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Abdelbaset al-Megrahi

Abdelbaset Ali Mohamed al-Megrahi ( عبد الباسط محمد علي المقرحي, ; 1 April 1952 – 20 May 2012) was a Libyan who was head of security for Libyan Arab Airlines, director of the Centre for Strategic Studies in Tripoli, Libya, and an alleged Libyan intelligence officer. On 31 January 2001, Megrahi was convicted, by a panel of three Scottish judges sitting in a special court at Camp Zeist in the Netherlands, of 270 counts of murder for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, on 21 December 1988 and was sentenced to life imprisonment. His co-accused, Lamin Khalifah Fhimah, was found not guilty and was acquitted.

Megrahi unsuccessfully appealed against his conviction in January 2001. In June 2007, the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission granted Megrahi leave to appeal against his Lockerbie bombing conviction for a second time. After initially appealing, Megrahi abandoned his second appeal in August 2009 as an ongoing appeal would have prevented him from being moved to Libya under the Prisoner Transfer Scheme which was thought to be a possibility. He decided to drop his appeal two days before he was released on compassionate grounds by the Scottish Government on 20 August 2009. Doctors reported on 10 August 2009 that he had terminal prostate cancer. On his return to Libya, al-Megrahi was initially hospitalized then allowed to leave on 2 November 2009, taking up residence in a villa in Tripoli. He died on 20 May 2012, two years and nine months after his release.

Background
A Magarha, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was born in Tripoli on 1 April 1952 to a poor family. Although little is known of his early life, in 1971, he spent nine months studying in Cardiff, Wales and in the late 1970s, he made multiple visits to the United States and the United Kingdom. Later, he was the head of security for Libyan Arab Airlines (LAA), and director of the Centre for Strategic Studies in Tripoli. It was alleged by the FBI and the prosecution in the Lockerbie case that he was also an officer of the Libyan intelligence service, Jamahiriya el-Mukhabarat.

Indictment and arrest
In November 1991, Megrahi and Fhimah were indicted by the US Attorney General and the Scottish Lord Advocate for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. Libya refused to extradite the two accused, but held them under armed house arrest in Tripoli, offering to detain them for trial in Libya, as long as all the incriminating evidence was provided. The offer was unacceptable to the US and UK, and there was an impasse for the next three years.

On 23 March 1995, over six years after the 1988 attack, Megrahi and Fhimah were designated as United States fugitives from justice and became the 441st and 442nd additions on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. This list offered a US$4 million reward from the US Air Line Pilots Association, Air Transport Association, and United States Department of State, and $50,000 from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), for information leading to their arrest.

The parties eventually agreed on a compromise and a trial was held in the Netherlands under Scots law. The trial format was engineered by legal academic Professor Robert Black of the University of Edinburgh and was given political impetus by the British foreign secretary, Robin Cook.

Protracted negotiations with the Libyan leader, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, and the imposition of UN economic sanctions against Libya brought the two accused to trial in a neutral country. Over ten years after the bombing, Megrahi and Fhimah were placed under arrest at Camp Zeist in the Netherlands on 5 April 1999. During his seven-year house arrest awaiting deportation and trial, Megrahi lived on a Libyan Arab Airlines pension and worked as a teacher.

Trial
The Scottish High Court of Justiciary at Camp Zeist was presided over by three senior judges and an additional, non-voting, judge. The two accused, Megrahi and Lamin Khalifah Fhimah, denied all charges against them. The full charges included the names of the murdered 259 passengers and crew of Pan Am Flight 103, and the eleven residents killed on the ground at Lockerbie in Scotland.

Representing Megrahi were his solicitor, Alistair Duff, and advocates William Taylor KC, David Burns KC and John Beckett. Fhimah was represented by solicitor Eddie McKechnie and advocates Richard Keen QC, Jack Davidson QC and Murdo Macleod. Both defendants also had access to a Libyan defence lawyer, Kamel Maghur, a former foreign affairs minister in the Libyan government.

Court proceedings started on 3 May 2000. The crucial witness against Megrahi for the prosecution was Tony Gauci, a Maltese storekeeper, who testified that he had sold Megrahi the clothing later found in the remains of the suitcase bomb. At the trial, Gauci appeared uncertain about the exact date he sold the clothes in question, and was not entirely sure that it was Megrahi to whom they were sold. Nonetheless, Megrahi's appeal against conviction was rejected by the Scottish Court in the Netherlands in March 2002. Five years after the trial, former Lord Advocate, Lord Fraser of Carmyllie, publicly described Gauci as being "an apple short of a picnic" and "not quite the full shilling".

During the trial, the defence showed that Megrahi's co-defendant, Fhimah, had a watertight alibi, having been in Sweden at the time of the sabotage.

The judges announced their verdict on 31 January 2001. They said of Megrahi: "There is nothing in the evidence which leaves us with any reasonable doubt as to the guilt of the first accused, and accordingly we find him guilty of the remaining charge in the indictment as amended." Megrahi was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a recommendation that he should serve at least 20 years before being eligible for parole.

The judges unanimously found the second accused, Lamin Khalifah Fhimah, not guilty of the murder charge. Fhimah was freed and returned to his home at Souk al-Juma in Libya on 1 February 2001.

Megrahi was sent to Barlinnie Prison. In February 2005, he was transferred to HM Prison Greenock.

Appeals
Megrahi's appeal against his conviction in January 2001 was refused on 14 March 2002 by a panel of five Scottish judges at Camp Zeist in the Netherlands. According to a report by the BBC, Dr Hans Köchler, one of the UN observers at the trial, expressed serious doubts about the fairness of the proceedings and spoke of a "spectacular miscarriage of justice".

On 24 November 2003, Megrahi appeared at the High Court in Glasgow, in front of the three judges who originally sentenced him at Camp Zeist, to learn that he would have to serve at least 27 years in jail – back-dated to April 1999 when he was extradited from Libya – before he could be considered for parole. This court hearing was the result of the incorporation into Scots law of the European Convention on Human Rights in 2001, nine months after Megrahi's sentence was imposed, which required him to be told the extent of the "punishment part" of his life term. On 31 May 2004, he was granted leave to appeal against his 27-year sentence. The appeal against sentence was scheduled to be heard in Edinburgh by a panel of five Judges on 11 July 2006. However, the Scottish Court of Criminal Appeal decided to postpone the July hearing to allow consideration of whether the appeal against sentence ought to be heard at Camp Zeist rather than in Edinburgh.

Judicial reviews
On 23 September 2003, lawyers acting for Megrahi applied to the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) for a review of the case (both sentence and conviction), arguing that there had been a miscarriage of justice. On 1 November 2006, Megrahi was reported to have dropped his demand for the new appeal to be held at Camp Zeist. In an interview with The Scotsman newspaper of 31 January 2006, retired Scottish Judge Lord MacLean – one of the three who convicted Megrahi in 2001 – said he believed the SCCRC would return the case for a further appeal against conviction:

"They can't be working for two years without producing something with which to go to the court."

MacLean added that any new appeal would indicate the flexibility of Scots law, rather than a weakness:

"It might even be the strength of the system – it is capable of looking at itself subsequently and determining a ground for appeal."

In January 2007, the SCCRC announced that it would issue its decision on Megrahi's case by the end of June 2007. On 9 June 2007, rumours of a possible prisoner swap deal involving Megrahi were strenuously denied by the then-prime minister, Tony Blair. Later in June, The Observer confirmed the imminence of the SCCRC ruling and reported:

"Abdelbaset al-Megrahi never wavered in his denial of causing the Lockerbie disaster: now some Scottish legal experts say they believe him."

Second appeal
On 28 June 2007, the SCCRC concluded its four-year review and, having uncovered evidence that a miscarriage of justice could have occurred, the commission granted Megrahi leave to appeal against his Lockerbie bombing conviction for a second time. The second appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeal was abandoned in August 2009, as an impediment to the legal power to release him to Libya under the Prisoner Transfer Scheme then operating in the United Kingdom. Ultimately, he was not released under this scheme, rather, on compassionate grounds due to his ill health. There was in the event, no requirement to drop his appeal against conviction.

New information casting fresh doubts about Megrahi's conviction was examined at a procedural hearing at the Judicial Appeal Court (Court of Session building) in Edinburgh on 11 October 2007:
 * 1) His lawyers claimed that vital documents, which emanated from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and related to the Mebo timer that allegedly detonated the Lockerbie bomb, were withheld from the trial defence team.
 * 2) Tony Gauci, chief prosecution witness at the trial, was alleged to have been paid $2 million for testifying against Megrahi.
 * 3) Mebo's owner, Edwin Bollier, claimed that in 1991 the FBI offered him $4 million to testify that the timer fragment found near the scene of the crash was part of a Mebo MST-13 timer supplied to Libya.
 * 4) Former employee of Mebo Ulrich Lumpert swore an affidavit in July 2007 that he had stolen a prototype MST-13 timer in 1989, and had handed it over to "a person officially investigating the Lockerbie case".

On 1 November 2007, Megrahi invited Professor Robert Black KC to visit him at Greenock Prison. After a two-hour meeting, Black stated "that not only was there a wrongful conviction, but the victim of it was an innocent man. Lawyers, and I hope others, will appreciate this distinction."

Prior to Megrahi's second appeal, another four procedural hearings took place at the High Court of Appeal in Edinburgh between December 2007 and June 2008.

In the June 2008 edition of the Scottish lawyers' magazine The Firm, the UN Observer at the Lockerbie trial, Professor Hans Köchler, referred to the 'totalitarian' nature of Megrahi's second appeal process saying it "bears the hallmarks of an 'intelligence operation. Pointing out an error on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's website (FCO) and accusing the British government of "delaying tactics" in relation to Megrahi's second Lockerbie appeal, UN Observer at the Lockerbie trial Dr Hans Köchler wrote to Foreign Secretary David Miliband on 21 July 2008 saying:

"As international observer, appointed by the UN, at the Scottish Court in the Netherlands I am also concerned about the Public Interest Immunity (PII) certificate which has been issued by you in connection with the new Appeal of the convicted Libyan national. Withholding of evidence from the Defence was one of the reasons why the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission has referred Mr. Al-Megrahi's case back to the High Court of Justiciary. The Appeal cannot go ahead if the Government of the United Kingdom, through the PII certificate issued by you, denies the Defence the right (also guaranteed under the European Convention on Human Rights) to have access to a document which is in the possession of the Prosecution. How can there be equality of arms in such a situation? How can the independence of the judiciary be upheld if the executive power interferes into the appeal process in such a way?"

The FCO corrected the error on its website and wrote to Köchler on 27 August 2008:

"Ultimately, it will be for the Court to decide whether the material should be disclosed, not the Foreign Secretary."

On 15 October 2008, five Scottish judges decided unanimously to reject a submission by the Crown Office to the effect that the scope of Megrahi's second appeal should be limited to the specific grounds of appeal that were identified by the SCCRC in June 2007.

In January 2009, it was reported that, although Megrahi's second appeal against conviction was scheduled to begin on 27 April 2009, the hearing could last as long as 12 months because of the complexity of the case and volume of material to be examined. At a preliminary High Court hearing in Edinburgh on 20 February 2009, Megrahi's Counsel, Maggie Scott KC, was informed that a delegation from the Crown Office was due to travel to Malta to "actively seek the consent for disclosure" of sensitive documents that could determine the outcome of the second appeal.

Scottish ministers denied in April 2009 they had clandestinely agreed to the repatriation of Megrahi before the start of his second appeal on 28 April.

Kenny MacAskill announced in May 2011 that the re-elected SNP Government would seek to change Scots law to allow publication of the SCCRC report, which can presently be blocked by any party that provided evidence to the review. Nevertheless, The Herald published this report online in March 2012.

Call for Megrahi's release
The first Scottish call for the release of Megrahi was made by Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Iain Torrance. At the beginning of 2003, Nelson Mandela had asked for the intervention of the Western Christian churches in what he described as "a clear miscarriage of justice". This led to the production of a highly critical report of the scientific and forensic evidence presented at the original trial by the Church of Scotland's leading scientist Dr John Urquhart Cameron. As a result, in July 2003, Torrance petitioned the then prime minister Tony Blair to consider his release in view of the widespread unease in Scotland concerning the safety of the verdict.

On 14 September 2008, the Arab League Ministerial Council passed a resolution calling for the 'political hostage' Megrahi to be released from prison in Scotland. The resolution demanded that the Scottish government should hand to Megrahi's lawyers the documents which the SCCRC had identified, adding that Britain's refusal to do so represented a 'miscarriage of justice'. The Arab League also endorsed Libya's right to compensation for the damage done to its economy by UN sanctions which were in force from 1991 until 1999.

On 6 November 2008, three Criminal Appeal Court judges reserved judgment on an application by defence counsel Maggie Scott for Megrahi to be released on bail pending his second appeal against conviction which was expected to be heard in 2009. A week later, Megrahi's bail application was refused.

On the Lockerbie bombing's 20th anniversary, The Independent published an opinion piece by journalist Hugh Miles, repeating questions around Megrahi's guilt, writing in part,

"Since the Crown never had much of a case against Megrahi, it was no surprise when the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) found prima facie evidence in June 2007 that Megrahi had suffered a miscarriage of justice and recommended that he be granted a second appeal.

If Megrahi didn't do it, who did? Some time ago suspicion fell on a gang headed by a convicted Palestinian terrorist named Abu Talb and a Jordanian triple agent named Marwan Abdel Razzaq Khreesat. Both were Iranian agents; Khreesat was also on the CIA payroll. Abu Talb was given lifelong immunity from prosecution in exchange for his evidence at the Lockerbie trial; Marwan Khreesat was released for lack of evidence by German police even though a barometric timer of the type used to detonate the bomb on Pan Am Flight 103 was found in his car when he was arrested."

On 14 August 2009, Megrahi withdrew his appeal. South of Scotland SNP MSP Christine Grahame said, "There are a number of vested interests who have been deeply opposed to this appeal continuing as they know it would go a considerable way towards exposing the truth behind Lockerbie... In the next days, weeks and months new information will be placed in the public domain that will make it clear that Mr Megrahi had nothing to do with the bombing of Pan Am 103." Tam Dalyell, the former Labour MP for West Lothian, has long believed Megrahi was the victim of a catastrophic miscarriage of justice, and has publicly stated that Megrahi is merely a scapegoat. Dalyell was supported by Nelson Mandela, the Church of Scotland, the Catholic Church, the law faculties of the Scottish universities, the representatives of British relatives and the UN's official observer at the trial in The Hague.

Alastair Darling, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2007 to 2010, stated that "It's true to say that the British Government wanted Megrahi out. It's probably true to say that [Scottish First Minister] Alex Salmond fancied a wander into the international stage" but denies that British government had anything to do with the release.

Family and health
Megrahi married Aisha in 1982. They had five children: four sons and one daughter.

On 23 September 2008, Megrahi was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer, prompting calls for his second appeal to be heard promptly.

On 4 December 2008, Megrahi's family joined others protesting against alleged miscarriages of justice within the Scottish justice system.

An online petition to the Scottish Ministers seeking Megrahi's compassionate release was raised on 19 December 2008. It stated that he was terminally ill and would benefit physically and psychologically from compassionate release to his temporary home in Glasgow while he awaited the outcome of the appeal granted to him by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission in June 2007. Since it was likely to be many months before such an appeal was finally decided, the petition asked that Megrahi be allowed to spend his "very limited" remaining time in Scotland with his family and loved ones.

Release
On 4 August 2009, the Cabinet Secretary for Justice in Scotland, Kenny MacAskill, visited Greenock Prison to hear Megrahi's request for a prisoner transfer to Libya. The following week it was reported that Megrahi was likely to be released within a few days on compassionate grounds due to terminal prostate cancer, although the Scottish Government dismissed this as "complete speculation"; meanwhile, a United States official said that the U.S. had no information suggesting Megrahi would be released and that he should serve out his sentence. MacAskill faced international pressure from politicians in the United Kingdom and United States, with U.S. victims' groups and Syracuse University (which lost 25 students in the Lockerbie bombing) all urging him not to release Megrahi.

On 14 August, lawyers representing Megrahi announced that he had applied to the High Court in Edinburgh two days previously to withdraw his second appeal, and that his condition had "taken a significant turn for the worse". On 19 August 2009, it was divulged that MacAskill had reached a decision on the bomber's fate to be announced the following day. The following day, MacAskill granted his release on compassionate grounds, stating that Megrahi was in the final stages of terminal prostate cancer and was expected to die within three months. Speaking of the Scottish tradition of justice with compassion and mercy, MacAskill said he was "bound by Scottish values to release him", and allow him to die in his home country of Libya.

Immediately following the announcement, Megrahi, who had served just over $8 1/2$ years of his life sentence, was escorted by Strathclyde Police to Glasgow Airport where he boarded a specially chartered aircraft to Tripoli operated by the Libyan state-owned Afriqiyah Airways. The aircraft – an Airbus A300 (registration 5A-IAY) – was the personal aircraft of Colonel Gaddafi; it was destroyed on the ground at Tripoli Airport in 2011 during fighting to overthrow the Gaddafi regime. Megrahi arrived back in time to join celebrations to mark 40 years since the country's revolution.

Megrahi landed in Libya to national celebrations and acclaim. As he left the plane, a crowd of several hundred young people were gathered at Tripoli Airport to welcome him, some waving Libyan or Scottish flags, others throwing flower petals. Many had been ushered away by Libyan officials in an attempt to play down the arrival in accordance with British and US wishes. Megrahi was accompanied by Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who had pledged in 2008 to bring al-Megrahi home, and was then joined on the aircraft steps by Lamin Khalifah Fhimah. This was the first time the pair had met since they had stood side by side during their eight-month trial at Camp Zeist, in the Netherlands $8 1/2$ years earlier.

After he left the aircraft, Megrahi was driven away in convoy for a long-awaited meeting with his 86-year-old mother, Hajja Fatma Ali al-Arabi, who a few days earlier had pleaded emotionally with Scottish Ministers to release her son. Hajja had not been told of her son's terminal cancer for fear that the shock would be too much for her.

Megrahi also met Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. The reception was shown afterwards on Libyan state television.

In an interview the following day with The Times, Megrahi vowed to present new evidence before he died which would exonerate him of any involvement in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. He said, "If there is justice in the UK I would be acquitted or the verdict would be quashed because it was unsafe. There was a miscarriage of justice ... my message to the British and Scottish communities is that I will put out the evidence and ask them to be the jury".

Following his release, Megrahi was taken to Tripoli Medical Center, Libya's most advanced public clinic, for cancer treatment. A video of him in the hospital showed him using an oxygen mask to breathe. On 2 September 2009, it was reported that his cancer had worsened, and that he had been transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU). Libyan Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammed Seyala claimed that Megrahi had been moved to a special VIP wing of the hospital, was receiving full treatment from a team of doctors, and that his condition was not dangerous. Megrahi's family claimed that they had been informed that he had been taken to the ICU, but they were not allowed to visit him. The Foreign Ministry confirmed that his family were not allowed to visit him, but said that it was to ensure his safety. On 5 September, Megrahi was released from the ICU, but remained under close observation by a team of doctors.

While in hospital, Megrahi underwent chemotherapy treatment, receiving the drug Docetaxel. He was discharged from hospital on 2 November, and sent to live with his family in the New Damascus district in west Tripoli, in a villa reportedly built or bought for him, shortly before his release, by the Libyan government. Under police protection, he resumed chemotherapy, making regular visits to hospital for chemotherapy sessions and other intensive treatment.

Medical condition
Following the release, doubts were expressed whether Megrahi was as ill as claimed by MacAskill in his statement to the Scottish Parliament. The guidance on compassionate release of a terminally ill prisoner under Scottish law specifies that death must be likely to occur "soon"; there is no fixed time limit but a life expectancy of three months is suggested as "appropriate". The Labour MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife and a Minister in the previous Labour administration, Dr Richard Simpson, accused the Scottish justice minister of failing to conduct sufficient checks before deciding to release Megrahi. Dr Simpson, a former member of the British Association of Urological Surgeons' prostate cancer working group who specialised in prostate disease research, expressed doubt that Megrahi would die within the next three months and claimed that he could live for eight months, going on to say that, "Kenny MacAskill released him apparently on the advice of just one doctor whose status is not clear and who is not named." He added that a second specialist opinion in palliative care should have been sought before the release. A source close to the justice secretary called Simpson's comments "tasteless" and added: "I really don't think we should be speculating on the day somebody is going to die."

On 27 August 2009, The Scotsman, quoting an anonymous Scottish Government source, reported that MacAskill ignored the advice of four specialists who were unwilling to speculate on Megrahi's anticipated lifespan.

Reviewing the case, members of Holyrood's justice committee stated that Scottish Prison Service guidelines were not followed in the decision to release Megrahi, that the medical evidence presented was flimsy, and that four cancer specialists had refused to back up the opinion of the prison doctor that Megrahi would be dead within three months. However the prison doctors and numerous experts brought in had said that Megrahi met the Scottish standards for release. The release of prisoners on compassionate grounds is up to the Minister of Justice and not to a committee.

Soon afterwards, Libyan media reported that Megrahi was able to talk to his mother by telephone from his hospital bed and The Times, at the beginning of November, suggested that his condition had not deteriorated significantly.

In early April 2010 it was reported that his cancer was no longer responding to treatment. The cancer consultant Karol Sikora, who had originally supported the three months prognosis (although his evidence was not allowed to contribute to the release decision as he was paid by the Libyan authorities), reported that Megrahi was bed-bound and had probably no more than four weeks to live, with his earlier apparent recovery probably due to his being with his family. The Libyan Consul General in Glasgow also reported that his condition had rapidly deteriorated. In July 2010, Dr Sikora told The Daily Telegraph, "There was always a chance he could live for 10 years, 20 years ... but that would be unusual". He also stated that "It was clear that three months was what they (the Libyan government) were aiming for" adding that "On the balance of probabilities, he felt he could sort of justify that."

In response to an attempt to have his medical condition made public from Scottish Conservatives in July 2010, First Minister Alex Salmond compared him to one of Britain's most famous prisoners, Ronald Biggs, who was outliving al-Megrahi while on compassionate release.

In a July 2010 interview with Scottish Television Dr Sikora said that his statements were misquoted extensively by dropping his qualification that 10 years' survival "would be unusual". He stated that the chances of such a long survival would be less than 1% but there was a 90% likelihood that he would be dead in a matter of weeks. UPI was still reporting the other version in August 2010.

Libyan media outlets reported Megrahi had been released from the hospital and was living at his family's villa.

On 26 July 2011, during the First Libyan Civil War, Megrahi was shown on Libyan state television, attending a pro-Gaddafi rally of members of his tribe. Megrahi appeared to be frail, and was in a wheelchair. However, in late August 2011, CNN reported that a TV crew had found Megrahi comatose and, according to his family, on his deathbed. Notwithstanding this report, in early October in an interview with Reuters from his bed, al-Megrahi protested his innocence and claimed that he had only days, weeks or months to live. On 13 April 2012, he was hospitalized. He died on 20 May 2012, aged 60.

Suggestions of innocence
On 29 August 2011, a letter written by Megrahi was discovered by The Wall Street Journal at intelligence headquarters in Tripoli, Libya. In what was a private letter to Libya's intelligence chief not previously available to the public, Megrahi wrote "I am an innocent man", a letter apparently composed while he was serving a life sentence in Scotland, and written in blue ink on ordinary paper. The letter was found in a steel four-drawer filing cabinet that had been forced open by rebels who entered the office of intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi.

Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora was killed in the bombing and who has been a spokesman for UK Families Flight 103, which represented British relatives, has said that he believes Megrahi is innocent. Swire is also concerned by comments attributed to the former lord advocate Lord Fraser, which appeared to doubt the credibility of the key prosecution witness, Tony Gauci. Swire said "the scandal around Megrahi is not that a sick man was released, but that he was ever convicted in the first place. All I have ever wanted is to see the people who murdered my daughter are brought to justice."

Professor Robert Black, an expert in Scots law who devised the non-jury trial that saw the Lockerbie case heard in 2000, has called Megrahi's murder conviction "the most disgraceful miscarriage of justice in Scotland for 100 years". Professor Black said he felt "a measure of personal responsibility" for persuading Libya to allow Megrahi and his co-accused, Al-Amin Khalifa Fhima, who was acquitted, to stand trial under Scots law.

"I have written about this and nobody is interested. Every lawyer who has ... read the judgment says 'this is nonsense'. It is nonsense. It really distresses me; I won't let it go."

The non-profit religious think tank Ekklesia noted that "all of the Crown's witnesses in the 36-week trial, which took place at a specially convened Scottish Court in the Netherlands, have subsequently been discredited. In the latest revelation, a prosecution expert misled judges about key evidence, according to a classified police memo published by the Sunday Herald on 17 July [2011]", cautioning that

"Dr Swire, other UK relatives of the victims, and a range of legal campaigners, including Professor Black, say that the May 2000 trial of two Libyan suspects, the other of whom was not convicted, amounts to a cover up and a serious miscarriage of justice. Their concern is that the truth has not come out, and that the guilty have not been brought to justice."

Megrahi himself, according to his cousin, used to say

"If God gives me life and health I will appeal my case and prove my innocence."

Suggested links to oil deals
On 28 August 2009, The Herald published an interview conducted with Colonel Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, in which he stated that Megrahi's release was not tied to any oil deals but was an entirely separate issue. Referring to the Prisoner Transfer Agreement (PTA), he continued, "People should not get angry because we were talking about commerce or oil. We signed an oil deal at the same time. The commerce and politics and deals were all with the PTA. This was one animal and the other was the compassionate release. They are two completely different animals."

On 30 August, an article published in the Sunday Times claimed ministers at Westminster had agreed not to specifically exclude al-Megrahi from an agreement concerning prisoner transfers in 2007 because of "overwhelming national interests". In a letter dated 19 December 2007, Secretary of State for Justice Jack Straw wrote to his Scottish counterpart, "I had previously accepted the importance of the al-Megrahi issue to Scotland and said I would try to get an exclusion for him on the face of the agreement. I have not been able to secure an explicit exclusion. The wider negotiations with the Libyans are reaching a critical stage and, in view of the overwhelming interests for the UK, I have agreed that in this instance the [PTA] should be in the standard form and not mention any individual." Straw is quoted as stating that an application under the prisoner transfer agreement was turned down. Straw denied that the release was part of any deal, while Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond reiterated that the release had been granted on compassionate grounds and not as part of any deal struck by the British Government.

On 16 July 2010, four United States senators made public their concerns over the release, stating they believed that the oil company BP pushed for his release to secure a deal with Libya. BP confirmed that it did press for a Prisoner Transfer Agreement as it was aware that a delay might have "negative consequences" for UK commercial interests. However, the firm said it was not involved in any discussions regarding Megrahi's release. A spokesman for the Scottish government insisted that they acted alone stating: "The Scottish government had no contact from BP in relation to Mr Al-Megrahi." Further hearings examining Megrahi's release, due to be held at Capitol Hill on 29 July, were postponed when the US Dept of Justice and British witnesses – and in particular from the Scottish Government – refused to attend, and were rescheduled for September the same year, before the then forthcoming senatorial elections.

U.S. position on release
While President Obama expressed surprise at the decision, stating "I think all of us here in the United States were surprised, disappointed and angry about the release", the U.S. government was aware that a release was possible. The deputy head of the U.S. embassy in London, Frank LeBaron, wrote in a letter to the Scottish first minister Alex Salmond that the U.S. believed al-Megrahi should remain in prison for his role in downing Pan Am flight 103 in 1988, and continued: "Nevertheless, if Scottish authorities come to the conclusion that Megrahi must be released from Scottish custody, the U.S. position is that conditional release on compassionate grounds would be a far preferable alternative to prisoner transfer, which we strongly oppose." This same letter stressed the importance to the United States of America of a 3-months prognosis, despite it not being a legal requirement in Scotland: "any such release should only come after the results of independent and comprehensive medical exams clearly establishing that Megrahi's life expectancy is less than three months".

Appeals dossier released
On 18 September 2009, Megrahi released a 300-page dossier of evidence that challenges the prosecution case against him, and that he believed would have secured his release on appeal. The release of the evidence dossier was condemned by Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini, who said that Megrahi had abandoned his appeal before his release on compassionate grounds.

Wikileaks on Megrahi
Cable 08LONDON2673 (dated 2008-10-24) from US Embassy London reports:

"MEGRAHI was first diagnosed on 23 September at Inverclyde Royal Hospital, both the FCO and the Scottish Crown office have told us; the second diagnosis was on 10 October. The two diagnoses match: he has prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, the cancer has advanced rapidly, and it is inoperable and incurable. MEGRAHI could have as long as five years to live, but the average life expectancy of someone of his age with his condition is eighteen months to two years"

Cable 09TRIPOLI65 (dated 2009-01-28) from US Embassy Tripoli reports:

"the case of convicted Pan Am 103 bomber Abdelbasset al-Megrahi is arguably the regime's most sensitive political subject, in part because it involves a firm timeline in the form of the ailing el-Megrahi's approaching death. Through remarks by senior officials suggesting that al-Megrahi is innocent and a steady diet of publicity about his case, the regime has limited its room for political maneuver. U.K. Embassy interlocutors here are planning for a scenario in which the U.K.-Libya Prisoner Transfer Agreement is ratified in early March and the GOL makes application shortly thereafter for al-Megrahi's transfer to Libya. The U.K. Embassy expects a sharply negative GOL reaction if al-Megrahi dies in prison or if the Scottish Executive and/or FCO oppose his transfer"

Another stated that the UK feared action by Libya against British interests if Megrahi died in jail. It also stated that the UK government fully supported his release by the Scottish government.

Calls for and comments on a return to custody
The United States urged the National Transitional Council (NTC) to review the case, with a view towards deporting Megrahi if he did not die in the meantime. The Scottish government rejected the calls, saying that only it could make such a request, and that it would not do so, as Megrahi had abided by the conditions of his release. NTC leaders initially said that they would not deport Megrahi or any other Libyan, but also admitted that only the future elected government of Libya could deal with such issues.

Following the fall of Tripoli when forces of the NTC had largely taken control of Libya, there were calls for al-Megrahi to be extradited to the United States. These calls were dismissed by the Scottish government and the NTC in Libya until such time as a decision can be made by the new elected government.

The United States government has said that it has asked the new Libyan government to re-examine the Megrahi case.

On 30 August 2011, the Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond said, "The latest pictures broadcast of Mr al-Megrahi clearly demonstrate that he is an extremely sick man, dying of terminal prostate cancer. Hopefully, this will end the ridiculous conspiracy theories that seek to claim anything else." He also said that the issue was under Scottish jurisdiction and that what American lawyers and senators had to say "was neither here nor there". In October 2011, Al-Megrahi gave an interview from his bed in which he claimed that he had only days, weeks or months to live.

After the killing of Muammar Gaddafi on 20 October 2011, the United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for al-Megrahi to be returned to prison in Scotland, describing the release of al-Megrahi as a miscarriage of justice. Additionally Clinton stated that having already raised the question of al-Megrahi's return to a Scottish prison with the leadership of the NTC, she would raise the matter again once a Libyan government had been formed. Clinton also indicated that, while preferring imprisonment in Scotland, she supported imprisonment outside Scotland over al-Megrahi remaining out of jail. In early November, the U.S. State Department indicated that it was preparing to make a "formal approach" to the NTC, requesting al-Megrahi's extradition to the United States.

Death
Al-Megrahi died at home in Tripoli on 20 May 2012 at the age of 60. His funeral was held the following day, on 21 May.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, speaking at a NATO summit in Chicago, said that it was a day to think of the victims of "an appalling terrorist act". Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond also stated that people should use the occasion of al-Megrahi's death to remember the Lockerbie victims. The Guardian reported that Libyans "expressed relief rather than sadness" at news of al-Megrahi's death, as he was a reminder of the international sanctions that had impoverished the country following the bombing.

Many families of the Lockerbie victims called for al-Megrahi's appeal to be reopened following his death and headed by investigators outside Scotland, claiming that it would exonerate al-Megrahi. Cameron refused, stating, "I'm very clear that the court case was properly done and properly dealt with."

Alex Salmond said it was up to Megrahi's relatives to apply to the Scottish Criminal Case Review Commission to seek a further appeal, adding that his death "ends one chapter of the Lockerbie case, but it does not close the book".

Posthumous campaign and appeal
In May 2014, a group of relatives of the Lockerbie victims continued to campaign for al-Megrahi's name to be cleared by reopening the case.

On 5 June 2014, it was announced that Glasgow-based lawyer, Aamer Anwar, was instructed by immediate members of Al-Megrahi's family. Although Al-Megrahi had died from cancer following his compassionate release from prison an application was still being lodged with the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission seeking to review his case and return it to the appeal court as a miscarriage of justice. Aamer Anwar was also instructed by 24 British relatives of passengers who died on the flight, including Dr Jim Swire. In December 2014, Frank Mulholland, the Lord Advocate (Scotland's senior law officer), restated his belief that al-Megrahi had been guilty of the bombing and that he was hopeful that progress might be made in the continuing investigation to find al-Megrahi's accomplices.

In December 2018 Eddie Fenech Adami, Malta's Prime Minister at the time of the bombing, said "we have never accepted the theory" of how Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi transported the bomb from Malta to the UK and suggested that a miscarriage of justice had taken place.

In January 2021, the Scottish Court of Criminal Appeal rejected both the contention that a miscarriage of justice may have occurred over the non-disclosure of secret documents and also that a possibly unreasonable verdict had been arrived at. In contrast, the Scottish judges ruled that incriminating evidence concerning luggage tags, which had originally been deemed inadmissible, should have been ruled admissible at the original trial. The court found that the inclusion of this evidence made the case against al-Megrahi and his co-accused, Lamin Khalifah Fhimah, substantially stronger.

title: Abdelbaset al-Megrahi


text:
Mount Haystack

Mount Haystack is a mountain in the Great Range of the Adirondack Mountains of New York. With an elevation of 4960 ft, it is the third highest mountain in New York and one of the 46 High Peaks in Adirondack Park. It is located in the town of Keene in Essex County. The first recorded ascent of the mountain was made by mountain guide Orson Schofield Phelps in 1849, accompanied by Almeron Oliver and George Etsy. Phelps gave the mountain its current name based on its appearance to a haystack, and later cut the first trail to the summit in 1873. The summit is an alpine zone above the treeline, which offers a view of nearby Mount Marcy and Panther Gorge.

Two trails can be used to access the summit of Haystack. The mountain can be approached from the north by following the Johns Brook Trail from the popular Garden parking area in Keene Valley to the Phelps Trail, passing the DEC Interior Outpost and Johns Brook Lodge, and then following the State Range Trail from a junction between the two. The northern trail to Haystack branches from the State Range Trail 0.6 mi from the summit. The distance from Keene Valley to the DEC Interior Outpost is 3.5 mi and Haystack is an additional 5.8 mi, for a total distance of 9.3 mi. It can also be approached from the south, starting at the privately owned Ausable Club. This approach involves steep, rough terrain, and is not recommended for backpackers due to the risk of falls. This route is 3.5 mi from Upper Ausable Lake to the summit, with an elevation gain of 3070 ft.

Ascents of Haystack are sometimes combined with several other peaks, including Marcy, Basin, Saddleback, or the Great Range.

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

title: Mount Haystack


text: Talk:Mount Haystack

title: Talk:Mount Haystack


text:
Talk:Sinking fund

Where?
"A Sinking Fund was a device used in the 18th century to reduce national debt. It was first introduced by Robert Walpole in 1716 and was used effectively in the 1720s and early 1730s."

Where was it used? In every nation of the world? -Mysidia 04:39, 12 Jun 2005 (UTC)

 * In Western Europe at first then spread out (unless the ancient Babylonians had sinking funds. They seem to have invented everything!). --DelftUser (talk) 03:39, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

What?
It is still not clear to me what a sinking fund is. Is it a loan? Did people give money to the state? How does a sinking fund work? How does a mandatory sinking fund work? A "device ... to reduce national debt" could be anything, like robbing citizens. (comment by 213.46.147.47)

 * It is a saving account with the interest added each term (which gives it the name sinking fund). If the state has to pay $90 each year to service its debt but collect $100 from taxes that were enacted to service the debt, then it puts $10 in a saving account. When there is a $100 in the fund it buys back a bond (let us assume that each bond cost $100 and pays $10). Now the state pay $80 while saving $20, thus the debt is reduced.--DelftUser (talk) 03:39, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

Only applicable to debt with variable present (market) value?
My understanding (see http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/05/053105.asp) is that a sinking fund acts as a buffer for paying down debts >>that have a variable market value<< (i.e. bonds or shares). A company, school district or nation may wish to pay down its debt (or repurchase its shares) but also wish to time those payments to when the market value of the debt or shares is low. That way they get a better deal. Those times may not coincide with moments when there is a lot of cash in the current account, so they segregate the repayment money into the sinking fund to make sure they have it when the market opportunity arises. Unless you have obligations with a variable market value, you don't need a sinking fund.

Perhaps the fact that a sinking fund is only applicable to debts with a variable market value (i.e. bonds) should be given a bit more prominence?

title: Talk:Sinking fund


text: User talk:68.56.189.162

title: User talk:68.56.189.162


text:
Talk:GameSpot

Early history source

 * Article about the launch of GameSpot in 1996

title: Talk:GameSpot


text: User talk:66.176.67.116

title: User talk:66.176.67.116


text: Template:River Great Ouse

title: Template:River Great Ouse


text:
Embraer EMB 121 Xingu

The Embraer EMB 121 Xingu (pronounced "shingoo") is a twin-turboprop fixed-wing aircraft built by the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer, Embraer. The design is based on the EMB 110 Bandeirante, using its wing and engine design merged with an all-new fuselage. The EMB 121 first flew on 10 October 1976.

A modified form of the EMB 121, the EMB 121A1 Xingu II, was introduced on 4 September 1981 with a more powerful engine (PT6A-135), increased seating (8 or 9 passengers) and a larger fuel capacity.

Before production ceased in 1987, Embraer had produced 106 EMB 121 aircraft, 51 of which were exported to countries outside Brazil.

Development and design
In 1975, Embraer began development of a family of three derivatives of its Bandeirante airliner, all of which were to feature a pressurised fuselage and T-tail. The smallest of the three, and the first to be launched, was the EMB-121 Xingu, designed to carry six passengers in a typical layout, with a maximum of nine passengers carried. The Xingu is a low-winged cantilever monoplane with a retractable tricycle undercarriage and a circular section fuselage. Its wing is based on that used by the Bandeirante, but with reduced wingspan. Like the Bandeirante, it is powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A turboprop engines.

The prototype Xingu, registration PP-ZXI, flew for the first time from Embraer's São Paulo factory on 10 October 1976. Testing resulted in a number of changes to improve performance and handling, including increasing wingspan by 0.4 m by adding swept wingtips, fitting a yaw damper and adding a large ventral fin. The first production aircraft made its maiden flight on 20 May 1977, and was exhibited at that year's Paris Air Show. The Xingu received its Brazilian type certificate in May 1977, followed by certification by the British Civil Aviation Authority in July that year.

On 26 July 1980, Embraer flew the prototype Xingu modified to a new version, with its fuselage stretched by the addition of a 25 cm plug ahead of the wing and a 64 cm plug aft of the wing, with the wing span increased by 38 cm. The new version, which was intended to be better suited to the US market, was powered by two 850 shp PT5A-42 engines, and had more fuel, increasing the aircraft's range. It was initially designated Xingu II, but when development was slowed by Embraer concentrating on other programmes (such as the Tucano, Brasilia and AMX), it was decided to introduce an interim improved version with more power as the EMB-121A1 Xingu II, and the stretched version became the EMB-121B Xingu III. Development of the Xingu III had been abandoned by 1984.

The Xingu II, meanwhile, first flew on 4 September 1981, and was powered by two 750 shp PT6A-135 engines, giving increased performance. It replaced the original version in production after 29 had been built. Xingu Is could be modified to Xingu II standard, and that option was taken by several operators. Production of the Xingu continued to 1987, with a total of 106 Xingus being built.

Service
Initial deliveries of the Xingu were mainly to customers in Brazil, both civil operators and the armed forces, with the Brazilian Air Force receiving six in 1978 for VIP transport. In September 1980, the Xingu was selected by the French Ministry of Defense for a multi-engine training aircraft for the French Air Force (Armée de l'air) and French Naval Aviation (Aéronavale) which would also be suitable for liaison duties for the navy. The Xingu was selected ahead of the American Beechcraft King Air and Cessna 425. A total of 41 aircraft were purchased, 25 for the French Air Force and 16 for the Navy, with deliveries completed by the end of 1983. The Brazilian Air Force's Xingus remained in service until 2010. The Xingu remained in French service in 2022, with 22 in Air Force and 10 in Navy service.

Variants

 * EMB 121A Xingu I : Initial production version, powered by two 680 shp Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-28 engines.
 * EMB 121A1 Xingu II : Revised production version, powered by 750 shp Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-135 engines.
 * EMB 121B Xingu III : Projected stretched development, single prototype converted, but no production, powered by 850 shp Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-42 engines.
 * EMB 123 Tapajós : Initially proposed 10-seat derivative with new wings and powered by 1120 shp Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-45 engines. Abandoned in favour of simpler Xingu III.
 * EMB 120 Araguaia : 20 –24 seat version, with same wings and engine as EMB 123, but stretched fuselage. Later developed into larger 30-seater Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia, with much less commonality to EMB-121 than originally planned.
 * VU-9 : Brazilian Air Force designation.

Military operators

 * Brazilian Air Force
 * French Air and Space Force
 * French Naval Aviation
 * French Air and Space Force
 * French Naval Aviation

title: Embraer EMB 121 Xingu


text:
List of museums in China

, there are 5,788 museums in China, including 3,054 state-owned museums (museums run by national and local government or universities) and 535 private museums. In 2021, the nation's museums saw approximately 779 million visitors. Some museums of cultural relics, such as the Museum of Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses in Xi'an, have become internationally known tourist attractions. The government has exchanges of cultural relics exhibitions between museums and promotes the display and exchanges of legal non-governmental collections. The museums are classified into several grades, with the national first-grade museums being the highest classification.

List
Below is a list of museums in China grouped by the provinces or municipalities where they are located.

Anhui

 * Anhui Provincial Museum
 * Anhui Hall of Fame
 * Anhui Paleontology Fossil Museum
 * Bengbu Museum
 * China Huizhou Tax Museum
 * Ma'anshan Museum
 * She County Museum

Beijing

 * Beijing Ancient Architecture Museum
 * Beijing Folk Arts Museum
 * Beijing Liao and Jin City Wall Museum
 * Beijing Museum of Contemporary Art
 * Beijing Museum of Natural History
 * Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall
 * Capital Museum
 * China Agricultural Museum
 * China Civil Aviation Museum
 * China Museum of Telecommunications
 * China National Film Museum
 * China National Post and Postage Stamp Museum
 * China Numismatic Museum
 * China Printing Museum
 * China Railway Museum
 * China Science and Technology Museum
 * Dabaotai Western Han Dynasty Mausoleum
 * Digital Beijing Building
 * Geological Museum of China
 * Guanfu Museum (private)
 * International Friendship Museum
 * Lu Xun Museum
 * Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution
 * Ming City Wall Relics Park
 * Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression
 * National Art Museum of China
 * National Museum of China
 * Palace Museum (Forbidden City)
 * Paleozoological Museum of China
 * Shangyuan Art Museum
 * Western Zhou Yan State Capital Museum
 * Madame Tussauds Beijing

Chongqing

 * Baiheliang Underwater Museum
 * Chongqing Art Museum
 * Chongqing Museum of Natural History
 * Chongqing Science and Technology Museum
 * Chongqing Sichuan Opera Museum
 * General Joseph W. Stilwell Museum
 * Red Rock Village Museum
 * Three Gorges Museum
 * Madame Tussauds Chongqing

Fujian

 * Fujian Museum, Fuzhou
 * Guanfu Museum (private), Xiamen
 * Jinjiang Museum, Jinjiang
 * Quanzhou Museum
 * Quanzhou Maritime Museum, which houses the Quanzhou ship

Gansu

 * Dunhuang County Museum
 * Gansu Provincial Museum (Lanzhou)
 * Lanzhou Museum (Lanzhou)
 * Silk Route Museum

Guangdong

 * Dongguan Science and Technology Museum
 * Guangdong Museum, Guangzhou
 * Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou
 * Guangdong Museum of Revolutionary History
 * Guangdong Provincial Museum, Guangzhou
 * Longgang Museum of Hakka Culture, Longgang
 * Museum of the Mausoleum of the Nanyue King, Guangzhou
 * Shenzhen Museum, Shenzhen
 * Wangye Museum, Shenzhen

Guangxi

 * Guangxi Museum
 * Anthropology Museum Of Guangxi
 * Liuzhou Museum
 * Museum of Guihai Tablets Forest

Hainan

 * Hainan Provincial Museum

Hebei

 * Hebei Provincial Museum

Heilongjiang

 * Heilongjiang Provincial Museum

Henan

 * Henan Museum, Zhengzhou
 * Luoyang Museum, Luoyang
 * Guo State Museum, Sanmenxia

Hubei

 * Hubei Provincial Museum
 * Wuhan Museum
 * Underground Project 131, in Xianning Prefecture
 * Yifu Museum of China University of Geosciences
 * Madame Tussauds Wuhan

Hunan

 * Hunan Provincial Museum, Changsha
 * Changsha Museum, Changsha
 * Changsha Bamboo Slips Museum, Changsha
 * Qin Dynasty Bamboo Slips Museum of Liye, Longshan County

Inner Mongolia

 * Inner Mongolia Museum, Hohhot
 * Hohhot City Museum, Hohhot

Nanjing

 * China Modern History Museum, Nanjing
 * Nanjing Museum
 * Nanjing Municipal Museum
 * Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall, Nanjing
 * Taiping Heavenly Kingdom History Museum, Nanjing

Suzhou

 * Suzhou Museum
 * Suzhou Arts and Crafts Museum
 * Changzhou Museum, Suzhou
 * Zhenjiang Museum, Suzhou
 * Yangzhou Museum and China Block Printing Museum (the two are locally known as the "double museum", as they share the lobby section), Suzhou

Xuzhou

 * Xuzhou Museum
 * Xuzhou Decree Museum
 * Cultural Site of Han Dynasty
 * Lion Hill Chu Prince Mausoleum
 * Aquatic Terracotta Warrior Museum
 * Museum of Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses of The Han Dynasty
 * Han Dynasty Stone Relief Gallery
 * Han Dynasty Cultural and Artistic Museum

Other cities

 * The Museum of Guangling King's Tomb in Han Dynasty, Yangzhou
 * Nantong Museum, Nantong
 * The Old Museum of Wisteria, Changzhou
 * Red Army Memorial Museum, Rugao

Jiangxi

 * Jiujiang British Concession Museum
 * Jiujiang Museum
 * Jiujiang Folk Culture Museum
 * Jiujiang Urban Planning Exhibition Centre
 * Jiujiang Fine Arts Museum
 * Jiujiang Forest Museum

Jilin

 * Museum of the Imperial Palace of the Manchu State, Changchun
 * Jilin Provincial Museum
 * Jilin University Museum

Liaoning

 * Liaoning Provincial Museum
 * Dalian Natural History Museum
 * Dalian Modern Museum
 * Shenyang Steam Locomotive Museum

Macau

 * Communications Museum
 * Fire Services Museum
 * Grand Prix Museum
 * Macao Tea Culture House
 * Macau Museum of Art
 * Macau Wine Museum
 * Maritime Museum
 * Museum of Macau
 * Museum of Sacred Art and Crypt
 * Museum of Taipa and Coloane History
 * Natural and Agrarian Museum
 * Sun Yat Sen Memorial House
 * Taipa Houses-Museum

Ningxia

 * Ningxia Museum

Qinghai

 * Liuwan Museum of Ancient Painted Pottery, Ledu

Shaanxi

 * Shaanxi History Museum, Xi'an
 * Xi'an Stele Forest Museum (Beilin), Xi'an
 * Terracotta Army, Xi'an
 * Xi'an Banpo Museum, Xi'an
 * Maoling Museum, Xianyang
 * Xi'an Museum (within grounds of Jianfu Temple), Xi'an
 * Xianyang Museum, Xianyang
 * Baoji Bronzeware Museum, Baoji

Shandong

 * Shandong Art Museum
 * Shandong Provincial Museum
 * Shandong Science & Technology Museum
 * Jinan Museum
 * Qingdao Municipal Museum

Shanghai

 * Aurora Art Museum
 * China Art Museum
 * China Maritime Museum
 * C. Y. Tung Maritime Museum
 * Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai
 * Power Station of Art
 * Rockbund Art Museum
 * Shanghai Entomological Museum
 * Shanghai Film Museum
 * Shanghai History Museum
 * Shanghai International Wine & Spirits Museum
 * Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum
 * Shanghai Mazu Cultural Palace
 * Shanghai Museum
 * Shanghai Museum of Public Security
 * Shanghai Museum of Traditional Chinese Medicine
 * Shanghai Natural History Museum
 * Shanghai Science and Technology Museum
 * Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center
 * Shanghai Water Displaying Hall
 * Yuz Museum
 * Long Museum
 * Guangfulin Relics Park
 * Madame Tussauds Shanghai

Shanxi

 * Shanxi Provincial Museum (Taiyuan)
 * Shanxi Provincial Museum of Art (Taiyuan)
 * Datong Museum (Lower Huayan Monastery of Datong)
 * The Coal Museum of China (Taiyuan)

Sichuan

 * Zigong Dinosaur Museum, Zigong
 * Zigong Salt History Museum, Zigong
 * Sichuan Science and Technology Museum, Chengdu
 * Du Fu Cao Tang (Thatched Cottage of Du Fu), Chengdu
 * Sanxingdui Museum
 * Jinsha Site Museum
 * China Colour Lantern Museum
 * Jianchuan Museum

Tianjin

 * Tianjin Museum
 * Memorial to Zhou Enlai and Deng Yingchao, Tianjin
 * Tianjin Natural History Museum
 * Tianjin Museum of Modern History

Tibet Autonomous Region

 * Tibet Museum

Xinjiang

 * Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Museum
 * Khotan Cultural Museum
 * Turpan Museum

Yunnan

 * Lufeng Dinosaur Museum
 * Yunnan Provincial Museum
 * Yunnan Nationalities Museum
 * Kunming Natural History Museum of Zoology
 * Yunnan Railway Museum Kunming.

Zhejiang

 * Zhejiang Provincial Museum, Hangzhou
 * Zhejiang Museum of Natural History
 * Hangzhou Southern Song Dynasty Guan Kiln Museum
 * Hangzhou World Numismatic Museum
 * Liangzhu Culture Museum
 * China National Tea Museum, Hangzhou
 * China National Silk Museum, Hangzhou
 * Zhoushan Museum
 * China Finance and Taxation Museum
 * China Shoes Museum, Wenzhou
 * China Grand Canal Museum
 * The National Sauce Culture Museum of China
 * Traditional Chinese Medicine Museum, Hangzhou
 * Chinese Seal Museum, Hangzhou

title: List of museums in China


text:
Heart and Soul (Joy Division album)

Heart and Soul is a box set by English rock band Joy Division containing nearly every track the band recorded between 1977 and 1980. The first two discs contain almost their entire studio output, including the albums Unknown Pleasures and Closer, along with singles and compilation appearances. Discs three and four collect rare demos and live recordings, many of which were previously unreleased. All tracks are digitally remastered. It reached #70 in the UK.

Track listing
All songs written by Ian Curtis, Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook and Stephen Morris.

Disc one: Unknown Pleasures Plus

 * 1) "Digital" – 2:53
 * 2) "Glass" – 3:56
 * 3) "Disorder" – 3:31
 * 4) "Day of the Lords" – 4:49
 * 5) "Candidate" – 3:05
 * 6) "Insight" – 4:28
 * 7) "New Dawn Fades" – 4:48
 * 8) "She's Lost Control" – 3:56
 * 9) "Shadowplay" – 3:55
 * 10) "Wilderness" – 2:38
 * 11) "Interzone" – 2:16
 * 12) "I Remember Nothing" – 5:56
 * 13) "Ice Age" – 2:25
 * 14) "Exercise One" – 3:08
 * 15) "Transmission" – 3:37
 * 16) "Novelty" – 4:01
 * 17) "The Kill" – 2:16
 * 18) "The Only Mistake" – 4:19
 * 19) "Something Must Break" – 2:53
 * 20) "Autosuggestion" – 6:10
 * 21) "From Safety to Where...?" – 2:27

 * Notes
 * All tracks previously released.
 * Tracks 1 and 2 recorded in October 1978 at Cargo Studios, Rochdale. First released on the A Factory Sample EP in 1978.
 * Tracks 3 to 12 recorded in April 1979 at Strawberry Studios, Stockport. First released as the entire Unknown Pleasures album in 1979.
 * Track 13 recorded in October/November 1979 at Cargo Studios, Rochdale, during sessions for the Licht und Blindheit single. First released in the Still album in 1981.
 * Tracks 14, 17 and 18 recorded in April 1979 at Strawberry Studios, during sessions for the Unknown Pleasures album. First released in the Still album in 1981.
 * Tracks 15 and 16 recorded in July/August 1979 at Strawberry Studios. First released as the "Transmission" single in 1979.
 * Track 19 recorded in July/August 1979 at Central Sound Studios, Manchester, during sessions for the "Transmission" single. First released in the Still album in 1981.
 * Tracks 20 and 21 recorded in April 1979 at Strawberry Studios, during sessions for the Unknown Pleasures album. First released on the Earcom 2: Contradiction EP in 1979.

Disc two: Closer Plus

 * 1) "She's Lost Control" (12" version) – 4:57
 * 2) "Sound of Music" – 3:55
 * 3) "Atmosphere" – 4:11
 * 4) "Dead Souls" – 4:57
 * 5) "Komakino" – 3:54
 * 6) "Incubation" – 2:52
 * 7) "Atrocity Exhibition" – 6:05
 * 8) "Isolation" – 2:52
 * 9) "Passover" – 4:46
 * 10) "Colony" – 3:55
 * 11) "A Means to an End" – 4:07
 * 12) "Heart and Soul" – 5:51
 * 13) "Twenty Four Hours" – 4:26
 * 14) "The Eternal" – 6:07
 * 15) "Decades" – 6:13
 * 16) "Love Will Tear Us Apart" – 3:27
 * 17) "These Days" – 3:26

 * Notes
 * All tracks previously released.
 * Track 1 recorded in March 1980 at Strawberry Studios, Stockport. First released on "Atmosphere" single in 1980.
 * Track 2 recorded in January 1980 at Pennine Sound Studios, Oldham, during sessions for the "Love Will Tear Us Apart" single. First released on the Still album in 1981.
 * Tracks 3 and 4 recorded in October/November 1979 at Cargo Studios, Rochdale. First released as the Licht und Blindheit single in 1980.
 * Tracks 5 and 6 recorded in March 1980 at Britannia Row Studios, Islington, during the sessions for the Closer album. First released on the "Komakino" single in 1980.
 * Tracks 7 to 15 recorded in March 1980 at Britannia Row Studios, Islington. First released as the entire Closer album in 1980.
 * Track 16 recorded in March 1980 at Strawberry Studios, Stockport. First released on "Love Will Tear Us Apart" single in 1980.
 * Track 17 recorded in January 1980 at Pennine Sound Studios, Oldham. First released on "Love Will Tear Us Apart" single in 1980.

Disc three: Rarities

 * 1) "Warsaw" – 2:26
 * 2) "No Love Lost" – 3:42
 * 3) "Leaders of Men" – 2:34
 * 4) "Failures" – 3:44
 * 5) "The Drawback" (Demo) – 1:46
 * 6) "Interzone" (Demo) – 2:11
 * 7) "Shadowplay" (Demo) – 4:10
 * 8) "Exercise One" (Peel Session) – 2:28
 * 9) "Insight" (Demo) – 4:05
 * 10) "Glass" (Demo) – 3:29
 * 11) "Transmission" (Demo) – 3:51
 * 12) "Dead Souls" (Outtake) – 4:55
 * 13) "Something Must Break" (Rough Mix) – 2:53
 * 14) "Ice Age" (Demo) – 2:36
 * 15) "Walked in Line" (Rough Mix) – 2:46
 * 16) "These Days" (Piccadilly Radio Session) – 3:27
 * 17) "Candidate" (Piccadilly Radio Session) – 1:57
 * 18) "The Only Mistake" (Piccadilly Radio Session) – 3:43
 * 19) "Chance (Atmosphere)" (Piccadilly Radio Session) – 4:54
 * 20) "Love Will Tear Us Apart" (Peel Session) – 3:22
 * 21) "Colony" (Peel Session) – 4:03
 * 22) "As You Said" – 2:01
 * 23) "Ceremony" (Demo) – 4:57
 * 24) "In a Lonely Place (Detail)" (Demo) – 2:26

 * Notes
 * Contains 14 tracks previously unreleased.
 * Tracks 1 to 4 recorded in December 1977 at Pennine Sound Studios, Oldham. First released as the An Ideal for Living EP in 1978.
 * Tracks 5 to 7 recorded in May 1978 at Arrow Studios for the unreleased album ("RCA demo"). Previously unreleased.
 * Track 8 recorded in January 1979 at the BBC Studios, Maida Vale, London. Previously released on The Peel Sessions in 1986.
 * Tracks 9, 10, 11 and 14 recorded in March 1979 at Eden Studios, London, during a one-day demo session. Previously unreleased.
 * Tracks 12 and 13 recorded in July 1979 at Central Sound Studios, Manchester, during sessions for the "Transmission" single. Previously unreleased.
 * Track 15 recorded in April 1979 at Strawberry Studios, Stockport, during sessions for Unknown Pleasures album. A re-mixed version of this recording was released on the Still album in 1981.
 * Tracks 16 to 19 recorded in June 1979 at Pennine Sound Studios, Oldham, during a session for Piccadilly Radio. Previously unreleased.
 * Tracks 20 and 21 recorded in November 1979 at the BBC Studios, Maida Vale. First released on The Peel Sessions in 1987.
 * Track 22 recorded in March 1980 at Britannia Row Studios, Islington. First released on the "Komakino" single in 1980.
 * Track 23 recorded on 14 May 1980 at Graveyard Studios, Prestwich.
 * Track 24 taken from an April 1980 rehearsal tape salvaged by Peter Hook. Tracks 23 and 24 later recorded and released by New Order on "Ceremony" single in 1981.

Disc four: Live

 * 1) "Dead Souls" (live) – 4:17
 * 2) "The Only Mistake" (live) – 4:04
 * 3) "Insight" (live) – 3:48
 * 4) "Candidate" (live) – 2:03
 * 5) "Wilderness" (live) – 2:27
 * 6) "She's Lost Control" (live) – 3:38
 * 7) "Disorder" (live) – 3:12
 * 8) "Interzone" (live) – 2:03
 * 9) "Atrocity Exhibition" (live) – 5:52
 * 10) "Novelty" (live) – 4:27
 * 11) "Autosuggestion" (live) – 4:05
 * 12) "I Remember Nothing" (live) – 5:53
 * 13) "Colony" (live) – 3:53
 * 14) "These Days" (live) – 3:38
 * 15) "Incubation" (live) – 3:36
 * 16) "The Eternal" (live) – 6:33
 * 17) "Heart and Soul" (live) – 4:56
 * 18) "Isolation" (live) – 3:09
 * 19) "She's Lost Control" (live) – 5:30

 * Notes
 * All tracks previously unreleased.
 * Tracks 1 to 10 recorded on 13 July 1979 at the Factory, Manchester.
 * Track 11 recorded on 2 August 1979 at the YMCA, London.
 * Tracks 12 to 14 recorded on 2 Nov 1979 at the Winter Gardens, Bournemouth.
 * Tracks 15 to 19 recorded on 29 February 1980 at the Lyceum, London.

Missing tracks
The following recordings were not included on Heart and Soul:
 * Five tracks of the very first demo session in July 1977 at Pennine Sound Studios, Oldham, when the band was still called Warsaw: "Inside the Line", "Gutz", "At a Later Date", "The Kill" and "You're No Good for Me". First released on the Warsaw album in 1994.
 * Live track "At a Later Date" recorded in October 1977 at the Electric Circus, Manchester. First released on the Short Circuit EP in 1978.
 * Eight more tracks from the unreleased RCA album sessions in May 1978 at Arrow Studios, Manchester: "Leaders of Men", "Walked in Line", "Failures", "Novelty", "No Love Lost", "Transmission", "Ice Age" and "Warsaw". First released on the Warsaw album in 1994.
 * Three more tracks from the first Peel Session in January 1979: "Insight", "Transmission" and "She's Lost Control". First released on The Peel Sessions in 1986.
 * Additional track "Digital" from the demo-session in March 1979 at Eden Studios, London. Remains unreleased.
 * The re-mixed version of "Walked in Line" which was released on the Still album in 1981.
 * Additional track "Atrocity Exhibition" from the Piccadilly Radio session in June 1979 at Pennine Sound Studios, Oldham. Remains unreleased.
 * Two more tracks from the first session for the "Transmission" single at Central Sound Studios, Manchester, in July 1979: "Transmission" and "Novelty". The recordings of the same songs from a second session in the same month were released as the single. The two tracks from the first session remain unreleased.
 * Two live tracks from a TV appearance on BBC2's Something Else in September 1979: "Transmission" and "She's Lost Control". First released on Joy Division The Complete BBC Recordings in 2000.
 * Two more tracks from the second Peel Session in November 1979: "The Sound of Music" and "Twenty Four Hours". First released on The Peel Sessions in 1987.
 * The B-side version of "Love Will Tear Us Apart", recorded in January 1980 at Pennine Sound Studios, Oldham. First released on the Love Will Tear Us Apart single in 1980.
 * Live track "Sister Ray" a Velvet Underground cover, from a concert at the Moonlight Club, West Hampstead on 2 April 1980, released on Still in 1981.
 * Eleven live tracks from Birmingham University, recorded 2 May 1980, first released on Still in 1981.
 * The live tracks released on the live albums Preston 28 February 1980 in 1999 and Les Bains Douches 18 December 1979 in 2001.
 * Live tracks "Shadowplay" and "Transmission", recorded 13 July 1979 at the Factory, Manchester. "Transmission" was first released on the CD format of the re-release of the "Atmosphere" single in 1988. "Shadowplay" was not released until the 2007 reissue of Unknown Pleasures which also contains "Transmission".
 * Live tracks "Love Will Tear Us Apart" and "Glass", recorded at the Moonlight Club, West Hampstead, which appear on the test pressing of the bonus disc for the 2007 reissue of Unknown Pleasures, but not on the issued disc. The tracks are probably from the concert on 2 April 1980, at which the cover of "Sister Ray" which appears on Still was recorded.
 * Twelve live tracks from the University of London, recorded 8 February 1980, not released until the 2007 reissue of Closer.
 * Eight live tracks and six sound check tracks from the High Wycombe Town Hall (not to be confused with the High Hall at Birmingham University), not released until the 2007 reissue of Still.
 * The full-length studio recording of "In a Lonely Place", not released until Record Store Day 2011 as part of a double B-side to a double A-side 12" vinyl reissue of the New Order version of "Ceremony".

title: Heart and Soul (Joy Division album)


text:
Zhang Hong (Han dynasty)

Zhang Hong (153–212 ), courtesy name Zigang, was a Chinese politician serving under the warlords Sun Ce and Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China.

Originally from Guangling Commandery (廣陵郡; around present-day Yangzhou, Jiangsu), Zhang Hong and Zhang Zhao were known as the "Two Zhangs" and they were recruited by Sun Jian to be his advisers. He was a close friend of the Sun family, and when Sun Jian was involved in his campaigns, Zhang Hong served him as a privy adviser. In the days of Sun Ce, Zhang Hong was often responsible for writing official memorials and essays to Emperor Xian and Cao Cao. After Sun Ce's death, he was sent to serve Cao Cao, and then was later sent by Cao Cao to monitor Sun Quan's activities. Zhang Hong, however, remained loyal to Sun Quan, and on his deathbed, petitioned Sun Quan to develop the city of Moling (present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu), which ultimately became the imperial capital of the state of Eastern Wu in the Three Kingdoms period.

General references

 * Chen, Shou (3rd century). Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi).
 * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi zhu).
 * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi zhu).

title: Zhang Hong (Han dynasty)


text:
Category:Peninsulas of Australia

Peninsulas in Australia

title: Category:Peninsulas of Australia


text:
Wikipedia talk:Schools/Arguments

Change section autonumbers to manual numbers for easier referencing?
I'm going to manually add numbers to each of these arguments, if no one beats me to it. I'd like to refer to specific entries on the list.

Autonumbering will change over time, so that won't work well. I'm sure that eventually, these will be reordered, but for now, having a specific number to refer to will help express my opinion.

As a courtesy, I intend to wait a week before proceeding. (Feel free to do it if consensus develops to do so before then, or if you simply think the idea is good enough to just implement right away.) -- Un focused 04:49, 12 Jun 2005 (UTC)

I've waited far more than a week, and no one has commented. Does anyone have any comments either way about this? Un focused  02:44, 27 September 2005 (UTC)

 * As much as I hate unwikifying something...it would make for a handy way to refer to arguments. I think you should go ahead and do it if you want to.  stillnotelf 17:50, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

"Novice users are intimidated by huge district articles listing many schools, and are unlikely to add relevant information, specific to their school. For instance, adding notable alumni for one school, in a list of many schools is very hard. Also, when a separate school article is necessitated, a novice is unlikely to know how to undo a redirect. A vicious circle is created: the merge prevents expansion, and the lack of expansion is used to justify the merge "

 * What utter nonsense, no novices are intimidated. --Red stucco 09:42, 15 November 2005 (UTC)

Please put any pro-merge or pro-delete arguements in the appropriate section. Each set of arguemetns is supposed to be a particular point-of-view, and not a two-way-conversation. Likewise, I havnen't and won't edit the "delete" and "merge" or opposing reasons. There is an ongoing conversation at Wikipedia talk:Schools where a full two-way conversation, of point-counter-point is appropriate. --Rob 09:48, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

 * If people make up weird arguments like "novices will find it difficult to edit merged articles" without giving any evidence, those arguments should be edited to made more neutral --Red stucco 09:52, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

 * Oh and please use edit summaries if you are going to revert. --Red stucco 09:53, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

 * I left the word "Some" so it's not such an absolute arguement. Also, arguements in the sub-page (which is not in article space), is not supposed to be neutrual.  Four distinct points-of-view are shown, and should be.  WP:NPOV is about articles, not opinions on articles.  --Rob 09:54, 16 November 2005 (UTC)
 * Sorry about the lack of edit summary. --Rob 09:58, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

 * This change is quite reasonable, and I support it. --Rob 09:59, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

Who adds these entries and why?
Who adds these entries and what merit do they have? Are they simply individual's whims or have they been voted on? --Mecanismo | Talk 00:44, 22 December 2005 (UTC)

Blanking
This is a historical page, and as such should not be linked to in discussions. This prevents it from being used to vote in AFD, which is a discussion. By blanking it, it can't be cited in lieu of actual discussion. - A Man In Bl♟ck (conspire | past ops) 07:15, 30 July 2006 (UTC)
 * What are you doing (especially considering there is an MfD underway) is a clear violation of WP:VAND. it is policy not blank pages because you disagree with the consensus which is clearly developing at the MfD in question to retain this page and it's contents.--Nicodemus75 07:19, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

"Any good-faith effort to improve the encyclopedia [...] is not vandalism."

Many of the comments on the MFD are to treat this page as an archive and discourage its use in AFD. Blanking it retains the historical arguments (in the history, no less), while discouraging its use in AFD. Win win. - A Man In Bl♟ck (conspire | past ops) 07:23, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

To stave off any argument that it is no longer used in this way, it was cited as recently as a day and a half ago. - A Man In Bl♟ck (conspire | past ops) 07:26, 30 July 2006 (UTC)
 * It is true that any good faith action is not vandalism. We say that, in part, so an innocent newbie, who blanks a page, doesn't get accused of being a vandal (they don't the rules).  We also want people to do things they honestly think the community would support (e.g. things that further the goals of the project), but not be constrained by the technical written rules.   You however, first tried to remove this with an out-of-process deletion.  That failed, and you worked "within the rules" with an MfD.  Everybody rejected your proposal, and then you blanked the page.  You clearly knew what you were doing wasn't considered acceptable by the community, but did it anyhow.  That's not good faith actions.  Therefore, your blanking is vandalism.    --Rob 15:30, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

Really. There's no support for not using this on the MFD?

 * If you ever see someone quoting one in a discussion, be sure to slap him about with a large trout.
 * Personally I prefer to use 1000page+ Unix handbooks (for slapping), but other than that I agree with Cyde.
 * Keep and tag as rejected to stop people from citing it as policy (which it is not). Seeing that some school inclusionists believe there is a conspiracy to delete all school articles on Wikipedia, this may need protection. If people continue to cite it, it can be reviewed again later, and I'll vote to delete.
 * Kotepho's comment, which I can't copy here in a link

This needs to be kept as an archive, I understand that, but it needs not to be cited in AFD as though it were in any way binding policy, and it needs not to be cited in lieu of discussion, because AFD isn't a vote.

Also, Rob, you know what vandalism is, but in case you've forgotten, "Any good-faith effort to improve the encyclopedia [...] is not vandalism." Please spare me the test templates for edits explained in the edit summary and on talk. - A Man In Bl♟ck (conspire | past ops) 19:32, 30 July 2006 (UTC)
 * I was already well aware that good faith edits are never considered vandalism.  I still consider your repeat page blanking to be blatant vadalism.  --Rob 19:52, 30 July 2006 (UTC)
 * Really. I don't suppose you could explain what bad-faith interest I have in this, instead of the good-faith reasoning I offered above? - A Man In Bl♟ck (conspire | past ops) 20:03, 30 July 2006 (UTC)
 * I think it's pretty obvious that a "keep" position in the course of the MfD does not equal "blank the contents of the article". Your entire argument is specious in the extreme. When an overwhleming consensus in the MfD is to keep the page, that consensus is obviously talking about the content of the page. The MfD is not about a blank page, it is about the contents - blanking it as you have done is operating contrary to consensus and is frankly, not being done in good faith.--Nicodemus75 20:41, 30 July 2006 (UTC)
 * Now would be a great time to stop. Everybody.  Come back in 24h.  Just zis Guy you know? 20:44, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

MfD Result Notice
This page was the subject of an MfD discussion closed on 1 August 2006. The result was Keep. Xoloz 15:52, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

This is an essay
Or more precisely, this is four essays on one page (being somewhat non-literal). Hence, essay is appropriate. We have various essays, expressing various opinions, which aren't marked historical, even if they're quite old and quite stable. Historical is good for active proposals which become inactive (so user's don't waste time responding to something, nobody has remaining interest in). This was never a proposal. Of course, some people still choose to link to it, which is their choice. --Rob 23:45, 1 August 2006 (UTC)
 * If this is going to be marked active, then there needs to be some venue to discuss points here. (I marked it historical because it pointed people to a now-defunct discussion in order to discuss any points.) Factual claims about many of these points, in all four sections, have been disputed. - A Man In Bl♟ck (conspire | past ops) 04:47, 2 August 2006 (UTC)

Confusion
From what  I  can see, this essay  only  adds to  the perennial  confusion  that  was begun by  user Jimbo's 2003 statement which  he has now retracted in August  2011 as being no  longer relevant. We are  still  none the wiser as to  whether high  schools should enjoy immunity  for deletion or not. --Kudpung กุดผึ้ง (talk) 12:46, 27 August 2011 (UTC)

title: Wikipedia talk:Schools/Arguments


text:
Émile Girardeau

Émile Girardeau (12 October 1882 – 7 December 1970) was a French engineer, famous for being the first person to patent the original system of frequencies that is used and known today as radar. He was born in 1882 at Luçon, France (the Vendée).

In his early life he attended the École Polytechnique (Polytechnic School) (1902-1908) and became the Instructor at the École nationale des ponts et chaussées (National School of Bridges and Roads). By 1910, Girardeau established the first radiotelegraphic radio connection in tropical countries with Joseph Béthenod. The radio connection systems were designed for the Radioelectric French Company.

In 1919, Girardeau was promoted to Chevalier of the Legion of Honour for services in war. In 1922, Girardeau set in motion the idea for the creation of a public utility of information and music. Also in 1922, Girardeau helped establish the first private radio station in France, called RADIOLA, which at the end of March 1929 became Radio Paris. In 1931, Girardeau was promoted to Commander of the Legion of Honour.

In 1934, Girardeau headed the team which developed the first radar system in France. In 1939, Girardeau built with Maurice Ponte radar installations for the defence of Paris against planes (which were destroyed in June 1940). After the fall of France to Germany, Girardeau created a factory for underground forces of free France.

In 1944, Girardeau re-established radio communications in France. In 1945, Girardeau became a member of the Académie navale. In 1954, Girardeau became a member of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques. In 1970, Girardeau died in Paris.

External links and references

 * "Emile Girardeau". L'histoire du "radar ", les faits (tr. The history of the "radar", the facts)

title: Émile Girardeau


text:
Liuwan Museum of Ancient Painted Pottery

The Liuwan Museum of Ancient Painted Pottery is a ceramics museum located in Ledu District, Qinghai Province, China. The museum opened in 2004 and has a collection of 37,925 objects, many of which are from the Neolithic period from Liwan tombs. It is the largest painted pottery museum in China.


text:
List of mayors of Markham, Ontario

This is a list of mayors of the city of Markham, Ontario as well as reeves of Markham Village and Township of Markham

York County Era (1850-1971)
Following the passage of the Baldwin Act in 1849 (now Municipal Incorporation Act) the Home District was abolished and local governments were created. The Village of Markham (a police village called Markham Village) was formed in 1850 (with York County, Ontario) and a local council led by a reeve.

From 1850 to 1873 the reeve was appointed position. On November 20, 1872, the Warden of York County signed the By-law of Incorporation, which resulted in the election of the reeve (and Council) for the Village of Markham.

 * 1. Amos Wright 1850
 * 2. David Reesor 1851
 * 3. George P Dickson 1852
 * 4. Henry Miller 1853-1855
 * 5. David Reesor 1856-57
 * 6. William Marr Button 1858 - Lieutenant Colonel of the 1st York Light Dragoons (now The Governor General's Horse Guards) and grandson of Captain John Button, founder of the 1st York Light Dragoons (Button's Troop)
 * 7. David Reesor 1859-1860
 * 8. William Marr Button 1861-1863
 * 9. John Bowman 1864-1865
 * 10. William Marr Button 1866
 * 11. John Bowman 1867
 * 12. William Marr Button 1868-1873 - last unelected reeve of the village of Markham before 1873
 * 13. James Robinson 1874-1878 - first elected reeve of the village
 * 14. William Eakin 1879-1882
 * 15. Thomas Williamson 1883
 * 16. David James 1884-1886
 * 17. Robert Bruce 1887-1888
 * 18. Anthony Forster 1889-1892
 * 19. Jonathan Slater 1893-1896
 * 20. Walter Scott 1897-1898
 * 21. James Laurie 1899
 * 22. Arthur Quantz 1900
 * 23. James Dimma 1901-1902
 * 24. Abner Summerfeldt 1903-1904
 * 25. Jonathan Slater 1905-1907
 * 26. William Henry Lapp 1908–1909
 * 27. Jonathan Nigh 1910-1916
 * 28. George P. Padget 1917-1923
 * 29. Wesley Gohn 1924-1932
 * 30. George P. Padget 1933-1936
 * 31. Orville Heisey 1938-1943
 * 32. Charles H. Hooper 1944-1947
 * 33. William W. Griffin 1948-1949
 * 34. Winfred Timbers 1950-1953
 * 35. Alfred DeMasurier 1954-1956
 * 36. William L. Clark 1957-1960
 * 37. Alma Walker 1961-1967 - last reeve of the Village of Markham and first female reeve of the village

After 1968, Markham Village became the Township of Markham with council now led by a mayor:

 * 38. Alma Walker 1968-1970 - Mayor - first mayor and first female mayor

Reeves of Markham Village 1872-1968

 * James Spleight 1872-1882
 * Garnet R. Vanzant 1883-1884, 1888, 1890
 * James Robinson 1885-1887
 * William Hamilton Hall 1889, 1891-1892
 * John Jerman 1893-1894
 * Fred C. Ash 1895
 * Dr Wesley Robinson 1896
 * Thomas H. Spleight 1897, 1906-1910
 * Fred Underhill 1898-1899
 * R.C. Tefft 1900, 1911-1912
 * Edward H. Wilson 1901
 * Henry C. Marr 1902, 1904
 * E.H. Wilson 1903, 1905
 * Robert A. Fleming 1913-1919
 * Dr T. H. Hassard 1920
 * Fred Gowland 1921-1922
 * Arthur Ferrier Wilson 1923-1925, 1930
 * George W. Wilson 1926-1929
 * Frank Nighswander 1932-1933
 * Albert Wideman 1933-1937
 * Orville B. Heisey 1938-1943 - Proprietor - Unionville Planing Mill
 * Frank A. Burkholder 1944-1946
 * Charles W. Reesor 1947-1949
 * Edward Reeve 1950-1951
 * Joseph V Fry 1952-1961
 * Alma Walker 1962-1968

Mayors of Markham Village 1969-1970

 * Alma Walker 1969-1970

York Region Era (1971-)
Post war changes and the rapid urban growth of Toronto led to the shrinking of York County and gave rise to the establishment of the Regional Municipality of York (Regional Municipality of York Act RSO). Following the creation of York Region in 1971, the Town of Markham was incorporated by the larger Township of Markham Village, annexing the smaller villages of Unionville, Ontario and Thornhill, Ontario (portion east of Yonge Street) into the new local government. A new Town Council was created (replacing the councils of Markham Village, Unionville and Thornhill) and led by the following mayors:

 * 39. Anthony Roman 1970-1984 - last Mayor of the Township and first Mayor of the Town of Markham
 * 40. Carole Bell 1984-1988
 * 41. Anthony Roman 1988-1992
 * 42. Frank Scarpitti 1992-1994 - appointed following the death of Roman
 * 43. Don Cousens 1994-2006
 * 44. Frank Scarpitti 2006–present - last town mayor and first city mayor

Deputy Mayors and Reeves

 * David Reesor 1850
 * Henry Miller 1851
 * Alexander Hunter 1852
 * John Reesor 1853-1854
 * George Pringle 1856-1857
 * William Trudgeon 1858
 * Robert Marsh 1859, 1861
 * William Button 1860
 * Archibald Barker 1862
 * John Bowman 1863
 * James Gormley 1864-1865
 * James Robinson 1866
 * James Bowman 1867
 * John Lane 1868-1875
 * William Milliken 1876 - Postmaster - Milliken Postal Village
 * Benjamin F. Reesor 1878-1881
 * David James 1882-1883
 * Robert Bruce 1884-1886
 * Anthony Forster 1887-1888
 * H.B. Schmidt 1889-1891
 * Jonathan Slater 1892
 * Walter Scott 1893-1896
 * James Lawrie 1897
 * Arthur Quantz 1898-1899
 * James Dimma 1900
 * John Eckardt 1901
 * Abner Summerfeldt 1902, 1917
 * George Morrison 1903-1905
 * W.H. Lapp 1906–1907
 * Jonathan Nigh 1908-1909
 * George B. Padget 1910-1916
 * John A. Mitchell 1918-1921
 * Wesley V. Gohn 1922-1923
 * Robert A. Smith 1924, 1931-1933
 * John R. Campbell 1925-1927
 * Reuben L. Stiver 1928-1930
 * William L. Clark 1934, 1944-1945, 1954-1956
 * James Rennie 1935-1936
 * Charles H. Hooper 1937-1943, 1963
 * Albert Reesor 1946
 * Dalton Rummey 1947-1948, 1950-1951
 * Winfred Timbers 1949
 * Alfred E. James 1952
 * Alfred LeMasurier 1953
 * Donald M. Deacon 1957
 * Wilfred R. Dean 1958-1960
 * I. Lawson Mumberson 1961-1962
 * Stewart T. Rumble 1964-1965
 * S.J. Gadsby 1967-1968
 * Anthony Roman 1969-1970
 * Thomas Williamson - was a township councillor and later reeve
 * Ron Dancey - later served as Councillor in Brant, Ontario
 * Ronald Moran 1980s-1991 - served as Regional Councillor for Markham
 * Frank Scarpitti 1991-1992
 * Carole Bell 1994-1996
 * Frank Scarpitti 1997–2006
 * Jim Jones 2006-2007
 * Jack Heath 2007–2018
 * Don Hamilton 2018-present

Notable reeves and mayors
Several reeves and mayors of Markham went on to serve in higher elected office after (and before) their terms in Markham:

 * Reesor served as a legislative councillor in the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada and later in the Senate of Canada.
 * Wright served as a MLA in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada, MP in the House of Commons of Canada, as well as federal Indian Agent and Crown Agent of Ontario.
 * Roman served as Chair of York Region Council and was an MP in the House of Commons of Canada before becoming mayor.
 * Cousens served a provincial cabinet minister and MPP in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario before becoming mayor.
 * Eakin served as Warden of York County, Ontario, later becoming a MLA and Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories.

title: List of mayors of Markham, Ontario


text:
Wicked Science

Wicked Science is an Australian television series, which debuted on 24 February 2004. The series focuses on Toby (played by André de Vanny) and Elizabeth (played by Bridget Neval), two teenagers who are mysteriously turned into wizards of science. The series was originally run on Network Ten from 2004 to 2006 of which it then moved to Disney Channel, Wicked Science has also screened on ABC1 and ABC2 on 7:00am, Thursday. On Disney Channel Asia, it was fully aired until 2007.

Toby and Elizabeth are two students in the same grade. Toby is a regular student and Elizabeth is really mean so nobody likes her. One day, a ray hits Toby and Elizabeth and they both acquire some scientific superpowers becoming geniuses. Toby is not really happy with his new gift, but Elizabeth wants to reveal using his powers to control the high school and Toby is the only one capable to stop her. The boring Sandy Bay school is now turned into a chaos with continuous unexplained events.

Main

 * André de Vanny as Toby Johnson. Toby is a normal teenager and the main protagonist who studies in Sandy Bay High School. He was one of two students involved in an accident following an experiment on a prehistoric rock, which caused him to become a genius. His best friends are Russell Skinner and Dina Demeris. He is also in love with Bianca, a pretty girl in his class.
 * Bridget Neval as Elizabeth Hawke. Elizabeth (the main antagonist) was also involved in the accident that turned Toby into a genius. Unlike Toby, she wants to use her newfound genius to take over the school. She dislikes everybody except Toby, whom she is secretly in love with. She is jealous and demonstrates that she will go to any length to get what she wants.
 * Benjamin Schmideg as Russell "Russ" Skinner, Toby's best friend. He likes to skateboard and eat pizza. While not being too clever, he is a loyal and brave friend.
 * Saskia Burmeister as Dina Demiris. Dina is a good friend to Toby and Russ. She is smart, good looking, boys get on her nerves sometimes and she hates Elizabeth. She goes to Hong Kong in Series 2 and is replaced by Sasha.
 * Emma Leonard as Verity McGuire. Verity has been Elizabeth's best friend since Primary School and often assists Elizabeth in her schemes. While she knows Elizabeth goes too far, she does not have the confidence to speak up.
 * Brook Sykes as Garth King, the dimwitted school bully. He is often in cahoots with Elizabeth and acts as her spy. He is always up for a fight, especially if it involves Russ.
 * Robert van Mackelenberg as Professor Carl Tesslar, the physics professor at Sandy Bay High School.
 * Geneviève Picot as Principal Alexa Vyner, Sandy Bay High School's principal.
 * Greta Larkins as Sacha Johnson. Sacha is Toby's cousin, who moves to Sandy Bay in Series 2, the last Series of Wicked Science, before it was finished after the last episode.

Recurring

 * Cleopatra Coleman as Emma Hellman (8 episodes)

Guests

 * Jessica Tovey as Nadine Sterling
 * Nicholas Bell as Virgil

title: Wicked Science


text:
Jasper West

Jasper West was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting from 1959 to 1963.

Historu
It was created after Edmonton broke up into nine districts after the province standardized to the First Past the Post voting system in 1959.

In 1963 the district was renamed Edmonton Jasper Place, which in 1971 was re-made into the Edmonton-Meadowlark district.

1959 Redistribution
The historic 1959 redistribution of the provincial ridings of Calgary and Edmonton dismantled the proportional representation system previously in use in the cities and changed the voting system to First Past the Post single member districts. From 1924 to 1956 Calgary and Edmonton members were elected by Single Transferable Vote in multi-member districts. The rest of the province had used Instant-runoff voting in single-member districts.

The 1959 redistribution created nine districts in Edmonton.

The other eight ridings were Edmonton Centre, Edmonton North, Edmonton Norwood, Edmonton North East, Edmonton North West, Strathcona Centre, Strathcona East and Strathcona West.

title: Jasper West


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Wacko Jacko

 This page is an archive of the discussion about the proposed deletion of the article below. This page is no longer live. Further comments should be made on the article's talk page rather than here so that this page is preserved as an historic record. The result of the debate was Redirect. Golbez 06:01, Jun 18, 2005 (UTC)

Wacko Jacko
Redirect to Michael Jackson; it seems inherently POV that it's there at all. Why not create a page called Wife murderer and redirect to O.J. Simpson? Ral 315  05:01, Jun 12, 2005 (UTC)

 * COMMENT from nominator: This is a vote to delete a redirect; however, I thought putting it on VfD, rather than RfD, would make sure that if the intent of the community was to keep (because this obviously has been very anti-delete - which I understand) it needed to go before the general consensus of most users, rather than the fewer who watch RfD.  Ral  315  06:04, Jun 13, 2005 (UTC)

 * Keep as redirect. Because when you say "wife murderer", you could be talking about Robert Blake. Or Scott Peterson. When you say Wacko Jacko, what else could you possibly be referring to? Or, better yet, who else would you likely be talking about? -- BD2412 talk 05:11, 2005 Jun 12 (UTC)
 * comment Wife murderer, well someone made that redirect just now :-P, -- Melaen 16:21, 12 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * Comment, well I've changed it to a redirect to Spousal abuse just now. -- BD2412 talk 16:30, 2005 Jun 12 (UTC)

 * Keep Redirect to Michael Jackson. It's not POV to use a well-established nickname for someone as a redirect. Unwanted redirects belong at WP:RFD, anyway. Oh, I get it now. There's been a dispute over whether this ought to be its own article or a redirect. A и D я 01D  TALK  EMAIL  16:43, Jun 12, 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep. I don't believe redirects can violate NPOV. And Wacko Jacko was in use long before the child molestation charges came up. Anyone remember the hyperbaric chamber and the monkey? 23skidoo 05:46, 12 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * Sure they can (violate NPOV, that is). For example, The Evil Empire (not really created as a redirect, just piped for illustration). A и D я 01D  TALK  EMAIL  05:52, Jun 12, 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep. Its a well-known nickname and likely to be searched for so redirect is useful. Capitalistroadster 05:47, 12 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep Well known nickname. Sasquatch′↔Talk↔Contributions 06:48, Jun 12, 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep. It's a established fact, not point of view, that the media some times refers Michael Jackson as "Wacko Jacko". -- AllyUnion (talk) 08:18, 12 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep. Redirects can indeed be POV as described above, but this one isn't. Mgm|(talk) 10:13, Jun 12, 2005 (UTC)
 * Merge with King of Pop into Michael Jackson slogans.     11:17, 12 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * Comment. A VfD discussion isn't needed for this.  You could have just redirected it to Michael Jackson and performed any necessary merge. --Tony Sidaway|Talk 11:39, 12 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep This is a commonly used name for whatever the hell Michael Jackson is. Spotteddogsdotorg 14:18, 12 Jun 2005 (UTC)

 * Keep, unfortunately. I understand why the nominator entered it into the VfD derby, as it's an honest question whether having the redirect implies official endorsement of the content of the phrase.  Until there is a worthy, NPOV article on the fate of Mikey and the scandal press, this should be a redirect, as we're not agreeing or disagreeing, but merely indicating that users expect to type it in and get to him.  Geogre 15:02, 12 Jun 2005 (UTC)

 * Keep What the hell else are you gonna call the sick freak. ConeyCyclone 17:35, 12 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep as redirect, per Geogre. --Idont Havaname 18:25, 12 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * Redirect. If the vote is to keep, then the POV of the article may need to be reviewed.  Vegaswikian 06:00, 13 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * Redirect. Neutralitytalk 20:10, Jun 13, 2005 (UTC)
 * This page is now preserved as an archive of the debate and, like some other VfD subpages, is no longer 'live'. Subsequent comments on the issue, the deletion, or the decision-making process should be placed on the relevant 'live' pages.  Please do not edit this page .