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Nikola Žigić

Nikola Žigić (Никола Жигић, ; born 25 September 1980) is a Serbian former footballer who played as a centre forward.

Žigić was born in Bačka Topola, in what was then SFR Yugoslavia. He began playing football as a youngster with AIK Bačka Topola, and scored 68 goals from 76 first-team matches over a three-year period in the third tier of Yugoslav football. Military service took him to Bar in 2001, where he was able to continue his goalscoring career with the local second-level club Mornar. A brief spell back in the third tier with Kolubara preceded his turning professional with First League side Red Star Belgrade in January 2003. He spent time on loan at third-tier Spartak Subotica before making his Red Star debut later that year. Despite suggestions that his height, of 2.02m, made him better suited to sports other than football, Žigić ended the season as First League top scorer, domestic player of the year, league champion and scorer of the winning goal in the cup final. He won a second league–cup double in 2005–06, a second player of the year award, and finished his three-year Red Star career with 70 goals from 109 appearances in all competitions.

In August 2006, Žigić signed for Spanish club Racing Santander; his goals and his partnership with Pedro Munitis helped them achieve a mid-table finish in La Liga. He then moved to Valencia, but was unable to establish himself as a regular in the starting eleven. He spent the second half of the 2008–09 La Liga season back with Racing on loan, for whom he scored 13 goals in just 19 matches. Žigić joined Birmingham City of the Premier League in 2010, and in his first season, he scored in their League Cup win. Even after relegation to the Championship, and despite increasing efforts to remove his large salary from the financially struggling club's wage bill, he remained with Birmingham for the full four years of his contract. Having been without a club for a few months, he rejoined Birmingham for the second half of the 2014–15 season.

Žigić made his senior international debut for Serbia and Montenegro in March 2004, and following the breakup of Serbia and Montenegro in 2006, he played internationally for Serbia until 2011. He won 57 caps for his country and scored 20 goals. He was a member of the 2006 and 2010 World Cup squads, and briefly captained his country in 2011.

Personal life
Žigić was born in Bačka Topola, in what was then SFR Yugoslavia, the son of Jovan, a former footballer, and his wife Milica, who had been a basketball player. He completed his secondary education at the mechanical engineering school in Bačka Topola. His brother Branko, 15 months his junior, also became a footballer, as a central defender with clubs including Cement Beočin and Serbian First League club Proleter Novi Sad. During the Yugoslav Wars in 1999, Žigić's hometown was beneath the flight-path of NATO bombers heading for Belgrade; for much of that part of the conflict, the family home was without electricity or running water.

Žigić is married to Sanja; the couple have two daughters and a son. , they were living near Valencia, Spain, and Žigić was assisting in his agent's business.

Early career
He joined his hometown football club, AIK Bačka Topola, as a youngster, and graduated to the senior side in 1998–99. He began as a centre back, but soon realised he preferred scoring goals to defending. Žigić's parents did not want him to take football seriously until he completed his education, and he remained with AIK Bačka Topola until 2001, scoring 68 goals in 76 matches in the Serbian League Vojvodina, the third level of Yugoslav football. When military service took him to Bar, he was able to play for the local club, Mornar, for whom he scored 15 goals from 23 appearances in the 2001–02 Second League of FR Yugoslavia. After trials in France with Saint-Étienne and Créteil came to nothing, Žigić returned home where he played 8 matches for third-tier club Kolubara, scoring 3 goals.

Žigić signed his first professional contract in January 2003, with Red Star Belgrade, the biggest club in the country. Because he was not considered ready for first-team football at that level, he spent the latter part of the 2002–03 season on loan at Spartak Subotica, another third-tier side, for whom his goalscoring rate was even higher: 14 goals from just 11 league games.

Red Star
Returning head coach Slavoljub Muslin brought Žigić into Red Star's senior squad for the 2003–04 First League season, and gave him his debut in the starting eleven on the opening day. That first game ended in defeat, and Žigić's physical appearance – a growth spurt from the age of 16 had brought his height to 2.02m – provoked suggestions that he might be better suited to basketball. He opened the scoring as they beat Hajduk Kula 2–0 in the next league match. In between, he produced a hat-trick against Nistru in the 2003–04 UEFA Cup qualifying round, and went on to contribute a further three goals as Red Star beat Odense 6–5 on aggregate in the first round. He scored twice in the 3–0 win in the Eternal Derby against Partizan, and celebrated by miming a basketball shot. By the mid-season break, he had 12 league goals as well as the 6 in the UEFA Cup, and was named Player of the Year for 2003, both by the captains of the First League teams voting via the Večernje novosti newspaper and by the Football Association. He finished the season as the league's top scorer, with 18, as Red Star won their 23rd title, and scored the winning goal in the cup final.

Resuming the partnership with Marko Pantelić begun in the second half of 2003–04, Žigić continued to score freely in the new season. With Red Star two goals and a man down in the first leg of the Champions League qualifier against Young Boys, he netted twice in the last 12 minutes to give his team an away draw. Domestically, Pantelić top-scored with 21 league goals and Žigić contributed 15 as Red Star finished in second place, behind Partizan. Žigić scored against Partizan to help Red Star reach the cup final, but was one of five regular starters unavailable for that match through injury or suspension, and his team lost to a last-minute goal to ten-man Železnik.

In September 2005, Žigić signed a one-year extension to his contract, which had been due to expire at the end of the season. He helped his team progress through the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Cup, and according to Reuters' correspondent, "capped a brilliant individual performance with two goals" as well as providing the cross for Milan Purović as Red Star beat Roma 3–1 in the third match of the group stage. His first goal, a header, appeared to have been scored from an offside position, but for the second, in the 86th minute, he dispossessed Philippe Mexès, evaded two more opponents, and bent the ball into the top corner from 25 m with his weaker left foot. He said afterwards, "I've never scored a goal like that in my entire career. I was going to pass the ball but there was no one ahead of me so I just decided to go for it and see what happens". The win left Red Star needing to win their last group match to stand a chance of qualifying for the knockout rounds, but they failed to do so.

For the second time in three years, Žigić was chosen as domestic player of the year in the captains' poll, and was also honoured by the Red Star Sport Association as best male athlete of 2005, an award open to athletes representing the club in any sport, not just in football. After Pantelić's departure for Hertha BSC, Red Star's goals were spread more evenly among the remaining forward players. In the league, Žigić and Boško Janković were joint-top scorers with 12, and Purović contributed one fewer, as the club won their 24th title. They completed the double with a defeat of city rivals OFK in the cup final, coming back from 2–0 down via Žigić's 67th-minute free kick under the defensive wall and Purović's equaliser to take the match into extra time, during which Žigić gave Red Star the lead with a header and Dušan Basta made the final score 4–2. After the match, Žigić refused to answer questions about his Red Star future.

Racing Santander
Žigić began the season with Red Star, but on 29 August 2006, he signed a four-year contract with La Liga club Racing Santander. The fee, officially undisclosed, was variously reported at anything from €4.5M to €7M. Although better offers had been rejected, those offers had arrived at the wrong time: the pressure on Red Star to win the domestic title meant they were unlikely to dispose of a major player in mid-season. The player felt he was more likely to start matches with a club at Racing's level. Partnering the diminutive Pedro Munitis, he contributed 11 goals – including a hat-trick in a 5–4 win over Athletic Bilbao – four assists and five penalties won in league competition over the season as Racing finished tenth. The efficacy of the pair earned them the nickname of Dúo Sacapuntos (the Two Point-getters); ahead of the coming season, new coach Marcelino García Toral recalled how "we all know how many points Racing picked up when Žigić and Munitis weren't there. Without them, Racing didn't add points". His performances earned him the captains' vote as best player based abroad for 2006, and contributed to his 2007 Football Association of Serbia Golden Ball award.

Valencia
Žigić signed for Valencia in August 2007. The fee was unconfirmed, but suggestions appeared in the media of €15M, €18M, and around €20M, a figure possibly including the player's wages over the five years of his contract. He had been linked with numerous other moves, and Fenerbahçe made an offer that was better financially for both Racing and the player, but Žigić preferred to stay in "the best league in Europe" in a country where he was accustomed to the language and culture. He was suffering from an ankle injury when he arrived – which delayed his integration into the first-team group and, according to Mundo Deportivo, undermined the coaching staff's confidence in him  – then aggravated the injury by playing in a Euro 2008 qualifier in September, and did not appear for Valencia until October.

He made his debut as a second-half substitute in Valencia's Champions League group-stage defeat at home to Chelsea, and started the next league match, another home defeat against Espanyol, but was selected only infrequently either by Quique Flores, who had signed him, or by successor Ronald Koeman. With the transfer window approaching, Koeman had given Žigić two weeks to convince him he was worth keeping. Prior to the Copa del Rey on 19 December, Valencia had not scored for six matches, and they were soon 1–0 down to third-tier opponents Real Unión. Žigić came on and scored twice to turn the match around, and followed up with another goal three days later as Valencia came from behind to secure a 2–2 draw at Real Zaragoza. A mooted loan to English club Portsmouth fell through when Koeman changed his mind about the player leaving, but he made only nine league appearances (two starts) in what remained of the season, and was sent off in the first of those.

Speculation regarding moves to the Premier League came to nothing. By October, Žigić had appeared just once for Valencia, in the UEFA Cup, and an opportunity arose to join his former club, Racing Santander, on an emergency loan. This depended on the league allowing Racing to release Luis Fernández on medical grounds, because of a degenerative condition of his knee, thus freeing up a space in the first-team squad. The LFP's medical committee decided that the condition was not yet clearly career-ending, so any agreement with Žigić had to be held over until the January 2009 transfer window. In the meantime, he played in four more cup matches for Valencia, two domestic and two UEFA, and scored in three of them, but took no part in the league campaign.

The loan agreement was duly revived, and Žigić returned to the club and the city that "feel like home". Racing were to pay his wages and write off the debt outstanding from the sale of Mario Regueiro, and there was no option to purchase. Resuming his partnership with Munitis in the first game of his second spell, Žigić scored the only goal of the visit to Real Valladolid, repeated the feat at Getafe two weeks later, and scored again in the next match, a 2–0 win away at Sevilla. He finished the season as Racing's top scorer, with 13 goals from only 19 games.

In the 2009 close season, there were rumours linking Žigić with moves to clubs including Sunderland, Monaco, and Bordeaux, but the player insisted his intention was and always had been to be successful with Valencia. He made 26 appearances for the club in 2009–10 in all competitions, more than in the previous two seasons combined, but only 5 were league starts. Within four minutes of replacing the injured David Villa in the league match against Racing in October, he took advantage of a defensive error to score the only goal of the game; out of respect for his former club, he did not celebrate. On 2 January 2010, his 93rd-minute header against Espanyol took Valencia third in the table, and his double against Deportivo La Coruña in the 2009–10 Copa del Rey put Valencia 2–0 up at half-time; the game finished 2–2 and Valencia lost 4–3 on aggregate. With four minutes left of the Europa League quarter-final second leg, Valencia were denied a penalty when an Atlético Madrid defender pulled Žigić to the ground so forcefully that a large hole was torn in the front of his shirt, apparently unnoticed by referee or goalline official; the tie ended goalless, so Atlético progressed on away goals from the first leg and went on to win the competition. Away to Espanyol on 1 May, again as a substitute for Villa, he scored both goals in a 2–0 win that secured Valencia a place in the next season's Champions League.

Birmingham City
On 25 May 2010, Žigić signed a four-year contract with Premier League club Birmingham City for an undisclosed fee, which media speculation suggested to be in the region of £6 million. He made his debut on the opening day of the season away at Sunderland: replacing Garry O'Connor in the 58th minute, he came close to scoring from outside the penalty area and "injected a note of panic hitherto undetected" in the home team's defence as Birmingham came back from 2–0 down to secure a draw. Žigić's first goal for the club came as Birmingham beat Milton Keynes Dons 3–1 in the League Cup on 21 September. He scored his first Premier League goal on 16 October, opening the scoring at Arsenal with a header from Keith Fahey's cross, but Birmingham lost the game 2–1.

In a hostile League Cup quarter-final against local rivals Aston Villa, Žigić had an apparently valid goal disallowed for offside against another player, and with the scores level after 86 minutes, was about to be substituted when he produced a "mis-hit, deflected, scruffy late goal" that secured the win. He opened the scoring against favourites Arsenal in the final with a short-range header, and with one minute of normal time remaining, he flicked on a long clearance, Arsenal's goalkeeper and central defender got in each other's way, and the ball fell to Obafemi Martins to tap in the winning goal. Football manager turned commentator David Pleat wrote that "Birmingham earned their victory through terrific teamwork and astute deployment of Žigić's strengths." Because of "niggling" hip and groin injuries, he made only two more substitute appearances. His absence deprived the team of what the Birmingham Mail's reporter called their "most effective style: getting the ball forward early, pressing up the pitch and playing off him", as they were relegated to the Championship.

Despite his agent Milan Ćalasan's insistence that his client would not be playing in the lower divisions, Žigić underwent groin surgery in the close season and resumed his Birmingham career in September. He told the Mail that he would be happy to stay and that any move would depend on the club, which was in increasing financial difficulty, wanting to sell. His first Championship goal gave Birmingham a 1–0 win against Leeds United. Early in the Europa League group match at Braga, Birmingham were awarded a penalty. In the absence of regular penalty-taker Marlon King, Žigić took on the responsibility. His attempt was saved, Braga won the match 1–0, and Birmingham finished the group one point behind them and Club Brugge so failed to qualify for the knockout rounds. Away to Leeds, Žigić scored all four in a 4–1 win, and he finished the season with eleven in the league and one in the play-off semi-final as Birmingham lost on aggregate to Blackpool.

Ahead of the 2012–13 season, Žigić was close to a return to Spain with Real Mallorca. Birmingham were prepared to give him a free transfer to reduce the wage bill by his reported £50,000 a week, but the deal fell through when board and agent could not agree a payoff for the player, who earlier in the summer had expressed his intention to see out the two years left on his contract. He began the playing season on the bench, coming off it after 85 minutes to produce a 94th-minute equaliser at home to Charlton Athletic on the opening day, and was used more as substitute than starter by new manager Lee Clark, who preferred Peter Løvenkrands or Leroy Lita. On the eve of the January transfer window, chief executive Peter Pannu confirmed that player sales were necessary to stave off the risk of administration. Even if the club could raise as much as £6M from the sale of England goalkeeper Jack Butland, Žigić's wages were more than the club could afford, and the player needed "to go out and showcase himself." The club had failed to include a clause in his contract to reduce his wages in the event of relegation, and it emerged later that they had agreed to substantial annual increments.

He did not leave, and in February, Clark publicly criticised him for producing "possibly the worst training session in terms of a professional footballer I have ever come across", despite knowing he was due to start the upcoming game against Watford. Up until this incident, he had scored six league goals at a rate of one every 165 minutes, and been sent off twice. Clark said that Žigić would not be involved against Watford, but that it was "in his hands" as to whether he would prepare properly for the Sheffield Wednesday fixture three days later. His response must have been acceptable, because he played the whole of the goalless draw against Wednesday, started all the remaining matches – the longest run of starts of his Birmingham career – and ended the season with nine league goals, second only to King.

Žigić missed the first few weeks of the 2013–14 season with a back problem, and once fit, played regularly throughout the season, as one of a small number of senior players in an inexperienced and youthful team with numerous short-term loanees. The team struggled, and reached the last day of the season needing at least a draw away at Bolton Wanderers and for other results to favour them to avoid relegation to League One. Two goals down with 12 minutes left, Žigić scored, and three minutes into stoppage time, his close-range header was cleared off the line to Paul Caddis, who headed home to preserve Birmingham's second-tier status. Birmingham were reported to be "quietly confident" of retaining his services for another season, at a much reduced salary, especially as he was believed to be keen on applying for British citizenship, which required five years' residence, but he left at the end of his contract. He was the last remaining member of the League Cup-winning team.

Having been without a club since his departure, Žigić began training with Birmingham again in November 2014. After a successful appeal to be granted a work permit, for which he did not qualify automatically, he signed a contract on 4 December to expire at the end of the season. He made his second debut as a late substitute in the Championship match at home to Reading on 13 December, with Birmingham already 6–1 ahead. He played only infrequently – nine substitute appearances in the league and two FA Cup matches – and the club confirmed he would be released when his contract expired.

International career
Coach Ilija Petković gave Žigić his international debut for Serbia and Montenegro on 31 March 2004, as an 84th-minute substitute in a 1–0 friendly defeat against Norway in Belgrade. His next appearance and first start came some 14 months later; in a friendly against Italy in Canada, he ran onto a through ball and went round the goalkeeper to open the scoring and also hit the post in a 1–1 draw.

He also scored in his next match, against Poland in another friendly, and established himself as a regular selection, but it was his substitute appearance in a crucial World Cup qualifier against Spain in Madrid in September 2005 that brought him wider international recognition. After a poor first-half – Petković said they "were lucky to be only a goal down at half-time" – Žigić was introduced, and the tactic of "putting him in the centre of the opposition defence and playing long high balls to him ... was remarkably successful". He pressured the goalkeeper into missing a cross which dropped for Dejan Stanković to set up Mateja Kežman's equaliser, and 12 minutes later, his pass left Kežman clear on goal but he mis-hit what might have been a winning shot. The result left Serbia-Montenegro top of the group, and they confirmed their qualification at home to Bosnia and Herzegovina when Žigić's assist gave Kežman a tap-in for the only goal of the game.

Žigić's only start at the 2006 World Cup came in the last fixture, when his team had already been eliminated after losing the first two group matches. He scored early in the first half off a long ball from Stanković against Ivory Coast – the goal was Serbia-Montenegro's first of the tournament – but the match ended in a 3–2 defeat.

Still an automatic choice under new national manager Javier Clemente, Žigić scored the only goal in Serbia's first competitive match as a separate country, a Euro 2008 qualifier at home to Azerbaijan in September 2006. He scored once, missed two more good chances and was then sent off for elbowing an opponent in stoppage time of the March 2007 qualifying defeat in Kazakhstan, so missed the next, a home draw with Portugal, and also missed the Finland fixture in June after surgery on a facial injury. He still scored seven goals as Serbia failed to qualify.

Žigić played regularly through the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign under the management of Radomir Antić, contributing three goals and partnering former Red Star teammate Marko Pantelić as Serbia qualified for a major tournament for the first time as an independent nation. Ahead of the tournament proper, he spoke in positive terms of his development since 2006: "I went to Germany as player with no reputation or real experience to speak of. Tactically, I have learned a lot and I'm in much better condition, both physically and psychologically. This is my World Cup, I think I can play a lead role and I want to show I'm a player that can do it in big games." After losing to Ghana in the opening group match, Serbia went on to face Germany. Within two minutes of Miroslav Klose's first-half dismissal, Žigić headed a cross down to Milan Jovanović who scored what proved to be the only goal of the game; Lukas Podolski's second-half penalty was saved, and Antić dedicated the victory to the Serbian people. In a game of missed chances against Australia, Serbia lost 2–1 and finished bottom of the group.

Goals in four of Serbia's five internationals in the latter part of 2010 brought his total to 20. He was not selected to start the other match, a Euro 2012 qualifier in Italy that was abandoned after six minutes because of crowd trouble; UEFA awarded the match to the hosts as a 3–0 win. After Serbia failed to qualify for the tournament, both Stanković and Nemanja Vidić retired from international football, and Žigić was appointed captain of the national team. He captained the team in friendly defeats to Mexico and Honduras in 2011, his 56th and 57th appearances for his country, which proved to be his last.

Style of play
Žigić's extreme height predisposes him to an aerial game. He is dangerous from set pieces, scoring many headed goals and knocking the ball down for others: when he joined Red Star, the coach set out the team in a 4–3–3 formation, with Žigić at centre-forward and two wingers to feed those strengths. He tried to use his physical presence to disrupt opposing defences, both for his own benefit and to draw their attentions away from others. Pep Guardiola said in 2009 that Žigić was not easy to defend against, "almost unstoppable" in the air, but the best way would be to keep him as far as possible away from the penalty area. Speaking in 2010, Radovan Ćurčić, then assistant manager of the Serbia national team, described him as "the king of air play, he is the finest there is in Europe. He possesses the sense of space and movement without the ball and can assist his teammates with headers and set up goal-scoring opportunities." Sid Lowe of The Guardian also described him as a "tidy finisher" in 2007.

As exemplified on his debut for Racing, a performance in which he demonstrated his aerial power, he is capable of playing with his back to goal, and his height was not incompatible with agility. He prefers to play not as a lone striker but in partnership with a shorter, speedier, teammate. Racing's fitness coach, Javier Miñano, was surprised that Žigić was "well coordinated, to the extent that he doesn't seem so tall when I see him in training."

He prefers to receive the ball in the air, because he can always beat smaller players in the air but they can take advantage of better acceleration and quicker reactions on the ground. According to David Pleat, a major factor in Birmingham's 2011 League Cup win was "telling him to do what he does best and flick the ball on with his head from direct diagonal balls played from both wings". Nevertheless, he is technically competent, scoring goals with his feet and providing assists for others. A 2009 feature in Mundo Deportivo assessed Žigić as one of those few tall players with a good touch on the ball, and in 2010, German international defender Per Mertesacker described him as "technically a good player and very smart tactically".

Honours
Red Star
 * First League of Serbia and Montenegro: 2003–04, 2005–06
 * Serbia and Montenegro Cup: 2003–04, 2005–06

Valencia
 * Copa del Rey: 2007–08

Birmingham City
 * Football League Cup: 2010–11

Individual
 * Serbia and Montenegro League: top scorer 2003–04
 * Serbian Footballer of the Year: 2003, 2007
 * Večernje novosti captains' poll
 * Domestic player of the year: 2003, 2005
 * Prva zvezda (Player of the year based abroad): 2006
 * Red Star Sport Association Best Male Athlete: 2005

title: Nikola Žigić


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As is

"As is" is a phrase used to indicate the existing condition of something without any modifications or improvements. The term is employed in legal, business, and consumer settings to establish that an item or property is being sold or provided in its current condition, with no warranties or guarantees regarding its quality.

In legal contexts, the phrase "as is" is used in contracts, agreements and sales transactions. It is used to disclaim some implied warranties for an item being sold. Certain types of implied warranties must be specifically disclaimed, such as the implied warranty of title. "As is" denotes that the seller is selling, and the buyer is buying an item in whatever condition it presently exists, and that the buyer is accepting the item "with all faults", whether or not immediately apparent. A similar concept is a "buyer beware" claim, where the careful buyer should take the time to examine the item before accepting it, or obtain expert advice.

On the other hand, the phrase "as is" does not disclaim "express" warranties: these may, for example, be created by the seller's description of an item. In other words, though the item may be sold "as is", nevertheless, if it for example does not conform to the seller's description of it, the buyer may void the sale.

For example, a seller of a used automobile sells it to a buyer, and puts into the contract of sale the statement: "The buyer accepts the automobile as is, with all faults." Two minutes after the buyer drives off with it, the car stalls, and the engine seizes. Unless the buyer can show that there was some fraud involved, or the seller breached an express warranty, the buyer is not entitled to a refund. This would be a specific example where fraud in the inducement could outweigh anything in the contract, express or implied: it simply does not matter what disclaimer or limitations may be found in the contract, if the contract is void (or voidable) for any reason.

Disgruntled buyers of real estate, and their respective improvements, may be faced with other complicated property law issues if a deed is conveyed as a result of a contract with an "as is" clause. In real estate, these are the larger potential problems than issues with the structure itself, which can be drawn out with an inspector. Searching public records is often difficult, and often done lazily by the seller; this means that the buyer may be burdened with liens on the home, and face various fees related to things such as public utilities.

In many jurisdictions, disclaimer of various implied warranties is void. For instance, the United Kingdom's laws on consumer protection and unfair contract terms may limit the ability of a manufacturer or seller to limit or exclude liability for various types of damage. See, for instance, the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 and Sale of Goods Act 1979.

However, in the United States' Uniform Commercial Code, "as is" is quoted as an example of the type of language capable of excluding all implied warranties through which the law might otherwise protect a buyer.

American case law

 * Lenawee County Board of Health v. Messerly

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

title: As is


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Pro Evolution Soccer 5

Pro Evolution Soccer 5 (abbreviated PES 5), known as World Soccer: Winning Eleven 9 in Japan and North America (sometimes mislabeled as World Soccer Winning Eleven 9 International), is a 2005 football sports simulation video game developed and produced by Konami as part of the Pro Evolution Soccer series.

Featuring Arsenal and Chelsea it is the first release of the series which offered fully licensed clubs from the Premier League, which is one of the 3 unlicensed leagues of the game. There are also 3 licensed leagues just like in the predecessor Pro Evolution Soccer 4. The game also includes 3 fully licensed leagues, which are the Spanish Liga Española, the Dutch Eredivisie and the Italian Serie A (with the exception of Cagliari).

As with previous versions, the game features an edit mode allowing the player to edit certain elements of the game. It was the last release to feature the German Bundesliga (in the game as German League) for Pro Evolution Soccer Installment before it was replaced by a generic league because of losing the license for the following releases.

Pro Evolution Soccer 5 marked the series' first appearance on the PSP. The game was also the first in the series to feature online play for the PlayStation 2 outside of Japan. Within online play, statistics and league points are stored on the server for each game played. These points determine a team's (player's) position within the five online divisions. PES 5 was succeeded by Pro Evolution Soccer 6, which was released in 2006.

Sales
In Japan, Winning Eleven 9 sold 0 units for the PlayStation 2, making it one of Japan's top five best-selling games of 2005. It went on to sell 1,206,483 units for the PlayStation 2 in Japan. In France, it was the best-selling game of 2005.

In the United Kingdom, the PlayStation 2 version of Pro Evolution Soccer 5 received a "Double Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 600,000 copies in the United Kingdom. It sold more than 800,000 copies in the United Kingdom, making it the UK's second best-selling game of 2005 (below rival FIFA 06). This adds up to more than 0 units sold in Japan and the United Kingdom.

Reviews
The U.S. PC and European PlayStation 2 versions received "universal acclaim" from critics, while the rest received "generally favorable" reviews on all platforms in both regions according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.

USA Today gave the PS2, Xbox and PC versions a score of nine-and-a-half stars out of ten and said it was "not only the ideal soccer simulation, but perhaps one of the top sports game out there. Accessibility and authentic play will attract both old and new fans alike." However, it gave the PSP version a score of eight-and-a-half stars and said that it "loses a few key features, but retains the fun play and the sport’s overall spirit." The Sydney Morning Herald gave the game four-and-a-half stars out of five and said that the AI "is a harder nut to crack, requiring more thoughtful passing to open up your opponent before you strike. So long as you're thinking like a footballer, you're going to score goals." Maxim also gave it a score of nine out of ten and said that it "returns to the field to affirm its ball-kicking dominance. And thanks to its new online mode, your ears will be ringing 'goooal!' for days." However, Detroit Free Press gave the PSP version a score of two stars out of four and said that "with fewer buttons on the PSP than on a standard console game pad and only one analog stick to play with, the game's hallmark -- its deep, precise controls -- feels a bit muted."

title: Pro Evolution Soccer 5


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Billy Mavreas

Billy Mavreas (born August 14, 1968) is a Canadian cartoonist and artist living in Montreal, Quebec, Canada whose mostly silent or wordless comics revolve around the themes of language, sexuality and spirituality. He is of Greek descent from the region of Mani.

His posters, featuring otherworldly creatures, especially bunnies, influenced by the psychedelic art stylings of San Francisco artists such as Rick Griffin and Victor Moscoso, figured strongly in the Montreal literary and spoken word scene of the 1990s.

Since 2004, Mavreas has been a regular cartoonist for ascent magazine, a Canadian yoga magazine, and Matrix magazine, a literary review based in Montreal.

Mavreas is also the editor of the comics anthology Monster Island, acting as publisher of the first two issues, while the third issue was published by Conundrum Press. Monster Island III is notable for including some of the last work by Hall of Fame cartoonist Alootook Ipellie.

Books

 * Mutations: The Posters Of Billy Mavreas, Conundrum Press, Montreal, 1997
 * The Overlords Of Glee, conundrum press & Crunchy Comics, Montreal, 2001
 * Inside Outside Overlap, Timeless Books, Kootenay, 2008

Non-cartooning work

 * Co-founder of Expozine, Montreal's small press and zine fair
 * Keeper of Monastiraki, avant-garde flea market
 * Mail art and concrete poetry

title: Billy Mavreas


text: Category:Italian desserts

title: Category:Italian desserts


text:
User:Yofiued

Contributer to Wikipedia.

title: User:Yofiued


text: User talk:206.106.97.98

title: User talk:206.106.97.98


text: Category:Desserts by country

title: Category:Desserts by country


text: User talk:69.92.202.194

title: User talk:69.92.202.194


text:
Yves Pratte

Yves Pratte (7 March 1925 – 26 June 1988) was a Canadian lawyer and jurist who served briefly as a Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Early life
Born in Quebec City, Quebec, he was the son of Garon Pratte and G. Rivard. He was the father of Guy Pratte, a prominent lawyer who practises in both Ontario and Quebec, and André Pratte, editorial pages editor with Montreal's daily newspaper La Presse, and a fervent federalist voice in Quebec.

Career
Pratte studied law at Université Laval and the University of Toronto. Following his admission to the bar in the province of Quebec in 1947, he practised law in Quebec City, established a successful law firm, and continued his association with Laval, becoming its Dean of Law from 1962–1965. Between 1965 and 1968, he served as special legal counsel to Quebec premiers Lesage and Johnson. From 1968–1974, he served as the chairman of Air Canada, which was then under the control of the Canadian National Railway, a Crown corporation. On 1 October 1977, he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada on the recommendation of Pierre Trudeau. His tenure on the court was brief – Pratte served less than two years before stepping down for health reasons. Upon his resignation on 30 June 1979, he returned to private practice, joining the Montreal firm of Courtois Clarkson.

Death
Pratte died suddenly, of a heart attack, on 26 June 1988, in Montreal. His body was interred in the Cimetière Notre-Dame-de-Belmont, in Sainte-Foy, Quebec.

Recognition
Today, the Yves Pratte Foundation named in his honour promotes student exchanges between the University of Toronto and Université Laval.

title: Yves Pratte


text:
Abdelkader El Mouaziz

Abdelkader El Mouaziz (born 1 January 1969) is a Moroccan long-distance runner. He holds the record for the most sub 2:10 marathon runs at 13, now tied with Stefano Baldini. El Mouaziz is a two-time winner of the London Marathon, in 1999 and 2001, and was the runner-up in 1998 and 2000. He also won the 1994 Madrid Marathon and the New York City Marathon in 2000. He was fifth at the 2002 Chicago Marathon.

title: Abdelkader El Mouaziz


text: Category:World War II cruisers of Germany


text: Category:Cruisers of Germany

title: Category:Cruisers of Germany


text:
IPOPT

IPOPT, short for "Interior Point OPTimizer, pronounced I-P-Opt", is a software library for large scale nonlinear optimization of continuous systems.

It is written in C++ (after migrating from Fortran and C) and is released under the EPL (formerly CPL). IPOPT implements a primal-dual interior point method, and uses line searches based on Filter methods (Fletcher and Leyffer).

IPOPT can be called from various modeling environments: C, C++, Fortran, Java, R, Python, and others.

IPOPT is part of the COIN-OR project.

IPOPT is designed to exploit 1st derivative (gradient) and 2nd derivative (Hessian) information if provided (usually via automatic differentiation routines in modeling environments such as AMPL). If no Hessians are provided, IPOPT will approximate them using a quasi-Newton methods, specifically a BFGS update.

IPOPT was originally developed by Ph.D. student Andreas Wächter and Prof. Lorenz T. Biegler of the Department of Chemical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. Their work was recognized with the INFORMS Computing Society Prize in 2009.

Arvind Raghunathan later created an extension to IPOPT for Mathematical programming with equilibrium constraints (MPEC). This version of IPOPT is generally known as IPOPT-C (with the 'C' standing for 'complementarity'). While in theory any mixed-integer program can be recast as an MPEC, it may or may not be solvable with IPOPT-C. Solution of MINLPs (Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Programs) using IPOPT is still being explored.

Carl Laird and Andreas Wächter are the developers of IPOPT 3.0, which is a re-implementation of IPOPT in C++. Wächter and Laird were awarded the 2011 J. H. Wilkinson Prize for Numerical Software for this development.

title: IPOPT


text: User talk:81.96.32.123

title: User talk:81.96.32.123


text: Category:Sevilla FC players

title: Category:Sevilla FC players


text:
Talk:10,000,000

Powers of numbers vs. Keith numbers
Non-logged in user 213.37.6.106 has complained that his additions about powers of numbers (e.g., 15^6) have been reverted. The fact that the list includes Keith numbers appears nonsensical to him.

My criterion is that powers of primes are notable. Not everyone from WP:NUM might agree with me on this though. In any case, Keith numbers are much rarer than powers of primes or even primes themselves. PrimeFan 22:20, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

 * At least you're aware of your own bias. But your bias is understandable: limiting to powers of primes cuts down on clutter. Some composite powers are interesting, however, and writing them, as say, 4^2 = 2^4 shows quite clearly why they're interesting. However, 15^6 = 225^3 = 3375^2, after the first equal sign, my interest wanes. Maybe as a compromise we could just have 15^6 and let those who care figure out the other roots. I think we should look at each of these on a case by case basis. Anton Mravcek 21:51, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

 * Your interest wanes, mine not. Because what makes powers such as this especially interesting is precisely the fact that they are simultaneously the powers of different numbers. If you just keep the 15^6 part and delete the other two, you're actually failing to mention one of the most notable aspects of that power. And the numbers 225 and 3375 are themselves powers (the square and cube of 15), i.e. they are notable numbers, not just some random numbers. BTW, what "clutter" are you talking about? With all my additions the list is still reduced to some sixty numbers, out of ninety million—still a ridiculously small selection from such a vast range. And if the objective is to come up with an extremely reduced list (which I see no reason nor purpose for), then definitely things like Keith numbers are the ones that should be dropped from the list the first, because their concept is completely trivial and inconsequential, a merely recreational construct completely dependent on the use of a certain base, unlike powers which are a serious mathematical concept. 213.37.6.106 02:19, 30 June 2007 (UTC)

 * I agreee wit Anton's compromise. show just one power of the composite, the one whit teh biggest exponent. if it deserves its own article, then put in all the other ones. Numerao 21:50, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

 * I'd accept that, provided that the IP is banned from this article, as he'll continue to insert nonsense. — Arthur Rubin |  (talk) 17:11, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

 * Oh, so if someone has a different criterion than yours, then it seems you consider yourself the supreme judge to dictate that it's nonsense and they should be banned. What a constructive and civil attitude, apart from incredibly arrogant. What about banning you, as you'll continue to revert without providing any argumentation to support your view? I did provide quite a few points to support mine in the referenced comment at PrimeFan's talk page, to which you have so far refused to provide any counter-argument. 213.37.6.106 02:19, 30 June 2007 (UTC)

 * And you have neglected to even comment on PrimeFan's advice to you: that if you're going to be reverting, you should be logged in. For this reason alone I'm willing to side with Arthur. I'm not even looking at his impeccable math credentials right now. Anton Mravcek 19:55, 30 June 2007 (UTC)

 * What? To start with, I did answer and give a reason for that, and in any case that is in no way a reason (where on Earth is the Wikipedia policy stating that unlogged contributors have no right to revert?), let alone mentioning someone's "impeccable credentials" as a supposed argument (a well-known logical fallacy). Why don't you or him provide, at last, some counter-arguments to the ones I offered there? Uaxuctum 19:39, 3 August 2007 (UTC)

 * There's no policy to that, but there is an unwritten hierarchy about what kind of user most of us are likelier to revert right off the bat. PrimeFan 23:44, 3 August 2007 (UTC)

 * A user not logged in.
 * A logged in user with no user page.
 * A logged in user with a user page.
 * A logged in user we know and trust.

 * Which is based on prejudiced assumptions, and does not constitute any kind of valid argument to refute that user's argumentation, let alone the fact that reverting an anonymous user's contribution on first sight, just because it was anonymous, is a completely unacceptable behaviour which violates stated Wikipedia policies such as Assume good faith. The reversion of someone else's contribution has to be based on good reasons and arguments, not on assumptions, prejudices or personal tastes and dislikes, an approach which Mr. Rubin repeatedly refused to take, claiming "non-notability" and "incorrectness" from an a priori standpoint, refusing to reply to my reasoning for their notability, apparently considering his own personal opinion as an authoritative and definitive source on what constitutes notability and correctness. Uaxuctum 03:25, 4 August 2007 (UTC)

 * Fair enough. However, you're becoming a user we know and trust. Your first draft for the article on sqrt(5) was quite thoughtful and informative.
 * But getting back to the issue at hand: What do you think of Anton's proposed compromise of only including one power for "guest" numbers (e.g., 3008 in a list for 3000)? (For numbers that get their own articles we can probably agree that all applicable powers should be listed). PrimeFan 21:23, 4 August 2007 (UTC)

 * Hm... to PrimeFan he claimed to be User:Uaxuctum but that he doesn't always feel like logging in. Anton Mravcek 19:48, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

Page rationale per WP:NUM
This is the page to jot down interesting facts about 8-digit numbers. If enough (at least three) interesting facts are gathered about a particular 8-digit number, it could possibly warrant its own article. PrimeFan 19:25, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the . Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

no consensus to move. — Mets 501 (talk) 16:47, 1 October 2006 (UTC)

Requested move
10000000 (number) to ten million. Similar to how 1000000 (number) was moved to million, this article should be at ten million. See also similar proposal for hundred million and billion. Voortle 00:03, 23 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Add *Support or *Oppose followed by an optional one sentence explanation and sign your vote with ~

 * Support per my reasons above. Voortle 00:25, 23 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Neutral at this time. Two years ago I voted to keep all the number articles at their word names, (e.g., the article on 40 at forty), but the majority at that time chose to move them to where they're now (e.g., 40 (number)). Even though I still don't like that, I think maybe I like the idea of moving all these again even less. PrimeFan 17:48, 24 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Oppose. "million" is about the same length as "1000000", but "ten million" is a bit longer than "10000000".  (I opposed the first move to "million", for what it's worth, and I still oppose this move.)  — Arthur Rubin |  (talk) 00:33, 28 September 2006 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

Notability for numbers

 * The following has been copied over from PrimeFan's talk page as it is relevant to the discussion here. Anton Mravcek 19:52, 30 June 2007 (UTC)

What's the reason why only the powers of primes should be considered notable for selection? Is a power of 5 or a power of 7 any more notable than a power of 4, a power of 6 or a power of 8? Is a power of 11 or a power of 13 more notable than a power of an eminently practical number like the dozen (a number of highly unusual properties)? Or a power of 17 or a power of 19 more notable than a power of the score, that is, than a vigesimal power (very prominent for vigesimal-based cultures/languages like those from Mesoamerica)? Sorry to say this, considering you are a fan of primes, but prime numbers (a.k.a. "rigid numbers") are interesting mostly in theory (because of their being "building blocks" for other numbers) and their importance has been rather overrated, because except for the first few of them (2, 3, 5, 7), they are of very limited value in real life since their minimal divisibility makes them particularly inconvenient for many practical purposes. My criterion for notability is that the selected numbers are powers of small numbers (prime or not), i.e. powers of "everyday" numbers (say, in the range 1-100, or else in the range 1-60 for a non-decimal-biased limit), or powers of particularly special higher numbers such as the powers of highly composite numbers like 360 (highly composites, a.k.a. "versatile numbers", are very rare, unlike primes, and their exceptional, relatively-maximal divisibility places them at a diametrically opposed side from the minimal divisibility of primes). Except for squares and cubes, which are relatively abundant and thus not particularly notable when their square or cube root is a large non-notable number, there aren't at all so many other powers (fifth or sixth or seventh powers) in the long range from 10000001 to 99999999; so such powers are notable if only for their extreme relative rarity (we are talking about only some thirty numbers out of almost ninety million; that's 0.00003% of them), and especially when (as in the case of sixth powers) they are simultaneously the powers of several different numbers (a not very usual property which makes this kind of powers particularly notable). BTW, I already have an account (User:Uaxuctum), but most of the time I cannot be bothered to log in (especially for supposedly uncontroversial edits such as adding to a list of mathematical facts), and I don't find it appropriate to discuss one of my edits under a different identifier than the one with which I initially happened to make it, because I think it would only confuse casual readers. 213.37.6.106 00:41, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

 * Normally I would agree that that's uncontroversial. But if you find yourself reverting, it's better to log in, because in a revert war it makes it that easier to side with the logged in user and dismiss the non-logged in user as a vandal.

 * For this particular issue, please take it up, logged in, at the relevant article talk page and/or at the WP:NUM talk page. PrimeFan 23:13, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Requested move 24 February 2017

 * The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the move request was: moved. Jenks24 (talk) 08:19, 1 March 2017 (UTC)

10000000 (number) → 10,000,000 – Hard to tell how many zeroes are in the present title, also unnecessary (number) dab. See 100,000,000 and 1,000,000,000. Fish567 (talk) 14:16, 24 February 2017 (UTC)
 * Support. Per WP:DIGITS, we are expected to use commas to delimit the thousands in any number equal to or greater than 10,000 — it's only optional if there's just one digit sitting above the hundreds place, and not if there are two or more. I can easily identify the proposed title as "ten million", but I can't tell just by looking at it, without having to manually count and calculate the zeros in my head to figure it out, whether the existing title is one, ten or one hundred million. Admittedly I don't math so good sometimes, but millions of other people in the world can also say the same thing — so we optimize digits for clarity to all users. Bearcat (talk) 16:14, 24 February 2017 (UTC)
 * Support per nom and Bearcat.  Lugnuts  Precious bodily fluids 18:47, 24 February 2017 (UTC)
 * Support removal of (number) as an Unnecessary disambiguator. No opinion on the commas. P p p er y 18:53, 24 February 2017 (UTC)
 * Support commas and removal of (number) disambiguator. Reidgreg (talk) 19:37, 26 February 2017 (UTC)
 * Support ditto. Dhrm77 (talk) 22:07, 28 February 2017 (UTC)

 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

Move discussion in progress
There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:300 (number) which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RMCD bot 19:18, 14 April 2024 (UTC)

Trivial asides
IPs keep adding the aside "(there is no smaller number divisible by the numbers from 1 to 17 since any number divisible by 2 and 9 must be divisible by 18)" to the description "smallest number divisible by the numbers from 1 to 18":, , , ,. I think this is a trivially obvious observation that does not need to be mentioned. Unless we reach a concensus here to include it it should stay out.

Similarly, the same IPs have been repeatedly attempting to add the equally trivially obvious asides
 * "(there is no smaller number divisible by the numbers from 1 to 20 since any number divisible by 3 and 7 must be divisible by 21 and any number divisible by 2 and 11 must be divisible by 22)" to the description "smallest number divisible by the numbers from 1 to 22" for 232,792,560 in 100,000,000
 * "(there is no smaller number divisible by the numbers from 1 to 23 since any number divisible by 3 and 8 must be divisible by 24)" to the description smallest number divisible by the numbers from 1 to 24" for 5,354,228,880 in 1,000,000,000 Meters (talk) 09:21, 20 July 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:10,000,000


text:
Category:Ships of Germany

Ships of Germany include all ships built in Germany or which have been in German service up to 1949 and since the reunification of Germany in 1991. Note: articles are sub-categorized by ship type, era, and specific operator.

 * Ships in service between 1949 and 1991 should be categorised in Category:Ships of East Germany or Category:Ships of West Germany as appropriate.

title: Category:Ships of Germany


text:
Government-business relations in Japan

Government-business relations are conducted in many ways and through numerous channels in Japan. The most important conduits in the postwar period are the economic ministries: the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI, formerly the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, known as MITI). The Ministry of Finance has operational responsibilities for all fiscal affairs, including the preparation of the national budget. It initiates fiscal policies and, through its indirect control over the Bank of Japan, the central bank, is responsible for monetary policy as well. The Ministry of Finance allocates public investment, formulates tax policies, collected taxes, and regulates foreign exchange.

The Ministries

 * The Ministry of Finance establishes low interest rates and, by thus reducing the cost of investment funds to corporations, promotes industrial expansion.
 * METI is responsible for the regulation of production and the distribution of goods and services. It is the "steward" of the Japanese economy, developing plans concerning the structure of Japanese industry. The former MITI had several special functions: controlling Japan's foreign trade and supervising international commerce; ensuring the smooth flow of goods in the national economy; promoting the development of manufacturing, mining, and distribution industries; and supervising the procurement of a reliable supply of raw materials and energy resources.
 * The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is responsible for oversight of all land, sea, and air transport. It is charged with supervising all construction in Japan and Japanese-supported construction abroad. Its responsibilities also include land acquisition for public use and environmental protection as it relates to construction.
 * The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare is responsible for supervising and coordinating all health and welfare services.
 * The former Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications was responsible for the postal service and electronic communications, functions now filled by Japan Post and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone and their private competitors.

Japanese market economy model
Japan's market economy model shapes the relationship between government and business. There is debate among scholars on how to classify Japan's market economy and welfare state model. Some argue that the focuses of Japan's government, businesses, and laborers are solely oriented towards increasing economic productivity. This is considered the productivist or developmental welfare capitalism model. Institutional features in Japan pointing towards this model include the cooperation between MITI and businesses in directing the Japanese economy towards high productivity goals. Labor subordination is another aspect of this model that allows the Japanese government to focus solely on economic development rather than the development of social programs.

The other market economy and welfare state model that Japan is argued to fit under is the hybrid model. The hybrid model is a combination of liberal and cooperative welfare states. Similar to other liberal market economies such as the United States, Japan has very low levels of welfare spending. However, unlike in other liberal economies, the Japanese government plays a direct role in coordinating the actions of Japanese businesses through the use of bureaucracy. MITI is responsible for drafting large-scope economic plans that include picking the next winning and losing industry sectors that the Japanese government should invest in or support. This aspect of Japan's market economy is similar to the cooperation between businesses and government. Another aspect of the Japanese market economy that follows the cooperative model is the role of family values. Japanese values of meritocracy and hard work mirror the labor conditions in the Japanese economy. However, unlike cooperative market economies that draw their values from Christian thought, Japanese market values derive themselves from Confucianism. These parallel distinctions between liberal and cooperative market economies are why scholars argue that Japan fits a hybrid market economy model.

Attitudes toward government direction
Japanese attitudes towards government have historically been shaped by Confucianism. Japan often has been defined as a Confucian country, but one in which loyalty is more important than benevolence. Leadership stemmed from the government and authority in general, and business looked to government for guidance. These attitudes, coupled with the view of the nation as a family, allowed government to influence business, and businesses worked hard not only for their own profits but also for national well-being. There was a national consensus that Japan must be an economic power and that the duty of all Japanese was to sacrifice themselves for this national goal. Thus, the relationship between government and business was as collaborators rather than as mutually suspicious adversaries.

Corporate organizations
Links between the corporate world and government in Japan were maintained through three national organizations: the Federation of Economic Organizations (Keizai Dantai Rengokai—Keidanren), established in 1946; the Japan Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Dōyukai), established in 1946; and the Japan Federation of Employers Association (Nihon Keieishadantai Renmei—Nikkeiren), established in 1948. Keidanren is considered the most important. Its membership includes 750 of the largest corporations and 110 manufacturers' associations. Its Tokyo headquarters serves as a kind of "nerve center" for the country's most important enterprises, and it works closely with the powerful Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI). There is evidence, however, suggesting that the federation's power is not what it had been, partly because major corporations, which had amassed huge amounts of money by the late 1980s, are increasingly capable of operating without its assistance.

Nikkeiren was concerned largely with labor-management relations and with organizing a united business front to negotiate with labor unions on wage demands during the annual "Spring Struggle". The Keizai Dōyukai, composed of younger and more liberal business leaders, assigned itself the role of promoting business's social responsibilities. Whereas Keidanren and Nikkeiren were "peak organizations", whose members themselves were associations, members of the Keizai Dōyukai were individual business leaders (see Labor unions in Japan).

Because of financial support from corporations, business interest groups were generally more independent of political parties than other groups. Both Keidanren and the Keizai Dōyukai, for example, indicated a willingness to talk with the Japan Socialist Party in the wake of the political scandals of 1988-89 and also suggested that the LDP might form a coalition government with an opposition party. Yet through an organization called the People's Politics Association (Kokumin Seiji Kyokai), they and other top business groups provided the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) with its largest source of party funding.

Small business
Japan's streets are lined with small shops, grocery stores, restaurants, and coffeehouses. Although supermarkets and large discount department stores are more common than in the 1980s, the political muscle of small business associations was reflected in the success with which they blocked the nationalization of the country's distribution system. The Large-Scale Retail Store Law of 1973, amended in 1978, made it very difficult in the late 1980s for either Japanese or foreign retailers to establish large, economically efficient outlets in local communities.

Many light industrial goods, such as toys, footwear, pencils, and kitchen utensils, were still manufactured by small local companies rather than imported from the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, or Hong Kong. Traditional handicrafts, such as pottery, silk weaving, and lacquerware, produced using centuries-old methods in small workshops, flourished in every part of the country. Apart from protectionism of the "non-tariff barrier" variety, the government ensured the economic viability of small enterprises through lenient tax policies and access to credit on especially favorable terms.

Major associations representing small and medium-sized enterprises included the generally pro-LDP Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Nihon Shoko Kaigisho, or Nissho for short), which was established in 1922 but whose origins are traced to the establishment of the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 1878, the National Central Association of Medium and Small Enterprise Associations, the Japan League of Medium and Small Enterprise Organizations, and the Japanese Communist Party-sponsored Democratic Merchants and Manufacturers Association.

Although small enterprises in services and manufacturing preserved cultural traditions and enlivened urban areas, a major motivation for government nurturing of small business was social welfare. In Calder's words, "Much of small business, particularly in the distribution sector, serves as a labor reservoir. Its inefficiencies help absorb surplus workers who would be unemployed if distribution, services, and traditional manufacturing were uniformly as efficient as the highly competitive and modernized export sectors.

Lately, however, government relations agencies such as GR Japan and ShinNihon Public Affairs have started to appear also in Japan, run by former diplomats, members of parliament, and civil servants.

title: Government-business relations in Japan


text:
Béduer

Béduer (Languedocien: Beduèr) is a commune in the Lot department in southwestern France.

Pilgrimage
Béduer is situated on the Via Podiensis route that is followed by those making the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella and so receives pilgrims arriving from the town of Figeac.

From Béduer pilgrims continue on either to the Notre-Dame de l'Assomption church at Gréalou, reaching the river Lot at Cajarc, or follow the course of the river Célé to its confluence with the Lot, passing by the convent at Espagnac-Sainte-Eulalie.

History
The town was formerly owned by the Lostanges family. Its control of the land between the Lot and Célé rivers put it on a par with the Abbey at Figeac.

Sights
The Château de Barasc, situated on a ridge dates from the twelfth century and has been successively renovated over the ages. It was home to the Barasc family, one of whom, Gerald V, was Bishop of Cahors between 1237 and 1250.

Personalities

 * Henri Descremps (born 1 April 1746 in Béduer; died around 1826 in Paris) was an 18th-century French magician who described his art in a famous book, La Magie blanche dévoilée (1784).
 * Augustin Boutaric (born 12 August 1885 in Béduer; died 1949 in Dijon) was noted physician and chemist.

title: Béduer


text:
X Force (Chinese Expeditionary Force)

X Force was the name given to the portion of the National Revolutionary Army's Chinese Expeditionary Force that retreated from Burma into British India in 1942. Chiang Kai-shek sent troops into Burma from Yunnan in 1942 to assist the British in holding back the Japanese. These Chinese forces became broken up, and in the retreat out of Burma part of these forces entered India. These were cantoned at Ramgarh Cantonment in the Bihar Province (now in Jharkhand State), brought up to five-Division strength (Chinese New 30th,  New 22nd, New 38th, 14th and 50th Divisions), and re-equipped and re-trained by American instructors at British expense.

Each of the five divisions had about 15,000 troops, for a total of 75,000 for the whole force. The New 30th and New 38th Divisions formed the New 1st Army which was commanded by Sun Li-Jen. The New 22nd, 14th and 50th Divisions formed the New 6th Army which was commanded by Liao Yaoxiang. They were named X Force and used by General Joseph Stilwell as the spearhead of his drive to open a land route to China (the Ledo Road). The outstanding Chinese commander in X Force was General Sun Li-Jen, who led the Chinese 38th Division and was praised by the British Fourteenth Army Commander General (later Field Marshal) William Slim in his book Defeat into Victory. The Chinese forces which re-entered Burma from Yunnan were correspondingly known as Y Force.

China Defensive 1942-1945
China Defensive 1942-1945 was an essay prepared for the United States Army Center of Military History by Mark D. Sherry.

"The U.S. Army's main role in China was to keep China in the war through the provision of advice and materiel assistance. As long as China stayed in the war, millions of Imperial Japanese Army soldiers could be tied down on the Asian mainland instead of being used to fight on other fronts. Success was thus measured differently than in most theaters. How well both General Stilwell and General Wedemeyer  persuaded the theater commander-in-chief, Generalissimo Chiang, to support U.S. strategic goals, and how effectively U.S. training and material support could build selected Chinese divisions into modern tactical units, capable of standing up to the Japanese, were secondary objectives.  What mattered most was simply keeping China in the war against Japan.

The major U.S. failure in China was logistical: America was not able to meet its lend-lease commitments. The closing of the Burma Road in 1942 made it impossible to deliver sufficient equipment, weapons, and munitions to build the dream of a well-equipped and trained thirty-division Chinese force."

title: X Force (Chinese Expeditionary Force)


text: Category:Ships by country

title: Category:Ships by country


text:
Assier

Assier (Assièr) is a commune in the Lot department in the Occitanie region of south-western France.

Location and access
Assier is located some 12 km north-west of Figeac and some 18 km south-east of Gramat. The village is in the centre of the commune at the intersection of two highways: the D11 from Saint-Simon in the north-west which continues to Reyrevignes in the south-east and the D653 from Livernon in the south-west which continues to join the D840 north-east of the commune.

The Brive-la-Gaillarde to Rodez railway passes through the commune from north-west to south-east with Assier station just west of the village.

Relief
The highest parts of the commune are to the north-east (about 400 metres above sea level). The Limargue landscape provides grazing for cattle. A small stream flows with a slight slope parallel to the D653 in a wide valley flooded during heavy rain. After two ponds and an old mill, its water is lost near the centre of the village (altitude 350 metres).

In the south the rocky terrain forms a slightly undulating limestone plateau (320–330 metres above sea level) pierced by a few sinkholes around ten metres deep. This plateau is covered with short grass (dry grasslands) which supports flocks of sheep. There are also forests of contorted downy oaks that are used for firewood.

Geology
Assier is located at the end of an Early Jurassic formation called Limargue at the edge of the Causses limestone.

In the south-east the Causse de Gramat is composed of Karstified limestone from the Middle and Late Jurassic.

The oldest Early Jurassic terrain is in the Ruisseau d'Assier to the north-west:
 * on the level in a tarn of black marl and layers of impervious schist from the Toarcian period;
 * permeable calcareous sandstone from the Pliensbachian period in which there are emergences of Routabous and Tour de Maroc to the north at Vialans;
 * from a place called Le Parc (in Le Bourg commune), a thin strip of less than 50 metres of semi-permeable marls, Argillites (of mixed clay and quartz), and limestones from the middle and upper Early Jurassic.

The valley floor consists of alluvium brought down by modern streams.

Hydro-geology
Assier is on the edge of the Causse de Gramat. The waters from the Limargue to the north-east come across impermeable marl from the Early Jurassic the descend below the permeable limestone from the Middle and Late Jurassic. The limit of the Drainage basin is located to the north of Assier, water flows towards the south towards the Célé: this is the system called "Gramat-Sud" which drains 330 square kilometres.

To the north-west, north of Vialans, there are the emergences of Routabous and Tour de Maroc of calcareous sandstone from the Pliensbachian period.

The small streams or Biales sink into the limestone through karstic openings. From north-west to south-east, these are:.

 * The Ruisseau de l'Homme has its source near the Chapel of Saint-Médard (in the Issepts commune). It flows towards the two Pertes d'Assier sinkholes: the first is at the foot of the east wall of the chateau in the ruins of an old mill that was still functioning at the beginning of the 20th century, 75 metres south of the pond formed by the Ruisseau d'Assier at the entry to the town. The second sinkhole is 20 metres east of the pond. These waters flow in the stream that passes near the ponds along the D653 road towards Lacapelle-Marival. The re-emergences are at Saint-Sulpice in the Célé valley 13.5 km away. The time of passage of the water is 12 days.
 * The Perte de l'Abois: a temporary sinkhole consisting of an entrance three metres high located in a small valley that crosses the D11 between Assier and Reyrevignes.
 * The Perte du Cayre and the Grotte du Pech d'Amont: these cavities are the head of the hydro-geological system that drains water toward the re-emergence of the Diège at Espagnac-Sainte-Eulalie, nine kilometres away. The transit time for the water is 40 hours.

Previously, other cavities at a higher altitude would have been of old sinkholes or were connected to the existing water systems: the Grotte du Cirque and the Grotte du Fennet.

Potholing

In addition to the sinkholes in the Limargue-Causse contact zone, many caves and Pit caves open up on limestone terrain. The best known are:
 * The Grotte du Cirque. This hole is adorned with beautiful concretions. This has been a classified site since 29 April 1997 and monitoring arrangements for visits have been defined since 27 January 2009;
 * The Grotte du Fennet. This hole was mentioned in 1894 by Édouard-Alfred Martel. It opens on the side of a sinkhole through a low passage and a corridor 60 metres long leading to a shaft 15 metres deep then a large gallery 45 metres long, 20 m wide and 30 m high. A narrow passage and a shaft lead to a low point of about 45 metres underground.

Toponymy
The name Assier could be related to the name of a watercourse according to Ernest Nègre. According to others Assier has a Germanic origin after a person called Anshari. This name decomposes to: ans, a pagan deity, and hari meaning "army".

Prehistory
The territory of Assier has been inhabited from the earliest times. Three dolmens and tumuli are visible on the limestone of the plateau to the east of the village.

The dolmens around Assier were made from thick strata of limestone. They are located on the Causse de Gramat and were emptied of their contents in the past.

 * The Dolmen in the Bois des BœufsLogo monument historique - rouge sans texte.svg is covered with a slab 3.7 metres long, 2.6 m wide and 0.3 m thick with an approximate mass of about 8 tonnes. This capstone rests on two orthostats with a length of about 3 m and 0.6 m high. It has been a historical monument since 1889;
 * At an altitude 200 metres higher than the preceding dolmen, the Dolmen of Garivals has a slab 2.3 metres long, 2m wide, and 0.3m thick resting on two orthostats of unequal length: 2.9 and 2.3 metres. This dolmen includes a Dry stone wall;
 * The Dolmen of the Table de Roux has a slab 3.3 metres long, 2.5 m wide, and 0.3 m thick placed on two orthostats 4 metres long.

Four other dolmens and a menhir were also present north-west of the village in the hamlet of Mons at a place called Le champ de Belair. At least two of these dolmens are still visible. The menhir was removed in the past but was returned flat near its original location by the landowner.

The Fortified Town
In the Middle Ages Assier had the appearance of a fortified camp: a village surrounded by a defensive wall. Of the first feudal castle only the Tour de Sal (Sal Tower) remains. Outside the walls there were extended suburbs called barry: barry de Mons, barry des Sal, barry de las botas, barry des leygue, and barry del Torria. Assier had the Abbot of Figeac as their Lord and it was attached to the Order of St. John of Jerusalem though some hamlets such as Vialan depended on the Hospital of Issendolus.

From the 13th century the Assier community had the right to elect consuls. Every year on the first Sunday of September, all heads of household paid tax to one or more elected consuls.

The Commandery of Assier
Around 1280, the Knights of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem founded a commandery. It was a donation by Barasc who owned part of the lordship of Assier. It included: a fortified house, a church dedicated to St. Peter, a hospital on the site of the Chateau of Galiot de Genouillace, a leprosarium at a place called Malaudie on the road to Reyrevignes.

List of Knights and Priests of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem who were tax collectors in Assier:

 * 1280: Pierre de Canis
 * 1291: Jean de Cazalis
 * 1299: Rotan de Montal who bought the domain of Mons
 * 1322: Helie de Lavalette, commander of Assier
 * 1336: Helie de Calston or Calvet, commander of Assier
 * 1342: Jordan de Chaldayrac, commander of Assier
 * 1344: Brother Pierre Marquès, Rector of Assier
 * 1398: Brother Hugue Benson, Rector of Assier
 * 1405: Brother Pierre Robert, Rector of Assier
 * 1470-1490 Brother Hugo de Goles, Prosecutor of the commander of Le Bastit
 * 1501: Jean de Valon, commander of Assier, Cras, and Le Bastit who united Assier and Bastit

The Hundred Years War

From 1355, the entire Quercy region became a theatre of struggle during the Hundred Years War. The Black Prince and his English troops invaded the south-west and Quercy. After the French defeat at the Battle of Poitiers, the Treaty of Brétigny gave England the Guyenne and Gascony. The region was unstable because all the lords did not rally to the King of England.

Armed gangs were active for the English or on their own account. They robbed, ransomed, and massacred the population. One of these bands, under the orders of Bassorat, had their hideout at the Tour de Marot or the Tour de Maroc at a place called La Garénie. Bassorat ravaged the country until 1395 when he left for Spain. The English left the region around 1450.

Assier and its surroundings were ruined, it had to repopulate the country by bringing families from Auvergne, Rouergue, and elsewhere by providing favourable conditions. During this calmer period of 1450–1547 the church and the chateau were built. Many workers and tradesmen came and agriculture grew.

The Lords of Assier

From the 12th century the first lords mentioned were called the Rigaud d'Assier. One member of this family was pastor of Toulouse Cathedral and lived at the court of Pope John XXII. Some of his guests at his house in Avignon were involved in the 1317 plot against the Pope He was Bishop of Winchester from 1319 to 1323.

Raymond du Bosc, Lord of La Garénie became co-lord of Assier by marrying a Rigaud: Marguerite of Assier. One of his descendants, Augé du Bosc married Jeanne de Rassiols in 1439, Lady of Vaillac. Their daughter Catherine of Assier married Jean Ricard de Ginouillac in 1464. From their union Jacques Ricard Genouillace called Galiot de Genouillace was born in 1465 at the Chateau of Assier who had a brilliant military and diplomatic career. After his death in 1546 his body was repatriated and buried in a chapel of the Church of Assier in 1549. After the death of his son François in 1544 at the Battle of Cérisoles, his daughter Jeanne became his sole heir. She married Charles de Crussols d'Uzes, 9th Viscount of Uzes, in 1523. Widowed in 1543, she remarried the Palatine Prince Philip de Saim called Rhinegrave and converted to the Protestant religion. Their son, Jean de Beaudiné, was invited to the wedding of the future Henry IV and was killed in 1572 during the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. Twenty years of turmoil shook the region. After the Edict of Nantes, Figeac, Cardaillac, and Assier were governed by the Protestants for 50 years.

Jacques de Crussol, heir to Jeanne Ricard de Ginouillac, converted to Catholicism. He was named duke and peer of France. In 1768 the 9th Duke of Uzes, François Emmanuel Crussol, sold the chateau to be demolished. The chateau and the lands left the founding family. The new co-lords of Assier were, until the French Revolution, Messrs Pouzalgue, Séguy, and Montal.

The French Revolution in Assier
On 14 September 1788 Jean-Pierre Séguy, notary, bought the land of the Devèze d'Assier and became a co-lord of Assier. The French Revolution passed without major disorder: the main complaints concerned the redistribution of land. Jean-Pierre Séguy redistributed land he had bought to all the inhabitants of Assier present and future (from pregnant women) who each received 0.34 hectares. He was mayor of the commune from 1801 to 1827.

The first schools
Following the Guizot law communes had to have a public school. On 21 December 1834 the council appointed Jean-Pierre Bruel to run the school. He received two hundred francs per year as well as sums paid by the wealthiest families for the education of their children: 1 franc to learn to read, 1 franc 50 centimes for reading and writing, and 2 francs for mathematics. Twelve poor students were taught without charge.

In 1853, a free school for girls was headed by Marie Bessac (Sister Victoire) assisted by Jeanne Turenne (Sister Jeanne). They were paid by the commune. On 25 October 1858 Jean-Pierre Bruel died and Jean Delsériez succeeded him in 1859. In 1881 an assistant position was created as numbers then were 75 boys and 60 girls. A nursery for infants was created next to the girls' school: the cost was 1.5 francs per student per month. The position is given to Sister Jeanne Turenne. On 20 August the position of assistant to the boys' school was created.

In 1902 a secular girls' school opened. In 1905 schooling was compulsory and free for all children over five years. In 1926, the municipal council protested against the abolition of the post of Assistant for the Public School. In 1957 construction began on a new school for Assier.

Fight against poverty
During the mandates of Antoine Pezet and Joseph Carbonel from 1848 to 1870 many decisions were taken to improve the lot of the poorest:

 * In 1849, funding from the office of charity;
 * In 1851, buying a house for school and free for the poor;
 * In 1853, funding for private schools;
 * In 1856, a tax of two centimes per inhabitant to buy medicines distributed free to the poor and the creation of a charity workhouse for able-bodied poor;
 * In 1857 there were more beggars in the town. The council decided on a special tax of 15 cents per franc to help the disabled in the commune;
 * In 1867, the teacher, Mr. Delsyriez, was encouraged by the council to teach classes for adults;
 * In 1869, a contribution of three centimes for the supply of medicines to the poor.

The railway

In 1854 two rail projects passing through Assier were considered then abandoned. A Classification yard was to have been located in the commune and there were plans to build a hotel-restaurant with 16 rooms near the proposed route of the line. This is the large isolated house at a place called Frejayrie, one kilometre from the centre of Assier.

In 1860, the Compagnie du chemin de fer de Paris à Orléans started building the Brive-Rodez line passing through Assier station. Four fatal accidents occurred in the commune which killed a navvy and three workers. The line was opened in September 1862.

Other modes of travel
In 1905 and 1910 tramway projects were considered to serve Assier station and neighbouring communes: a line from Gourdon to Le Bourg via Quissac and Espédaillac. Soon, however, the car made its appearance. In 1923 the Municipal Council was required to limit the speed of cars to less than 15 km/h in the town centre. In 1925 the widow of Thimoté Gardou installed the first petrol pump and the commune received 200 francs per year. In 1932 buses ran between Assier and Cahors.

Electrification
On 11 October  1922 the council appointed a commission to study the connection of the village to a power grid. On 9 May 1926 appropriations for the establishment of a union for electrification were voted. On 30 October the mayors of Cardaillac, Fourmagnac, Fons, Reyrevignes, and Assier met and decided that the electric current should be supplied by the hydro-electric plant of Mr. Barrière located on the Drauzou but in 1927 the council denounced the agreement with Mr. Barrière on the grounds that his plant could not supply power permanently because the flow of the Drauzou was too irregular. In 1928 the commune had to pay a 225,000 franc fine for non-compliance with the agreement but appealed and was successful in 1932.

The commune then joined the electrification union of the north of Lot and, in 1930, the concession was given to the Bourbonnais company. The contract was signed on 19 February 1931 and on 17 April 1932 there was the inauguration and celebration of the electricity supply.

In the village the telephone and electricity lines have been buried since 1980.

Access to water

Prior to 1962, the inhabitants of Assier accessed water through fountains or cisterns. There were shortages and supply was a constant concern of councils:

 * On 10 May 1847 the council took the decision to widen the stream and establish a reservoir for watering livestock. It was also decided to dig ponds on the fairgrounds;
 * In summer 1489, a serious drought deprived men and animals of water. The commune took the decision to line the Bournel pond;
 * In 1860 the council took a loan of 1,100 francs to flush the stream and to build a Lavoir (Public laundry) and a trough. New investments were decided in 1871 and 1873;
 * In 1874 the council bought a pump and rehabilitated 140 metres of pipe feeding the fountain of repose;
 * In 1899 Mr. Léon Amouroux donated 5,000 francs to provide water from the Barade fountain to public places. The system, used from 1900 to 1962 and directed by Mr. Boisset, included cisterns in the church square at the foot of the chateau tower. It ended with a fire hydrant at the Bridge over the stream.
 * In 1952, a severe drought necessitated the padlocking of pumps at certain times of day and night. Rachel Batut was designated and remunerated for this task.

Administration
List of Successive Mayors

Demography
The inhabitants of the commune are known as Assiérois or Assiéroises in French. In 1620 there were 115 fires in Assier. In 1750 there were 500 communicants at Mass. In 2017 the commune had 651 inhabitants.

Agriculture
Assier is a rural community which had a dozen farms at the end of the 20th century. Operators abandoned polyculture (cereals and fruit trees) to turn to the production of meat and milk. 95% of the Limargue land is exploited, 20% of the land on the plateau is for sheep while the remaining 80% is left fallow.

Fairs were very important up to the 19th century and equalled those of Figeac and Gramat. A market hall was built in 1884 for the sale of cereals, chestnuts, apples and nuts. These products declined in the 20th century as a result of evolution in transport, the mechanisation of farms, and trading by the farmer. Since 1968 the council has taken steps to revive the market for sheep. In 1980 studies were carried out for the implementation of a covered sheep market which was inaugurated in July 1997 in the industrial zone. It trades between 1,500 and 2,000 animals every Monday.

Assier has a cattle market and an agricultural cooperative.

Trades, services, and crafts
Many shops and services are available on the town: butchers, bakers, a Pâtisserie, a bar, hairdressers, restaurants, a florist, and a grocery store; as well as tradesmen: roofers, carpenters, electricians, plumbers, heating, and a taxi.

A pharmacy is located in the town centre.

Industrial area
A company making high quality walnut veneers is established in the industrial zone.

The cooperative society Scop O'Chêne was established at Assier as part of its expansion. It manufactures building frames: structures used as assembly modules, and wood furnishings. It had 7 employees in 2009.

Civil heritage
Assier has a number of buildings and structures that are registered as historical monuments:
 * Old Dovecote at the Chateau (1537)Logo monument historique - rouge sans texte.svg
 * The Grange de Bargues (16th century)Logo monument historique - rouge sans texte.svg
 * The Dolmen in the Bois des BœufsLogo monument historique - rouge sans texte.svg
 * The Chateau (16th century)Logo monument historique - rouge sans texte.svg

The Chateau contains a number of items that are registered as historical objects:
 * The Tomb of Anne de Genouillac (16th century)Logo monument historique - noir sans texte.svg
 * 3 Paintings: Allegorical compositions with notable people (17th century)Logo monument historique - noir sans texte.svg
 * 13 Paintings: Trophies (18th century)Logo monument historique - noir sans texte.svg
 * A Door (16th century)Logo monument historique - noir sans texte.svg

Religious heritage
The Church of Saint-Pierre is the only Renaissance religious building in Lot. Begun in 1540 and completed in 1549 the church is in monumental style and solely dedicated to the glory of Galiot de Genouillace with his reclining statue and the epitaph "After death, good name remains".

An outer frieze in low relief surrounds the monument. This profane and warlike decoration is unusual on a religious building. Galiot de Genouillace saw the church as a monument housing his tomb and that of his descendants. The grounds evoke scenes of war with Italy in the passage through the Alps before the victory of the Battle of Marignano.

Jean Bergue remarked in his 1987 study that this artistic and historical masterpiece has visibly deteriorated over a hundred years.

 File:Assier - Frise sculptée de l'église Saint-Pierre - Panneau de la frise sur le ressaut de la porte de la chapelle seigneuriale.JPG|Frieze over the Chapel door File:Assier - Frise sculptée de l'église Saint-Pierre - Emblème de capitaine de 25 lances - Détail.JPG|Frieze depicting the emblem of the Captain of 25 lances File:Assier - Frise sculptée de l'église Saint-Pierre- Scène de combat antique - Détail.JPG|Frieze depicting ancient combat File:Assier - Frise sculptée de l'église Saint-Pierre - Porte de ville.JPG|Frieze depicting the door to the town File:Frise eglise assier canon.jpg|Detail showing a cannon File:Frise eglise assier chateau.jpg|Detail showing a château

The sculptural elements represent the triumph of the artillery with the cannon the most widespread theme namely: the Culverin bastard, palace sieges, round shot with three flames, ancillary parts of a very high precision that make this frieze a true archival document on the art of war at the time with no equivalent.

There are swords with a Fleur-de-lis Baldric recalling the charge by the Grand Squire of France next to the collar of the Order of St. Michael which was the highest distinction of the time.

There is a Funeral Chapel north of the first bay of the nave. It contains the tomb of Galiot de Genouillace who is represented on the marble reclining statue in court dress and then in armour leaning on a cannon and surrounded by bullets and bags of gunpowder.

The vault of this chapel is quite remarkable and unique in France: there is only one other example of this architecture in Europe - the monastery of San Domingo at Valencia in Spain. Both have a vault and a dome with triple ribs and Lunettes which give the impression of a star with a complicated design or a huge spiderweb canvas in which it is thought the final cut to size of some stones was performed after laying.

The Church of Saint Pierre contains three items which are registered as historical objects:
 * The Tomb of Gailliot de Genouillac (16th century)Logo monument historique - noir sans texte.svg
 * Commemorative plaque (16th century)Logo monument historique - noir sans texte.svg
 * Enclosure of the Chapel of Galliot de Genouilhac (16th century)Logo monument historique - noir sans texte.svg

Education
The Assier school enrols children from eleven neighbouring communes. In September 2009, the nursery school had two classes and the primary school three. The staff consists of seven teachers and two assistants.

Associations
A festival of jazz, improvisation, and theatre has taken place every year since 1986 in the chateau, the church, the gardens, and in the squares.

The REISSA Association (Meetings, Events, Initiatives, Support, Social Activities) manages the events in the village and the ALSH (Home Leisure Without Accommodation) for children.

The Cyber-base located in the House of services provides access to the Internet for all.

Public services

Assier has a post office, a railway station, and a public weighbridge near the fairgrounds in the direction of Livernon.

Health
In 2009 Assier inaugurated the Causse Medical Centre. The town also has a pharmacy and a nursing centre in the village centre.

A nursing home for the elderly is located at Les Pradels.

The nearest hospitals are located at Figeac (21 km, 20 minutes by the D653 and D840) and at Cahors (57 km, 52 minutes by the D653).

Notable people linked to the commune

 * Jacques Ricard de Genouillace called Galiot de Genouillac, military man and French diplomat of the Renaissance, born in Assier chateau in 1465.
 * Louis Brives, French politician born in Assier
 * Robert Hue, French politician, occasional inhabitant of Assier.

title: Assier


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title: User talk:82.152.178.183