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Mistral-class amphibious assault ship

The Mistral class is a class of five amphibious assault ships built by France. Also known as helicopter carriers, and referred to as "projection and command ships" (bâtiments de projection et de commandement or BPC), a Mistral-class ship is capable of transporting and deploying 16 NH90 or Tiger helicopters, four landing craft, up to 70 vehicles including 13 Leclerc tanks, or a 40-strong Leclerc tank battalion, and 450 soldiers. The ships are equipped with a 69-bed hospital, and are capable of serving as part of a NATO Response Force, or with United Nations or European Union peace-keeping forces.

Three ships of the class are in service in the French Navy: FRENCH SHIP Mistral, FRENCH SHIP Tonnerre, and FRENCH SHIP Dixmude. A deal for two ships for the Russian Navy was announced by then French President Nicolas Sarkozy on 24 December 2010, and signed on 25 January 2011. On 3 September 2014, French President François Hollande announced the postponement of delivery of the first warship, RUSSIAN SHIP Vladivostok, in response to the Russia–Ukraine crisis. On 5 August 2015, President Hollande and Russian president Vladimir Putin announced that France would refund payments and keep the two ships; the two ships were within one month sold to Egypt.

French doctrine of amphibious operations in 1997
In 1997, the DCNS started a study for a multi-purpose intervention ship (bâtiment d'intervention polyvalent or BIP). At the same time, the French doctrine of amphibious operations was evolving and being defined as the CNOA (Concept national des opérations amphibies, "National design for amphibious operations"). The BIP was to renew and increase the amphibious capabilities of the French Navy, which at the time consisted of two Foudre-class landing platform dock and two Ouragan-class landing platform dock landing platform docks.

The CNOA was to assert the French Navy's capability to perform amphibious assaults, withdrawals, demonstrations, and raids. This would allow the French Navy to further integrate into the doctrinal frameworks described by NATO's Allied Tactical Publication 8B (ATP8) and the European Amphibious Initiative. While the CNOA made air capabilities a priority, it also recommended an increase in the number of vehicles and personnel that could be transported and deployed; the CNOA fixed the aim to project a force comprising four combat companies (1,400 men, 280 vehicles, and 30 helicopters) for ten days, in a 100 km-deep sector; this force should be able to intervene either anywhere within 5000 km of Metropolitan France, or in support of French oversea territories or allies. As well as joint operations with NATO and EU forces, any proposed ship had to be capable of inter-service operations with the Troupes de Marine brigades of the French Army.

Evolution of the concept
The studies for a multi-purpose intervention ship (bâtiment d'intervention polyvalent, BIP) began during a time where the defence industries were preparing to undergo restructuring and integration. The BIP was intended to be a modular, scalable design that could be made available to the various European Union nations and constructed cooperatively, but political issues relating to employment and repartition of contracts caused the integration of the European nations with naval engineering expertise to fail, and saw the BIP project revert to a solely French concern.

In 1997, several common ship designs referred to as nouveau transport de chalands de débarquement (NTCD), loosely based on the aborted PH 75 nuclear helicopter carrier, were revealed. The largest design, BIP-19, was the future basis of the Mistral class. The BIP-19 included a 190 m long flush deck, with a 26.5 m beam, a draught of 6.5 m, and a displacement of 19,000 tonnes; dimensions which exceeded the requirements of the NTCD concept. Three smaller ship designs were also revealed, basically scaled-down BIP-19 versions, with a common beam of 23 m: BIP-13 (13,000 tonnes, 151 m), BIP-10 (10,000 tonnes, 125 m), and BIP-8 (8,000 tonnes, 102 m). BIP-8 incorporated features of the Italian San Giorgio-class amphibious transport dock amphibious transports, but with a helicopter hangar.

At the design stage, the NTCD concept featured an aircraft lift on the port side (like the U.S. Tarawa-class amphibious assault ship), another on the starboard side, one in the centre of the flight deck, and one forward of the island superstructure. These were later reduced in number and relocated: a main lift towards the aft of the ship was originally located to starboard but then moved to centre, and an auxiliary lift behind the island superstructure. Concept drawings and descriptions created by Direction des Constructions Navales (DCN), one of the two shipbuilders involved, showed several aircraft carrier-like features, including a ski-jump ramp for STOBAR aircraft (like the AV-8B Harrier II and F-35B fighters), four or five helicopter landing spots (including one strengthened to accommodate V-22 Osprey or CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters), and a well deck capable of accommodating a Sabre-class landing craft, or two LCAC hovercraft. A French Senate review concluded that STOBAR aircraft were outside the CNOA's scope, requiring design changes.

The NTCD was renamed Porte-hélicoptères d'intervention (PHI, for "intervention helicopter carrier") in December 2001, before being eventually named Bâtiment de projection et de commandement (BPC) to emphasize the amphibious and command aspects of the concept.

Design and construction
At Euronaval 1998, France confirmed plans to build vessels based on the BIP-19 concept. Approval for construction of two ships, Mistral and Tonnerre, was received on 8 December 2000. A construction contract was published on 22 December and, after getting the public purchase authority's approval (Union des groupements d'achats publics, UGAP) on 13 July 2001, was awarded to DCN and Chantiers de l'Atlantique in late July. An engineering design team was established at Saint-Nazaire in September 2001 and, following consultation between DCA and the Délégation Générale pour l'Armement (General Delegation for Ordnance, DGA), began to adapt the BIP-19 design. In parallel, the concept was refined by DGA, DCN, the Chief of the Defence Staff and Chantiers de l'Atlantique. During the design validation process, a $1/120$th scale model was built and tested in a wind tunnel, revealing that in strong crosswinds, the ship's height and elongated superstructures created turbulence along the flight deck. The design was altered to minimise the effects and provide better conditions for helicopter operations.

The ships were constructed at various locations in two major and several minor components and united on completion. DCN, the head of construction and responsible for 60% of the value of construction and 55% of the work time, assembled the engines in Lorient, combat systems in Toulon, and the rear half of the ship, including the island superstructure, in Brest. STX Europe, a subsidiary of STX Shipbuilding of South Korea, constructed the forward halves of each ship in Saint-Nazaire, and was responsible for transporting them to DCN's Brest shipyard for final assembly. Other companies were involved in the construction: some work was outsourced to Gdańska Stocznia "Remontowa", while Thales supplied radars and communications systems. Each ship was predicted to take 34 months to complete, with design and construction for both costing 685 million Euros (approximately the same cost for a single ship based on HMS Ocean (L12) or USS San Antonio (LPD-17), and approximately the same cost as the preceding Foudre-class amphibious ships, which displaced half the tonnage of the Mistral class and took 46.5 months to complete).

Starting from Dixmude, the rest of the French Mistrals and the two Russian Mistrals were built in Saint-Nazaire by STX France, which is jointly owned by STX Europe, Alstom and the French government, with STX Europe having a majority stake. DCNS will provide the combat system. The Russian ships' sterns were built in Saint Petersburg, Russia, by Baltic Shipyard.

DCN laid the keels for the aft part of both ships in 2002; Mistral on 9 July, and Tonnerre on 13 December. Chantiers de l'Atlantique laid the keel of the forward part of Mistral on 28 January 2003, and of Tonnerre later. The first block of the rear of Tonnerre was put in a dry dock on 26 August 2003, and that of Mistral on 23 October 2003. The two aft sections were assembled side by side in the same dry dock. The forward section of Mistral left Saint-Nazaire under tow on 16 July 2004 and arrived in Brest on 19 July 2004. On 30 July, the combination of the two halves through a process similar to jumboisation began in dock no. 9. Tonnerre's forward section arrived in Brest on 2 May 2005 and underwent the same procedure.

Mistral was launched on schedule on 6 October 2004, while Tonnerre was launched on 26 July 2005. Delivery was scheduled for late 2005 and early 2006 respectively, but was postponed for over a year due to issues with the SENIT 9 sensor system and deterioration to the linoleum deck covering of the forward sections. They were commissioned into the French Navy on 15 December 2006 and 1 August 2007, respectively.

The 2008 French White Paper on Defence and National Security forecast that two more BPCs would be in French Navy service by 2020. In 2009, a third ship was ordered earlier than expected as part of the French government's response to the recession which began in 2008. Construction began on 18 April 2009 in Saint-Nazaire; the entire ship was built there due to cost constraints. On 17 December 2009, it was announced that this third ship would be named Dixmude. It had been suggested to use the historic name of Jeanne d'Arc following the decommissioning of the helicopter cruiser of that name in 2010, but it was opposed by some French naval circles because France no longer operated a dedicated training ship (the traditional role of warships named Jeanne d'Arc) and now rotated the training role between multiple ships in the fleet. The possibility of a fourth Mistral-class ship was officially abandoned in the 2013 French White Paper on Defence and National Security.

Features and capabilities
Based on displacement tonnage, Mistral and Tonnerre are the largest ships in the French Navy after the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier FRENCH AIRCRAFT CARRIER Charles de Gaulle, for roughly the same height above water.

Aviation
The flight deck of each ship is approximately 6400 m2. The deck has six helicopter landing spots, one of which is capable of supporting a 33-tonne helicopter. The 1800 m2 hangar deck can hold 16 helicopters, and includes a maintenance area with an overhead crane. To aid launch and recovery, a DRBN-38A Decca Bridgemaster E250 landing radar and an optical landing system are used.

The flight and hangar decks are connected by two aircraft lifts, each capable of lifting 13 tonnes. The 225 m2 main lift is located near the stern of the ship, on the centreline, and is large enough for helicopters to be moved with their rotors in flight configuration. The 120 m2 auxiliary lift is located aft of the island superstructure.

Every helicopter operated by the French military is capable of flying from these ships. On 8 February 2005, a Westland Lynx of the Navy and a Cougar landed on Mistral. The first landing of a NH90 took place on 9 March 2006. Half of the air group of the BPCs is to be constituted of NH-90s, the other half being composed of Tigre attack helicopters. On 19 April 2007, Puma, Écureuil and Panther helicopters landed on Tonnerre. On 10 May 2007, a MH-53E Sea Dragon of the US Navy landed on her reinforced helicopter spot off the U.S. Naval Station Norfolk.

According to Mistral's first commanding officer, Capitaine de vaisseau Gilles Humeau, the size of the flight and hangar decks would allow the operation of up to thirty helicopters. Mistral aviation capabilities approach those of the Wasp-class amphibious assault ships, for roughly 40% the cost and crew requirements of the American ship.

Amphibious transport

Mistral-class ships can accommodate up to 450 soldiers, although this can be doubled for short-term deployments. The 2650 m2 vehicle hangar can carry a 40-strong Leclerc tank battalion, or a 13-strong Leclerc tank company and 46 other vehicles. By comparison, Foudre-class ships can carry up to 100 vehicles, including 22 AMX-30 tanks, in the significantly smaller 1000 m2 deck.

The 885 m2 well deck can accommodate four landing craft. The ships are capable of operating two LCAC hovercraft, and although the French Navy appears to have no intention of purchasing any LCACs, this capability improves the class' ability to interoperate with the United States Marine Corps and the British Royal Navy. Instead the DGA ordered eight French-designed 59-tonne EDA-R (Engin de débarquement amphibie rapide) catamarans for operation from the Mistral class. The EDA-S Amphibious Standard Landing Craft (Engins de Débarquement Amphibie – Standards) were subsequently ordered to replace CTM landing craft. These landing craft began delivery in 2021. Eight are envisaged for operation from the Mistral class and they have a payload capacity of 65 to 80 tonnes and a maximum speed of 11 kn at full load.

Command and communications
Mistral-class ships can be used as command and control ships, with a 850 m2 command centre which can host up to 150 personnel. Information from the ship's sensors is centralised in the SENIT system (Système d'Exploitation Navale des Informations Tactiques, "System for Naval Usage of Tactical Information"), a derivative of the US Navy's Naval Tactical Data System (NTDS). Problems in the development of the SENIT 9 revision contributed to the one-year delay in the delivery of the two ships. SENIT 9 is based around Thales' tri-dimensional MRR3D-NG Multi Role Radar, which operates on the C band and incorporates IFF capabilities. SENIT 9 can also be connected to NATO data exchange formats through Link 11, Link 16 and Link 22.

For communications, the Mistral-class ships use the SYRACUSE satellite system, based on French satellites SYRACUSE 3-A and SYRACUSE 3-B which provide 45% of the Super High Frequency secured communications of NATO. From 18 to 24 June 2007, a secure video conference was held twice a day between Tonnerre, then sailing from Brazil to South Africa, and VIP visitors at the Paris Air Show.

Armament
As built, the two Mistral-class ships were armed with two Simbad launchers for Mistral missiles and four 12.7 mm M2-HB Browning machine guns. Two Breda-Mauser 30 mm/70 guns are also included in the design, though not installed as of 2009. Following the experiences of French naval commanders during Opération Baliste, the French deployment to aid European citizens in Lebanon during the 2006 war, proposals to improve the self-defence capabilities of the two Mistral-class ships were supported by one of France's chiefs of staff. One suggestion is to upgrade the dual-launching, manual Simbad launchers to quadruple-launching, automatic Tetral launchers.

Incidents such as the near-loss of the Israeli corvette INS Hanit to a Hezbollah-fired anti-ship missile during the 2006 Lebanon War have shown the vulnerability of modern warships to asymmetric threats, with the Mistral-class ships considered under-equipped for self-defence in such a situation. Consequently, Mistral and Tonnerre cannot be deployed into hostile waters without sufficient escorting ships. This problem is compounded by the small number of escort ships in the French Navy; there is a five-year gap between the decommissioning of the Suffren-class frigates and the commissioning of their replacements, the Horizon-class frigate and FREMM frigates.

In late 2011, the French Navy selected the NARWHAL20 remote weapon station (RWS) to equip Mistral ships for close-in self-defense. Nexter Systems will deliver two NARWHAL20B guns for each ship, chambered in 20×139mm ammunition, with one gun covering the port bow and the other covering the starboard stern. Dixmude was the first of the vessels outfitted with the cannons in March 2016.

In late 2013, the French Navy equipped all three Mistrals with two M134 Miniguns each; intended for close-in self-defence against asymmetric threats faced during anti-piracy operations, such as speedboats and suicide boats.

In December 2014, the French Navy awarded a contract to Airbus to study the integration of the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) on Mistrals. This is to increase the ships' naval fire support capabilities, as 76 mm and 100 mm guns have been determined to have insufficient range and lethality. The MLRS is in French Army service, using a GPS-guided rocket with a range of 70 km and a unitary 90 kg high-explosive warhead.

Hospital
Each ship carries a NATO Role 3 medical facility, i.e., equivalent to the field hospital of an Army division or army corps, or to the hospital of a 25,000-inhabitant city, complete with dentistry, diagnostics, specialist surgical and medical capabilities, food hygiene and psychological capabilities. A Syracuse-based telemedicine system allows complex specialised surgery to be performed.

The 900 m2 hospital provides 20 rooms and 69 hospitalisation beds, of which 7 are fit for intensive care. The two surgery blocks come complete with a radiology room providing digital radiography and ultrasonography, and that can be fitted with a mobile CT scanner. 50 medicalised beds are kept in reserve and can be installed in a helicopter hangar to extend the capacity of the hospital in case of emergency.

Propulsion
The Mistral class are the first ships of the French Navy to use azimuth thrusters. The thrusters are powered by electricity from five 16-cylinder Wärtsilä 16V32 diesel alternators, and can be oriented in any angle. This propulsion technology gives the ships significant manoeuvering capabilities, as well as freeing up space normally reserved for propeller shafts.

The long-term reliability of azimuth thrusters in military use is yet to be rigorously studied, but the technology has been employed aboard ships in several navies, including the Dutch Rotterdam-class amphibious transport dock, the Spanish Galicia-class landing platform dock, and the Canadian Kingston-class coastal defence vessel.

Accommodation
The space gained by the use of the azimuth thrusters allowed for the construction of accommodation areas where no pipes or machinery are visible. Located in the forward section of the ship, crew cabins aboard Mistral-class ships are comparable in comfort levels to passenger cabins aboard contemporary cruise ships. Each of the fifteen officers have an individual cabin. Senior non-commissioned officers share two-man cabins, while junior crew and embarked troops use four- or six-person cabins. Conditions in these accommodation areas are said to be better than in most barracks of the French Foreign Legion, and when United States Navy vice-admiral Mark Fitzgerald inspected one of the Mistral-class ships in May 2007, it was claimed that he would have used the same accommodation area to host a crew three times the size of Mistral's complement.

Operational history
The BPCs are certified as members of the naval component of the NATO Response Force, which allows them to take part in a Combined Joint Task Force. France provided forces to NRF-8 in January 2007, including a Commander Amphibious Task Force and eight ships. The next contribution took place in January 2008 in NRF-10, after exercises Noble Midas which tested link 16 and the SECSAT system which operationally controls submarines. The forces can be set up on 5 to 30 days' notice.

Mistral made her maiden voyage from 21 March to 31 May 2006, cruising in the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean.

Following the start of the 2006 Lebanon War, Mistral was one of four French ships deployed to the waters off Lebanon as part of Opération Baliste. These ships were to protect, and if necessary evacuate, French citizens in Lebanon and Israel. Mistral embarked 650 soldiers and 85 vehicles, including 5 AMX-10 RC and about 20 VABs and VBLs. Four helicopters were also loaded aboard, with another two joining the ship near Crete. During her deployment, Mistral evacuated 1,375 refugees.

Tonnerre's maiden voyage occurred between 10 April and 24 July 2007. During this voyage, Tonnerre was involved in Opération Licorne, the French co-deploying complement to the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire following the Ivorian Civil War. Gazelle and Cougar helicopters of the French Air Force operated from the ship during 9 July.

At the start of 2008, Tonnerre was involved in the Corymbe 92 mission (see Standing French Navy Deployments), a humanitarian mission in the Gulf of Guinea. During this deployment, Tonnerre acted on tip-offs from the European Maritime Analysis Operation Centre – Narcotics, and intercepted 5.7 t of smuggled cocaine: 2.5 t from a fishing vessel 520 km from Monrovia on 29 January, and 3.2 t from a cargo ship 300 km off Conakry.

In May 2008, Cyclone Nargis struck Burma; the worst natural disaster to hit the region. Mistral, which was operating in the East Asia area at the time, loaded humanitarian aid supplies, and sailed to Burma. The ship was refused entry to the nation's ports; the 1,000 tons of humanitarian supplies had to be unloaded in Thailand and handed over to the World Food Program.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé announced on 23 May 2011 that Tonnerre would be deployed with attack helicopters to the Libyan coast to enforce UN resolution 1973.

In September/October 2021, Tonnerre and Mistral deployed together for a major military exercise incorporating two helicopter groups (with 25 helicopters), an amphibious engagement group and two escort vessels (the frigates FRENCH FRIGATE Forbin and FRENCH FRIGATE Provence). The exercise was designed to permit units of the navy and army to train "in a high intensity setting" for joint operations.

Export
Since 1997, and particularly since the Euronaval 2007, the Mistral type has been promoted for export. The "BPC family" comprises the BPC 140 (13,500 tonnes), the BPC 160 (16,700 tonnes) and the BPC 250 (24,542 tonnes, 214.5 m long). The BPC 250 was the design from which the final Mistral-class design was derived: the reduction in length and other modifications were a price-saving exercise. The BPC 250 concept was one of two designs selected for the Canberra-class amphibious warfare ships, to be constructed for the Royal Australian Navy. The design finally chosen was the Spanish Buque de Proyección Estratégica-class amphibious ship.

In 2012, the Royal Canadian Navy showed "strong interest" in buying two Mistral ships. The two Canadian ships were to be built by SNC Lavalin, with an option to buy a third. The project represented a total investment of $2.6 billion. Canada had also pursued the two former Russian vessels, and Canada's defence minister held a face to face exchange at the NATO Ministerial in June 2015. Canada's attempt to purchase Mistral ship was dropped due to budgetary constraints. As of late 2011, the Polish Navy has been working closely with the Polish Ministry of Defense to purchase one Mistral ship. The Indian Navy has also expressed interest in the design of the Mistral type as a Multi-Role Support Vessel. Brazil and Turkey could in time consider purchasing BPCs, but in the end Turkey also chose a derivative of Navantia's Juan Carlos I, TCG Anadolu. Algeria is also considering the purchase of two BPCs. South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and Singapore also reportedly expressed interest in the Mistral class.

Russian purchase
In August 2009, General Nikolai Makarov, Chief of the Russian General Staff, suggested Russia planned to purchase one ship and intended to later construct three further ships in Russia. In February 2010, he said that construction would start sometime after 2015 and would be a joint effort with France. French President Nicolas Sarkozy favoured the building of the first two ships in France and only the second two in Russia. According to Moscow-based Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, the first ship would be entirely built and assembled in France from 2013, the second would also be built in France, delivered in 2015, but with a higher proportion of Russian components. Two more would be built in Russia by a DCNS/Russian United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) joint-venture. On 1 November 2010, Russia's USC and France's DCNS and STX France signed an agreement to form a consortium, including technology transfer, the USC president stated that it was linked to the Mistral deal.

On 24 December 2010, after eight months of talks, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev approved the purchase by Rosoboronexport of two Mistral-class ships (and an option for two more) from France for €1.37 billion (€720 million for the 1st ship; €650 million for the second). The first ship was expected to be delivered in late 2014 or early 2015; Russia made an advance payment in early 2011 pursuant to 25 January 2011 memorandum of understanding between the two parties. On 25 January 2011, the final agreement between Russia and France was signed.

In the United States, six Republican senators, including John McCain, complained to the French ambassador in Washington about the proposed sale; Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the top Republican on the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, introduced a resolution that "France and other member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union should decline to sell major weapons systems or offensive military equipment to the Russian Federation." On 8 February 2010, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told French officials that the US was "concerned"; however, accompanying US officials said there is little the US could do to block the deal, and that it "did not pose a major problem." The same day, the deal was granted by France's DGA. It was the first major arms deal between Russia and a NATO country since the Soviet Union's acquisition of Rolls-Royce Nene and Rolls-Royce Derwent turbojet engines in 1947. NATO members Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia protested the deal; Lithuania's Defence Minister Rasa Jukneviciene stated that "[i]t's a mistake. This is a precedent, when a NATO and EU member sells offensive weaponry to a country whose democracy is not at a level that would make us feel calm."

Some design changes were needed, such as for compatibility with Russian Ka-52 and Ka-27 helicopters. In 2013, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin stated that the ships would not be able to operate in Russia's climate, and required a grade of diesel fuel not produced in Russia. Russian General Staff General Nikolai Makarov announced that the first ship would be deployed to the Russian Pacific Fleet, and could transport troops to the Kuril Islands if sought. According to Nikolai Makarov, the chief reason for the Mistral purchase over domestic producers was that Russia required an unacceptable delay of ten years to develop the technologies needed. In March 2011, the deal stalled on Russian demands for sensitive NATO technologies to be included with the ships. In April 2011, the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev fired the senior Navy official overseeing the talks with France. On 17 June 2011, the two nations signed an agreement for two ships for $1.7 billion.

In September 2014, the Mistral sale was put on hold by French President Francois Hollande due to an arms embargo of Russia over the illegal Russian annexation of Crimea. French foreign minister Laurent Fabius evaluated the deal in response to the Crimean referendum and the enactment of "phase two" economic sanctions; cancelling the Mistral contract was considered to be "phase three"; Fabius noted that cancelling would damage France's economy. In May 2014, Paris had guaranteed the two ships' completion. In November 2014, the Hollande government placed a hold on the first delivery to Russia and set two conditions: a ceasefire in Ukraine and a political agreement between Moscow and Kyiv. In December 2014, Russia gave the French government a choice to deliver the two ships or refund the $1.53 billion purchase price. On 26 May 2015, Russian news agencies quoted Oleg Bochkaryov, deputy head of the Military Industrial Commission, as saying "Russia won't take them, it's an accomplished fact. Now there's only one discussion—concerning the money sum that should be returned to Russia." On 5 August 2015 it was announced that France shall return Russia's partial payments and keep the two ships intended for Russia.

Egyptian purchase
On 7 August 2015, a French diplomatic source confirmed that President Hollande discussed the matter with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi during his visit to Egypt during the inauguration of the New Suez Canal in Ismailia. Subsequently, Egypt and France concluded the deal to acquire the two former Russian Mistrals for roughly 950 million euros, including the costs of training Egyptian crews. Speaking on RMC Radio, Jean-Yves Le Drian, French Defence Minister, said that Egypt had already paid the whole price for the helicopter carriers. Egypt also purchased the Russian helicopters that were planned for the ships.

Mistral 140
DCNS unveiled a model of a smaller version of the standard Mistral BPC 210 ship called the Mistral 140 in September 2014 at the Africa Aerospace and Defence 2014 exhibition in Pretoria, South Africa. Compared to the full-sized ship's 21,500 tons displacement and 199 m length with six helicopter landing spots, the 140 would have a displacement of 14,000 tons, 170 m long with five helicopter landing spots. It would be 30 m wide with a range of 6000 nmi at 15 knots.

Like the original plans for the Mistral BPC 210 that have not yet come to fruition, the Mistral 140 would have naval guns at the left stern and at the right side of the bow, with heavy machine gun posts on both sides. There would be a well dock in the stern for landing craft, and two alcoves on each side to launch rigid-hulled inflatable boats, along with a crane positioned amidships behind the superstructure. The hangar deck would have space for ten helicopters, with a 400 m2 joint operations centre for a command staff. There would be accommodation for about 500 troops as well as over 30 vehicles and a 30-bed hospital. Propulsion would be provided by two azimuth pods and a bow thruster, probably an all-electric propulsion system like the BPC 210.

DCNS is advertising the Mistral 140 as "a political tool for civilian and military action" for countries that cannot afford the standard Mistral vessels. Roles listed include humanitarian and peacekeeping operations, crisis management, force protection, joint headquarters command, medical and logistics support and transport of military forces. The company is pitching the ship to countries less likely to engage in combat operations which need something more like a multi-role support or logistics ship, particularly the South African Navy.

title: Mistral-class amphibious assault ship


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Tiotixene

Tiotixene, or thiothixene is a typical antipsychotic agent currently sold under the brand name Navane which is predominantly utilised to treat acute and chronic schizophrenia. Beyond its primary indication, it can exhibit a variety of effects common to neuroleptic drugs including anxiolytic, anti-depressive, and anti-aggressive properties.

The drug was first synthesized and marketed in 1967 under the pharmaceutical company Pfizer. While the usage of the drug has declined in recent decades, the drug continues to be manufactured and prescribed in the US and Canada.

Being a member of the thioxanthene class, it is chemically related to other typical neuroleptic agents such as chlorprothixene, clopenthixol, flupenthixol, and zuclopenthixol. Tiotixene also shares structural similarities with thioproperazine and pipotiazine, which are members of the phenothiazine class.

Medical uses
Tiotixene is a widely used drug for the treatment of various psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, mania, and behavioural disturbances. The drug regulates behaviour and thoughts, and can also exhibit an anti-depressive effect.

The side effect profile is similar to related antipsychotic agents, displaying weight gain, mental distress, and inability to sit still. Other possible symptoms include anticholinergic side effects such as insomnia, blurred vision, and dry mouth. Less frequently encountered side effects are drug-induced movement disorders such as Parkinson's syndrome and tardive dyskinesia.

The results of various dose-response studies (10–60 mg) indicate a stimulating effect at lower doses, which diminishes as higher doses are administered. Overall, the efficacy of thiothixene when compared to other antipsychotic drugs was evaluated to be at least as effective regardless of the optimum dosage.

Pharmacokinetics
As common with tricyclic psychotherapeutic agents, tiotixene is rapidly and extensively absorbed. Peak serum concentration of the drug is achieved after 1–3 hours. After absorption, the compound and its metabolites are spread widely throughout the body.

The drug's metabolism proceeds rapidly and primarily in the liver. Although N-demethyltiotixene was identified as its major metabolite, the metabolic mechanisms remain elusive. After metabolism, most of the material is excreted through the faeces.

Pharmacodynamics
Tiotixene shares its mechanism with related thioxanthenes which are all fundamentally used to control schizophrenia. Their mechanism of action involves the inhibition of different receptors, including 5-HT (serotonin), dopaminergic, histaminergic, and adrenergic receptors. Blocking these receptors results in a reduction of synaptic levels of dopamine, serotonin, and other neurotransmitters that are involved with abnormal excitement in the brain during psychoses. This reduction of abnormal neurotransmission activity tends to alleviate the psychotic indications associated with schizophrenia.

Tiotixene acts primarily as a highly potent antagonist of the dopamine D2 and D3 receptors (subnanomolar affinity). It is also an antagonist of the histamine H1, α1-adrenergic, and serotonin 5-HT7 receptors (low nanomolar affinity), as well as of various other receptors to a much lesser extent (lower affinity). It does not have any anticholinergic activity. Antagonism of the D2 receptor is thought to be responsible for the antipsychotic effects of tiotixene.

Toxicology
Thiothixene has demonstrated toxicity in animal studies and isolated human tissue, displaying cytotoxic effects against various cell types. Observed toxic effects included growth inhibition of mouse fibroblasts, inhibition of protein synthesis by human glioma cells, and inhibition of leukocyte DNA synthesis.

Other compounds within the thioxanthene class have demonstrated hepatotoxicity in rodent experiments, and although anecdotal reports of thiothixene-induced liver failure exist, scientific data regarding the correlation lacks. The absence of observational or longitudinal human studies on thiothixene in published literature precludes drawing conclusions regarding the significance of toxic effects at therapeutic dosages.

Chemistry
Thiothixene is a tricyclic compound consisting of a thioxanthene core with a (4-methylpiperazin-1-yl)propylidene side chain. Several methods for the synthesis of thiothixene are described in literature, which all rely on varying thioxanthone derivatives upon which the (4-methylpiperazin-1-yl)propylidene side chain is constructed.

Wyatt et al. described the synthesis of thiothixene via four different routes, three of which originated from the previous findings from Muren et al. One method described the synthesis of thiothixene by acetylation of 9-lithio-N,N-dimethylthioxanthene-2-sulfonamide. After acetylation, a condensation reaction, and an amine exchange the intermediate ketone was obtained. This intermediate was then converted into E- and Z-thiothixene through reduction with NaBH4, followed by dehydration using POCl3-pyridine.

Another method described by Muren et al. was performed using N,N-dimethylsulfamoyl-Z-thioxanthen-9-one as starting material. The introduction of the piperazinylpropylidene side chain was performed by a Wittig reaction. Following this, the methylation of the piperazinylpropylidene side chain was executed using various alkylating agents, yielding E- and Z-thiothixene.

The last method described by Wyatt et al, adapted from the study described by Muren and Bloom, used potassium benzenethiolate and 2-bromo-5-dimethylsulfamoylbenzoic acid as starting material. The resulting acid was treated with copper and PPA to form the thioxanthone intermediate. This ketone intermediate was then treated with the addition of the piperazinylpropylidene side chain and the loss of a water molecule to form Z- and E-Thiothixene.

The fourth method originating from D.C Hobbs involved condensing thiophenol with 2-chloro-5-dimethylsulfamoylbenzoic acid in an alkaline DMF solution at 130-140 °C. After a ring closure reaction with polyphosphoric acid at 70 °C, the ketone intermediate (N,N-dimethylsulfamoyl-Z-thioxanthen-9-one) was obtained. A wittig reaction was employed to connect the intermediate with the piperazinylpropylidene side chain, leading to the formation of both Z- and E-thiothixene isomers.

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

title: Tiotixene


text:
Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office

The Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO), as part of the United States Department of Defense, was an organization that reported to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy through the Assistant Secretary of Defense (International Security Affairs). DPMO provided centralized management of prisoner of war/missing personnel (POW/MP) affairs within the Department of Defense.

On January 30, 2015, DPMO, along with the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, were merged into the new Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. DPMO thus ceased to be as a separate entity.

During its existence, activities of the Director of the DPMO included the following:
 * Organize, direct, and manage the DPMO and all assigned resources.
 * Serve as the DoD focal point for POW/MP matters.
 * Provide DoD participation in the conduct of negotiations with officials of foreign governments in efforts to achieve the fullest possible accounting of Americans missing as a result of military operations.
 * Develop uniform DoD procedures for determination of the status of missing personnel and for the systematic, comprehensive, and timely collection, analysis, review, dissemination, and periodic update of information relating to missing personnel.
 * Collect and analyze information concerning U.S. military and civilian personnel that are missing, imprisoned, or unaccounted for.
 * Maintain case files, comprehensive records, and databases on U.S. military and civilian personnel who are or were prisoners of war, missing, or unaccounted-for as a result of hostile action in compliance with regulatory guidance mandated in the 1996 Missing Persons Act.
 * Sanitize or declassify DoD POW/MP documents and related materials for disclosure and release in accordance with 50 U.S. Code, Section 435 Note and Executive Order 12958.
 * Maintain open channels of communication with the U.S. Congress, POW/MP families, and veterans' organizations through consultations and other appropriate methods.
 * Represent the Department of Defense in established POW/MP related interagency groups.
 * Provide intelligence collection requirements to the Defense Intelligence Agency.
 * Serve as "executive secretariat" for support to the US-Russia Commission on POW/MP Affairs exercising managerial, administrative, and logistical assistance, as required.
 * Managing the recovery of US human remains from the Korean War with the North Korean government during the 1990s


text:
CRC-based framing

CRC-based framing is a kind of frame synchronization used in Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and other similar protocols.

The concept of CRC-based framing was developed by StrataCom, Inc. in order to improve the efficiency of a pre-standard Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) link protocol. This technology was ultimately used in the principal link protocols of ATM itself and was one of the most significant developments of StrataCom. An advanced version of CRC-based framing was used in the ITU-T SG15 G.7041 Generic Framing Procedure (GFP), which itself is used in several packet link protocols.

Overview of CRC-based framing
The method of CRC-Based framing re-uses the header cyclic redundancy check (CRC), which is present in ATM and other similar protocols, to provide framing on the link with no additional overhead. In ATM, this field is known as the Header Error Control/Check (HEC) field. It consists of the remainder of the division of the 32 bits of the header (taken as the coefficients of a polynomial over the field with two elements) by the polynomial $$x^8+x^2+x+1$$. The pattern 01010101 is XORed with the 8-bit remainder before being inserted in the last octet of the header.

Constantly checked as data is transmitted, this scheme is able to correct single-bit errors and detect many multiple-bit errors. For a tutorial and an example of computing the CRC see mathematics of cyclic redundancy checks.

The header CRC/HEC is needed for another purpose within an ATM system, to improve the robustness in cell delivery. Using this same CRC/HEC field for the second purpose of link framing provided a significant improvement in link efficiency over what other methods of framing, because no additional bits were required for this second purpose.

A receiver utilizing CRC-based framing bit-shifts along the received bit stream until it finds a bit position where the header CRC is correct for a number of times. The receiver then declares that it has found the frame. A hysteresis function is applied to keep the receiver in lock in the presence of a moderate error rate.

In links where there is already a byte lock mechanism present such as within an E-carrier or SDH frame, the receiver need only byte-shift (rather than of bit-shifting) along the receive data stream to find lock.

Length/HEC-Based Framing
An advanced, variable frame size version of CRC-Based framing is used in ITU-T SG15 G.7041 GFP links where it is known as Length/HEC-based framing. An offset to the next valid header is present in a fixed position relative to the CRC/HEC. The receiver looks for a position in the receive data stream following the rules that the header CRC/HEC is correct and the byte offset correctly points to the next valid header CRC/HEC.

Invention of CRC-based framing
StrataCom produced the first (pre-standard) ATM commercial product, the IPX. The IPX used 24 byte cells instead of ATM's 53 byte cells, and the field definitions were slightly different, but the basic idea of using short, fixed length cells was identical. StrataCom's first product had T1 (1.544 Mbit/s) based links which included a 5 bit header CRC, similar to ATM's 8 bit header CRC.

T1 is a time-division multiplexing (TDM) protocol with 24 byte payloads carried in a 193 bit frame. The first bit of each frame carries one bit out of a special pattern. A receiver finds this special pattern by sequentially looking for the bit position in the receive data where a bit from this pattern shows up every 193rd byte. It was convenient for StrataCom to make the length of one cell equal to the length of one T1 frame because a useful T1 framer Integrated Circuit from Rockwell was on the market. This device found the 193 bit long TDM frame and put out the 24 bytes in a form that could be used effectively.

When it came time to produce a European product, the benefit of using 24 byte frames became a liability. The European E-carrier (E1) format has a 32 byte frame of which 30 bytes could carry data. The development team's first proposal used the HDLC protocol to encapsulate a sequence of 24 byte cells into a byte stream collected from the 30 byte E1 payloads. This was highly inefficient because HDLC has a heavy and data-dependent overhead. The project team subsequently realized they could base the framing on the CRC. A circuit was designed which examined the incoming byte stream emerging from the E1 framer device and found a byte position for which the header CRC value was consistently correct. This team also went on to create a more error tolerant form of the technique.

A related technique was patented in 1984. That technique uses the CRC to find the start of 50 bit frames composed of a 36 bit data payload, a 13 bit CRC, and a single 1 bit start-of-frame indicator.

title: CRC-based framing


text:
The French (band)

The French are a British rock band, formed by Darren Hayman and John Morrison after the band Hefner declared an indefinite hiatus. Musically there is a specific continuity between Hefner and the French, which is manifested not only in the lyrics and compositions but also in the use of vintage drum machines and synthesizers, an aesthetic choice that was very present in Hefner's last recordings.

The French released one album, Local Information, on Too Pure in 2003. Their most recent work together was a John Peel session in August 2004. Since then Darren Hayman has been involved in a legal dispute with Too Pure, and has subsequently launched a solo career. He intends to re-release Local Information and possibly other material by the French. Like Hefner before them, the French are now on an indefinite hiatus.

Albums

 * Local Information (2003)

Singles and EPs

 * "Dagenham" (2003)
 * "Porn Shoes" (2003)

title: The French (band)


text:
Category:Modernist architects

Architects associated with Modernist architecture, particularly of the first half of the 20th-century

title: Category:Modernist architects


text: User talk:65.196.50.3

title: User talk:65.196.50.3


text:
Talk:Masthead

most dictionaries (e.g. American Heritage Dictionary) seem to find masthead acceptable to refer to the title of a newspaper. sources needed to assert that this is incorrect —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Jacobolus (talk • contribs) 16:27, 8 April 2005.

Split needed?
I think the article as structured now is confusing since it has a big sailing infobox in it and a lot of non sailing stuff in it. Failing any objections I will split it up, probably tomorrow to give folks time, creating a disambig at masthead pointing to masthead (publication) and masthead (sailing) articles. ++Lar: t/c 20:16, 2 January 2006 (UTC)

order of publishing
Swapped the order of masthead (publication) definitions. merriam-webster and wordsmyth both cite the list of staff, publishers, etc as the only definition. The dictionary loaded onto my machine (New Oxford American Dictionary) lists both.

Googling several of the world's biggest magazines, they have all listed their staff under their masthead, not their title (eg the name TIME) or the design of that title (using a handlettered serif font with red fill).

Google search: Time magazine masthead brings up a list of their staff.

Google search: National Geographic magazine masthead does likewise.

You may repeat the search exercise with the world's leading publications for similar results.

I will concede that the design of the logo on the front page of a newspaper is sometimes called the masthead, and I have not removed it from your definition, but for accuracy, the commonly accepted publishing definition of a masthead should be referenced first, and the management jargon definition second. 6pttype 20:36, 24 July 2007 (UTC)6pttype

The flag, which carries the name of the publication as well as the date and issue identification is NOT the masthead. It is mistakenly called this outside the industry. Inside the industry it is called the "flag." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.132.48.20 (talk) 00:19, 27 May 2017 (UTC)

title: Talk:Masthead


text:
Hank Patterson

Elmer Calvin "Hank" Patterson (October 9, 1888 – August 23, 1975) was an American actor and musician. He is known foremost for playing two recurring characters on three television series - stableman Hank Miller on Gunsmoke and farmer Fred Ziffel on both Petticoat Junction and Green Acres.

Early life
Patterson was born in Springville, Alabama, one of seven children of Green Davis Patterson, an insurance agent, and Mary Isabell "Mollie" Newton Patterson. By the 1890s, his family had moved to Taylor, Texas, where he spent most of his boyhood and attended school through eighth grade. In 1917, he registered for a World War I draft card in Lubbock County, Texas.

Patterson had intended to be a serious pianist, but instead became a vaudeville piano player. By the end of the 1920s, he moved to California. He entered the movie business as an actor during the 1930s. His earliest identified screen work was an uncredited appearance in the Roy Rogers' Western film The Arizona Kid (1939).

Movies and TV
Patterson found plenty of movie work, mainly playing cantankerous types and blacksmiths, hotel clerks, farmers, shopkeepers, and other townsmen, usually bit roles and character parts in Republic Pictures Westerns, and then in popular TV Westerns such as The Cisco Kid, The Adventures of Kit Carson, The Lone Ranger, and Annie Oakley. He also had small cameo appearances in a number of sci-fi movies by Bert I. Gordon: Beginning of the End, The Amazing Colossal Man, Attack of the Puppet People, and Earth vs. The Spider.

Patterson played recurring or different roles in adult/family TV Westerns, including the role of Hank Miller in 33 episodes of Gunsmoke from 1962 through 1973, on Have Gun-Will Travel (11 episodes), Death Valley Days (nine episodes), Tales of Wells Fargo (seven episodes), Maverick (four episodes), Cheyenne (four episodes), Wagon Train (three episodes), Daniel Boone (three episodes), The Virginian (two episodes), The Rifleman, Bonanza, and in episodes of Lawman, Bat Masterson (sometimes in a recurring role as former Confederate soldier Soda Smith), The Restless Gun, and many others. In 1959, Patterson appeared as a sodbuster in an uncredited role on Lawman ("The Young Toughs").

He made additional TV appearances, including in three episodes of The Twilight Zone as well as Perry Mason, Burke's Law, The Untouchables, Judd for the Defense, My Three Sons, and in later years The Mod Squad, Love, American Style, and Highway Patrol.

Green Acres
In 1963, Patterson first appeared in what became a recurring role as farmer Fred Ziffel on the popular CBS rural comedy Petticoat Junction. In 1965, CBS debuted another rural comedy, Green Acres. Both series were set in the mythical farming community of Hooterville, with characters from Petticoat Junction often also appearing in Green Acres, including Patterson's Fred Ziffel character. On the popular, irreverent Green Acres, Patterson earned his greatest fame. In 1965 and 1966—two of the years in which the two series ran concurrently—Patterson frequently appeared in both shows in the same week in prime time.

The association of Patterson's character with the popular character Arnold, the pet pig that Fred and his wife Doris treated as a son, ensured Patterson a place in TV history. Arnold attended school and watched TV, and was a talented artist, piano player, and actor. He even "talked" (snorted, grunted, and squealed) in a language that everyone in Hooterville seemed to understand except Oliver Wendell Douglas (Green Acres co-star Eddie Albert).

According to westernclippings.com "Characters and Heavies" by Boyd Magers, "Ironically, by the time Patterson was doing Green Acres, he was in his late 70s and almost completely deaf, but the producers loved his portrayal so much they worked around his hearing impairment by having the dialogue coach lying on the floor out-of-shot tapping Hank's leg with a yardstick as a cue to speak his line."

Personal life
Hank Patterson was married to Daisy Marguerite (Sheeler) Patterson, a Kentucky native four years younger than Hank whose parents were both of German ancestry. They are listed together in the U.S. Census for both 1930 and 1940 as residing in Los Angeles. In the 1940 census, Hank's occupation is listed as "Actor, Motion Picture Studio & Stage."

Patterson's great-grandfather, James Pearson, was an original settler of St. Clair County, Alabama, as was his mother's great-grandfather, Thomas Newton. His great-grandfather, Henry S. Patterson, moved to Blount County, Alabama, around 1857 from Murray County, Georgia. Between 1894 and 1897, the family left Alabama to live in Texas.

Hank Patterson died at age 86 on August 23, 1975 of bronchial pneumonia. He is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood. Daisy died, also at age 86, on February 2, 1979.

Patterson's great-niece is actress Téa Leoni.

Selected filmography

 * The Arizona Kid (1939) - Townsman (uncredited)
 * Sabotage (1939) - Minor Role (uncredited)
 * The Covered Trailer (1939) - Townsman (uncredited)
 * Three Faces West (1940) - Pool Player (uncredited)
 * Abilene Town (1946) - Doug Neil
 * The Scarlet Horseman (1946) - Sen. Masters (uncredited)
 * I Ring Doorbells (1946) - Mr. Bradley
 * The El Paso Kid (1946) - Jeff Winters
 * Conquest of Cheyenne (1946) - Rancher (uncredited)
 * Wild Beauty (1946) - Ed (uncredited)
 * Santa Fe Uprising (1946) - Deputy Jake
 * Gallant Bess (1946) - Ranch Hand (uncredited)
 * Bells of San Angelo (1947) - Deaf Bus Passenger
 * Robin Hood of Texas (1947) - Taxicab Driver (uncredited)
 * Springtime in the Sierras (1947) - Old-Timer
 * Under Colorado Skies (1947) - Slim
 * The Tender Years (1948) - Zeke (uncredited)
 * Relentless (1948) - Bob Pliny (uncredited)
 * Oklahoma Badlands (1948) - Postmaster Fred
 * Panhandle (1948) - Old Timer (uncredited)
 * Night Time in Nevada (1948) - Dancing Tramp
 * The Denver Kid (1948) - Sergeant Cooper
 * The Plunderers (1948) - Stage Manager (uncredited)
 * Belle Starr's Daughter (1948) - Townsman (uncredited)
 * Red Canyon (1949) - Osborne (uncredited)
 * Outcasts of the Trail (1949) - Hank Barris - Station Agent (uncredited)
 * The James Brothers of Missouri (1949, Serial) - Duffy [Ch. 4] / Duffy [11]
 * The Cowboy and the Indians (1949) - Tom - Ranch Foreman
 * Tell It to the Judge (1949) - Sleigh Driver (uncredited)
 * Riders in the Sky (1949) - Luke - Stagecoach Driver
 * Perfect Strangers (1950) - Witness in Montage (uncredited)
 * Code of the Silver Sage (1950) - Sgt. Woods
 * No Sad Songs for Me (1950) - Night Construction Workman (uncredited)
 * Please Believe Me (1950) - Sam Smith (uncredited)
 * The Gunfighter (1950) - Jake (uncredited)
 * Desperadoes of the West (1950, Serial) - Hardrock Haggerty [Ch. 4, 5]
 * The Return of Jesse James (1950) - Clay County Marshal
 * Al Jennings of Oklahoma (1951) - Jeff (uncredited)
 * Silver City Bonanza (1951) - Postman
 * Don Daredevil Rides Again (1951, Serial) - Buck Bender
 * Indian Uprising (1952) - Jake Wilson (uncredited)
 * Rose of Cimarron (1952) - Hunter on Trail (uncredited)
 * California Conquest (1952) - Sam Lawrence (uncredited)
 * Woman They Almost Lynched (1953) - Townsman (uncredited)
 * Canadian Mounties vs. Atomic Invaders (1953, Serial) - Jed Larson [Ch.2-5]
 * Jack Slade (1953) - Old Tom (uncredited)
 * Ride Clear of Diablo (1954) - Wagon Driver (uncredited)
 * Southwest Passage (1954) - Barstow (uncredited)
 * Many Rivers to Cross (1955) - Second Innkeeper (uncredited)
 * Murder Is My Beat (1955) - Medical Examiner (uncredited)
 * Tarantula! (1955) - Josh
 * Last of the Desperados (1955) - Hank - Wagon Driver (uncredited)
 * The Great Locomotive Chase (1956) - Turner - Friendly Jailer (uncredited)
 * The Lone Ranger (1956) - Old Man Kimberley (uncredited)
 * The First Traveling Saleslady (1956) - First Cowhand in Courtroom (uncredited)
 * Strange Intruder (1956) - Knife Sharpener (uncredited)
 * Julie (1956) - Ellis
 * The Storm Rider (1957) - Tom Milstead
 * Beginning of the End (1957) - Dave
 * God Is My Partner (1957) - John Biddle (uncredited)
 * Man of a Thousand Faces (1957) - Scotty, Stage Door Man (uncredited)
 * Gunsight Ridge (1957) - George Clark (uncredited)
 * The Amazing Colossal Man (1957) - Henry
 * Escape from Red Rock (1957) - Sheriff Grover
 * Day of the Badman (1958) - George Foley (uncredited)
 * Attack of the Puppet People (1958) - Janitor
 * The Restless Gun (1958) - as Jonah in Episode "A Pressing Engagement"
 * The Restless Gun (1958) - as Milt in Episode "Sheriff Billy"
 * Tombstone Territory (1058) - Episode "Desert Survival"
 * Terror in a Texas Town (1958) - Brady (uncredited)
 * Earth vs. the Spider (1958) - Hugo the Janitor
 * The Saga of Hemp Brown (1958) - Gil Henry (uncredited)
 * The Decks Ran Red (1958) - Mr. Moody
 * Monster on the Campus (1958) - Townsend - Night Watchman (uncredited)
 * Tales of Wells Fargo (1959 episode Lola Montez) - Larson
 * No Name on the Bullet (1959) - Ed - Chess Player (uncredited)
 * Lone Texan (1959) - Jack Stone (uncredited)
 * Gunmen from Laredo (1959) - Stableman (uncredited)
 * Gunfighters of Abilene (1960) - Andy Ferris (uncredited)
 * The Absent-Minded Professor (1961) - Fisherman Spectator (uncredited)
 * Tammy Tell Me True (1961) - Rural Character (uncredited)
 * Straightaway (1961 episode "The Tin Caesar") – Parker
 * The Virginian (1964 episode "Smile of a Dragon") - Old Man
 * A Covenant with Death (1967) - Old Man (uncredited)

title: Hank Patterson


text:
Bazaruto Archipelago

The Bazaruto Archipelago is a group of six islands in Mozambique, near the mainland city of Vilankulo. It comprises the islands of Bazaruto, Benguerra, Magaruque, Santa Carolina and Bangué.

Geography
The group belongs to the Vilanculos and Inhassoro districts of Inhambane Province. The islands were formed from sand deposited by the Save River, which has since shifted its course.

Santa Carolina is a true rock island with deep channels and is just 3 km by 0.5 km in size. It has three beautiful beaches with coral reefs close to the shore. The island, also known as Paradise Island is regarded as the "gem" of the islands forming the Bazaruto Archipelago, which is a proclaimed marine national park.

Tourist attractions include sandy beaches, coral reefs, and opportunities for surfing and fishing.

Ecology

The archipelago became a National Park in 1971. There is a wide abundance of reef fish, surgeon, Moorish idols, parrots, angel and butterfly fish to name but a few. Sea turtles, game fish and devil rays are regularly seen. Various endangered marine megafaunas, such as whale shark, manta, leatherback turtle, cetaceans including humpback whale, and the dugong. Bazaruto's dugong population counts about 120 individuals, making it the largest of remnant populations in Mozambique.

Cetacean biodiversity had been much richer than today before being reduced by human activities including illegal mass hunts by the Soviet Union and Japan in 1960s to 1970s, resulting disappearances or rarities of many species such as the southern right whales. Since the archipelago's geography provides a number of different ecosystems, an unusual variety of species occur within a relatively small area. Bazaruto is one of two largest islands, the other being Benguerra.

The skinks Scelotes duttoni, Scelotes insularis, and Lygosoma lanceolatum are endemic to the Bazaruto Archipelago.

History
It has been speculated that the Bazaruto Archipelago may be the island named Crocodile (Persian Sūsmār) mentioned in the 11th-century Egyptian Kitāb Gharāʾib al-funūn wa-mulaḥ al-ʿuyūn (‘The Book of Curiosities’). This island is the last place in a list of sites along the East African coast known to Egyptian merchants and is the fifth stop after Kilwa. Bazaruto supports a substantial population of crocodiles.

title: Bazaruto Archipelago


text:
Department of Defense Education Activity

The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) is a federal school system headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, responsible for planning, directing, coordinating, and managing prekindergarten through 12th grade educational programs on behalf of the United States Department of Defense (DoD). DoDEA is globally positioned, operating 163 accredited schools in 8 districts located in 11 foreign countries, 7 states, Guam, and Puerto Rico.

DoDEA employs 15,000 employees who serve 71,000 children of active duty military and DoD civilian families.

DoDEA operates as a field activity of the Office of the Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness). It is headed by a director who oversees all agency functions from DoDEA headquarters in Alexandria. DoDEA's schools are divided into 3 geographic areas: Europe, the Pacific, and the Americas.

It is one of two U.S. federal government school systems, along with the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE).

History
Shortly after the end of World War II, the United States military established schools for the children of its servicemembers stationed in Europe and the Pacific. Schools for children of military members stationed at various bases in the United States were already well-established. First administered by the military branches they served, the growing number of schools was soon transferred to civilian managers, then organized into two separate but parallel systems: the Department of Defense Dependents Schools (Pacific and Europe) overseas, and the Department of Defense Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools (Americas) in the United States. In 1994 the two systems were brought together under an umbrella agency, the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA). Shortly thereafter, the was created by DoDEA Art Director, Calvin Bohner, in 1998.

Activities
The DoDEA instructional program provides a prekindergarten through 12th grade curriculum. Currently 100% of DoDEA schools are accredited and in good standing with their regional accrediting agency. Students consistently achieve high scores in the National Assessment of Educational Progress and above the national average on standardized assessments. Minority students have been especially successful, scoring at or near the highest in the United States in mathematics.

DoDEA measures student progress with multiple performance-based assessments. The TerraNova standardized test provides DoDEA with results that it can compare to a nationwide sample. DoDEA students also take the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which provides comparisons of student achievement in reading, writing, math, and science. All DoDEA schools are accredited by the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI) or the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI), which provide each school with an independent evaluation.

Schools submit annual reports of data, and every five years they host an on-site validation visit led by education experts from the United States. Following the on-site visits, the experts send a report that includes recommendations for improvements to each of the schools visited. DoDEA conducts internal monitoring of educational programs to ensure high-quality implementation of new programs and overall effectiveness of existing programs. Monitoring activities may include, but are not limited to the following activities: surveys, interviews, focus groups, classroom observations and the analysis of achievement and training data. Currently 100% of DoDEA schools are accredited and in good standing.

Operations
In 2008 the U.S. Congress published a study stating that decreased military budgets resulted in 70% of the DoDEA schools having campuses in less than ideal physical condition, with their conditions specifically noted as either "poor" or "failing".

A 2015 editorial of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune noted that schools in the DoDEA, were well funded, partly due to post-September 11 attacks security concerns and partly because of the size of the DOD itself, as well as the leadership of Robert Gates, who served as the Secretary of Defense. The Star-Tribune contrasted this with the lesser-funded Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) network, also federal and serving Native American students.

Sarah Mervosh of The New York Times, citing National Assessment of Educational Progress scores and performance levels of racial minorities, wrote in 2023 that DoDEA campuses "quietly achieve results most educators can only dream of." The nature of military employment means that students have parents with jobs and support structures, and according to Mervosh, the DoDEA campuses are "well-funded, socioeconomically and racially integrated, and have a centralized structure that is not subject to the whims of school boards or mayors." That year, David Leonhardt, also of The New York Times, wrote that the DoDEA "has been performing well for years and continued to do so during" the COVID-19 pandemic.

Academic achievement
In 2001 the Government Accountability Office (GAO) wrote "The academic achievement of DOD students, as measured by their performance on standardized tests and their plans for enrolling in college, generally exceeds that of elementary and secondary students nationwide. On college admission tests, DOD students score at or near national averages."

DoDEA Americas Region
Headquartered in Peachtree City, Georgia, in the Atlanta metropolitan area, DoDEA Americas is divided into 2 school districts (Americas Mid-Atlantic and Americas Southeast) and operates 51 schools at 16 military communities on the U.S. mainland, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. As of May 2019, it educates approximately 22,000 students of U.S. military and eligible DoD civilian personnel families.

Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, NC
(note DeLalio ES is at MCAS New River)
 * Bitz IS
 * Brewster MS
 * Heroes ES
 * Johnson PS
 * Lejeune HS
 * Tarawa Terrace ES

Fort Liberty, NC

 * Albritton MS
 * Bowley ES
 * Devers ES
 * Gary Ivan Gordon ES - In the Linden Oaks area
 * Hampton PS
 * Irwin IS
 * Poole ES
 * Randall David Shughart ES - In Linden Oaks
 * Shughart MS - In Linden Oaks

High school students attend local public schools based on what county they reside in: Cumberland County Schools for Cumberland County residents, and Hoke County Schools for Hoke County residents. The Cumberland County parts are assigned to EE Smith High School.

The Linden Oaks area is in Harnett County Schools, and is assigned to Overhills High School.

Marine Corps Air Station New River, NC
Brewster Middle School and Lejeune High School in Camp Lejeune serve the community for secondary school.
 * DeLalio ES

Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division, VA

 * Dahlgren ES/MS
 * The school first opened in 1921. The school's principal facility was built during World War II. In 2011 a review of the building found that it was in "poor" shape.

King George County Public Schools operates non-DoDEA public schools in King George County. Most off-post persons associated with NSF Dahlgren send their children to King George County schools. King George High School is the local county high school.

Marine Corps Base Quantico, VA

 * Crossroads ES
 * The 129577 sqft facility was scheduled to open in Spring 2016. It had a cost of $47 million. It has a two-story media center and a rooftop environmental science center, patio, and garden. The facility uses natural light and heating from geothermal sources. In 2015 the Star-Tribune described it as "state-of-the-art school design". It replaced Ashurst, Burrows, and Russell elementary schools in Quantico.
 * Quantico MS/HS

USMA West Point, NY

 * West Point ES
 * West Point MS

The academy is physically in the Highland Falls Central School District. The military installation sends students to James I. O'Neill High School of Highland Falls for high School, under contract. Pre-school through 8th grade attend school on the military academy grounds. The elementary school and the middle school are part of the DoDEA system, not in the Highland Falls School District. In 2021, 190 high school children living on post attended James I O'Neill High School. In 2021 the agency at West Point announced that the bid to educate West Point High School students would be competitive. In March 2022 the O'Neill contract was renewed.

Guantanamo Bay Naval Station, Cuba

 * W.T. Sampson ES/HS

Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen, PR

 * Ramey Unit School

Fort Buchanan, PR

 * Antilles ES
 * Antilles MS
 * Antilles HS

Fort Moore, GA

 * Dexter ES
 * Faith MS
 * McBride ES
 * Stowers ES
 * White ES

High school students attend local public high schools operated by county governments. The portion in Muscogee County is zoned to high schools of Muscogee County Schools. The portion in Chattahoochie County is zoned to Chattahoochee County Schools. Off-base families attend county school systems, with residents of Georgia attending those systems, and Alabama residents being in Lee County Schools and Russell County Schools.

Fort Campbell, KY

 * Barkley ES
 * Barsanti ES
 * Fort Campbell HS
 * Lucas ES
 * Mahaffey MS
 * Marshall ES

The high school first opened in 1962. The current high school building was dedicated in 2018. Of the students, the percentage who attend for all four years total at FCHS is 10.

There were plans for a new middle school, but in 2019 the funds were instead designated for a wall along the Mexico-United States border.

Fort Jackson, SC
The DoDEA schools on-post for Fort Jackson are Pierce Terrace Elementary School (Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 1) and C.C. Pinckney Elementary School (grades 2–6). Students are zoned to non-DoDEA schools for secondary school: Dent Middle School and Richland Northeast High School, which are operated by Richland County School District Two.

Fort Knox, KY

 * Fort Knox Middle High School
 * Scott Intermediate School
 * Van Voorhis ES
 * Kingsolver ES

Fort Rucker, AL

 * Ellis D. Parker Elementary School

Students beyond the elementary level may attend non-DoDEA schools for secondary levels, with an on-post family choosing one of the following three options: Daleville City School System, Enterprise City School System, or Ozark City Schools. Enterprise operates Enterprise High School and Ozark operates Carroll High School.

Fort Stewart, GA

 * Diamond ES
 * Kessler ES
 * Murray ES

Students at the secondary level on Fort Stewart attend public schools operated by county school districts. Liberty County School District operates the public schools in Liberty County.

Maxwell Air Force Base, AL

 * Maxwell AFB ES/MS Magnet

For high school residents are zoned to Montgomery Public Schools facilities: residents of the main base are zoned to George Washington Carver High School, while residents of the Gunner Annex are zoned to Dr. Percy L. Julian High School. Residents may attend magnet schools.

Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, SC

 * Bolden ES/MS
 * Elliott ES

Beaufort County School District operates public high schools serving MCAS Beaufort, and in sum has the highest number of students, of any school system, affiliated with MCAS Beaufort.

DoDEA Europe Region
Headquartered in Kapaun AS, Kaiserslautern, Germany, DoDEA Europe is organized into 3 districts (EU East, EU South, and EU West) and operates 65 schools within 27 U.S. military communities across Europe. As of May 2019, the DoDEA European region educates approximately 27,000 children of U.S. military and eligible DoD civilian personnel families.

USAG Ansbach, Germany

 * Ansbach ES

Baumholder Military Community, Germany (USAG Rheinland-Pfalz)

 * Baumholder MS/HS
 * Smith ES

Garmisch Military Community, Germany USAG Bavaria

 * Garmisch ES/MS

Grafenwohr/Vilseck Military Community, USAG Bavaria, Germany

 * Grafenwoehr ES
 * Netzaberg ES
 * Netzaberg MS
 * Vilseck ES
 * Vilseck HS

Hohenfels Military Community, Germany USAG Bavaria, Germany

 * Hohenfels ES
 * Hohenfels HS

Kaiserslautern Military Community (KMC), Germany

 * Kaiserslautern ES
 * Kaiserslautern MS
 * Kaiserslautern HS
 * Landstuhl ES/MS
 * Sembach ES
 * Sembach MS
 * Vogelweh ES

Ramstein AB, Germany (Part of KMC)

 * Ramstein ES
 * Ramstein HS
 * Ramstein IS
 * Ramstein MS

USAG Stuttgart, Germany

 * Patch ES
 * Patch MS
 * Robinson Barracks ES
 * Stuttgart ES
 * Stuttgart HS

USAG Wiesbaden, Germany

 * Aukamm ES
 * Wiesbaden HS
 * Wiesbaden MS
 * Hainerberg ES

Ankara American Community, Turkey

 * Ankara ES/MS/HS

Aviano AB, Italy

 * Aviano ES
 * Aviano MS/HS

Naval Support Activity Bahrain

 * Bahrain ES/HS

Camp Darby Military Community, USAG Italy

 * Livorno ES/MS

Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy

 * Naples ES
 * Naples MS/HS

Naval Air Station Rota, Spain

 * Rota ES
 * Rota MS/HS

Moron AB, Seville, Spain

 * Sevilla ES/MS

Sigonella Air Station, Sicily (IT)

 * Sigonella ES
 * Sigonella MS/HS

Vicenza Military Community, USAG Italy

 * Vicenza ES
 * Vicenza MS
 * Vicenza HS

Schinnen Military Community, USAG Benelux, Brunssum, The Netherlands

 * AFNORTH ES
 * AFNORTH MS/HS

RAF Alconbury, United Kingdom

 * Alconbury ES
 * Alconbury MS/HS

Brussels Military Community, USAG Benelux, Belgium

 * Brussels ES/HS

RAF Croughton, United Kingdom

 * Croughton ES

Kleine Brogel Air Base, USAG Benelux Belgium

 * Kleine Brogel ES

RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom

 * Feltwell ES
 * Lakenheath ES
 * Lakenheath HS
 * Liberty IS

SHAPE Military Community, US Army Garrison Benelux, Mons, Belgium

 * SHAPE ES
 * SHAPE MS
 * SHAPE HS

Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany

 * Spangdahlem ES
 * Spangdahlem MS
 * Spangdahlem HS

DoDEA Pacific Region
Headquartered in Yokota AB, Japan, the DoDEA Pacific region is organized into 3 districts (Pacific East, Pacific South, and Pacific West) and operates 47 schools on 21 U.S. military installations in Guam, Japan, Okinawa and South Korea. As of May 2019, the DoDEA Pacific Region educates over 22,000 children of U.S. military and eligible DoD civilian personnel families.

Camp Zama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan

 * Arnn American ES
 * Zama American MS/HS

Commander Fleet Activities Sasebo

 * Darby ES
 * E.J. King MS/HS
 * Sasebo ES

Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka

 * Ikego ES
 * Kinnick HS
 * Sullivans ES
 * Yokosuka MS

Marine Corp Air Station Iwakuni

 * Iwakuni ES
 * Iwakuni MS
 * M.C. Perry ES
 * M.B. Perry HS

Misawa Air Base

 * Edgren MS/HS
 * Sollars ES

NAF Atsugi

 * Lanham ES

Yokota Air Base

 * Mendel ES
 * Yokota MS
 * Yokota HS
 * Yokota West ES

Andersen AFB (Guam)

 * Andersen ES
 * Andersen MS

Camp Foster, Okinawa

 * Killin ES
 * Kubasaki HS
 * Zukeran ES

Camp Kinser, Okinawa

 * Kinser ES

Camp Lester, Okinawa

 * Lester MS

Camp McTureous, Okinawa

 * Bechtel ES

Kadena Airforce Base, Okinawa

 * Amelia Earhart IS
 * Bob Hope PS
 * Kadena ES
 * Kadena HS
 * Kadena MS
 * Ryukyu MS
 * Stearley Heights ES

Naval Base Guam

 * McCool ES/MS

U.S. Naval Hospital (Guam)

 * Guam HS

Osan Air Base

 * Osan American ES
 * Osan American MS/HS

Osan American Middle High School formed in 2017 with the consolidation of the middle and high schools. In September 2017 it had 320 students.

US Army Garrison Daegu – Camp George

 * Daegu American ES

US Army Garrison Daegu – Camp Walker

 * Daegu MS/HS

Daegu Middle High School formed in 2017 with the consolidation of the middle and high schools. In September 2017 it had 299 students.

US Army Garrison Humphreys

 * Humphreys Central ES
 * Humphreys West ES
 * Humphreys MS
 * Humphreys HS

Former schools

 * Iceland
 * AT Mahan High School (Keflavik)
 * AT Mahan Elementary School (Keflavik)

 * Panama
 * Balboa HS
 * Curundu ES
 * On Fort Clayton, it operated from 1968 to 1999.
 * Curundu MS
 * Fort Clayton ES
 * Fort Kobbe ES
 * Howard ES

 * Philippines
 * Wagner High School (Clark Air Base)

 * South Korea
 * Seoul American High School
 * Seoul Elementary School
 * Pusan Elementary/High School
 * Joy Elementary School

 * United Kingdom
 * London Central Elementary High School (formerly London Central High School)
 * West Ruislip Elementary School


text:
Interlink Computer Sciences

Interlink Computer Sciences, of Fremont, California, was a developer of hardware and software that allowed IBM mainframe computers running the MVS operating system to be connected to non-IBM networks.

Interlink was founded in 1983 by Lambert Onuma, Fred Wright, Karl Johnson and Greg Thompson, formerly of Digital Equipment Corporation. The company's first product, called simply Interlink, allowed IBM MVS mainframes to be connected to VAX computers on a DECnet network. Later a VM/DECnet product was developed in cooperation with Dupont to link IBM VM/CMS systems with a DECnet network interconnecting e-mail, file, tape, and storage access, terminal emulation, a program-to-program API, and enabling DECnet to be tunneled over an SNA LU6.2 network. In 1990, Interlink acquired a product called ACCES/MVS from Advanced Computer Communications, which implemented a native TCP/IP protocol stack on the MVS and VM operating systems and within CICS regions. First released in 1986, ACCES/MVS had been the first commercial TCP/IP implementation for MVS mainframes. Interlink developed and marketed this product as SNS/TCPaccess. The prefix was later dropped, and TCPaccess became the company's main focus of development by the mid-1990s.

Meanwhile, in 1989, IBM had introduced its own TCP/IP offering on MVS. This product had been ported from the VM operating system, and required expensive and inefficient protocol conversions. Interlink was able to successfully sell TCPaccess as a more efficient and better-performing alternative, and as late as 1996 it still held 25% of the TCP/IP market on MVS. As the decade progressed, IBM improved its product, and Interlink's market share steadily eroded.

In August 1996, Interlink became a public corporation, with an initial offering of $10 per share on the NASDAQ exchange. In December of that year, a strategic agreement was announced with Cisco Systems to jointly develop and market the TCPaccess product as Cisco IOS for S/390. Shares of Interlink stock jumped to $15 on this news, and ultimately approached $18. Sales of the re-branded Cisco product fell below expectations, and Interlink struggled to rebuild its own sales channel. Interlink stock eventually fell below $4 per share.

In 1998, Interlink introduced e-Control, a new TCP/IP network management product for the mainframe. The company came to the attention of Dallas-based Sterling Software Inc., which had its own product in this space. In March, 1999, Sterling announced it had agreed to acquire Interlink Computer Sciences Inc. for $7 per share. The deal was valued at $64 million. On May 3, 1999, the acquisition was completed.

title: Interlink Computer Sciences


text:
Antwerp Zoo

Antwerp Zoo (ZOO Antwerpen) is a zoo in the centre of Antwerp, Belgium, located next to the Antwerpen-Centraal railway station. It is the oldest animal park in the country, and one of the oldest in the world, established on 21 July 1843.

History
Since its foundation, the park has been controlled by De Koninklijke Maatschappij voor Dierkunde van Antwerpen, a society originally called Société Royale de Zoologie d'Anvers (The Antwerp Royal Society for Zoology). This also became the popular nickname for the zoo, "De Zoologie". The initial objective was to encourage zoological and botanical sciences. Its first director was renowned zoologist and botanist Jacques Kets (10 November 1785 – 1 February 1865). He accepted this position on one condition: a museum had to be built to house his nature-historical collections. This building was inaugurated in 1844 by H.M. King Leopold I. The predicate Royal was added to the name of the society on that occasion.

Throughout the years, it has encouraged wildlife preservation through activities and exhibits on a recreational, educational, scientific, and cultural level.

In its early years, the size of the park grew from less than 1.59 ha to more than 10.5 ha. Notable buildings from that period are the Egyptian temple (1856) and the antelope building (1861) in Oriental style, which now houses the okapis.

The zoo has also a cultural function. Originally, concerts were held in the garden of the zoo. The museum building was demolished to build a concert hall. The hall then became the residence of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, the symphonic orchestra of Flanders. The museum collections were moved to the second floor.

For the 1920 Summer Olympics, a specially built stadium at the Zoo's zoology hall hosted the boxing and wrestling events.

After World War II, the animal park was turned into a model zoo which conformed to new and modern scientific, educational, cultural and aesthetic standards. The animal compounds were enlarged and admitted more light. Buildings from this period include the primate building (1958) and the big jubileum complex, established on the occasion of the 125-year anniversary together with the nocturama (1968), which houses the nocturnal animals. The jubileum complex houses birds of prey and the sea lions. In 1973 a new compound for reptilians was built, and in 1978 a new building for smaller species of monkeys. The older primate building was renovated in 1989. To support its educational mission, the zoo started with group tours and special educational programmes called zoo classes in 1969. Around the same time, planetarium exhibits were installed.

On 1 January 1983, the animal park was classified as a monument. Ten years later, its 150th anniversary was celebrated. In 1997, Vriesland (Freezeland) was opened. It houses subantarctic penguins and in the past also Alaskan sea otters. In spring 1999, the elephant compound was expanded. In 2003, many animals, including hippos, Malayan tapirs, and a number of swamp birds received a new home in Hippotopia.

Animals and exhibits
Together with its sister park Planckendael, Antwerp Zoo houses over 7,000 animals of about 950 species. Over 1.6 million people visit the zoo and Planckendael each year, and the zoo has around 200,000 supporting members.

Some exhibits and species in the park include:
 * Vriesland with king penguins, macaroni penguins, and gentoo penguins. A couple of sea otters has also lived here, but they were replaced by seals after the last one died.
 * Aquaforum with California sea lions, used to house bottlenose dolphins up to 1999.
 * Reptile house, renovated in 2005 with many species of snakes, lizards, turtles, and frogs, as well as caimans
 * The over a century old renovated aquarium, with renovations completed in 2015, housing many species of saltwater and freshwater fish
 * Savannah aviary with African buffalos and several bird species including guineafowl, ibises and Abdim's storks
 * Egyptian temple with Asian elephants, Hartmann's mountain zebras and giraffes,
 * Aviaries and bird house with many birds species including military macaws, turacos, toucans, peafowls, pheasants and a large collection of Songbirds.
 * Hippotopia with hippopotamus, malayan tapirs, dalmatian pelicans, Coypu and a couple of bird species
 * Bearcanyon with spectacled bears, and coatis
 * Cat enclosures with Amur leopard, lion and jaguar
 * Flemish garden
 * Kangaroo house with koalas and a tree-kangaroo
 * Moorish temple with okapis
 * Monkey house with guereza, owl-faced monkey, javan lutung, emperor tamarin, black-headed spider monkey, golden-headed lion tamarin, pygmy marmoset, mandrill, Ring-tailed lemur and Black Lemur
 * Ape house with chimpanzees, western lowland gorillas and the world's only eastern lowland gorilla in captivity outside of Africa.
 * Birds of prey including snowy owl, spectacled owl, crested caracara, Kea and several vultures
 * Other enclosures featuring harbour seal, bongo, meerkat, red panda, North American porcupine, American flamingo and African penguin

All the animals in the zoo and Planckendael combined consume about 41 tons of fish, 52 tons of meat, 37 tons of apples, 36 tons of carrots, 128 tons of hay, 4,000 litres of milk, 23,000 eggs, and 10,000 loaves of bread [in what period?].

The zoo used to have a dolphinarium called the Aquaforum. At the time of its building, one of the most modern of its kind. Over the years, however, the infrastructure was considered far too small and dated. The zoo's urban location prevented any expansion and meant the society could not build a new one. In 1999 the two dolphins were relocated to the Duisburg Zoo in Germany because of the new national standards for exhibits, with the exhibit too shallow to keep housing dolphins. The Aquaforum now hold sea lions, which are much less demanding.

Architecture and garden
Antwerp Zoo is one of the oldest zoos in the world, established in 1843. Many buildings are very well preserved. Some of them have received new functions throughout the years.

 * Entrance of the zoo (1843)
 * Egyptian temple (1856)
 * Moor temple (1885): it still houses okapis. Antwerp Zoo became the world's first zoo with okapis in 1918.
 * Bird building (1948)
 * Nocturama (1968)
 * Reptile building (1901): this building looks like a Greek temple.
 * Aquarium (1910): designed by Emile Thielens.
 * Winter garden (1897): a tropical greenhouse.

On 1 January 1983 the entire park (architecture and garden) was listed as a monument.

Breeding programmes
Antwerp Zoo has played its role in preservation and breeding programmes for several endangered species, including the okapi, the Przewalski horse, the Congo peafowl, the bonobo, the golden-headed lion tamarin, the European otter, and the Knysna seahorse. They take part in the European Endangered Species Programme.

Centre for Research and Conservation
The Centre for Research and Conservation (CRC) is an important research department of the Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp. The CRC is not a separate research institute, but is very much embedded in the structure and functioning of the society. Research takes place at Antwerp Zoo, at the Wild Animal Park Planckendael, in other zoos and associated institutions, in situ in Cameroon with the Projet Grands Singes, in Brazil with BioBrasil, and in the RZSA's own wetland nature reserve "De Zegge" in Belgium. For all research fields, the CRC combines strictly zoo-related research and fundamental research, and reports to scientists in peer reviewed journals as well as to the general public. The conservation of wildlife and their natural habitat is very important for the CRC. The centre also receives money from the Flemish Government. In 2006 the Centre for Research and Conservation of Antwerp Zoo has won the EAZA Research Award.

Affiliated parks and domains

 * In 1952, the society in control of the zoo bought the nature preserve De Zegge in Geel, because nature preservation is an important part of its mission statement. It is an area that spans 96 ha and receives international wildlife protection.
 * In 1956, the same society bought the Domein Planckendael in Muizen, near Mechelen. It covers an area of 40 ha and has become a full-grown animal park.

title: Antwerp Zoo


text:
Letter spacing

Letter spacing, character spacing or tracking is an optically consistent typographical adjustment to the space between letters to change the visual density of a line or block of text. Letter spacing is distinct from kerning, which adjusts the spacing of particular pairs of adjacent characters such as "7." which would appear to be badly spaced if left unadjusted, and leading, the spacing between lines.

History
Historically, with metal type, a kern meant having a letter stick out beyond the metal slug to which it was attached, or having part of the body of the slug cut off to allow letters to overlap. A kern could therefore only bring letters closer together (negative spacing). Digital kerning could go in either direction. Tracking can similarly go in either direction, but with metal type, one could make groups of letters only farther apart (positive spacing).

In the days of hot metal typesetting, letter spacing required adding horizontal space between letters of words set in metal type in increments of a minimum of a half-point. Some publishers and typesetters avoided letter spacing because it was costly in materials and labor. Letter spacing required hand insertion of copper (a half-point), brass (one point), and printer's "lead" (two points) spaces between individual pieces of type or between matrices. Despite the cost, letter spacing was used in print advertising, book publishing, and custom printing (such as high-end stationery, business cards, wedding invitations, and such). It was also used for very short phrases set in capital letters or small caps to prevent the phrases from appearing too dark in color compared to the rest of the page.

Printer and type designer Frederic Goudy stated that "Men who would letterspace blackletter would steal sheep." Goudy's statement inspired the title of the book Stop Stealing Sheep, an introduction to typography.

Digital systems
Word processing and desktop publishing programs for personal computers, such as LibreOffice Writer, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Publisher, WordPerfect, QuarkXPress, Adobe InDesign, Adobe FrameMaker, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe Photoshop, use differing methods of adjusting letter spacing. Most systems have the default letter spacing at zero and instead use the character widths and kerning information built into the font itself.

Although digital type sets tighter than metal type on average, this results primarily from the availability of kerning. Digital type does allow for negative sidebearings, which were uncommon in metal type because of the difficulty in cutting a "kern".

In the days of machine-implemented lead typesetting, such as Linotype machines and the Monotype System, letter spacing had to be uniform. In modern digital page-layout software, high-end applications all use relative measurements proportional to the size of the type. QuarkXPress uses units of 1/200 of an em, and Adobe InDesign uses 1/1000 of an em. Therefore, in QuarkXPress, a tracking setting of 3 reduces the visual density of the text noticeably, but in InDesign a tracking setting of 3 is barely noticeable.

Fixed spaces
Letter spacing may also refer to the insertion of fixed spaces, as was commonly done in hand-set metal type to achieve letter spacing. Fixed spaces vary by size and include hair spaces, thin spaces, word spaces, en-spaces, and em-spaces. An en-space is equal to half the current point size, and an em-space is the same width as the current point size.

Changing kerning perception

Even with no kerning control, a visually pleasing result can be achieved with some control of the space between letters.

With CSS1, a standard of 1996, the letter-spacing property (illustrated) offers some control for "kerning perception", as kerning can be simulated with non-uniform spacing between letters. The CSS3 standard includes the font-kerning property. In the meantime, web designers used the workaround of letter-spacing, mainly to enhance spaced texts of titles and banners.

Legibility
Adjusting the letter spacing of a given text has been shown to affect reading speed and accuracy. A wide body of research suggests that text with wider letter spacing, as well as wider line and word spacing, leads to increased reading comprehension among both dyslexic and non-dyslexic children. Contrarily, tighter spacing is thought to decrease comprehension among such population subgroups, and is accompanied by crowding and a perception of smallness.

Letter spacing adjustments are frequently employed in news design. Due to deadlines, news editors do not usually have time to rewrite paragraphs that end in split words or create widows or orphans.

Discussing Comic Sans, some researchers, including Sue Walker, Jenny Thomson, and John Stein, posit that the typeface's wide spacing, rather than the shape of its characters, is the reason for its success among dyslexics.

title: Letter spacing


text:
User:Goethean/Wilberbio

The son of an Air Force pilot, Wilber graduated from high school in Lincoln, Nebraska. He studied pre-med at Duke, doing graduate work in microbiology.

Wilber has been married three times. His second wife, Treya Killam, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her treatment and death was the subject of Wilber’s book Grace and Grit. Wilber’s third wife, Marcy, is now married to musician Stuart Davis.

title: User:Goethean/Wilberbio


text:
Defense Human Resources Activity

The Defense Human Resources Activity (DHRA) is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) Field Activity chartered to support the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (USD(P&R)). The scope of DHRA's mission is very broad, giving the USD flexibility to explore and field new technologies and programs that benefit warfighters, their family members, as well as DoD civilians. DHRA programs impact the delivery of benefits, readiness, force protection, and the detection and elimination of fraud. DHRA provides support and services that improve the efficiency, productivity, and quality of life throughout the department.

Leading the way for a number of key DoD Components and programs, DHRA is the trusted source for:

 * General management and direction on a wide variety of human resource matters
 * Budgetary support and management
 * Guidance on civilian personnel policy, professional development programs, and personnel security
 * Program support in the benefits, readiness, and force protection areas
 * Management, research, and analysis of manpower data
 * Guidance on overall effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity of personnel operations
 * Guidance and information on Common Access Card (CAC) issuance and procedures
 * Strategic direction of requirements related to language and regional expertise
 * Oversight of the capability of the DoD to respond to the needs of victims of sexual assault
 * Operation, consolidation, and management of commercial travel for the DoD

title: Defense Human Resources Activity


text:
User talk:Ryuujin~enwiki

Ryuujin is the Dragon God or Dragon King of japanese folklore. He lives in his underwater palace called Ryuuguu (japanese for The Palace of the Dragon King).

Your account will be renamed
Hello,

The developer team at Wikimedia is making some changes to how accounts work, as part of our on-going efforts to provide new and better tools for our users like cross-wiki notifications. These changes will mean you have the same account name everywhere. This will let us give you new features that will help you edit and discuss better, and allow more flexible user permissions for tools. One of the side-effects of this is that user accounts will now have to be unique across all 900 Wikimedia wikis. See the announcement for more information.

Unfortunately, your account clashes with another account also called Ryuujin. To make sure that both of you can use all Wikimedia projects in future, we have reserved the name Ryuujin~enwiki that only you will have. If you like it, you don't have to do anything. If you do not like it, you can pick out a different name. If you think you might own all of the accounts with this name and this message is in error, please visit Special:MergeAccount to check and attach all of your accounts to prevent them from being renamed.

Your account will still work as before, and you will be credited for all your edits made so far, but you will have to use the new account name when you log in.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Yours, Keegan Peterzell Community Liaison, Wikimedia Foundation 02:31, 20 March 2015 (UTC)

Renamed
 This account has been renamed as part of single-user login finalisation. If you own this account you can |log in using your previous username and password for more information. If you do not like this account's new name, you can choose your own using this form after logging in: . -- Keegan (WMF) (talk) 18:21, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

title: User talk:Ryuujin~enwiki


text:
Talk:Bazaruto Archipelago

Untitled
Unfortunately two references and  disagree with each other on the formation of the islands.

Map of Mozambique
Hi Ymblanter, just would like to point out that the map of Mozambique that the article uses (the green maps) in incorrect on what concerns the border between the provinces of Manica and Sofala in the center of the country. The grey map used to show districts' location is correct.Teixant (talk) 15:11, 20 October 2016 (UTC)
 * I can make a new map, no problem. Will do it in the evening.--Ymblanter (talk) 15:14, 20 October 2016 (UTC)

 * Great, thanks, will you upload it to the Commons? Teixant (talk) 15:34, 20 October 2016 (UTC)
 * Yes, I did. It is an svg file, so it should be pretty easy to translate to other languages.--Ymblanter (talk) 18:06, 20 October 2016 (UTC)

title: Talk:Bazaruto Archipelago


text:
Haydar Ergülen

Haydar Ergülen (born 14 October 1956, in Eskişehir, Turkey) is a Turkish poet., he graduated from the Sociology Department at Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi (Middle East Technical University) in Ankara.

After graduation from the university, he worked as an advertising copywriter. His first poetry book was published in 1981. As of 2020, his 17 poetry, 28 essay books have been published. Among his published poetry books are: Sokak Prensesi (Street Princess/1991), Eskiden Terzi (Once a Tailor), 40 Şiir ve Bir (40 Poems and One/1997), Karton Valiz (Cardboard Suitcase/1999).

With 40 Poems and One, Ergülen won the 1997 "Behçet Necatigil Poetry Award" as well as the "Orhon Murat Arıburnu Poetry Award". His "Once a Tailor" brought him the 1996 "Halil Kocagöz Poetry Award".

For some of his books, he used the pen name "Hafız".

Published books in foreign languages
Haydar Ergülen's poems have been translated to various languages and published as books, in addition inclusion in various other publications like anthologies etc.

His published books in foreign countries are:
 * France:Carnet Intime (AL MANAR Editions, 2012) and Grenade ou Nar (L’Harmattan, 2015).
 * Germany:Die Ecken deiner Stille (Elif Verlag, 2019)
 * United Kingdom:Pomegranate Garden (Parthian Books, 2019)
 * Italy: La Casa Nella Melegrana (Valigierosse, 2020).

Other related activities
Haydar Ergülen is the director of the International Eskişehir Poetry Festival, International Nazım Hikmet Poetry Days, and İzmir International literature Festival. He gives lectures at universities on creative writing, poetry, Turkish Literature and philosophy. He organizes workshops on creative writing and poetry. He is the member of board PEN International in Turkey.

title: Haydar Ergülen