 billion. The bank sectors repaid the money by December 2009, and TARP actually returned a profit to taxpayers. The separate bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which insure mortgages, totaled $135 billion by October 2010.

The issue of federal bailouts of the banks and big corporations has become a major issue in elections, with the Tea Party movement in particular focusing its attack on bailouts.

Bailout Capitalism
Bailout capitalism occurs when the economy is so far out of equilibrium that the only way to stabilize the system is through government support to businesses and households. By keeping the economy afloat through such artificial means the Schumpeterian creative destruction is circumvented and inefficient firms taking excessive risks remain in operation, thereby denying one of the main elements of normal capitalist development.

The support can come in form of purchase of toxic assets as in 2008 and through money creation as in the quantitative easing program of the Federal Reserve and other central banks. This program increased the assets held by the Federal reserve from $0.8 trillion in September 2008 to $9 trillion by May 2022 or by a factor of eleven. The bailouts were repeated in 2020 with the difference that this time smaller business and households also received financial support.

United States

 * US bailout total – 29.616 trillion dollars
 * New Deal in the 21st Century

Bail-in

title: Bailout


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Daniel Goodwin

Daniel Goodwin may refer to:

 * Dan Goodwin (born 1955), American climber
 * Daniel Raynes Goodwin (1811–1890), American clergyman
 * Daniel Goodwin (Michigan judge) (1799–1887), Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court

title: Daniel Goodwin


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Wikipedia:Contributing to articles outside your native language

Many of us wish at times to contribute to articles in a language in which we are less than fluent. For the sake of simplicity, the following assumes that you are trying to contribute to the English-language Wikipedia.

There are a lot of ways this can be accomplished. In any event, don't let your lack of command of the language stop you from contributing; other people will be able to help with grammar, spelling, and so on, but the information that you provide is the important starting point. Wikipedia with no content but perfect syntax would be of little use to anyone.

 * If you are fluent or near-fluent, or simply if you read English well but it is not your native language, consider that one of the most useful things you can do is to get involved in translation efforts. You might want to have a look at Pages needing translation into English, and possibly add them to your watchlist. You might want to add your own name at Translators available, or maybe at the equivalent for another language.

 * If you are slightly less than fluent, just go ahead and edit like anyone else. There are plenty of topics where the majority of the contributors are non-native. Again, someone can fix your grammar, spelling, and so on; it helps if your comment includes something like "please check my grammar and spelling".

 * If you are further from fluent, or are otherwise unsure about the correctness of your writing, it might help to place your work first on the Discussion page associated with the article on which you're working, rather than directly into the article itself. You can then ask for help there, or post a more public request on this page (see below).
 * If you can write well in another language that is liable to be understood by a lot of people—for example, if you can write in French, Spanish, German, Russian, Hebrew, Romanian, etc.—you might consider trying to make your remarks on the talk page both in English and in the language that you write well. If you haven't expressed yourself clearly in English, someone is still likely to understand you and be able to explain.
 * On some topics, you can probably get away with just making your remarks on the talk page in some other language. For example, if the article is about Poland, it is likely that at least some of the people involved in editing it can read Polish. Leave your remarks, with a note in English requesting translation, and someone will most likely translate them. A clear note to this effect would be "Please, could somebody translate my remarks into English?"
 * N.B. Whatever you choose to do, make sure that you always explain what you're doing in the language of the Wikipedia to which you're contributing; some users are unhappy when Talk pages contain material in foreign languages.

 * Edit summaries are helpful. If you are doing something “mechanical” (adding an interwiki or a template), even an edit summary in another language is probably more useful than nothing. If you are leaving a foreign language remark, it helps to say something like “comment in Spanish, translation needed”.

 * A useful place to look is Translators available. If you have a genuinely important contribution to make, you might try contacting one of these people and asking for translation help (but please realize that they are under no obligation to get involved). It's easy to get help with a word you don't know; it's much harder to ask someone to translate eight paragraphs.

 * You can always add your information to a different-language Wikipedia and then submit a request at Translation into English.

 * If you read English well, but aren't so good at writing it, consider the possibility that you might be most effective by translating existing English-language material into your stronger language(s).

 * Another task that is possible for people who are only moderately comfortable in English is to add appropriate interlanguage links to WikiData, connecting existing, corresponding articles in different languages.

Requests for assistance
Please add your request to the top of the list. Give the location of the material with which you want help, and if possible why you're worried. If you can leave your request in English, great. If not, try to leave it in languages that a reasonable number of English-speakers are likely to be able to read. Always remember to sign your request with ~, so that the person helping can contact you for information:


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Edea (musical group)

Edea is a Finnish musical group. The Edea's song lyrics are written in an older form of the Finnish language and speak of old traditions as well. The mysterious runic symbols inscribed on the bows of Viking boats, door posts, drinking vessels, and amulets as well as the Finnish composer Sibelius are the source of Edea's music. Edea competed in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 with their song, Aava.

Alexi Ahoniemi plays keyboard and saxophone. He has written lyrics, composed, and arranged for numerous groups.

The ensemble also includes Tommy Mansikka-Aho, who plays ethnic wind instruments, and percussionists Samuli Kosminen and Ethiopian-born Abdissa Assefa, who provide underlying harmonies.

Marika Krook
Marika Krook (born October 27, 1972, in Stockholm, Sweden) is Edea's figurehead and soprano performer; she is a well-known Finnish actress, singer, and dancer. She started her classical music studies at age 15 and made her debut at the Vaasa Opera in 1988. In 1992, she won the International Opera Song Contest in Tallinn and sang the principal role of Maria in The Sound Of Music in summer theatre. She is currently studying opera singing at the Sibelius Academy.

Krook won the international opera singing contest in Tallinn in 1992. She has starred in many musicals at Helsinki Svenska Teatern and also in a Claes Olsson movie Amazing Women by the Sea, based on a book by Monika Fagerholm.

Tommy Mansikka-Aho
Tommy Mansikka-Aho (didgeridoo, jaw harp, guitar, jaffa bottle) is a Finnish musician, active in folk music and popular music. He is a former member of the folk music group Gjallarhorn.

Samuli Kosminen

Samuli Kosminen (born 1974 in Klaukkala, Finland) is a Finnish percussionist. As a member of the group Edea, he represented Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998. As a member of Kimmo Pohjonen Kluster he has sampled the accordion played by Kimmo Pohjonen. He is also a member of Icelandic band múm. He studied at the Oulunkylä Pop-Jazz Conservatory. "Kosminen" is a Finnish adjective meaning "cosmic". He currently plays in Björk's Utopia touring band.

Other members

 * Alexi Ahoniemi - keyboards, flute, soprano sax, vocals
 * Abdissa Asifa - percussion

Releases

 * Edea (1998)
 * "Aava" (1998, single)

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Dosoftei

Dimitrie Barilă, better known under his monastical name Dosoftei (October 26, 1624—December 13, 1693), was a Moldavian Metropolitan, scholar, poet and translator.

Born in Suceava, into a family of Greek origin, he attended the school of the "Trei Ierarhi" Monastery of Iaşi and then at the Orthodox Brotherhood school in Lviv, where he studied humanities and learned several languages.

In 1648 he became a monk at Probota Monastery, and was later bishop of Huşi (1658–1660) and Roman (1660–1671) to become Metropolitan bishop of Moldavia (1671–1674 and again 1675-1686). In 1686 he moved to Poland where he stayed for the rest of his life.

He was one of the most important Romanian scholars of the 17th century, the first important Romanian language poet and the first translator into Romanian of epics, works on history, as well as religious scriptures Moldavia had. His most famous work is the Romanian psalter in verse.

The Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church canonized Dosoftei in July 2005, a fact that was proclaimed on October 14, 2005. His feast day is December 13.

Works

 * Dosofteiu Mitropolitul Moldovei 1671–1686. Psaltirea in versuri publicata de pe manuscrisul original și de pe edițiunea dela 1673 de Prof. I. Bianu. Edițiunea Academieĭ Române. Bucuresci 1887 (Google Google)

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Precision bombing

Precision bombing is the attempted aerial bombing of a target with some degree of accuracy, with the aim of maximising target damage or limiting collateral damage. Its strategic counterpart is carpet bombing. An example would be destroying a single building in a built up area causing minimal damage to the surroundings. Precision bombing was initially tried by both the Allied and Central Powers during World War I, however it was found to be ineffective because the technology did not allow for sufficient accuracy. Therefore, the air forces turned to area bombardment, which killed civilians. Since the War, the development and adoption of guided munitions has greatly increased the accuracy of aerial bombing. Because the accuracy achieved in bombing is dependent on the available technology, the "precision" of precision bombing is relative to the time period.

Precision has always been recognized as an important attribute of weapon development. The noted military theorist, strategist, and historian Major-General J. F. C. Fuller, considered "accuracy of aim" one of the five recognizable attributes of weaponry, together with range of action, striking power, volume of fire, and portability.

World War II

In the early days of World War II, bombers were expected to strike by daylight and deliver accurately in order to avoid civilian casualties. Cloud cover and industrial haze frequently obscured targets so bomb release was made by dead reckoning from the last navigational "fix"—the bombers dropping their loads according to the ETA for the target. Some airforces soon found that daylight bombing resulted in heavy losses since fighter interception became easy and switched to night bombing. This allowed the bombers a better chance of survival, but made it much harder to even find the general area of the target, let alone drop bombs precisely.

The Luftwaffe addressed this issue first by using a series of radio beams to direct aircraft and indicate when to drop bombs. Several different techniques were tried, including Knickebein, X-Gerät and Y-Gerät (Wotan). These provided impressive accuracy—British post-raid analysis showed that the vast majority of the bombs dropped could be placed within 100 yards (91 m) of the midline of the beam, spread along it a few hundred yards around the target point, even in pitch-dark conditions at a range of several hundred miles. But the systems fatally depended on accurate radio reception, and the British invented the first electronic warfare techniques to successfully counter this weapon in the 'Battle of the Beams'

The RAF later developed their own beam guidance techniques, such as GEE and Oboe. These systems could provide an accuracy of about 100 yards radius, and were supplemented by the downward-looking radar system H2S. The British development of specialist 'Earthquake' bombs (which needed to be dropped very accurately) led to the development of supporting aiming techniques such as SABS and the Pathfinder Force. Specialist units such as 617 squadron were able to use these and other techniques to achieve remarkable precision, such as the bombing of the Michelin factory at Clermont-Ferrand in France, where they were required to destroy the workshops but leave the canteen next to them standing.

By 1941, precision day bombing had become the dominant doctrine in the US Army Air Corps. As war with Germany loomed, Air War Plans Division Plan No. 1 (AWPD-1), a detailed plan for the entire US Army Air Forces (USAAF), was drafted by four officers who had been proponents of precision bombing at the Air Corps Tactical School: Lt. Col. Harold L. George, Lt. Col. Kenneth N. Walker, Maj. Haywood S. Hansell Jr., and Maj. Laurence S. Kuter. AWPD-1 prescribed an emphasis on precision bombing against the German national infrastructure, industry—especially the aircraft industry—and the Luftwaffe.

For the USAAF, daylight bombing was normal based upon box formations for defense from fighters. Bombing was coordinated through a lead aircraft but although still nominally precision bombing (as opposed to the area bombing carried out by RAF Bomber Command) the result of bombing from high level was still spread over an area. Before the war on practice ranges, some USAAF crews were able to produce very accurate results, but over Europe with weather and German fighters and anti-aircraft guns and the limited training for new crews this level of accuracy was impossible to reproduce. The US defined the target area as being a 1000 ft radius circle around the target point - for the majority of USAAF attacks only about 20% of the bombs dropped struck in this area. The U.S. daytime bombing raids were more effective in reducing German defences by engaging the German Luftwaffe than destruction of the means of aircraft production.

An example of the difficulties of precision bombing was a raid in the Northern Hemisphere summer of 1944 by 47 B-29's on Japan's Yawata Steel Works from bases in China. Only one plane actually hit the target area, and only with one of its bombs. This single 500 lb general-purpose bomb represented one quarter of one percent of the 376 bombs dropped over Yawata on that mission. It took 108 B-17 bombers, crewed by 1,080 airmen, dropping 648 bombs to guarantee a 96 percent chance of getting just two hits inside a 400 x 500 ft German power-generation plant.

title: Precision bombing


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The Wedding Date

The Wedding Date is a 2005 American romantic comedy film directed by Clare Kilner and starring Debra Messing, Dermot Mulroney, and Amy Adams. Based on the 2002 novel Asking for Trouble by Elizabeth Young, the film is about a single woman who hires a male escort to pose as her boyfriend at her sister's wedding in order to dupe her ex-fiancé, who dumped her a few years prior. The film was released on February 4, 2005 and grossed $47 million.

Plot
Kat Ellis is a single New Yorker who returns to her parents' house in London to be the maid of honor at her younger half-sister Amy's wedding. The best man is her former fiancé, who unexpectedly dumped her two years ago. Anxious about confronting and eager to impress him, she hires suave escort Nick Mercer to pose as her boyfriend.

Kat intends to make her former flame, Jeffrey, jealous, but her plan backfires when Nick convinces everyone, including her, that they are madly in love. Kat then feels herself, too, falling for Nick as he slowly falls for her.

The night before the wedding, Kat discovers Amy slept with Jeffrey when they were still together, and he dumped her because he believed he was in love with Amy. Nick had discovered this a day earlier, and when Kat finds that out, she feels betrayed from all sides, and puts Nick off. He decides to return to America, and leaves Kat the money she had paid him.

On the wedding day, seeing Kat distressed, her step-father asks her if Nick 'is the guy for you'. Kat realizes he is, so she sets off to find him. Meanwhile, just before the wedding ceremony, Amy confesses her betrayal to her fiancé, Ed, but professes her love for him.

Upset, Ed chases Jeffrey out of the church and down the road. Jeffrey insists he gave up on Amy and believes he's done nothing wrong. To which Ed calls him a "back-stabbing weasel", though Jeffrey believes he's still not in the wrong as he slept with Amy before she and Ed dated. Ed shouts out that Jeffrey was engaged to Kat, proving he was still in the wrong for what he did to Kat.

Nick picks up Ed in a car as Jeffrey disappears into the woods. They talk about love, and Ed decides he loves Amy more than he is angry. To make it clearer he should go back, Nick tells Ed if he returned, the couple would end up having great makeup sex. They return to the church, with Nick as the 'new' best man. Just before the ceremony, Nick tells Kat he realized he'd "... rather fight with you than make love with anyone else", and they kiss passionately.

Kat and Nick begin a real relationship, and he gives up his job. Amy and Kat reconcile. TJ, Kat's cousin, also apparently enjoys a moment with Woody after the wedding. Jeffrey learns absolutely nothing, and at the end is seen trying to get the attention of a female neighbor.

Production
Some outdoor scenes where they are playing rounders were filmed on location in Parliament Hill Fields, overlooking central London. The film was also filmed in parts of Surrey, including Shere, Chilworth, Godalming and Guildford.

Soundtrack

 * "Breathless" by The Corrs
 * "Serenade for Lovers" by John Arkell and Ray Charles
 * "Moonlight Waltz" by John Arkell
 * "Grosvenor House" by Terry Day
 * "King's Road" by Michael Melvoin
 * "The Lavender Room" by Dick Walter
 * "When We Are Together" by Texas
 * "All Out of Love" by Air Supply
 * "One Fine Day" by The Chiffons
 * "Boogie Shoes" by KC & The Sunshine Band
 * "Lovedance" by Dave Rogers and Paul Shaw
 * "I Want You to Dance with Me" by Amy Ward
 * "I Got the Feeling" by James Brown
 * "Secret" by Maroon 5
 * "Sway" by Michael Bublé
 * "Home" by Michael Bublé
 * "Save the Last Dance for Me" by Michael Bublé

Box office
The Wedding Date grossed $31.7million in the United States and Canada, and $15.4million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $47.2million.

Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 11% based on 142 reviews, with an average rating of 3.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Critics are leaving The Wedding Date at the altar, calling it shopworn, bland, and lightweight." On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 32 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.

title: The Wedding Date


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History of Test cricket from 1884 to 1889

The history of Test cricket between 1884 and 1889 was one of English dominance over the Australians. England won every Test series that was played. The period also saw the first use of the word "Test" to describe a form of cricket when the Press used it in 1885. It has remained in common usage ever since.

In 1883 England had won the first Ashes series by beating Australia 2–1 away, though they had lost a fourth extra Test played at the end of their Australian tour. However, this last Test proved to be a blip as English dominance remained for the rest of the 1880s. Of the 19 England-Australia Tests played in the period from 1884 to 1889, England won 14, Australia 3, with 2 draws.

1889 saw the first English team to tour South Africa. England won both representative matches easily. These matches, and those on the other early English tours of South Africa, were only recognised as Tests retrospectively, the first official tour not taking place till 1905–6.

English summer of 1884
The first representative match of the 1884 season was held at Lancashire's ground, Old Trafford, making it the first such match played there. The practice at the time was that the host ground authority would select the team. First Lancashire asked Lord Harris to captain the side, but he refused as he was unhappy about the proposed selection of John Crossland, a bowler, who many considered a thrower. So Lancashire chose their captain and hero, A N Hornby instead. In the end, Crossland did not play. Billy Murdoch's Australians had the better of a draw against A N Hornby's English eleven. The game was scheduled as a three-day match, but rain made no play possible on the first day. When England did get to bat at 12.05 pm on the second day, they lost their captain in the third over, and Grace went when the score was on 13, before rain intervened yet again to delay play. After a quarter of an hour play resumed, as did the England collapse: at lunch, they were 83 for 6. The sun shone throughout the interval, making the wicket even more difficult to play. Harry Boyle finished on 6 for 42 and Fred Spofforth on 4 for 42, with England dismissed at around 3.10 pm for only 95. The Australians fared better, making 86 for 2. Three quick wickets, the third of them being George Bonnor, who was reluctant to go after being driven back onto his stumps, saw the Aussies collapse to 97 for 5. But the innings recovered, and they finished on 182. England fared much better in their second innings: it took the Australians an hour and a quarter to make their first breakthrough, although Alfred Lucas was dropped when England had only notched up six. England reached parity with only 3 wickets down—and as it was then 4.40 am on the last day, a draw was a virtual certainty. The game ended with England 180 for 9.

The second representative match was at Lord's, and the Marylebone Cricket Club selected Lord Harris as their captain (as did Surrey for the third and last match, which was at the Oval). In the second Test, Australia made 229 in their first innings. During this innings, Billy Murdoch, the Australian captain, became the first substitute fielder to take a catch in Test cricket when he caught Australia's top scorer, Tup Scott, when he was on 75. Murdoch was helping out England after WG Grace suffered a finger injury! In their first innings England slumped to 135 for 5. As Dick Barlow went out to bat, Lord Harris instructed him, "For Heaven's sake, Barlow, stop the rot!" And this is exactly what Barlow did, scoring 38 as Allan Steel added 98 runs at the other end. In all, Steel made 149 in an innings that Plum Warner recounts in his book Lord's 1787–1945 was told enthusiastically to him at the Adelaide Oval in 1911 by Australian George Giffen, who played in the match. England went on to make 379. Australia were dismissed cheaply for 145 in their second innings, thanks to 7 for 36 from George Ulyett.

The third representative match was played at the Oval. Australia won the toss, went in to bat, and despite losing Bannerman early on for 4, made 551. Ideally, they would not have spent so much time batting, as it gave them less time to bowl England out twice to level the series. But the laws of cricket did not permit declarations until 1889, so they just piled on runs. Billy Murdoch scored Test cricket's first double century (211 in total), and Percy McDonnell and Tup Scott also made centuries. England's best bowler in the innings was Lyttelton with 4 for 19. Lyttelton was the wicket-keeper (Read and Grace kept wicket when Lyttelton bowled), with all 11 Englishmen getting a bowl, which was the first time this has happened in a Test match. England struggled to 181 for 8 in reply. At which point, Walter Read, who was furious at being sent in as low as number 10, thrashed 117 off 155 balls in 113 minutes as England recovered to 346. The follow-on was enforced as a matter of routine, but England only got to 85 for 2 in the 26 overs of play that remained before the game ended as a draw. England had won the series 1–0.

'Australia in England 1884. Match length: 3 days. Balls per over: 4. Series result: England won 1–0.'

Lillywhite, Shaw and Shrewsbury's second tour 1884/5
James Lillywhite, Alfred Shaw and Arthur Shrewsbury had first organised a cricket tour to Australia in 1881/2. In 1884/5, they toured again, with a side which, when he was writing in 1901, Shaw considered to be the best ever to have left England. Lillywhite, who was now 42, confined himself to managing and umpiring, but Shaw and Shrewsbury played. The tour was marred by disputes over umpiring and money.

In the first representative match of the tour, Shaw's XI took on a team comprising Australians who had toured England 1884. This was the first Test match played at the Adelaide Oval. Even before the game started, there were a number of disputes. First, the English and Australian sides disputed the division of the takings. The South Australia Cricket Association intervened, and successfully mediated, but Englishmen still felt hard done by. Second, the Australians objected to Lillywhite umpiring. It is not clear why, although Lillywhite had controversially given a Victorian "not out" for a good lbw shout from Shaw in a game against Victoria in 1881/2, which was partly marred by match-fixing allegations. Therefore, two local umpires were used for the match, and there were many complaints that the Englishmen put pressure on them by over-appealing. However, they did not excel themselves for either side.

The game itself started well for Australia, who were 190 for 4 when Percy McDonnell went for 124. But they collapsed to 243 all out, after Billy Bates came on and got 5 for 31. England's reply went well, and they passed Australia's total with only 2 wickets down. Billy Barnes scored 134, as they went on to get 369. In reply, Australia, who were missing Bannerman through injury, could only make 191. England won by 8 wickets.

The Australians demanded 50% of the gate receipts for the second match at the MCG. They were turned down, and, as a result, the Australian side in this match showed 11 changes; Jack Blackham's run of playing in the first 17 Tests came to an end; for 5 Australians, this second game was the only Test they were to play. Lillywhite was allowed to umpire this Test, but it was the last time he was allowed to do so. Against this weakened Australian squad, Shaw's XI scored 401, before dismissing Australia for 279 and 126 to win by 10 wickets. Australia were 2–0 down in the series.

Back to fuller strength, Australia edged the third Test by 6 runs in a low-scoring affair at the SCG after Edwin Evans caught England's most successful batsman of the match, Wilfred Flowers at point. England's last 4 wickets fell for only 13 runs. In the fourth Test, England made 269 in their first innings. In reply George Bonnor then made 128 in 114 minutes in a magnificent innings on a bowler's pitch as Australia made 309. England chose to play their second innings on the same pitch. However, the wicket broke up and Spofforth (5 for 30) and Palmer (4 for 32) blitzed England for 77 in their second innings, off just 157 balls. Australia chose to bat on the wicket England had used in their first innings and knocked off the 38 runs they needed for the loss of only two wickets. The teams were now level on 2–2 with one match to play.

Disappointingly, the fifth Test was a one-sided affair. Australia won the toss and chose to bat on a well-watered pitch. And then tumbled to 99 for 9. Fred Spofforth, however, partially rescued them with a half-century when batting at number 11, and the Aussies ended on 163. Arthur Shrewsbury then became the first England captain to score a century as England put on 386. During Australia's second innings, Tom Garrett, one of the home players, had to deputise for umpire Hodges when Hodges refused to stand after tea on the third day because of England's complaints about his decisions. However, England were well on top, and Australia were dismissed for 125, with George McShane, who had stood as an umpire in the fourth Test, left stranded on 5 not out. England had won the series 3–2.

'England in Australia 1884/5. Match length: Timeless. Balls per over: 4. Series result: England won 3–2.'

The English summer of 1886
The Australian tour of 1886 again came under the financial aegis of the Melbourne Cricket Club. Before it set off the team was rated the equal to the sides of 1882 and 1884, even though, as a result of continuing discord in the Australian camp, Murdoch, Horan, McDonner, Bannerman and Massie were all missing. The claim proved over-optimistic; the tourists lost all three Tests.

The composition of the English side for the first Test at Old Trafford caused some controversy. Lancashire County Cricket Club, the ground authority, originally selected their captain A N Hornby to captain England. However, Hornby injured his leg, and Allan Steel was chosen to captain England in his stead. 10,000 attended on the first day, which, although dull and overcast in the morning, turned out fine in the afternoon and gave the English bowlers little assistance. Australia were on 181 when the fifth wicket fell. However, the last five wickets went down for 24 runs. At close of play on the first day, England were 36 for the loss of WG Grace's wicket. By lunch on the second day, after some slow scoring, England were 140 for 5. After lunch, George Ulyett and Johnny Briggs were swiftly sent back to the pavilion. George Lohmann, who was dropped with only a single to his name, however, went on to make 32 and take the England total to 223. By the end of the second day, Australia were 36 runs to the good, with six second innings wickets remaining. On the third and final day, Australia, on a crumbling wicket, were only able set England 106 to win. England lost Grace, Shrewsbury and Read early for only 24 runs, and the Australians were always threatening. But in the end England got home with 4 wickets to spare at 5.40 pm Later Dick Barlow was presented with a silk scorecard of the match in honour of his 68 runs and 7 for 44 for England.

In the second Test at Lord's, Shrewsbury played a remarkable innings of 164, the highest so far by an Englishman in Tests, on a pitch which, after a disruption for rain favoured the bowlers. His innings, which contained 3 chances, lasted for just under 7 hours. England scored 353. England lacked a fast bowler, but that seemed not to matter as Australia were bowled out cheaply for 121 and 126, with Johnny Briggs taking 11 for 74. England won by an innings and 106 runs.

At the Oval, England won the toss and chose to bat. WG Grace and William Scotton put on 170 for the first wicket, when Scotton was dismissed for only 34 after 225 minutes. Grace then went on to retake the record for the highest English Test score, finishing on 170 when he was second man out, bringing in Walter Read. Read went on to score 94 in 210 minutes. Scotton's slow scoring, particularly when compared with Grace and Read prompted London magazine Punch to print the following parody on Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "Break, Break, Break":
 * Block, block, block
 * At the foot of thy wicket, O Scotton!
 * And I would that my tongue would utter
 * My boredom. You won't put the pot on!
 * Oh, nice for the bowler, my boy,
 * That each ball like a barndoor you play!
 * Oh, nice for yourself, I suppose,
 * That you stick at the wicket all day!

 * And the clock's slow hands go on,
 * And you still keep up your sticks;
 * But oh! for the lift of a smiting hand,
 * And the sound of a swipe for six!
 * Block, block, block,
 * At the foot of thy wicket, ah do!
 * But one hour of Grace or Walter Read
 * Were worth a week of you!

England finished on 434. When the Australians were batting, rain fell and assisted England's top bowlers, George Lohmann and Johnny Briggs, who made merry. Australia were bowled out for 68 without a bowling change. In their second innings, following-on, Australia did better, but could only make 149. Between them, Lohmann and Briggs took 18 wickets in the match, which England won by a mammoth innings and 217 runs. England had whitewashed Australia 3–0.

'Australia in England 1886. Match length: 3 days. Balls per over: 4. Series result: England won 3–0.'

Lillywhite, Shaw and Shrewsbury's third tour 1886/7
In 1886, Lillywhite, Shaw and Shrewsbury got together for a third time. Though the side was played as Shaw's XI, Shaw was too old to play much himself, as was Lillywhite. The England team was not a particularly strong one. Six of the players were from Nottinghamshire, the county of the organisers, Shaw and Shrewsbury. The side also got a reputation of playing slow, and therefore unattractive cricket, and the games were poorly promoted. They were poorly attended too.

In the first Test, the Australian captain Percy McDonnell became the first captain to invite the opposition to bat on winning the toss in a Test match. Charlie Turner and Jack Ferris bowled unchanged throughout their first innings at Test level to dismiss Shaw's Team for 45, which remains England's lowest-ever score in a Test match. By the end of the first day, Australia led by 31 with six first innings wickets remaining. On the second day, Australia moved their score on to 119. By stumps, England seemed out of it: they were only 29 runs ahead with 3 wickets remaining. The match turned on the final Monday, though. Briggs, Flowers and Scotton were able to move England to 184, setting Australia 111 to win. The wicket was in fine order, but Barnes, who took 6 for 28, assisted by Lohmann, who took 3 for 20 saw them dismissed for 97. According to Wisden, apart from one mistake, Shaw's team's fielding was "magnificent".

In the second Test, owing to injury to Barnes, the hero of the last Test, Reginald Wood, a Lancastrian now based in Melbourne was called upon to play. Barnes had injured his hand after hitting it against a wall: he had aimed a punch at the Australian captain, and McDonnell had ducked out the way. Wood's Test career consisted of coming in at number 10 and scoring 6 and 0. He did not bowl or take a catch. He played only 11 other first class games. For the Australians, Spofforth was missing (the first Test proved to be his last).

In their first innings, England made 151, with the eighth wicket contributing 57 of those runs; Ferris and Turner took five wickets apiece. George Lohmann then destroyed Australia, becoming the first man to take eight wickets in a Test innings, as the Aussies made only 84. In England's reply, "Stonewaller" Barlow top-scored with 42, as they made 154, with Ferris and Turner taking 4 wickets apiece, to leave Australia an unlikely 222 to win. This time Briggs and Flower helped Lohmann, and though three Australians made 30s, they never looked likely to make them, and lost by 71 runs. England had run up six consecutive Test victories against them. In this match, Billy Gunn both played for England and deputised as an umpire when one of the appointed umpires was absent on the final morning, and Charlie Turner became the third man to take a catch as a substitute for the opposing Test side.

A putative third Test was hoped for at the East Melbourne ground, but the bitterness that divided Australian cricket at the time meant that the Sydney players would not have played.

'England in Australia 1886/7. Match length: Timeless. Balls per over: 4. Series result: England win 2–0.'

England v Australia 1887/8
There still was no formal organisation of international tours, with any promoter free to try to put together a touring side. However, for ten years, only one team had toured for any one Australian summer. In 1887/8 this changed. Lillywhite, Shaw and Shrewsbury put together what was to turn out to be not only their last professional tour, but the last English tour led by a professional for sixty-seven years. Their team was invited to Australia by the Melbourne Cricket Club. Shaw himself did not tour, but stayed at home to put together a football side that played rugby union and Victorian rules (now known as Australian rules) football in Australia after the cricket tour. The tour was a financial disaster, with the Melbourne Cricket Club, Lillywhite, Shaw and Shrewsbury well out-of-pocket. Lillywhite defaulted on his debt. All the English team was mostly professional, to boost the status of the team, an amateur, Aubrey Smith, was invited to captain it.

At the same time Lord Hawke, as he was soon to be, was invited by Sydney to tour with a team that only comprise amateurs. However, Hawke had to return to England at the start of the tour as his father had died, leaving George Vernon to captain the side in his stead. Both teams played "Combined Australia" sides in matches that are not accorded Test match status. They did get together to form one united England side in one Test, although there was at least one other representative match played in the season between stronger sides. In a compromise move, Walter Read was selected as captain.

The game itself was dogged by wet weather and low-scoring game. Australia won the toss and decided to field. This probably looked like the right decision as bowling sensations Ferris and Turner took 9 wickets between them to help dismiss England for 113 all out, with Arthur Shrewsbury top-scoring with 44. When Australia's turn came to bat, Lohmann and Peel, bowling unchanged, blitzed them. The Aussies were 35 for 8 at stumps on the first day. As a result of continuing rain, and an intervening Sunday, play did not resume for another 5 days. On resumption, Lohmann and Peel finished Australia off for 42. Turner's 7 for 43 was the highlight as England then set Australia 209 to win. They were never up to it as Lohmann and Peel shared 8 wickets, and England won by 126 runs.

'England in Australia 1887/8. Match length: Timeless. Balls per over: 4. One-off Test. Result: England won.'

English summer of 1888
Australia toured with what some considered to be the weakest side to leave Australia: the touring party lost the three matches they played before leaving Australia. However, they surprised their critics by winning their first five matches. In a low-scoring Test series, seven of the ten completed innings were completed for 100 or fewer. In the first Test, England only needed 124 runs to win after getting 53 in response to Australia's 116 and 60, on a poor pitch at Lord's, but despite WG Grace's admirable 24, fell 61 runs short. This was Australia's first victory in England since the Test that started the Ashes legend 6 years before.

For the second Test, Surrey County Cricket Club, the ground authority, chose the legendary WG Grace as their captain. As a cricketer Grace was reckoned above those earlier greats, Alfred Mynn and George Parr, and it is probably more to do with the way captains were chosen in the 19th century (with away team's captains being chosen by their promoters, home team's captains chosen by the home ground authority, and deference shown to those with titles, such as Lord Harris) that Grace had not captained England sooner than his forty-first year. The England team included five Surrey players.

Although there was nothing wrong with the Oval wicket, Australia collapsed to 80 all out. Thanks to a 112 stand for the fifth wicket between Abel and Barnes, England reached 317, only for Australia to collapse again, this time to 100 to lose by an innings and 137 runs.

In the third Test, England batted first on a pitch dead after recent rain to reach 172. Australia, who had the misfortune to bat on a stickier wicket, were dismissed for 81 and from 7 for 6 recovered to 70 all out, but that still equated to a further innings defeat. It was a game decided by the toss and the rain: and ended with an English victory at 1.52 pm (before lunch) on the second day.

'Australia in England 1888. Match length: 3 days. Balls per over: 4. Series result: England won 2–1.'

South Africa's first Tests 1888/9
A not particularly strong English touring team, consisting of seven county-standard players and six of good clubs standard, and that Altham compared to a weak English county, played an extremely weak nascent South African team. These games were not recognised as Tests by England at the time. Wisden's Cricketers Almanack noted that "it was never intended, or considered necessary, to take out a representative English team for a first trip to the Cape". The England team did, however, include some stars such as Briggs and Abel, and George Ulyett, who replaced a player who had to return from South Africa due to a family bereavement.

Although the English team is said not to have paid its expenses, it was otherwise financially successful. The cricketers were warmly welcomed. England were led by Aubrey Smith, who became the most widely known of England's cricket captains as a result of becoming a "B" list Hollywood star. They played all their matches, except the two that later came to be regarded as Test matches, against odds, and lost some too. Of the 19 games they played, they won 13, including the two that later became recognised as Test matches, losing four and abandoning two.

In the first Test, which was played on a green matting wicket, England beat South Africa on matting by 8 wickets by 3.30 pm on the second day. Around 3,000 spectators attended the first day.

Monty Bowden became England's youngest ever Test captain aged 23 in the Second Test, replacing an injured Smith. England scored 292 and then dismissed South Africa for 47 and 43 to record a comprehensive victory. Bowden died three years later after being trampled by his own oxen after falling from his cart. He had stayed in South Africa. His death was possibly the result of an epileptic fit. He may not have known he had ever played Test cricket. It is said that his body, which was taken to Umtali hospital, had to be protected from marauding lions before being interred in a coffin made from old whiskey cases.

'England in South Africa 1888/9. Match length: 3 days. Balls per over: 4. Series result: England win 2–0.'


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Fernando Villalona

Ramón Fernando Villalona Évora (born May 7, 1955), known professionally as Fernando Villalona, is a Dominican merengue singer. Considered to be one of the most important merengue artists in the genre's history, Villalona began singing in the early 1970s; his popularity started to grow by the late 1970s and has not declined ever since. He is the first Dominican artist to call himself "El Mayimbe", with the second being Antony Santos.

Early years
Fernando Villalona was born in Monte Cristi Province, in the northwest region of the Dominican Republic. His father was Ángel Ramón Villalona and his mother was Virginia Arcadia Évora de Villalona. He grew up with his nine siblings and parents in the municipality of Loma de Cabrera, in Dajabón Province where he attended his first studies and began his artistic activities. At the age of 15, he was the representative of his hometown at the Festival of the Dominican Voice in 1971.

Career
Fernando began singing at a very early age and became popular after participating in "El Festival de la Voz", an amateur TV talent show. After that, merengue icon Wilfrido Vargas hired him to be part of his group Los Hijos del Rey but Fernando and the group would soon be separated after his popularity became larger than the group itself. Throughout his career, Fernando was dubbed "El Mayimbe of Merengue". "El Mayimbe" is a phrase that comes from the Taíno, the indigenous people of the Dominican Republic, meaning "village chief". It eventually came to mean "leader" or "boss".

He would then go into a period of drugs and isolation but never stopped singing, recording some of his best music during that period. Songs such as "Tabaco y Ron," "Celos," "Te Amo Demasiado," "La Hamaquita," "Dominicano Soy," "Sonámbulo," and "Carnaval" among others became popular in the 1980s. "Quisqueya," "No Podrás," "Música Latina," "Retorno," and "Me he Enamorado" were some of his biggest hits in the 1990s.

Fernando Villalona participated in the "We are the World" Spanish version, along with other superstars like Shakira, Ricky Martin, and Enrique Iglesias.

In 2011, he celebrated 40 years in the music business and decided to make a Christian album. In Mi Luz, released October 2011, Villalona praises God, sings about his troubled past and how his life has changed over the years.

In 2012, Villalona recorded "El Color de Tu Mirada" with American singer/songwriter Victoria Daly. The song was written specifically for Daly by Gilberto de Ose to be sung with Villalona. The music video was filmed and directed by René Brea in the Dominican Republic. It was released late November/early December. The music video went on to be nominated for the 2013 Soberano Awards in April.

Personal life
Villalona was married to Evelyn Jorge, a woman of Puerto Rican origin, and they have a daughter.

Discography

 * La Tuerca (1981)
 * ¡Feliz Cumbé! (1982)
 * El Mayimbe' (1982)
 * ...Así Soy Yo! (1983)
 * Fernandito... Canta al Amor (1983)
 * Fernandito (1984)
 * Ayer y Hoy (1984)
 * ¡A la Carga! (1985)
 * Para Mi Pueblo... Todo (1986)
 * La Cartita (1987)
 * Romántico (1988)
 * Esta Es Mi Historia (1989)
 * Todo (1990)
 * El Niño Mimado (1993)
 * Confundido (1995)
 * Soy Un Hombre Feliz (1996)
 * Bolerísimo (1996)
 * Amigo (1998)
 * Nací Para Cantar (1999)
 * El Mayimbe En Bachata (2000)
 * Mal Acostumbrado (2002)
 * 15 Grandes Éxitos (2004)
 * El Gran Mayimbe (2007)
 * Mi Luz (2011)

Compilations

 * 15 Grandes Éxitos (2004)
 * El Gran Mayimbe (2007)

title: Fernando Villalona


text:
File talk:Oceans.png

Incorrect labels
The image labels are wrong:
 * What it says is the Caspian is the Black Sea.
 * What it says is the Dead is the Caspian Sea.

Urhixidur 17:43, 2005 Feb 5 (UTC)

 * You're right. I'll appreciate it if the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea are properly connected in the image.  Both of them are a part of the Atlantic Ocean, in the same sense as the Red Sea is a part of the Indian Ocean, and the Caspian Sea is just a lake.  We don't need a sea or a lake actually; we need only oceans.  - TAKASUGI Shinji 09:40, 2005 Mar 25 (UTC)

 * It'done. That's why I did the imge in the first place: I h no good ocean map in my house, that's why I couldn't find which exctly was the caspin again. ny further changes, nyone can feel free to download the [[Image:Oceans.pdf]], while wikipedi does not accept svg. It's ilustrator editable. --Alexandre Van de Sande 15:24, 30 Mar 2005 (UTC)

 * Great. Perhaps it can be further improved in the following ways:
 * The Southern Ocean was officially approved in 2000.
 * The line between New Guinea and Alaska, which separates the South China Sea from the Pacific, is not correct. Actually, no sea is necessary other than the five oceans.
 * What do you think? I will try it myself. - TAKASUGI Shinji 18:16, 2005 Mar 30 (UTC)
 * I may be wrong, but doesn't the Arctic Ocean start much further north, and reach more around the world. What's shown as the Arctic Ocean there is more like the north Atlantic, I think, or at least it reaches into it. I know, at least, that Iceland is considered to be in the north Atlantic Ocean, but it's shown as being in the Arctic ocean there. --Sterio 6 July 2005 19:49 (UTC)

This image should show the Southern Ocean. Ardric47 02:06, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

 * I agree, showing the Southern Ocean is a must. The South China Sea boundary is also odd, and unnecessary. The Arctic Ocean doesn't "reach around the world", but the boundaries shown here are incorrect. -- Avenue 10:33, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

It's a great image but I really don't like the representation of New Zealand, which looks nothing like it. Rather than try to represent the three islands, I think the two major islands should be shown with a little more definition -GringoInChile 13:34, 12 July 2006 (UTC)

title: File talk:Oceans.png


text:
Talk:Allan Scott (American screenwriter)

Untitled
This article was proposed for deletion January 2005. The discussion is archived at Votes for deletion/Allan Scott. Joyous 17:43, Feb 5, 2005 (UTC)


text:
Trans Air Congo

Trans Air Congo (TAC) is an airline based at Pointe Noire Airport in Pointe-Noire, Republic of the Congo.

History
The company was established on 24 August 1994 by the El-Hage family and started services with a single Let 410 aircraft. Early services were largely between Brazzaville and Pointe Noire. In December 1994 an Antonov An-24 joined the fleet, followed in 1996 by a Boeing 727-200 and Yakovlev Yak-42. Late 1997 saw the airline having to move temporarily to Johannesburg in South Africa to avoid a civil war.

Destinations
Trans Air Congo operates services to the following destinations:

 * Domestic scheduled destinations: Brazzaville and Pointe Noire.
 * International scheduled destinations: Cotonou, Douala, Libreville, and Abidjan

Current fleet
The Trans Air Congo fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of January 2024):

Former fleet
The airline previously operated the following aircraft:
 * 1 Boeing 727-200
 * 5 Boeing 737-200
 * 3 Boeing 737-300
 * 2 Boeing 737-500
 * 1 McDonnell Douglas MD-82
 * 2 Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia
 * 1 Let L-410 Turbolet
 * 1 Antonov An-24
 * 1 Yakovlev Yak-42

Certification
Trans Air Congo has been delivered the IOSA certificate until 2015.

MilesPlus
MilesPlus is the frequent flyer program developed by TAC. Registration is free and open to every passengers. First company in Congo to develop a fidelity program, MilesPlus has proved to be a successful tool as the program enrolled more than 2200 members since its creation in 2012. MilesPlus offers 4 different cards (Blue, Silver, Gold and Platinum).

Incidents and accidents

 * On 21 March 2011, a transport Antonov An-12 on a flight from Brazzaville Maya-Maya Airport to Pointe-Noire Antonio Agostinho Neto International Airport, registered TN-AGK, carrying a crew of 4, crashed into the Mvou-Mvou residential area in Pointe-Noire, Republic of the Congo. According to sources with the Congo National Agency of Civil Aviation, the aircraft had been cleared to land, and was on a 3-mile final approach when it crashed. The Russian Embassy in Congo reported that the 3 Russian and 1 Kazakhstani crewmembers were killed in the crash.  Local medical services report that 23 bodies were recovered from the crash site, along with 15 injured people.  Pre-accident pictures of TN-AGK can be seen at JetPhotos.net and Airliners.net.

title: Trans Air Congo


text:
Smoke Signals (film)

Smoke Signals is a 1998 coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Chris Eyre from a screenplay by Sherman Alexie, based on Alexie's short story collection The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (1993). The film won several awards and accolades, and was well received at numerous film festivals.

In 2018, the film was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Plot
Hot-tempered basketball player Victor Joseph and eccentric storyteller Thomas Builds-the-Fire live on the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation in Plummer, Idaho. The two men are brought together through Victor's father, Arnold, who rescued Thomas as an infant from a house fire that killed his parents in 1976. Because of this, Thomas considers him a hero. On the other hand, Victor, who endures Arnold's alcoholism, domestic violence, and eventual child abandonment, regards his father with both deep love and bitter resentment. Thomas and Victor grow up together as neighbors and acquaintances, fighting with each other and simultaneously forming a close, albeit uneasy, friendship.

When Arnold dies in Phoenix, Arizona, where he has stayed after leaving Victor and his mother Arlene, Victor and Thomas go on an adventure to retrieve his ashes. The trip is the means for Victor and Thomas to explore their identities. Neither of them loses sight of his identity as an "Indian", but their perspectives differ. Victor is more stoic and Thomas is more traditional (and romantic to the point of watching the feature film Dances with Wolves countless times). Their dichotomy is portrayed all through the film; it results in Victor being irritated with Thomas, and Thomas being fascinated with Victor.

Once they reach Phoenix, Victor has to confront his conflicted feelings about his father, as well as his own identity. He has to grapple with a new account of Thomas's parents' death, as told by Arnold's friend Suzy Song, who reveals that Arnold had drunkenly set off fireworks and accidentally started the fire that killed Thomas' parents. The road trip by the young men leads to Thomas reconciling with the memory of his adoptive father Arnold, as he understands more of his path to alcoholism and related abuse and abandonment. Victor also gains a better understanding of Thomas and his reverence for Arnold. Victor and Thomas eventually throw Arnold's ashes into a river as a form of acceptance.

Production
While it was not the first film created by native filmmakers in the United States, Smoke Signals is recognized as being the first feature-length film written, directed, and produced by Native Americans to reach a wide audience both in the US and abroad. This film is also notable for its authenticity with regard to its cast of Native American actors and actresses, and because it was filmed on location on the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation in Idaho.

Critical response
Smoke Signals was well received by mainstream critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 90% based on 91 reviews, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Smoke Signals tells a familiar story from an underrepresented point of view, proving that a fresh perspective can help subvert long-established expectations." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 76 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Peter Stack of the San Francisco Chronicle gave the film a rave review, calling it, "unpretentious, funny and soulful ... Well-acted, well-written, with spare, beautiful imagery." Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times described Smoke Signals as "a warm film of friendship and reconciliation, and whenever it refers to historic injustices or contemporary issues in Native American culture, it does so with wry, glancing humor. Smoke Signals is indeed poignant, but above all it's pretty funny." Marc Savlov of The Austin Chronicle called the film "poignant and slyly humorous" and "alight with oddball nuances and wry observations," saying further, "the cast is uniformly excellent in their roles, and Eyre's persistent use of long, trailing shots reinforces the story's elegiac tone. Simple and elegant, Smoke Signals is a delicious, heady debut that lingers long after the tale is told."

Susan Tavernetti of the Palo Alto Weekly, gave the film a mixed review, saying that "although sometimes the attempt to break down stereotypes seems stilted and forced, more often the result is humorous." She also said, "Chris Eyre's direction establishes an uneven tone, allowing some actors to deliver performances bordering on broad caricature while others play their roles straight." She praised the opening and closing sequences which "beautifully combine poetic voice-overs with visual lyricism."

Accolades

 * 1998 – American Indian Film Festival: Best film
 * 1998 – Christopher Award
 * 1998 – First Americans in the Arts: Outstanding Achievement in Writing (Sherman Alexie), Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Film (Evan Adams), Outstanding Achievement in Directing (Chris Eyre)
 * 1998 – Gotham Awards: Nominations: Open Palm Award
 * 1998 – National Board of Review: Special Recognition For Excellence In Filmmaking
 * 1998 – San Diego World Film Festival: Best American Independent Feature; Best Screenplay (Sherman Alexie); Best Actor (Adam Beach); Best Director (Chris Eyre)
 * 1998 – Sundance Film Festival: Filmmaker's Trophy (Chris Eyre); Audience Award. Nominations: Grand Jury Prize
 * 1998 – Taos Talking Picture Festival: Taos Land Grant Award (Chris Eyre)
 * 1998 – Tokyo International Film Festival: Best Artistic Contribution (Chris Eyre) (tie)
 * 1999 – Florida Film Critics Circle Awards: Best Newcomer (Chris Eyre/Sherman Alexie)
 * 1999 – Independent Spirit Awards: Best Debut Performance (Evan Adams). Nominations: Best Supporting Male nomination (Gary Farmer), Best First Screenplay nomination (Sherman Alexie)
 * 1999 – Young Artist Awards: Nominations: Best Performance in a Feature Film-Supporting Young Actor (Cody Lightning)
 * 2018 – National Film Registry

Legacy
In 2023 Cody Lightning, who had portrayed the young Victor in the original film, released the mockumentary comedy film Hey, Viktor!, in which a fictionalized version of himself formulates a plan to revive his fading career by creating his own self-funded sequel to Smoke Signals.

title: Smoke Signals (film)


text:
RMS Baltic (1903)

RMS Baltic was an ocean liner of the White Star Line that sailed between 1904 and 1932. At 23,876 gross register tonnage, she was the world's largest ship until May 1906. She was the third of a quartet of ships, all measuring over 20,000 gross register tons, dubbed The Big Four, the other three being RMS Celtic (1901), RMS Cedric, and RMS Adriatic (1906).

During her civilian career, Baltic served between Liverpool and New York. She was involved in a few minor incidents during her career. She distinguished herself especially in 1909 when she came to the aid of the RMS Republic (1903) and the Florida that had collided with each other. The Baltic's rescue of all passengers drew attention to the important role that the new wireless telegraphy technology could play in ensuring safety at sea. In April 1912, the Baltic also picked up distress signals from the Titanic, but was too far away to intervene during the latter's sinking.

During World War I, the Baltic carried troops from 1915 to 1918. She survived a torpedoing attempt and transported the first American troops to Europe, with General John J. Pershing on board. After the war, the ship continued its commercial service during the 1920s. Having become too old, she was finally replaced in 1932 and scrapped the following year, after nearly thirty years of career.

Conception and construction

In the late 1890s and shortly before his death, Thomas Henry Ismay, chairman of the White Star Line, initiated a policy shift away from the race for speed to focus on slower but larger ships, compensating for the loss of speed through great savings, increased comfort, and better passenger capacity. This initiative gave rise, in 1901, to the ordering of a first unit of the series of liners dubbed the "Big Four": the Celtic, followed two years later by the Cedric. When the latter was launched, a third ship was just under construction at the Harland and Wolff shipyards in Belfast: the Baltic (the quartet to be completed in 1907 by the Adriatic). She was the second ship to bear this name (in reference to the Baltic Sea) in the company's fleet; the first having been one of its very first liners, in the 1870s.

The Baltic was originally supposed to be the same size as her two predecessors, but rather quickly, the company decided that this ship, built under hull number 352, was to be the largest ever built, requiring enlargement of the ship. This task was not easy as the hull was already built; the ship was nevertheless cut in two and the rear part set back nearly six meters to make room for an addition. This ultimately increased her tonnage by nearly 3,000 tons, giving more space to passengers.

The liner was launched on 21 November 1903. The Illustrated London News reported that the Baltic was christened by actress Julia Neilson. Completed the following spring, the liner reached Liverpool on 23 June 1904 to be delivered to its owner.

Early career
The Baltic made her maiden voyage on 29 June 1904 from Liverpool to New York, under the command of Edward Smith, the future captain of the Titanic. She arrived in New York on 8 July, with 906 passengers onboard (209 first class, 142 second class and 555 third class). She made the crossing in 7 days, 13 hours and 37 minutes at an average speed of 16.1 knots. She was at the time, the largest liner yet built. However, the modifications made to her structure during her design posed a problem: the machinery was not upgraded accordingly, and due to her increased tonnage the ship struggled to maintain the service speed required to ensure regular rotations.

The Baltic remained on the route from Liverpool to New York for the following years, and proved to be more popular with customers than her fellow liners, probably thanks to her more spacious facilities. Her early years, however, were peppered with incidents. In May 1905, she was held back for six hours by a breakdown of machinery. More serious, on 3 November 1906, a fire broke out in one of her holds. It was put under control, but water and fire destroyed more than 600 bales of cotton. On April 13, 1907, she collided with and sank a barge loaded with coal in the middle of New York Harbor, and in August 1908, a fire broke out in her holds during a stopover in New York, causing $10,000 in damage. On 30 June 1910, she collided with the tanker Standard of the German-American Petroleum Company: The collision holed the hull of the Baltic, above and below the waterline and one compartment was flooded, while a sailor from the tanker, severely injured, was transferred aboard the liner by boat to be operated on there.

From 1907 onwards, the Baltic provided, along with the Celtic, the Cedric and the SS Arabic (1902), a secondary service from Liverpool on Thursdays, in addition to the main and rapid service now installed at Southampton.

On 23 January 1909, the White Star liner RMS Republic (1903) steaming in a fog was rammed by the Italian ship SS Florida off the northeastern coast of the United States and was severely damaged by the collision. Her radio operator, Jack Binns, hastened to telegraph a CQD, a distress signal in use at the time for the stations of the Marconi company. Despite the collision having damaged the wireless set on Republic Binns made repairs and using battery power managed to reach the Siasconsett wireless station on Nantucket. The signal was also picked up by the Baltic's radio operator around six in the morning. The liner (commanded by J. B. Ranson), which was traveling westbound 64 miles from the collision site, turned around to rescue the passengers. In the meantime, the Republic's passengers were evacuated onto the less damaged Florida, and only part of the crew, including Captain Sealby, remained on board, still hoping to be able to have the liner towed by another ship in order to beach her to prevent her from sinking.

Due to the thick fog that enveloped the area, the Baltic was forced to seek the Republic by methodically steaming around the area. Captain J.B. Ranson estimated that she travelled 200 miles zigzagging through the region. By dint of the use of rockets and bombs, the two ships met each other around 7 PM. The Florida was in turn in a bad position, and the passengers were transferred again, this time to the Baltic, without any losses despite the complexity of the operation in the middle of the night and in the fog. The Republic finally sank around 8 PM the next day, with her captain remaining on board with an officer before being picked up by another of the ships that had arrived in the vicinity. There were only five victims, killed in the collision. This was the first time that wireless telegraphy has played a leading role in saving lives at sea. During the return voyage, wireless telegraphy continued to play an important role in enabling the transmission of news. The Baltic and the survivors were greeted by a large crowd on their arrival in New York, to which the Florida also returned on its own. The passengers of the Baltic for their part decided to contribute to offering commemorative medals to the three captains, as well as to the radio operator Jack Binns.

On 14 April 1912, Baltic sent an ice warning message to the ill-fated RMS Titanic: "'Greek steamer Athenia reports passing icebergs and large quantities of field ice today in latitude 41° 51' N, longitude 49° 52' W. Wish you and Titanic all success. Commander.'" This was not enough for the Titanic to avoid a collision and she sank the next morning. The Baltic then received the SOS from the Titanic via the RMS Caronia (1904) and diverted for nine hours to try to come to her rescue. The Baltic was, however, too far away to be of any help. After the Titanic disaster, the liner was, like all the other ships of the company, provided with additional lifeboats to take into account the lessons of the sinking.

Participation in World War I
When World War I broke out in 1914, the Baltic continued to provide its classic service, as did the Adriatic which joined the other members of the Big Four on the Liverpool route. Joined by the SS Lapland, the SS Zeeland (1900), and the SS Vaderland (1900) of the Red Star Line (the latter two being quickly renamed Northland and Southland respectively), they provided the only transatlantic service of the company, between Liverpool and New York while many other ships were requisitioned for the war effort, starting with the Celtic and the Cedric, converted to auxiliary cruisers. During this service, the Baltic collided with the steamship Comal at the exit of the Ambrose Channel in 19 November 1914.

From 1915, the Baltic was, in turn, requisitioned to serve as a troop transport under the Liner Requisition Scheme. On 26 April 1917, she was attacked by the German submarine SMU U-66 which tried unsuccessfully to torpedo her, and the U-boat engaged in a two-day pursuit, from which the Baltic emerged unscathed. Baltic was the vessel used to deliver Major General John J. Pershing and his staff to England. On 9 June 1917, the War Department released its first communique revealing the General's arrival in England: "Baltic Carried Pershing Over. Londoners Preparing to Entertain American Soldiers. 10 U.S. Airmen in France. Pershing's Personal Staff and Other Members of General Staff Number 67 Officers and Are Accompanied by a Squad of 50 Privates and a Large Civilian Clerical Force- Pershing Anxious to Get into Harness. London, June 9.- Headed by Major General John J. Pershing, its commander, the first representation of the American army that is to enter the European war disembarked at a British port after an uneventful voyage of 10 days onboard the White Star liner Baltic. The party was received with full military honours and immediately entrained for London, where it arrived and was welcomed by the Earl of Derby, the minister of war; Viscount French commander of the British forces, and the American officials..." In reference to this event, a commemorative plaque was then installed in the main hall of the liner.

During the war, she also carried large quantities of oil in her bunkers and double bottom. During the first ten months of 1918, she brought 32,000 Canadian soldiers to France. Finally, the ship ceased its military service on 12 December of that same year to resume its civilian service.

Post-war years
Back on the route from Liverpool to New York at the end of 1918, the Baltic underwent a refit in 1921. With the number of migrants crossing the Atlantic being fewer than that before the war, the capacity of the third class of the liner fell from 1,800 to 1,166 passengers. From 1922, the Adriatic returned to the route, uniting the Big Four on the slow secondary service of the White Star Line. Every two weeks, the liners made an additional stopover in Boston. In 1924, the boilers aboard the Baltic were replaced by more recent models.

In 1927, the ship was modernized and converted to a “cabin class” ship, offering more modest rates; her sister ships underwent the same operation the following year. In the case of the Celtic, the operation was short-lived since she ran aground off Cobh at the end of 1928. The Baltic was also involved in a rescue on 6 December 1929, when she assisted the sinking schooner Northern Light. The following month, she experienced an incident when a wave knocked her against a dock in Liverpool, damaging a propeller; it took divers nine hours to repair the damage. The Baltic became a regular at the newly created Canadian immigration terminal Pier 21 when it opened in 1928. Baltic made 18 voyages to Pier 21.

In the early 1930s, however, the White Star Line experienced a period of internal crisis reinforced by the Great Depression. In 1930, a new ship joined the company's fleet, the MV Britannic (1929), which was very successful. The older ships were less useful, and the Cedric was scrapped at the end of 1931. The arrival in 1932 of the MV Georgic (1931) sealed the fate of the Baltic, which made her last crossing on 17 September of that same year. Sold to Japanese shipbreakers in early 1933 along with the SS Megantic for £33,000, the liner left Liverpool for Osaka on 17 February 1933, under the command of Captain Corfe, to be scrapped there.

Characteristics
An enlarged version of the Celtic and the Cedric, the Baltic was, when she entered service, the largest liner in the world, with a gross tonnage of 23,876 and a net tonnage of 15,295, 222.2 m in length overall by 23 m in width and 16 m in draft. Her hull was black and she had a white superstructure. Her funnels were ocher-brown topped with a black cuff, the colors of the White Star Line. She also had four masts, the first carrying the lookout's nest, the following serving as support for the cables of the wireless telegraphy. The ship had four continuous decks as well as an upper deck and several superstructures.

Propelled by two propellers powered by two four-cylinder triple expansion steam engines, the ship could sail at an average speed of 16 kn, and could reach a maximum speed of 18 kn. Her machinery initially developed a power of 14000 hp, which rose to 16000 hp after an improvement was made to the machinery to allow the vessel to maintain the same speeds as her predecessors despite her larger size. Her coal consumption was also slightly higher than that of the Celtic and the Cedric, at 280 tons per day instead of 260. She was supplied with electricity and was provided with electric lights and refrigeration installations.

The Baltic had sumptuous facilities, such as a dining room topped with a glass roof, and a smoking room decorated with stained glass. She also contained a lounge, as well as a reading and writing lounge, a veranda café, and a promenade deck. Second-class facilities were also more spacious than those in other ships of the time. She could carry 425 first-class, 450 second-class, and 2,000 third-class passengers, which also marked an evolution, with the upper classes having a greater capacity than on the Celtic and the Cedric while the third-class is reduced.

In 1921, the Baltic was overhauled, and her third-class capacity reduced to 1,166 people. In 1927, she was reorganized to carry 393 cabin class passengers, 339 tourist class and 1,150 third-class passengers. The ship also accommodated a crew of 560 members.

title: RMS Baltic (1903)