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Edinburgh congestion charge

The Edinburgh congestion charge (also known as Edinburgh road tolls) was a proposed scheme of congestion pricing for Scotland's capital city. It planned to reduce congestion by introducing a daily charge to enter a cordon within the inner city, with the money raised directed to fund improvements in public transport. The scheme was the subject of intense public and political debate and ultimately rejected. A referendum was held and nearly three-quarters of respondents rejected the proposals.

Background
Edinburgh's roads radiate from the city centre, which acts as a hub for other modes of transport and facilitates through-journeys. An outer by-pass circles the east, south and western boundaries of the city, but there is neither a northern by-pass nor a recognised inner ring road to take vehicular traffic. As of 2001, Edinburgh's public transport relied on buses and taxis; there were two major (and ten minor) city train stations, no light rail system, and the tram network had been decommissioned in the 1950s. The city centre straddles seven hills; there was an off-road cycle network although there were few dedicated routes in the city centre. City commuters could use Park and Ride schemes, or several bus companies, with the largest being Lothian Buses, formed in 2000 with The City of Edinburgh Council as its major shareholder, carrying 108 million passengers in 2006.

Edinburgh's economy had been growing over the last few decades, with 34,800 more jobs predicted to be generated in the city between 2006 and 2015. This has helped to drive the local growth of car use in Edinburgh, with daily commuting trips identified as having increased by 72% between 1981 and 2001. In 2000 more vehicle registrations occurred in Edinburgh than anywhere else in Scotland. Congestion in the city was predicted to rise a further 25% between 2006 and 2026.

Edinburgh's road network was also in need of extensive repair and refurbishment; although maintenance had been increased to £16m per annum, the backlog of outstanding work was estimated at £70m.

Traffic delays and the impacts of road congestion had been estimated to cost the local economy about £20billion a year. Although its air quality was generally good, parts of Edinburgh suffered from high concentrations of nitrogen oxides (NOx), mostly emitted from vehicle exhausts. Minor traffic management changes were planned to reduce this by 5% in the worst-affected areas, but an overall 40% reduction was targeted, partly by introducing a low emission zone to restrict heavy goods vehicles, partly through improved vehicle standards, and the rest through Edinburgh's 'Integrated Transport Initiative', with journeys moving to public transport as a result of congestion charging. To improve public transport, the city also considered opening up existing railway lines, currently used for freight, to carry new passenger trains, and a new tram line in South East Edinburgh.

In summary, Edinburgh Council was faced with increasing issues with private and public transport, yet it had limited options, and a challenging set of finances, being limited to its annual transportation budget, along with monies collected from parking charges.

Meanwhile, the Westminster Parliament passed legislation expanding the range of possible methods of taxation for roads in the UK, notably allowing for local authorities to introduce local road use pricing schemes. Durham introduced the first British scheme during 2002, followed by the London congestion charge in 2003, introduced under new powers granted to the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone.

Edinburgh chose to participate in the Department for Transport's Charging Development Partnership of local authorities working considering congestion charging or workplace parking levies, and also part-funded the European Union's PRoGR€SS project ('Pricing Road use for Greater Responsibility, Efficiency and Sustainability') to demonstrate and evaluate the effectiveness and acceptance of urban road pricing schemes, under the EU's CUPID European Road Pricing initiative.

Proposals

The Transport (Scotland) Act 2001 made Scottish road pricing schemes possible, and laid down the condition that all proceeds from such schemes must be spent on transport. In 2002 the City of Edinburgh Council began a consultation on future options for transport in Edinburgh. Three options were presented:
 * a two cordon congestion charge,
 * a one cordon congestion charge, or
 * do nothing.

The scheme was seen as a possible blueprint for other areas in Scotland, with Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dundee awaiting the outcome of the Edinburgh scheme before making their own proposals.

The initial plans envisaged a charging scheme that operated in the city centre between 0700 and 1900, Monday to Friday, starting in 2006. The intention was to use similar technologies to the London scheme, with automatic number plate recognition systems to record vehicles passing the cordon boundaries, and fines issued to those who had not paid using the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency database to trace vehicles. Pre payment would be allowed as well as payment at a number of locations. Vehicles would be charged £2 to pass one of the two cordons. One would be at the Edinburgh City Bypass and the other surrounding the city centre. There would be only one charge to enter the city centre, even if both cordons were passed or cordons were passed several times in one day. It was also proposed to block off side roads to stop rat running.

An all-day scheme was initially projected to raise around £900 million for a central cordon only and £1.5 billion for the dual cordon option. Subject to public approval, the charge would have started in 2006, following various transport improvements. A two cordon scheme was expected to reduce congestion by up to 15% overall, with a drop of up to 85,000 journeys per day. It was projected to reduce volumes by 18 per cent in the centre and 15 per cent in the west. A one cordon scheme was projected to remove 59,000 journeys in the city centre, although there would be a small increase in the west. The cost for setting up the congestion charge was estimated at £11million for the two cordon option and £8million for the city centre cordon only proposal.

Later in 2002 the council stated they would look at various options for residents' discounts, potentially discounting the charge to 20p for those eligible. In September 2002, the council confirmed the initial proposals with some variations. The outer cordon was now proposed to operate between 0700-1000 and 1600 to 1830, and the inner cordon from 0700 to 1830, although these modifications would reduce the revenues available to provide the promised transport improvements. In 2003 the concessions were reported to be worth £58million, reducing the funding for transport improvements to £900million. Costs for preparing the scheme at the end of 2003 were estimated to be £5.36million and that the council would not proceed with the scheme as a Public-private partnership. Transport Initiatives Edinburgh announced £435million for public transport schemes outside of the Edinburgh council area.

A consultation was initially sent to over 250,000 people in the city and surrounding areas. Neighbouring West Lothian Council were against the scheme, and sent out 72,000 newsletters to its businesses and residents, criticising the scheme. Fife Council were also concerned about its fairness on the residents of neighbouring areas who contributed to the Edinburgh economy, but had been priced out of the city by the high cost of living, and planned a study into the impact of Edinburgh's scheme on the rest of the Kingdom. Some political parties and central city traders were skeptical of the projected economics, claiming that shoppers would drive to other out of town destinations such as McArthur Glen in Livingston, shifting business away from Edinburgh. They noted that the circumstances were different from London's, which is so large that the impact upon retail and business would be less significant. Edinburgh council then sought public feedback and re-evaluated parts of the scheme's operation.

A public enquiry opened on 27 April 2004 and lasted ten weeks. The inquiry report broadly supported the Edinburgh council's proposals, but recommended removing some of the exemptions proposed and allowing payment the day after. It also expressed concern at the implementation timetable along with the likelihood of receiving the required public transport improvements. Costs for preparing the scheme were now estimated at £8.1million. The costs were shared on a 50% basis with the Scottish Executive.

The council also proposed to introduce traffic calming measures including speed humps, road closures, and one way roads to stop rat running by drivers trying to avoid the congestion charge.

The final proposals had the outer cordon operating during the morning rush hour with the inner one from 0700 to 1830, both from Monday to Friday.

At this stage, the council said that the scheme would raise around £50 million a year to fund improvements in public transport, amounting to £760m over 20 years. It was hoped that this money would fund a range of new transport projects:
 * 3 tram networks serving north, west, and south east Edinburgh
 * 5 or 6 Park & Ride sites around Edinburgh
 * new rail services, reopening of some former passenger service routes in Edinburgh, and new links to Fife, East and West Lothian
 * more frequent bus services and new orbital bus routes
 * improvements at major transport interchanges
 * live information displays at bus stops and other public places
 * city centre environmental and pedestrian improvements
 * an expansion of bicycle routes
 * 20 mph speed limits and traffic calming across all residential areas
 * road maintenance

Reaction
When the initial consultation was launched, there was initial opposition and support for a congestion charge scheme. Transform Scotland, a transport pressure group, supported the two cordon scheme. Friends of the Earth Scotland also welcomed the proposals as they believed they would reduce air pollution and improve the city environment. The Princes Street association opposed the scheme, stating that businesses in the city centre would be put at a competitive disadvantage. Two public surveys in March 2002 had shown opposition to a charging scheme from 75% of suburban Edinburgh residents and 64% across the whole city. Scottish Executive support was anticipated, but the Executive stated that it was up to local authorities to propose schemes. The AA Scotland stated its opposition to the scheme. The hospitality industry supported the scheme, subject to improved public transport. Fife Council announced a report into the impact onto their area, whilst West Lothian Council opposed the outer cordon as a penalty on commuters into Edinburgh. Concern was also expressed that the DVLA would not be able to trace 1 in 12 of those not paying.

The proposals became part of the political debate in Scotland. The Scottish Conservatives argued that the scheme was not about congestion but about raising money and the Scottish National Party campaigned against the charge and made it an issue in the 2003 local elections. The Scottish Greens supported the congestion charge. The ruling Scottish Labour Party lost a significant number of votes at a September 2002 council by election (slipping from second to fourth place) with participants claiming that the proposed congestion charge had been a factor. On Edinburgh City Council, the opposition parties of the Scottish Conservatives, Scottish Liberal Democrats and the Scottish National Party all opposed the plans. The Liberal Democrats had supported road charging in the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish Transport Minister, Iain Gray, announced government support in principle for the scheme in December 2002, subject to the residents of Edinburgh supporting the scheme. A referendum was offered by the city council, which unlike the original consultation, would be restricted to the residents of the City of Edinburgh council area.

The councils surrounding Edinburgh - West Lothian, Fife and Midlothian - opposed the scheme. Mid Lothian circulated leaflets encouraging their residents to actively oppose the plans. In February 2005, these three councils were permitted to bring a petition to have the scheme declared unlawful in the Court of Session. They argued that the concessions for residents of the Edinburgh council area who lived further away than some of their residents from the capital, made the scheme unfair. Further they also asked for a declaration that the City of Edinburgh council had acted unlawfully in not taking on board the recommendations of the public enquiry and that there were not legal powers to fund public transport beyond the city boundaries. Scottish Borders Council also opposed the scheme and wanted the referendum extended to their residents.

Following the introduction of the London congestion charge, Professor David Begg, chair of the Commission for Integrated Transport, cited the reported of that success as a reason to go ahead with the Edinburgh scheme. Two groups were set up to campaign for the introduction of the charge and a yes vote in the referendum, Yes to Edinburgh and Get Edinburgh Moving. Opposed to the charge were Edinburgh Communities Against Congestion Charging, retail businesses and the National Alliance Against Tolls.

The John Lewis Partnership, owners of a department store in central Edinburgh, called for reduced charging hours in the city centre to reduce the impact on retail shops and improvements to the public transport system before the charge began. The Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce was joined by the Freight Transport Association in requesting that all commercial vehicles be exempted, arguing that businesses would have to pass on their increased costs to consumers or leave the city altogether. An early 2004 survey by the Chamber of Commerce had 90% of respondents rejecting the proposed scheme with two-thirds against road pricing as a matter of principle.

Initial results from the consultation showed that amongst respondents half supported a city centre cordon, but 44% supported the outer cordon. Concern was expressed on rat runs and local air quality in parts of north Edinburgh if only a city centre cordon was introduced. A survey organised by Mid Lothian council showed 98% of residents were opposed to the scheme. In the run up to the referendum, the council proposed an independent monitoring board for the scheme and possible abolition after two years if it did not work.

Referendum
A referendum was organised by the City of Edinburgh Council and conducted by postal ballot from 7 February 2005 until 21 February 2005. The referendum cost £600,000.

The question asked in the Edinburgh road tolls referendum was:

"The leaflet enclosed with this ballot paper gives information on the Council's transport proposals for Edinburgh. The Council's 'preferred' strategy includes congestion charging and increased transport investment funded by it. Do you support the Council's 'preferred' strategy?"

There was concern that the referendum forms were confusing. A dedicated council help line received 943 calls in one day. There were complaints that the question was biased, referring to the council's "preferred" strategy and there were concerns expressed by some political parties that the information leaflet enclosed with the form would also add to the confusion. Around 30,000 residents who had stated a preference not to receive junk mail on the electoral register form could not be sent a ballot form.

On 22 February 2005 the result was announced, with the majority rejecting the proposals. With a turnout of 61.7% (179,643 votes) from a potential electorate of 300,000, there were 133,678 votes against and 45,965 in favour. The rejections amounted to 74.4% of the votes cast.

Aftermath
The council accepted the results of the referendum and did not implement their proposals. A final bill of £9million was put on the development of the proposals.

The House of Commons select committee on transport suggested that the rejection of the scheme would delay plans to introduce other schemes in the United Kingdom.

Although the costs of the public transport schemes are still politically contentious at a local and Scottish level, the council continued to spend money on the Edinburgh tram network, buses, and new park and ride schemes.

In retrospect, Transport Initiatives Edinburgh noted that, although there was agreement that congestion needed to be contained, there had been clear public opposition to the concept of road pricing as a direct traffic restraint measure. The failure to achieve support they attributed to a range of factors:
 * lack of consistent political will
 * a distrust of the motives of the authority
 * an absence of a powerful champion for the scheme
 * significant stakeholder opposition
 * a commitment to a popular referendum
 * a difference in perception between the 'transport professionals' and the stakeholders. Edinburgh's scheme designers were attempting to introduce a road pricing mechanism as a proxy for making road users pay the full marginal cost for their journeys, while public opinion was that congestion came about because the alternatives to car travel were not viable, yet the schemes showed no commitments to investment in alternatives before road pricing would start.

title: Edinburgh congestion charge


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Broederstroom

Broederstroom is a village situated beside the R512 road on the Daspoortrand (former Pretoria district) in the Witwatersrand, the southern foothills of the Magaliesberg in North West Province, South Africa. It grew from a Voortrekker settlement which was established in the wake of Mzilikazi's depopulation of the region during the mfecane. Various small to medium-sized businesses, overnight facilities, farm houses and informal settlements are located beside or just off the R512 on the western bank of the Crocodile River. The loose aggregation of residences and businesses are bisected by Jalalpor road running west to east, and Bart Pretorius road running south to north. The sprawling Pecanwood Golf Estate is some 4 km to the north, on the shore of the Hartbeespoort Dam.

History
Early Iron Age farmers were present here from the 6th century onwards, and the BaFokeng dominated the landscape from the start of 16th century. They suffered greatly during the mfecane of the 19th century, and the Voortrekkers entered the area immediately afterwards. The village is named after three brothers of General Andries Pretorius, namely Piet (H.P.N.), Bart (H.A.) and Wynand Pretorius, who established themselves here in the mid 19th century; the name is derived from Dutch broeder, meaning 'brother' and stroom, meaning 'stream'. Bart Pretorius built a house here around 1845. Andries Pretorius joined his younger brothers here in 1848, and his son M.W. Pretorius was likewise a resident. Well-known Afrikaans writer Sangiro was born in Broederstroom in 1894, and starting 1924, Afrikaner historian and language activist Gustav Preller visited the area, and eventually established him at nearby Pelindaba. Preller in turn was regularly paid visits by Eugène Marais, besides various artists and intellectuals.

Pelindaba
Pelindaba is located some 5km east of Broederstroom, and houses two nuclear reactors for research purposes. Pelindaba is the southern section of former Welgegund farm, acquired from the state by Swart Martiens Pretorius before the end of the 19th century. The western section of Pelindaba, accessed via gate 3, is a conserved area which includes Preller's House, a National Monument since 1973. The Phalandingwe hiking trail starts at the house, follows the Crocodile River, and passes the historic grave yard.

Lion Park
The Lion Park was founded by the Chipperfields Circus in November, 1966. Located in the Gauteng-Tshwane complex, the climate is perfect for highveld fauna and the native animals found in this park. The Park is split into two areas. Herbivores and carnivores are separated and herbivores such as zebra, giraffe and other antelope are available for close-up viewing. The carnivores include three prides of lion and one clan of hyena. They are surrounded by barriers and fences to protect each pride from one another. Lions are extremely territorial and will attack if intruders enter their terrain. The lions housed here are indigenous to Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Limpopo, and Botswana. The Lion park is open all year from 08:30 to 17:00.

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

title: Broederstroom


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Combined Associated Schools

The Associated Schools of NSW Inc, most commonly referred to as the Committee of Associated Schools (CAS), is a group of six independent schools located in Sydney, which share common interests, ethics, educational philosophy and contest sporting events between themselves. In addition, CAS members often compete with members of the Athletic Association of the Great Public Schools of New South Wales (GPS) and members of the Independent Schools Association (ISA).

History
The CAS was initiated in 1928 by Knox Grammar School’s first headmaster, Neil MacNeil, when he proposed an association with Barker College, Cranbrook School, Trinity Grammar School, All Saints' College and St Aloysius' College.

The association was formed in 1929 to provide sporting and co-curricular competition with the foundation members being the above schools with the exception of All Saints', who were not mentioned again. Waverley College had its application of June 1929 deferred until it finally joined in the 1940s. This was because the headmaster of Trinity Grammar School throughout the 1930s came to an impasse with Waverley headmaster at the time, Br Edward Nelson, over school fee issues. This issue questioned the integrity of the school and the application was held up until 1941. At this point in time Waverley had a new headmaster, Br Andrew Denman.

The CAS primarily provides sporting competitions between the various schools, including swimming and athletics, the summer sports cricket and basketball, and the winter sports rugby union, football (soccer), and cross country. CAS also offers a wide range of cultural activities such as cadet competitions, chess, debating and public speaking. Since 1935, a representative from each CAS and GPS school has competed in the Lawrence Campbell Oratory Competition.

Representatives from all six schools meet regularly to determine sporting schedules, school terms, competitions and address any issues arising from the CAS competition.

Sydney Grammar School often participates in debating competitions and some sport (mainly volleyball) hosted by the CAS board.

Tony Higgins, dean of careers at Knox Grammar School, manages the employment relations aspect of the association. John Day and Roger Seaborn, members of the Trinity Grammar School Council, also form part of this committee and are responsible for the day-to-day operation of the CAS. August Courtis is in charge of the Public Relations Department.

The meeting of the representatives of the CAS in April 2006 saw the introduction of a cadet drill competition, suggested by Helen Clarke of Knox Grammar School and Gordon Barkl of the Barker College School Council. This was intended to further enhance the links between the six CAS schools. In June 2006, the CAS committee initiated the first joint-scholarship programme for academic performance. Awarded annually, the student attaining the scholarship is granted six years of secondary education at any of the six CAS schools.

The annual meeting of the CAS committee in April 2007 saw the introduction of lawn bowls as an official CAS sport through the initiative of Pete Mullers and Chantal Hunter of the Waverley College sport department. The event also saw the proposal of the introduction of a common teaching/learning program in the academic side of each of the six participating schools. The program has been drafted by Shane Sedgman and Jenny Emery of Knox Grammar School. The head of the CAS committee, Dougal Parr, also announced his decision to step down from his position and was replaced by his deputy, Edward Bradshaw.

On 4 May 2007, English faculty executives from the six CAS schools attended a conference held at Knox Grammar School to commence the drafting of a common learning program. Headed by the dean of English of Knox Grammar School and Barker College, Steve Parsons and Ann Lawless Bean, assessment tasks, examinations and teaching schedules were devised for the academic year commencing 2008. The mathematics department attended a similar seminar on 7 May 2007 and was headed by Michael Harnwell and Ian Schultz.

Competitive events

 * Athletics
 * Basketball
 * Chess
 * Cadets
 * Cricket
 * Cross country
 * Fishing
 * Rifle shooting
 * Rugby union
 * Soccer
 * Swimming
 * Volleyball
 * Water polo
 * Squash
 * Tennis
 * Debating
 * Lawn bowls
 * Diving

CAS full code

Rugby
The Henry Plume Shield, named after the founder of Barker, is awarded to the winners of the 1st XV competition.

Cricket
The Archer Shield, named after one of Knox's founders and benefactors, Andrew Reid.

Swimming
The Thyne Challenge Shield is awarded to the winner of the CAS Swimming Championships. "Thyne" was the maiden name of the wife of Andrew Reid, after whom the athletics trophy is named.

Basketball
The Associated Schools of NSW Basketball Shield is awarded to the winner of the 1st V basketball competition.

Football (soccer)
The Thomas Grimson OAM Cup is awarded to the winner of the 1st XI soccer competition. It is named after Thomas Grismon, a life member of the Australian and NSW Soccer Federation.

Tennis
The CAS Tennis Trophy is awarded to the winner of the 1st IV summer tennis competition. The CAS Winter Trophy is awarded to the winner of the 1st IV winter tennis competition.

Drill
The CAS Drill Trophy is awarded to the winner of the CAS Cadet Drill Competition. The competition was started in 2002 and includes the Cadet Units from all the schools except Cranbrook. St Aloysius competed for the first time in 2018.

Debating
The CAS Debating Cup was first awarded in 1991.

Cross country
The winner of the Opens team event at the CAS Cross Country Championships is awarded The Neil Logan CAS Cross Country Shield. It was first awarded in 1993.

title: Combined Associated Schools


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Rosa Chacel

Rosa Clotilde Chacel Arimón (June 3, 1898 – July 27, 1994) was a famous and sometimes controversial writer from Spain. She was a native of Valladolid.

Early life
Chacel was born in Valladolid, the daughter of a teacher who sent her to live with her grandmother in Madrid. Chacel's move to Madrid occurred in 1908. Because of her weak health, she was home-schooled by her mother.

By 1909, Chacel's mother enlisted her at Madrid's Escuela de artes y oficios to study drawing, but, soon after, Chacel followed her teacher, Fernanda Francés, to the newly built Escuela del hogar y Profesional de la Mujer, also in Madrid. It was while in the latter school that Chacel began to take some feminist views. In 1915, Chacel, intrigued by the world of sculpture, enrolled at the Escuela Superior de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, but she soon lost interest in the aforementioned topic and abandoned the school by 1918.

Chacel then went on to become a regular at the Cafe Granja del Henar and at the Ateneo de Madrid. These two places were favorite locations for aspiring writers from all over Spain and other European countries. She delivered a controversial speech there, after a conference about women and their possibilities. Like much of the world at that era, machista views predominated in Spain, and Chacel's dialogue on that conference were considered off base or nonsensical by many members of Madrid's society.

Chacel, nevertheless, went on championing feminism as a new way to live for modern women, and, in 1921, she married a famous painter of the time, Timoteo Perez Rubio. In 1922 the couple settled in Rome after Pérez Rubio was granted a scholarship at the Academia de España. That same year, Chacel wrote her first article for the Ultra magazine. In 1927, she and her husband returned to Madrid.

In 1930, Chacel wrote her first novel, Estacion, Ida y Vuelta. That same year, the Perez Rubio-Chacel couple had a child, Carlos. For the next three years, Rosa dedicated herself to motherhood and to promoting her novel. In 1933, she lived alone for six months in Berlin, to recover from her mother's death and a creative crisis. Soon after her return to Spain, the Spanish Civil War broke out. Pérez Rubio enlisted in the Republican Army and Chacel performed, among other things, as a nurse. During the same period she also contributed literary magazines Hora de España and Revista de Occidente.

This new, political problem, forced Chacel to move multiple times with her son, and she lived in Barcelona, Valencia, Paris. In the meantime, her husband had the responsibility of moving out of the country the treasuries of the Museo del Prado to preserve them from the war devastation. After the end of the war, the family reunited and travelled to Brazil, where they lived for three decades, with short stays in Buenos Aires.

Exile
The next years Chacel lived in relative obscurity: a well-known writer but one who had made no new projects in years. This changed in 1959, however, when she won a Guggenheim Fellowship, which allowed her to travel to New York City and return to writing. Chacel worked in New York until 1961, when, with her home country living a calmed down social state, she returned to Spain. In May 1963, Chacel returned to Brazil, where she remained until 1970, when she returned to Spain for a short stay. She would live in Brazil for three more years, as, in 1973, she made her second return to her home country.

Return to Spain
In 1977, her husband of 56 years died, and Chacel, who was a very frequent flyer between Madrid and Rio de Janeiro, decided to stay in Spain for good. She used her newly found status as a widow to try to rescue some of her old works and to write more novels.

Death and legacy
She died peacefully in Madrid on Sunday, August 7, 1994, aged 96.

The Spanish national airline Iberia Airlines - a company which Chacel perhaps saw as it grew - just like in Luisa Carvajal y Mendoza's case, decided to honor Chacel by naming an Airbus A340 jetliner airliner after her. Perhaps ironically, the "Rosa Chacel Airbus A340" flies very frequently between Madrid's Barajas International Airport and Buenos Aires' Ezeiza International Airport or Rio de Janeiro.

Awards and honors

 * Guggenheim Fellowship
 * Chacel was granted a Doctor Honoris Causa degree by the University of Valladolid (1989).
 * Towards the end of her life, she won various prestigious awards, some of whom were given by King Juan Carlos.
 * In 1987, she received the "National Award of the Letters (writing)", an award reserved for the very best writers of Spain.
 * In 1990, she received the "Premio Castilla y Leon de las letras" ("Castilla y Leon award of the letters"), an award whose winners are chosen by the King.

title: Rosa Chacel


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Hustler White

Hustler White is a 1996 film by Bruce LaBruce and Rick Castro, a satirical black sex comedy about gay hustlers and their customers on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, California. It stars Tony Ward and LaBruce in an addition to the Queer Cinema canon, which is also an homage to classic Hollywood cinema. Also appearing in the film are Vaginal Davis, Glen Meadmore and Graham David Smith.

In a plot reminiscent of Sunset Boulevard, Hustler White transposes the action from the silver screen's old movie backlots to contemporary male prostitution and the porn industry. The film, which like all of LaBruce's work is sexually explicit, includes a controversial amputee sex scene. Co-director Rick Castro cast real male hustlers and his former models, including Tony Ward, as amateur actors. They also used the hustlers' homes (and other cast members' including Ron Athey's house in Silver Lake Hills) as location spots for filming.

Portions of the film appear in the music video for "Misogyny" a track by Canadian rock band Rusty which appeared on MuchMusic and Musique Plus in the 1990s.

Synopsis
The film starts with Monti Ward (Tony Ward), a male prostitute, dead in a jacuzzi. Then in a voice over, Monti describes the circumstances that led to his fate.

Jürgen Anger (Bruce LaBruce), a writer from Europe, is in California researching a book on the gay prostitution and pornographic scene in Hollywood. While touring Santa Monica Boulevard, he meets Monti hustling on the street and develops a crush on him. Throughout the movie we discover various facets of Monti, including committing a hit and run which cripples a fellow hustler named Eigil (Kevin P. Scott). Jürgen unsuccessfully follows the devastatingly handsome rent-boy. As Jürgen continues his pursuit of the young man, the film follows Monti through his typical routine of various sordid and bizarre encounters with hustlers, johns and pornographers.

Finally Jürgen can get Monti to show him various places in the gay prostitution scene of Hollywood. They end up at Jürgen's apartment, where Monti trips on a soap and remains unconscious in the jacuzzi. Jürgen finds him and pulls him out of the water, thinking he is dead. He brings him to the beach to dump his body in the ocean, but Monti wakes up. The two of them end up running hand in hand on the beach.

Cast

 * Tony Ward as Montgomery Ward
 * Bruce La Bruce as Jürgen Anger
 * Alex Austin as Alex
 * Kevin Kramer as Kevin
 * Ron Athey as Seymour Kasabian
 * Glen Meadmore as Stew Blake
 * Ivar Johnson as Piglet
 * Kevin P. Scott as Eigil Vesti
 * Graham David Smith as Ambrose Sapperstein
 * Miles H. Wildecock II as Peter Festus
 * Bud Cockerham as Bud Cockram
 * Michael Glass as Mrs Glass
 * Vaginal Davis as Buster Boote
 * Joaquín Martínez as Ryan Block
 * Darryl Carlton as Divinity Fudge
 * Tony Powers as himself
 * Paul 'Superhustler' Bateman as Billy Ray Jaded
 * Barry Morse (credited as Dimitri Xolt) as Roger V. Deem
 * Paul Bellini as Roger's Secretary
 * Matt Johnstone as UCLA Student Driver
 * Max Millan as Amerikka
 * Sean McAndrew as  Hustler Twin #1
 * Ryan McAndrew as  Hustler Twin #2
 * Stephen Mounce as Daddy's Boy Hustler
 * Brent Hoover as Hustler
 * Merie Morris as Hustler
 * Billy Mauro as JFK Jr. Lookalike Hustler
 * Rocco Haze as Monti's Baby
 * Antonio Lee Klatt as Slave Hanging from Ankles
 * Chris Berry as Porno Mexican Wrestling Extra
 * Rick Castro as Clumsy Porno Cameraman

title: Hustler White


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Long telegram

 This page is an archive of the discussion about the proposed deletion of the article below. This page is no longer live. Further comments should be made on the article's talk page rather than here so that this page is preserved as an historic record. The result of the debate was Transwiki to WikiSource. Deathphoenix 01:41, 16 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Long telegram
Delete or transwiki to wikisource (if it is not a copyvio and not already there). This is the text of the document described under X Article. But under a title of Long telegram it is pointless. -- RHaworth 10:44, 2005 Feb 28 (UTC)
 * Transwiki and delete. -- Cyrius|✎ 01:10, 1 Mar 2005 (UTC)
 * I agree. Yuval Madar

This page is now preserved as an archive of the debate and, like some other VfD subpages, is no longer 'live'. Subsequent comments on the issue, the deletion, or the decision-making process should be placed on the relevant 'live' pages. Please do not edit this page.


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Charlie Slater

Charlie Slater is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Derek Martin. Charlie's first appearance is in the episode first broadcast in the United Kingdom on 4 September 2000. He was played by Jason McGregor in flashbacks broadcast in 2001 and Richie Daysh in a 2018 flashback. He also makes a cameo appearance in the second series of the spin-off EastEnders: E20.

In April 2010, the character was axed among five others by new executive producer Bryan Kirkwood as part of a plan to "breathe new life into the show". The reaction to Charlie's axing was negative, with Stuart Heritage from The Guardian saying that it "should be a national day of mourning" and Phil Daniels, who had previously played Kevin Wicks, also criticised the axings, stating that Charlie was a "good character". He departed from EastEnders on 13 January 2011. Martin returned for a two-episode stint in April; his return saw 10.31 million people watch on 19 April and 8.43 million on 21 April. On 3 November 2013, it was announced that Martin would return again, this time on 24 and 25 December 2013. It was announced in October 2015 that Charlie would make another guest appearance in 2016, appearing in five episodes from 4 to 7 January. It was confirmed that Charlie would die from a heart attack during this stint. The character very briefly appeared in a flashback on 25 December 2018.

Storylines
Charlie, a taxicab driver, who is widowed from Viv Slater (April Martin), arrives in Walford with Viv's mother Big Mo Harris (Laila Morse) and Charlie's four daughters: Lynne Slater (Elaine Lordan), Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace), Little Mo Morgan (Kacey Ainsworth), and Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan), plus Lynne's boyfriend, Garry Hobbs (Ricky Groves). It soon emerges that Kat is actually Zoe's mother and that it has been kept a family secret until Zoe finds out. Demanding to know the identity of her birth father, Zoe and Charlie are stunned to discover that it was Charlie's younger brother Harry Slater (Michael Elphick), who raped Kat when she was a teenager. Little Mo, now married to Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick), is raped by Graham Foster (Alex McSweeney). When Charlie finds out, he attacks Graham after locking him in his taxi. Charlie is arrested and remanded in custody for grievous bodily harm, to which he pleads guilty, but the family has to pay Graham £10,000 compensation. Charlie's cab license is revoked, but is later restored. Lynne, now married to Garry, leaves Walford after her baby, Vivienne, is stillborn. Charlie's great-niece Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) moves in, and Charlie becomes a father figure to her, helping her curb her rebellious and wayward attitude. At the same time, he comforts Zoe after she has an abortion. Zoe eventually leaves, soon followed by Kat, who is now married to Alfie Moon (Shane Richie). However, Stacey's mother Jean Slater (Gillian Wright) moves in with the family.

Charlie puts an advertisement in a lonely hearts column and becomes a member of an internet dating website, meeting and falling for Brenda Boyle (Carmel Cryan), a Salvation Army member from Clacton. However, their romance begins to fizzle out. After not seeing each other for several weeks, Brenda ends the relationship, telling Charlie that she and her brother are moving to Madeira. Not wishing to end the relationship, Charlie gets approval from Stacey and Mo to go with her. He returns not long after with a Russian woman named Orlenda (Mary Tamm). Mo is suspicious of her and follows her around. On seeing her with another man, Mo takes a photo to show Charlie. Charlie confronts Orlenda, who admits that she was using Charlie for his money and he asks her to leave. When Stacey stops taking medication for her bipolar disorder, Charlie insists that she has to start again as she almost lost her baby Lily. Charlie asks Dot Branning (June Brown) to speak to Stacey as he believes that Lily's father is Stacey's deceased husband Bradley (Charlie Clements), Dot's step-grandson. Dot then reveals that Lily is not Bradley's. Charlie asks Stacey why she has not told the truth and begs her to take her pills, trying to force one into her mouth. Stacey says she has already taken them and Charlie apologises, then walks out of the house in tears. He spends the night at Patrick Trueman's (Rudolph Walker) house, and invites Patrick and Jim Branning (John Bardon) for drinks. Later, Sam Mitchell (Danniella Westbrook) asks Charlie to take her to the hospital because she is worried her baby Richard is unwell, however after driving part way, Charlie tells her the symptoms are normal. As he turns around, he reverses into some boxes in front of a van, and is then stopped by a police officer (Laurence Mitchell). The next day, Mo opens a letter for Charlie and learns he was caught driving over the limit. They argue as he could lose his driving licence, and Charlie later apologises to Stacey for forcing her to take her pills.

Charlie is shocked when his daughter Kat returns to Albert Square. Kat is trying to avoid some thugs to whom she owes money. They catch up with her at Charlie's house, and Kat tries to escape. In the commotion, Charlie reminds Kat that she hasn't even asked about his life or anyone else's in Walford. Kat's estranged husband, Alfie, then arrives and chases the thugs away. However, Charlie is then dismayed to learn that Kat is pregnant, and Alfie is not the father. Alfie and Kat reopen The Queen Vic as landlords and give Charlie a job there as a potman. Kat gives birth to Tommy, on the same day Ronnie Branning (Samantha Womack) gives birth to her son, James. Kat is rushed to hospital, leaving Tommy in Charlie's care, but he joins the New Year's Eve party instead. James dies of cot death, so Ronnie secretly swaps him with a perfectly healthy Tommy. Alfie and the rest of the family then discover the dead baby, believing it to be Tommy. Charlie admits to Kat that the baby was left alone as he was drinking, so Kat blames him for the baby's death. Charlie tries to make things right, but eventually realises it is best for him to leave. Mo begs him to stay but he refuses. Mo tells Kat and Alfie, and when Alfie says fathers have feelings too, they run to the tube station. Kat forgives Charlie and he leaves to stay with Lynne. When Kat and Alfie receive Tommy back, Charlie visits Kat and helps her bond with her son. Kat asks Charlie to return to Walford, but he refuses as he is in a relationship with a younger woman named Eileen, and they are getting married. Soon after, he returns to Lynne's. Off-screen, Charlie suffers a stroke. Kat, Alfie, Tommy and Shenice Quinn (Lily Harvey) go to visit him in hospital and stay with him for a while. Soon after, Alfie returns with Shenice and reveals Kat and Tommy are staying with Charlie until he recovers. Kat later returns to Walford with Tommy. Charlie visits Kat and Alfie for Christmas to celebrate their last days in The Queen Vic, and is delighted to learn that Kat is pregnant again.

Charlie returns, following the birth of Stacey's son Arthur Fowler. Kat then learns that she had given birth to a boy, along with Zoe. Charlie admits to Kat that he knew about Stacey's father, Brian's, other family and that he did nothing to stop him. When an angry Kat demands the truth from Mo about her son, Charlie suffers a heart attack. Charlie manages to tell Kat that he loves her, before going into cardiac arrest. The paramedics arrive minutes later, but are unable to save Charlie and he is pronounced dead. Alone, Kat says her final goodbyes to her father before kissing him goodnight on the forehead. Shortly afterwards, Stacey runs away from Walford; however, she has a hallucination of Charlie (a symptom of her postpartum psychosis) in the form of a taxi driver, who convinces her to return home.

Creation and development
Derek Martin had previously auditioned for the roles of Den Watts and Frank Butcher in the 1980s and was shortlisted for both roles, but was ultimately unsuccessful. He requested to screen-test for the role of Charlie in 2000. He was successful and offered a contract with the soap for a minimum of three years, with potential for longer. Martin described playing Charlie as "comfortable", like putting on an "old coat" and stated in 2002 that he would like to stay with EastEnders until he dies. He described Charlie as an easy-going family man. The EastEnders website calls Charlie "mild mannered" and the rock that keeps the Slater family together, as well as "positive as long as his family's round him." He was also described as a 'devoted dad'. In 2009 it was announced that Martin would take a break from the series. His temporary departure storyline saw Charlie run away with his new love interest, Brenda Boyle (Carmel Cryan), however BBC confirmed that he would return in a "few weeks time". The storyline involved Charlie jumping in front of a bus to stop her from emigrating to Madeira. A spokesperson said, "Charlie's move is only temporary and that he will return soon. His heart remains in Walford." It was reported in February 2010 that Martin's real-life knee surgery would be scripted into the show. He said, "My operation will probably be in the middle of May and then hopefully you'll see Charlie on crutches". Martin's operation was in April 2010 and Martin revealed, "I went back to EastEnders at that point and a runner followed me round with a chair and my sticks." Although Charlie was never seen on crutches, he had a limp in episodes broadcast in April 2011.

Departure and 2011 return
Charlie left EastEnders on 13 January 2011. Martin opined that his favourite storyline to film was finding out that Kat was raped by Harry, on which he stated "I shared some emotional scenes with Kat during that storyline." He later stated that the storyline was "very strong". In October 2010, a last minute scene was filmed involving Charlie and Patrick, focusing on George Osborne's Spending Review, in which the characters discuss the impact of the Chancellor's plans. Talking about the baby swap storyline involving Kat, Alfie, Ronnie Branning (Samantha Womack) and Jack Branning (Scott Maslen), Martin explained that he only read his own parts of the script, so thought that Charlie simply leaves his grandson alone, gets drunk and the baby dies. On Charlie's part in the story, he said "[T]hat's terrible guilt obviously—because [he] feel[s] as though it's [his] fault that he's died. I was surprised when I saw the story come out [...] that it was a baby swap." In his autobiography, released in 2013, Martin revealed that the storyline originally planned for Charlie's exit was that he have a heart attack and die. He also spoke about his shock at being axed: "You know it's part and parcel of the profession to be in and out of work but after thinking Charlie was part of the future of the show, I was shocked. I simply didn't see it coming." Martin revealed that he immediately called former executive producer, John Yorke, who had introduced the character to the show, and told him of his impending on-screen death. Martin then revealed that he had received a call from current producers, who said Charlie was not to be killed off, and would simply go to live with eldest daughter, Lynne.

On 2 March 2011, it was announced that Martin had recently returned to film two episodes. An EastEnders source told Digital Spy, "Although they've had their ups and downs, Kat deeply regrets pushing Charlie away. The pair have a tearful reunion and there won't be a dry eye in the house." Jessie Wallace, who plays Charlie's daughter Kat Moon, said that Charlie would help Kat come to terms with the fact that her baby is still alive, "With what happened the night they thought Tommy died, things were still unresolved for them. Although they cleared the air before he left, things weren't right between them, so to have him back with her now makes it all the more special. It's also Charlie that makes Kat realise that she needs to bond with Tommy. He makes her see that she can do this." Martin returned for two episodes, on 19 and 21 April 2011, with his return bringing in 10.31 million viewers on 19 April, and 8.43 million on 21 April.

2013 and 2016 returns
It was announced on 3 November 2013 that Charlie would be making a brief return to screens over the Christmas period. Martin was revealed to have already filmed his return and would appear in one episode in December. Details surrounding Charlie's reason to return was being kept secret from the public, but was tipped to involve his daughter, Kat. A show spokesperson confirmed Martin's return. Speaking of his return, Martin said: "It was wonderful to go back after all this time. I got a call saying they wanted me to do an episode for Christmas. I walked into the Queen Vic on my first day and it was like I'd never left." Spoiler pictures showing Charlie's return was released on 8 December. The pictures showed Kat and her husband, Alfie, celebrating their final day in charge of The Queen Victoria, with Mo joining them alongside Charlie. On 22 December 2013, Martin revealed that he wants a permanent return to EastEnders following his guest return at Christmas, which was said to last two episodes, "Who knows, if Charlie goes down well this Christmas, maybe it will all become more permanent. Nothing's been said but I can't help hoping." Charlie's return scenes aired on 24 and 25 December 2013, with 7.65 million tuning in to watch on 24 December and 8.60 million on 25 December. Lacey Turner, who plays Charlie's great niece Stacey Branning, expressed an interest in Charlie and her on-screen mother, Jean (Gillian Wright) returning, "Having scenes with the Slaters is my favourite thing, though. It would be great if we could get Derek Martin and Gillian Wright back."

In April 2014, Martin revealed that cast members, including Jessie Wallace (Kat) and Shane Richie (Alfie), have asked producers on various occasions whether Martin can return to the soap on a permanent basis. He commented, "Everyone, including Shane and Jessie, have been asking them upstairs, 'When can we have Derek?' and Dominic [Treadwell-Collins] has said he will see how it goes." In October 2014, it was announced that there was a possibility Martin would be returning to the show in early 2015. Despite Martin telling the Daily Star that he would be returning for a handful of episodes for an unknown storyline, an EastEnders spokesperson said the return was to be finalised. The spokesperson said: "It hasn't been confirmed if Derek will be returning, as it is still a little while off yet as we are still at the planning stages." Martin did not return to the show as previously rumoured.

In October 2015, it was announced that Martin would be returning to the show for a guest appearance over the Christmas period. The announcement that Charlie would returning on-screen came only a day following the announcement Kat and Alfie would make a brief return over the Christmas period. The show released no further information surrounding Charlie's return, but said the return of Charlie, Kat and Alfie would lead to the latter's 2016 six-part drama. Speaking of his return, Martin said: "I'm so excited to be coming back into such a big and important storyline and I can't wait to get stuck in and be back with the family again." The character was killed off. Martin said of his on-screen death, "I spoke to Dominic, the executive producer, and he explained [the storyline] and said he'd give me a good send off. In a way its closure, after 11 years, which for an actor is wonderful."

In popular culture
The character of Charlie Slater has been spoofed in the cartoon sketch show 2DTV. It was revealed that in July 2005 Derek Martin would appear as a guest star on the third series of Little Britain. He played himself and was constantly referred to by the character of Marjorie Dawes as "Charlie Slater".

Other appearances
Charlie makes a cameo appearance in episode 6 of EastEnders: E20, where he is eating dinner in front of the television when there is a power cut, caused by Sol Levi (Tosin Cole) and Stevie Dickinson (Amanda Fairbank-Hynes).

Reception
James Donaghy from The Guardian called Charlie "a lovely bloke" and "the embodiment of salt-of-the-earth decency and stupidity", saying one of his favourite moments in Charlie's time in EastEnders was his attack on Trevor. Grace Dent, also from The Guardian, said that one of her favourite soap opera moments of 2008 was when an escaped tarantula crawled up Charlie's leg.

The episode in which he left following the aftermath of the baby swap storyline attracted 10 million viewers, according to Digital Spy. His two-episode return saw on 19 April, 10.31 million people watch and 8.43 million on 21 April. Christopher Hooton from the Metro newspaper negatively reviewed Charlie's exit scenes, saying, "Unfortunately the long-time cast member's exit felt a little rushed. [...] As EastEnders characters' last hurrahs go, Charlie Slater's will not be going down in TV history." Stuart Heritage from The Guardian criticised Kirkwood's axing of the characters, saying, "By rights, this should be a national day of mourning. EastEnders has got a new executive producer – Bryan Kirkwood – and, as executive producers so often do, he's decided to spend his first few days hiding in a bush, taking out several characters with a poisoned blowpipe. This weekend it emerged that six EastEnders characters are to get the chop. Some of them are long-standing and beloved, like Charlie Slater and Minty." Phil Daniels, who played Kevin Wicks in the soap, criticised the axing of Charlie, along with that of the other five cast members, as they were "good characters". A reporter writing for the Inside Soap Yearbook 2017 (released in November 2016) described Charlie's death as "tragic".

In 2020, Sara Wallis and Ian Hyland from The Daily Mirror placed Charlie 91st on their ranked list of the best EastEnders characters of all time, calling him "Salt-of-the-earth" and commenting "No wonder he died of a stroke" due to giving out "tea and sympathy to the wild Slater women".

title: Charlie Slater


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title: User talk:210.18.24.72


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Socialist Alliance

Socialist Alliance may refer to:

 * Albanian Socialist Alliance Party
 * Alternative Socialist Alliance - Independents (in Bulgaria)
 * Scottish Socialist Alliance
 * Socialist Alliance (Australia)
 * Socialist Alliance (Burkina Faso)
 * Socialist Alliance (England)
 * London Socialist Alliance
 * Samajwadi Alliance (in India)
 * Socialist Alliance (Mexico)
 * Socialist Alliance (Sri Lanka)
 * Socialist Alliance Party (in Romania)
 * Socialist Alliance of Working People of Yugoslavia
 * Socialist Environmental Alliance (in Northern Ireland)
 * Socialist Labour Alliance (in Ireland)
 * Socialist Popular Alliance Party (in Egypt)
 * Socialist Trade and Labor Alliance (in the United States)
 * Socialist Youth Alliance (in Portugal)
 * Welsh Socialist Alliance
 * Young Socialist Alliance (in the United States)

title: Socialist Alliance


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Wilfred Judson

Wilfred Judson, (July 20, 1902 – June 15, 1980) was a Canadian lawyer and Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Born in Todmorden, England, the son of John and Agnes Judson, he received a BA in 1922 and an MA in 1923 from the University of Manchester. In 1923 he emigrated to Canada. He graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School and was called to the bar in 1932. After practising law for 19 years he was appointed to the High Court of Justice of Ontario in 1951 and to the Supreme Court of Canada in 1958. He retired in 1977.

In 1978, he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada.

title: Wilfred Judson


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Fimbrin

Fimbrin also known as is plastin 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the PLS1 gene. Fimbrin is an actin cross-linking protein important in the formation of filopodia.

Structure
Fimbrin belongs to the calponin homology (CH) domain superfamily of actin cross-linking proteins. Like other members of this superfamily, which include α-actinin, β-spectrin, dystrophin, ABP-120 and filamin, it has a conserved 27 kDa actin-binding domain that contains a tandem duplication of a sequence that is homologous to calponin. In addition to cross-linking actin filaments into bundles and networks, CH domains also bind intermediate filaments and some signal transduction proteins to the actin cytoskeleton. Structural comparison of actin filaments and fimbrin CH domain-decorated actin filaments has revealed changes in the actin structure due to fimbrin-mediated cross-linking that may affect the actin filaments' affinity for other actin-binding proteins and may be part of the regulation of the cytoskeleton itself.

In humans, three highly homologous, strictly tissue and locale specific isoforms have been identified: I-, T- and L-fimbrin. L-fimbrin is found in only normal or transformed leukocytes where it becomes phosphorylated in response to other factors such as interleukin-1. I-fimbrin is expressed by intestine and kidney epithelial cells. T-fimbrin is found in epithelial and mesenchymal cells derived from solid tissue where it does not become phosphorylated. Differences in expression, sequence and phosphorylation among the various fimbrin isoforms suggest the likelihood of functional differences.

Function
Fimbrin is present in several distinct structures in different cell types, including intestinal microvilli, hair cell stereocilia and fibroblast filopodia. It is usually associated with polarized actin filaments in membrane ruffles, filopodia, stereocilia and adhesion plaques. Sequence homology and biochemical properties show that fimbrin is highly conserved from yeast to humans. Yeast mutants lacking fimbrin are defective in morphogenesis and endocytosis.

Owing to the close proximity of its tandem actin-binding domains, fimbrin directs the formation of tightly bundled actin filaments that participate in dynamic processes, including cytokinesis in yeast and host cell invasion by enteropathic bacteria. Although fimbrin's involvement in processes like these as well as its role in assembly and regulation of microfilament networks are well documented, there are fewer experimental data describing the overall domain organization of the molecule. Klein et al. (2004) detailed the crystal structure of the Arabidopsis thaliana and Schizosaccharomyces pombe fimbrin cores in an attempt to highlight the compact and distinctly asymmetric organization of the fimbrin molecule. This structural study of the fimbrin core represents the first detailed structural description of a functional actin cross-linking protein.

title: Fimbrin


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Ion Voicu

Ion Voicu (October 8, 1923 – February 24, 1997) was a Romanian violinist and orchestral conductor of Romani ethnicity. In 1969 he founded the award-winning Bucharest Chamber Orchestra, which is now conducted by his son Mădălin Voicu.

Life
Voicu was born in Bucharest, into a family of professional musicians. At age 6, he had his first music lessons with Constantin Niculescu. At age 14, he entered the Royal Academy of Music in Bucharest, where he studied with George Enescu. After graduating in 1940, he became violinist with the National Radio Orchestra of Romania, where he was noticed by the conductor, Willem Mengelberg; Voicu made his debut as a soloist with the orchestra soon after. In 1946, he won the first prize at a musical competition organized in Bucharest by George Enescu and Yehudi Menuhin.

In 1949, Voicu first appeared as a soloist with the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra under George Georgescu, and he achieved great acclaim as a participant in their 1957 tour of Belgrade; from 1972 to 1982, he was the director of the Philharmonic.

The Ion Voicu Park in central Bucharest was named after him in 2003.

title: Ion Voicu


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Hartbeespoort

Hartbeespoort, informally known as "Harties", is a small resort town in the North West Province of South Africa, situated on slopes of the Magaliesberg mountain and the banks of the Hartbeespoort Dam. The name of the town means "gateway of the hartbees" (a species of antelope) in Afrikaans. Schoemansville]], named after General Hendrik Schoeman, a Boer General in the Anglo-Boer War, who owned the farm that the Hartbeespoort Dam was built on, is the oldest neighbourhood of Hartbeespoort.

Hartbeespoort is the collective name of a few smaller towns situated around the Hartbeespoort Dam, including the towns of Meerhof, Ifafi, Melodie, Schoemansville and Kosmos.

The town consists of holiday homes and permanent residences around the dam as it is popular with visitors from nearby Gauteng Province. It is home to the Om Die Dam (Around the dam) ultra marathon of 50 km, which takes place annually in the first half of the year.

Some of the main tourist attractions in or around the town are:
 * The Hartbeespoort Dam wall and tunnel
 * The Hartbeespoort Dam Snake Park
 * The Hartbeespoort Dam Aquarium
 * Hartbeespoort Aerial Cableway (the longest monocableway in Africa)
 * Transvaal Yacht Club
 * Oberon Leisure Resort
 * Welwitchia Country Market
 * The Elephant Sanctuary Hartbeespoort Dam
 * Bushbabies Monkey Sanctuary
 * Lion and Safari Park reserve
 * Harties horse trail safaris
 * Chameleon Village

Other leisure-oriented venues around the dam include Pecanwood Golf Estate, Hartbeespoort Boat Club (near Kosmos), Sandy Lane Golf Club (at Caribbean Beach Club), Kosmos Marina Club, Magalies Park (estate and golf club). A number of other leisure developments and resorts are in progress.

In 2010 the Hartbeespoort Aerial Cableway was completely revamped and modernised and officially reopened on 14 August 2010 by Minister of Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk.

Hartbeespoort is part of the Madibeng Local Municipality, that also includes the nearby town of Brits.

Despite the semi-rural setting of the Hartbeespoort environs, it is ranked by the World Health Organization as the most polluted city in South Africa in terms of airborne particulates, with air pollution levels roughly twice that of Vereeniging, a heavily industrialised city south of Johannesburg.

title: Hartbeespoort


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Luminița Gheorghiu

Luminița Gheorghiu (1 September 1949 – 4 July 2021) was a Romanian film and stage actress and artistic performer in East Central Europe. She achieved international recognition for her roles in The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2006) and Child's Pose (2013). Gheorghiu's roles were mostly in Romanian and French, including that in Code Unknown with Juliette Binoche.

Gheorghiu was a 1972 graduate of the Institute of Theatrical and Cinematographic Arts in Bucharest, where she studied under professor Ion Cojar. She made her debut in 1971, at the Casandra Theatre, and then played at theaters in Botoșani and Piatra Neamț. From 1976 to 2003, she played at the Bulandra Theatre in Bucharest.

Gheorghiu died on 4 July 2021 at the age of 71.

Theatrical roles

 * Mărioara - Sânziana și Pepelea (Sanziana and Pepelea, a fairy story) by Vasile Alecsandri, directed by Alexandru Tocilescu, 1971, Studioul Casandra (Bucharest)
 * Mama Anghelușa -Cânticele comice (Comic Songs) by Vasile Alecsandri, directed by Ion Cojar, Studioul Casandra, 1971
 * Trandafira - Trei crai de la răsărit (The Three Magi) by Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu, directed by Ion Cojar, Studioul Casandra, 1971
 * Victorița - O fată imposibilă (An Impossible Girl) by Virgil Stoenescu, directed by Marietta Sadova, Teatrul "Mihai Eminescu" Botoșani, 1972
 * Vivian - Mrs. Warren's Profession by George Bernard Shaw, directed by Marietta Sadova, Teatrul "Mihai Eminescu" Botoșani, 1972
 * Mama - The Misunderstanding by Albert Camus, directed by Adrian Lupu, Studioul Casandra, 1972
 * Cristina - Ultima cursă (Last Race) by Horia Lovinescu, directed by Emil Mandric, Teatrul "Mihai Eminescu" Botoșani 1974
 * Lizzie Curry - The Rainmaker by N. Richard Nash, directed by Emil Mandric, Teatrul "Mihai Eminescu" Botoșani, 1974
 * Ciocârlia - Tinerețe fără bătrânețe și viață fără de moarte (Youth Without Age and Life Without Death) by Eduard Covali, directed by Cătălina Buzoianu, Teatrul Tineretului Piatra Neamț, 1975
 * Gerda - The Pelican by August Strindberg, directed by Ioan Taub, Teatrul Bulandra, 1976
 * Nimi - Miles Gloriosus by Plautus, directed by Anton Taub, Teatrul Bulandra, 1976
 * Safta - Răceala (The Cold) by Marin Sorescu, directed by Dan Micu, Teatrul Bulandra, 1977
 * Doctorița - Undeva, o lumină (Somewhere, a Light) by Doru Moțoc, directed by Valeriu Moisescu, Teatrul Bulandra, 1977
 * Lucietta - The New House by Carlo Goldoni, directed by Valeriu Moisescu, Teatrul Bulandra, 1978
 * La lilieci (By the Lilacs) by Marin Sorescu, directed by Virgil Ogășanu, Teatrul Bulandra, 1978
 * Șura - A Day of Rest by Valentin Katayev, directed by Valeriu Moisescu, Teatrul Bulandra, 1981
 * Dorina - Tartuffe by Molière, directed by Alexandru Tocilescu, Teatrul Bulandra, 1982
 * O actriță - A Cabal of Hypocrites by Mihail Bulgakov, directed by Alexandru Tocilescu, Teatrul Bulandra, 1982
 * Liniște, ne privim în ochi (Quietly, They Won't See Us) by Marin Sorescu, directed by Virgil Ogășanu, Teatrul Bulandra, 1983
 * O lume pe scenă (A World on Stage), directed by Miriam Răducanu, Teatrul Bulandra, 1984
 * Ea - The Bench by Alexander Gelman, directed by Mircea Cornișteanu, Teatrul Bulandra, 1984
 * Sonia - Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov, directed by Alexa Visarion, Teatrul Bulandra, 1985
 * Piticul Quaqueo - The Giants of the Mountain by Luigi Pirandello, directed by Cătălina Buzoianu, Teatrul Bulandra, 1987
 * Fira - Omul cu mârțoaga (The Man With the Jade) by Gheorghe Ciprian, directed by Petre Popescu, Teatrul Bulandra, 1989
 * Madame Bergman - The Awakening of Spring by Frank Wedekind, directed by Liviu Ciulei, Teatrul Bulandra, 1991
 * Vittoria - Comic Theater by Carlo Goldoni, directed by Silviu Purcărete, Teatrul Bulandra, 1992
 * Whore, Angel - The Seventh Commandment by Dario Fo, directed by Gelu Colceag, Teatrul Bulandra, 1993
 * A woman, wife of Ill - The Visit of the Old Lady by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, directed by Felix Alexa, Teatrul Bulandra, 1993
 * Paulina - The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare, directed by Alexandru Darie, Teatrul Bulandra, 1994
 * Olga - Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov, directed by Alexandru Darie, Teatrul Bulandra, 1995
 * Prezicătoare - Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, directed by Alexandru Darie, Teatrul Bulandra, 1995
 * Nevasta lui Simon - 1794, after Camil Petrescu, Georg Buchner, Peter Weiss; director and scenarist Alexandru Darie, Teatrul Bulandra, 1997
 * Exercises in Style, after Raymond Queneau, directed by Ileana Cârstea-Simion, Teatrul Bulandra, 1997
 * Bătrâna - Chickenhead by George Spiro, directed by Gelu Colceag, Teatrul Bulandra 1998
 * Eugenia - Tango by Slawomir Mrozek, directed by Gelu Colceag, Teatrul Bulandra, 2001
 * Portăreasa - De Pretore Vincenzo by Eduardo De Filippo, directed by Horațiu Mălăele, Teatrul Bulandra, 2003

Feature films

 * Labirintul (The Labyrinth, 1980), directed by Șerban Creangă
 * Secvențe, directed by Alexandru Tatos
 * Moromeții (The Moromete Family, 1987), directed by Stere Gulea - Catrina Moromete
 * Drumul câinilor (lit. Road of the Dogs, 1991), directed by Laurențiu Damian
 * Rămânerea, directed by Laurențiu Damian
 * Privește înainte cu mânie (Look Ahead with Anger, 1993), directed by Nicolae Mărgineanu - Lucreția Ciugudean
 * Prea târziu (Too Late, 1996), directed by Lucian Pintilie - Mureșan's wife
 * Trenul Vieții (Train of Life, 1998) - Rivka
 * Code inconnu: Récit incomplet de divers voyages (Code Unknown: Incomplete Tales of Several Journeys, 2000), directed by Michael Haneke
 * Marfa și banii (Stuff and Dough, 2001) - Ovidiu's mother
 * Moartea Domnului Lazarescu (Death of Mr. Lazarescu, 2005) - Mioara Avram
 * 4 luni, 3 săptămâni și 2 zile (2007) - Gina
 * Vine poliția! (Here comes the police) (TV Series) (2008) - Lucreția Corbescu
 * Nunta mută (Silent Wedding) (2008) - Fira
 * Regina (The Queen) (TV Series) (2009) - Elvira
 * Iubire și onoare (Love and Honor) (TV Series) (2010) - Dr. Mioara Avram
 * Aurora (2010) - Mioara Avram
 * Pariu cu viața (TV Series) (2011 - 2013) - Minerva Dumitrescu
 * Brave (2012) - The Witch (dubbing)
 * Dupa dealuri (Beyond the Hills, 2012), directed by Cristian Mungiu
 * Child's Pose (2013) - won the international award Golden Bear at Berlin International Film Festival - Cornelia Keneres
 * Aferim! (2015) - Smaranda Cîndescu
 * Deschide ochii (Open your eyes) (TV Series) (2016) - Zina Barbu
 * Fructul oprit (TV Series) (2018) - Reveca Boască
 * Sacrificiul (TV Series) (2019) - Safta

title: Luminița Gheorghiu


text:
Talk:Art exhibition

What about the global history of art exhibitions. there are more informations in the german wikipedia. i will try to get more informations soon as i can !!!! i saw the article about the art gallery. isn`t it the same like an art exhibition subject area? or is the art gallery article also a candidate?

thanks, sim sun

Art fair
I notice that the article Art fair redirects to Art exhibition. Art fairs are something very specific, with a specific history and a different structure. The can include exhibition but they are not just another term to call an art exhibition. I think it would be appropriate to separate the two articles. I also noticed that at the moment many articles point to art fair (which makes sense since they are art fairs) and they redirect improperly here. --Iopensa (talk) 15:00, 5 June 2013 (UTC)
 * There are no "two articles" to separate, since no one has written anything much on art fairs. If they do I would agree with you. Johnbod (talk) 17:02, 5 June 2013 (UTC)

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Survey show
The definition of survey show given here -- a show about a "specific theme or topic" -- does not seem helpful. Survey exhibitions are generally an overview of the work of either a movement, genre or an artist. See for example https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/hirshhorn-presents-ragnar-kjartansson-s-first-major-survey-exhibition where the "survey exhibition' is described as "The exhibition is the first comprehensive overview." Shouldn't this definition of a survey exhibition here be rewritten, to avoid conveying an inaccurate idea? AtomAnt (talk) 14:37, 3 May 2019 (UTC)
 * simplified that bit. Johnbod (talk) 15:41, 3 May 2019 (UTC)

Curated exhibits
There should be a distinction between a curated vs non curated. An exhibit curator selects the best art (like a juror) but also strives to ensure that the art works well together to tell a story and/or engage the audience on a specific theme or topic. This can occur in museums and nonprofit art galleries, including university galleries, but rarely in commercial selling galleries. Jaquatrale123 (talk) 11:43, 19 November 2021 (UTC)

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title: Talk:Art exhibition


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Nicolae Tonitza

Nicolae Tonitza (April 13, 1886 – February 27, 1940) was a Romanian painter, engraver, lithographer, journalist and art critic. Drawing inspiration from Post-impressionism and Expressionism, he had a major role in introducing modernist guidelines to local art.

Biography
Born in Bârlad, he left his hometown in 1902 in order to attend the Iași National School of Fine Arts, where he had among his teachers Gheorghe Popovici and Emanoil Bardasare. The following year he visited Italy together with University of Bucharest students of archaeology under the direction of Grigore Tocilescu. During that period, together with some of his fellow students, Tonitza painted the walls of Grozești church.

In 1908 he left for Munich, where he attended the Royal Academy of Fine Arts; he began publishing political cartoons in Furnica, and contributing art criticism articles to Arta Română. Tonitza spent the following three years in Paris, where he visited artists' studios, and studied famous paintings. Although the young artist's creation would initially conform to the prevalent style, his gift for colour and his personal touch would eventually lead him towards experiment. Throughout his life, he remained committed to the Munich School, hailing its innovative style over the supposedly "obscure imitators of Matisse".

After his return, Tonitza painted frescos in several churches of Moldavia and worked as an art teacher, and then, together with Cezar Petrescu, as editor of Iașul newspaper. He married Ecaterina Climescu in 1913. The art collector Krikor Zambaccian, whom Tonitza befriended after 1925, indicated that, during its existence, Iașul sided with the Conservative Party, opposing Romania's entry into World War I.

In 1916, after Romania entered the conflict, Tonitza was drafted into the Army and fought from 20 to 25 August with the 84th Infantry Regiment at the Battle of Turtucaia. Wounded, he fell prisoner to the Bulgarians, and was sent to an internment camp in Kardzhali, together with fellow painter Sever Burada and the sculptor Horia Boambă. There, he became ill with malaria and rheumatism, which would plague him until his death. For his valor in battle, Tonitza was awarded in November 1916 the Order of Michael the Brave, 3rd class. He was set free and returned in April 1918.

During the 1920s, he was a member of the Arta Română group (alongside Gheorghe Petrașcu and others). His commitment to social commentary is best perceivable in his graphic work, malicious and sometimes dramatical — he sketched for many contemporary, usually political and leftist, magazines: Socialismul (official voice of the short-lived Socialist Party of Romania), Adevărul, Flacăra, Hiena, Rampa, and Scarlat Callimachi's Clopotul —, and in his articles (including the ones in Viața Românească and Curentul), which mainly discussed cultural and social events. He became close to the writer and activist Gala Galaction, whose book O lume nouă he illustrated in 1919, and whose portrait ("The Man of a New World") he painted one year later. His first catalog, issued in 1920, was prefaced by the poet and art critic Tudor Arghezi.

In 1921, Tonitza expanded his range, painting prototypes for a ceramics factory, and organizing a ceramics exhibition; the same year, he moved to Vălenii de Munte, and decided to cease contributing to the press. It was at the time that he developed on his characteristic style and themes, both of which, Zambaccian contended, were determined by his experiences as a father.

Later, he became the editor of the art magazine Artele Frumoase, and, in 1922, traveled to Transylvania, where he befriended Aurel Popp. The same year, he took Camil Ressu's defense during a scandal involving the latter's design for a National Theater curtain, attacking the artistic guidelines advocated by the cultural establishment ("[Romania is] the country where scientist historians compose erotic pieces and embarrassing rhymes, [...] where intellectual women draw the gusty gestures of decrepit election agents, [...] where physicians push their rusty hypodermics into the unmentionable muscle tissues of artists as a means to draw up aesthetical logarithms"). In 1926, Tonitza, Oscar Han, Francisc Șirato, and Ștefan Dimitrescu, organized themselves as Grupul celor patru ("The Group of Four"). He met success in 1925, after opening a large exhibit of his Vălenii de Munte paintings in Bucharest, while raising controversy (including criticism from Ressu) over his "poster-like" style.

Despite his fame, he continued to live an impoverished and hectic existence, which probably contributed to the decline of his health. By 1931, he was dividing his time between Bucharest and Constanța, having agreed to paint the walls of Saint George's Church in the latter city. Tonitza was angered by the reception of his work in Constanța, declaring himself insulted after he was made to showcase his designs in competition to lesser-known artists. Eventually, he received the commission, and spent the next two years at work on the murals, while distancing himself from Grupul celor patru.

Upon Dimitrescu's death in 1933, Tonitza held his chair at the Fine Arts Academy in Iași. A participant in several national exhibitions and World Fairs, he painted his last works around Balchik.

According to Zambaccian, Tonitza's early association with socialism was partly due to the interest taken in him by the leftist press, who was willing to reward his contributions at a time when "one could not live solely by painting". The same source stated that the artist later refrained from expressing political opinions, and, on one occasion during the 1930s, jokingly referred to himself as "a supporter of Petre P. Carp" (the Conservative leader had died in 1919). Nevertheless, he signed, alongside several other prominent cultural figures, an appeal to tighten cultural connections between Romania and the Soviet Union, leading to the creation of Societatea pentru întreținerea raporturilor culturale dintre România și Uniunea Sovietică (the Society for Maintaining Cultural Links between Romania and the Soviet Union) in May 1935 (see Amicii URSS).

He fell severely ill in 1937, and died three years later. He is buried at the Ghencea Cemetery, in Bucharest.

Art
Owing much to the art of his predecessor Ştefan Luchian, Tonitza was largely inspired by Impressionism, but he equally admired the discoveries made by Post-impressionist artists (their revolution in composition and Belle Époque splendor). Tonitza was notably critical of Nicolae Grigorescu, the major trend-setter in Romanian art, whose success over "peasant motifs", he stated, had "lured him to remain, for the rest of his life, in this rosy and light-hearted atmosphere". He equally objected to Grigorescu's influence over younger generations, which had led to "mannerism" and "nationalism" in choice of subjects, and the emergent urbane art ("where man shall represent only a decorative and amusing accessory").

Evidencing his "tormented life" and "fantasy-driven and bohemian lifestyle", Zambaccian wondered if these had not been the source of Tonitza's "ingenious art, full of chromatic joys that are nonetheless transited by melancholia". He drew a direct comparison between the artist's innovative presence in painting and George Bacovia's Symbolist poetry.

During his stay abroad, Nicolae Tonitza was influenced by the works of Rembrandt and Antonio da Correggio. An admirer of both Frans Masereel and Käthe Kollwitz, he also adapted Expressionist guidelines — ones especially present in his satirical drawings, but also manifested large works such as Coadă la pâine ("Queuing for Bread", 1920). According to Zambaccian, Tonitza stopped short of adopting clear Expressionist tenets ("Modigliani and Pascin favored contorting [shapes], while Tonitza does not stray away from nature and places an emphasis on feeling"); the two continued to oppose each other on the issue of Henri Matisse's style (admired by Zambaccian, by hotly contested by Tonitza). A more distant but no less direct influence was the graphic art of Honoré Daumier, which Tonitza had studied.

The early art produced by these influences was described in Sburătorul by Şirato, Tonitza's friend, as "paintings which are [in fact] drawings with a light resonance of intellectualism"; during the period, Rampa magazine hailed the painter as "A priest of humanitarian ideas, of ideas demanding the attention of present-day world leaders, with a more and more clear and audacious tone". Most of his works are serene in tones, in contrast with those expressing Tonitza's involvement in social issues. They proposed a classical aesthetical ideal, viewing art as a treasurer of spiritual values. This message is most obvious in his Northern Dobruja landscapes, his still life studies, the portraits of clowns (celebrated for their way of sublimating the comic and grotesque elements in masks and makeup, in order to reveal a sad humanity), young women and children. The so-called "Tonitza eyes", both point-shaped and expressive, are a characteristic trait in his children portraits. In contrast with their appreciation for these pieces, Zambaccian and other members of Grupul celor patru expostulated the Balchik landscapes: Zambaccian remarked that his were "more like arabesques in colored tones, [...] at a time when Șirato evolved upward toward a nuanced painting of a beautiful representativeness in a luminous space".

title: Nicolae Tonitza


text: User talk:194.83.252.163

title: User talk:194.83.252.163


text:
Electric fire

Electric Fire is the name of the fourth solo album by Roger Taylor, from the band Queen.

Electric fire can also refer to:

 * Electric fireplace, an electric heater that mimics a fireplace burning coal, wood, or natural gas
 * Electric fire, in British English any domestic heating appliance that uses electricity as fuel

title: Electric fire


text:
Koster, South Africa

Koster is a small farming town situated on the watershed between the Orange and Limpopo Rivers in North West Province of South Africa.

History
The town was proclaimed in 1913 and named after Bastiaan Koster, the original farm owner. Koster means "church sexton".

Geography
Town 58 km south-west of Rustenburg and 72 km west-north-west of Magaliesburg. It was founded on the farm Kleinfontein in 1913, and has been administered by a village council since January 1931. Said to have been named either after Dr Herman Jacob Coster (1866–1899), State Attorney of the South African Republic, after its surveyor, or after Bastiaan Hendricus Koster, owner of the farm Kleinfontein. The latter explanation seems most plausible.

The Elands River, the Koster River and the Mooi River have their sources near the town.

title: Koster, South Africa


text:
Assault Suits Valken

Assault Suits Valken (重装機兵ヴァルケン), also known as Cybernator, is a 2D mecha action game developed by Masaya and released in 1992 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The second entry in the Assault Suit series, it is a prequel to the first game, Target Earth. The game was localized and published overseas by Konami. The story follows Jake Brain who pilots a giant mecha and fights in a war engulfing the entire world.

Plot
The game takes place in the future, during a time when Earth's fossil fuels have begun to dwindle. There is a massive war taking place all over the earth for control of these resources, as well as for territorial rights on the moon. The two warring governments, the Axis and Federation, have the ability to go into space and create giant space stations and weapons of mass destruction.

Jake is the game's protagonist. He is a soldier drafted into the Pacific States' Marine Corp and pilots a Federation Assault Suit. In the prologue text he states he only fights because he is a soldier, not concerned with patriotism or politics. Survival for a soldier means defeating the enemy. The Suit has a humanoid shape, with arms, legs, a torso, and a head. It is equipped with a variety of weapons and other special accessories, giving it full land and minor air capabilities.

Jake and his platoon, which operate from the warship Versis are tasked with destruction of Bildvorg, the most powerful mech of the Axis forces. The various missions in the game lead up to the completion of this objective. (It is piloted by Major Beldark, whom Jake meets first in mission 4 and would later meet Jake once before the final boss). Versis sends out 2 other suits, one is unnamed and another is named Apollo in stage 4, who is killed offscreen by one suit that is really fast (Beldark). Ironically in that mission the player saves an enemy suit entering the Earth's atmosphere, whereas Beldark kills Jake's ally Apollo soon after.

Although Cybernator was released after Target Earth, Cybernator takes place a century before Target Earth.

In Assault Suits Valken 2, Jake makes a cameo appearance as a 30-year-old veteran soldier who assists in battles as an NPC.

The game has two endings. The bad ending can be acquired if the player fails any mission in the game, such as failing to stop Arc Nova from falling and/or allowing the enemy space shuttle to escape in the 5th mission. In this ending, the Versis is critically damaged and most of her crew are killed, including Crea (Jake's partner and superior), which leaves Jake devastated in the credits. The game over screen also states the player has not completed their mission. If the player succeeds in the side missions, the Versis survives and Jake returns to the carrier, the war is over and Jake and Crea embrace each other on the Versis' deck as the Cybernator suit falls into pieces.

Development
Toshiro Tsuchida served as producer for the game. Afterwards, he joined G-Craft and worked on the game Front Mission.

The soundtrack, composed by Masanao Akahori, was later rearranged and released as an official soundtrack CD in Japan.

The original Japanese releases featured artwork done by Satoshi Urushihara.

Designer Satoshi Nakai was insistent on the game including destructive environments.

Cybernator was the subject of censorship during its localization. The Japanese version featured written dialog accompanied by a portrait of the speaker, but these portraits were removed during localization. There is also a scene absent in which the president of the enemy forces, whose banner is that of the European Union, after realizing that his nation has been defeated, commits suicide. Also some written dialog is taken out, which shows the soldier rescued in the fourth level being in the robot fought before the final boss. However the few human enemies in the game remain (that are minuscule in scale vs machines throughout the game) with no censorship when they are killed.

The instruction manual of the English version is also filled with inconsistent information. For example, the sixth mission takes place in the Alps, where Versis tries to fly over the mountains to reach the Allied front lines, but according to the manual, the player's aim is to raid the enemy commander's mountain retreat. Another example of inaccurate information would be concerning the laser weapon, the strongest the player would receive in the game minus the cheat weapon the Napalm Flamethrower. It stated the laser takes a long time to recharge yet it actually recharges at least as fast as the Vulcan's reload, and unlike the Vulcan the laser recharges to a full load automatically without needing to expend its power/ammo first if they stop firing it.

The instruction manual also stated the suit to be a colossal 5 stories tall and 5 tons (which is seriously underweight for a machine that tall), contrary to promo material stating it to be 4 stories tall.

Release
Assault Suits Valken was released in Japan for the Super Famicom on December 12, 1992. When the game was released outside of Japan, the title was changed to Cybernator. It was released in North America on April 1993, and in Europe in 1993.

The game received a port to the PlayStation 2 in 2004 in Europe, Australia and Japan, under the title Assault Suits Valken.

Cybernator was released on the Virtual Console in PAL regions on December 7, 2007, and in North America on December 17, 2007, both for the Wii and in North America on August 7, 2014 and in PAL regions on February 26, 2015, both for the Wii U.

In 2014, the game was re-released in Japan through the game distribution service EGG.

Assault Suits Valken Declassified
On February 20, 2023, developer M2 announced Assault Suits Valken Declassified, an updated re-release of the game for Nintendo Switch. It was released March 30, 2023. The game features a new English translation without the censorship present in Cybernator as well as new artwork by character designer Satoshi Urushihara, a digital recreation and translation of the official 80-page Japanese guidebook, interviews with the designers, exclusive pre-production artwork, save states, unlockable cheats, and an option to switch between the original and newly arranged soundtracks, along with other additional features.

Contemporary
The game received positive reviews upon release. It received a favorable review from Famitsu magazine, which gave it a 32 out of 40 score. In GameFan magazine, Dave Halverson called it "definitely one of the best games for the big SNES" while Brody called it "close to perfection from the graphics to the music" and "an intense story" and considered it a possible "candidate for game of the year." Super Gamer gave an overall 86% score, stating: "You're in a giant armored suit stompin' and shootin' and flyin' through seven and tough levels. Great graphics, good gameplay and brilliant atmosphere."

In 1996, Next Generation stated that the game "was the game that introduced many U.S. gamers to classically Japanese design values - not only because it was a class title looks-wise, but also because it overflowed with action and atmosphere." The April 1996 issue of Super Play magazine listed Cybernator as the 19th best Super NES title. In 1995, Total! ranked the game 86th on their Top 100 SNES Games stating: "Another good solid blaster for fans to get their teeth into. Well worth the effort."

Retrospective
The Wii and Wii U re-releases received mixed-to-positive reviews. Eurogamer (UK) reviewed and gave it a score of 6/10. IGN gave it a 7.5/10. Nintendo Life reviewed the game twice, once in 2007 giving the Wii Virtual Console version an 8/10, and again in 2014 also giving an 8/10 for the Wii U eShop version.

title: Assault Suits Valken