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Talk:Mountain Equipment Co-op

Untitled
I've never read in any MEC literature that it was modelled after REI; the only reference I can find is to it being a store where MEC founders bought their climbing gear. I'm going to revert this change untill someone can provide a source. Padraic 17:44, Apr 7, 2005 (UTC)

 * I've never heard of it either. --Spinboy 00:01, 8 Apr 2005 (UTC)

I've never heard this either, and I grew up with MEC and have only heard of REI recently. Given that MEC backpacks overseas are nearly the alternative maple leaf flag (easiest way to recognise Cdns abroad), and the massive position they have in the outdoor wear market in Canada I find it hard to believe they are a pale immitation of anything or that REI holds a similar position in the US. A friend of my dad's was a founder (someone on the first Cdn Everest expedition) of MEC and I have vague childhood memories of a small walk up office and t-shirts in red and blue with their logo on the front. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.183.70.183 (talk) 15:52, 26 May 2010 (UTC)

 * I personally understood from reading the MEC history page that the co-op was basically inspired by the REI model, and I think it's clear that the two have more in common than otherwise. But I don't have a better source, so I've just added a note that the two stores are "generally similar", if only to better describe MEC to US readers.  I'm not sure why the note about the share price was removed, so I've put that back, too. --Mvcorks 21:06, 2 May 2005 (UTC)

MEC actually started as a result of climbers from UBC outdoor club, VCC Langara and several other stuident climbing groups who were tired of paying retail costs for climbing rope by the hundred foot. They began purchasing wholesale spools of rope as wella sopther clibing gear. Eventually they got U of T students involved in largeer purchases.
 * As a member of the Varsity outdoors club (VOC) at UBC, a few members did found the Coop after getting feed up of always traveling to REI in Seattle to get gear and the radder poor quality of gear selection in Vancouver. There's an article in the 1971 VOC Journal mentioning the founding of the Coop. It mentions that after a crappy trip to Mt. Baker(?), the participants decided that it was time to have a proper Outdoors store with good prices in Vancouver. Apparently, the quality of gear was very questionable and the prices were expensive during that era. One of the founders is still coming on VOC related trips. We also have a copy of a MEC meeting from 1971 (not entirely sure about this, need to check...). REI did help in the beginning in setting up the distribution and various contacts within the industry for MEC. 154.20.57.153 04:43, 26 February 2007 (UTC)

This place is definately a copy of REI. Same products, same store layout, same building architecture, same "co-op" idea, similar websites, even the logo is practically identical. Far too many things are the same to be coincidence. If MEC moved into the US they would get sued and lose. Maybe MEC came first and REI is the copy? Whatever, it looks like a blatant rip-off to me, I'd change the article but I don't really know if it would improve it. 71.49.175.222 19:34, 23 January 2007 (UTC)

 * I had never even heard of REI until recently, and I've been buying outdoor gear at MEC for over a decade. Why does an article about an entity in one country require a reference to a "comparable" entity in some other country?  Should an article about Walmart make reference to IKEA, because it was an earlier big-box store?  If the MEC article doesn't stand on its own, it should be fixed.  If there's a reference to be made, then make it; otherwise, the line about REI should be removed.  Similarly, the MEC reference should be removed from the REI page.  The next question would be ... do we need a category for "outdoor equipment retailers"?    ◉ ghoti  05:38, 24 January 2007 (UTC)

 * Obviously the 23 Jan 07 user has no idea what co-operatives are. Newsflash: co-ops don't exist to make money.  By saying MEC is a 'rip-off' of REI because they're both co-ops is like saying Arby's/Burger-King/Harvey's/Wendy's is a 'rip-off' of McDonald's because they're both for profit and they both sell burgers.  Moreover, as someone who has been to both REI and MEC and looked closely at how both are run, I can assure you that both are very different in how they operate.  In my opinion, REI has lost its way as a good co-operative and seems way more like a for-profit business than MEC. LeoTrottier 20:04, 27 July 2007 (UTC)

Major edit
I just added a bunch of information to this article, please look it over to ensure it is adequately NPOV (full disclosure: I am member of MEC). I removed the part in the header about not advertising - I've seen MEC advertising in paddling and outdoors magazines. The list of initiatives can be expanded, obviously. There are a couple unsourced statements which may have to go if they can't be backed up. I don't really know what came of the Vancouver Sun article but it should be mentioned. Padraic · talk 22:08, 23 May 2007 (UTC)

Growth section
This section says that after the September 11th terrorist attacks, sales stagnated and the company went through major restructuring. Why did terrorism in America have such a drastic effect on sales of outdoor recreational gear in Canada? To me the phrasing seems to indicate an alleged cause-and-effect, but there are no reasons given for why this happened, so the 9/11 reference seems totally gratuitous. Unless some elaboration is made on this point, the "post-9/11" text should be changed to "late 2001." -Steve

 * I agree, 9/11 shouldn't be specifically mentioned as a date unless a direct correlation can be drawn, I think. We just just as easily say that "lately, sales dropped so much that it went through major restructuring"Khono (talk) 15:12, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

'Mountain equipment' mountaineering gear
There is a UK firm called just "Mountain Equipment". Been around since the 60's selling quite high end mountaineering equipment. It's quite well known within the climbing/hiking industry and the wiki search just leads here which could be confusing considering the similar nature of the products. http://www.mountain-equipment.co.uk/ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.69.225.89 (talk) 15:07, 14 May 2009 (UTC)
 * yep, i also came here looking for Mountain Equipment of the UK, seams to be owned by "OSC Limited" in Cheshire, judging by their contact-us page. Also from their blog, they are not entirely limited to the UK having a concept store in Chiyoda-ku district of Tokyo, Japan, maybe others ??79.76.201.204 (talk) 16:29, 26 November 2009 (UTC)

recycling?
Article says "Operates a garment recycling program for polar fleece and polyester garments. This program has been discontinued as of January 2009 due to lack of use." I can't find anything online to use as a reference for this recyling bit. Reference used results in error page and is not at Internet Archive's waybackmachine.org. Reference used with addition of this recycling to article is also not available from waybackmachine.org. Closest I can find are Patagonia Clothing webpage and Patagonia® Fabrics webpage. --EarthFurst (talk) 03:14, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

 * Found MEC pdf from 2007 saying "This year, we launched a Garment Recycling Program. Members can bring back used items with a 90% or greater polyester content. ...". Haven't found ref for the program being shut down. --EarthFurst (talk) 03:52, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

MEC bikes
The article refers to many bike models that are no longer available or have changed. I have updated the bikes section to better reflect the changing nature of MEC's bike product offering. I have removed the specific names and instead referred to the number of products offered. Frankieclarke (talk) 18:36, 31 May 2012 (UTC)

Operations
The article states: "Members can shop at any of the seventeen retail stores, on-line, or on the phone. MEC also operates a 'Corporate & Group Sales' store for large orders."

Is this really needed? This describes almost every retail company. Mind matrix  18:26, 24 August 2014 (UTC)

Section on the motion to boycott Israeli goods
It has seemed to me for some time that this section's inclusion in this article is out of place. Israel and its politics are an important issue but this doesn't have too much to do with MEC. The only thing that happened here that had to do with MEC was that an organization, or perhaps some people in an organization, wanted MEC to boycott Israeli goods and MEC said "no". That's it. This wasn't anything for or against Israel, it's just MEC upholding their policy, as they stated it in the past, of dealing with specific companies and their track records rather than countries and their records. I believe this isn't relevant to MEC as an organization and isn't noteworthy enough to be included on this Wikipedia article and it should be removed.

Please voice your opinion for or against removing this section.

Air.light (talk) 05:01, 6 April 2015 (UTC)

Reads like a marketing or promotional blurb (NPOV tag added)
This article reads like a puff piece drafted by MEC's marketing department to portray the company in the best light. In fact, a quick glance at the references shows the vast majority of the information presented is taken directly from MEC publications and websites. That guarantees this article is highly biased in favor of the company. I have added an NPOV tag to the article. User2346 (talk) 01:00, 13 April 2017 (UTC)
 * What changes would you suggest to remedy this? Air.light (talk) 02:52, 2 May 2017 (UTC)
 * A series of edits currently underway here in September 2020 is actually making the NPOV and tone issues much worse right now. Once the currently flurry has subsided the article will have to be totally re-written. - Ahunt (talk) 12:08, 16 September 2020 (UTC)
 * I agree with "like a puff piece drafted by MEC's marketing department to portray the company in the best light" User2346. Hopefully the recent additions that are both substantial and with reputable and independent sources re-balance the article. The NPOV tag no longer applies. Magnovvig (talk) 12:48, 16 September 2020 (UTC)

 * While your additions have introduced some good third party refs, they have also created some serous tone issues, using very non-encyclopedic and POV language (For instance with section titles like: A voice in the wilderness, Sclerosis of board membership, Salad days) I'll try to tackle that later on today, when I have a few hours to fix it. - Ahunt (talk) 13:02, 16 September 2020 (UTC)

 * I have completed the changes. I have to object to your attempt to reinstate the section heading titles including "A voice in the wilderness", "Sclerosis of board membership" and "Salad days". These are the sort of thing you would expect to see in a tabloid newspaper, not an encyclopedia. They are WP:CLICHE, not supported by the cited refs, are very much non-encyclopedic language and also fail WP:NPOV. Please do not reinstate them without gaining a consensus here on the talk page to do so. - Ahunt (talk) 11:44, 17 September 2020 (UTC)

2020 sale to Kingswood Capital Management
in the CBC article here, it states at the end that "The sale is still subject to court and regulatory approvals but is expected to close by the end of the year. At the end of the transaction, MEC will be a privately owned company." This suggests that the sale has not closed yet, and it may not close until later this year. Until the sale officially closes, MEC is not yet a private company owned by Kingswood Capital Management. Perhaps you would consider reverting some of the changes you made until after the sale officially closes later this year. Thanks! -- Blairall (talk) 22:25, 15 September 2020 (UTC)
 * While regulatory approvals are "pending" (but no objections are expected), the new CEO has already been named and the new company formed, as the Globe and Mail ref indicates. The exactly terms, including a transition date, have not been disclosed, but the G&M indicates it is a done deal. - Ahunt (talk) 22:32, 15 September 2020 (UTC)
 * I agree with you that no objections are expected and the deal will likely close without issue. However, the small point that I was trying to make is that ownership of the assets does not transfer over until the deal officially closes, which will only occur after all of the approvals have been received under the CCAA process, etc. The G&M reporter is probably not a corporate lawyer like me and may not understand those types of details, so the G&M reporter saying it is a done deal does not make it official. The MEC press release here states near the end "The transaction remains subject to Court and regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2020." Thus, until we get proof that the transaction has formally been completed (such as when MEC issues a press release saying that), it is premature at this point for the Wikipedia article to say that MEC "is owned by Kingswood Capital Management of Los Angeles" (I don't have time now to make edits to this article, but you may wish to change some things to the future tense instead, such as that MEC "has agreed to be acquired by Kingswood Capital Management" instead of "is owned by"). It may seem like a small point, but I feel that it would be preferable to hold off on some of the changes until after the sale officially closes later this year. Thanks for your understanding. -- Blairall (talk) 02:40, 16 September 2020 (UTC)

 * It has been addressed by other editors, but I have also restored the tagging as the article is quickly deteriorating into tabloid style language. It needs a fundamental re-write at this point.

 * As far as management goes, I think you will find the new CEO will start managing long before the final regulatory approvals are in place. - Ahunt (talk) 11:46, 16 September 2020 (UTC)
 * I agree per User:Ahunt that this article needs an overhaul. What MEC is today needs to separated from an historical section on what MEC was. User:Blairall your point is taken about waiting till the dust settles, but the writing is on the wall (please excuse the atrocious metaphor usage). --Cornellier (talk) 14:04, 29 October 2020 (UTC)
 * How about splitting Mountain Equipment Co-Op into it's own article with the historical wording (was a Canadian consumer co-op etc) and running MEC (Canadian retailer) as a new article with a boilerplate. It's two completely different legal entities at play here, the current MEC is not a legal successor to the Co-Op.-- Tawker (talk) 01:21, 3 November 2020 (UTC)
 * We can certainly do that at some point, but I am not sure that we have enough refs or content for the second article yet. It probably should be located at MEC Canada. - Ahunt (talk) 04:06, 3 November 2020 (UTC)

 * I see you have already started that new article at MEC (Canadian retailer). Just a point, but you should not propose something for discussion and go ahead and do it an hour later, before any discussion has taken place. - Ahunt (talk) 04:09, 3 November 2020 (UTC)
 * The way this place works sometimes with the number of folks having this page on a watchlist, no dissenting opinions in an hour is a green light. Anyways, thanks for the cleanup - the article more fairly represents the respective entities now. --Tawker (talk) 04:58, 3 November 2020 (UTC)
 * An hour? LOL, usually on Wikipedia when a consensus is sought we wait a week, because many editors are not here every day and also WP:NODEADLINE. Regardless, I think the new article should be moved from MEC (Canadian retailer) to MEC Canada. - Ahunt (talk) 13:00, 3 November 2020 (UTC)
 * I went old school WP:IAR - sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't - anyways, I agree with you on the new article name, I will do the new article move. -- Tawker (talk) 15:14, 3 November 2020 (UTC)
 * Thanks for moving it, now let's see if it can be expanded. - Ahunt (talk) 15:23, 3 November 2020 (UTC)
 * MEC Canada Inc. is the successor to Mountain Equipment Co-op, so I don't understand why this was split into two pages. It's the same organization with different ownership, with a distinction of when it changed hands. It's disingenuous to suggest they are entirely different orgs, in my opinion. PlatosPainCave (talk) 03:04, 20 November 2020 (UTC)
 * Well as you can see above there was no consensus to split the article. Lacking consensus and the fact that the new article has not been expanded to the point where it is a credible stand-alone article, the new article can just be merged back and the that title just redirected back here. Let's see if there is support for doing that. I'm in favour. - Ahunt (talk) 12:45, 20 November 2020 (UTC)
 * I'm not, while the MEC Canada is a stub, it is a legally separate organization. It's not a new owner buying the shares of the old organization and continuing as a co-op, it's 2 separate and distinct legal entities and honestly, it's disingenuous to suggest they are one and the same. Let's add the store list etc to the new stub and see how that goes (seeing some in the current tense on MEC Canada while in historical context on Mountain Equipment Co-Op. -- Tawker (talk) 20:17, 26 November 2020 (UTC)
 * I tend to agree with the split. Both entities continue to exist.  One is a co-op, the other a privately held company.  The co-op continues to owe obligations to its members and creditors.  The company does not.  Reasonable editors can disagree on what to do here, but I do not see how we could have both entities covered in the same article without a major rewrite.  Without one, I expect readers will be confused, particularly if there is continued litigation by members and/or creditors which receives media coverage. I think the easiest thing to do is make a second article for the new company (as has been done).  In the long run, perhaps it will be merged back into this article if the new entities (while different from the old) is ultimately perceived by sources to be the continuation of the business as opposed to a transformation of it.  Time will tell.--Darryl Kerrigan (talk) 21:13, 26 November 2020 (UTC)
 * These are in their legal definition, two separate organizations. In addition to the points raised by Tawker, the purchaser (Kingswood Capital) did not acquire all the liabilities or any equity of the cooperative. In fact, the the cooperative still exists under a new name as ordered by the court. Fortunately there appears to be just cause to suggest the story of the cooperative is not over quite yet given there continues to be updates by volunteers within the Save MEC Facebook Group to whom have suggested they have the resources and capacity to make something of the cooperative. Unfortunately the current board members are using the current court proceedings to prevent both the cooperative's election among other issues that give rise to another need for these articles to remain separate. Munzo (talk) 21:19, 26 November 2020 (UTC)

The lead and info box are confusing. It says that MEC "was a chain of ... stores". Yet clearly there still exists a chain or retailed stores called, er, MEC. Likewise the infobox states "No longer operating ... Number of locations: 21". It would be better to frame the article as being about the brand and the stores which still exist, and were once run by a coop then sold to a holding company. The stub WP:CONTENTFORK MEC (Canadian retailer) does not add clarity, rather the opposite, and should be redirected. --Cornellier (talk) 20:27, 8 January 2021 (UTC)
 * The article title is Mountain Equipment Co-Op not MEC. The MEC brand (owned by MEC Canada) is operating, Mountain Equipment Co-Operative is not. It would be improper to suggest Mountain Equipment Co-Operative is operating.  How can we re-word the lead to avoid this ambiguity - from my POV it's all in the first paragraph. I tried an update on the infobox to reduce the ambiguity.   -- Tawker (talk) 21:41, 16 January 2021 (UTC)
 * I think the infobox and the lede para are pretty clear what the situation is, as written now. - Ahunt (talk) 21:44, 16 January 2021 (UTC)
 * I'm afraid I disagree. If the (ill-advised, IMO) goal is having two articles, this one about the co-op and the other about the retail brand, then this is not clear. The lead should not be "was a chain of Canadian retail stores" but "was (is?) a co-operative that ran ..." Otherwise it's confusing since a MEC branded "chain of Canadian retail stores" still exists. I'm going to make a few changes to mitigate the fact that stub WP:CONTENTFORK MEC (Canadian retailer) should be redirected here. --Cornellier (talk) 17:08, 21 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Made a start. The lead still says "MEC is Canada's largest supplier of outdoor equipment". So, yeah, it's a mess, but better than it was. This should have been done when the content was forked by Tawker. I could look at it but honestly I think the effort might be better spent starting an RFC to demerge the two articles. --Cornellier (talk) 20:53, 21 January 2021 (UTC)
 * FWIW, MEC Canada does claim Mountain Equipment Co-op's history as its own. See here. 162 etc. (talk) 16:33, 18 May 2021 (UTC)

Past tense or not??
Hi, can you please elaborate on your thoughts regarding this company? Nothing in the article indicates that the co-operative exists after selling to Kingswood on October 30, 2020. Note that at https://www.1077holdingscooperative.ca/ the header reads "Formerly Mountain Equipment Co-Operative". 162 etc. (talk) 05:42, 12 September 2021 (UTC)

 * You just proved the point. The still-currently-existing 1077 Holdings Coop is just MEC under a new name. The coop organization still exists, hence present tense. See MOS:TENSE. We don't refer to Air Canada in the past tense, even though it changed its name from Trans-Canada Airways, as it still exists. - Ahunt (talk) 12:00, 12 September 2021 (UTC)
 * 1077 is a shell with no members staff or board of directors that exists only to conclude the legal proceedings related to the bankruptcy.  It is misleading to imply that Mountain Equipment Co-op still exists based on this.  I think a better example of a comparable might be something like theGlobe.com.  Despite still being a company on paper, its core business ended years ago, and the article rightly refers to it in the past tense.  162 etc. (talk) 15:16, 12 September 2021 (UTC)

 * Actually, even though it does no active business, all of us are still members of that coop, at least until it winds up business. - Ahunt (talk) 15:33, 12 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Yes, I've updated my comment above. I'll move this discussion from User talk:Ahunt to the article's talk page to see if anyone else wants to chime in. 162 etc. (talk) 15:43, 12 September 2021 (UTC)

 * Sure, good idea. I was going to suggest the same move. This page has had quite a few editors watching it. - Ahunt (talk) 15:51, 12 September 2021 (UTC)

 * I think the last sentence of the lede pretty much sums the facts of this whole issue: The co-op entity which formerly operated the MEC stores, now renamed 1077 Holdings Co-operative, will remain separately active for an indefinite period of time to deal with remaining claims by creditors. Unless there are any other comments, I think we can close this out. - Ahunt (talk) 23:12, 22 September 2021 (UTC)
 * I'll reiterate my displeasure with the current phrasing. Unless you're planning on renaming the article to 1077 Holdings Co-operative, using the present tense doesn't make sense.  And, seeing that another edit attempt to fix this was just reverted, I am not the only one to find this confusing. 162 etc. (talk) 12:56, 23 September 2021 (UTC)
 * I think we all agree on the basic facts: that Mountain Equipment Co-op was renamed as 1077 Holdings Co-operative and that that organization still exists today and will do so, until business is wound up at some point in the future. We don't use past tense for something that still exists, so based on all that, please do suggest some better wording here for discussion. - Ahunt (talk) 13:08, 23 September 2021 (UTC)
 * See here. We refer to 1077 in the present tense, and Mountain Equipment Co-op in the past tense. 162 etc. (talk) 13:16, 23 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Except they are one and the same legal entity. I have reworked the first para to be more clear on the status - Ahunt (talk) 13:38, 23 September 2021 (UTC)

Not a cooperative?
The infobox and text claim that the company was a co-op, but it does not meet the definition provided when a user click "cooperative". It was chartered under an act *called* the Co-operative Associations Act, but you can call an act anything. The proof it was not a co-op is the simple fact that it was sold without consulting the members -- who would be owners in a genuine co-op by the cited definition, but who were merely customers of the Co-op. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 135.23.120.110 (talk) 21:04, 2 March 2022 (UTC)

 * It was a legally-constituted coop under BC law and remains so today. The coop was not sold to anyone and still exists, it just sold all its assets. This is all explained in the article. - Ahunt (talk) 21:12, 2 March 2022 (UTC)

title: Talk:Mountain Equipment Co-op


text:
User:NoPuzzleStranger

This user has been permanently blocked as a reincarnation of the hard-banned user originally known as Wik and later as Gzornenplatz. The name "NoPuzzleStranger" is an anagram of the words, "User Gzornenplatz."

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

title: User:NoPuzzleStranger


text:
User:MightyMu

I am not a sorority.

title: User:MightyMu


text:
Max Yalden

Maxwell Freeman Yalden, (April 12, 1930 – February 9, 2015) was a Canadian civil servant and diplomat.

Born in Toronto, Ontario, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto in 1952, a Master of Arts degree in 1954 and a Ph.D in 1956 from the University of Michigan. He joined the Department of External Affairs in 1956. From 1969 to 1973, he was assistant under-secretary of state and in 1973 was deputy minister of communications.

He was the second Commissioner of Official Languages from 1977 until 1984. He was Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg from 1984 to 1987. From 1987 to 1996 he was the Chief Commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission. In 1996 he was elected to a four-year term a member of the United Nations Human Rights Committee. He was re-elected for a second term in 2000.

In 1988 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and was promoted to Companion in 1999. In 1998 he was awarded an Honorary LL.D. from Carleton University.

He died at Ottawa, Ontario, at age 84, from pneumonia complications.

title: Max Yalden


text:
Culture of Africa

The Culture of Africa is varied and manifold, consisting of a mixture of countries with various tribes depicting their unique characteristic and trait from the continent of Africa. It is a product of the diverse populations that inhabit the continent of Africa and the African diaspora. Generally, Culture can be defined as a collective mass of distinctive qualities belonging to a certain group of people. These qualities include laws, morals, beliefs, knowledge, art, customs, and any other attributes belonging to a member of that society. Culture is the way of life of a group of people.

Africa has numerous ethnic nationalities all with varying qualities such as language, dishes, greetings, dressing and dances. However, each of the regions of Africa share a series of dominant cultural traits which distinguish various African regional cultures from each other and the rest of the world. For example, social values, religion, morals, political values, economics, and aesthetic values all contribute to various African cultures. Expressions of culture are abundant within Africa, with large amounts of cultural diversity being found not only across different countries but also within single countries. Even though within various regions, the cultures are widely diverse, they are also, when closely studied, seen to have many similarities; for example, the morals they uphold, their love and respect for their culture, as well as the strong respect they hold for the aged and the important, i.e. kings and chiefs.

Africa has influenced and been influenced by other continents. This can be portrayed in the willingness to adapt to the ever-changing modern world rather than staying rooted in their static culture. The Westernized few, persuaded by American culture and Christianity, first denied African traditional culture, but with the increase of African nationalism, a cultural recovery occurred. The governments of most African nations encourage national dance and music groups, museums, and to a lower degree, artists and writers.

90 to 95% of Africa's cultural heritage is held outside of Africa by large museums. It is also important to note in a quote from BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) on African culture, “a recent study by Foresight Factory on defining factors of identity, 50-60% of British black African/Caribbean respondents, agreed that ethnicity played a key role, the largest of any group. The singular viewpoint of ‘black’ as an ‘identifier’ or an ‘ethnicity’ not only denies cultural differences between the population, it also denies the nuance within a vastly diverse community…. When we attempt to define African culture and identity, we have to be mindful that we are viewing a broad ethnicity comprising different sub communities that are resistant to having their heritage and culture boxed in simplistic labels. ”

African cultures, which originated on the continent of Africa, have several distinct differences than that of Black culture, which originated by African Americans in the United States after they were stripped of most of their own African cultures during enslavement. Some differences are that African cultures retain tribal affairs to only be worn during specific events, hand carvings, tribal masks and dances whereas Black culture is ethnic to African Americans such as hip hop, jazz, hamboning and soul food. Though some Africanisms were retained in Black culture of the United States, most of Black American culture and history was created by Black Americans. The same retained Africanisms and also created cultural differences and can be noticed and noted in Caribbean cultures from the descendants of the enslaved as well as in black South American cultures, such as culturally different expressions, foods, styles and languages due to the centuries separation and enslavement away from the African continent, being formed uniquely in places like Bahia, Brazil.

Historical overview
Africa is divided into a great number of ethnic cultures. The continent's cultural regeneration has also been an integral aspect of post-independence nation-building on the continent, with a recognition of the need to harness the cultural resources of Africa to enrich the process of education, requiring the creation of an enabling environment in several ways. In recent times, the call for a much greater emphasis on the cultural dimension in all aspects of development has become increasingly vocal. During the Roman colonization of North Africa (parts of Algeria, Libya, Egypt, and the whole of Tunisia), provinces such as Tripolitania became major producers of food for the republic and the empire. This generated much wealth in these places for their 400 years of occupation. During colonialism in Africa, Europeans possessed attitudes of superiority and a sense of mission. The French accepted an African as French if that person gave up their African culture and adopted French ways. Knowledge of the Portuguese language and culture and abandonment of traditional African ways defined one as civilized. Kenyan social commentator Mwiti Mugambi argues that the future of Africa can only be forged from accepting and mending the sociocultural present. For Mugambi, colonial cultural hangovers, pervasive Western cultural inundation, and aid-giving arm-twisting donors are, he argues, here to stay and no amount of looking into Africa's past will make them go away. However, Maulana Karenga states:

African arts and crafts
Africa has a rich tradition of arts and crafts. African arts and crafts find expression in a variety of woodcarvings, brass and leather artworks. African arts and crafts also include sculpture, paintings, pottery, ceremonial and religious headgear and dress. Maulana Karenga states that in African art, the object was not as important as the soul force behind the creation of the object. He also states that All art must be revolutionary, and in being revolutionary, it must be collective, committing, and functional. The meaning behind what he said can simply be interpreted as black art serving an actual purpose in the direction of a revolutionary change. Black art should not be done simply for “arts sake” but should rather be a means by which artists make a vast change through a medium that awakens, strengthens, and provides inspiration for a massive change within the black community. Certain African cultures have always emphasized personal appearance, and jewelry has remained an important personal accessory. Many pieces of such jewelry are made of cowry shells and similar materials. Similarly, masks are made with elaborate designs and are an important part of some cultures in Africa. Masks are used in various ceremonies depicting ancestors and spirits, mythological characters, and deities. In many traditional arts and craft traditions in Africa, certain themes significant to those particular cultures recur, including a couple, a woman with a child, a male with a weapon or animal, and an outsider or a stranger. Couples may represent ancestors, community founders, married couples, or twins. The couple theme rarely exhibits the intimacy of men and women. The mother with the child or children reveals the intense desire of the women to have children. The theme is also representative of mother mars and the people as her children. The man with the weapon or animal theme symbolizes honor and power. A stranger may be from some other tribe or someone from a different country, and a more distorted portrayal of the stranger indicates a proportionately greater gap from the stranger. These are all popular interpretations of African craft and art.

Folklore and religion
Like all human cultures, African folklore and religion represents a variety of social facets of the various cultures in Africa. Like almost all civilizations and cultures, flood myths have been circulating in different parts of Africa. Culture and religion share space and are deeply intertwined in African cultures. In Ethiopia, Christianity and Islam form the core aspects of Ethiopian culture and inform dietary customs and rituals and rites. According to a myth among Central African foragers, Chameleon, hearing a strange noise in a tree, cut open its trunk, and water came out in a great flood that spread all over the land.

Folktales also play an important role in many African cultures. Stories reflect a group's cultural identity, and preserving the stories of Africa will help preserve an entire culture. Storytelling affirms pride and identity in a culture. In Africa, stories are created by and for the ethnic group telling them. Different ethnic groups in Africa have different rituals or ceremonies for storytelling, which creates a sense of belonging to a cultural group. To outsiders hearing an ethnic group's stories, it provides an introspection and insight into the beliefs, views, and customs of the community. For people within the community, it allows them to encompass their group's uniqueness. They show the human desires and fears of a group, such as love, marriage, and death. Folktales are also seen as a tool for education and entertainment. Folklore provides the wisdom to understand certain moments from different perspectives and it also showcases that all of our problems and successes happen in every culture and throughout different periods of history. They provide a way for children to understand the material and social environment. Every story has a moral to teach people, such as goodwill prevail over evil. For entertainment, stories are set in fantastic, non-human worlds. Often, the main character of the story would be a talking animal, or something unnatural would happen to a human character. Even though folktales are for entertainment, they bring a sense of belonging and pride to communities in Africa.

There are different types of African stories: animal tales and day-to-day tales. Animal tales are more oriented towards entertainment but still have morals and lessons to them. Animal tales are normally divided into trickster tales and ogre tales. In animal tales, a certain animal would always have the same character or role in each story, so the audience does not have to worry about characterization. The popular roles for some animals are as follows; The Hare was always the trickster, clever and cunning, while the Hyena was always tricked by the Hare. Ogres are always cruel, greedy monsters. The messengers in all the stories were the Birds. Day-to-Day tales are the most serious tales, never including humor, that explained the everyday life and struggles of an African community. These tales take on famine, escape from death, courtship, and family matters, using a song form when the climax of the story was being told.

African stories all have a certain structure to them. Villagers would gather around a common meeting place at the end of the day to listen and tell their stories. Storytellers had certain commands to start and end the stories, "Ugai Itha" to get the audience's attention and begin the story, and "Rukirika" to signal the end of a tale. Each scene of a story is depicted with two characters at a time, so the audience does not get overwhelmed. In each story, victims can overcome their predators and take justice out on the culprit. Certain tools were used in African folktales. For example, idiophones, such as drums, were used to make the sounds of different animals. Repetition and call-back techniques in prose or poem were also used to get the audience involved in the stories.

Clothes

Women's traditional clothes in Ethiopia are made from cloth called schema and are used to make habesha kemis. This all white outfit can be said to be the national costume for the Ethiopian as a result of it being commonly accepted and it's wild spread use but there exists much more variations to this outfit for example the Oromo people of Bale wear more of a leather garment and the Afaris wear brightly colored wraps made of cotton. The latter garment (habesha kemis) is basically cotton cloth, about 90 cm wide, woven in long strips which are then sewn together. Sometimes shiny threads are woven into the fabric for an elegant effect. Men wear pants and a knee-length shirt with a white collar, and perhaps a sweater. Men often wear knee-high socks, while women might not wear socks at all. Men, as well as women, wear shawls, the netela.

Zulus wear a variety of attire, both traditional for ceremonial or culturally celebratory occasions. Traditional male clothing is usually light, consisting of a two-part apron (similar to a loincloth) used to cover the genitals and buttocks. The front piece is called the umutsha (pronounced ) and is usually made of springbok or other animal hide twisted into different bands which cover the genitals. The rear piece, called the Ibheshu, is made of a single piece of springbok or cattle hide, and its length is usually used as an indicator of age and social position; longer amabheshu (plural of ibheshu) are worn by older men. Married men will usually also wear a headband, called the umqhele, which is usually also made of springbok hide, or leopard hide by men of higher social status, such as chiefs. Zulu men will also wear cow tails as bracelets and anklets called imishokobezi during ceremonies and rituals, such as weddings or dances.

In the Muslim parts of Africa, daily attire also often reflects Islamic tradition.The traditional attire for the Muslim men usually covers a minimum of the head and the range between the waist of the man and the knees, while the dress code for the islamic women is made to conceal and cover the hair and the body from the neck down to the ankles. There are some Muslim women who also conceal their face. Nevertheless, there are some Muslims that believe that the Quran does not command that women should wear a hijab or a burqa.

Cuisine
The various cuisines of Africa use a combination of locally available fruits, cereal grains and vegetables, as well as milk and meat products. In some parts of the continent, the traditional diet features a preponderance of milk, curd and whey products. In much of tropical Africa, however, cow's milk is rare and cannot be produced locally (owing to various diseases that affect livestock). The continent's diverse demographic makeup is reflected in the many different eating and drinking habits, dishes, and preparation techniques of its manifold populations. However it is important to consider the affordability of and access of these products on daily basis.

In Central Africa, the basic ingredients are plantains and cassava. Fufu-starchy foods (usually made from fermented cassava roots) are served with grilled meat and sauces. Many local ingredients are used while preparing other dishes like spinach stew, cooked with tomato, peppers, chillis, onions, and peanut butter. Cassava plants are also consumed as cooked greens. Groundnut (peanut) stew is also prepared, containing chicken, okra, ginger, and other spices. Another favorite is Bambara, a porridge of rice, peanut butter, and sugar. Beef and chicken are favorite meat dishes, but game meat preparations containing crocodile, monkey, antelope and warthog are also served occasionally.

The cuisine of the African Great Lakes region varies from area to area. In the inland savannah, the traditional cuisine of cattle-keeping peoples is distinctive in that meat products are generally absent. Cattle, sheep and goats were regarded as a form of currency and a store of wealth and are not generally consumed as food. In some areas, traditional peoples consume the milk and blood of cattle, but rarely the meat. Elsewhere, other peoples are farmers who grow a variety of grains and vegetables. Maize (corn) is the basis of ugali, the East African version of West Africa's fufu. Ugali is a starch dish eaten with meats or stews. In Uganda, steamed, green bananas called matoke provide the starch filler of many meals.

In the Horn of Africa, the main traditional dishes in Ethiopian cuisine and Eritrean cuisine are tsebhis (stews) served with injera (flatbread made from teff, wheat, or sorghum), and hilbet (paste made from legumes, mainly lentil, faba beans). Eritrean and Ethiopian cuisine (especially in the northern half) are very similar, given the shared history of the two countries. The related Somali cuisine consists of an exotic fusion of diverse culinary influences. Varieties of bariis (rice), the most popular probably being basmati, usually serve as the main dish. Xalwo (halwo) or halva is a popular confection served during special occasions such as Eid celebrations or wedding receptions. After meals, homes are traditionally perfumed using frankincense (lubaan) or incense (cuunsi), which is prepared inside an incense burner referred to as a dabqaad. All food is served halal. The roots of North African cuisine can be traced back to the ancient empires of North Africa, particularly in Egypt, where many of the country's dishes and culinary traditions date back to ancient Egypt. Over several centuries traders, travelers, invaders, migrants and immigrants all have influenced the cuisine of North Africa. Most of the North African countries today have several similar dishes, sometimes almost the same dish with a different name (the Moroccan tangia and the Tunisian coach are both essentially the same dish: a meat stew prepared in an urn and cooked overnight in a public oven), sometimes with a slight change in ingredients and cooking style. To add to the confusion, two completely different dishes may also share the same name (for example, a "tajine" dish is a slow-cooked stew in Morocco, whereas the Tunisian "tajine" is a baked omelet/quiche-like dish). There are noticeable differences between the cooking styles of different nations – there's the sophisticated, full-bodied flavours of Moroccan palace cookery, the fiery dishes of Tunisian cuisine, and the humbler, simpler cuisines of Egypt and Algeria.

The cooking of Southern Africa is sometimes called 'rainbow cuisine', as the food in this region is a blend of many culinary traditions, including those of the Khoisan, Bantu, European and Asian populations. Basic ingredients include seafood, meat products (including wild game), poultry, as well as grains, fresh fruits and vegetables. Fruits include apples, grapes, mangoes, bananas and papayas, avocado, oranges, peaches and apricots. Desserts may simply be fruit. However, there are some more western style puddings, such as the Angolan Cocada amarela, which was inspired by Portuguese cuisine. Meat products include lamb, as well as game like venison, ostrich, and impala. The seafood includes a wide variety such as crayfish, prawns, tuna, mussels, oysters, calamari, mackerel, and lobster. There are also several types of traditional and modern alcoholic beverages including many European-style beers.

A typical West African meal is heavy with starchy items, meat, spices, and flavors. A wide array of staples are eaten across the region, including those of Fufu, Banku and Kenkey (originating from Ghana), Foutou, Couscous, Tô, and Garri, which are served alongside soups and stews. Fufu is often made from starchy root vegetables such as yams, cocoyams, or cassava, but also from cereal grains like millet, sorghum or plantains. The staple grain or starch varies from region to region and ethnic group to ethnic group. However, corn has gained significant ground as it is cheap, swells to greater volumes and creates a beautiful white final product that is greatly desired. Banku and Kenkey are maize dough staples, and Gari is made from dried grated cassavas. Rice dishes are also widely eaten in the region, especially in the dry Sahel belt inland. Examples of these include Benachin from The Gambia and Jollof rice, a pan-West African rice dish similar to Arab kabsah.

African music
Traditional Sub-Saharan African music is as diverse as the region's various populations. The common perception of Sub-Saharan African music is that it is rhythmic music centered on the drums, and indeed, a large part of Sub-Saharan music, mainly among speakers of Niger–Congo and Nilo-Saharan languages, is rhythmic and centered on the drum. Sub-Saharan music is polyrhythmic, usually consisting of multiple rhythms in one composition such as the Serer of Senegambia's ultra-religious njuup tradition (the progenitor of mbalax ). Dance involves moving multiple body parts. These aspects of Sub-Saharan music were transferred to the new world by enslaved West Africans and can be seen in its influence on music forms as Samba, Jazz, Rhythm and Blues, Rock & Roll, Salsa, and Rap music.

Other African musical traditions also involve strings, horns, and very few poly-rhythms. Music from the eastern Sahel and along the Nile, among the Nilo-Saharan, made extensive use of strings and horns in ancient times. Dancing involves swaying body movements and footwork. Among the Khoisans extensive use of string instruments with emphasis on footwork.

Modern Sub-Saharan African music has been influenced by music from the New World (Jazz, Salsa, Rhythm and Blues etc.). Popular styles include Mbalax in Senegal and Gambia, Highlife in Ghana, Zoblazo in Côte d'Ivoire, Makossa in Cameroon, Soukous in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kizomba in Angola, and Xhosa music in South Africa. New World styles like Salsa, R&B/Rap, Reggae, and Zouk also have widespread popularity. Like the musical genres of the Nile Valley and the Horn of Africa, North African music has close ties with Middle Eastern music and utilizes similar melodic modes (maqamat). It has a considerable range, from the music of ancient Egypt to the Berber and the Tuareg music of the desert nomads. The region's art music has for centuries followed the outline of Arabic and Andalusian classical music. Its popular contemporary genres include the Algerian Raï. Somali music is typically pentatonic, using five pitches per octave in contrast to a heptatonic (seven note) scale such as the major scale. In Ethiopia, the Amhara music of the highlands uses a fundamental modal system called qenet, of which there are four main modes: tezeta, bati, ambassel, and anchihoy. Three additional modes are variations on the above: tezeta minor, bati major, and bati minor. Some songs take the name of their qenet, such as tizita, a song of reminiscence.

Languages
Africa is home to approximately one-third of the world's languages, anywhere between 1000 and 2000 languages. The main ethnolinguistic divisions in Africa are Afro-Asiatic (approximately 200 languages) covering nearly Northern Africa (including the horn of Africa, Central Sahara et the top Nile), Niger–Congo with approximately 1,350 - 1,650 languages is the largest of the four; it is also the largest language family in the world. The Niger-Congo languages inhabit Western, Central, Eastern and Southern Africa this includes the Bantu language. Nilo-Saharan in parts of the Sahara and the Sahel and parts of Eastern Africa, and Khoisan (indigenous minorities of Southern Africa). Nilo-Saharan gathers approximately 140 languages with some eleven million speakers scattered in Central and Eastern Africa. Last but not least is the Khoisan family with between 40 - 70 members. Believed to be the oldest of the four language families, it is the smallest of the four and is found mainly in Southern Africa.

The continent of Africa speaks hundreds of languages, and if dialects spoken by various ethnic groups are also included, the number is much higher. These languages and dialects do not have the same importance: some are spoken by only a few hundred people, others are spoken by millions. The most widely spoken languages of Africa, Swahili (100 million), Hausa (38 million), Yoruba (20 million), Amharic (20 million), Igbo (21 million), and Fula (13 million), belong mostly to the Niger-Congo family. Very few countries of Africa use any single language, and for this reason, several official languages coexist, African and European. Some Africans speak various European languages such as English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, German and Dutch. The official languages of the African Union and all its institutions shall be Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Kiswahili and any other African language.

African Diaspora
African cultures have had profound influences on the rest of the world through West African cultural traditions that were brought to the Americas and the Caribbean during the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, as well as later immigration of people from throughout Africa.

title: Culture of Africa


text:
Talk:Ecoinformatics

Just a multi-disciplinary research?
Could it be explained how the ecoinformatics differs from any other multi-disciplinary research (apart from its area)? Pavel Vozenilek 17:49, 7 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Hmmm... not sure I understand this point. Ecoinformatics is a research area and obviously the disciplines it integrates make its identity unique... can you clarify what the problem is? I can certainly clarify its definition in a cross-disciplinary context and link to other disciplines if that's what you're asking for, but it doesn't sound that important in order to understand what it is, and I wouldn't want to dilute the message in a page this short. I certainly plan to add more information in the future (if nobody else does), like describing key projects and organizations - that should help clarifying. Fvilla 13:58, 8 Apr 2005 (EDT)

 * I ask because one could replace the word "ecoinformatics" in the article with other research and it may still make sense. Could there be concrete examples? Pavel Vozenilek 19:39, 8 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Merge with Environmental informatics
This article's content should be merged into Environmental informatics, as they cover the exact same subject, and the latter is the one that "wins" in term of, you know, having any references at all. Tagging as such. LjL (talk) 16:57, 17 October 2015 (UTC)

I disagree, ecoinformatics is an emerging field of biology, specifically ecology and evolution. This should be recognised - it is more than a subset of environmental informatics and merging would dilute an important topic. Personally, I consider it an extension of bioinformatics, but it could be merged with ecology and evolution pages. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A02:C7D:C80D:3800:15D:E304:625:9D23 (talk) 12:47, 10 July 2016 (UTC)

External links modified (January 2018)
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Wiki Education assignment: ECOL 4950- Senior Seminar
— Assignment last updated by Branchiobdellid (talk) 16:51, 3 November 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:Ecoinformatics


text:
TC Energy

TC Energy Corporation (formerly TransCanada Corporation) is a major North American energy company, based in the TC Energy Tower building in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, that develops and operates energy infrastructure in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. The company operates three core businesses: Natural Gas Pipelines, Liquids Pipelines and Energy.

The Natural Gas Pipeline network includes 92,600 km of gas pipeline, which transports more than 25% of North American natural gas demand. The Liquids Pipelines division includes 4,900 km of oil pipeline, which ships 590,000 barrels of crude oil per day, which is about 20% of Western Canadian exports. The Energy division owns or has interests in 11 power generation facilities with combined capacity of 6,600 megawatts (MW). These power sources include nuclear and natural gas fired. The company is expanding its energy division to include more renewable sources including pumped storage, wind, and solar generation.

The company was founded in 1951 in Calgary. The company's US headquarters is located in the TC Energy Center skyscraper in Houston, Texas.

TC Energy is the largest shareholder in, and owns the general partner of, TC PipeLines.

History
The company was incorporated in 1951 by a Special Act of Parliament as Trans-Canada Pipe Lines Limited. The purpose of the company was to develop the TransCanada pipeline (now known as the Canadian Mainline) to supply eastern Canadian markets with natural gas produced in the west.

In 1998, TransCanada Pipelines merged with NOVA Corporation's pipeline business, keeping the TransCanada name and becoming "the fourth largest energy services company in North America".

Seeking to expand its presence in the United States, in 2016, TransCanada acquired Columbia Pipeline Group (CPG) for US$13 billion from NiSource's Shareholders. The CPG acquisition added a pipeline network in Pennsylvania and surrounding states, where the Marcellus and Utica shale gas formations are located.

In May 2019, the company changed its name from TransCanada Corporation to TC Energy Corporation to better reflect the company's business, which includes pipelines, power generation and energy storage operations in Canada, the United States and Mexico.

In October 2019, the 56-story Bank of America Center skyscraper in Houston, Texas was renamed as TC Energy Center and serves as the company's US headquarters.

Natural gas pipelines
TC Energy's natural gas pipelines business builds, owns and operates a network of natural gas pipelines across North America that connects gas production to interconnects and end use markets. The company transports over 25% of continental daily natural gas demand through 91,900 km (57,100 mi) of pipelines. In addition, the company owns 535 Bcf of natural gas storage facilities, making TC Energy one of the largest natural gas storage providers in North America. This segment is TC Energy's largest segment, generating approximately two-thirds of the company's EBITDA in 2017. The Natural Gas Pipelines business is split into three operating segments: Canadian Natural Gas Pipelines, U.S. Natural Gas Pipelines, and Mexico Natural Gas Pipelines.

The major pipeline systems include:

 * NGTL System (24,320 km) A wholly owned subsidiary, NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd., connects gas producers in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin with consumers and exports. TC Energy has the largest and most extensive natural gas network in Alberta.
 * Canadian Mainline (14,077 km) this pipeline serves as a long haul delivery system transporting natural gas from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin across Canada to Ontario and Québec to deliver gas to downstream Canadian and U.S. markets. The pipeline has evolved accommodate additional supply connections closer to its markets. The mainline is over 60 years old
 * Columbia Gas (18,113 km) This natural gas transportation system serves the Appalachian Basin, which contains the Marcellus and Utica plays, two of the largest natural gas shale plays in North America. The system also interconnects with other pipelines that provide access to the U.S. Northeast and the Gulf of Mexico.'''
 * ANR Pipeline System (15,109 km) This pipeline system connects supply basins and markets throughout the U.S. Midwest, and south to the Gulf of Mexico. This includes connecting supply in Texas, Oklahoma, the Appalachian Basin and the Gulf of Mexico to markets in Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and Ohio. In addition, ANR has bi-directional capability on its Southeast Mainline and delivers gas produced from the Appalachian basin to customers throughout the Gulf Coast Region.
 * Columbia Gulf (5,377 km) — This pipeline system was originally designed as a long haul delivery system transporting supply from the Gulf of Mexico to major demand markets in the U.S. Northeast. The pipeline is now transitioning to a north-to-south flow and expanding to accommodate new supply in the Appalachian Basin and its interconnects with Columbia Gas and other pipelines to deliver gas to various Gulf Coast markets.
 * Mexico Pipeline Network (1,680 km) — This consists of a growing network of natural gas pipelines in Mexico.

Projects in development include:

Coastal GasLink Pipeline Project — In June 2012 it was announced that TransCanada was selected by Shell and LNG Canada partners Korea Gas Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation and PetroChina Company Limited (to which Petronas of Malaysia was added in 2018) to design, build, own and operate the Coastal GasLink pipeline between northeastern B.C. gas fields near Dawson Creek, British Columbia, and the LNG Canada LNG liquefaction, storage and export facility in the port of Kitimat, on the Douglas Channel. The investment and construction decisions for the LNG Canada and Coastal GasLink Pipeline Project were officially confirmed early October 2018, for completion by 2024–2025. However, hereditary chiefs of the Wetʼsuwetʼen have denied consent to construct the pipeline on the company's preferred route through culturally and ecologically sensitive lands in their unceded territory, leading to nationwide protests.

Prince Rupert Gas Transmission project — In January 2013 it was announced that TransCanada was selected by Petronas to design, build, own, and operate the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission project, a gas pipeline that would transport natural gas from the Montney region near Fort St. John, British Columbia to a LNG terminal planned by Progress Energy Canada Ltd. in Port Edward, British Columbia on Lelu Island near Prince Rupert, British Columbia. The project faced opposition from the Gitxsan first nation due to concerns about the impact it would have on salmon in the Skeena River. On July 25, 2017, Petronas announced they were abandoning the Pacific NorthWest LNG proposal and TransCanada said they were "reviewing our options related to our proposed Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) project". On March 14, 2024 TC Energy announced the sale of the project to the Nisga'a Nation and Western LNG.

Liquids pipelines
Two TC Energy's Liquids pipelines connect Alberta crude oil supplies to U.S. refining markets., the Keystone Pipeline System and the Grand Rapids pipelines. The 460 km-Grand Rapids pipeline transports crude oil from the producing area northwest of Fort McMurray, Alberta, to the Edmonton/Heartland, Alberta market region. In October 2012, TransCanada formed a 50–50 CAD$3bn joint-venture with Phoenix Energy Holdings Ltd. (the Canadian subsidiary of PetroChina) to develop the 500 km Grand Rapids Pipeline.

The 4,324 km-Keystone Pipeline System transports crude oil from Hardisty, Alberta, to U.S. markets at Wood River and Patoka, Illinois, Cushing, Oklahoma, and the U.S. Gulf Coast. The Keystone System transports approximately 20% of Western Canadian crude oil to export markets. The Keystone Pipeline has had three significant leaks since it opened in 2010. It has leaked approximately 400 barrels in North Dakota in 2011 and South Dakota in 2016, and approximately 5000 barrels in South Dakota in 2017.

A third pipeline, the 1,906 km-long Keystone XL Pipeline — which is an expansion of the Keystone Pipeline System — began construction in 2020. When completed, the Keystone XL Pipeline will transport 830,000 barrels of Athabasca oil sands crude oil per day from the Hardisty, Alberta to Steele City, Nebraska.

TC Energy had first proposed the Keystone XL pipeline in 2008. The proposal faced widespread grassroots opposition with tactics including tree sits in the path of the pipeline and civil disobedience by celebrities. Critics state that by developing the oil sands, fossil fuels will be readily available and the trend toward warming of the atmosphere won't be curbed. The fate of the pipeline is therefore held up as symbolic of America's energy future. Critics have raised concerns about the risks of spillage, as the Sandhills region of Nebraska is a fragile ecosystem.

In October 2011, TransCanada was involved in up to 56 separate eminent domain actions against landowners in Texas and South Dakota who refused to give permission to the company to build the Keystone Pipeline through their land. However, on August 23, 2012, Texas Judge Bill Harris ruled that TransCanada had the right of eminent domain and could lease or purchase land from owners who refused to sign an agreement with the company for a public right of way for the pipeline. The landowners had said that the pipeline was not open to other companies, and so did not meet the criteria for eminent domain.

U.S. President Barack Obama rejected the pipeline on November 3, 2015.

Early in his tenure in 2017, President Donald Trump signed presidential memoranda to revive both Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines. The order would expedite the environmental review that Trump described as an "incredibly cumbersome, long, horrible permitting process".

In 2017, Trump signed a U.S. Presidential Permit to allow TransCanada to build the Nebraska pipeline route of the Keystone XL. TransCanada secured sufficient commercial support to commence construction preparation.

This action by Trump inspired another wave of protests and rallies against the pipeline.

In March 2020, Premier Jason Kenney of Alberta, agreed to help finance the construction of TC Energy's Keystone XL oil sands pipeline in southern Alberta, Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska with a CA$7.5 billion (US$5.3 billion) financing agreement. According to The New York Times, despite the coronavirus pandemic, a down turn in the global economy, and "plunging oil prices", Premier Kenney said that Alberta could not afford "for Keystone XL to be delayed." With this financial agreement, the Alberta government gained a US$1.1-billion ownership stake in the 1,947-kilometre pipeline which will "575,000 barrels of oil daily". The province intends to sell its shares to TC Energy "after commercial operations begin." Alberta also gave a full guarantee on a US$4.2-billion project loan. The $USD1.1 billion equity covers construction costs from April through December 2020. TC Energy will also invest CA$.7 billion. The Alberta government are also providing a fully guaranteed CA$4.2 billion loan for the project. The premier also said that over the next twenty years, the financial benefits to Alberta through tax and royalty revenue would be approximately CA$30 billion. In response to Alberta's financial support, in March, TC Energy "approved construction of the US$8-billion project to transport up to 830,000 barrels per day of oil." According to a Canadian Press March 31, 2020 article Premier Kenney estimated that "1,400 direct and 5,400 indirect jobs" would be created in Alberta during construction. In September 2020, TC Energy announced that it would be restructuring some of its gas pipeline operations in Alberta.

In April, shortly after construction on Keystone XL began, Judge Brian M. Morris of the Federal District Court in Montana suspended the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)'s program allowing permits for pipelines to cross waterways, in spite of the Clean Water Act (CWA). Judge Morris said that the USACE pipeline permits "posed a threat to endangered species" and its reauthorization in 2017, had been improper. In July 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States declined to block Judge Morris' ruling, effectively halting all construction on the XL Pipeline.

In September 2020, the Nekaneet Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, the Ermineskin Cree Nation, Montana First Nation, Louis Bull Tribe, and Saddle Lake Cree Nation in Alberta signed a memoranda of understanding (MOU) for an ownership stake in Keystone XL.

In a Canadian Press article Calgary energy reporter, Dan Healing, wrote that Keystone XL's future was "still in doubt"—if Presidential candidate Joe Biden wins the November 3, 2020 United States presidential election, he would fulfill his promise to cancel the pipeline's "vital presidential permit."

In January 2021, U.S. President Joe Biden revoked the project’s presidential permit.

Marshall County, South Dakota leak 2017
On November 16, 2017, oil leaked from the pipeline in Marshall County, South Dakota, for 15 minutes before the flow of oil could be stopped. The company reported the amount as over 210,000 gallons. TransCanada reported it discovered the leak in Amherst, South Dakota, at 6 am on Thursday after systems detected a drop in pressure in the northern leg of the pipeline. The leak was discovered about 35 miles south of the Ludden pump station.

In April 2018, a federal investigation showed that the spill was almost twice as large as TransCanada had claimed in November, and that it was the seventh-largest onshore oil spill since 2002. The study showed that 407,000 gallons, not 210,000 gallons, had spilled. Also in April 2018, Reuters reviewed documents that showed that Keystone had "leaked substantially more oil, and more often, in the United States than the company indicated to regulators in risk assessments before operations began in 2010".

Energy
TC Energy's Energy division consists of power generation and unregulated natural gas storage assets. The power business consists of approximately 7,000 megawatts (MW) of generation capacity owned or under development. These assets are located primarily in Canada and are powered by natural gas, nuclear, and wind. TC Energy has proposed two pumped storage projects and one solar project to store and supply clean energy. The Ontario Pumped Storage Project near Meaford, Ontario would provide 1000 MW of clean energy and the proposed Canyon Creek Pumped Storage Project near Hinton, Alberta would provide 75 MW of clean energy. The proposed Saddlebrook Solar + Storage project in Aldersyde, Alberta would consist of 102.5 MW of solar generation with utility-scale energy storage.
 * Western Power These assets include approximately 1,000 MW of power generation capacity through four natural gas-fired cogeneration facilities in Alberta and one in Arizona.
 * Eastern Power These assets include approximately 2,900 MW of power generation capacity in Eastern Canada.
 * Bruce Power This operates the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station in Ontario. Comprising eight nuclear units with a combined capacity of approximately 6,400 MW, it is currently the largest operating nuclear power plant in the world. TC Energy holds a 48.4% interest in the asset.

Ownership
As of March 2024, 83.5% of the share capital of TC Energy is owned by institutional investors. The dominant shareholder is the Royal Bank of Canada, which owns over 9% of the company. Canada's Big Five (banks) own almost 23% of the outstanding share capital. Significant holdings accrue to the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and the OMERS.

Political activities
In 2019 TransCanada aided the drafting of anti-protest legislation in South Dakota. The legislation, which Governor Kristi Noem signed into law in March 2019, created a fund to cover the costs of policing pipeline protests, and was accompanied by another law which sought to raise revenue for the fund by creating civil penalties for advising, directing, or encouraging persons participating in rioting. In response to the law Noem was sued by the Indigenous Environmental Network, Sierra Club, and other groups, who argued the laws violate First Amendment rights by incentivizing the state to sue protesters.

President
Clinton W. Murchison, 1951–1954 N. Eldon Tanner, 1954–1957 Charles S. Coates, 1957–1958 James W. Kerr, 1958–1968 Vernon L. Horte, 1968–1972 George W. Woods, 1972–1979 Radcliffe R. Latimer, 1979–1985 Gerald J. Maier, 1985–1993 George W. Watson, 1993–1999 Douglas D. Baldwin, 1999–2001 Harold N. Kvisle, 2001–2010 Russell K. Girling, 2010–2021 François L. Poirier, 2021–

Chairman of the Board
N. Eldon Tanner, 1957–1958 Charles S. Coates, 1958–1961 James W. Kerr, 1961–1979 John M. Beddome, 1979–1983 Gordon P. Osler, 1983–1989 J. V. Raymond Cyr, 1989–1991 Gerald J. Maier, 1991–1998 Richard F. Haskayne, 1998–2005 S. Barry Jackson, 2005–2016 Siim A. Vanaselja, 2016–

title: TC Energy


text:
Bengt Sæternes

Bengt Sæternes (born 1 January 1975) is a Norwegian former professional footballer who played as a centre forward from 1991 until 2011.

He began his playing career at local clubs Egersund and Eiger, whilst he had spells at Viking, Odd Grenland, Bodø/Glimt, Club Brugge, Brann, OB, and Vålerenga. Sæternes was capped seven times for Norway.

Before the 2012–13 Tercera División, Sæternes joined UD Vecindario as assistant coach on a one-year contract. He rejected offers from Norway in order to "learn everything I can of Spanish football."

Club career
Bengt Sæternes had short stints in both Viking and Odd Grenland until his career boosted in Bodø/Glimt. He was the club's top scorer in a number of seasons before he was sold to the Belgian First Division club Club Brugge. His stay in Belgium was ruined by multiple injuries, and he decided to return to Norway in the summer of 2004. Despite the general public believed that he would transfer to the champions Rosenborg, Bengt chose Brann instead. He made an instant impact in Bergen by demonstrating great goal scoring abilities clearly proven in the 2004 cup final, when he scored 3 goals. After a great 2004 season, the 2005 and the beginning of the 2006 season was a disappointment, mainly due to a long lasting injury. Sæternes never managed to copy the success from his first season in Brann. Since then he has played both in OB, Vålerenga and before he returned to Viking.

Ahead of the 2012 season, Viking terminated Sæternes' contract, after only one season at the club.

International career
Sæternes played three matches for Norway U-21 in 1996 and 1997, and was later capped seven times for Norway between 2002 and 2007.

Honours
Club Brugge
 * Belgian First Division: 2002–03
 * Belgian Cup: 2003–04
 * Belgian Supercup: 2002, 2003

Brann
 * Tippeligaen: 2007
 * Norwegian Cup: 2004

Vålerenga
 * Norwegian Cup: 2008

Individual
 * Kniksen Striker of the Year: 2002

title: Bengt Sæternes


text:
User:Ravenswood

Wikipedia has the potential to be a prestigious and important tool for research. It also has the potential to be several hundred thousand pages of graffiti.

Right now it's too much of the latter and not enough of the former.

The potential is still there. But until Wikipedia moves closer to achieving it, I can't see spending any more of my time on it.

Ravenswood 23:52, August 14, 2005 (UTC)

Addendum: In the past 18 months, Wikipedia has actually moved farther away from being a useful tool for research. I may have been wrong when I said it had potential.

Ravenswood 16:58, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

title: User:Ravenswood


text:
Acorn System

The Acorn System was a series of modular microcomputer systems based on rack-mounted Eurocards developed by Acorn Computers from 1979 to 1982, aimed primarily at industrial and laboratory use, but also home enthusiasts.

The experience gained in developing this modular system strongly influenced the design of Acorn's first all-in-one home computer, the Acorn Atom, released in March 1980; and also much of the circuitry in its successor, the BBC Micro, first shown in late 1981.

Acorn's final rack-based machine was the System 5, released in late 1982. The Eurocard business was then sold on to one of its principal resellers, Control Universal Ltd, which continued to develop various cards for industrial use based on the Acorn-standard bus during the 1980s, but ultimately went into receivership in 1989.

Eurocards
Placing the two Eurocards from the original Acorn Microcomputer onto a backplane made the system straightforward to expand in a modular way. The original I/O card, minus its keypad and LED display, became the cassette interface card; while the original 6502 CPU card, slightly adapted with the addition of a keyboard interface, became the basic CPU card of the system.

A series of interchangeable expansion cards were then developed: additional RAM cards; a card containing the Acorn System BASIC interpreter on ROM; a 40×25 character VDU card, and a UHF adaptor for it; interface cards; a floppy disk controller; Econet network cards; an 80×25 character VDU card; and later also alternate processor cards, offering a 6809 or a faster 6502.

System 1
The Acorn System 1, initially called the Acorn Microcomputer (Micro-Computer), was intended for hobbyists. It was based on the MOS 6502 CPU, and produced by British company Acorn Computers from 1979. It was a small machine built on two Eurocard-standard circuit boards and it could be purchased ready-built or in kit form.

System 2
The Acorn System 2  was offered as a system by Acorn Computers from 1980. It was the successor to the Acorn Microcomputer (renamed the Acorn System 1).

The system comprised four Eurocard-sized printed circuit boards mounted in a 19 inch sub-rack frame on an 8-slot backplane, plus a (separately supplied) additional external keyboard. The four PCB cards contained respectively:

 * a CPU card, containing a 1 MHz 6502 microprocessor, the keyboard interface, and a 2K ROM with the cassette operating system (The 6502 card could be swapped for a 6809. )
 * a VDU card, providing a 40×25 character teletext-standard display, based on an MC6845 CRT controller and an SAA5050 teletext character generator,
 * a cassette interface card,
 * a memory card with 4K of RAM and a 4K BASIC ROM. A further 4K of RAM could be added, and also an additional 4K ROM containing floating-point routines and scientific functions.

The CPU card and cassette interface card were the same cards as used the System 1, but with the keypad and LED display of the latter left unused. The system could be expanded with any of Acorn's standard Eurocards to add further functionality. In 1982 it was being offered for £320, or £480 with power supply, plus an additional £136 for the optional keyboard.

System 3
The Acorn System 3  added a floppy disk controller card, floppy disk drive, and disk operating system ROM, replacing the cassette interface card and cassette operating system of the System 2 machine.

The System 3 became the standard workhorse for development in the Acorn lab: the Acorn Atom has been called a cut-down version of the System 3; and it was based on the System 3 that much of the development work for the BBC Micro was done.

A minimum configuration contained:

 * A CPU card
 * A 40×25 Teletext-standard VDU card
 * 8K RAM with 4K BASIC ROM
 * A floppy disk controller
 * One 100K floppy disk drive

In 1982 this was being offered for £775, or £1075 with power supply, casing, and two further 8K RAM cards; plus, again, an additional £136 for a keyboard.

System 4
The Acorn System 4 was similar to the System 3, but in a double height frame, containing fourteen slots in the lower frame, and two floppy disk drives in the upper half of the frame above them. With casing, power supply, and a basic 16K of RAM it was being offered for £1525 in 1982 (again, plus extra for the keyboard).

System 5
The Acorn System 5 was the final Acorn rack-mounted system, released in 1983. It was mounted in an extra-height single 19-inch frame, which could accommodate two vertically mounted 5 1/4-inch floppy drives, with either seven or ten Eurocard slots. It came complete with a power supply, and was only available fully assembled. As standard it had a 1 MHz 6502, 32K DRAM, a disk controller, and either the 80×25 or the Teletext 40×25 VDU cards. Customers could choose which cards to install in the remaining slots, including interface cards, an additional 16K DRAM card, and/or an Econet network adapter; they could also choose to upgrade the processor board to a faster 2 MHz 6502 board.

title: Acorn System


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Scientific Volume Imaging

 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 DELETE. Jinian 21:31, 14 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Scientific Volume Imaging

 * Looks like an advertising page. Was created from the "svi.nl" domain so might also count as vanity. Awolf002 18:00, 7 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * CSD Well, it is not exactly advertising, but I agree it should be deleted. I am the author, inexperienced in the wikipedia. I don't like the way is written, and I would delete it myself if I was able to. Default007 08:37, 8 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * 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.


text: User talk:130.88.56.249

title: User talk:130.88.56.249


text:
Drew McConnell

Drew McConnell (born 10 November 1978 in Dublin, Ireland) is the bass guitarist and backing vocalist with Babyshambles, the band formed by frontman of the Libertines, Pete Doherty, and for former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher's band. He lived in Tenerife, Spain, for much of his childhood and he speaks Spanish fluently. Formerly in the band Elviss, McConnell participates in a number of side-projects, such as the Phoenix Drive and playing double bass and piano with Irish singer/songwriter Fionn Regan as well as writing and recording solo material.

McConnell organises a musical collective named Helsinki, with which he performs solo material as well as versions of songs by Babyshambles, such as a swing version of their single "Delivery". Among the members of this collective are Stephen Large of Squeeze and Albert Hammond Jr of The Strokes., the drummer Seb Rochford of Polar Bear and Acoustic Ladyland, drummer Jamie Morrison (of the Noisettes), guitarist Matt Parks, Jonnie Fielding (violin), Larrikin Love and Fionn Regan.

McConnell completed a bass degree at the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance.

He also appears in the video "Police on My Back" by UK grime artist Lethal Bizzle, playing bass.

McConnell is heavily involved with the Love Music Hate Racism movement, contributing a song with Babyshambles and Helsinki to a CD given away free with a copy of the NME in 2007, as well as playing at such events as the Love Music Hate Racism carnival with Jon McClure of Reverend and the Makers.

McConnell also fronted the musical collective Mongrel with Jon McClure and members of Arctic Monkeys.

In 2011, McConnell was in a near-death crash where he was hit by a motorist who was accused of breaking a red light, and knocking McConnell off the bike and crushing his spine. He has since recovered, and said of the incident, "Humans are designed to deal with trauma of a physical and emotional kind. It's the stuff of life."

On 5 May 2014 McConnell's Helsinki released its debut album Coast of Silence. Its 12 tracks included "New Pair" and "The Very Last Boy Alive" which have also been recorded by Babyshambles.

In 2015, he released another album called A Guide for the Perplexed, including the track "Choices" featuring Pete Doherty.

In 2017, McConnell is played bass guitar in Liam Gallagher's tour band, in support of Gallagher's solo album, As You Were.

In 2023, he released a new single called "Homo Nymph" on a split 7-inch vinyl with Italian band Lowinsky.

title: Drew McConnell


text:
French Blue

French Blue or French blue may refer to:
 * French blue (color), a shade of blue
 * French Blue (airline), formerly French long-haul low-cost airline
 * Tavernier Blue, a diamond that was part of the French crown jewels
 * Hope Diamond, a diamond cut from the Tavernier

title: French Blue


text:
User:Jakob mark~enwiki

Danish university student, primarily occupied with the Danish Wikipedia. If I cannot find anything to contribute to on wikipedia, I might get desperate and actually study. Only as a worst case result, though.

On rare occations I might do a bit on the English version, though. I consider my English to be quite well, although I might occasionally misspell a few words, and my punctuation is not very good in this language. I tend to misconstruct my sentences a bit too.

Politically, I'm apparantly quite left-wing libertarian - according to the political compass I am economic -8.25 left, -8.21 libertarian. I do feel that the political compass is slightly biased towards an American society, though (I don't think many other than the political compas would consider me an extremist).

title: User:Jakob mark~enwiki


text:
Siqueiros

Siqueiros is a Spanish surname. Notable people with the surname include:

 * Alejandro Siqueiros (born 1982), Mexican freestyle swimmer
 * David Alfaro Siqueiros (1896–1974), Mexican painter
 * Leobardo Siqueiros (born 1994), Mexican footballer

title: Siqueiros


text:
User:Kea~enwiki

"Dave's not here, man."

Gallery

title: User:Kea~enwiki


text:
Abul Hasan Qutb Shah

Abul Hasan Qutb Shah, also known as Abul Hasan Tana Shah was the eighth and last ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, sovereign of the Kingdom of Golconda in South India. He ruled from 1672 to 1686. The last Sultan of this Shia Islamic dynasty, Tana Shah is remembered as an inclusive ruler. Instead of appointing only Muslims as ministers, he appointed Brahmin Hindus such as Madanna and Akkanna brothers as ministers in charge of tax collection and exchequer. Towards the end of his reign, one of his Muslim generals defected to the Mughal Empire, who then complained to Aurangzeb about the rising power of the Hindus as ministers in his Golconda Sultanate. Aurangzeb sent a regiment led by his son, who beheaded Tana Shah's Hindu ministers and plundered the Sultanate. In 1687, Aurangzeb ordered an arrest of Tana Shah, who was then imprisoned at the Daulatabad Fort. He died in prison in 1699.

Biography
In his early life, he was unassociated with the royal court. He married one of the three daughters of Sultan Abdullah Qutub Shah, the second last Sultan of Golconda Sultanate. Abdullah Qutub Shah did not have a male heir. When he died, the succession choice was between the three sons-in-law. One was in prison, and the choice was between Sayyad Ahmad and Abul Hasan Qutb Shah. In a struggle for power between the two, the Muslim generals sided with Abul Hasan Qutb Shah.

Muslim historians describe him as a distant descendant from the male side of Qutb Shahi family, but one who was lazy, prone to drinking and who for a period followed a Sufi preacher Sayyad Kathal. He has been traced as the grandson of one of Sultan Muhammad Quli's nephews.

He came to be known as "Tānā Shah", lit. "King of Taste", because of his "love of the Arts and pleasure".

Administration
The early Qutb Shahi sultans prohibited Hindus from observing their religious festivals, states Annemarie Schimmel – a scholar of Islamic studies. During the reign of Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (1580–1611), who was a more tolerant ruler, the Hindus were allowed to observe their religious festivals like Diwali and Holi in open. This policy was extended by Abul Hasan Qutb Shah, who appointed Brahmin Hindus such as Madanna and Akkanna brothers as ministers in charge of tax collection and exchequer. The two brothers introduced many reforms and became very powerful. However, this led to significant factionalism between the Muslim elites and the rising power of the Brahmin Hindus. The Muslim faction reached out to Aurangzeb, who sent a regiment led by his son to attack Golconda. They beheaded Madanna and Akkanna, along with plundering the property and killing many more Hindus in administrative positions of the Qutb Shahi dynasty. Shortly thereafter, Abul Hasan Qutb Shah was jailed by Aurangzeb. With his death in prison, the Qutb Shahi dynasty came to an end.

Imprisonment, death and burial
Under the orders of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, Tana Shan was arrested and imprisoned in the Daulatabad Fort (near Aurangabad). He died there after twelve years of captivity. When the sultan died, he was buried in a modest grave at Khuldabad, within the shrine of Shah Raju Qattal, a Sufi saint whose descendant Razi al-din Raju Qattal was held in great reverence by the sultan. With the death of Abul Hasan Qutub Shah, the Qutb Shahi dynasty ended and the region came under the control of the Mughal Dynasty. It became a part of the six Mughal provinces in the Deccan. Mahabat Khan, who was initially the commander of the Qutb Shahi army and had switched loyalty to the Mughals, was appointed the governor of Golconda, laying the foundations for the Hyderabad State under the Nizams by Aurangzeb.

Family
He was married to his predecessor Abdullah Qutb Shah's third daughter, who became known as Badshah Bibi after his ascension. He had five children:
 * eldest daughter: stayed unmarried and remained her father's constant companion until his death.
 * second daughter: married Sikandar Adil Shah, the ruler of Bijapur.
 * third daughter: married 'Inayat Khan, son of Jumdatu'l-Mulk Asad Khan.
 * fourth daughter: married Shaikh Muhammad Sarhindi.
 * Khuda Banda or Banda-i Sultan: the only son; was born during his father's captivity and was taken to an unknown location following the latter's death, after which nothing further is known. As per some accounts he was relocated to the coastal town of Karwar

title: Abul Hasan Qutb Shah


text:
Muff, County Donegal

Muff is a village, civil parish and townland in County Donegal, Ireland. It is near the mouth of the River Foyle (where it flows into Lough Foyle) and sits close to the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The village of Culmore and the city of Derry are to the south in Northern Ireland.

History
Muff was one of several Protestant villages in eastern Donegal that would have been transferred to Northern Ireland, had the recommendations of the Irish Boundary Commission been enacted in 1925.

Muff has experienced significant growth in population during the last decade as people from Northern Ireland migrate across the border.

Education
The village has a primary school, Scoil Naomh Bríd, which has slightly over 200 students enrolled. It is a co-educational primary school under the patronage of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Derry. The staff comprises an administrative principal, eight mainstream class teachers and three special education teachers (SETs), one of whom is shared with another school. Historically, many children crossed the border to attend either Culmore Primary School or Hollybush Primary School.

Sport and recreation
The local association football team is called Quigley's Point Swifts. The club was formed in 1975. In 1985 they then joined the Derry & District League (D&D). In the nineties the club developed its reserve teams and several underage squads.

The Local Gaelic football club, Naomh Padraig was founded on 16 February 1989. It has developed a pitch and clubhouse and competes at underage levels as well as Donegal's all county league divisions.

Each summer, usually during the first week in August, the village celebrates Muff Festival; which includes céilidhs, competitions, street parties, parades, amusements, night-time entertainment, and live performances.

Because of the village's proximity to a beach, it is a popular destination for diving.

Notable residents

 * The playwright Brian Friel was a resident of the village for some time.

title: Muff, County Donegal


text:
Highland Park (Pittsburgh neighborhood)

Highland Park is a neighborhood in the northeastern part of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Highland Park, the neighborhood, fully encompasses the park with the same name.

The neighborhood has 6,395 residents according to the 2010 United States Census. It occupies 748 acre built around the 380 acre park (also called Highland Park), and is bordered by the neighborhoods of East Liberty and Larimer to the south, Morningside to the west, Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar to the east, and the Allegheny River to the north.

The neighborhood is set apart from surrounding areas by Heth's Run, which separates Highland Park from Morningside to the west, and by Negley Run, which separates it from Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar to the east and Larimer to the south. The only direct land routes to Highland Park are from East Liberty, via Negley Avenue, Highland Avenue, and several other streets.

The Neighborhood
The first permanent European settler in Highland Park was Alexander Negley, a Swiss settler. In 1788, Negley purchased a 278-acre farm along the Allegheny River that he called “Fertile Bottom” and which extended over much of what is now Highland Park north of Bryant Street. His son Jacob married Barbara Winebiddle, the daughter of other local landowners, in 1795, and in 1799 purchased the 443-acre farm (called “Heth’s Delight”) that adjoined his father's farm to the south and west. Jacob and Barbara Negley built a brick house at what is now the corner of Stanton and Negley Avenues in 1808, which became the seat of a substantial land holding when the two farms were combined upon the death of Alexander Negley in 1809.

Jacob Negley was one of the most prominent citizens in the early nineteenth century of the East Liberty Valley, the ancient river bottom that lies north of Squirrel Hill in the eastern section of Pittsburgh and provides relief from the generally hilly topography of the city. The earliest highway from the east, the Greensburg & Pittsburgh Turnpike (now Penn Avenue), which followed the line (the Forbes Road) that the British cut during the French and Indian War, ran east–west through the East Liberty Valley. Jacob Negley won the contract to pave a five-mile section of the turnpike between 1813 and 1819. He played a substantial role in the founding of a village in East Liberty, building a steam-powered grist mill on the turnpike in 1816, establishing a bank, and helping to found the East Liberty Presbyterian Church Church in 1819. His daughter Sara Jane married the lawyer Thomas Mellon, patriarch of the banking family, in 1843.

Upon the death of Jacob Negley in 1827, his widow Barbara built a new farmhouse for herself in 1829, which still stands and which gives its name to the "Farmhouse Park" playground within Highland Park. She also resolved certain debts that she and Jacob had incurred during the Panic of 1819 by selling some parcels of her land. In 1837, Barbara Winebiddle Negley divided the remainder of the estate among her children. This started the process of subdivision of land in East Liberty and Highland Park that led to the development of those neighborhoods in the later nineteenth century. With the subdivision of the estate, the County Surveyor, Robert Hilands, also laid out the first streets in the Highland Park area. He formally established Negley Avenue along the line of the country lane that connected Penn Avenue with the Negley homestead, laid out Hiland Avenue (named after himself until changed to “Highland” by the City in 1890) as the principal street running north out of the center of the village of East Liberty, and converted the Negleys’ principal east–west “Country Lane” into what is now called Stanton Avenue.

In the first half of the nineteenth century, most of the development in the East End of Pittsburgh occurred in the East Liberty section. This growth was spurred on by the construction of the Pennsylvania Railroad's main line to Pittsburgh through the East Liberty Valley in 1852. By 1868, there was a population of about 5000 in the general vicinity of East Liberty. In that year, the municipalities east of Pittsburgh (the townships of Pitt, Peebles, Liberty, Collins and Oakland, and the borough of Lawrenceville) were annexed by the City of Pittsburgh as part of a campaign of expansion that tripled the size of the city and extended its boundaries south of the Monongahela River. Further transportation improvements followed the incorporation of East Liberty into the city. In 1870, the City Councils passed the Penn Avenue Act, which provided a mechanism for the paving of local streets, and in 1872 horse-drawn streetcar service was extended out of Pittsburgh to East Liberty. In addition, the city Water Commission purchased land and began construction in 1872 of a reservoir on the top of the hill at the head of Hiland Avenue that opened in 1879. The land purchases for the reservoir later provided the germ of the Highland Park landscape park that was founded in 1889.

The Highland Park neighborhood was developed as a streetcar suburb: residents walked or used streetcars to reach East Liberty, where they worked, shopped, or took trains to other portions of the City of Pittsburgh. As such, the neighborhood was initially almost wholly residential, with homes that are in many cases quite substantial. These homes are spaced further apart than the rowhouses of fully urban neighborhoods such as Bloomfield and Lawrenceville, but they are much closer together than is typical in a post-1940s automobile suburb. The Highland Park neighborhood's appeal derived (and still derives) in large part from its setting between the large public park to the north and the East Liberty business district to the south. That appeal declined to some extent from 1970–2000, when East Liberty went through an extended period of decline, but East Liberty's renaissance as a commercial district after 2000 has caused the Highland Park neighborhood to become more appealing as well.

Due in part to the aforementioned decline of East Liberty, the Highland Park neighborhood developed a very small business district of its own on Bryant Street, which presently includes a number of restaurants, a neighborhood grocer, a bakery, a coffee shop, an automobile repair facility, and several other small businesses that are interspersed among private residences on Bryant Street. While no streetcars run through the present-day Highland Park neighborhood, it is served by several bus routes which run south to East Liberty and then beyond, eventually to downtown Pittsburgh.

Historic District
On August 30, 2007, the Highland Park Residential Historic District was officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The historic district encompasses the entire neighborhood of Highland Park: its western border consists of Chislett Street (from Stanton Avenue on the south to Hampton Street on the north) and Heth's Run (or more specifically, King Avenue and Cordova Street, which are just to the east of Heth's Run). Its southern and eastern border consists of Stanton Avenue, and its northern border is the Allegheny River. Academy Award-winning actor, Gene Kelly, and acclaimed jazz singer, Billy Eckstine, were both born and raised here.

City Steps
The Highland Park neighborhood has 3 distinct flights of city steps - all of which are open and in a safe condition. In Highland Park, the Steps of Pittsburgh quickly connect pedestrians to public transportation, Highland Park, and smaller community playgrounds.

title: Highland Park (Pittsburgh neighborhood)