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Kurier Wileński

Kurier Wileński (literally: Vilnian Courier) is the main Polish-language newspaper in Lithuania. Printed in Vilnius, it is the only Polish-language daily newspaper published east of Poland. A direct descendant of both the 19th-century newspaper of the same name and the Czerwony Sztandar (Vilnius) newspaper, created by the Soviet authorities in 1953 as a means of Sovietization of the Polish diaspora left in the Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union. The newspaper is a member of the European Association of Daily Newspapers in Minority and Regional Languages (MIDAS). According to TNS Gallup media research, Kurier Wileński 36,800 people or 1.4% of Lithuania's population read at least one issue out of the last six in summer 2008, but that measure dropped to 0.3% in spring 2010.

Early history
The newspaper was first founded under the name of Kurier Litewski in 1796 in Grodno (modern Hrodna). The following year it moved to Vilna (modern Vilnius, Lithuania), where it became one of the principal sources of information for the local population. After the November Uprising of 1831, the newspaper was ordered to prepare a Russian language version as well, and served the role of the official newspaper of the Russian authorities of Vilna Governorate. However, it also fulfilled an important role in countering the Russification of local Poles.

In 1840 the newspaper was renamed to Kurier Wileński and attracted many notable Polish writers and journalists of the era as one of the very few relatively free newspapers in the lands ruled by the Russian Empire. Among them was Władysław Syrokomla and Antoni Odyniec. The newspaper was closed down and banned after the failed January Uprising of 1863.

It was relaunched under the title of Kurier Litewski after the Revolution of 1905. Headed by Eliza Orzeszkowa, it promoted Polish literature and culture, for which it was closed down several times by the Tsarist authorities. The title remained until the outbreak of World War I and the German occupation of Vilna in 1915.

During the interbellum the Polish press was no longer persecuted by the local authorities and the title was continued as one of several newspapers, the most important local newspapers being Słowo (headed by Stanisław Cat Mackiewicz), Robotnik Wileński and Express Wileński. Altogether, there were 114 newspapers published in Wilno in late 1930s, among them 17 dailies. 74 titles were being published in Polish, 16 in Yiddish and Hebrew, 12 in Belarusian, 9 in Lithuanian and 3 in Russian.

After the Invasion of Poland of 1939 and the Soviet annexation of Vilna, Kurier Wileński was closed down (the last issue was dated September 18, 1939). The only newspaper that was allowed by the Soviet authorities was Belarusian-language Vilenskaya Prauda (Віленская праўда). After the city was transferred to Lithuania, Kurier Wileński was allowed to be published, this time under heavy control of the Lithuanian authorities and censorship. It was again closed down after the city was annexed by the Soviet Union and its role was taken over by roughly 73 underground newspapers published in the city during the rest of World War II.

Czerwony Sztandar
After the war most of the local inhabitants of Vilnius were expelled from the city. However, a sizeable Polish minority in Lithuania remained. The Polish-language newspaper Czerwony Sztandar (Red Banner), edited by Antoni Fiedorowicz, was established.

In 1962, Leonid Romanowicz became the new editor in chief. Although Russian himself, Romanowicz was fascinated by the Polish culture and started to attract many notable journalists and writers. He also promoted the newspaper and it became the only daily newspaper in Polish available to many Poles in the Soviet Union. With time Russian staff was replaced by Poles and in 1984 Stanisław Jakutis became the new editor in chief.

In independent Lithuania
On November 1, 1988, Stanisław Jakutis was replaced by Zbigniew Balcewicz, who wanted to rename the newspaper back to Kurier Wileński to reflect the historic traditions. The first attempt to rename the daily was dismissed at the 20th Assembly of the Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Lithuania as a "newspaper with such name was being published during the period between World Wars, when Vilnius region was under Polish occupation". Only after second attempt, made after publication by Lithuanian scientist about the roots of Kurier Wileński and the history of Lithuanian press, Czerwony Sztandar ceased to exist and was replaced by Kurier Wileński on February 9, 1990.

On February 23, 1990, the Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Lithuania and Chair of the Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR issued a statement, of which 3rd point stated, that "In order to reflect the opinions of representatives of various nationalities and social classes of the Republic, we state that Sovietskaya Litva and Kurier Wileński are the newspapers of the Supreme Soviet of Lithuania and the Council of Ministers of Lithuania". On May 2, special issue of the newspaper was issued and Dziennik KC KP Litwy (The daily of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Lithuania) was removed from the paper's front page.

In 1995, the newspaper was privatised by its staff and in upcoming turmoil almost went bankrupt. It was taken over by UAB "Klion", and, after being reorganised and modernised, was moved to the new quarters. In 2000 it was passed to non-profit publisher Vilnijos Žodis.

Structure
The newspaper does not financially sustain itself and relies on support from the Polish Senate. According to press reports in 2007, the daily received approximately 120,000 litas annually to cover paper and printing costs from the Polish Senate and 4,000 litas monthly from Vilnius city municipality for advertising. In 2011, the daily suffered large financial losses due to increased postage costs, shrinking readership, and overall economic downturn. It considered publishing only three issues a week, but Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs promised to find enough funding to keep the newspaper on a daily schedule. The Polish support during the first ten months amounted to 328,000 Polish zloty.

Kurier Wileński has its own printing shop, which proved to be more cost effective. Its current circulation is between 2,500 and 3,500, issued Tuesday through Saturday. Daily issues have 16 pages, while Saturday issues have 24 pages and a TV supplement. Gazeta Harcerska (Scout's gazette) is a weekly page about Polish scouts is written exclusively by the scouts.

The staff consists of 24 people, including printing-shop's workers and management. There are four full-time journalists, four half-time journalists and seven freelancers.

Other activities
During the Perestroika and the dissolution of the USSR, Czerwony Sztandar and later Kurier Wileński led numerous social campaigns. Among them were campaigns against demolition of the Rasos Cemetery and for creation of Polish kindergartens to prevent the growing Lithuanization of Polish children.

Kurier Wileński is also, along with Gazeta Wyborcza, responsible for media coverage of the festival Kaziuki Wilniuki (inspired by Kaziuko mugė in Vilnius) held annually on March 3 to 6 in Lidzbark Warmiński.

On August 5, 2005, journalists of Kurier Wileński, together with colleagues from newspapers Tygodnik Wileńszczyzny and Magazyn Wileński, radio station Znad Wilii, quarterly Znad Wilii and TV program Album Wileński organised a protest in front of the Belarusian embassy in Vilnius against repressions of Polish journalists in Belarus.

On October 17, 2008, the daily switched to the F4 format (before that Kurier Wileński was published in the tabloid format).

Controversies
Much of controversy surrounds the daily regarding its financial status and takeover by UAB "Klion". Also, there are conflicts with Lithuanian nationalists who regard Lithuanian Poles as merely Polonised Lithuanians.

Article by Krzysztof Buchowski
In November 2006, Kurier Wileński published an article by Krzysztof Buchowski, Polish historian from the Białystok University, about Polish and Lithuanian relations between the world wars (Jak Polak widział Litwina w okresie międzywojennym). It was a reprint of a thesis presented during a Polish–Lithuanian historical conference (Stosunki polsko-litewskie na przestrzeni wieków) at Vilnius University.

In January 2007 (before municipal elections, in which Polish party also participated), Lithuanian TV program Savaitės komentarai on the TV3 station sparked a scandal claiming that the article was insulting the Lithuanians. Information about the article was passed on to the Lithuanian Ethics Committee of Journalists and Publishers (Lietuvos žurnalistų ir leidėjų etikos komisija), which decided on March 19, 2007, that Kurier Wileński acted unethically publishing an article that was derogatory and insulting to the Lithuanians. The daily lost the appeal with the Committee and sued in the Lithuanian courts. The court rejected the appeal in April 2011. Kurier Wileński then submitted the case to the European Court of Human Rights.

title: Kurier Wileński


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List of storms named Gladys

The name Gladys has been used for four tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean.
 * Hurricane Gladys (1955)
 * Hurricane Gladys (1964)
 * Hurricane Gladys (1968) – hit Cuba, Florida and Nova Scotia.
 * Hurricane Gladys (1975)

The name Gladys has been also used for three tropical cyclones in the northwest Pacific Ocean.
 * Typhoon Gladys (1947) (T4721)
 * Typhoon Gladys (1991) (T9112, 14W) – Struck Japan and South Korea.
 * Typhoon Gladys (1994) (T9417, 20W, Uding) – Struck Taiwan.

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

title: List of storms named Gladys


text: User talk:80.131.34.239

title: User talk:80.131.34.239


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Robert Baldauf

Robert Baldauf (April 22, 1881 in Waldenburg BL – May 26, 1918) studied Classical philology at the University of Basel (Switzerland) for a short time at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. There is nothing known about a final degree. He worked as a journalist of the Frankfurter Zeitung in Frankfurt from 1904 until his early death in 1918. In 1902 and 1903 he published two out of an intended four volumes under the general title of History and Criticism; the first and fourth volumes in the series. These two volumes are of interest to critics of chronology and written history. Baldauf managed to come to his conclusions by philological analysis.

Work
Baldauf had studied the archives of the famous Swiss monastery of St. Gallen, formerly one of the key centres of Catholicism, and discovered traces of the barbaric library raid made by Poggio Bracciolini and a friend of his, both of them highly educated servants of the Roman curia. They purloined numerous manuscripts and books that were considered ancient from the library of this monastery (however, the manuscripts may date to a more recent epoch, which wouldn't preclude them from serving as prototypes for the manufacture of numerous "ancient" works by Poggio and his assistants).

Baldauf claimed to have studied numerous presumed ancient manuscripts and claimed they were, for the most part, recent forgeries. Baldauf discovered parallels between the historical books of the Old Testament and the works of the mediaeval Romance genre as well as Homer's Iliad that were strong enough to lead him to the assumption that the text of both the Iliad and the Bible date from the late Middle Ages.

Some of the mediaeval chronicles ascribed to different authors resembled each other to such an extent that Baldauf was forced to identify them as works of the same author, despite the fact that the two documents were presumed separated chronologically by an interval of two centuries at least. At any rate, some of the expressions characteristic for Romanic languages that one finds in both documents fail to correspond with either of the alleged datings (one of them being the ninth and the other the eleventh century). Apart from that, some of the manuscripts contain distinctly more recent passages, such as frivolous stories of endeavours in public steam baths (which the Europeans only became acquainted with during the late Reconquista epoch) and even allusions to the Holy Inquisition. Baldauf's study of the "ancient" poetry in Volume 4 demonstrates that many "ancient" poets wrote rhymed verse resembling that of the mediaeval troubadours. Baldauf is convinced that the verse of Horace is of mediaeval origin, pointing out German and Italian influences inherent in his Latin. Furthermore, Baldauf points out such pronounced parallels between the poetry of Horace and Ovid (who were presumably unaware of each other's existence) that one becomes convinced that the works of both belong to a third party – apparently, a much later author - a fact most philologists explain by the fact that Roman literature was heavily influenced by Greek models and especially Homer's writings and the motives used in the Ilias and the Odysee have marked all occidental literature until today.

Baldauf sums up his research in the following words: "Our Romans and Greeks have been Italian humanists." All of them – Homer, Sophocles, Aristotle and many other "ancient" authors, so different in our perception, hail from the same century, the fourteenth and fifteenth of the Italian renaissance. Baldauf avers that the entire history of the Ancient Greeks and Romans—likewise the Biblical "history," which correlates with the above to some extent—was conceived and introduced by the Italian humanists, as well as their colleagues and followers from other countries. Humanism, he says, has given us a whole fantasy world of antiquity and the Bible, as well as the early Middle Ages, which Baldauf also considered an invention of the humanist writers. This fictional history, initially drafted on parchment, was carved in stone and cast in metal; it "has rooted itself in our perception to such an extent that no positivist criticisms can make humanity doubt its veracity."

Legacy
Some of his ideas have been readopted by other historians that doubt the historical chronology of the Antiquity and the Middle Ages, while all "mainstream" historians consider them valueless and argue that inventing 3000 years of history, its written accounts, literature, poetry etc. and destroying all the traces of this fraud was a work one generation of writers could never fulfill. The enormous expenditure of work this fraud would have needed makes these theories much more improbable than the coincidence in the literary works pointed out by Baldauf (according to the scientific principle of Occam's razor).

Contemporaries of Baldauf Edwin Johnson contributed to the same results. Yet they only aroused some limited interest and were soon forgotten or pushed aside. Therefore, nobody took care to investigate the life and circumstances of this enigmatic author. His being a lecturer at Basel University cannot be confirmed so far, as his name occurs nowhere in the annales and documents of this institution; the University printer only lists his name for two terms from winter 1901 to summer 1902 and tells us that he was born in Waldenburg (Switzerland) on 21. April 1881. It seems that he ever received his Ph.D., he died on 26 May 1918 in Frankfurt (Germany). Registration or address books in Basel city of the years around 1900 do not include his name. It is not until the early 1990s that he was restored out of oblivion by recent German history analysis (see books on chronology criticism by Uwe Topper).

Works

 * Robert Baldauf: Historie und Kritik Bd 4. Das Altertum C. Metrik und Prosa. Basel: Universitätsdruckerei Friedrich Reinhardt 1902. Facsimile reprint Dehli: Isha Books (= Gyan Books) Dehli 2013, ISBN 978-93-33-1637-3-6.
 * Robert Baldauf: Historie und Kritik Bd 1. Der Mönch von St Gallen. Leipzig: Dyksche Buchhandlung 1903. Facsimile reprint Dehli: Isha Books (= Gyan Books) Dehli 2013, ISBN 978-93-33-1506-0-6.
 * Robert Baldauf (rb): Das elsässische Problem auf der Bühne: Uraufführung von René Schickeles Schauspiel „Hans im Schnakenloch“ im Frankfurter Neuen Theater. In: Frankfurter Zeitung no. 351 (1916/12/19)

title: Robert Baldauf


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Talk:Les Enfants Terribles (Metal Gear)

Dominant/recessive
This site states Snake = recessive; Liquid = dominant. Noisy | Talk 10:10, July 16, 2005 (UTC)

 * You don't need a fansite. Here's an actual transcript of the game to prove it!

Script Jonny2x4 02:15, 10 November 2005 (UTC)

Genes.
All three of them are clones. Thus, the have identical genotypes. Where they differ is their phenotypes. The article is misleading, or outright false.

title: Talk:Les Enfants Terribles (Metal Gear)


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User:Ravikesh Khadtare

I am Ravikesh.. Basicaly i am a MARATHI guy born in Mharashtra. I have acquired 'Bachelors Degree In Automobile Engineering 'from Rajarambapu Institute of Technology Sakharale,Shivaji University Kolhapur(Maharashtra). I am crazy about speed … that’s why I have chosen Automobile branch.I am Interested in Automobile design. Also i am familiar with some CAD software’s.I want to do something innovative in the field of Automobile by which I will be remembered to the world after my death like Mr. Diesel........

title: User:Ravikesh Khadtare


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Lietuvos žinios

Lietuvos žinios (literally: News of Lithuania) was a daily newspaper in Lithuania. Established in Vilnius in 1909, it was a liberal newspaper representing the Lithuanian Democratic Party. Even though its publication was interrupted by World War I and Soviet occupation of Lithuania, Lietuvos žinios billed itself as the oldest newspaper in Lithuania.

1909–1915
Jonas Vileišis, publisher of Vilniaus žinios, decided to discontinue the newspaper and established Lietuvos žinios on June 19, 1909. A few months later he transferred the rights to the Lithuanian Democratic Party. Lietuvos žinios was published by partnership F. Bortkevičienė, dr. K. Grinius ir Ko and shared staff with Lietuvos ūkininkas. Its initial circulation was 2,500 copies. At first it was published twice a week. In 1911, it began publishing three times a week becoming a daily in 1914. The newspaper included semi-independent monthly supplements, including Aušrinė (for youth), Mokykla (on education), Farmaceutų reikalai (on pharmacy), Vasaros darbai (collection of folklore). Editors in chief were Jonas Vileišis, Gabrielė Petkevičaitė-Bitė, Mykolas Sleževičius, Jurgis Šaulys, and Žemaitė. Even though it was affiliated with the Democratic Party, the newspaper attempted to represent non-partisan liberal agenda. Lietuvos žinios reported on political, economic, and cultural news in Lithuania and abroad. After writer Žemaitė became its editor, the newspaper paid more attention to literature. It publisher a few of her short stories. Other contributing fiction writers included Ignas Šeinius, Julius Janonis, Balys Sruoga, Kazys Binkis. It was discontinued on August 15, 1915 due to World War I.

1922–1940
Lietuvos žinios was revived on February 16, 1922 in Kaunas by the Lithuanian Popular Peasants' Union. Its notable editors included Kazys Grinius, Felicija Bortkevičienė, Jonas Kardelis (1933–1940). In 1924, the newspaper had only four pages and circulation of 2,800 copies. Lietuvos žinios advocated for the Peasant Popular Union, publishing its agenda, resolutions and activity reports. After the elections to the Third Seimas in June 1926, the Peasant Popular Union formed a coalition government with the Social Democratic Party. This propelled the newspaper into the spotlight as the voice for the new government. After the coup d'état in December 1926, the newspaper stubbornly opposed the new authoritarian regime of Antanas Smetona, was censored, and even temporarily suspended. Despite political struggles, the newspaper grew to 12 pages (22–24 pages on Saturday) and circulation of 30,000 by 1935, at times competing with official Lietuvos aidas in popularity. The newspaper was praised for having a network of correspondents in each county of Lithuania as well as major European cities and its ability to publish news quickly and effectively. Lietuvos žinios was discontinued on September 1, 1940, after Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union.

1990–2019
In 1990, when Lithuania declared independence, the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania revived Lietuvos žinios as a newspaper for politics, culture and society. Its daily circulation peaked at some 30,000 copies and later plummeted. In 1993, it was acquired by the Achema Group. In 2010, it had circulation of about 20,000 copies. After suffering a net loss of 963,300 euros in 2018, the newspaper was discontinued on 30 April 2019.

title: Lietuvos žinios


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Recusal

Judicial disqualification, also referred to as recusal, is the act of abstaining from participation in an official action such as a legal proceeding due to a conflict of interest of the presiding court official, administrative officer or other decision-maker. Applicable statutes or canons of ethics may provide standards for recusal in a given proceeding or matter. Providing that the judge or decision-maker must be free from disabling conflicts of interest makes the fairness of the proceedings less likely to be questioned, and more likely that there is due process.

History
Judicial disqualifcation laws existed in Roman law and early Jewish law, which disqualified judges from serving on cases of family, friends or enemies.

Civil law countries still have significant disqualification privileges, whereas common law countries, such as England, went in a different direction where recusal was required less often. This included the United States, which inherited a system where only judges with a direct financial interest in a case had to recuse themselves.

Recusal in the United States
In the United States, the term "recusal" is used most often with respect to court proceedings. Two sections of Title 28 of the United States Code (the Judicial Code) provide standards for judicial disqualification or recusal. Section 455, captioned "Disqualification of justice, judge, or magistrate judge", provides that a federal judge "shall disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned". The section also provides that a judge is disqualified "where he has a personal bias or prejudice concerning a party, or personal knowledge of disputed evidentiary facts concerning the proceeding"; when the judge has previously served as a lawyer or witness concerning the same case or has expressed an opinions concerning its outcome; or when the judge or a member of his or her immediate family has a financial interest in the outcome of the proceeding.

28 U.S.C. Section 144, captioned "Bias or prejudice of judge", provides that under circumstances, when a party to a case in a United States District Court files a "timely and sufficient motion that the judge before whom the matter is pending has a personal bias or prejudice either against him or in favor of an adverse party", the case shall be transferred to another judge.

The general rule is that, to warrant recusal, a judge's expression of an opinion about the merits of a case, or his familiarity with the facts or the parties, must have originated in a source outside the case itself. This is referred to in the United States as the "extra-judicial source rule" and was recognized as a general presumption, although not an invariable one, in the 1994 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Liteky v. United States.

At times justices or judges will recuse themselves sua sponte (on their own motion), recognizing that facts leading to their disqualification are present. However, where such facts exist, a party to the case may suggest recusal. Controversially, each judge generally decides whether or not to recuse themself. However, where lower courts are concerned, an erroneous refusal to recuse in a clear case can be reviewed on appeal or, under extreme circumstances, by a petition for a writ of prohibition.

In certain special situations, circumstances that would otherwise call for recusal of a judge or group of judges may be disregarded, when otherwise no judge would be available to hear the case. For example, if a case concerns a salary increase payable to a judge, that judge would ordinarily be disqualified from hearing the case. However, if the pay increase is applicable to all of the judges in the court system, the judge will keep the case, because the grounds for recusal would be equally applicable to any other judge. The principle that a judge will not be disqualified when the effect would be that no judge could hear the case is sometimes referred to as the "rule of necessity".

Supreme Court cases
In the Supreme Court of the United States, the Justices have historically recused themselves from participating in cases in which they have financial interests. For example, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor generally did not participate in cases involving telecommunications firms because she owned stock in these firms, and Justice Stephen Breyer has disqualified himself in some cases involving insurance companies because of his participation in a Lloyd's of London syndicate. Justices also have declined to participate in cases in which close relatives, such as their children, are lawyers for one of the parties. Even if the family member is connected to one of the parties but is not directly involved in the case, justices may recuse themselves – for instance Clarence Thomas recused himself in United States v. Virginia because his son was attending Virginia Military Institute, whose policies were the subject of the case. On occasion, recusal occurs under more unusual circumstances; for example, in two cases, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist stepped down from the bench when cases were argued by Arizona attorney James Brosnahan, who had testified against Rehnquist at his confirmation hearing in 1986. Whatever the reason for recusal, the United States Reports will record that the named justice "took no part in the consideration or decision of this case".

A notable case was the 2001 death penalty appeal by Napoleon Beazley, convicted of a 1994 murder, in which a full three justices recused themselves due to personal ties to the victim's son, federal appeals court judge J. Michael Luttig. Luttig had previously clerked for Justice Scalia, and had led the confirmation efforts on behalf of both David Souter and Clarence Thomas. The death sentence was upheld all the same.

Historically, standards for recusal in the Supreme Court and lower courts were less rigorous than they have become in more recent years. In the 1803 case of Marbury v. Madison, Chief Justice John Marshall participated in the decision and authored the opinion of the Court even though Marshall's actions as Secretary of State two years prior could be seen as the subject of the proceeding. On the other hand, Marshall did recuse himself in both the 1813 and 1816 hearings of Martin v. Hunter's Lessee, despite its equally significant constitutional implications, as he and his brother had contracted with Martin to buy the land in dispute. Moreover, during the 19th century, the U.S. federal court system was structured so that an appeal from a judge's decision was often heard by an appellate panel containing the same judge, who was expected to sit in impartial review of his own earlier ruling. This situation is no longer permissible, and 28 U.S.C. § 47 provides that "No judge shall hear or determine an appeal from the decision of a case or issue tried by him."

A notable dispute over recusal in U.S. Supreme Court history took place in 1946, when Justice Hugo Black participated in deciding the Jewell Ridge Coal case, although a former law partner of Black argued for the prevailing side. The losing party in the 5–4 decision sought reargument on the ground that Black should have been disqualified; Black declined to recuse himself and the decision stood, but Justice Robert H. Jackson wrote a short opinion suggesting that the decision that Black should sit in the case was Black's alone and the Court did not endorse it. The dispute aggravated infighting between Black and Jackson, and it has been suggested that this was one of the reasons that, when Chief Justice Harlan Fiske Stone died, President Harry S. Truman appointed Fred M. Vinson to succeed Stone rather than promote a sitting Associate Justice to Chief Justice.

In 1973, then-Associate Justice Rehnquist wrote a lengthy in-chambers opinion declining to recuse himself in Laird v. Tatum, a case challenging the validity of certain arrests, even though Rehnquist had previously served as a White House lawyer and opined that the arrest program was valid. In 2004, Justice Antonin Scalia wrote an opinion declining to recuse himself in a case to which Vice President Dick Cheney was a party in his official capacity, despite the contention of several environmental groups that Scalia's participation created an appearance of impropriety because Scalia had recently participated in a widely publicized hunting trip with the Vice President. The same year, however, Scalia recused himself without explanation in Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow, a First Amendment case challenging inclusion of the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, after giving a public speech in which Scalia stated his view that Newdow's claims were meritless.

In 2009, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that 'excessive' campaign contributions to a justice that was elected required a justice to recuse himself, citing the Due Process Clause of the constitution.

In 2024, Justices Alito and Thomas have refused calls to recuse themselves from January 6th cases where their spouses have taken public stances or been involved in efforts to overturn the election.

Federal cases
On Sep 28th 2021, the Wall Street Journal's investigative team found that 131 judges did not recuse themselves in cases where they had a financial interest through ownership of stocks in the relevant parties. Two-thirds of such cases ended with a verdict favorable to the party in which the judge owned stock. Explanations given for the lack of recusal included: unknown ownership via brokers investing on behalf of the judge, being unaware of the laws regarding disclosure and recusal, spelling errors and ownership of subsidiaries (e.g. Exxon Corp. vs Exxon Oil, which is a subsidiary), ownership of stocks held not by the judge but by close family members (spouses, children, etc.), and insistence that stock ownership did not influence their decisions (especially if the outcome did not change stock price). All of these explanations are still a violation of federal law.

In 1974, federal judge Leon Higginbotham issued his decision in ''Comm. of Pa. v. Local 542, Int'l Union of Operating Engineers'', explaining why he as an African American judge with a history of active involvement in the civil rights struggle was not obligated to recuse himself from presiding over litigation concerning claims of racial discrimination. He held, in an opinion that was followed by later judges, including a series of black judges who faced recusal requests, that a judge should not be forced to recuse solely because of their membership in a minority group. Jewish federal Judge Paul Borman relied on the Higginbotham opinion in part in his 2014 decision not to recuse himself from the trial of Palestinian-American Rasmea Odeh. Similarly, in 1994, Jewish then-federal-Judge Michael Mukasey refused to recuse himself in a case concerning the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, warning that his recusal would "disqualify not only an obscure district judge such as the author of this opinion, but also Justices Brandeis and Frankfurter ... each having been both a Jew and a Zionist".

Disclosure requirements
Disclosure requirements make it easier and more cost-efficient for parties to determine whether their judge may have a financial conflict of interest.

Peremptory challenge
Peremptory challenges of judges, which is in use in 17 states where each party gets the chance to pass on the judge selected and can still challenge the next judge for cause.

Independent adjudication
Have an independent decision-maker other than the justice being accused of impartiality make the recusal decision. This also can help to prevent the awkward situation of a judge holding a grudge against the party insisting that bias exists.

Streamlined process
This would allow for recusals to occur without adding undue costs on the litigants. For example, automatic recusal could be required for cases where a party has made campaign contributions to a judge above a specific amount.

Written opinions
Requiring opinions for the denial or approval of recusals would help to establish a track record of evidence that would make it easier for appeals courts to review.

Substitution
In Supreme Court cases, for example, when recusal could swing the outcome of a case, justices could be allowed to have substitute judges without conflicts of interest take their place in order to prevent gamesmanship of the system.

Administrative agency and other matters
Outside the judicial system, the concept of recusal is also applied in administrative agencies. When a member of a multi-member administrative body is recused, the remaining members typically determine the outcome. When the sole occupant of an official position is recused, the matter may be delegated to the official's deputy or to a temporarily designated official; for example, when the Solicitor General of the United States is recused from a case, the Deputy Solicitor General will handle the matter in his or her place. On March 2, 2017, Jeff Sessions, Attorney General of the U.S., recused himself while the department investigated Russian interference in the 2016 election due to concerns over his impartiality as a member of the Trump campaign team.

Concepts analogous to recusal also exist in the legislative branch. Members with a personal financial interest in a measure should not vote according to the rules of the United States Senate and House of Representatives. In such cases, the Senator or Representative may record a vote of "present" rather than "yea" or "nay".

Applicable to most countries
Laws or court rules provide the recusal of judges. Although the details vary, the following are nearly universal grounds for recusal.

 * The judge is related to a party, attorney, or spouse of either party (usually) within three degrees of kinship.
 * The judge is a party.
 * The judge is a material witness unless pleading purporting to make the Judge a party is false (determined by presiding judge, but see substitution).
 * The judge has previously acted in the case in question as an attorney for a party, or participated in some other capacity.
 * The judge prepared any legal instrument (such as a contract or will) whose validity or construction is at issue.
 * Appellate judge previously handled case as a trial judge or at a lower appellate level.
 * The judge has personal or financial interest in the outcome. This particular ground varies by jurisdiction. Some require recusal if there is any interest at all in the outcome, while others only require recusal if there is interest beyond a certain value.
 * The judge determines he or she cannot act impartially.

Responsibility and consequences
A judge who has grounds to recuse themself is expected to do so. If a judge does not know that grounds exist to recuse themselves the error is harmless. If a judge does not recuse themselves when they should have known to do so, they may be subject to sanctions, which vary by jurisdiction. Depending on the jurisdiction, if an appellate court finds a judgment to have been made when the judge in question should have been recused, it may set aside the judgment and return the case for retrial.

Waiver and substitution
The recusal rule may be avoided or ignored if all parties and the judge agree, although in practice this rarely occurs. If recusal is avoided in this manner, a full and complete record of the facts that qualify as grounds, above, must be made for the appellate court.

If a judge fails to recuse themselves sua sponte and a party believes the judge has a bias the party may motion for substitution. In some jurisdictions litigants may have the right to substitute a judge, even if no bias is demonstrated.

title: Recusal


text:
Astove Atoll

Astove Atoll is a large atoll, part of the Aldabra Group, lying in the Outer Islands of Seychelles, 1,041 km southwest of the capital, Victoria, on Mahé Island. Alphonse Fishing Company and Blue Safari Seychelles operate from the atoll, offering packages to sustainably fly-fish and dive the Astove Wall.

History
The name Astove is said to be derived from the Portuguese As Doze Island, meaning the twelve islands, which may have been the original Portuguese name for Farquhar. Much of the region in which Astove lies was explored by Arab seamen and merchants between 1000 and 1500 AD, but there is no record of human settlement on the island before 1760. In that year, the Portuguese frigate La Dom Royal, laden with plunder and slaves, went aground at Astove. All aboard made it to the island, but the captain and crew soon abandoned Astove and struck out for Mozambique in a long boat. They never returned for the slaves, who organized into a community and subsisted on the bounty of the island and the sea.

A passing ship reported that there was “a treasure trove of slaves” to be had for the taking from Astove, but repeated efforts to capture them failed when almost all the ships foundered, as had the La Dom Royal. In 1796, a British ship attempted to remove the slaves by force – and succeeded in embarking some 100 of them – but the slaves revolted and helped thwart the effort, which failed completely when the ship foundered. There was, reportedly, great loss of life in the shark-infested waters.

In 1911, treasure hunters found near Astove the wreckage of La Dom Royal. They excavated the ship, finding gold and silver.

The remaining slaves on Astove were eventually picked up and evacuated to Mahe, leaving one sole survivor named “Paul” on the island. In 1799, a passing ship stopped at Astove and a search was made for this lone slave, but no trace of him could be found.

On the morning of August 12, 1836, the ship Tiger of Liverpool, which was commanded by Captain Edward Searight, was wrecked on the reef of Astove atoll. An account by William Stirling was published seven years later.

Human presence at Astove remained inconsistent throughout the 19th century and centered largely upon harvesting operations that were under way at the time. Astove was heavily mined for guano and phosphates, and hunted for its sea turtles, but for the most part remained not visited due to its remoteness and distance from normal shipping lanes.

In 1968, Astove atoll was occupied by British adventurer and businessman Mark Veevers-Carter and his American wife, Wendy (Day) Veevers-Carter, who was the daughter of American author Clarence Day (Life with Father). The couple had founded, operated and sold a successful copra plantation on the Seychelles island of Remire, and sought to do the same on the much larger island of Astove.

“When we landed on Astove, we found palm trees, a roofless wooden house and a graveyard,” wrote Wendy Veevers-Carter. “Part of the British-governed Seychelles, Astove was a ‘lost’ island.”

The Veevers-Carters built a 14-room house, a processing center, a chapel, a store and small residences for their Seychelleois employees. While copra constituted the primary cash crop, the Veevers-Carters plantation also grew tobacco and raised, for subsistence, goats, cattle and pigs. The life of the couple and their three children were chronicled by Wendy Veevers-Carter in an article for Parade magazine in June 1969.

“Mark has had painful trouble with his teeth but has borne the agony stoically,” she wrote in the article. “He must see a dentist soon, but that will mean a trip of many days.”

Her husband's dental problems necessitated a March 1970 journey to Kenya for medical treatment. He took with him the couple's broken short-wave radio and one of their three children, leaving his wife and their two sons on the plantation at Astove. On March 11, the 42-year-old Veevers-Carter died under anesthesia in the dentist's chair, but because there was no radio on Astove, word could not be quickly delivered to his wife.

Ten days after Veevers-Carter's death, the news was delivered to his family by the Kenyan cement carrier Bamburi, which took them to Kenya.

Wendy Veevers-Carter tried to manage Astove alone until November 1970, but found the task impossible. Returning to the United States with her children, she left Astove in the care of three Seychellois employees. Although she expressed hope in maintaining control over and access to Astove, she never returned and the island was abandoned.

In 2014 Astove was declared a nature reserve. A fishing resort and lodge have been built on the island.

Geography
Astove atoll is located 35 km SSE of Cosmoledo Atoll. It is a raised coral island of most peculiar form: a single stretch of land, that is 1.4 km at the widest part, almost entirely encloses a shallow lagoon. The lagoon has a maximum depth of 3 m, and the only exit is a winding passage in the south, called Gueule Bras Channel. The lagoon includes some sandbanks and islands inside it.

Astove atoll measures 6 km north to south and 4 km east to west. The land area is 7.9 km2, and the total area including the lagoon and reef is 21.2 km2.

Geology
Astove's unusual structure has raised questions about its formation. It was suggested that Astove is not a true raised atoll, but rather a reef flat, with the lagoon being washed out later. The lagoon becomes deeper in a slow pace, owing to rainwater, acidic from the soil's humic acids, dissolving the lagoon's carbonate rock bottom. This causes the unusual milky-white color of the lagoon's waters.

On the large land mass towards the western tip, exposed reef rock raises to some 5 m ASL. Elsewhere it is largely covered by gravelly debris. Dunes of up to 18 m line the windswept eastern rim of the island, and the eastern part of the lagoon is especially shallow due to the inblown dune sand. Astove Island's fringing reef is just about 180 m (300 ft) wide. As noted above, beyond the reef's outer edge the seafloor drops down steeply, with a depth of 550 m (300 fathoms) a mere 399 m away from the shoreline.

Climate
The climate is dominated by the southeast trade winds which are most pronounced between April and November. Temperatures are around 28 °C in the shade during that time, and slightly higher during the northwest monsoon season. At that time, tropical cyclones with torrential rain sometimes hit the island, but overall it is very arid.

Demographics
The only settlement, on the western coast, was abandoned by the three Seychellois employees in 1972; it was resettled in 2014. The remnants of a former coconut and sisal plantation are present and attempts to maintain it are being made.

Administration
The island belongs to Outer Islands District. Being an island with a small population, there are not any government buildings or services. For many services, people have to go to Victoria, which is a difficult task.

Transport
The island is bisected by a 640 m unpaved grass airfield on the north east point of the island. The IDC put a staff of 2 people in 2014 to clear the airfield and restore the usage of it. The island is occasionally serviced by an Island Development Company (IDC) aircraft from Mahé.

Economics
A small community is involved in small-scale farming and fishing for island consumption, as well as managing the newly opened lodge.

Flora
Astove atoll has a very thin soil layer overlying its rocky core, which is pockmarked with caverns. Guano of nesting seabirds has accumulated in these, and the western part has been worked over and some of the guano was mined in the past. Large stretches of the reef rock were stripped bare of vegetation, but some Pisonia grandis and white milkwood (Sideroxylon inerme) persisted. The general vegetation on much of the island's western side is herbaceous plants however, mainly the leadwort Plumbago aphylla, as well as Stachytarpheta species and the crowfoot grass Dactyloctenium pilosum. Coconut palms (Cocos nucifera) remaining from the struggling plantation along the western shore, sisal (Agave sisalana), and wild cotton (Gossypium) are also found here and there. Maize (Zea mays) was planted by the guano miners, but presumably this plant which depends on constant care has disappeared since.

The eastern dunes are overgrown with the dropseed grass Sporobolus virginicus near the sea, and on the higher parts bwa matlo (bay cedar, Suriana maritima) shrubs are found. In more sheltered places, a regular scrubland of vouloutye (Scaevola taccada) and tree heliotrope (Heliotropium foertherianum), with some Pisonia, occurs. Here, the main herbs are fimbries (Fimbristylis) and the parasitic vine Cassytha filiformis.

The flats around the lagoon show a mixture of grassland (mainly pembagrass, Stenotaphrum dimidiatum) and Pemphis acidula scrub; in places, it is difficult to penetrate to the lagoon through the mass of Pemphis and bwa matlo. Small grey mangroves (Avicennia marina) line much of the southern half of the lagoon rim.

Fauna
Astove atoll is home to four landbirds:
 * Souimanga sunbird (Cinnyris sovimanga buchenorum) – an endemic race confined to Astove and Cosmoledo.
 * Madagascar cisticola (Cisticola cherina)
 * Pied crow (Corvus albus)
 * Malagasy white-eye (Zosterops maderaspatanus)

There are few seabirds, probably due to the presence of rats and feral pigs. Unlike the other two atolls of the group, (Aldabra and Cosmoledo), there are no predator-free islets except for a few small sandbanks close to the lagoon entrance. At the lagoon, Caspian terns (Hydroprogne caspia) will often be seen but it is not known whether or not they ever breed on the sandbanks. Indopacific sooty terns (Onychoprion fuscatus nubilosus) and western black-naped terns (Sterna sumatrana mathewsi) have also been reported, but there are no confirmed breeding records. Green turtles (Chelonia mydas) remain very common here despite years of exploitation and remarkably high numbers will be seen on dives or from tender trips to the lagoon entrance close to high tide.

Tourism
In 2014 a lodge to house fly-fishing enthusiasts was built. It opened in 2015. There is also a conservation centre operated by Island Conservation Society, whose staff research terrestrial and marine ecology. It is occasionally visited by cruise ships and charter vessels. A major attraction is diving cruises to the near-vertical drop-off from its outer reef edge. There are plans on expanding the eco-resort to 20 rooms.

title: Astove Atoll


text:
Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/B-2 Bomber

B-2 Bomber
I think this image is striking; it appears in the B-2 Spirit article. Its an United States Air Force public domain photo loaded by Radical Bender.

 * Nominate and support. - TomStar81 10:14, 16 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Oppose. Dark, and an uninformative angle.  I prefer Image:Usaf.b2.spirit.750pix.jpg or Image:US Air Force B-2 Spirit.jpg. —Cryptic (talk) 10:26, 16 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Oh it's not that bad. It's a little hard to see details though, perhaps higher res if available? Enochlau 13:48, 16 July 2005 (UTC)
 * I'll see what I can do. TomStar81 20:02, 16 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Found a higher resolution shot. TomStar81 20:14, 16 July 2005 (UTC)
 * I don't understand the remark above, about "uninformative angle". The article on the B2 already has a conventional pic of the aircraft so I would regard this pic as a new angle on the B2 to make the article more enjoyable. So I'll support it - Adrian Pingstone 22:04, 16 July 2005 (UTC)
 * I avoided the images suggested by Cryptic because its seems that everyone has a picture of the B-2 or F-117 flying... in the blue sky... at high noon... in plain sight. Its just so...depressing. This picture, on the other hand, shows what the B-2 was really built for: Stealth. Were it not for the eriely cool runway lights playing off the B-2's belly the craft would be practically invisible. That makes this shot worthy enough, in my opinion, to be a featured picture. TomStar81 05:49, 17 July 2005 (UTC)
 * support Fore ground interest plus very unconventional shot looking up into the cockpit. It almost looks like a UFO. David D. 17:52, 19 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Oppose (sadly) -- much as I love pictures of this beautiful plane, parts of the plane seem to merge with the background. Its difficult to make out the exact outline. (I know, that's the purpose of the plane) =Nichalp   «Talk»=  18:25, July 20, 2005 (UTC)
 * Oppose. Very good shot of a plane and could serve as propaganda, but reluctantly, I'm not for it because of the dim yellow color. Please note that the image is also slanted and is not perfectly horizontal. — Stevey7788 (talk) 20:53, 20 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Support. I love this photo. The slight slant can be corrected easily if it's really a big problem... might give it a go if i have time. In any case, the lighting effects gives it the perfect mood for a photo of a stealth plane. Enochlau 15:48, 21 July 2005 (UTC)
 * See thumb#3, I have rotated the picture to make the plane horizontal using the hig res version. David D. 16:20, 21 July 2005 (UTC)
 * ( + ) Support rotated version --Fir0002 10:01, July 23, 2005 (UTC)
 * Support - this is my formal vote, ignore the Support (above) that I put on during discussion. A lovely pic, moody with interesting lighting - Adrian Pingstone 12:44, 23 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Sorry, I was the one who bolded your other vote; I kept forgetting to count it so I made it bigger so I would remember. I guess I hit save instead of cancel. My mistake. Sorry ^_^ TomStar81 18:56, 23 July 2005 (UTC)
 * No problem! - Adrian Pingstone 22:42, 23 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Very Sadly Oppose. I don't like the guy in it, and it is a little too dark for me. --ScottyBoy900Q ∞  20:40, 27 July 2005 (UTC)
 * 'Support Junes 22:02, 28 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Oppose I agree that the B-2 during the day is overdone, but I just don't like this picture, the wierd colouring from the runway lights, the person, and I dont like the angle.say1988
 * +7/-5 This link is Broken 13:30, 6 August 2005 (UTC)